hush- spencer reid

10: Tattoos and Trouble

TATTOOS AND TROUBLE:
Solana was a grown woman.

She had been "grown" for years now. Yet, occasionally she worried about disappointing her Aunty and Uncle. Despite being extremely intelligent and successful, she reflected over every decision, thinking about how it would affect her family.

However, she threw all caution to the wind as she lowered herself into the seat. Adjusting her elbow on the arm rest, she waited for her tattoo artist, Andy, to return with the stencil. Solana had wanted a tattoo since she was 12 years old, and she wanted a big one. Her Aunty Miley forbid any tattoos, and expressed her judgement even when Solana was old enough to get a tattoo on her own. She had waited long enough.

Soon enough, Andy was back, stencil in hand. Solana wanted a sleeve tattoo which started at the top of her shoulder, and ended a few inches above her wrist. The design she settled on included an array of vines with snakes coiled around them, along with some roses dispersed throughout. It felt a little basic, but the addition of the snakes added some flare.

"You seem relaxed, is this your first time?" He asked.

"Yeah, first tattoo."

Andy smiled, "How exciting. You're jumping right in I see." He said, holding up the large tattoo template.

Solana chuckled, "yeah. I have a high pain tolerance so I'll be fine."

"Sounds great. Are there any other small tattoos you want? I'll chip in one for free."

Her eyes lit up, "Actually yes," she said, "do you have a piece of paper I could use"

He nodded, handed her a scrap piece of paper. She drew out a Japanese kanji character large enough to see the detail and direction of every stroke.

In her handwriting, it spelled out 伊藤— her father's (and her former) last name, Ito. Despite her parents being extreme drug addicts, Solana still honored her heritage and family.

"I want this," She displayed the piece of paper, "on my neck, behind my ear."

"Can do!" Andy replied.

Solans prepared herself for the lengthy process. The black ink didn't hurt at all, but the white ink used for highlights stung a bit. The sleeve tattoo took 3.5 hours, while the small Kanji tattoo only took 10 minutes.

She examined her newly inked skin, which was still red and sensitive, in the shops mirror. She flashed Andy a wide grin,

"I can't thank you enough. This is perfect!"

He smiled back, "Just going my job. Now, the tattoo could take anywhere between a week and two months to heal— so make sure you properly take care of it."

She nodded, "Of course. Again, thank you so much."

"No problem!" He exclaimed.

Solans paid him the $300, along with a $50 tip. This was the happiest she's been in a while. She finally got the one thing she's wanted for so long. She couldn't wait to show everybody at the BAU on Monday when they returned to work.
_____

Monday morning finally rolled around, and Solana was anticipating the reaction of all her colleagues: Morgan and Rossi would be enthused, Prentiss, JJ, and Hotch would be concerned, Garcia would probably ask to get matching ones, and Spencer— well she didn't want to think about him right now.