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"So, what sort of thing were you thinking?" Brett's voice pulled Eddy back to reality. It was all suddenly very real. He glanced nervously up at the tattoo parlour towering over him.
"Umm....I don't know. A banana or something? A viola-?" he joked.
"Bro, are you kidding?! There's no way I'm having a viola stuck on me for the rest of my life! That's like, beyond sacrilege!" the pair broke out in laughter.
"Okay, what then?" Eddy chuckled. Brett thought for a moment.
"I don't know, something meaningful though. Something we'll always share..... What about like, an L each? One with a zero and the other with a four?" Eddy considered this for a while, trying not to show how touched he was by Brett's words.
"That sounds good to me," he replied. "Where, though? And before you say anything, I am NOT having a tattoo ANYWHERE near my face!"
"Dude, chill, I know," Brett laughed "What about on our wrists? Left wrist?"
"Sounds good," Eddy half mumbled. Brett sensed a shift in his mood.
"You okay, Eddy-mine? You seem off...?"
"I'm just...nervous, I guess. I wasn't expecting myself to be this ballsy."
"You know you can call this off, right? No pressure," Brett nudged his with his elbow playfully.
"Yeah, but I don't want to. I said I would and I will."
"Okay, if you're sure," they shared a smile. "We going in then?" he gestured to the entrance at his side.
"Yep!" Eddy opened the door and they both stepped through.
The pair found themselves in a cramped, dark, lobby-type room with neon lights covering the walls. Booths lined the left side of the room, each one surrounded by a rail of black curtain. Whirring sounds came from inside the booths which Brett assumed to be from tools being used on other customers.
Eddy turned to face his partner and spoke in a low voice.
"What are those sounds...?"
"Bro, they're probably other people getting tattoos and stuff, stop freaking out." Eddy huffed and turned away to face the burly, scary-looking employee walking towards them. The employee (Damon, as Eddy gathered from his name tag) was an alarmingly tall guy with straw coloured hair and dark eyes; piercings and tattoos covered every centimetre of skin on display - also alarming!
"How can I help you guys?" Eddy gulped deeply and signalled to Brett for him to speak for both of them.
"Hi, we'd like to both get a tattoo, please?"
"Sure thing, follow me over to the counter to sort payment, then we'll have a look at some designs."
"Nice, thanks!" They all made their way over to the counter and Damon presented them with some pieces of paper to sign.
"I'll be back in a sec, got to see to another customer. Give me a shout when you're ready." Brett nodded as he turned away, then he turned to look Eddy in the eye.
"You still sure? If you're not completely safe and happy with this, it's okay to abort." he offered a reassuring smile.
"I'm happy. You're here with me. How could I not be?" he took Brett's hand and gave it a light squeeze which was soon reciprocated. Brett filled in their details and signed on the dotted line. He handed the form to Eddy for him to do the same.
"Ready?" he watched as his partner signed the page and stood straight, fixing his posture and taking a deep breath.
"Ready."
* * *
"What fonts are you guys thinking?" Damon asked, showing them a selection of different styles. Some were ornate and elegant, others were more simple and straightforward. The choice made Eddy's head hurt.
"How about this one?" Brett asked, pointing to a font on the page. He had noticed Eddy sinking and knew a decision needed to be made quickly. The font he was pointing to was relatively simple, but it had a neat curl to it.
"No.40 it is then!" Damon concluded. The pair shared an amused look; Eddy sent his partner a grateful smile.
"Perfect."
"Follow me over to this booth in the corner and we'll get you all inked up." They did as he said and watched as he began setting up the equipment. He seemed to know what he was doing. "Who's first?"
"That'd be me," Brett said and Eddy relaxed slightly. Brett always knew how to make him feel comfortable.
Damon gestured to a small stool in the centre of the booth and Brett sat down, his partner quickly following at his heels to stay beside him. The curtain was drawn and Damon prepared his needle.
"You might want to have something to bite down on or hold. It can get pretty painful, especially if you've never done this before. Did you bring anything?"
"Well, I have this guy," he grinned looking over at his partner. Eddy gasped in exaggerated horror.
"You better not be planning on biting me, mister!" again they burst into shy laughter.
"Eddy-mine, would you do me the honour?" Brett held out his hand. Eddy scoffed and took it in his own larger one.
"I'd like to leave this place without a broken wrist so if you would be so kind, please don't crush me."
Brett met him with a cheeky grin.
"Of course."
He nodded to Damon who then put needle to skin.
* * *
"There! All done," Damon said whilst wiping his canvas with a small, purple cloth. "What do you think?" Brett raised his left hand into the light.
"I love it! Eddy?"
"It's great! A good choice of design."
"Are you ready for yours?"
"As I'll ever be, I guess." The two swapped places as Damon prepared and Eddy squeezed his eyes shut, taking Brett's non-tattooed hand in his.
"It hasn't even started yet," Brett laughed. "Are you sure about this, Love? It's still okay to back out."
"No! I'm doing this!" his eyes were still clamped shut.
"Alright, just be gentle with my bowing arm," Brett said with a smile dancing across his lips. Damon had finished prepping.
"Alright?" he asked. Eddy responded with a vigorous nod and Damon began.
* * *
"Eddy? Love? It's over, you can open your eyes now," Brett said softly, a hint of amusement painting his tone. Eddy gingerly opened one eye, then the next. He peered up at his best friend, his more-than-best-friend, and then around the booth.
"Where's Damon?"
"You've been spaced out for a while, Love, he left us to it."
Eddy nodded and glanced down at his left hand. He leaned back in his chair with a giggle.
"Mm?" Brett asked.
"Well, first of all, that fugueing hurts!! Second, I can't believe we've just done this! What the hell???" Brett returned his smile.
Eddy slowly got to his feet and pulled his partner into a tight hug.
"You okay, Love?"
"Yeah, just......I can't quite believe everything: us meeting, the con, the channel. I'm so, so glad to have you, Brett. More than I could ever say."
"I'm glad to have you too, Eddy-mine. I love you."
"I love you."
The hug went on for a few more moments, each simply enjoying the other's embrace, how safe they felt in each others' arms. Brett was the one to pull away. He cradled Eddy's face in his hands and gently wiped away an escaped tear with his thumb.
"I'm so fucking lucky to have you, Eddy-mine."
"I couldn't have put it better myself. I'll always be yours.
"Always?"
"Always."
Eddy leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on Brett's slightly chapped lips.
Always.