Noa Bellamy (sharpthings) wrote in remains_rpg, @ 2016-10-14 12:00:00 |
|
|||
A year ago Noa wouldn’t have asked Sasha to tattoo her. Maybe not even six months ago. But not because she thought he wouldn’t have been ready, but because she wouldn’t have been. It's taken her that long to decide what she wants to have tattooed to remember Jonny by. She had gone through the pages of her sketchbooks until she’d found a sketch she’d done early on when the Hellhounds were first formed. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a wolf that she’d put together. It had always reminded her of Jonny though, who’d been more at home where there were old trees that bent under the weight of spanish moss than the expanse of Austin. Maybe it’s ironic that she’s getting a wolf after all the wolves she’s inked onto Hellhounds, but she’s not doing it to remember that he was part of that brotherhood. It just felt right deep in her bones. Rendition was still quiet, since there were still a few hours before it opened for clients. It worked better to do it in the morning than after hours, when the both of them were tired from the day. She had left Sasha alone while he prepped the station, working on paperwork instead while she waited. After a half an hour she poked her head out and caught his attention though. “You ready for me, sweetheart?” If he wasn’t that was fine, she’d let him continue through all the steps of his process. She’d trained him to be thorough and detail oriented, after all. Admittedly Sasha felt like this tattoo had more riding on it, not because he thought Noa was still judging his work, but because she trusted him enough to ink a memorial piece for her. He could still remember Jonny clearly, and missed him about as much as he missed his mom. Jonny had always been like an uncle to him, from the very first moment his parents had gotten in tight with Noa and Jonny. So doing this piece, knowing it was for him, it meant something to Sasha that he got to do it for Noa. He was just finishing up the last of his prep work when she poked her head in and he smiled. “Just about,” Sasha answered as he motioned her into his work space. “Just need to get the transfer and then I’ll be ready.” He added as he got up to grab the transfer before returning to his station. “Now, I know we talked about this but I just want to ask again, where do you want this?” “On my ribs, honey.” Noa lifted her top high enough to point at the spot she’d been thinking about. She had already told him once before, but sometimes it became a habit for artists to confirm a placement. There were enough clients that came in and waffled about that detail. Sasha gave Noa a sheepish look as he shrugged. “Sorry, just double checking like you taught me to,” he replied as he finished gathering the last pieces of equipment he would need to begin. Pulling her top over her head, Noa perched on the tattoo bench in her jeans and bra, then made a small shooing motion at Sasha with a smile on her face. She was anxious and excited to begin because it felt like it was overdue that she check her former apprentice’s abilities personally. The first thought that went through his head as Noa perched on his tattoo bench was that it was extremely unprofessional to check out your boss, even if she was wearing just a bra and jeans, but god, he was still a guy and he had eyes. Turning away and taking a deep breath, he mentally told himself to be cool -- tattoo artists were supposed to be professional about shit like this. Sasha hoped like hell that his nerves about tattooing Noa weren’t showing through, especially not while he had to remind himself to get his hormones in check. Sure, he had done his fair share of tattoos now and hadn’t had a single fuck up -- still, Noa was his boss and his mentor. Shoving those thoughts aside so as not to spark his nerves into some kind of panic, Sasha turned back to Noa and motioned for her to go ahead and lay down. “Alright, I don’t need to tell you this, but I’m going to go ahead and place the transfer on the spot you indicated and then I’ll want you to take a look at it.” He went through the motions of cleaning the skin where Noa wanted her tattoo before he then placed the transfer, took a step back to survey the placement and then said, “Okay go ahead and look at in the mirror and let me know what you think.” Hiding her smile, Noa sat back up on the table and hopped down to get a better look at the transfer placement. She was impressed by Sasha’s professionalism, even though she thought he might be nervous; he hid it well, but not well enough to fool her sharp eyes. “Looks good, honey,” she said as she turned back around. “Follows the curve of the ribs well.” She’d never been the type of teacher that held back on praise, even if she’d expected a lot from him. Situating herself back on the bench, she waited for Sasha to begin. It had been almost four years since the last time she’d been tattooed. Sasha grinned. “Well, I learned from the best,” he replied as he situated himself in his chair and began prepping his tools to begin. “Unless you hate this tattoo when I’m finished, in which case my mentor is amazing and somehow I just fell on my head.” Sasha didn’t think she would hate it though. While he hadn’t been tattooing long, he was confident in his abilities here. Laughing, Noa shook her head. “You wouldn’t have ever made it this far if I thought you were shit at it.” It would have been irresponsible of her. “True, your judgment is better than that,” Sasha agreed with a laugh. “What would Jonny have thought of you getting this?” he asked as he started up the tattoo iron, the familiar buzz almost calming as he began the very precise linework that this tattoo required. “He was always paranoid about me getting ink for him,” she answered, careful to stay still while Sasha started working. “Always worried about anything that could link me to him, if the wrong people came looking.” If he’d only been half as careful and paranoid about himself she might have been living a different life now. Sasha kept his focus on the tattoo while he talked, by now he had kind of learned the art of holding a conversation and maintaining his focus on the piece he was working on. “I mean maybe I’m wrong, but didn’t your last name already link you to him?” Sasha could understand on some level wanting to keep family safe, his dad was big on that as well. Noa smiled, holding in her laughter so that she didn’t disrupt Sasha’s work. “Smartass,” she responded good-naturedly. “He had lots of ways of keeping people from making that connection. But I don’t think he would mind this one, really.” “Yeah? Well, I’m still honored as hell you’re letting me do it.” Silence fell for a little bit after that, the only noise heard was the buzz of the tattoo iron as Sasha continued to work. “What prompted you to get it now?” he finally asked. He and his dad had gotten a piece in memory of his mom shortly after her passing, but Sasha was well aware that everyone grieved and moved on in their own time and in their own ways. Usually Noa didn’t need to keep up a conversation when she worked, but she didn’t mind that Sasha wanted to talk. He had questions, and she was willing to answer them. “Had someone that could do it,” she told him, bending so that she could look at Sasha, but she still didn’t move her midsection much. “Felt like the right time too. It’s been more than a year since he passed, and I put my ring away, so…” she trailed off. She didn’t expect Sasha to understand the enormity of an action like that. He’d lost his mother, but as far as she knew he’d never been in love or lost that person, and that was a different kind of hurt. Looking up at his work for a moment, Sasha smiled at Noa. Even if he was the only person in Austin that could do this for her, it was still a damn honor. Though that wasn’t what struck him really, because even without having been married or even been in love, Sasha knew what kind of big ass deal it was for her to have put away her ring. “You put your ring away?” He questioned, not necessarily prying, but curious if she might share further in regards to that. “That, I don’t know, that must have been kind of hard?” Sasha had gone back to looking at his work again, but it was obvious in his posture and the way he spoke that he was still very much listening to her. “It was a lot easier than you’d think,” Noa replied, quirking her mouth up at the corners. “I realized it was just metal, honey. Keeping it on didn’t make Jonny any more real, and putting it away didn’t make him any less.” She’d caught herself a few times trying to fidgeting with the band that wasn’t there any longer, but otherwise she hadn’t given it a second thought. Lapsing back into silence she let Sasha work, wondering if he’d prod at the topic anymore or not. For a moment Sasha thought about what Noa said in regards to the jewelry he kept of his mom’s. He had begun wearing one of her rings on a chain his dad had gotten him for his birthday, did he do it because it made her more real? Sasha didn’t think so. He wore it for the same reason he had gotten a memorial tattoo for her, as a way to remember her. A wedding ring was different though, because a marriage relationship was different. “Maybe I’m biased just ‘cause he was close to dad, but I’m pretty sure nothing could make a person forget Jonny,” he finally remarked, glancing up from his work for only a moment to look at her. Noa smiled, a familiar warmth blossomed in her chest. Sometimes it was nice to have that reminder that she wasn’t the only one that carried Jonny around with her in some way. Deciding to change the subject, Sasha thought of something he had always wanted to ask and never had. “Out of all the tattoos you’ve done what’s the most bizarre one you ever had to do?” “A geometric penis tattoo,” Noa answered without a pause. “A geometric tattoo on a penis,” she clarified, just in case Sasha was confused by the first answer. “Lord, he couldn’t sit still either.” As bizarre as it had been, and as much as she’d known the guys had given it to her as some kind of hazing, it had taught her a few tricks in dealing with a squirmy client. “More than once I thought he was going to tap out on me.” The only reaction that Sasha gives is to grimace when Noa explains what her most bizarre tattoo request has ever been. “Did you ever find out why he wanted it?” Sasha questioned, not even able to fathom why someone might get a geometric design tattooed there. “And did he not think through the placement? Because anyone with half a brain would be able to gather that it would hurt like fucking hell.” By this point Sasha had sat through his fair amount of tattoos and he also had a high pain tolerance, but not even he could imagine trying to sit through his dick being tattooed. Noa laughed, but quickly smothered the sound so that his work wasn’t disrupted. “Never asked why, but he wanted it there, I don’t think he cared about the pain before we started,” she replied. “It’s not as uncommon as you’d think. Men run out of other places to ink, they start getting desperate.” None of the Hellhounds thankfully, but she would have if one of them had walked in and asked. She was a professional after all. Sasha couldn’t hide the expression of shock he gave Noa. He was fairly certain if he ran out of skin on his body to ink, his dick would not be a place he went to to further the artwork on his body. “Seriously?” Noa had been in the business long enough that he knew she was right, but he asked none the less. “Makes me kind of glad I haven’t had anything like that yet,” He added, taking a beat before he said. “But I have only been tattooing for less than a year.” Wincing for a minute, because even though she was old hat at tattoos the ribs were still a tender place, Noa breathed through her nose then answered, “I was only four months in when that one walked through the door. I suspect the rest of them were using it as a hazing.” She smirked at Sasha. “Don’t worry, honey, I won’t make you tattoo any dicks.” There was a quick “sorry” from Sasha when he noticed Noa wince, aware that even the most seasoned tattoo enthusiast had difficulty with the ribs sometimes. Noa waved off the apology though, since it hadn’t been more than a little uncomfortable. “I mean if it’s some kind of right of passage I’d do it,” he began. “Plus, if I’m going to be doing this long term I should probably not hand the tough cases off to you every time they walk through the door, right?” Sasha wanted to come off professional after all and he wasn’t about to wimp out just ‘cause some dude wanted to ink his dick and it made Sasha wince in pain just thinking about it. “It ain’t like you have to prove anything to me, Sasha,” she pointed out. “My old crew, they did it because I was the only woman, and because they liked seeing how I’d handle the tough shit.” She took in a sharp breath, though he was still relatively light-handed with his work. “I know how you handle things, so I won’t pull the difficult clients from you, but I’m not going to make you do more of your fair share either.” “Thanks, Noa,” Sasha said as he took a moment to glance up from his work to meet her gaze. He knew she respected him, but having it confirmed more than once during this sitting was one hell of an ego boost. Talking was a little more difficult the longer Noa sat; her threshold was high, but she was out of a practice, so the space lapsed into quiet as Sasha finished up. With only the last few little details to complete on the tattoo, Sasha was more than happy to let silence fall over the shop, the only noise that was heard was the buzz from the tattoo iron. With one final swipe of the rag over Noa’s tattoo to clean it up, Sasha pushed his chair back from the table and said, “Well, it’s done.” he took a pause and then motioned towards the wall mirror off to the right of him. “Do you want to see it?” And yeah, he wasn’t going to pay attention to the nerves he felt starting at the idea of Noa seeing the finished product of his work on her body. Sitting up, laughing softly at Sasha’s matter of fact ‘Well, it’s done’, Noa nodded and dropped her feet to the floor. She took a few minutes to look at his handiwork, turning this way and that. The linework was sure, the design precise. It was exactly how she would have inked it had she done it herself. She smiled at the reflection, then turned that same smile on her former apprentice. “You did real good, honey. Want to cover it for me?” She could do it herself, but it would be easier if he did. Once that was completed, she slipped her top back over her head and gave Sasha a quick hug and peck on his cheek. “I couldn’t have asked for anyone better,” she told him as she pulled back. It had taken everything inside of him not to hover over Noa while she inspected her new ink. Sasha knew that was nothing if not annoying, plus his mentor was honest enough that he knew if she wasn’t happy, or was, he would hear about it. So when she declared that he had done good, Sasha couldn’t hide the way he beamed with pride as he came back over to her with supplies to cover the new ink. “I’m real glad you like it,” Sasha admitted as he laid out the items he would need to cover it. “And yeah, I mean I figure I do it for my clients and right now you are one,” he began as he motioned Noa back over to his work station. He didn’t wait for a response from her, but instead dove right into prepping the new ink to be covered by the bandage. The one thing Sasha knew he wouldn’t have to do is go through after care, because Noa was the one who’d ran him through it what felt like nine million times until he could give the information backwards and forwards, as well as probably in his sleep. So the shop was silent as he finished up, his confidence a mile high and his pride just about joining it. It felt damn good to know that Noa was pleased with the ink, and not only that, she felt like she couldn’t have asked for someone better. Sasha only hoped that if Jonny were here today and could see the work he had done in his honor that he would feel the same. |