vellicate
The tattoo gun hummed as it got closer to Adam’s skin. Sweat beaded up on his forehead and he watched the device with wide eyes. As the tattoo artist got closer, Adam’s lips began to twitch and he squeezed the armrest in a white knuckle grip. Just before needle met skin, he flinched. The artist stopped and backed away.
The woman sighed. “Hold still, okay? Otherwise this is gonna get ugly.”
“S-sorry.” Adam said. “It’s just my first time, you know?”
“Uh-uh.” The artist looked uninterested. She had probably heard that hundreds of times. And from the amount of tattoos she had, had obviously been in his position and gotten through it. “Look, it’s not as bad as TV says it is. Just a little pinching feeling.”
“Okay, sorry.”
Adam’s girlfriend, Nicki, clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from saying anything. Or laughing at his current state of distress. The tattoo gun started again and moved in towards Adam’s upper arm, where three yellow triangles with intricate symbols on them was drawn. But once again, he flinched away from the needle.
“Look, if you don’t want to get this then just say so.” The artist said. “These things aren’t cheap and there’s a lot more guys out there who do want to be here.”
“N-no, no. I, I really do want this.” Adam insisted.
“Hey, you got, like a strap or something?” Nicki asked. “Like, tie down his arm?” Adam shot her a look that did not quite reach the status of a glare.
“Can’t do that. Wish I could, but no go. Just take a few deep breaths, close your eyes and let me work.”
“Sorry.” Adam said again. His voice had gone up half an octave.
This time, when he flinched, the artist clicked her tongue and looked about ready to kick him out. Either that, or keep going and let his twitchy reaction mess up his tattoo for her. Adam apologized and much as he possibly could.
“Hey!” Nicki said, cutting him off. “I’ve got an idea. Do you know anything about what the tattoo he’s getting means?” She asked the artist.
She looked at the sketch she had made on his arm. “Nope. Can’t say I have. Seems like some mystical mumbo-jumbo, but hey, if that’s what he wants, it’s his money. I just put it there.”
Nicki moved behind Adam, preventing him from seeing her slip the artist a pair of earplugs. Nor did he see her miming putting them in, or the artist doing so with a very confused look on her face.
“Well then, how about you tell her all about it.” Nicki said. “In fact, why don’t you start at the very beginning of the lore surrounding it. Maybe that’ll give her a deeper appreciation for what you want and make her do a better job.”
“I don’t know if it works like that, but I can tell her.” Adam said. “This is called the Triforce, and it’s an object of ultimate power.” He intoned. Then he began talking.
He talked without pause or interruption. His mind was focused on one task, and that was delivering the lore of his favorite video game series. He was so focused on that one task that he barely noticed the pain in his arm from the tattoo gun. So long did he talk, that he kept going all through the application of the tattoo. Well, most of it. The artist was putting the final touches on the tattoo when he stopped.
When he did, his grip on the armrest tightened and he let out a pained whimper. But he held still. He held on until the artist finished and wiped away the excess ink from the now complete tattoo.
“There you go, all done.” She said. “Now there’s a lot you gotta do to care for this. I can either give you the rundown or give you a website that gives you a pretty good job of telling you that stuff.”
“I think the website will be better.” Nicki said.
“That was more than a pinch.” Adam said weakly, nursing his arm.
“Does it matter?” Nicki asked. “You got through it. Now let’s pay up, get all the info, and head out.”
He nodded weakly and looked at his new tattoo. He had to admit, it looked pretty cool. And maybe even worth the pain of getting it.
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