Work Crush (Johnathon Ohnn Fanfic)

-XIII-

“How come you want this tattoo in particular?” The artist asked, as the needle etched the design into John's skin, causing him a small amount of pain.

“Cause it looks pretty, I guess.” He replied, with a nonchalant tone, trying to sound completely uninterested. He’d gotten used to the pain by then, after having sat there for well over an hour by that point. The artist continued working, a small smirk on his lips.

”Black holes are pretty, huh?” The artist asked, with a sarcastic tone. “I bet you're one of those that get a massive hard-on for space and science, huh?”

The physicist didn’t reply, forcing a bored expression on his face, as the artist continued working on the design, the needle pricking into his skin, the pain a welcome distraction.

“Come on, don’t gimme that look, I know your type...” The artist said, with a knowing grin, his voice taking on an almost mocking tone. “You’re a geek, that's what you are. All into sci-fi and books and whatnot, I betcha only read scientific magazines and watch documentaries, don’t you?”

A small twitch was visible on John's face, as the words hit their mark, and a look of irritation into his eyes. That bastard was hitting a little too close to home, mocking his interests and what he liked.

“And let me guess. You’re all awkward and shy when it comes to the ladies and you’ve never even had a girlfriend.” The artist continued, still with that mockingly-teasing tone in his voice, looking him in the eye with a knowing glance. “No dates, no girlfriends, nada...”

He suddenly felt his cheeks redden in humiliation, and he had to fight the urge to just punch the guy in the face, the only thing stopping him being the fact that this guy was still tattooing him. But there was no way he could let the prick see that he was getting to him, that would only encourage the mocking. So John just gritted his teeth and forced himself to maintain his bored, disinterested expression, trying to ignore the humiliation bubbling inside him from the guy being right about his non-existent love life.

“I bet you’re still a virgin, too?” The artist added, with a smirk, glancing up from the design taking shape on his skin, noticing the reddening of his cheeks, the hardening of his jaw, the annoyed look in his eyes. The artist chuckled, a knowing, mocking chuckle.

John felt his blush deepen, as the bastard hit another mark dead-on.

Right then John felt so bare and exposed, like the artist was seeing him right through... but he had to hold it in, he couldn’t snap at him, not in his position, half-naked and trapped in the chair for the needle to continue doing its work. He took a deep breath, trying to ignore the mocking smirk on the prick's face, trying to tell himself that it didn't matter, and that he didn't care what this bastard thought of him.

“Oh my god, you are, aren't you?” The artist continued, surprise evident in his face.

He clenched his teeth, forcing himself to look away, the humiliation from the prick's continued mocking suddenly welling up inside him and threatening to overflow. His hands suddenly clenched into the armrests of the chair, his shoulders stiff, trying desperately to hold back from breaking the bastard’s nose, which he so richly deserved right now.

But the guy's words stung badly nevertheless, making John feel like the biggest loser in the entire world, because they were true, he was an awkward, shy geek, without a girlfriend or any dating experience... His asexuality didn't help either. The needle pricked into his skin, as the artist traced out the shape of the black hole.

The prick continued to smirk at him, his mocking expression infuriating him more and more. John tried to tell himself that he really didn’t care. That the artist’s opinion of him really didn’t matter to him, yet his words still managed to hit so close to home.