A Collection of Heartstopper Oneshots

bloom - freloux

A/N: This one is a bit more spicy so if that makes you uncomfortable feel free to skip this one shot.
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Summary:

Charlie gets his first tattoo and learns some things about himself along the way.
Notes:

Thank you to Jack for the prompt!
Work Text:
Charlie has made a series of rash decisions after Ben left him, but it's the tattoo that his friends try to caution him against. Darcy reminds him that they have stood by him during his goth phase; the dramatic redecorating; the spontaneous trip to Paris.

"But this is permanent," they say over takeaway one evening.

Charlie scoffs as he sprawls on the couch with his phone in hand. He's already scrolling through Yelp reviews of tattoo shops. "You already have a bunch of ink," he says. He gestures vaguely to the sleeve on Darcy's forearm. "What's different about this?" He keeps scrolling. There's a shop that's caught his eye. It's not to far away and the prices are reasonable. Plus the owner seems attractive, if the few thumbnails and blurry closeups are anything to go by.

"Because," Darcy says very patiently, "it will be about Ben." They shudder and return to their pad thai. "And you don't want a permanent reminder of him on your body, do you?"

"It won't be about Ben," Charlie replies vaguely. He's distracted by the actual shop website, which has higher quality photos of the owner. Charlie pinches the photo so he can zoom in and examine the splashes of ink all the way up his bicep. "It's about me."

Darcy says something else, but Charlie's not really paying attention.

"Are you listening?" Darcy asks.

"Hm?" Charlie releases the photo and it snaps back to its original, smaller size. He sets aside his phone.

Darcy rolls their eyes. "I said," they repeat, in the same long-suffering tone as before, "that I'm heading out. Finish your takeaway or don't, but you'll need to pay me back for it either way."

They shut the door behind them and leave Charlie alone to keep scrolling through the studio's gallery. He hovers over the Book Appointment button. There's a slot open next Thursday already. Charlie doesn't want too much time to think about this, so, whispering a small prayer for his bank account, he enters the deposit and sets up the appointment.

***

The shop is much smaller than the reviews and its website indicated. Nick is the only operator, though, so Charlie figures that he doesn't need the extra space. It's just that the setting is very... intimate. Especially since Nick is wearing an olive green cutoff shirt that displays the sleeves on both his arms. His muscles are incredibly distracting anyway, made more so sheathed in ink.

"You can have a seat there," Nick says. He gestures to the seat while he gets the supplies. "Make yourself comfortable."

Charlie sits in what's kind of like a barber's chair and tries not to fidget.

"And you came in with a design?" Nick asks.

"Yeah," Charlie mumbles. The quick sketch he'd come up with immediately feels silly in the close space between them.

But Nick doesn't seem like the judgmental type. He's merely waiting.

Charlie gets the paper out of his jacket and shows it to Nick. The image is of a series of small leaves that get smaller and smaller as they twist out of sight. Charlie drew it in a cartoon style. He wants something happy on his body. He feels like he deserves that.

"Are you ready?" Nick asks. He hasn't commented on the sketch one way or the other. He takes it out of Charlie's hands and puts it on the little wheeled table next to his supplies.