Tattoo Parlor: A Mark on the Heart

Rating: General Audiences

Pairing: Eleven/Rose

Other tags: Tattoo Parlor AU, Human AU, Modern AU, Established Relationship, Proposals

Warnings: None

Summary: John rarely come into Rose's tattoo parlor. So, when he showed up one morning out of the blue, she knew something was up.

Promises to not take as long for this one. Proceeds to take almost twice as long. Oops.

Sorry this took so long to get out! Like I said before, my classes have started and I'm super busy with a capstone project as well as being an officer in a student organization.

Now I've never stepped foot in a tattoo parlor before, so forgive me if this is totally wrong. Anyway, enjoy!

Word Count: 948

Rose looked up when the artificial bell rang as the shop door opened. To her great surprise, her boyfriend John was standing right inside the doorway. As much as he loved her, he tended to avoid her tattoo parlor. He was deathly afraid of needles, which she always found hilariously ironic for a cardiovascular surgeon. John always argued that it was different when 1) you weren't the one getting poked and B) you were the one doing the poking. Rose set her pencil next to her sketchpad and stood up to hug him.

"John! What are you doing here? Come on, sit down. We don't have any appointments coming in for another few hours."

"I know, I called Amy and asked." John waved to his cousin, who was also Rose's co-owner, over his girlfriend's shoulder. Rose looked between the two of them, her head tilted in confusion. Amy tried to look innocent, but Rose could read her like a book. She was hiding something.

"Ok, what are you two planning, and do I need to call Rory?" John and Amy laughed at the mention of Amy's husband. He and Rose often teamed up against the cousins when they had their more ridiculous ideas. Amy grabbed her purse from the back of her chair.

"Don't worry, Rose. You'll like what John has planned for the two of you, I promise. I'm heading out to lunch now. Rory is taking me to that new cafe down the street. See you two in about an hour!" The three of them waved to each other as the redhead left. Rose turned back to John, her arms crossed and her eyebrows raised.

"Ok, spill. What is this big surprise? I love you, but is there any chance that this can wait until after we close for the day? I need to be available in case we get a walk-in." To her confusion, John pulled a folded-up piece of paper out of the pocket of his tweed jacket. He put the paper on her work table and kept his hand on it. Rose picked it up in confusion. "What's this?"

"A friend of mine at work mentioned that he is thinking of getting a tattoo. I said you do them, and he asked me to show you this and see if you would be willing to do it. I know you normally would meet with the person directly, but I said it would just be easier for me to show you this just in case you couldn't do it. He works when you're open, so he'd have to take some time off to get this done."

Rose looked at the paper with more interest. It wasn't the first time John had sent a customer her way, but it was the first time the he was bringing the artwork to her rather than the client. As she went to unfold the paper, she thought she heard John shifting but ignored him.

The design on the paper was simple enough. She could easily do it, though the size of the work would mean it would probably take several sessions. She looked back up at John.

"If he wants, I'd be willing to arrange a time where he doesn't have to take time off work. Yeah, I can do this. Let your friend know it'll take a couple sessions though. At least two. They'll probably be several hours each. I hope this isn't the first tattoo your friend has." She always took into account how many tattoos a person had when considering a job. She didn't want a first-timer to get something too big or complicated and regret it later on. John gave her a look that clearly said what do you take me for?

"Of course it's not. When he showed this to me, I asked him because I knew you would. But since you can do it, I'll let him know the next time I see him." He took the paper back from her, and to Rose's surprise took another one out of his jacket. This too, he slid across to her. He had an odd expression on his face, one that was almost sheepish or nervous.

"This one, well, this one is for me." Rose looked at him in surprise. "Well, sort of. I asked Amy to help me make this. But I was hoping that you would be the person who did this for me." Rose continued to stare at him in surprise. John hated needles, always had. Why would he be asking her to give him a tattoo? Curious, she picked up the new design and unfolded the paper. When she saw what was inside, she couldn't help but gasp.

The design was beautiful. Dozens of miniature pink and yellow roses were arranged like a frame. The roses were beautiful, but it wasn't what made her gasp. In John's elegant calligraphy were the words: Rose Marion Tyler, will you marry me? Looking up, she saw John on the ground in front of her. In his hands was a beautiful ring.

"Just so we're clear, I don't actually want that as a tattoo. But Amy did help me with the design, though I drew it myself." Rose couldn't help but laugh at his statement before tackling John in a hug with a laugh. He laughed right along with her. "Is it safe to take that as a yes?" Rose laughed again before pulling back to look at John properly.

"Yes, you daft man. It's a yes. I love you." She leaned down, and John met her half way. Though they could barely kiss properly with how much the two of them were smiling.