“Are you sure with this? You know we can cancel it if you’re not ready.”

It was the umpteenth time Yongguk asked the same question as they went to the tattoo parlor, which was enough to make Daehyun roll his eyes.

“Yes! For Pete’s sake, if you keep repeating the same question, you’d better go home!” the younger snapped. He was ready for this; it was what he wanted all the time.

He would soon get a tattoo and, god, he was excited. He always adored Yongguk’s tattoos and he really wanted to get one (even more after they finally established their relationship—at least he wanted to have one thing in common with his boyfriend).

“Well, I could just go home if you really mean it,” Yongguk shrugged, ready to turn his feet, but Daehyun quickly held his wrist.

“Seriously? You wanted to leave your inexperienced boyfriend getting a tattoo alone?”

“You said I’d better go home,” the older replied as he let his boyfriend drag him into the said tattoo parlor. “Besides, I leave you in the right hands. It’s Yongnam who will make it for you.”

“I said you’d better go home IF,” Daehyun put emphasis on the ‘if’ word, “you kept repeating the same question.”

“You could just tell me if you were afraid to go alone, you know.”

Daehyun’s cheeks dusted in pink—there was no way he would admit that he was scared! Yongguk would and it was totally embarrassing (and annoying, like, really, really annoying).

“Why, hello, Yongguk!” Someone who stood behind the counter greeted Yongguk with a smile. “It’s been a while since I last saw you here. And hello to you too, Daehyun!”

It was Himchan, the owner of the parlor. He was originally Yongguk’s childhood friend. Opening the parlor about three years ago, he picked Yongnam, Yongguk’s twin, to be his first tattooist, so actually Daehyun didn’t have to be afraid because everything in that parlor was completely safe. Yongguk was right, he would be taken care by the right hands, yet the thought of a needle piercing into his skin was still a little scary.

“Yongnam will be ready in a moment. Are you ready for your first tattoo?” Himchan’s gesture was friendly, making Daehyun relax a bit.

“Well, yeah,” the younger said (despite the fact that he gripped Yongguk’s hand tightly). “I can’t wait! A bit nervous, though, but I’m excited.”

“I hope you’re not scared of needles,” Another voice, a familiar one because it sounded like Yongguk, chimed in. The door to the small studio opened and a face—which really looked like Yongguk—appeared. “Come in, Daehyun.”

Daehyun gulped. “C-Can—” He took a breath as he stuttered, “—can Yongguk come along?”

Yongnam chuckled at that. “Yeah,” he said, “You’re a special occasion, so yeah.” He then nudged his head, signaling both of them to come into the studio.

“Good luck, kid!” Himchan said with a big grin before Daehyun entered the studio with the twins.

It was a little longer later when he could hear Daehyun screaming.

*

“You said it wouldn’t hurt!” Daehyun shrieked as Yongnam worked on his tattoo.

“God, Daehyun, it’s nothing. Stop being a crybaby.” It was obvious that Yongguk tried hard to hold his laughter.

“But, it hurts!” The younger whimpered. Yongnam pinned his hand down, trying to make it stop moving while Yongguk watched in amusement.

“I think now I know how it feels to accompany your future wife in the delivery room,” Yongguk talked to his twin. “He’s acting the same as a woman who is giving birth.”

Yongnam couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s good to know that Daehyun won’t give birth forever,” he said, earning a glare from the youngest of the three.

“You’re not helping. You’re no different than your twin,” Daehyun pouted, causing Yongguk to pinch those plump lips.

It was about half an hour later when Daehyun’s tattoo had been finished. It was a simple tattoo—a ‘hold’ word carved in capital letters on his right wrist—but he liked it a lot. He looked at Yongguk to know that his boyfriend liked it, too.

Daehyun listened carefully when Yongnam gave him detailed instructions on how to take care of his new tattoo—although he knew Yongguk would help him a lot for the aftercare—before walking outside the studio. He grinned (in pain) when he saw Himchan smiled at him.

“You were loud,” Himchan said, causing Daehyun to blush in embarrassment.

“The pain was unexpected,” said the younger shyly, “but it wasn’t that bad… I think. I was just… uh, a bit shocked. I like it, though, the tattoo, I mean. The pain’s worth it.”

They had a small talk before Yongguk told they needed to leave—“Don’t forget to pay Mom and Dad a visit this weekend. They keep asking about you, so you’d better come before they start assuming that you’re dead,” Yongnam said as he walked them to the front door—and moved away from the parlor.

“You okay?” Yongguk asked as they reached their apartment—Daehyun decided to live with Yongguk after he graduated from college a year ago. “Do you feel dizzy or something?”

Daehyun shook his head. He slumped on the couch, wondering why getting a small tattoo could be this tiring. “It hurts,” he muttered as he raised his left hand, staring at the new tattoo.

“It will sting for a while, but it won’t be bad,” Yongguk sat close to his boyfriend, taking Daehyun’s wrist and brushing his thumb ever so gently against the covered tattoo.

“It hurts,” Daehyun repeated, half-whining, as though he indirectly ordered Yongguk to do something to make him feel better.

Yongguk smiled as he got the message. He brought Daehyun’s wrist closer to his lips before kissing it softly. “Does it still hurt?” he asked.

Daehyun’s cheeks flushed, but he nodded. “It does,” he replied.

Once again, Yongguk kissed the wrist before asking, “How about now?”

“It still hurts,”

Another kiss landed on Daehyun’s wrist, following with the question: “How about now? Do you feel better?”

Daehyun’s smile bloomed, but he shook his head. “It still hurts.”

Yongguk chuckled. He kissed Daehyun’s bandaged wrist a few more before moving his lips to Daehyun’s face, peppering it with butterfly kisses. “Does it still hurt? Does it? Does it?”

This time, Daehyun couldn’t hold his laughter. Pulling Yongguk closer, he pressed his lips against his tall boyfriend’s. “If you keep kissing me, I think it will get better,” He grinned.

“You just wanted to get kisses,” Yongguk pecked Daehyun’s lips, “which has nothing to do with your tattoo.”

“It has something to do with the tattoo!” Daehyun defended. “Your kisses make me feel better that I barely feel the pain. They’re soothing me.”

“Really?”

“Really,” Daehyun huffed before crashing their lips together again. “Now shut up and kiss me.”

Yongguk could only smile between the kiss. It seemed he didn’t have any other choices than giving Daehyun as many kisses as the boy wanted.

*

Daehyun smiled widely. It was a couple weeks later that the wound had healed and his tattoo indeed looked good on his sunkissed skin.

“I love it,” Daehyun said as he caressed the small tattoo before showing it to Yongguk. “What do you think?”

“It looks good,” answered the taller male. He took the wrist in his hand and kissed the tattoo. “Glad that now I can hold it.”

“You’re glad that now you can kiss it freely,” Daehyun cocked one of his eyebrows. “Geez, you and your weird .”

“You like it. You said my kisses soothe you.” Yongguk mumbled as he trailed his lips along Daehyun’s arm.

“I really wanted to deny it. I wish I could.”

Yongguk chuckled as he planted a kiss on Daehyun’s lips. “I love you, little fella.”

Daehyun kissed him back before replying in a sweet tone, “I love you too, big guy.”