ELLIOTT

The place was nearly empty when he walked in. Even at 1 am, or maybe especially then, there were still a few people waiting. Elliott supposed the after-dark hours were more lucrative than the daytime slot, at the tattoo parlor.

"Is Luis in the back?" he asked the girl at the counter, who was watering the bamboo stalks.

"What?" she said, pulling out her earbuds.

Elliott repeated himself, and she nodded at the metal curtain. "Where else would he be?" she asked, shrugging, and put her earbuds back in.

Elliott waited until she turned her back, and then walked through, counting on his instinct that she wasn't going to stop him anyway. He was right. At the curtain, he nearly bumped into a large woman with her neck covered in saran wrap. The fresh tattoo under it spelled her favorite F-word in angry, swollen letters. She glared at him until he stepped aside. "Ladies first," he mumbled, but refrained from commenting on her new ink. That was definitely her business, not his.

"Elliott," Luis said in surprise, looking up from his tools. "I didn't see you in the front. What can I do for you?"

Elliott took off his jacket and started unbuttoning his shirt. "I was thinking this one could use a refresh," he said, pointing at a tattoo on his chest.

"Sure, let's have a look at it," Luis said. He picked up a pair of new surgical gloves and pointed at the chair.

Elliott sat down on the leather chair and let out a deep sigh, looking away a little as Luis sat down in front of him and pulled up a bright operatory light. He felt Luis' fingertips on his skin, the touch slightly foreign through the latex, and anticipated what the man was about to say next.

"So what do you want me to do about it? It looks fine."

"Are you sure?" Elliott argued. "I figured the colors are looking a bit-" he broke off and looked at Luis' frowning face as the man switched off the light.

"I'm sorry," Elliott said. "I didn't know where else to go."

When Luis made no move to stop him or throw him out, he continued. "It's Kurt. You know, my friend, we came in together last time?"

Now, Luis put up his hands. "Okay, listen up, kid. I like you, and I appreciate your custom. But I think you're a little confused here. This-" he gestured around him, "is a tattoo parlor. It's not a sleep-over. I'm here to ink, not to braid your hair and paint your nails while you talk to me about boys."

"I know that," Elliott replied. "And I can paint my own nails, thanks." He curled his fingers into his palms, feeling the slightly rough surface of the silver glitter coat he put on for Kurt's showcase. "It's not like that. Not really."

"Good. Because I get enough of that at home." Luis showed Elliott a tattoo of a baby girl's face on the inside of his forearm. "Do you remember her?"

Elliott nodded. Luis had told him a little about his daughter during his sessions.

"She's fourteen now, and I swear to god, she bottles up all that shit until I get her on the weekends and then it just comes pouring out." He shook his head a little. "Then again, I should probably be grateful she comes to me with it. What's the advice of my ex-wife gonna be like, right? She has a bad taste in men." He rolled his eyes and shrugged, pointing at himself with a 'what can you do?' gesture.

Elliott chuckled a little. He knew most people wouldn't put Luis down as a caring father based on his looks, but from what Luis had told him, he really went all out for her.

"So. Let's hear it," Luis said, and he pulled a tray of used equipment towards him, and started to sort it into 'trash' and 'disinfect' piles.

"Well, he's my best friend, and I like him," Elliott started carefully, and quickly continued as Luis raised his eyebrows at him warningly, "but that's not the problem. The problem is that his previous relationship was so… messed up, that I'm not sure, if I make a move, he won't just…go with it even if it's not really what he wants."

Luis stopped his sorting. "Messed up, how?" he asked.

Elliott bit his lip. He knew nothing he could say would surprise Luis, but he felt bad talking about Kurt's love life so candidly without his permission.

"It's not my story to tell, but suffice to say it was pretty toxic. I didn't really find out how bad it was until afterwards. And on top of everything he already went through when he was younger…" He trailed off. "I'm afraid it warped Kurt's perception of what's romantic and what's abusive."

Luis nodded thoughtfully.

"Well, if he's your best friend, don't you think he knows you wouldn't take advantage of him?" he suggested.

"Not after the shit his other so-called 'best friends' pulled," Elliott said somberly. "Their friendship always came with a price tag. I don't want him to feel like he owed me something just because I am nice to him."

"So you're not afraid of rejection- but of not being rejected?" Luis said, frowning.

"It sounds strange when you put it like that. But yeah. And to make it more difficult, our mutual friends keep telling me I should get a move on before he's snatched up by someone else-"

"Someone who might not have your qualms about taking advantage-" Luis supplied.

"Yeah. I just don't know how. I tried waiting for him to make the first move, and there were a few times when I thought he was giving me signals, but-" Elliott shrugged frustratedly. "I just suck at this. I've only been in a few relationships before, and they basically all started with a hook-up. And I know I can't just spring a kiss on him. There's…history. But I can't sit around and wait for something to happen anymore either."

Luis shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment.

"Look, like I said- I like you, but to tell you the truth: I don't understand what your problem is. It doesn't have to be so 'all or nothing'. Just talk to him. Tell him exactly what you just told me, and let him be the judge of the situation. You're basically saying you don't trust him enough to think for himself," Luis said.

"Well, no-" Elliott objected, but then frowned. Wasn't that exactly what he was saying?

"You know, if I have learned one thing in my time here, doing what I do for people who come in with their heart on their sleeve-" Luis continued, nodding at the tattoo that covered Elliott's scar, "it's this: people who've had their boundaries crossed, or ignored, or taken away, don't want you to redefine those boundaries. They want the agency to do that themselves. Ask Kurt what he wants. Give him back control over his own life. Trust him to tell you whether it's ok to kiss him or not."

Elliott stared at him for a moment. "You're right. I should have figured that out myself," he mumbled.

Luis shrugged. "You live, you learn." He checked his watch and glanced at the front room. "Want me to pick up the shading on your sleeve a little? Give you a little buzz high?"

Elliott smiled and let out a sigh. Somehow, Luis knew exactly what he needed.