yatted

stella <3

"mum is gonna kill me dude!" mitchel giggles as he pushes christian along the pavement. the blonde sat comfortably in an office chair the group had found left outside of a mcdonald's a few blocks ago, gliding freely as mitchel skipped along right behind him.

"guarantee she won't even notice", clinton chimed in from further behind, smiling fondly at his little brothers nerves, knowing he had felt the same when he got his first tattoo at 18, "dad is more likely to care."

"faster, faster!!" christian exclaimed from his seat, not worrying about the consequences of any actions in that moment, feeling content and lucky as he always did in the cave brothers' company. mitchel grinned childishly as he complied with the blonde's demands, picking up speed as he pushed christian along the pavement. "you're gonna fall out and break your neck!" they heard clinton yell with a chuckle.

and is if on cue, christian did just that. within seconds he went from on top of the world to laying on the concrete holding his head. clinton, of course, laughed from afar, as mitchel ran over to the younger boy, gentle hands dancing over his body assessing any damage. "i'm okay" christian smiled up shyly as mitchel helped him to his feet.

"we're here children"

-

"what are you gonna get?"

"stella!" mitchel replied with a bittersweet smile, pulling out his phone and showing his brother and boyfriend the reference picture. "jordan drew this picture of her a while ago and i've wanted it yatted ever since"

"no one who says the word 'yatted' should legally be allowed a tattoo" clinton frowned.

"old man! booooomer! take away his licence!" christian yelled, his voice echoing through the empty tattoo studio. mitchel giggled as he held a hand over christian's mouth, shushing him loudly. "don't silence me!" he wriggled out of the brunettes grip and held his wrists gently, moving them down to his lap as he draped his left arm over his lover, a strong feeling of love coming over him as he remembered the first time he came over to the cave home.
he had made plans with mitchel, only for the door to be answered by his father, and after a short, awkward conversation, christian knocked on mitchel's bedroom door, entering after a moment of silence. he pushed the door open and found the older boy asleep, hanging off of his bed with stella settled over his shoulder. he sighed at the memory, knowing how much his two best friends missed their childhood companion, but feeling an overwhelming feeling of love knowing that she would never be forgotten. not even for a moment.

after a few minutes the three boys settled into complete silence, each lost in their own world, until a voice carried through the room. "mitchel cave?"

"yes ma'am, that's me" mitchel turned his head to the voice, standing and holding his hand out to greet her.

"nice to meet you, my name is casilda. i'll be your tattoo artist for today, now before i take you back and start explaining everything, do you have any questions or worries about the process?" the brunette explained with a warm smile.

mitchel simply shook his head and eagerly followed where she lead him. when she was just far enough ahead, he turned to christian with a smile and whispered "such a pretty name"

-

mitchel turned his head at the sound of christian's polaroid camera shutter, immediately going to scold him "you didn't even ask casilda if she was okay with being in that kras!"

christian looked up from the slowly developing photo with a look of pure panic on his face "oh god, i'm so sorry. i can scrap that or cut you out if you want me to"

"no, no! i don't mind at all. i'm honoured to be a part of the moment, that's what tattoos are all about!" the lovely artist smiled, moving her machine over to gather more ink as she spoke.

the youngest boy sighed a breath of relief, turning his attention back to the nearly fully developed picture of his boyfriend, his heart swelling as he analysed the beautiful moment he had captured.

cas was very good at her craft, barely hurting mitchel and working very quickly all while keeping up amazing standard and quality, and mitchel felt all too lucky to have such an amazing first experience with tattoos. before long, cas announced that she was finished and called for mitchel to take a look, worry clear on her face as she waited for his reaction.

mitchel held his arm up in front of his face and immediately felt the tears stinging his eyes. he wiped them away with his right hand, keeping his left arm in view at all times. he cried in that moment for stella, for all the loving memories he had with her and for how lucky he was to now have those memories live forever not only in his heart but on his skin. clinton reached out and held his brothers shoulder silently, kissing his hair as he sniffed back a fear tears of his own.

mitchel and cas ended their interaction with a tight hug and endless gratitude for each others connection in that moment, with mitchel promising that he'll be back soon.

-

christian arrived home that night with a heart full of bittersweet love and nostalgia. he had held his boyfriends hand the whole walk back to the cave house, and kissed him gently goodnight as he had left. he felt full.

"how was it, love? did he cry?"

"of course he cried mum, it's mitchel" the older woman laughed at her sons playful remark, asking him to show her a picture of the tattoo, gasping at how beautiful it was when he showed her. christian always smiled so freely in these moments. moments where he can openly share his love between multiple people, and where those peoples' love for each other are shared equally as well. he was a very lucky boy, and he knew it.

eventually, he kissed his mother goodnight and head upstairs to his room, pulling the polaroid he had taken out of his wallet. he walked over to his photo wall, grabbing an unused tack and using it to pin the new picture of mitchel right above his bed. he went about his evening routine, taking a shower and putting on some comfy clothes to sleep in. he texted mitchel and checked his class schedule for the next day. he put his phone on to charge and played an episode of bobs burgers on the tv to fall asleep to. he was settled and ready for bed before suddenly getting an idea.

the blonde boy sat upright and leaned over, grabbing a picture from higher up on his wall and gently taking the tack out of it. it was a picture of the cave family, mitchel and clinton in front both petting and kissing stella with their parents stood behind them, smiling down at the beloved family dog. christian had taken the picture on his and mitchel's first anniversary, he smiled down at it in his hands, stroking mitchel's face with his thumb. he then grabbed his phone from his desk, taking a picture of the polaroid and sending it to mitchel with a smiley face, before pinning it by the picture of his boyfriend he had taken a few hours before.

as christian settled back into bed, nuzzling his face into one of mitchel's t shirts, he smiled contently. he knows that mitchel loves him, but they older boy will always love stella more.

and christian is okay with that.