Expect the Unexpected

Chapter Ten

Inked

There was nothing more silent than a waiting room at an emergency center, even one for animals. When Duncan found Heather outside the elevator, the two made a mad dash to the nearest available clinic they could find. Given the fact that there was only one 24 hour emergency vet hospital in the area, Duncan would not have guessed that he and Heather would be the only ones there.

When they arrived, the vets looked over Bruiser and did indeed pronounce him to be deceased. After that, Duncan never heard such a cry of anguish come from Heather. He held onto her tightly, letting her get all of the emotions out. Yes, he too lost one or two pets before, but he didn't have the type of bond that Heather and Bruiser had. Heather has had Bruiser since she was child. Many times, she mentioned to him that during her darker days, the cat would be the only person there for her. So, when she began breaking down the two were given privacy as he just held her while she cried.

Currently though, they sat in the hauntingly quiet waiting room. Every so often, Heather would let out a sniffle. Her head was on Duncan's shoulder, seeming to be too exhausted and in grief to hold it up herself. "You did the right thing by agreeing for them to cremate it," he mumbled to her, wrapping their fingers together to give her some sort of comfort.

"Yeah." She agreed, blinking away a few stray tears that threatened to fall off her lower lash, "I think he'll want to go back in my bedroom at home. He really liked it there." She squeezed his hand gently, knowing that the vet already agreed to ship the cat off to the appropriate cremation place.

"Beats better than having it stuffed," Duncan said quietly to himself.

Surprisingly, Heather let out a tiny laugh at his joke. "He would think that is tacky, huh?"

Duncan looked down and nodded, "He would read you for filth if you did that."

Once again, Heather chuckled at the idea. "Want to go get an Uber?" she asked him softly, "I'm exhausted and if I have to keep crying, I'd rather do it at home." The tattoo artist nodded his head, slowly standing up with her to go get a car to pick them up.

It was a long night for both Duncan and Heather. As Duncan laid on his bed, reeling from the events of the day. He was incredibly sad about Bruiser, but it provided a great distraction for himself to not think about the realization he had earlier in the evening. He stared at the ceiling above him, replaying all the moments that he and Heather shared together in his head. He couldn't figure out when he made the silly action of falling for her.

From the moment she stepped out of that moving truck, Duncan already held her in high regard and believed her to be one of the hottest chicks around. Maybe, it was when she slowly opened up to him about their shared life experience regarding their homes. He never really met anyone who could relate to him on that level, or at least no one he knew about. Perhaps, it was when he actively drove quite a long journey to even go get Bruiser back for her in the first place. Sure, he originally got it because she kept moping around about the cat, but he never would have taken such a drastic measure for anyone else. It could have been the night at the club, when he, for the first time, didn't focus on picking up chicks and just hung out with her, and he had fun. He definitely could pinpoint some sort of stirring in his chest when he and Heather went to that silly photoshoot. Then when Alejandro came to town, he was already too far gone that even Izzy could see it.

Duncan was pulled away from his thoughts by the squeak of Heather's door opening. He sat up on his elbows as he could make out the sound of her shuffling to the kitchen. He could have just ignored it and went to bed, but he didn't want her to be alone. With a sigh, Duncan threw his covers off of him and walked out of his room. He carefully opened his door before making his way down the hallway to go to the kitchen. He heard the unmistakable clang of the cereal bowl being put down, and right when he walked into view he saw her making herself a bowl of Frosted Flakes. "Don't even make a joke." she stated, not even looking up at him. It was a small joke they had between them, that Heather bought the worst cereals. While he was a fruity cereal type of guy, Heather didn't care for all the sugar. "I like the way they taste, and I don't like the sugary shit that you do."

Duncan stepped into the kitchen, leaning against the counter, "Who? Me? Why, I would never make fun of you and your terrible cereals."

In the dark kitchen, only lit by the uncovered windows that let in the light from the street lamps, he could see a smile tug on her lips. "Liar. What are you doing up this late?"

"I couldn't sleep," he answered, also reaching up in the cabinet for a bowl, "and I'm guessing it's the same for you."

Heather grabbed the milk from the fridge with a nod. She began pouring it into her bowl before handing it to Duncan for him to follow. "Yeah. I think I'm just used to sleeping with Bruiser's constant purring."

The two made their way to the couch, sitting crossed legged as they ate together. They were silent for a moment, before Heather finally looked at him. "Thank you by the way," she stated, "for even bringing him here."

"Heather," Duncan softened his shoulders at her words, "you don't have to–."

"I know I said it a lot when you first brought him here." she continued, "but, I want to say it again. It means more now. Since I know I got to be able to spend the last few months he had left with him. He was super old, and I knew it was coming, but it still didn't feel like it was this close." Her voice seemed to get choked up at her last few words.

Duncan set his empty bowl down on the coffee table. He thought Heather to be one of the strongest people he knew, but even the toughest of people needed someone during their time of grief. "Come here," he opened his arms out for her.

Heather also put her bowl down as she went towards him. Her slim arms wrapping around his body at a speed Duncan wasn't quite ready for, thus knocking the two back to lay down on the couch. He rested his head on the arm of the sofa, letting Heather use his chest as her own pillow. She did not let out a heavy sob or anything, instead she was oddly quiet. The only sign of her state was just the small droplets, of what Duncan could only assume would be her tears, that he felt against the bare skin of his chest. "He was a great pet." Duncan smoothed her hair back, gently rubbing her back. "He was really happy, Heather."

The smallest of sniffles was heard as she nodded her head. "I know he was. He really liked you too."

Duncan smiled at that. He knew Bruiser had a chip on his shoulder to a majority of people, hell he hissed at every guest and delivery man that dared knock, but Duncan and him got along quite strangely. "I liked, nah- I loved him too."

He swore he could feel Heather's lips stretch upward at that into what Duncan could only assume would be a smile. "I sent out those pictures we took of him already for the Christmas cards. But I have a few backups of him and us, separately and together, saved. That is... if you want it."

"I'd like that," Duncan agreed. "Maybe we can hang one up. We don't have that many pictures up. I'm sure it'll lighten the place up."

"I think so too. She even had this one of us together that we can hang on the wall," she said before letting out a yawn.

Duncan smirked as he casted his eyes downward to look at her. "Aw, you want a picture of me and you up? That's sweet, Queenie."

"Oh, shut up." Heather's voice felt heavier, but her eyes felt even worse. She finally allowed them to shut. Duncan was surprisingly quite comfortable. She would never admit this out loud, but the two did cuddle together on the couch pretty often. It was mainly due to the time that Barry was having issues with the air conditioning and heater, making the winter air create an overwhelming chill in the apartment. So, huddling for warmth was their only answer till he resolved it. Afterwards though, it just felt nice to do. "It's just that photo of me leaning on your shoulder to rest my eyes. I think it'll look nice for us to make people think we're friends."

"Think we're friends?"

Heather could hear the sarcasm just dripping from Duncan's voice. "You know what I mean. Don't make me say it. I've had a hard day and I don't want to finish it off getting mushy with you."

Duncan gave a hearty chuckle at her words. "I'll hang them both up first thing tomorrow," he replied with a yawn.

"Thank you." Heather let out a hum of approval as she felt the sweet lull of sleep finally approach her.

Soon enough, Heather's breathing went shallow as she finally fell asleep. Normally, Duncan, who was trapped underneath her, would slowly get out of her grip and bring her to her own bed. However, he didn't think to do that tonight. Instead, he just let the unique smell of Heather's natural scent of lavender and cinnamon help him fall asleep. He didn't care if there would be an annoying ache in his neck in the morning due to his awkward position of resting against the arm of the couch. He just wanted to make sure she was okay for the night.

It's what Bruiser would have wanted him to do.

Heather slowly recovered in the following days. Sure, she might have hesitated to put all of Bruiser's belongings into a small box. But with Duncan's help and encouragement, the pair was able to place it all away.

She continued to perform throughout the weekend, using dance to do what it did best– help her forget. Those few minutes when she was on that stage, Heather was able to push every issue and problem aside, and just be the character she was playing. When she was younger, Heather didn't have too good of a home life. Her parents always put a lot of pressure on her, and they just– well, she and her parents just never clicked. At times, she didn't even believe that they liked her, but she wouldn't let it hurt her feelings since she didn't really like them. Therefore, dance was the only time she could just not be the Great Heather Masterson.

She was also able to use this time to reflect. Of course, her main thoughts that week centered around the passing of her pet. When she was on the stage, she pushed past those thoughts. However, as she twirled and leaped on that stage, an idea was forming in the back of her head. By the time that she was in her final spin, she knew what she wanted to do to honor her cat.

It was finally the end of her first opening weekend. She had basically conquered the entire hectic week by her stellar performances, and she was feeling a sense of bravery like she had never felt before. At the end of the night, Heather walked out of the back door to see the familiar headlights of Duncan's truck. She adjusted her dance bag on her shoulder before stepping forward, heading towards him. He had agreed to pick her up that night as they were both getting off at the same time anyhow. She opened the passenger door and hopped in, "I have the craziest idea," she said quickly.

"Well, hello to you too." Duncan turned towards her. "Burger?" He asked, holding out a wrapped up, greasy fast food burger.

Heather immediately snatched the burger up. She was off till Thursday's show, and she wanted to finally eat something that would be deemed unhealthy. "God, yes." She unwrapped said burger and took as big of a bite as she could. She let out a moan. "Jesus, I love you."

Duncan glanced at her at her words. He held back a red tint to his cheeks. "What was uh- what were you saying when you got into the car?"

Heather's eyes went wide as she remembered what she wanted to do. "So, I have an idea. You know how you have all those memorial tattoos on you for your pets. Well, I was wondering.. what if I got one?"

Duncan visibly faltered at her statement. "You? You, Heather Masterson, want a tattoo?" He turned in his chair to look at her in confusion, making sure he heard her right.

"I was thinking about maybe getting his paw print on my wrist." She held up her bare wrist on her left arm and pointed to it. "That way, I can easily hide it with makeup and it won't hold me back from auditions."

Duncan felt a rush of excitement at the idea. It wasn't particularly groundbreaking in terms of tattoos. But, he liked whenever he could do something meaningful, and this tattoo would mean a lot to Heather. "Are you sure? Did you really think this through?"

Heather nodded her head, "I have, and I want my favorite tattoo artist to do it."

"Aren't I the only tattoo artist you know?" He teased Heather, putting his truck in drive.

"Maybe," she finished her burger, rolling the wrapper up to throw it in the empty fast food bag, "but you're still my favorite." She buckled up before looking back at Duncan. "So, will you do it?"

"Of course." Duncan answered quickly, "when do you want to do it? I can squeeze you in whenever."

Heather tried to think of a day in her schedule that she could clear out. However, with the sudden wave of enthusiasm- she didn't really want to wait. "What about tonight?"

"Tonight?" Duncan repeated, "like, right now?"

"Why not?" Heather shrugged. For once in her life, Heather didn't want to sit back and plan. She didn't want to have to worry about what her mother would say when she saw the ink. All Heather wanted to do was do something in honor of Bruiser. "You have keys don't you?"

Duncan glanced at her before a smirk grew across his face. "You are one hell of a woman." He turned on his blinker and turned down the street that would lead them right to his tattoo parlor.

Once inside, Duncan led them both into the building. Heather, who wasn't too knowledgeable about the world of tattoos, looked around. She tried to mask the fascination of the place with indifference, especially once she got to Duncan's actual work station. When she saw him grab his pencil and notebook, she was quite confused. "You're drawing it out?" She asked, peeking over his shoulder to see.

"It's what I'm supposed to do," he stated. He knew he would have to put this in terms that Heather would understand, as she never had a tattoo before, and he doubted that she ever did much research. "Think of this as a rough draft. I'll place it down on your arm to make sure the placement and size is to your liking, then I'll mark it on you."

She nodded in understanding, "got it." She sat on the chair that was to the side, looking around at the pictures on the wall of people's tattoos. "Did you do these?"

Duncan paused from his work to look at Heather. He never did care about what people thought of his work. He knew he was good and he only really cared about his clients opinions. Yet, with Heather sitting there looking at examples of things he's done, he felt an odd sense of nervousness creep up. "Uh, yeah. I actually have an Instagram too for all the work I've done and–."

"What the fuck!" Heather snapped her head towards him. "You had a second Instagram account and didn't tell me! What kind of friend are you?"

Duncan chuckled at her reaction, "I just forgot! I only go on it to post my work and reach out to new potential clients who DM me." He reached down into his pocket to grab his phone. He opened up the Instagram app and handed it over. Once again, the bundle of nerves twisted in his stomach. Heather was one of the most critical people he ever encountered. Normally, her critics of others would make Duncan laugh, but not if it was going to be one of her harsh lashings towards him.

Ever since his recent discovery of his feelings towards his roommate, Duncan went through many stages. At first, he wanted to deny it. Duncan kept telling himself that he was confusing friendship with romance one again like with Gwen. However, that didn't last long; as the next morning after discovering his feelings, he woke up with her still sleeping on his chest, and she looked so angelic. Then, he felt angry about it all– mainly towards himself. How could he ever allow himself to fall for Heather? She was... Heather! Heather was terrifying. Hell, she sent her last boyfriend flying off the side of a volcano on an ice cube, and she secretly liked him at the time! Duncan couldn't imagine what she would do to him if she ever found out how he felt.

Though currently, Duncan's latest stage was a mix of sadness. He mainly got sad whenever her words about his womanizing eyes went back to him. He didn't have the best reputation when it came to dating. Hell, he was labeled a giant cheater for the world to see when he was only seventeen. What if Heather still saw him that way? Well, it was clear that she had to, even if it was just a little bit. He would need to change her mind on who he was if he ever did want a real chance.

Duncan's internal conflict was interrupted by Heather clearing her throat. "I like these!" She piped up, sounding enthusiastic, "this thigh piece looks really beautiful. I'm not really into tattoos, but these are cool."

The tattoo artist held back a smile at her praise. It was not often she gave it out so freely, so he knew that she meant it. "What about this tattoo then?" He showed her the sketch he made, "I think this small little remake of his paw print will be nice."

Heather leaned over, her hand resting on his biceps, as she looked it over. "I think it looks good. Now, do whatever you have to do to get it on me."

"Calm your horses." He put a hand on top of hers on his bicep before standing up, "Just sit there while I sterilize everything. Then I'm going to get things set to make sure the placement is right."

Heather groaned in annoyance before she popped a squat in the chair. She kept looking around at some of Duncan's work as she waited for him to finish cleaning and getting whatever else he needed to do over with. She had to admit, even though she didn't really want to, he was talented. She knew he was quite good at doodling and carving, mainly due to the crazy knife art he would do during their time on the show. However, she didn't expect him to have such an artistic side.

"Alright, sit in the chair and hold your wrist out." Duncan stated, holding something in his hands.

As she did so, Heather watched in curiosity as he put a piece of paper, with the tattoo on it, on her skin. "That has ink on it?"

"Yeah, it's just to show the placement." Duncan informed her, making sure it was situated correctly. "What do you think? You like it right there?"

Heather leaned forward in the chair to look at it. "Yeah, I really like how small it is too."

"Yeah, well it is a thin line tattoo. So, you're lucky I'm even doing this for free." Duncan sat down in his small moveable chair, setting his tattoo gun up.

Heather raised an eyebrow up at him, "You are? I am willing to pay you, idiot."

"Nah." Duncan shook his head. "Trust me, I'll take you making that lasagna again for dinner as payment. Plus, getting to do this to you is worth it. I feel like I'm making history by giving Heather Masterson her first tattoo."

"Deal. I'll make it just for you." Heather promised. She didn't cook often, neither of them did, but she tried her Mother's lasagna recipe once and Duncan really enjoyed it. As it got closer for the tattoo needle to touch her skin, Heather did feel nervous. "Is this going to hurt?"

Duncan looked up at her. He knew Heather had a high pain tolerance, especially after Total Drama, and he genuinely believed she could handle it. "Don't worry," he sent her a smile, "I'm right here. I'll be as gentle as I can be. I wouldn't hurt you."

Heather met his eyes for a moment before nodding. There was a weird sensation in her stomach, but she believed it to just be nerves. Many months ago, Heather wouldn't have trusted Duncan to even bring her a roll of toilet paper. Now though, she truthfully did trust him to mark her skin for life and to not hurt her. "Okay. Let's do this."

Duncan gave her a hopeful smile before finally starting the tattoo. For Heather the pain wasn't completely unbearable. It was more uncomfortable if anything. She made a strained face and swallowed a lump in her throat. "So– uh," she began to speak, thinking it would help dull the ache, "are you going to get one too?"

"Get what?" Duncan asked, still concentrating on his line work.

"A Bruiser memorial tattoo, duh. You have them for the rest of your pets." She turned her head to look at him, "Will having a cat tattoo not go with your theme of weird pets."

Duncan was quite surprised by the question. "Trust me, Bruiser was one badass dude, cat or not. But, I– um… didn't know you thought of Bruiser as my pet too."

"I usually don't think of anyone besides myself as part owner to him. My parents sure didn't help. But, you... he really loved you. Plus, you helped out a lot with him. I considered you, well, like a... father to him in the end."

Duncan, who had to pick his tattoo gun up to stop from ruining his line, let out a laugh. "I never knew you saw me as your cat baby daddy."

Heather scoffed as she looked away from him, mainly to hide the blush that spread across her cheeks. "See, I try to be nice and you ruin it."

"Oh, Queenie." Duncan cooed, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Don't be like that. I actually am touched. You know I loved Bruiser and thought of him as my own. I just didn't want to step on your toes."

Heather hesitantly turned back around to face him, erasing any traces of a blush. "You weren't stepping on my toes at all. I liked that he was able to finally bond with someone that wasn't me. Even though it did annoy me when he slept in your room instead of mine."

Duncan, once again, cracked a smile, though this time it was mainly due to the one Heather was slowly letting out. "Trust me, he was only in there because you had gone out drinking for the night with those other dancing friends of yours, and that one time when Alejandro was in town." He turned back to the tattoo and quickly got to work to finish it off. "I'll see if one of my co workers can fit me in tomorrow. I'll get the same tattoo you got for him."

Heather finally let her smile out as she looked at him. Once again, a strange pull was present. Duncan was oddly sweet. It was a fact that she was already well aware of. The whole world saw the kind acts he would do behind closed doors whenever they were on the show together. Yet, she never really did have it directed towards her. Well, that's a lie. He often did really sweet things for her, and Heather didn't even think that Duncan knew he was doing it. Most recently, he had gotten her flower for her opening show. Many people would think that was quite common practice, but Heather knew that cherry blossoms were not in season. The price for even getting them in this season aside, though it would be quite large, the fact that he even got her a bouquet with all of her favorites meant alot. Generally, everyone just got her roses because it was easier, but not Duncan- he made sure to give her the exact flowers she would want. Then, he was so cautious and helpful when it came to Bruiser passing. He hung up photos for them when he said he would, talked to her about how he felt when his pets passed, and now he was giving her a free tattoo way too late in the night in honor of Bruiser. Now, he was willing to get the same tattoo for himself? It made her feel... strange.

She didn't like when people did nice things for her. When it came to qualities that she admired in people, Heather had a specific type. She liked sketchy, manipulative, people who would do unpredictable things; all traits that she knew Duncan possessed. Yet, this kindness was something she could almost admire?

However, she chose to push these weird thoughts aside. "I would like that," she agreed with a small nod of her head.

The following day, as Heather laid down on the couch, she was surprised that she did not regret her tattoo. She quite liked how dainty it was. Bruiser did leave a giant mark on her life, and now she would have a constant reminder of that.

She was currently home alone while Duncan was at work. "I really miss you B man," she said out loud, staring at the small tattoo, "you were more than a pet, you were my friend. Even when the rest of the world hated me, you still loved me. Sure, you had no idea about all of the things I've done, but it still meant alot to me. You hated everyone but me." She then let out a scoff, "Well, me and Duncan."

The ballerina's eyes teared up once again as the swarm of memories came to her. All of those last few nights together, Bruiser sitting happily between the two roommates, always purring at their affectionate touches to the cat. He was happy in the end, that was all that mattered. "I don't know why you liked him so much," she continued, "but, I'm glad that you did. He is an alright guy, and if it wasn't for him bringing you here, I probably would have left this apartment months ago." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as a tear threatened to escape.

Her conversation, albeit with a cat who was no longer physically there, halted when the jingle of the front door alerted her to Duncan coming in. Thankfully, she was able to get herself in check right when the punk man walked in. "Look what I got." he sang out, holding his wrist up.

"Let me see!" She demanded him, patting the couch cushion next to her. Duncan immediately crashed down next to her, taking the wrap off of his wrist to show her. "Holy shit, it looks identical."

"That's a good thing isn't it?" Duncan turned to meet her eyes.

Heather looked into those oddly beautiful blue eyes and nodded. "Yeah, I like that it matches."

Duncan had a teasing glint in his eye as he lightly tapped her sides with his elbow, "I guess this means we must be really best friends if we have matching tattoos."

"Oh, shut up!" Heather laughed at him, shoving him away by his shoulder.

Even though she would miss Bruiser, she still was able to keep one dramatic pest around her.

A/N: Two chapters left! I hope you guys enjoyed this one. Please favorite, follow, and/or review!

See you Monday!