06/28 Instance: No Pain, No Gain.

[littlebamf]

Before Rae's bday party

Rachel: Rachel ran a hand through her hair with a sighand resisted the urge to pick at the bandage that was covering her hip. Maybe she should've just gotten it somewhere else, though she supposed it was a bit late now... Oh well.

Josh: Josh paced nervously, a muscle jerking in his jaw. His hands felt warm and clammy. "I can't believe I'm doing this," he groaned for the twentieth time since they'd arrived at Dirty Dan's.

Rogue: Rogue walked slowly along the wall, looking at all of the tattoo suggestions for the third time at least. "So don't do it. Ya ain't got ya butt in a chair with tha needle prickin' ya yet."

Rogue: She glanced at him over her shoulder then went back to looking. "Ah'd get one if Ah could."

Rachel: She rolled her eyes at Josh, "It's not that bad. And, your shoulder isn't going to hurt as much as other places." Smirking, she glanced at Rogue, "You could draw on your arm with a pen and saran wrap it when you take a shower."

Rogue: Rogue laughed at Rae's suggestion, "Yeah, 'cause that'd look real intelligent of me. Ah'm sure some people already think Ah'm mostly book stupid 'cause Ah didn't go ta school past tha age of twelve."

Josh: "Other... places?" Sweat broke out on Josh's neck. He was surprised it hadn't already. He chewed his lip and glanced at Rogue. "Temporary tattoos? They're probably better anyway. You won't get stuck with the same image for ever."

Rachel: "Well, people aren't all that smart themselves. They'd probably believe it's real," she shrugged. "Well, I seem to have one anywhere but my back. You'll be fine. Just don't think about the needle pricking you repeatedly."

Josh: Josh leveled his girlfriend with a stern, slightly terrified stare. "Rae. That's like telling someone crossing a rickety old bridge, 'Don't look down.'"

Rogue: "Yeah, that'd work, but ain't a real point in it... Cover up as much as Ah can anyway." She shrugged then turned back to look at them with a grin. "Josh? Don't look down at tha needle either."

Rachel: Rachel shot an innocent look back, grinning, "Don't worry. You won't be able to see the needle unless you plan on pulling some creepy, Exorcist head-spinning."

Josh: "Thanks," Josh scowled at Rogue. "I have every intention of not opening my eyes at all. No ripping off The Exorcist, either. My tastes are more classy than that." He peered anxiously at Rae's new tattoo. "Does it hurt?"

Rachel: She glanced down at her hip and shrugged a shoulder, "It's not too bad. Doesn't hurt, really. Bandage is just irritating. You'll be fine though, really. I'd say you can break my hand, but you won't."

Josh: He still felt worried as he was led into the next room. "Don't be so sure about that," he squeaked, gulping at the sight of the massive needle in the tattoo artist's hand. "I'm really tempted to shout 'Somebody stop me!' right now."

Rachel: Rachel glanced at Rogue, who was looking over the art again, before following Josh, "Well, you could. It'd just hurt a bit, and you'd have to fix my hand. Just don't worry about it so much. I promise that you'll be okay."

Josh: "Deep breaths. Deep breaths." Josh's shoulders heaved as he sat down. "Haaa." While they waited for the tattoo artist to join them, Josh pushed thoughts of his impending fate as a human pincushion and smiled at Rae.

Josh: "I know I said it already, but happy birthday, babe."

Rachel: She pulled a chair over with her teke since no one else was really around, and she didn't want to drag one over due to her hip, "Thanks."

Josh: "I thought the tattoo you picked was a great choice," he said shyly. "Do you have any tips for a first timer?"

Rachel: "Um..." she thought for a moment, "I dunno. Depending on where you get them, decides how much it'll hurt. I've heard your shoulder blade isn't too bad. I mean, I can just talk and distract you..."

Josh: "Okay. Okay. I can do this. I dunno how you've done it so often. Your skin's made of steel or something." Even though the needle was still nowhere near him, he tensed, squinted his eyes shut and set his lips.

Rachel: "High pain tolerance," Rachel reached out and took his hand, giving it a sqeeze as she watched the artist start to set up everything. "You'll be fine."

Josh: "Erg..." Josh gave her hand a squeeze and tried not to look as panicked as he felt. He didn't think he was doing an adequate job.

Rachel: Leaning back in her chair, she kept a hold on Josh's hand as she watched the artist work, occasionally muttering to Josh that he'd be okay. Rachel kept in touch with Rogue using her telepathy during the whole process.

Josh: "OW," was all Josh could say when it was over and done with. He felt tears pricking his eyes, but bravely forced them back.

Josh: "Freaking OW. I'm never, ever doing this again," he groaned, tentatively feeling the bandage on his shoulder as they went out to meet Rogue.

Rachel: Rachel followed him out and shot Rogue a grin, torn between snickering at her boyfriend's reaction or feeling bad for him. "It wasn't that bad, was it?"

Josh: "I was treated like I was a piece of embroidery! A Paint-By-Numbers set!" Josh cried with a heretofore unseen flair for the dramatic.

Josh: "This had better be the behemoth of all dragon tattoos, I tell you." He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

Rachel: Yeah, snickering definitely won out. "It looks nice, baby. I like it." She grinned, "The healing is worse than actually getting it. You'll have to figure out someway to keep it clean."

Josh: "I'll take your word for it," he said. "I know. Antibacterial soap, right? And no swimming for a week or so. Not that I was planning on taking a dip in what little of the lake hasn't frozen over."

Josh: "We can suffer together," he went on, recapturing her hand and entwining their fingers. He leaned down to plant a kiss on her lips. "Commiserating in our tattoo-induced pain sounds like a perfect anniversary to me."

Rachel: "Yep, soap, no swimming, keep it clean, don't take that bandage off for a few hours and so on. Won't be comfortable sleeping on your back either," she returned the kiss, not missing Rogue rolling her eyes.

Rachel: "And, we do need to do something for that, now that I think about it..."

Josh: "Did you think I forgot about?" he grinned. "I've totally got something cooking for you. And it doesn't involve people sticking us with needles."

Rachel: "Aw, so that means piercings are out? And no, I didn't. You're better at keeping track than I am," Rachel grinned back. "Something planned? Should that worry me?"

Josh: "Well, it helps that it's right around your birthday. And Christmas. That hole in my pocket is really starting to get big."

Josh: "And no, it shouldn't worry you. There's no Japanese restaurants or rat costumes involved either."

Rachel: "You don't have to get me anything," she shook her head, "Well, I suppose that's good."

Josh: "We have to do something. It's been a year!" He almost forgot to be in pain for a moment. "We actually made it a whole year!"

Rachel: "Well, was more thinking about my birthday and Christmas," Rachel smiled. "Yeah, it's amazing."

Josh: "I had to pinch myself a few times when I realized it." Josh reached back with his arm and winced.

Josh: "Oh, shoot. Should not have done that right now."

Rachel: "If it makes you feel better, walking kinda sucks now. Means we should probably go back to school and do nothing."

Josh: "I'm totally down with that. How about we pop a bowl of popcorn and make fun of whatever crap they're showing on ABC right now?"

Rachel: "Sounds good to me," she glanced over at Rogue, who just gave a shrug.

Josh: "Okay. Let's hit the road, ladies." Josh held the door open for them. "Time to go home and nurse our wounds."