Reaper's Touch

Lucas: Reaper

"There is a Reaper, whose name is Death,
And, with his sickle keen,
He reaps the bearded grain at a breath,
And the flowers that grow between."
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Jeff's schedule was packed with appointments, so it took Lucas a couple of months to secure the three hour time slot he needed for his sobriety tattoo.

Gus was the first one to greet them at the shop that day. He'd been thrilled about Lucas and Nora getting back together and now "checked in" with them every time they saw him.

"How's everything?" he asked before even saying hello.

"Everything's fine, sweetie," Nora said reassuringly.

Now that Gus's life was normal and probably better than it had ever been, he'd developed a deep fear about anything going wrong or anybody fighting or disappearing on him. Lucas and Nora didn't mention it, but they both noticed and talked about it when they were alone. Beyond that, he had also been pretty secretive lately, so Lucas wasn't surprised when he said,

"I have two surprises for you guys!"

"So that's why you've been acting weird lately?" Lucas asked.

"Well one is a big surprise, so yeah I've been kinda nervous 'bout that one. Come see!"

"Sure, okay," Nora said, allowing Gus to take her hand and pull her over to one of the artist's booths while Lucas trailed behind them.

In the chair, there was a very pretty girl with red curly hair getting a tattoo on her upper thigh. She wore a black tank top and short shorts.

"This," Gus said, pointing at the girl. "Is the big surprise. Hex. She's a friend of mine from when I was here before. And now we're... more than friends, I guess you could say..."

Hex looked at them with an obviously forced smile. "Hey," she said through gritted teeth. "Sorry, this thing hurts like hell. I'd shake your hand, but I can't stop gripping this pillow."

"No problem. Nice to meet you," Nora said.

Lucas said hi as well and took some time to study her. He had heard Gus talk about Hex since they had first met at the ranch, and she was as beautiful as he'd described, small in stature like him, and her blue eyes were bright and clear. If he'd seen her on a screen first, he would have assumed they were photoshopped.

"Are those your real eyes or contacts?" he asked.

Hex laughed. "Um... they're my eyes. Thanks I guess."

"Sorry. They're just unique, but in a good way.   So what are you getting done?" Lucas asked, trying to make out the tattoo from his upside down vantage point.

"Oh, it's a little tree sapling to go with Gus's forest fire tattoo. It represents the new growth. Well, our new growth together."

"Your first tattoo?" Nora asked.

"Yeah, it's my first one. I never wanted a tattoo but Gus talked me into it."

"I'm getting good at this job," Gus said smugly.

"I'm still too much of a chicken to get one, but I'm keeping an open mind. So what's the other surprise?" Nora asked Gus curiously.

"Oh it's in Jeff's booth. I'll go get it!"

When he came back Gus was carrying a huge gift bag, and Jeff was with him.

"Nora," Jeff said, giving her a hug. "Didn't expect to see you, but I'm glad you're here."

"Lucas needs me to hold his hand," Nora said.

"I do not!"

"Here it is," Gus interrupted, thrusting the bag at Lucas.