Chapter Text
They had clearly had one drink too many. Caitlyn and Jayce were out for their usual weekly drinks when Cait pointed out a woman with amazing tattoos at the bar.
“I would kill to have a sleeve like that… look at the detail Jayce, it's incredible.” Cait sighed and couldn’t help but pout a little looking at the beautiful colour tattoos all over the woman’s arms.
“Caitlyn, you’ve been wanting a tattoo for years, why don’t you go ask her where she got it done and go for it?”
“Of course, and while I’m at it I’ll start looking for cheap apartment listings since my parents would definitely kick me out. Great suggestion Jayce.” She rolled her eyes and took another sip of her whiskey, the burn down her throat becoming less noticeable the more they drank.
“Well, why not get it somewhere they wouldn’t see? They only really see you in uniform or dressed for shooting anyway. You’ve been sending me designs you want since we were 15!”
“How about this, if you tell Viktor how you feel I’ll get a tattoo.” She smirked, knowing Jayce had had a crush on his lab partner for about 3 years now and had never had the balls to tell him.
After a few seconds of silence and getting ready to win the argument, Cait saw a determined look cross Jayce’s face. “You know what, you’re on.” Before she could argue in her drunken state, Jayce pulled out his phone and clumsily started typing out a message to Viktor.
“Wait no Jayce, you’re drunk! Stop!” She tried taking the phone from him but instead, he just stood up and walked quickly from the table towards the bar, leaving Caitlyn alone at the table, trying to find her footing, not wanting to leave their bags there unattended or risk losing the rare seat in the busy bar. “You can’t tell him over text Jayce!”
After a few minutes of typing, Cait watched as Jayce put his phone back in his pocket and ordered more drinks at the bar before going over to the woman with the amazing sleeves. He came back a few minutes later with their drinks and his phone open to his notes.
“I sent him a text, I got us drinks and I got the instagram handle for the artist that did that woman’s sleeves so you’re welcome… oh god I sent him a text!” Cait watched as Jayce closed the notes and brought up the text conversation with Viktor, immediately blushing and groaning with his head banging onto the table.
“It can’t be that bad! Let me see, we might be able to fix this.”
It’s a pretty immediate reaction when Caitlyn winces, looking at her best friend and then back at the message.
“Hey Viktor ;) Cait promised me if I tell you how I feel then she'll get a tattoo! So I like you as more than a friedn and I want to take you on a date. Would you be oaky with that? Ive wanted to kiss you for years and you make my days better I could even say I love you Vik! See tou at work Monday if I son’t hear from you first x”
“Umm…okay he’ll probably think it's really sweet. It’s not like you put anything horrible in there...”
Jayce finally lifted his head from the table, just giving a little glare to Cait. “Fuck you Kiramman.” The glare doesn’t last long before Jayce sighs and a small smile appears on his lips.“At least I’ve covered my end of the bargain, now you definitely have to get that tattoo.”
“Shit. Send me her handle.”
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A promise was a promise, so the next day Caitlyn had scrolled through every piece on @GetJinxed insta, looking at the beautiful colour work but not seeing anything monochrome. Not that she had really expected to but she had hoped. Cait’s dream for years had been to get a black and white shotgun tattoo surrounded by violets, a subtle way for her to express her gayness without her mother finding out. Sure she was 25 and should have probably come out by now, but her parents didn’t exactly take it well when Jayce came out as bi at 19, which had just pushed her further back into the closet.
After scrolling through all Jinx’ work, Caitlyn went to her bio and found a link to the studio she worked at, @StudioZaun. As far as Cait knew, it was in the shadier part of the city that her mother had pretty much banned her from since she was 12, but she was already breaking one of her parents' rules by getting a tattoo. Why not go all out?
She scrolled through the short list of artists (@MedardaArt, @TheBoySavior, @VanderatZaun) before coming across @ViStandsForViolent who had some amazing monochrome pieces in a style similar to Jinx. The ink seemed to just flow and move in every piece, the shading exceptional and the lines clear and perfect. After looking through her work for an hour, Cait decided to send her a message.
@CaitlynKiramman
Hi! I’ve been scrolling through your work for an hour and I adore your style! Could I book to get a small piece done with you at your earliest time? I was thinking of a shotgun and some violets just below my ribs. About 4 inches across? Thanks, Caitlyn
@ViStandsForViolence
Hey, thanks and sure. If it’s only small it’ll be a 2 hour session so I can see you Monday at 3pm? I’ll come up with some designs and you can see if you like any of them on the day. Thanks, Vi
@CaitlynKiramman
Thanks! I’ll see you then :)
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Although it was in the shadiest part of the city, the outside of the studio seemed untouched by the poverty, vandalism and poor upkeep that Cait and Jayce had experienced in pretty much every other building on their way.
“You know Caitlyn, you don’t have to do this. I know we made that stupid deal but we were drunk and it’s not like it went well with Viktor…”
Cait looked away from the building to Jayce; Viktor had called him the next day and invited him for coffee to talk. Although he hadn’t told her much about it, what Cait had gathered was that Viktor was really sweet about the situation but explained he was ace and didn’t realise that Jayce didn’t know. Being why Jayce had agreed to come with her for the tattoo and skip work for the day.
“The deal wasn’t if it goes well with Viktor, it was that if you told him then I got a tattoo. I know I’ve said it already but I am really sorry that it didn’t work out.”
“It’s okay, it’s not like I got rejected because he thought it was gross I liked guys or anything. It just wasn’t meant to be. And if you’re sure you want to do this, we should probably head up there before it starts raining.”
Cait took one more deep breath before opening the door to the studio and heading upstairs. Although she had never been in a tattoo studio before, it was pretty much what Caitlyn had been expecting. Posters and artwork on the walls, a few plants dotted around, the sound of buzzing and rock music blaring.
“Hey, can I help you?” Cait turned to the source of the voice, finding herself looking at one of the most gorgeous women she’d ever seen, and turning to Jayce very obviously revealed he was thinking the same thing. Her eyes were almost sparkling gold and she had gold glitter over her cheeks to match.
“Umm, hi, I have a tattoo booked with Vi at 3. I’m Caitlyn Kiramman.”
“Great, I’m Mel. If you just take these forms and have a seat you can fill them out before I grab Vi for you.”
After Mel gave them a small smile, Cait couldn’t help but notice the woman’s eyes stayed on Jayce a second longer than appropriate before turning away and going back to some paperwork. After she grabbed a pen, Cait and Jayce sat on the other side of the office section of the studio and began filling in the forms.
“...Jayce she was obviously interested, why don’t you talk to her while I’m getting the tattoo done?” Cait whispered quietly, trying to make sure no one heard them. Immediately Jayce’s face turned pink and he looked over in surprise.
“Wait, you think she was into me?”
“I mean I would say so, you could chat to her while I’m in there and then maybe ask for her number? It’s not like you’d be coming back if she said no so there’s no risk to it right?”
“I guess so? If you don’t mind me not sitting with you while you get it done?”
Cait just smiles and shakes her head slightly. “It’s okay, I mean it would be a little uncomfortable anyway with me laying there with my shirt pulled up. You’re too much like a brother and I’m too gay for that Jayce.”
“Caitlyn Kiramman?”
They both look up to find what Cait could only describe as a goddess of a woman. Her bright pink hair should have caught Caitlyn’s attention first but that was not going to happen with the woman wearing a tank top that showed perfectly sculpted arms covered in metal work tattoos. She had a nose piercing and a scar across her lip, which of course led to looking at her lips as they turned into a smirk. Caitlyn could feel her cheeks heating up a little as she quickly diverted her gaze up and saw a little VI tattoo under a beautiful pair of grey eyes.
*Oh, I’m way too gay…*
“Cait? You okay?” She turned to see Jayce giving her a knowing look before turning back to what must be her tattoo artist.
“Umm yeah, hey, hi, I assume you’re Vi?”
In her rush to stand up, Cait managed to drop the paperwork and her pen which just left Vi smirking and Jayce laughing.
“Yeah I’m Vi, are you ready to start?”
Jayce helped pick up the paperwork and passed it to Cait. “She’s ready, and I’m going to wait out here.”
“If you come over here first we can have a look at some of the designs I came up with and see what you want.” Vi offered a smile and gestured for her flustered client to follow, leaving Caitlyn the opportunity to turn to Jayce and mouth the words “Help me, she’s so hot” before following the artist.
After a very awkward 10 minutes of sitting, Vi leaning over her to add detail to the design and her heart beating far too hard considering they weren’t even touching, Cait made her way to the tattoo chair.
“So on your ribs right? It doesn’t look like you have any other tattoos, are you sure you wanted it there? It can be painful, especially as a first one.”
“I’m sure. I know it sounds stupid but I still live with my parents and if they ever see this tattoo I might get murdered.” Caitlyn couldn’t help but stare when Vi laughed at her response.
“It’s all good Cupcake, I get it. I’m just lucky my old man runs the shop.” Before she could react to the nickname, Cait looked over to where Vi was pointing her thumb. On the other side of the shop was an older man with a beard who seemed to be preoccupied shaking his head in frustration at the blue haired woman standing in front of him with a pout. “His name is Vander, and that’s my sister Powder that he’s talking to. Though professionally she goes by Jinx, and the guy over there is Ekko.” Cait turned her head to find a guy with bright white dreads focusing on a back tattoo in the other corner. “And you met Mel at the front, we all take shifts covering the desk.”
After Cait looks around, definitely not trying to give herself time for the blush to reduce from her cheeks, she turns to find Vi setting up the ink. “If you wanna just take off your bra and pull your shirt up for me so I can get under your ribs to place the template.”
She might as well have not bothered trying to get rid of the blush as it came straight back. *How did I not think about this? Oh god she’s going to be so close to touching my… nope! She’s being professional, stop being gay Kiramman.*
Cait took off her bra and stood as Vi pulled her stool in front of her, bringing up the template and gently brushing Cait’s skin as she placed it. “How’s that? Want it any higher or lower?”
Cait looked in the mirror and nodded at the placement. If it was any higher Cait was sure she would combust every time Vi’s fingers were anywhere near her. “Yep, that’s great.”
“Okay, just lay back for me and I’ll get started.”
Cait became painfully aware of the fact she was not wearing a bra as Vi made sure the template was on properly before gently rubbing some gel onto her ribs.
“Try to breathe steady for me and let me know if it hurts too bad and I’ll stop.”
If Vi had expected anything other than a nod as a response she wasn’t going to get one, not with Cait realising how long it had been since she’d got laid as well as the prospect she was about to be in a lot of pain. Caitlyn put all her effort into not flinching when Vi finally brought the machine to her skin. And it suddenly dawned on her how much harder this would be than she thought.
“It’s okay, breathe through it and let me know if you need a break at any point. There’s no rush.”
It was almost impressive how Vi could be so calm when all Cait was feeling was pain and anxiety. From that point every second seemed like a minute as the gun slowly made its way around the outline of the stencil.
“You okay?”
“Y-yep I’m fine, keep going.”
Vi just gave a gentle smile and then looked back down to focus on the line work. Cait couldn’t help but grit her teeth and try to breathe steadily in and out as the outline was done.
“So, what made you choose a shotgun and violets?”
She had been so focused on not moving, Cait almost forgot she could talk. “Umm, I shoot professionally. I’ve done it since I was a-about 8 at the insistence of my parents. I guess I was just lucky I actually enjoy it.”
“...and the violets?”
Cait could feel herself blushing again as she closed her eyes and cleared her throat, “My parents don’t know I’m gay… but I wanted a way to express it even if I can’t do it openly.”
“Tattoos are a great way to express yourself, and I guess the great thing is that even if they did see, the meaning is yours alone to know.”
As soon as she tried to answer, Cait took in a sharp breath as the machine went over a particularly sore spot.
“Hey, I’ll stop for a sec. Let you get your breath back, this bit can be a little painful, and then I go on to the shading which will hurt even more, just to give you a heads up.”
Cait couldn’t argue that time as she bit her lip to stop herself making any noises of pain. Instead, she opened her eyes and turned to look at the front desk where she saw Jayce leant against it, both him and Mel laughing and looking at each other in a way that was definitely not disinterest.
“Can I ask, is Mel into guys? I’ve convinced my friend to go for it but I just want to make sure so he doesn’t get turned down.”
In the corner of her eye, she saw Vi look over to the front desk and smirk. “Yeah, your friend is definitely her type. As long as he doesn’t say anything stupid, he basically has a date in the bag.”
Cait just laughed and looked back at Vi. “Well that makes the chances 50/50 then, I don’t think I’ve heard Jayce say anything that’s not stupid.”
Vi chuckled and picked up her machine again. “You ready to give this another go?”
With a nod, Cait got back into position and braced herself for the pain. Clearly she didn’t brace herself enough as she gasped and Vi stopped tattooing to gently rub some more gel onto her body. “One more line before shading, okay?” Cait nodded and breathed as best she could for the next few minutes until Vi backed away to change the needle for shading.
After getting her breath back fully, Vi leant in even closer to Caitlyn’s body than before. Cait could almost feel the artist's breath through her shirt and felt her cheeks, neck and chest going bright red as her nipples were getting hard. Thankfully, either Vi didn’t notice or didn't comment and began shading. Cait lasted about 30 seconds before wincing, her body not knowing how to react to the pain.
“Good girl”
She short circuits. Breathing evenly isn’t a problem as she can’t breathe. Vi had just called her a good girl and now Caitlyn was going to die on the spot.
“You can do this Cupcake, I know you can.”
*Oh fuck shit damn I what*
Suddenly the pain is non-existent as thoughts of Vi saying the same things in a very different situation start running through her head. It doesn’t last long as Vi begins some darker shading and Caitlyn whimpers.
“You’re being so good for me, just take another deep breath and try to relax. The more you tense, the more it will hurt.”
Cait can only nod as she finds herself in the most painful and awkward, yet arousing, situation she has ever been in. It’s not common knowledge that Caitlyn has a praise kink but god will the whole studio figure it out if Vi doesn’t stop. She quickly works out that Vi only says things to her if she makes a noise or tenses too tight, so Cait tries her damn best to stay quiet and relaxed. Until Vi reaches the spot that had hurt when it was just line work and she can’t help but let out a quiet whimper that turns into a groan.
“Cait you’re doing so well, it’s not much longer now, do you want to stop or do you think you can keep going?”
She really didn’t mean to say it. She tried to bite her tongue and not answer knowing her voice would come out strained and she wanted to stop but when Cait makes the mistake of opening her eyes, she finds Vi’s gaze directly at hers.
“I can keep going…”
“Good girl, just stay as still as you can for me.”
As much as she had tried to not admit it, Cait couldn’t deny at that point that she was more turned on than she had been in months. Maybe years. It wasn’t like people hadn’t praised her before during sex, but receiving it because she had earnt it had Caitlyn beyond fucked. Her knees felt weak and she was so thankful she was laying down. As long as she kept calm for the last bit of her tattoo, she could pretend it hadn’t happened and she was a normal person just getting a normal tattoo.
Cait was sure she could do it until Vi accidentally brushed the backs of her fingers over Cait’s nipple and she squeaked.
“Stop!”
Vi looked up, as did everyone else in the room as Cait felt her face go crimson. She knew she was breathing more heavily than she should have been and just avoided everyone's gaze until the source of Cait’s problems handed her a bottle of water.
“Maybe this will help? I promise, there’s only 5 more minutes and then you’re done. We can take a little break, I’m just going to go get myself some water and I’ll be back.”
Cait waited until Vi was far enough away before putting her head in her hands and taking some deep breaths. *5 more minutes, 5 more minutes, no one knows, they think you shouted stop because it hurt so just breathe.*
“You okay Caitlyn? Does it really hurt that bad?”
Cait looked up to see Jayce stood above her, his hand coming to rest on her shoulder. “It’s not exactly not-painful. But I only have 5 more minutes according to Vi so I’ll be okay. How’s it going with Mel?”
Jayce’s expression showed that he clearly knew she was just trying to change the conversation, but he couldn’t help but smile. “I think it’s going well, I’m definitely going to give her my number when we leave. And maybe you should give yours to Vi?”
“After how much of a wimp I’ve been with this tattoo? Definitely not. Plus, she hasn’t shown any interest in-”
“You ready to keep going Cupcake? Your friend can stay if you want.” She hadn’t even heard her coming back. She should have been more embarrassed that Vi might have heard her, but the look on Jayce’s face at the nickname was worse.
“Cupcake?”
“Okay you can leave now Jayce thanks bye.” Cait puts in as much effort as she can to push him away from the chair back towards the front desk.
“Okay Cupcake, I’ll see you in a bit.” With another laugh Jayce made his way back, leaving Cait to finally look at VI.
“Sorry, he’s an idiot. Ignore him. I normally do. You can keep going, it’s only 5 minutes right?”
“Only 5 more minutes, nearly there. Are you ready?”
Cait nods and tries to stay relaxed as Vi starts up again. It takes all of her willpower but she manages to only make 4 sounds that she knows of in the 5 minutes and only has to hear “you’re being so good for me” and “you can stay still, I know you can Cupcake” before Vi finally does the last stroke.
“Okay, want to look at the final result in the mirror?” Vi moves the stool away from Cait and pulls her gloves off.
After a few seconds of collecting herself and willing her body to let her legs work, Cait got up and moved towards the mirror, letting out a little gasp as she saw the final result. It was perfect. Exactly what she wanted, somehow not a line out of place even with Cait’s messed up breathing.
“...I love it. I really love it, Vi, thank you.”
Cait felt her heart nearly implode when she turned to see the genuine smile on Vi’s face, and she must have been imagining it but it looked almost like a slight blush on the artist's cheeks. “Not a problem, Cupcake, I’m glad you like it. Did you want to put your bra back on and meet me at the front desk?
Vi didn’t really wait for an answer before heading over there, leaving Cait slightly confused as she got dressed. When she looked over, she saw that Vi had been stopped mid way by her sister, clearly just in time to see her artist punch Jinx in the arm while she was laughing. Wait, laughing? Oh shit, Jinx had stopped Vi on the way and was laughing. She was laughing at Caitlyn.
*Just ignore her, get your shit and head to the front, ignore her. Fuck this is embarrassing.*
Cait did her best to not acknowledge them as she walked past the sisters and towards Jayce, who was still fully invested in talking to Mel.
“Hey, it's finished. Did you want to see it?”
Normally she wouldn’t have interrupted Jayce’s conversation with someone he was clearly chatting up but the thought of standing on her own waiting with Vi and Jinx laughing behind her was not something Cait wanted.
“Hmm? Oh hey Cait, sure. Let me see. Oh wow, it’s amazing! Well done Vi.”
Cait froze up a little feeling someone come stand behind her. “Thanks man, hey Cupcake? Would you be alright with me taking a photo of the piece to put on my insta? It won’t have your face in it or anything so no one will know it’s yours.”
With a small smile and a nod, Caitlyn turns and moves to where Vi directs her and lets the artist take a photo. She follows back to the desk once the photo was taken and puts in her card to pay for the tattoo while avoiding Vi’s gaze like the plague.
“You okay to come back 2 weeks today? Same time, Monday at 3? And if you just use bepanthen on it every hour or so, it should heal well.”
“Uhh, yeah. Yep, that’s fine. Thanks. I appreciate you fitting me in so quickly. Sorry for being so bad with the pain and everything…” Cait can’t help but bring her hand to her elbow, holding her arm tightly and looking anywhere that wasn’t straight ahead.
“It’s all good Cupcake, considering it was your first tattoo and it was on your ribs, you did really well. Promise, tattoo artists honour.”
Cait finally makes eye contact with a slight blush and a smile. Vi goes to say something before Jayce comes from behind and interrupts.
“She said yes to a date! I’m taking her out this weekend. You getting a tattoo has worked out great for me. Are you ready to go?”
With a glare, Cait looks at Jayce and gives him a look that almost says “are you serious? I’m talking to a hot woman, leave me alone” before turning to Vi and placing an extra $20 on the counter. “Here’s your tip for dealing with me anyway, and I’ll see you in two weeks.”
“See ya later Cupcake, I look forward to it.” Vi actually winks at Cait as she picks the $20 up and puts it in her pocket.
Cait was going to die.