A Fresh Start

FOURTEEN

It was warming up a little bit when the boys left to get their tattoos in early March. Mitch had made an appointment a few weeks before, since he was there having his sleeve finished up.

"Hey, Romeo. These are my boys, Scott and Avi."

"Hey guys, Mitch gave me the rundown and I have the sketch ready to go, anything you need before we get started?"

Mitch could tell both his boys were trying to act calmer than they actually felt. He decided to go first, hopefully showing his boys that tattoos weren't too bad.

"I think we're good, Rome, I'll go first."

"Perfect. Alright Mitch, we'll go to our usual spot in the back."

Mitch sat backwards in a car and rested his chest against the back. Avi and Scott sat next to him, both offering comfort.

"At this point, it's more comfort to get the tattoo. After the first few, you kinda enjoy the buzz. Comfort each other." He said with a smirk.

Avi and Scott actually held hands when the buzzing of the machine kicked on. Mitch visibly relaxed as Romeo got to work on Wyatt's paw print. Twenty minutes later, Romeo was wrapping plastic wrap around Mitch to protect the fresh ink from the friction of his shirt.

Avi volunteered to go next and whipped his shirt over his head. Romeo was skeptical when he saw the mass amounts of hair on Avi's chest, but his back was shockingly smooth and almost hairless.

The purple outline was in it's place on Avi's back, and after Mitch and Scott approving of the placement, the buzzing started once again. Romeo traced a small segment before pausing.

"How's it feel, Avi?"

"It pinches but I think I'll be okay. Just keep going, I'll make it through the next twenty minutes."

Romeo nodded and went back to work, ultra focused on the design in front of him, even though it was a relatively simple paw print.

"And that's it, Av. I trust Mitch to run you down on after care and whatnot, he's a pro. Scott, I'm going to take a quick break and we can get started on yours." Romeo stood from his stool and went to the front desk to grab his drink and stretch out his arms.

Mitch watch Scotty lift the back of Avi's shirt to look at the actual-sized paw print on Avi's back.

"Did it hurt, papa?" He whispered. Both men immediately noticed the 'papa'.

"Not really, Bud. It kinda tickles and hurts at the same time. Before your brain can decided, it'll be over. But if you think it hurts too much, tell us right away. And, Scotty, you don't have to do this if you don't want to." Avi said kindly.

"I want to. I love Wyatt and I love you guys." He replied genuinely. "and, hey, how can I pass up an excuse to hold both of y'alls hands?" He added with a giggle.

Romeo came back and helped Scotty get ready. The flannel tied around Scotty's waist hid the bump of his tail, but Romeo just complemented it for the style.

Scotty heard the buzzing and tensed up.

"Relax, Hun," Mitch cooed, "It's not as bad as you think it will be. Hey, do you remember the time when Kirstie got out right after we got her? When she jumped in the pond? I think that was the cutest I've ever seen you. It was fun to watch you throw treats all over the ground trying to get her to swim to you. Then you told her you'd give her Kevin if she got out, and she leapt out of the pond a second later. That was smart of you to give her an old stuffed sock."

Mitch was rambling on and on, and Scotty was so enthralled that he never noticed the buzzing stopped until he felt a cloth rum down his back.

"You're all set Scott! I've never had someone sit so still before."

A minute later, Scotty was being wrapped in plastic for the journey home.

---

"MOMMA, IT'S SO ITCHY" Scotty yelled from the couched. Mitch was a full three feet away and laughed at Scotty's whines.

"You just need to distract yourself. Let's go start that puzzle; I'm sure Avi will join us.

Mitch held out his hand for Scotty to grab. He noticed Scotty's nails looked longer than normal.

"It itches so bad your nails came out, baby boy."

"I told you it was itchy!"