Work Text:
“Till’s so cute when she’s working,” Ivan thought to herself. She has a direct view of Till working because her station is right in front of the window. Currently, she’s leaning over a dude’s back drawing some random crap. Ivan isn’t focused on the art though. She’s focused on the artist. Till. They’ve never talked before, Ivan solely knows her through the window and her social media. Most of it is about the tattoo shop, but Ivan has learned other things. Till has a pink-haired friend named Mizi, she likes rock music, she enjoys thrifting, and she loves art. Ivan has never seen someone so passionate. So in tune with their craft. When Till tattoos she’s magnificent. Her tattoos peak out of her shirt sleeve. Intricate swirls flowing on her skin. Colorful. Beautiful.
Ivan is scared of getting tattoos. She doesn’t deal well with pain. But Till’s permanent mark on her body doesn’t sound too bad. She already got the appointment. Ivan starts blushing just thinking about it. Where would she get the tattoo? She’s aware some places are less painful but she wants it to be a special place. Okay, maybe not special. Getting boob tattoos means Till will have to look at her boobs. Back tattoos means she has to take off her top. Maybe she should get a tattoo on her stomach or thigh. Ivan suddenly gets nervous for her appointment. She only has one shot for a good first impression with a hot tattoo artist so they can go on a date.
Till finishes her last touches on Luka’s back tattoo. It’s an ornate crown surrounded my lilacs. It’s pretty, Till admits, but she doesn’t know why he got it. “Okay, I finished,”
She sits up and starts grabbing her supplies to clean his back. “You’ll need to schedule a follow up appointment and do the typical aftercare. But you know this, you’re a regular,”
She finishes wrapping it up and Luka sits up, “Thanks, Till. You’re great,” he says on his way out. The ding of the bell signaling that he left the shop.
Till sighs. She has 20 minutes until her next appointment. Typically, she’d go on her phone and stalk Mizi’s social media. Mizi and Till have always been friends, just friends. But Till had a little bit of hope that they’d be more. And now Mizi has a girlfriend named Sua. All the lovey Mizisua social media posts are just salt in her wound. She needs to get over her. Go out. Date. Mizi announced herself as Till’s “wingwomen to help her get laid.” Honestly, she’s just tired. And a bit lonely. Her next client is a new one, named Ivan. She wanted Till to help choose a design, which made her more excited. She looks at the clock, 19 minutes, until her last client of the day. Hopefully she’d be back home by 10pm, where she’d watch the new episodes of The Bear and forget about her nonexistent love life. Till goes to the back of the shop to grab a quick snack. As she snacks on her Fritos she wonders what type of person Ivan is. Usually, people who give her more control are either the most amazingly chaotic people on the planet or the zen calm people who go with the flow. Either way, they’re green flags. She finishes her chips and goes back to her station to make sure she has everything set up. The bell rings signaling a client she heard a raspy rich voice, “Sorry, I know I’m early but I didn’t see anyone in the window so…I don’t know. This is my first time,”
Till looks up to see…the hottest person on the planet. “So this so Ivan,” she thought to herself. Ivan, or who she assumed was Ivan, had a slim build and long black hair. She was wearing a black crop top and jeans that highlighted her long legs. But the most fascinating thing was her eyes, Till has never seen anything like them; a deep red that held a vibrancy most tattoos could never express. Till realized she was ogling and quickly pulled herself together, “It’s okay! Here you can sit down in the tattoo chair,” she said gesturing to the obvious chair. Ivan came and sat down, appearing nervous. “So, did you have any plan for today?” Till asked, trying to distract herself from the attractive woman in the chair.
Ivan looks down at her lap nervously, “Umm…not really. I sort of want a tattoo on my thigh or lower stomach. And I want an eerie tattoo. If that makes sense,”
Till takes a moment to respond, “Well I have binders of designs so I’m sure we’ll find something you like. And we can always customize things,” she pulls out a stool to sit down facing Ivan. She places a binder in her lap and open to show different intricate designs. Ivan tries to focus on the patterns but she’s overwhelmed. She’s talking to Till. Her silver-haired artist is going to mark her. Up close, Ivan can see the intensity of Till’s teal eyes. And how each individual piercing gleams like stars. “Are you a virgin?”
Ivan is pulled out of her thoughts and can feel herself shake with nerves, “Um—“
“Have you ever had a tattoo?” Till says calmly, sensing her confusion.
Ivan tries to calm down quickly, “You doofus,” she thought to herself, “she’s not asking if you’re actually a virgin you pervert.” She finally looks up at Till, who looks at her with concerned teal eyes.
“No. But I’m determined so don’t worry about the pain,” They sit in silence for a few painful seconds. Ivan breaks it when she asks, “Can I hold the binder?”
“Of course! Here, flip through until things catch your eye. Then we can talk about a design,”
Ivan flips through the large binder, “these black-and-white bug ones are cool,” she said.
“Do you have a bug in mind?”
“A centipede,”
“Hmm…okay,” Till draws a centipede in her sketch book, “How large do you want it? We could do one that curves around your top thigh, that’s a place you wanted right? Or if you want to do your stomach we could do one big one or multiple small ones around a certain area,”
Ivan thinks for a bit, “I think I want a large curvy one on my thigh,”
“Sounds great! I think an ink style would be best, simple. Black and white. Classy.”
Till holds up her sketch book, revealing a singular curving centipede the folds onto itself with small delicate legs.
Ivan stares at the art, it’s beautiful. “I love it,” she says quietly.
Till smiles, “Do you want to start now?”
Once they’re situated. Ivan looks at the ceiling. Trying to not focus on the woman whose face and hands are on her thigh. It’s a small design on her upper thigh. Ivan tries to take a deep breath. “You ready?” Till asks. “Yea,” Ivan says.
Shit! Till needs to calm down. She hasn’t been this nervous for a tattoo in years. She can tell Ivan is nervous, which only feeds her nerves. Ivan had to take off her pants for the tattoo placement they decided on. Her pale thighs now exposed. Ivan’s clothes didn’t do her justice. She has a slim build, but underneath her clothes showed softer subtle curves that drove Till crazy. She scoots her stool closer, the tattoo stencil leaving a rich purple mark. She turns on the gun and starts getting to work.
Ivan tries to focus on anything besides the burning sensation on her thigh. She tries focusing on Till. She was really sweet. And their first interaction went well—besides the whole “virgin” thing. Ivan was beating herself up, it was so embarrassing to her. But logistically Till wouldn’t care. Ivan thought about what to do next, now that she was distracted the tattoo didn’t hurt that much so she could get more and become a regular. Or she could just ask her out now. Ivan couldn’t decided. Suddenly she felt a sharp stinging sensation and started feeling hot.
“Are you okay?” Till asked, looking up at her. Ivan didn’t even notice she made a pained sound, “Oh, yea—I’m doing great.” Till gives her a skeptical look but ends up complying and continues her work. Ivan shifts a bit, causing Till to push her further into the seat. The new pressure on her hip prevents her from moving and makes her feel a different type of hot. She can feel Till’s gloved hand on her skin. Her skin of her waist. Thighs. Hip. She can feel Till’s heat through her leather gloves. The humming of the tattoo gun, the feeling of Till’s hands, the leather seat against her legs, the constricting feeling of her top, the subtle smell of Fritos and leather. It was too much. Ivan can feel her heart beating in her chest, the constant thumping contradicting the buzzing of the room.
The buzzing stops abruptly. And Till turns away to get something, “Good job, the hard part’s over, Ivan.”
Ivan can feel a smiling forming on her face, “that wasn’t too bad,” she thought. She feels a sudden icy sensation, causing her to gasp. The room now filling with a soft floral scent. After the initial shock, the coolness now felt calming. She feels Till wiping her thigh with a paper towel. Later covering it with a thin film. Till looks up at Ivan, “Ta da! You’re done Ivan!” She smiles, “How do you like it?” Ivan looks down at her leg to find a centipede covering the top of her thigh. Curving on top of itself like it’s trying to become a bow but not sure how to. The delicate lines across its body’s and legs giving it an unfinished pen sketch vibe. Ivan loved it, and it was done by Till. It was HER permanent mark, whether she liked it or not.
“I’m guessing you like it?” Till says or maybe asks. Ivan looks up at her, “Yes, I love it,” she says with a smile.
Till doesn’t know how to feel. Ivan’s smile reveals a snaggletooth and pokes into her lip. Her soft, wet, kissable lips. “What are you doing, Till?!” She asks herself. She’s probably just thinking about that because she’s lonely and Ivan’s hot. Nothing more. She’s doesn’t actually want to do anything. She can just admire Ivan’s appearance, nothing more. She pulls herself out of her…thoughts, “Okay, we need to talk about after care.” She moves her eyes back to Ivan’s eyes, a big mistake. Her intense red eyes causing Till to look back down, pretending to clean her station. “Take off the film after about 4 days, with warm water. Don’t pick at the scabs. Wash it with unscented soap. Moisturize it. Don’t submerge your thigh in anything, so pools, baths, that stuff. And keep it out of the sun.” Till pulls out her business card, “Here’s my number. If it gets red or feels really hot…or if you want another appointment, if you want. Or if you have any questions,” Till slowly brings her eyes up, praying to god that her face isn’t red. “Umm…yea…hope you like it and come back,” Ivan just sits there, looking at her. “Y-your leg might hurt a bit. Since this is your first. Do you want some chips? Or anything?”
Ivan sits there, eyes wide. She is sort of hungry now that Till mentioned. “If it’s okay, chips would be nice. Please,” she says quietly, suddenly feeling very exposed.
“Sounds good,” Till says as she leaves. Ivan watches her leave, her sliver hair swaying with her steps. Ivan tries shifting her leg and is met with a soft pain. Till comes back quickly, with some BBQ Fritos, “Are these okay?”
“Yea, thanks, Till,” she says, “Umm…can you hand me my pants please,”
“Of course,” Till turns to grab Ivan’s jeans, noticing how tight they look, “Hey, since your leg is a bit swollen and might hurt you should wait a bit until putting them on. I-I mean if you want to you can! It just might be harder, but I can help. Help—if you want. Yea,” she gingerly hands her back her pants.
Ivan places them in her lap, “I’ll wait a bit, if that’s okay with you. Aren’t you closing or something?”
Till looks at the clock to find its 10:17, surprisingly she’s not desperate to go home. “No, it’s okay. So…what’s your favorite color?”
Ivan smiles, she’s cute when she’s trying to get to know me. “I think my favorite color is red. But I wear a lot of black. What’s yours?”
Her face lights up, “Oooh—I love green,” She says as she spins on her stool like a little kid.
“What other things do you love?” Ivan asks softly.
“The Bear, it’s a really good show. Tattooing. I like rock music, but I haven’t gone to a lot of concerts. But I’ve gone to one! It was a long time ago tho—“
The two of them talk back and forth, their conversations flowed naturally. Before they knew it was 10:30. “Oh shit! It’s late. I’m sorry, Ivan. Do you need help putting your pants on?” Till says quickly.
“Umm…I think so,” Ivan says softly, embarrassed. “Just helping me balance,”
Till offers Ivan her hand, and together they stand. “Take your time, Ivan,” she says.
She eventually put her jeans on, feeling a mix of accomplishment and sadness. The day is ending, and she wanted to stay with Till. They both stand in front of the tattoo parlor doors. As if waiting for the other to do something, “Umm…thanks, Till. I’ll come back…” The women are face to face, close enough that Till needs to tilt her head up. “I’m going to call you. Not for business,”
“Hopefully for a date,” Till says softly, she can feel herself getting red.
Ivan smiles, “Definitely. After hours. I’ll text you,”
Till smiles with her, “After your tattoo heals,”
“Yes Ma’am,” Ivan says as she leaves.
The door closes behind Ivan, the ringing of the bell solidifying her exit. Before Till could think she runs out of the shop, “Ivan wait!”
Ivan turns quickly, wondering if something was wrong. “Hey, Ti—“ she’s interrupted by Till’s kiss. Till, on her tippy toes, grabs Ivan’s face and kisses her. A second of pure bliss. Of the future they could have. Then as quick as it came, it left. “Bye, Ivan!! Call me!!” Till says as she goes back to the parlor, leaving a smiling Ivan in the street. Till cleans the parlor in autopilot, with a stupid smile on her face. She can’t wait for their date.