dopamine : luke

tattoo

luke stayed silent for a bit, thinking. after a few seconds, he smiles widely. "you know what, gordon, i'm feeling extra spontaneous tonight," he then looked at clio, and she immediately did not like the playful look in his eyes, "i want my beautiful companion clio to choose which tattoo i'm getting."

"what?" she says automatically, eyes wide, "luke, i can't. that's going to be on your body forever and i don't know if i can handle that responsibility and-"

"peach," luke says, causing clio to stop talking, "i know it's going to stay on my body forever. i have a few already, and i'm sure the one you'll pick will be the most special of all."

clio's cheeks heat up at this. why is luke so good at persuading?

michael, on the other hand, is just looking at them back and forth with a teasing smile. this is the first time he's seen luke bring a girl with him to his yearly to-do list runs, and it's something new indeed.

"please?" luke asks, taking clio's hand, pulling her in between his long legs, "i'm sure you'll pick something great. you've got one of the most beautiful minds i know."

clio looks into luke's blue eyes, looking for any sign of doubt or fear in them. a small sign to show her that luke was maybe joking, or that he wasn't 100% sure he wanted to do this.

but, no. he has the same look in his eyes he's had all night. that always present twinkle, looking straight at clio, letting her know that every decision he makes tonight, he's 100% sure he won't regret it.

"okay," clio says softly, causing luke to smile the widest he's smiled the whole night, "but you're not allowed to look until it's done."

"i like it," luke smiles, "and i want it on my inner forearm. so i can see it all the time."

"gotcha," michael smiles, handing clio a paper and a pen, "you can write your ideas here."

"oh, shit, wait," clio says, another cause of fear popping up, "i'll be the one to write it? or draw it? it's going to be in my handwriting? i thought i was only going to pick a design."

"peach," luke says again, in a tone that's all too familiar, "when i see it, i want to remember you. it needs to be in your handwriting."

clio starts to think of all the things that can go wrong. what if luke already has this specific tattoo? what if it won't be enough to satisfy him? what if he hates it?

she brushes all these thoughts away, though, once she sees luke smiling at her, looking as though he trusts her with his whole being.

"alright," clio says, accepting the materials from michael, "just don't blame me if you hate it."

"clio, everything you touch becomes beautiful," he answers, adoration present in his eyes as he speaks, "this'll be no different."

–

"it's done," michael says proudly, backing away from luke, "it's a masterpiece for sure."

"can i look now?" luke asks clio, excitement painted all over his face.

clio didn't answer straight away. she was very nervous of what luke might say to the tattoo she chose. but she chose it because it was something that immediately made her remember luke.