Kaycee
She squinted her eyes against the bright lights, trying to get comfortable in the seat.
"So," The woman said to her. "Have you figured out what you want to have done?"
Kaycee turned to Sean - a little too quickly that her buzzed brain immediately regretted it - and pouted at him.
"Seeeaaan!" She whined, "You have to help me!"
The equally intoxicated boy, with glossed-over eyes, smirked at her and shook his head.
"You're not getting me involved in this!" He retorted, washing his hands clean of what she was about to do. Kaycee pouted more, trying to charm her with her wide hazel eyes. But when Sean only laughed harder, she huffed irritably.
"Fine then. If you won't be useful, go somewhere else. I don't want you being all judgey while I decide." She moped, words slightly slurring together.
"Yeah, sure." Sean rolled his eyes and clumsily rose from the plastic seat beside her chair. "If you can even make a decision."
Before Kaycee's muddled mind could even come up with a snarky response, Sean had waltzed out of the parlor.
"Okay then." The artist spoke again. Kaycee turned her attention back to her and smiled meekly. The woman smiled back, gentle but amused. "Do you want me to try and help?"
Four hours ago, Kaycee turned 18.
She had a big party in some fancy club, "chaperoned" by her two older siblings. But sometime after she accidentally spilled beer on a stranger and began yelling out the wrong lyrics to every song that came on, Sean decided that she had enough. Her best friend dragged her out of the club, insisting they get some air.
Trouble was they both underestimated just how much they actually drank. As they strolled around the city, the alcohol caught up with them, making them drunker than when they left the club.
One thing led to another, and here they were - at a tattoo parlor at 4 am. Kaycee had decided that her birthday gift to herself was to get inked.
"What's a good tattoo to get?" Kaycee asked, squinting against the bright lights in the room. They were hurting her eyes.
"Well," The artist pondered. " A lot of people get a tattoo as a reminder."
"A reminder of?"
"All sorts of things."
Kaycee frowned at the vague answer, finding it completely unhelpful. The tattoo artist laughed.
"Okay, okay. That was a useless answer." She said in between chuckles. "How about this - what do you hold in your heart? What is so important to you that you must have it close always?"
Kaycee smiled, an answer instantly coming to mind. The image flashed in her head, and she knew right away what she wanted to immortalize on her skin.
"Do you have a pen I could borrow?" She asked the artist. "I'll try to draw it for you."
Sean
As he re-entered the tattoo parlor, he was immediately jolted into alertness by the sound of mechanical buzzing. His eyes landed on Kaycee, laying back in the seat, just as he left her. The artist was already hard at work, bent over her hand.
Sean quickly made his way to her, careful not to stumble into anything. His legs felt like weights beneath him, so it was a miracle he made it to her in one piece.
"Hey." He said quietly, not wanting to scare her. Kaycee's eyes were scrunched closed and her lips were pursed tight, fighting against the pain as the needle worked its way across her skin. Sean couldn't see what she was having done because the artist covered whatever she was working on.
Kaycee opened her eyes but didn't say anything. She extended her free hand to him, eyes pleading for support, so he took it without a word.
"Almost done." The artist lady said.
Sean heard Kaycee sigh in relief, so he gripped her hand tighter.
"What design did you get?" He asked, trying to distract her from the pain.
"Hmmmm it's a secret." She hummed, smiling at him mischievously. He rolled her eyes at her and looked around the shop, eyeing the framed designs and little trinkets on the walls.
Eventually, his gaze landed on a little metal tray next to the artist. Among her tools and things was a small piece of paper with something written on it.
"Is that...?" Sean trailed off. Without even thinking, he let go of Kaycee's hand and made this way to the other side to inspect the little sheet of paper.
"Noooo!" Kaycee whined, trying to stop him. "I said it's a surprise."
But it was too late. Sean held the paper close to his face, forcing his eyes to focus on the little design. Once his vision sharpened and his mind finally registered what he was seeing, he let out a small gasp.
"No, Kayc." He said, voice just above a whisper. Before he could say more, the artist straightened up and stretched her hands.
"All done!" She announced. Sean looked down at the finished work, and his mouth fell open.
There it was, on Kaycee's left hand, where her ring finger met her knuckle - two small letters imprinted in black ink.
A bold capital "S". Right next to it, just a little lower was a bold capital "K". The two letters were connected - the lower loop of the "S" meeting the side of the "K".
SK
SK
SK
Is that what I think it is?
"Yes," Kaycee said, face red, and he knew it wasn't because of the alcohol this time. Sean didn't realize her actually uttered those words aloud.
"But why?" Sean asked, head going dizzy with surprise. The alcohol was fading at this point, chased away by the shock of the whole situation.
"She said it should be something I hold in my heart, something so important to me that I need to keep close." Kaycee replied, voice slowly trailing off into a whisper.
Sean continued staring at the two small letters on her ring finger. But his reverie was broken when the artist began cleaning the tattoo and covered it with a small bandage.
"Keep the bandage on for about 12 hours. Then you can wash it with warm water and unscented soap. But be careful!" The artist instructed.
"Okay. Thank you." Kaycee replied, getting up from the chair. She wouldn't meet Sean's eyes, and began making her way to the counter to pay.
But Sean was momentarily frozen in his spot, then a switch flicked on in his head.
"My turn." He said, to the artist, taking the seat where Kaycee was just a few moments ago. He extended his left hand and looked up at the woman expectantly. She smiled down at him warmly and laughed, before sitting back down.
"What?!" Kaycee exclaimed. The petite girl marched back to him, expression thunderous. "Why?"
"Did you honestly think that you can get a tattoo like that and not expect me to get one too?" Sean chuckled, waiting for the artist to begin working.
"I mean, it would look so bad that Kaycee," He pointed at her. "has a 'Sean & Kaycee' tattoo but Sean," He pointed at himself. "doesn't."
"That isn't logical." Kaycee argued, her tongue feeling like mush in her mouth.
"It's super logical." Sean countered. "I'm the genius here. Don't argue with me."
"Sean, seriously. You don't have to." Roles reversed, Kaycee took the seat next to the tattoo chair, and squeezed Sean's free hand.
"Yeah, I know." He squeezed back. "But I want to."
Later
Somehow, some way, they must have managed to make it back to the club because, by some miracle, Kaycee woke up in her own bed.
Head pounding and mouth dry, she groaned and buried her head into her pillow.
Nope, moving is a bad idea.
Just kill me now.
Eventually, she registered soft snoring coming from the side of her bed. Kaycee pulled herself by the bed frame and peeked over the side of her bed, to find Sean passed out on a mattress on the floor.
"Hey! Wake up you two!" Kylie yelled at them. Or at least it sounded like yelling to Kaycee.
"Keep it down!" She groaned, pushing her face back into her pillow in an attempt to block her sister out.
"I'm talking normally, little sis." The older girl laughed. "Anyway, you two need to get up. You'll ruin your body clock and you haven't eaten since last night's dinner."
The sound of her sister's voice and the sudden light flooding the room made Kaycee curl up into a ball and hide. Kylie stepped into the room and kicked Sean's foot. The boy gave a groan that almost sounded like dying.
"Up up! Come on, kids." She gave him one last kick, and finally left.
Kaycee screamed a stream of expletives at her sister, strictly in her mind. Then, with a few creeky movements, she was able to pull herself into a sitting position. Sean was still sound sleep, sprawled shirtless in his little bed. She decided to she'd give him a few more minutes of rest and took the first turn to freshen up.
She dragged herself slowly to the bathroom and surveyed her reflection in the mirror. The person staring back at her was definitely not the same one she remembered walking out of here last night. Her eye makeup had smudged, giving her bad raccoon eyes. Remnants of her foundation left a cakey tinge on her cheeks. Hair was a wild tangled bird's nest on her head.
Kaycee reached up to try and fix her hair somewhat so that it won't be such a pain to shampoo later on. But something caught her eye in the mirror - a small bandage on her left ring finger.
"Keep the bandage on for about 12 hours. Then you can wash it with warm water and unscented soap. But be careful!"
"Oh no." Kaycee breathed out as she slowly removed the small gauze from her finger, revealing the small tattoo.
Then she ripped out a blood-curdling scream.
Sean was startled awake by the high-pitched shriek, cutting through his exhaustion and dehydration. He immediately got to his feet and ran to the bathroom. Finding the door locked, he pounded on the door.
"Kayc, is that you? What's wrong? Are you hurt?" The concerned boy rambled as his best friend opened the door with scared, wide-eyed expression.
For a long moment, she simply started up at him, not quite sure what to say. Then her lips lifted into a wide grin and she broke out in hysterical laughter.
"What the hell?" Sean cursed quietly, running a hand through his messy hair. Kaycee spotted the identical bandage on his hand and only laughed harder.
"What's going on with you?" Sean said, unable to fight the smile creeping up on his face. He couldn't help it - her smile was too infectious.
Kaycee continued laughing but pointed to his left hand. Confused, Sean lifted his hand to his face, finally registering the small bandage on his finger. Then, memories of the night before came crashing down on him, and the boy groaned.
"Oh crap." He whined, throwing himself into her bed. Still in fits of giggles, Kaycee followed suit and lay down next to him. The pair stared up at the ceiling - the girl letting her laughter subside and the boy dreading removing the bandage.
Finally, a comfortable quiet settled over them. Sean turned to Kaycee with an amused, yet defeated, look in his eyes.
"So do I just take off or...?" He asked, gesturing to the gauze on his ring finger. She nodded and bit her lip, waiting in anticipation as he slowly peeled the bandage. Once it was off, Kaycee took his wrist and lifted both their hands in the air, examining the identical marks on their ring fingers.
"Jesus." Sean sighed in amazement. Kaycee could only nod, too transfixed by their matching tattoos.
Seeing them side-by-side, they are hit by the gravity and intimacy of what they had done. They had immortalized their partnership on their skin, for all the world to see. Etched on their ring fingers, the ultimate symbol of commitment, in unmissable black ink.
"You could cover it up, I guess." Sean whispered, breaking Kaycee out of her trance. "Wear a ring or something."
"No, that'll be worse. Because then people would think it's a promise ring or something." She whispered back.
They didn't know why the hell they were whispering, but only that it felt right to do so. Things suddenly felt so delicate in the room.
"Our parents are going to kill us." Kaycee said, finally lowering their hands.
"Well, there's a chance yours will be amused." Sean tried to reassure her. "But mine will definitely kill me."
They found out soon enough. Once they had both bathed and changed into a fresh set of clothes, Sean and Kaycee made their way to the kitchen. The pair were met with amused looks by Kaycee's family, all of them already in the middle of dinner.
Sean and Kaycee took their respective seats on the same side of the table, and quietly tucked in. The second Kaycee lifted her utensils to her mouth, she saw Laura's eyes flick over to her left hand.
"Kaycee, what is that?" Her mother questioned, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
Kaycee felt Sean stiffen next to her. He put his hand on the dinner table, exposing his identical one, and turned to look at her. He gave her the subtlest of nods, urging her to answer.
"It's a tattoo." Came Kaycee's quiet reply.
Laura and Brad looked from Kaycee's hand to Sean's hand, then back again. Kylie bit her cheek to suppress her laughter, and Devon just looked downright stunned.
"When did you get a tattoo?" Her father asked.
"At 4 in the morning?" Kaycee said, trying to keep her tone light, pretending like it wasn't a big deal.
"Come here. Let me see it." Laura commanded, setting her fork down and gesturing for Kaycee to give her hand.
Kaycee stood up and went to the other side of the table, allowing her parents to examine the tattoo up close.
"Sean, let me see yours." Laura said, reaching across the table for his hand. The petrified boy rested his wrist in her palm, keeping still as Kaycee's parents compared his mark with their daughter's.
No one said anything for a while. Kylie and Devon were too terrified to even resume eating their meal. They waited with bated breaths, until Laura and Brad let go of both teenagers' hands.
"Well, it could be worse." Brad shrugged, getting back to him meal.
"It could have been some flower tramp stamp," Laura agreed, waving her daughter off to the other side of the table. "Or some ambiguous Chinese character that mean bird or air or something."
"So you're not mad?" Kaycee asked, taking her seat. She and Sean exchanged worried glances, disbelieving that it was that easy.
"Oh honey." Laura smiled kindly. Kaycee turned to her father, who smirked amusedly at his plate.
"For your 18th birthday, you got drunk, got a tattoo with your best friend, and still managed to make it home in one piece. All things considered, I think you did okay."
Sean, on the other hand, didn't quite have it so easily.
Kaycee insisted on going home with him and facing his parents together. They weren't sure how Miya and Cheuk would react, so she wanted to be there for him in case things went sideways.
He got scolded thrice, in three different languages - first by his dad in Chinese, then by his mom in Japanese, and finally by both of them in some mix of English. Kaycee tried to tell them that it was her fault, that she was the one who got the tattoo first, but Sean held her back and took the reprimand.
But when all was said and done, his parents knew there was nothing that could be done about it. The two were dismissed and headed up to Sean's room.
"Well, at least we got that over with." He sighed, tossing his backpack to the side of the room, and falling into bed.
"I'm really sorry for getting you into this, Sean." Kaycee apologized for the millionth time since they woke up and realized what they had done. She nudged his leg, making him scootch over and make room for her on the bed. The two sat side by side, sharing one big pillow.
"Hey, you didn't get me into anything." Sean reassured her again. "If I remember correctly, you tried to stop me. But being the headass that I am, I insisted on it."
"Why did you anyway?" She asked, tilting her head to look at him.
"Like I said, you can't get a 'Sean & Kaycee' tattoo and not expect me to get one too." He laughed. "We're in this thing together."
The two settled into an easy silence, letting the emotional exhaustion of the day wash over them. Kaycee closed her eyes and relaxed, slowly feeling her breathing even out.
"So," Sean broke the silence. Kaycee opened her eyes and blinked up at him. She had thought that he had already fallen asleep.
"I read that tattoo removal actually hurts more than getting the tattoo." He said. "And that even after, your skin won't look completely as it did before, that you could still see some marks of the tattoo there."
Kaycee frowned at him. "Do you actually want to get it removed?"
The very thought of it made her heart crack, white hot betrayal flushing through her system.
Sean peered down at her, confused. "I figured you would."
Kaycee shook her head. "No, I don't."
"Oh." Sean's eyes widened, evidently surprised. He said nothing, turning his gaze to the ceiling, only to whip his head back to her a second later. "Are you sure?"
"I don't regret it, Sean. I meant what I said." Kaycee laughed. She reached over across his body and took his left hand in hers. She intertwined their fingers and raised them up for both of them to see. With fingers aligned, they could see the matching marks perfectly.
That tattoo lady actually did a really good job.
"You and I, what we have," Kaycee continued. "This is something I hold in my heart, something I always want to keep close."
Sean smiled down at her and lowered their hands. He kept their fingers intertwined and rested them against his chest.
"Yeah," He sighed contentedly. "Me too."
~~~
Author's Note: I figured I'd write something happy again. For those who struggled to imagine the tattoo, this is what I had in mind.