Nejire was tired to the bone. She hadn't expected the gig to wear her out so badly. Once she got home, she collapsed into bed and fell asleep almost instantly.
When she woke, it was dark outside. There was a heavy weight on her legs, pinning her down. Confused, she sat up, only to see Gulliver jump down and scurry under the bed. "No, wait," she called after him. "I'm sorry Gullie, I didn't mean to scare you off."
Nejire's stomach growled, so she decided to go see what she could find in the fridge. As she sat down with some cold vegetable lo mein, she pulled out her phone. It was almost two o'clock in the morning.
When she saw her notifications, she almost dropped her phone into the noodles. Apparently Giran had tagged her in his photos from the shoot. They were mostly silly group selfies, with a few of the studio and the brand, but one photo made her heart clench up. It was a candid of her and Kendo dancing, both of them caught in the exact same pose. It made Nejire look elegant, graceful. Seeing herself like this almost took her back in time.
She reposted a few of Giran's photos to her own wall. Kendo was also tagged, and Nejire quickly sent her a follow request. Then she scrolled through the comments.
Dabi had left some emojis of overheated faces and devil heads. Nejire clicked on his name and scrolled through his most recent posts, intending to read the comments under the photos of her own tattoos. There were a few more recent tattoos on Dabi's page, high-quality work but not Nejire's style. Dabi had also posted a selfie, and Nejire felt her face grow warm just from looking at it. He was shirtless, lounging back in a chair, and his belt was unbuckled. The caption was just a tiny url. Intrigued, Nejire clicked on it, and it automatically opened her phone's browser.
Just then the door opened, and Toga bustled in. Nejire set her phone down and smiled. "Hey, you're home early."
Toga grinned back. "And you were out late! Is that the longest you've ever been out of the apartment?"
Nejire laughed. "Probably."
Toga set some things down on the kitchen counter, then spotted Nejire's phone and quickly scooped it up. "Whatcha lookin' at?"
"Instagram. Giran posted some really nice photos from the shoot."
Toga raised her eyebrows. "Uh, Nej… this is OnlyFans."
"What?" Nejire tried to snatch her phone back.
"Ah-ah-ah! Who is this?" Toga kept dodging Nejire's attempts. "Dabi? Your tattoo guy? Are you gonna subscribe?" Toga finally let Nejire have the phone back. "You ought to, maybe then you wouldn't be so uptight all the time!"
Nejire glared at Toga as she locked the screen. "I'm not uptight."
"Oh really? When's the last time you got off?"
Nejire stabbed at the noodles with her chopsticks. "A while."
Toga narrowed her eyes. "Before or after you moved here?" Nejire's silence was all Toga needed to hear. "Alright, this weekend I'm taking you out. I don't care if it's to a club or an adult toy store, but you have got to deal with all this pent up frustration."
While Toga went to shower, Nejire went back to bed. Once again she looked at Giran's photos. Feeling sentimental, Nejire got up and dug in the back of the closet for her pointe shoes. She sat on the floor and held them in her hands. They were scuffed and worn, but held so many memories. She ran her fingers over the long ribbon laces.
A noise behind Nejire drew her attention. It was Gulliver; he was swatting at the end of the ribbon. Nejire smiled as she dangled it before him, and he batted it playfully. She laughed quietly, trying not to scare him.
They played like this for a few minutes, until Nejire moved too suddenly and the cat darted away. However, this time he didn't immediately run to hide under the bed. He watched Nejire for a moment, then sauntered over to his little drinking fountain and started to lap at the water.
Nejire smiled, her chest swelling with pride for him.
She fiddled with her pointe shoes as she watched him. Then she tied the laces together in a bow and hung them on the doorknob. She stared at the shoes, feeling an odd sense of melancholy. She reached for her phone and snapped a few pictures of the shoes. Then she chose one and shared it to her instagram. This time, she thought hard before she wrote out a caption.
I may have hung up my pointe shoes, but dancing feels like home.
After she posted it, Nejire kept her phone out and took a few pictures of Gulliver. She grabbed one of his toys, a mouse with a bell inside, and tossed it across the room. The cat stared at it for a moment, confused. "Go get it," Nejire urged. Gulliver ran after the toy, smacking it this way and that. They played like this until Nejire couldn't stop yawning, and she curled up on her bed to fall back asleep.
The following week Nejire was scheduled for the first session of her back tattoo. She still hadn't seen the new designs, but she trusted that Dabi would come up with something amazing.
Toga was free that day, and insisted on coming along. It didn't take much to convince Nejire; having her roommate there would make her feel a little better. Plus Toga was good at carrying a conversation, so she could keep Nejire distracted when Dabi wasn't very talkative.
Nejire wasn't sure what kind of top she could wear that she wouldn't have to take off for the tattoo. She finally opted for a low cami, with a dance wrap over it for extra modesty before and after. Remembering Dabi's harsh warning, Nejire made herself eat half of a grilled chicken salad before she and Toga left.
They got to the tattoo parlor a few minutes early, and Toga looked around. "Wait, this can't be Stain, like The Stain? I thought he was in prison."
"He is." Tomura had joined them. He squinted at Toga. "Did you know him?"
"Oh, I wish! His body modifications were sick. He's the reason I got my cuspids sharpened!" She bared her teeth to show her pointy, vampire-looking canines.
Tomura was unimpressed. "Well, he'll get out eventually, I suppose." He nodded to Nejire. "You can go on back."
She thanked him, and led Toga around to the main room. Toga gazed around in awe. "Nice. Maybe I should get something pierced while we're here."
They sat on the couch together, and Toga looked through one of the albums. Dabi soon appeared, holding an energy drink in one hand and a folder in the other. He looked at Toga. "You're with Tiny?"
Toga smiled menacingly. "I'm her bodyguard."
He was unfazed. "Did she eat today?"
Toga frowned. "Yeah, why?"
"You're absolutely sure?"
"Cross my heart."
"Good." He handed Nejire the folder.
She opened it, then gasped. The first design was the outline of a dancer. Nejire instantly recognized it as the pose from Giran's photo of her and Kendo. In the sketch, the dancer's tutu was made of dandelion fluff, and some of the seeds appeared to float away.
Nejire figured she didn't need to look at any other options, but just to be fair to Dabi, she flipped to the other sheet. Her jaw dropped. This design was a pair of pointe shoes, their ribbons coiling around in graceful loops. A tear rolled down her cheek, leaving a tiny splash on the paper. Toga put her arm around Nejire's shoulders.
"This one." Nejire smiled up at Dabi. "It's perfect."
He nodded. "I'll get the stencil made up. Shouldn't be long." Then he left.
Toga hugged Nejire tight. "You weren't exaggerating; he's good."
Soon, everything was ready, and they followed Dabi to a station. Nejire took off her wrap and laid down on the platform, folding her arms under her head. Dabi prepped the skin on her upper back and placed the stencil while Toga watched.
Nejire waited for him to turn on the tattoo machine. Then he sighed in frustration, and she turned to look at him. "What is it?"
He was shaking his head. "The ink is gonna ruin your top."
Toga began to chant: "Take it off. Take it off."
Dabi pretended to ignore her, but a smile pulled at his mouth. "That would be the easiest. We can use the private room, if you want."
Toga giggled fiendishly. "I'll take my shirt off too, Nej, if it makes you feel better." She swatted Dabi on the arm. "And so will he."
Laughing, Nejire shook her head. "No, I'll be fine. Let's go."
Dabi got up from his stool. "You two head back, I'll join you shortly."
The ladies headed to the room in the back, where Nejire shut the door before climbing up on the platform. She pulled off her cami and tossed it at her friend before laying down carefully on her stomach. "Can you see anything?" she asked.
Sitting in a folding chair, Toga tipped her head to the side. "Just some side-boob." Nejire scowled at her, and Toga laughed. "It's not a bad thing. That's like the only fat on your entire body."
"Yeah right. I've gained almost ten pounds."
"Where; your tits and ass? You needed it!"
There was a knock on the door.
"All clear," Toga called. The door swung open, but Nejire couldn't turn to look without exposing herself.
Dabi had brought a tray with all his supplies. "I hope you're comfortable, Tiny. We're gonna be at this for a while."
"Yeah, I'm ready."
Dabi switched the machine on, and Nejire didn't flinch as he began to work.
The room was quiet for a while; the only sound was the buzzing of the needles. Back in this room, there were no speakers blasting music. "Toga?"
"Yeah babe?"
"Can you play something?"
"What are you in the mood for?"
"Surprise me."
Toga pulled up her music app and played a rap song that Neijire recognized from Toga's workout playlist. It wasn't the punk rock Nejire had become used to hearing during her tattoos, but it helped keep her mind off the discomfort. The time went by much quicker.
Eventually Dabi sat back, cracking his knuckles. "Well, that's one hour down. Do you need a break?"
Nejire stretched. "Nah, I think I'm good."
Dabi took a moment to crack his back, then his neck, before he got back to work.
Toga stood to get a closer look. "I thought it was going to have more colors."
Dabi paused to answer. "The finished piece will, but today I'm focusing on the outlines and possibly some shading. We'll fill in the colors later."
"Wow, Nej," Toga said. "You're actually kind of a badass. I take back everything I said about you being uptight."
Nejire laughed. "Gee, thanks."
"This is by far the wildest thing she's ever done."
"No, it's not," Nejire insisted.
Toga laughed and sat back down, but she wasn't quiet for long. "You know what? She is exploring her naughty side. I caught her checking out your Only Fans."
Nejire's face turned red. "Toga!"
Dabi chuckled. "Is that so?"
"No! I clicked the link on your instagram, but I didn't know what it was! I swear, I saw nothing!"
Toga scoffed. "No shame in it. Gotta take care of yourself somehow; it's not like you ever go out. I mean, at this point you're basically a virgin again."
Mortified, Nejire hid her face. "Oh my god."
Toga kept going. "I've thought about making an Only Fans."
Dabi hummed thoughtfully. "You would do well on there. How spicy were you thinking?"
"Ghost-pepper spicy," Toga laughed. "I don't know if Nej told you, but I work at Liberation."
"Is that the place between the daycare and the church?"
"That's right!"
Dabi chuckled. "I pass by there all the time, I've been meaning to stop in."
"You should! We've got something for everybody. Nej works there too, but she only waits tables. I've been trying to get her to perform for ages. She'd make so much money."
Nejire sighed in frustration. "I said I'd consider it after my scars are covered."
Dabi gave a low hum. "I don't think I could perform for an audience. That's what I like about Only Fans; it's less pressure than being in front of a big crowd."
Nejire pursed her lips. "I haven't been in front of an audience for years. It didn't used to bother me, but I don't know anymore."
Dabi switched off the tattoo machine to refill the ink cup. "If you're curious, I'll give you my code, then you can see what it's all about."
"Ooh, I'll take one," Toga said.
He pulled a card from his back pocket and scribbled something on the back, then handed it to Toga before getting back to work. The room was quiet for a minute except the buzzing of the tattoo machine.
Nejire could always count on Toga to break the silence. "Do you ever do collabs? On your Only Fans?"
"Every chance I get," Dabi said, his voice taking on a tone Neijire hadn't heard before. "It's a good way for newbies to get an audience."
Suddenly, Toga bounced in her seat, making the metal creak. "What if the two of you did a video together! That would be so hot."
Nejire shot her a threatening look.
After an awkward silence, Dabi spoke again. "So, you two aren't together?"
"No," they both giggled.
"Just friends," said Nejire, "and roommates."
"It's true," Toga agreed. "Nej is tragically heterosexual.""
He chuckled. "You seem like complete opposites. How the hell did you become friends?"
Toga answered first. "We've known each other since we were little girls. Back home, we went to the same dance studio, back before Nej went big time."
Nejire cringed. "Hey, you went pretty big too. How many Junior Olympics did you take gold?"
"A few." Toga rolled her eyes. "While my girl here got a full ride to Julliard. It's apples to oranges."
Dabi interrupted. "Julliard? Isn't that in New York?"
Toga nodded. "That's the one. Then she landed a sweet gig with the Met."
"Like it matters now," Nejire grumbled.
Toga crossed her arms. "It's still something to be proud of. Just cause your body is fucked all to hell doesn't mean you lost your talent."
Nejire scoffed. "You're inspiring, Toga, really."
Dabi switched off the tattoo machine again. "Excuse me, ladies, I just need a second." As he left and shut the door behind him, the other two stared at each other.
Nejire propped herself up on my elbows. "Did we scare him off?"
"No way." Toga grinned. "I bet he was thinking about making an OnlyFans video with you and he sprung a boner."
"Toga!"
She laughed darkly. "When he comes back, should I ask him?"
"Absolutely not." Nejire stretched her back, hearing it pop in a few places.
Toga got up to look closer at the tattoo. "It looks almost finished; at least the outline part. It's really pretty. He doesn't make the lines too thick like on some I've seen. Do you want me to take a pic and show you?"
"Not yet, I'll wait until he's done."
Dabi was gone for almost twenty minutes. He knocked on the door before opening it. "Hey, sorry about that. Thanks for waiting."
Nejire craned her neck to look back at him. "It's fine. Sorry if we were distracting you earlier."
"No, it's not your fault." He sounded tired. "If it's all the same to you, I'm gonna finish your outlines and quit for today."
Nejire glanced at Toga, who made an obscene gesture with her hand.
Frowning, Nejire turned back to Dabi. "Are you feeling okay? We can stop now if you need to."
"No, I can manage," he insisted.
The three of them didn't speak for the rest of the session, and before long Toga soon put on some more music to fill the looming silence.
When Dabi was done wiping down the design, he showed Toga how to care for the tattoo until it was healed, since the placement would make it impossible for Nejire to do it alone. Then he stepped out while Toga helped Nejire put her cami back on.
"That was weird, right?" Nejire asked her friend.
"No, it definitely was. I'm sticking with my boner theory."
Nejire blushed again. "You don't think he …took care of himself in the bathroom, do you?"
Toga grinned. "Anything's possible. Take it as a compliment."
Nejire hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep in weeks.
Gulliver had started a fun new habit. Around two o'clock every morning, he tore around the bedroom like he was possessed by a demon. It got so bad that Nejire texted Tomura for advice; he said to try playing with the cat before bed to wear him out. So now each night, Nejire spent half an hour waving a feather teaser in the air and rolling toys around for Gulliver, to try and use up all his energy so she could sleep.
She hadn't heard a peep from Dabi. Sometimes she would start to type out a message, but she always deleted it instead of hitting send.
One early morning, Nejire was woken at the usual time by Gulliver stampeding across her bed. She covered her face with a pillow and waited for the cat to wear himself out. By the time he finally did, Nejire couldn't fall back asleep.
Frustrated, she grabbed her phone and scrolled through instagram. After a few minutes she came across a post from Dabi, and it only took her a moment to find his shirtless photo from a few days back and click on the link to his OnlyFans. She went through the steps to sign up, then put in the code Dabi had given to Toga. Nejire found herself scrolling through photos and video clips that soon had her feeling flustered.
There was nothing too explicit without paying extra, but there was plenty implied. One of the teaser photos had a carefully-placed emoji hiding what you would see in the full video. Nejire wondered if she paid for one of those, would Dabi know that she had?
She opened one of the videos that was included with the basic subscription. It started out with Dabi at a counter next to a bowl of fruit. He took half of a pink grapefruit, and while looking directly into the camera, ran his tongue suggestively along the curved edge of the peel. His tongue was pierced; Nejire's heart skipped as wondered how she had never noticed before. Dabi pressed his tongue into the soft center of the grapefruit, closing his eyes.
Nejire rolled over onto her back, holding the phone over her face. The wet sounds of Dabi's mouth were going straight to her core. She slid her hand across her stomach. Dabi moaned softly, and a tingle ran down Nejire's spine. She could see flashes of the silver piercing as his tongue plunged into the fruit. She slipped her hand into her pajama bottoms.
In the dim light from her phone screen, she noticed something from the corner of her vision, and turned her head to see Gulliver with his front paws on the edge of the bed, staring at her. Nejire gasped in surprise. The phone slipped from her hand and bounced off her face. Gulliver jumped down and ran under the bed. Nejire laid there for a moment, stunned. She could still hear Dabi licking away at the fruit, but the mood was spoiled.
She sat up and closed all the tabs on her phone. "Gullie? You startled me."
Her heart was still racing. She got out of bed and grabbed her bag, digging out the bottle of xanax. She made a quick trip to the bathroom, then tried to lay down and get some sleep.
Nejire tossed and turned for a while longer, then I snatched up her phone again. She opened her instagram messages and typed out a quick sentence to Dabi.
Nejire: let's make a video
She clicked send, then dropped her phone to the floor and closed her eyes. Just as she was drifting off, she heard a soft chime, and her eyes shot open. She dove for her phone and unlocked it. Dabi had replied.
Dabi: you serious?
Nejire's heart was pounding as she typed. She was so flustered she kept making typos. Finally she deleted her lengthy response and kept her answer simple.
Nejire: absolutely
He responded almost immediately.
Dabi: got anything specific in mind?
She blushed as she realized that yes, she did.
Nejire: I saw that vid of you eating fruit
Dabi: checking out my OF after all
She tried to think of an excuse, but none came to mind; at least nothing believable.
Nejire: wanted to see what I'd be getting into
Dabi: how professional ;)
Nejire: of course, that's the only reason
Dabi: your a terrible liar
Nejire: okay fine
Nejire: I'm curious about your tongue piercing
Dabi: ever felt one before?
Nejire: no but I've heard things
Dabi: like what?
She let out a huff. He knew what she meant, she was certain of that, but he was teasing her.
Nejire: that they're bad for your teeth
Dabi: lmfao
Dabi: you wanna take it for a ride
Dabi: admit it
Nejire: fine
Nejire: I do
Dabi: good girl
Dabi: Id love to show you
Dabi: on/off camera
He was getting bolder, and it gave Nejire a rush.
Nejire: if it's underwhelming I won't act otherwise
Nejire: IYKWIM
Dabi: good you won't need to
Nejire: that's pretty big talk
Dabi: I just know my strengths
Nejire: every guy says that
Nejire: how do I know you're not just all hype?
Dabi: should we make it interesting
Nejire: how so?
This time it took him a while to respond, and Nejire was starting to get nervous.
Dabi: after I make you cum on my tongue
Dabi: then you suck me off
Nejire quickly sat up in her bed, almost dropping the phone. She got another message from him just as she hit send.
Dabi: too much?
Nejire: and what if you can't manage?
Dabi: then I go home blue
Nejire: doesn't sound like much of a punishment
Dabi: well its not fun
Nejire: humor me
Dabi: you could sit on my face and suffocate me
Nejire: still not seeing the downside?
Dabi: how would you punish me
Nejire: maybe I'd tease you until you beg
Dabi: what if I like that
She started to type out a few different ideas, but everything she came up with sounded like something he would probably enjoy after all.
Nejire: let me think on that
Nejire: so…
Nejire: all this on camera?
Dabi: I dunno your ready for that
Dabi: you have to be very comfortable with urself
Dabi: not shy
Nejire: I don't care who sees what
Dabi: really
Nejire: I've been naked in front of so many strangers
Suddenly she realized how that sounded, and quickly added an explanation.
Nejire: for dance!
Nejire: changing rooms and all that
Dabi: damn
Nejire: I'd worry more about my scars
Nejire: and my face
Dabi: we can work around all that
Dabi: most OF viewers don't care about faces
Nejire: good point
Dabi: anything you dont want to do on camera?
Dabi: ie I dont kiss in OF videos
Dabi: just my preference
She thought about it for a moment. Not wanting to kiss in the videos made sense; kissing made it more personal.
Nejire: no intercourse
Dabi: um
Dabi: ?
Dabi: you mean penetration
She slapped herself in the forehead.
Nejire: yes
Nejire: guess I should be more specific
Dabi: were gonna have to get very specific
Dabi: if thats too much for you we should quit now
Dabi: cant believe I just said that
Dabi: fuck
Nejire: no I appreciate the honesty
She took a deep breath before replying. Her face was burning red.
Nejire: I don't want P in V on camera
Dabi: there you go
Dabi: not so uptight after all
Nejire: hey I'm trying
Dabi: your doing fine
Dabi: for a good girl
Nejire: stop calling me that
Dabi: ?
Nejire: don't call me good girl
Dabi: you don't like praise
Nejire: I don't see it that way
Nejire: it's empty words
Dabi: do you prefer degradation
Nejire: I dunno
Nejire: like what
Dabi: what if I call you my little slut
She was embarrassed at the shiver that went through her body.
Nejire: I don't hate it
Dabi: no fuckin way
Dabi: theres plenty more where that came from
Nejire: what else you got
Dabi: so eager
Dabi: have to wait and see
Nejire: not fair
Dabi: lets hash out details tomorrow
Dabi: get some sleep tiny
