Family First (Bakugo x female reader)

Chapter 5

The tattoo shop is only a couple blocks away, so I opt to walk, Bakugo shuffling next to me, hands stuffed in his pockets. He looks on edge and his eyes keep darting around at our surroundings. I made a special appointment with my artist so that it was early in the morning, much to his disappointment, but that means the shop will be empty. Walking in, Gunther is bent over a drawing desk working on a design, his sleeves are pushed up to his elbows showing his full color sleeves of tattoos.

"Y/n! My masterpiece! Are you ready to get stabbed?" He calls without looking up.

"Always, my pain giver" I chuckle in response.

"You always call me the sweetest things" he finally looks up and his eyes snag on Bakugo before raising an eyebrow at him.

"The fuck you lookin at?" Bakugo sneers, taking his hat off and shaking out his spikes.

"You're in my shop, bro. Fuck off with that attitude, you're killin the creative vibe." Gunther just rolls his eyes and gestures to lead me back to his private tattoo area and shows me the design he already has printed out. It's going to be a periwinkle blue ribbon for stomach cancer that has different animals looking like they're running through the loop and playing in the strings at the end of the ribbon.

"It's perfect. She would have loved it" I smile sadly, wiping at the silver lining my eyes that threaten to fall.

"Damn right she would have." Gunther gets choked up and clears his throat before gesturing for me to hike my shorts up. He knows me well enough that he realizes I would be uncomfortable taking my pants off and reveling my meaty thighs even though we're in an enclosed space without others around.

Gunther cleans the area and re-shaves my leg, just in case I missed any spots before applying the stencil to transfer the design. The piece is big and spans from the top of my knee to upper thigh on the outside of my leg. He peels the paper off, leaving the purple outline for me to inspect.

"You know where the mirror is." He gestures to the main room so I can double check the placement. I trust his judgment, but he always insists and after unfathomable hours of being worked on by him, I know arguing with him about this is pointless and it's an argument I always lose.

I go to look as Gunther sets up. There's a spare chair in the tattoo area that Bakugo has claimed for himself. As suspected, the placement is spot on and when I come back I look to my guest and he smirks softly in approval. His opinion shouldn't matter to me, but for some reason I'm glad he seems to like it.

"Looks great! Well it's been real" I say, playing it off like it's over and I'm leaving.

"That joke was funny the first five times, y/n." Gunther rolls his eyes and smiles, letting me know it's still pretty funny.

I lay on the table, facing Bakugo now that Gunther is finished setting up and listen as the tattoo gun starts to whir. The first swipe is always the most shocking but after he gets started, the pain isn't too bad. It's also an easy area, unlike my ribs or ankles. I almost swore off tattoos after my ten hour rib piece. It was probably also not a smart choice to do it all in one sitting.

"This is the first time that you brought someone with you. Must be a pretty special dude." Gunther finally comments after he finishes the line work. We had spent the time talking about his sister, my best friend, who died six months ago from stomach cancer. This is her memorial tattoo. She was a vet that loved all sorts of animals. The only one not represented on my body is a snake because I just can't do it. Snakes and spiders freak me the fuck out and having Gunther's realistic rendering of either on my body would cause me constant stress.

"He's practically a stranger." I state, looking over at Bakugo who has been silently watching with his arms and legs crossed as Gunther works and we talk. His analyzing gaze met mine several times during the line work and each time, it felt like an intimate moment that I wasn't sure how to handle.