a/n: (y/f/i) = your first initial
thomas: "babe, are you ready yet?"
"give me five more minutes!" you called from your bedroom, where you were currently getting ready for your beach day with thomas.
"you said that five minutes ago," he replied, his voice getting closer. you heard him knock.
"i'm coming, i'm coming," you replied, finding a spaghetti strapped dress to wear over your swimsuit and throwing it on before you opened the door. "don't get your panties in a twist."
"took you long enough," he teased, grabbing your beach bag in one hand, entwining his with yours in the other.
"hey, i was in there for ten minutes, tops."
"try thirty."
"was not!"
"was too!"
"i could have taken longer if i wanted," you replied. "would you like me to?"
"no! we're losing precious beach time!" he whined, pulling you to his car.
"i was kidding," you giggled, pulling your hair into a ponytail as he loaded your beach bag in the back of his car. "don't be such a drama queen."
"i am not a drama..." he began to argue, but stopped when he turned around, his gaze drifting to the spot right behind your ear. "(y/n), what is that?"
"what's what?"
"that," he said, pointing to the spot. it took you a minute before you realized he was talking about your tattoo.
"oh, that," you said, having forgotten about it yourself. "it's my tattoo. i got it when i turned eighteen."
"why haven't i noticed it before?" he muttered, mostly to himself, taking a closer look at the small bird that was inked behind your left ear.
"it's not very noticeable," you replied. "i'd just always wanted one, and my parents wouldn't ever let me, so when i turned eighteen, i just got a small one. it hurt too bad for me to ever get another though," you laughed.
"why a bird?" thomas asked, the tone of his voice genuinely curious.
"freedom," you replied. "my parents were always a little overprotective, so i wanted my first tattoo to represent the ability to do what i wanted. do you like it?" you asked, biting your lip nervously, having never really considered what he might think of it.
"it's...you," he replied with a smile. "completely, definitely you." he kissed your nose. "now come on my little bird, the beach awaits."
braiden: you had decided that you wanted to surprise braiden with your new tattoo, which had been inspired by his clothing line, over dinner, the night after you'd gotten it. you'd cooked him dinner at your apartment, inviting him over at seven. as the clock ticked closer and closer, you began to get more and more nervous. what if he didn't like it? what did he even think of tattoos? you looked down at your wrist, running your fingers over the fresh ink, and took a deep breath. he had always been very supportive of you, so why would this change anything?
there was a knock on your door that pulled you out of your thoughts. pulling your sweater back down over your wrist, you went to open it, finding bradien outside with a bouquet of pale pink roses.
"good evening, beautiful," he greeted you with a peck on the lips, handing you the flowers.
"braiden, you shouldn't have," you said, smiling as he handed you the bouquet. "thank you."
