Aubrey had just been innocently sitting at one of the umbrella tables on campus and sipping her coffee when she noticed something that would inevitably change her life.
She'd recently begun noticing people's tattoos, maybe because they were becoming the cool 'thing' again, or maybe because she had begun to think about possibly getting a small one of her own (if she could ever decide on something she'd want to have permanently etched on her body, that was; she believed tattoos should have meaning). Whatever the reason, this one definitely caught her eye. It wasn't a colorful, elaborate design like some of the ones she'd seen on some students' bodies around campus; the tattoo she was currently looking at was a simple design, and that was what made her notice and immediately admire it.
"Hey," she said, catching the attention of the guy and girl at the table right next to hers, "I like your cow."
"Oh, that's my calf," the girl said with a smirk.
"It works two ways," the guy quickly piped up before Aubrey could say anything. "It's on her calf, and it's a baby cow."
"Thank you, Jesse," the girl replied snarkily with an eye roll. "I know you're proud of your creation, but I'm sure she got it without your explanation."
"Aw, someone still mad they lost the bet?" Jesse joked.
The girl rolled her eyes again as Aubrey chuckled.
"That's funny and clever," she said (it had taken the guy's explanation for it to fully click, and she was secretly thankful for it).
"It was funnier when I thought he'd be the one getting a tattoo instead," the girl said.
"But Beca here ended up losing the bet, so it's her who had to get Calfin," Jesse explained. "And she took it like a champ."
"For the last time, his name isn't Calfin," Beca said, patiently. "I let you and Stacie design a dad joke tattoo for me because I lost the stupid bet, but I'm not letting you name him, too."
"That name does fit though," Aubrey piped up. "Because then it would work on another level."
"Thank you, that's my point exactly," Jesse said. "See Becs, someone appreciates my dad humor."
"Your humor is broken," Beca said. "But fine, I guess his name can be Calfin." She sighed and looked at Aubrey. "Thanks for encouraging him."
Aubrey gave a little shrug, and Beca suddenly brightened again. "But you're also the first person to actually set me up for being able to say the joke, so thanks for that."
"She's been eagerly waiting to be able to say it to someone else who wasn't me or our other friend," Jesse said. "We've definitely beat the joke into the ground this last week since she got him, so it was nice to hear it from someone else for a change."
"I just had to comment on it, it's such a cute tattoo," Aubrey said.
"He's cute, but he's the memory of a lost birthday bet from my two weird best friends," Beca said, sighing again. "It's something only they could come up with, a calf on my calf. But, I'm warming up to him."
"You better warm up to him, I don't think you can get a refund this late," Jesse said, and Beca rolled her eyes again.
"Broken humor," she muttered again, shaking her head. Aubrey had gotten lost in her thoughts again somewhere between Jesse's latest (lame) joke and Beca's latest (rightful) dismay over it. She liked Beca's tattoo...but did she like Beca, too?
"Aubs, are you okay?"
Aubrey blinked, coming back to the present moment. Beca looked slightly concerned, but even still to Aubrey, she looked just as gorgeous as she did on that cool September day they had met when Aubrey had commented on her tattoo.
"I was just thinking about when I first met you," Aubrey whispered. "How I met you."
"Calfin," Beca said with a little grin. With her arms occupied around Aubrey's hips (and with Aubrey's wrapped around her shoulders), she couldn't easily reach behind her and pull up her dress slightly to reveal the cow on her calf, but Aubrey could see him clearly in her mind's eye anyway; she'd spent lots of time getting to know every line and spot of Beca's cow in the last few years of dating her.
"I don't know where we'd be now if you hadn't commented on him that day, and then asked me out for coffee," Beca continued in a whisper, her voice just barely audible over the slow song picked especially for this special moment, reserved just for and between them.
Aubrey gave a little shrug. "I probably wouldn't be having a first dance with the girl with the silly cow tattoo."
"He's not silly," Beca fake pouted. "You like him."
"I love him, and I love you, too," Aubrey said, leaning in to kiss Beca just as the song ended.
A/N: I have the silly cow tattoo (but unlike Beca I didn't get him because I lost a bet, I wanted a cow tattoo because I love cows and dad jokes). Introspection about said cow tattoo in the shower led to this idea. Thanks for reading! c: