ahhh!! I just wrote some IMPECCABLE dialogue for stained.
I was sort of struggling with how I wanted to write one of the scenes (arguably one of the most important ones ..) and I finally locked in. my motivation is going strong today. hehehehehehehehe 😁😁😁
Violet can’t control her nerves and Harry can’t tame his thoughts..
(part 8)
stained series <> part 8 teaser
word count: 6.2k
warnings/tags: tattoo artist h, fmc, angst
Violet’s hand was practically trembling as she reached for the door of the tattoo shop. The familiar smell of the lobby filled her nose. It was quieter than usual. The music wasn’t very loud. She furrowed her brows as she realized nobody was at the front counter. There’s not always someone there, but she expected Harry to be waiting on her. Perhaps he was just back in his work room.
She took a deep breath before walking down the hall. What if she was about to interrupt a session? She didn’t want to be in his way. It was making her very anxious.
She swallowed gently as she tapped her knuckles on the door. She twisted the knob and slowly opened the door. The sound of the tattoo machine running filled the room.
“Harry?” She called out over the noise.
He heard her pretty voice and immediately pulled away from his client’s skin. He looked over to the door and saw that she was poking her head in, those sparkling eyes gazing his way.
“Hey, c’mon in, Violet.”
She stepped into the room hesitantly. Was she allowed to be here when he had a client? If she had known he had an appointment, she would’ve waited longer to come or stayed in the lobby.
“Do I need to go wait up front?” She asked from where she stood, frozen in place as if she was forbidden to move.
He smiled at her. “No, you’re fine.”
He had warned this client that someone might be stopping by during the appointment. The guy didn't seem to mind if someone else came in the room.
“Sorry, I thought you said to come at seven in the text.”
He chuckled lightly. “I did, c’mere.”
She took a deep breath before crossing the room. He appeared rather happy to see her. Maybe she was reading his expression wrong. But how could it be wrong? He was smiling and had a gleam in his eyes.
“You can stand here and watch. I’m almost done.”
She walked around the chair to get a better look at what he was doing. She didn’t necessarily care about the client or what the tattoo actually was, she just wanted to watch him.
“Are you an aspiring apprentice?” The guy asked while looking up at her.
She let out a light laugh. “No, just an observer.”
The interaction made Harry clench his jaw. He purposely pushed the needle further in and drug it harder. The guy hissed and mumbled out a few curse words.
Violet moved her eyes back to the tattoo. She was definitely intrigued by the process. Not being the person in the chair gave her a new perspective. She was able to study Harry’s actions without writhing in pain. He was very precise and steady. She couldn’t imagine how much concentration it takes to do that properly. He knew exactly how to pierce the skin to create the lines and knew how to shade in areas to bring it to life.
She chose not to say anything else as she watched. The last thing she wanted to do was distract him and cause a mistake on this man’s skin. She kept her arms behind her back and her eyes fixed on the tattoo until it was finished.
She stayed back while Harry took the client to the front to pay for the service. Violet scanned her eyes over the machine Harry sat on the tray. She wondered how it worked and how it would feel in her hands. It looked like it weighed a lot, definitely more than a paint brush.
Her curiosity was too strong to resist skimming her fingertip over the edge of the machine. Just as she lifted her finger off the surface, Harry appeared in the doorway and smiled gently to himself.
“Starting without me?” He asked with a chuckle, his voice made her jump and twist around.
“Definitely not.”
He came back to the chair and started to clean up from the session. She stepped back and stayed out of his way, waiting patiently for what was to come. The thought of sinking a needle into his skin was starting to feel very daunting. All she could think of was doing something wrong and making him angry. What if she hurt him? That would make her feel terrible.
Harry was sanitizing the chair and the equipment when she felt the need to break the silence.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?”
He glanced over at her, smiling at her nervous expression. “Yes, I’m sure.”
“Harry, I don’t want to hurt you.” She blurted out before considering how silly she might sound.
“You aren’t going to hurt me.” He assured her with a gentle laugh.
“You don’t know that.” Her eyes followed him as he moved around the room.
She wasn’t even acknowledging that he was getting out another machine that he had already prepped for her. He made sure to handle all of the technical and ethical things he needed to do so that she wouldn’t be overwhelmed. She didn’t need to know the steps to setting up or cleaning. She just needed to be content with operating the machine.
He walked past her as he went to the work station. He laid the machine down and shifted his eyes over to her. She felt a pit growing in her stomach.
“Violet, does it look like I don’t have any tattoos?”
She huffed. “Those were done by actual tattoo artists.”
He couldn’t stop his smile from growing. Her fear and anxiety were rather amusing. It was cute to see her all flushed and anxious. He knew everything was going to be perfectly fine.
“Trust me, aright? I’ll be fine.”
Violet chewed on her cheek as he went back to the supplies cabinets. She wasn’t going to say anything, but her heart was pumping a bit fast.
“I do trust you.” Her voice was almost too soft for him to hear.
He gathered the rest of the items he needed and brought them to the tray. Although he told her he didn’t have any fake skin to practice on, he was able to take some from Niall. He figured she’d be more comfortable trying the machine out on something fake first. If it would make her feel better, then he was willing to do it.
“Here, I got this for you. I put some random stencils on it, but I want you to practice doing your own lines, too.” He gestured for her to sit on the stool.
Of course, she was very hesitant at first. The thought of doing something harmful to him was circling her mind.
“I don’t know how to practice.” She mumbled while taking a seat and rolling herself over to the tray.
“Just try it out. I’ve already set up a machine for you.”
Violet looked at the tattoo machine, her brows furrowed and her lips rolled in. Was she really going to do this? When she looked up at him, he felt a swarm of butterflies fill his stomach. She owned the prettiest set of eyes on the planet, he was sure of that.
“Look, hold it like this.” He picked up the machine and demonstrated.
He showed her how to turn it on and gave her a general explanation of how to go into the skin and easily drag lines. She paid close attention, but she feared it wouldn’t be enough. He was well experienced with this process, whereas she had never held a tattoo machine before and never imagined she would. What if she couldn’t understand it? She didn’t want him to get irritated with her for not catching on quickly.
When he gave her the machine, she tried her best to replicate what he did. It felt funny and unnatural.
“Like this?”
He chuckled lightly. “Almost.”
Violet held her breath as he wrapped his hand around hers. He adjusted two of her fingers so her grip was better on the machine. He positioned his fingers on top of hers to make sure she was holding it right. He liked the feeling of her soft skin pressed against his own. If he could stay like this forever, he would definitely choose to..
“Is that comfortable?”
“Yeah.” She muttered out.
“Not too heavy, is it?”
“No, it’s fine.”
Harry pulled his hand back, but she wished he hadn’t. “Practice while I prep my skin.”
“Okay, I’ll try.”
When he walked away, she took a deep, slow breath and anchored her other hand on the fake skin. At least she knew this was fake skin and any mistakes wouldn’t be detrimental. She wasn’t quite sure if she was doing this correctly, but it seemed to work out to her eyes. The needle ran through the material, leaving behind the inked line.
Violet pulled the machine back and took a closer look. The line was definitely there, but she had no way of knowing how to tell if it was done right. She looked over her shoulder to see what Harry was doing. He was still occupied with applying a stencil to his skin. She didn’t want to bother him yet, so she continued.
The feeling was very strange. She had never done anything like this before. It didn’t feel bad, it was just different. She was satisfied with the crisp lines she was creating, but she stayed mindful of her knowledge level. Just because she thought they were good didn’t mean anything.
Harry gave her a few extra minutes to practice. He stood with his body leaned against the counter while he watched her. She was quiet and paying close attention to what she was doing. He was sure she was doing a decent job. He got distracted by her hair and her casual clothes. It was just a tshirt and jeans, but she made it look flawless and runway worthy. A sigh slipped out of his mouth as he pushed himself off the counter. He was getting too caught up in his head.
“Alright, m’ready.” He kept his voice low so he wouldn’t scare her.
Violet lifted her head and gave him a not very confident smile. “Okay.”
“Let me see what you got here.”
He picked up the fake skin and looked at the backside to check her needle depth. He wasn’t surprised that she seemed to do it almost perfectly right off the bat.
“I don’t know if I did it right.” Her voice was light and fragile as she awaited his critique.
He sat it down and looked directly at her. She was afraid something was off and that he was going to be annoyed. But as he lifted his lips in a smile, she felt a wave of relief wash over her.
“You did it very well, actually. That’s pretty much perfect.”
“So the depth of the needle is okay? I.. I might have watched a few videos this morning to try and prepare.”
He grinned wider, impressed by her efforts. “Yeah, the depth is great. Your lines are steady.”
“Really? You’re not just being nice, are you?”
It was ironic that she was asking him, of all people, that question. She wasn’t sure he was capable of pretending to be nice and actually making it seem genuine. Thankfully, he was being honest, which was definitely something he was good at doing.
“I’m serious. You did it well.”
She sighed. “Thanks, I guess.”
Harry sat down and propped his arm up. She knew it was time to roll the stool over to him and start this nerve wracking process. Their eyes met, neither of them attempted to look away.
“Ready?”
“I don’t think I have a choice.” She mumbled while getting herself positioned next to his arm.
He chuckled under his breath. “You’ll do fine.”
Harry had his right arm picked out for this tattoo. Though there wasn’t much room to add anything, there was a small open spot on the inside of his forearm. His tattoos were very intricate. Some meshed smoothly into the next, while others were more prominently placed. The longer she stared at them, the more she began to wonder what the rest of his body looked like. It wasn’t the first time she thought about that, and it definitely wouldn’t be the last.
She studied the stencil, looking over each line of the design. It was sort of surprising that he chose a flower. Maybe he just needed something random. It took a minute for her to realize what it was. She darted her eyes up to his face. He was already staring at her.
“This is.. this is a violet.”
“Yeah, I know.” He nodded lightly.
Her chest tightened. It was obviously an intentional choice. There was no way he randomly chose a flower whose name just happened to match hers.
“Why did you pick this?”
“Well, I figured you'd be against signing your name on me.” He shrugged, keeping a smile on his lips.
Her eyes went wide and she laughed nervously. “My name? Why would you want my name?”
“I dunno. It would be cool and quite funny if it turned out bad.” His eye dropped in a very quick wink. “But, the flower will do.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat and decided to play the game with him. “Save me a spot and maybe I’ll add my name one day.”
“Is that a promise?”
“If you want it to be, yeah.”
He stuck his tongue out to lick his lips, his eyes moved down to the stencil. “I’ll remember that.”
She followed suit. Staring at the stencil was very surreal. It was impossible for her to believe she was about to permanently ink his skin. Those giddy feelings of excitement left her body. She was now just anxious and fearful of doing something wrong.
“I’m kinda nervous, Harry.”
The softness of her tone made his heart melt. It was evident that she was nervous. He didn’t like seeing her that way. He wanted to see her smiling and hear her giggling all of the time. She was too precious to be so anxious.
“Don’t be. It’s gonna be fine.”
The desire to reach out to touch her hand was very strong, but he refrained from the temptation. He had to comfort her in some way, though. It would kill him if he didn’t.
“I promise I’ll watch closely the whole time. If something is wrong, I’ll tell you.”
His words sort of helped her, but it didn’t ease her worry entirely. This was still a very serious situation that she felt extremely unprepared for. There was a piece of her that felt safe in this room. Harry’s presence made her feel protected and looked after. Of course she knew he wasn’t going to let anything bad happen. If he started to feel an unusual pain, he would stop her. If he didn’t think she was doing it right, he would guide her. She knew that. It was just hard to relax. She didn’t realize she had been frozen in place just staring at his arm until he snapped her out of her trance.
“Violet.”
The sound of her name coming from his mouth always made her insides twist up. She lifted her eyes, meeting his gaze instantly.
“Everything will be fine.” He assured her with a soft smile.
In that moment, even with his black eyeliner and piercings, he wasn’t intimidating. He was being soft with her, being gentle and somewhat caring. It made her heart swell. Something about the way he was looking at her felt different than any other time before.
“Okay.”
Violet pushed aside all the worry and fears and turned the machine on. Harry kept a close eye on her to make sure everything was going smoothly. She pulled his skin taut and lowered the needle. He wasn’t afraid of any potential pain, so he was rather calm and collected as he sat there. She ran the first small line before lifting the machine and looking at him for feedback.
“Was that okay?”
“Yeah. Keep going.”
She sucked in a breath and pushed the needle into his skin. It was extremely hard to keep her hand steady, but she was doing her absolute best. She traced the line of the stencil and once again pulled back to check with him.
“Am I doing this right?”
Harry smiled at her. “If you weren’t, I’d tell you.”
“So, I am?”
A low chuckle came from him. “Yes, Violet.”
“Okay. I’m kinda nervous about the petals.”
“You’ll do fine. Just follow the stencil. It’s easier than you think.”
Although she could feel his eyes burning through her, as she tattooed his skin, it wasn't making her nervous. It actually gave her a sense of relief to know that he was watching to make sure everything was going well.
Running the curved lines into his skin was rather daunting at first, but once she did the first one, she realized how easy it felt. His skin wasn't fighting against her, and the machine was gliding easily with her movements. Every now and then, she'd wipe away the excess ink and smudges of the stencil, like she's seen him do while she got her own tattoos, and lift her head up to take a better look at the work.
She didn't ask him any more questions. She didn't ask if she was doing it right or if something was wrong, or even if he was hurting. She figured he wasn't in pain, with as many tattoos he had, there was no way that this small little line work would hurt him.
Harry was very pleased with her dedication. She was focused and precise with her movements, leaving behind crisp lines and neat curves. It wasn’t hard for him to believe, though. He knew she would be good at this. How could she not be? She seemed to be very good at everything she did, including captivating him.
While he did watch her closely the entire time, he wasn’t necessarily focusing on the tattoo. He got easily distracted by the smell of her perfume lingering in the space between them, and by the way her fingers pressed into his arm to pull his skin tight. Then there was the way she gently bit on her bottom lip as she steadied her hand, and the way she squinted her eyes to get a sharper look. Everything she did was mesmerizing. It was way too easy for him to lose track of his thoughts when he was around her.
Violet did something to him that he couldn’t quite understand. Even after their short time of knowing each other, he hadn’t really narrowed down the reason. Why was he so fascinated by her? Why did she take up every space in his mind? Why did he care so much about this girl? Perhaps he knew why, and maybe he even toyed with the idea a few times, but he was too much of a coward to admit it. So for now, he’d stick to pretending there was something more complicated going on.
“I think I’m almost done.” She mumbled as she wiped the damp paper towel over his skin.
“You make that call. If it looks good to you, then it’s done.”
She glanced at him, smiling a bit bigger than before. Her confidence had returned. She did the one small section she had left and leaned back to study the whole thing. She didn’t see any spots that she missed. There wasn’t any stencil showing through. It looked kind of great, actually. There were a couple of spots where her lines went slightly wobbly, but overall it looked pretty nice.
“Wow, that wasn’t hard at all.”
Harry felt a sense of pride as he looked at the tattoo. He didn’t spend hours teaching her what to do, yet she picked it up like they had.
“This looks great.” He couldn’t hide his grin. “You did everything right.”
“Do you like it?”
Violet grabbed his wrist and brought his arm back towards her. She stared at the flower for a few seconds before letting him go. He liked the way she was possessive with him and not afraid to touch him.
“I do, yeah. It’s really good.” Harry locked his eyes with hers. “I knew you’d do great.”
Blush rose to her cheeks and her stomach began to knot up. Hearing his praise was a relief. She went from being terrified of hurting him to ready to do another tattoo.
“Do I need to clean up?”
“No, I’ll do all that.” He shook his head before getting off the chair.
She wasn’t sure what she needed to do, so she just sat the machine down on the tray and slipped the gloves off. She tossed them in the bin and got out of his way. Harry handled all the sanitizing and clean up since he knew exactly what to do. Besides, he didn’t expect her to take up tattooing as a side job, so she didn’t need to know every little detail or step.
Her curiosity was itching again. There was something on her mind that had been lurking around for a few weeks, ever since Harry did the tattoo on her hip. Getting that tattoo opened a door of inspiration for her. She wanted to get more tattoos and be more expressive with her personality. Something she had always wanted was a piercing. Her ears were already pierced, but there was a spot she’s always envied when she saw it on other people.
“Harry.” Her voice trailed off as she looked around the room.
“Yeah?” He wasn’t facing her, but he could hear the wonder in her tone.
“You do piercings, right?”
He smiled to himself. “Yes, I do.”
“I’ve been wanting to get my belly button pierced.”
He turned around just as she said that. His eyebrows shot up in disbelief. She surprised him more and more every time he saw her.
“Oh, really?”
“Yep.” She laughed softly when she saw his expression.
Maybe she didn’t seem like that kind of person. Part of her really wanted this because it truly had been on her mind, but the other half wanted to do it just to make herself more interesting to his eyes. Perhaps if she let loose and did adventurous things like getting more tattoos and piercing her belly button, he might find her more intriguing. Little did she know, he already thought she was quite fascinating.
“Do you want it soon? I have a spot open tomorrow.” He smirked lightly, not expecting her to jump on the opportunity.
“Okay, that works. What time?”
“Come in at four.” He lightly chuckled. “You’re quite something, hm? Full of surprises.”
She casually crossed her arms on her chest. “Who in the world am I? Ah, that’s the great puzzle.”
Harry gave her a funny look. The way she said that was like she was quoting something. If it was a direct quote, he had no clue where it came from. She giggled at his expression. He was both confused and amused by her, which was nothing new.
“That’s a quote from Alice In Wonderland.” She clarified.
“Oh, I’ve never seen that.”
A look of pure shock spread over her features. “What? You’ve never seen it?”
He shrugged. “Not that I know of.”
Violet pressed her hand over her heart, feeling it break dramatically. “Oh god, that’s unfortunate. I love that movie. It’s so beautiful and whimsical. You need to watch it.”
He was familiar with the concept and imagery from the movie. It wasn’t a surprise to hear her say she loved it. That sort of magical, colorful vibe really fit her character.
”I can’t promise you I will.” He smirked as he leaned against the counter.
Violet cocked a brow. “What if I forced you to?”
“And how would you do that?”
Her eyes playfully rolled. “Make you come over and watch it, duh.”
“Make me, hm?” He was fully engrossed in her sassy attitude. He liked it more than he probably should.
“Yes. I’d try, at least.” Her fake dominant demeanor quickly faded away with a soft laugh.
“If you’d invite me, I’d probably agree to it, y’know? No need to threaten me.”
Harry’s smile was very attractive to her. He looked so real and genuine whenever he smiled. That hardened exterior cracked more and more with each grin and chuckle. Her end goal was to completely destroy it and reveal the real Harry. But for now, she would appreciate what she could get.
“Okay, then. Why don’t we watch it tonight? I have nothing else planned.”
“Tonight? You’re desperate, aren’t you?”
She sighed. “It’s a beautiful movie and your eyes need to see it.”
The moment she suggested watching it tonight, he knew he couldn’t pass up the chance to spend more time with her. It was the easiest decision he’s ever made. There was no need to contemplate or convince himself of anything. His answer was definitely going to be yes.
“Alright, we can watch it.”
“We can go to my studio.” She clasped her hands together as excitement filled her body.
He chuckled. “I have a television at my place.”
“Oh, you must live closer?”
“I live upstairs.” He glanced towards the ceiling.
Violet gasped. “Really?”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “So, much closer than your studio.”
“I didn’t know there was anything up there.”
“Just a small apartment.”
It would be unusual if she didn’t ask more questions and keep a conversation going. Harry didn’t mind, though. He liked hearing her pretty voice and answering her questions.
“Do you live alone?”
“Yeah. There’s definitely not enough space for a roommate.”
She pursed her lips as she thought for a moment. Being at her studio would make her more comfortable, just because it was a safe space for her and something she was used to. But getting to see more of Harry’s world was very interesting. She wondered what his living space was like. Did he own a lot of things or was he very minimalistic? Was his home decorated like the tattoo shop or did he have a personal style that differed? There were too many unanswered questions.
“Well, if you’d like to watch it at your place, then we can.” She felt a bit of heat on her face, but there was nothing she could do to stop it.
“Alright. Let me clean and lock up the shop and we’ll go.”
While Harry cleaned up the shop to close it down for the night, Violet ran out to her car to get her tote bag. It was holding a sketchbook and a pouch of drawing supplies. She told him that she wanted to get in some sketching time while they watched the movie.
It didn’t take him very long to finish cleaning. Niall did a lot before he left earlier in the day, so it didn’t leave much for him to have to worry with. Once he was finished and the front entrance was locked, he guided Violet to the end of the wall. She had always figured that the door at the end was an exit. Technically, it led to the exit. There were two doors in a very small room. One was definitely an exit for the building, which he made sure was locked, and the other would lead them to their destination. Harry opened the door, revealing a staircase that went halfway up before twisting around the other direction. He motioned for her to go first, so he could make sure the door was locked. She was nervous to ascend the stairs, but her excitement was a great motivator.
When they got to the top landing, there was another door. Harry reached past her and turned the knob. He normally didn’t lock it whenever he was downstairs in the shop. Violet gulped softly before stepping over the threshold. He flipped a light switch, bringing the space to life.
“I told you it was small.” He said with a laugh as he shut the door behind them.
“It seems cozy, though.”
“I guess so, yeah.” Harry gave her a bit of time to soak up the new surroundings.
Violet looked around the space, her eyes scanning every single inch. It was a studio apartment. There was a small kitchen area with an island, no table in sight. It was big enough for one person to use and it appeared perfectly functional. There was a clear living area space with a couch and a television on a console table. A rug laid under the couch and mapped out the space around it.
She had never really been in a studio apartment before, so it was odd seeing his bed in the far corner. It was sitting on a raised platform that made it seem like it’s own distinct area. There was about a foot of walking room around one side and the end of the bed. He had a large dresser and a nightstand with a black metal lamp sitting on it. There were two other doors. One was for the bathroom and the other was a closet.
The decor caught her attention instantly. The walls were dark grey while the floor was white tile in the kitchen area and light wood in the rest of the space. He had a few band posters in frames on display. On the small desk near his bed sat a laptop and some stationary items. There were a few candles scattered around.
What really caught her eye were the shelves on the wall, specially the ones that were filled with books and CDs. He definitely seemed like the kind of person to enjoy music, but she was surprised to see books. Maybe they were decorative, or maybe he really just had favorite books. She was curious to know, but she chose not to pry right now. She glanced around for a bit longer before finally turning to face him. She gave him a smile and nervously chewed on her cheek as she waited.
“You can get the movie ready if you want. I’m gonna grab a snack.” He told her, nodding his head towards the couch. “Do you want anything?”
“No, I’m okay, but thank you.” She politely declined.
Her cute and innocent tone made his heart skip a beat. He watched her walk over to the couch and pick up the remote. Seeing her sit on his couch was definitely not something he ever thought he’d see, but he liked it. He really liked having her in his personal bubble, within the walls that he called home. She fit in perfectly here.
Harry cut up an apple and tossed the slices into a bowl before joining her on the couch. She already had her sketchbook out and opened to a fresh page. There was a happy smile stuck on her lips as she waited for the movie to start. As much as he wanted to watch her draw, he knew he had to pay attention to the screen.
He could feel the joy radiating from her body as they watched the movie together. She definitely liked this one. Every now and again, he’d glance over to see what she had drawn. She was mostly just sketching quick, random things that came on the screen. He was impressed by her ability to see something for a few seconds and perfectly replicate it on paper. Her talent was nothing new to him, but it was astonishing every time he got to witness it.
The movie was very calming for Violet. It gave her a great feeling of comfort and happiness. Sometimes when she painted or worked in her sketchbook, she’d put on a comfort movie if she didn’t feel like listening to music. It felt so natural to be sitting next to Harry while she sketched and watched one of her favorite movies. Something about it felt extremely real.
Harry truly did pay attention to the movie. He thought it was very innocent and playful, much like Violet’s personality. It reminded him a lot of her. There was no doubt that she was whimsical and curious like Alice. He thought the comparison was pretty dead on.
About halfway through the movie, Violet closed her sketchbook and dropped it back in her tote. From the corner of his eye, he saw her hug her arms around herself and rub her hands on the sides of her arms. He grabbed the remote that was sitting on the cushion separating them and paused the movie. She immediately looked over at him with lifted brows.
“Are you cold?”
She laughed lightly, sort of embarrassed. How did he even notice what she was doing? The thought of him taking sneaky glances at her made her heart start to flutter.
“No, I’m okay.”
He gave her a look. “You’re shaking. I can get you a blanket.”
Violet shook her head. “You don’t have to.”
“But I will.”
Before she could protest any further, he stood up and walked over to his closet door. She watched as he grabbed a throw blanket from the top shelf and unfolded it for her. What she didn’t expect was for him to drape it over her before sitting back down on the couch. She grabbed the edge and pulled it up to her shoulders.
“Thank you.” She mumbled quietly, entirely too flustered to say anything else.
“No problem.”
They watched the rest of the movie in silence. Violet would lightly giggle every now and then, but other than that she stayed quiet and kept her eyes locked on the animation. Harry didn’t think he’d enjoy the movie as much as he did, but perhaps Violet’s presence had something to do with it. He wouldn’t have cared about this movie if he watched it at any other time with any other person. She made everything worth it.
As the end credits started to roll, Harry turned down the volume and turned his head towards her. She met his eyes and gave him an excited smile.
“So, how was it?”
He laughed under his breath. “It was nice.”
Her head tilted. “Are you just saying that?”
“No. I liked it.”
“I really adore this movie. It’s just so beautiful.”
Harry licked his lips as he thought about something. From what he’s learned about her, one of her biggest insecurities was originality in her art. If he could help her in any way try to combat that, then he was going to give it a try.
“You should design your own Alice. Interpret the movie in your own way.” He suggested.
“That’s a good idea, actually. I just really struggle creating my own things.” Violet pushed out a disappointing sigh.
“Use yourself as a reference. And just.. sort of design the other elements in a realistic way. You’re quite good at realism.” His praise continued.
“I’ll see about it.”
Harry swept a hand through his hair. “Hey, I’ve tried a lot of things for you. You owe me one.”
Her jaw dropped in disbelief. She yanked the cover off her shoulders, letting it pile onto her lap.
“Didn’t I give you a tattoo earlier?”
Harry couldn’t hold back a laugh at her reaction. “Yeah, but that’s just one thing. Gotta return the other favors.”
She narrowed her eyes and stared at him for a second. She was entertained by his little game. Him and his little games.. they always got her attention.
“Okay, fine. I’ll do some sketches and see if anything comes from it.” She reached into her bag and grabbed her phone to check the time. “I should probably get going. It’s getting late.”
“Will you be alright driving?”
They stood up at the same time. Violet folded the blanket and carefully sat it down on the couch. Harry wanted to tell her she didn't have to do that, but he got too nervous to say anything. Besides, he liked watching her touch something that belonged to him.
“Yeah, I’m not tired.”
“Okay. I’ll go downstairs with you.”
“You don’t have to.” She slipped the straps of her tote bag onto her shoulder.
Harry sighed and smiled lightly. “It’s dark and you’re a pretty girl. I definitely have to.”
His words made her cheeks catch fire and her stomach drop. He saw the physical reaction on her skin, but chose not to address it. It was adorable, but she would definitely be embarrassed if he said anything.
He wasn’t comfortable with letting her take the back exit and walk down the alley to the front of the building, so he guided her through the shop.
Violet wasn’t necessarily surprised that he walked her to the door, but she was shocked when he kept walking with her to her car. He didn’t want anything to happen to her. He’d never forgive himself if he let her walk out alone and something bad happened to unfold.
“Thanks for watching the movie with me.” She said with a sweet smile as she opened the car door.
He nodded lightly. “You’re welcome. Thank you for giving me a tattoo.”
She giggled and gave him a shrug. “It was nothing. I do it all the time.”
“Be careful.” Harry kept a smile on his face.
“I will.”
“And I’ll see you tomorrow at four, right?”
She grinned wider. “Yep.”
He waited by the shop door as she started her car and made her way onto the street. He made sure she got far down the road before he went back inside. As he turned the locks on the door, he bit down on his cheek and thought about seeing her again so soon. Not only would he get to see her, but he’d get to touch her skin. Even with a glove barrier between them, he knew it would be a heavenly experience.
[a/n: i am so excited about what’s coming.. the angst and the drama and the everything is really about to kick in soon.. see you guys soon, hope you enjoy!]
[tattoo artist h, angst, enemies-friends to lovers]
[.. Harry had his right arm picked out for this tattoo. Though there wasn’t much room to add anything, there was a small open spot on the inside of his forearm. His tattoos were very intricate. Some meshed smoothly into the next, while others were more prominently placed. The longer she stared at them, the more she began to wonder what the rest of his body looked like. It wasn’t the first time she thought about that, and it definitely wouldn’t be the last.
She studied the stencil, looking over each line of the design. It was sort of surprising that he chose a flower. Maybe he just needed something random. It took a minute for her to realize what it was. She darted her eyes up to his face. He was already staring at her. ..]
Update:::: I had a sudden burst of energy and used every second of it to get the post ready. It’ll be up on time!!!
psa: about two hours after posting this.. I started feeling very bad. Turns out I caught a stomach virus that’s going around and it is not fun whatsoever. Going to try my best to have the post prepped & ready to go - I shouldn’t have any issues since it’s already edited, but I’m just letting you guys know in case it’s a bit late. going to try to get some sleep now
[tattoo artist h, angst, enemies-friends to lovers]
[.. Harry had his right arm picked out for this tattoo. Though there wasn’t much room to add anything, there was a small open spot on the inside of his forearm. His tattoos were very intricate. Some meshed smoothly into the next, while others were more prominently placed. The longer she stared at them, the more she began to wonder what the rest of his body looked like. It wasn’t the first time she thought about that, and it definitely wouldn’t be the last.
She studied the stencil, looking over each line of the design. It was sort of surprising that he chose a flower. Maybe he just needed something random. It took a minute for her to realize what it was. She darted her eyes up to his face. He was already staring at her. ..]
currently crying listening to Niall’s new song. one direction truly meant the world to me then and they still do now. it was such a formative time in my life. they were literally my everything. I have had such a difficult time trying to understand and cope with Liam’s passing. it’s a strange thing. i still can’t cope with the fact they aren’t a band anymore (and it’s been so long) — this song really puts into words how it feels. the end of an era, but a lifetime of memories. 🩷
warnings/tags: sugar daddy h, smut, clit play, p in v sex
Iris woke from her sleep in almost a panic. She sat up on the bed, the covers falling to her lap as her hand slammed against her chest. She just had an insane dream. Her eyes widened as she replayed it in her mind. There was a big possibility that the dream could come true one day.
The more she thought about it, the wetter she became. She considered slipping her hand in her underwear, but why would she do that when she knew she could easily get what she really wanted? She got out of her bed and looked in the mirror to make sure the tiny silk slip she was wearing was good enough. She thought it looked cute, surely he’d like it, too.
For some reason, Harry had opened his eyes and woken up far sooner than he wanted to. He folded his arms under his head and stared up at the ceiling. All he could think about was last night and how incredible Iris was. Her body, her mouth, her moans, every little thing was perfect and amazing. She was more than he could ever have asked for. She was everything.
A gentle knock on the door caught his attention. He craned his neck towards the doorway, surprised to see Iris tiptoeing into his room. She shut the door behind her and kept her movements quiet in case he was still asleep. Thankfully, she caught his eyes and felt some relief. She was afraid of waking him up or disturbing him this early.
“Mr. Styles.” She mumbled out quietly as she approached his bed. “Are you awake?”
Harry gave her a sleepy smile. “Mr. Styles isn’t at work, sweetheart.”
She sighed as she realized what she said. “Harry, sorry. M’still trying to get used to that.. and it’s too early to think.”
He gestured for her to come closer. She hesitated at first, of course. He reached for her hand. Iris let him take it. He loosely held onto her fingers as he looked up at her.
“What are you doing up so early?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know, actually.”
“C’mere, doll. Lay down.” He insisted as he let her hand go and moved over on the bed, giving her space to get situated.
She accepted the offer without any second thoughts. Not only did she want to please him by doing what he wanted, but she also just wanted to do what felt good. Being next to him in his bed felt extremely good.
“Are you cold?” He muttered out.
“Mhm. A little.”
Harry chuckled and started pulling on the covers. “You can get under the cover, baby. I won’t bite.”
She maneuvered herself beneath the blankets and let the warmth engulf her. She turned onto her side to face him, her arm draping over his torso. He snaked his arm around her body and held her close. It felt natural to do this with her. It felt right.
“Thanks. You’re so warm.” Iris leaned up to grab his jaw and press a kiss to his lips.
He chuckled as she settled back down. “I think you got up just to get a good morning kiss.”
“Maybe.” She mumbled back with a smile, grateful that he couldn’t see her red hot cheeks.
“Mm. How did you sleep?” He adjusted his grip on her waist.
“Amazing. The bed is so comfy.”
As much as he liked having her propped on his body like this, he wanted to see her pretty face. “Yeah? I was hoping you’d like it.”
Harry shifted onto his side, his other arm claiming a hold on her, too. She let out a soft sigh as she moved her hand to his abdomen. Their eyes met and she swore the world stopped spinning. Sometimes when he looked at her everything seemed to become surreal. He was a dream and she was able to live it.
“What do you want for breakfast?” He asked in a low voice, his sleepy eyes locked on her face.
She was focused on the chain around his neck. “Whatever you want is fine with me.”
He has shown her incredible hospitality all weekend and gone out of his way to make things comfortable and perfect for her. She thought demanding a certain thing for breakfast would be so rude.
“Hm, are you sure?” He licked his lips.
“Yes, sir.”
“I have some ideas.”
That sparked her curiosity. She looked up at him with wide eyes and a cute smile. What an angel.
“What are they?”
Harry moved his hand from the small of her back to her butt, giving her a hard squeeze. “Well, I had an interesting dream that inspired one of my ideas.”
She lifted her brows, following his words as she tried to decide if he was being serious or if he was flirting with her. Part of her was sure he was teasing her.
“What was it about?” She took the bait.
He cleared his throat and slid his hand under her panties, giving her ass another squeeze. “A pretty girl crawled in my bed.. and begged me to play with her pussy.”
Iris hid her face in the crook of his neck, giggling quietly as she tried to process what just happened. Even after the week of practice and new experiences with him, she still couldn’t believe they were actually doing this together. She wasn’t in his office watching him type on a computer. She was laying in his bed listening to filthy words come from his mouth.
“Are you alright, baby?” He let out a light laugh as her hand curled around his shoulder.
“Mhm, just.. just like it when you say that kinda stuff to me. Makes me tingly.” She kept her face tucked away from his eyes.
“Where do you feel the tingles, hm?” He knew the answer, but he wanted to hear her say it.
“Between my legs.”
He let go of her ass to carefully wrap his hand around her throat. He angled her head back, their eyes locking. Lust coated her pretty features. A burning desire was lighting him up inside.
“And what’s been your legs?” He asked lowly.
Iris stuck her tongue out to coat her lips. He watched it move along her skin and slip back inside her mouth. As he darted his eyes back to hers, she felt her pussy start to throb. She needed him right now, more than anything else.
“My pussy.” She answered quietly, fluttering her lashes at him.
“Hm, your pretty little pussy.” He muttered out, his hand moved to her chest.
He groped her boob for a few moments, pinching her nipple through the thin material of her silk pajama top. She wasn’t wearing the matching bottoms.
“Pl-please.” She stammered.
“Tell me what you want, baby.”
“Want you to rub my pussy, please.” Iris poked her lip out as she begged.
“Yeah?” He smirked. “Want me to play with your cunt?”
“Mhm, please. Rub my clit, sir. Pretty please.” She pressed her hand to the side of his neck, his warm skin set fire to hers. “I need you.”
“Oh, my good girl.” He leaned close to her, but didn’t touch her lips. “Love it when you beg me.”
Iris nodded, her eyes pleading with him. “I’m your good girl, sir.”
“Fuck, I know that.”
“Please.” She rubbed her fingers against his skin in an attempt to coax him into touching her. “Please, sir, please rub my pussy. I need it so bad.”
The desperation in her voice made his cock twitch. He was already hard, but he didn’t plan on dealing with it just yet.
“Yeah? Got you aching?” He mocked her whine.
She huffed. “Yes, so bad. I really did have a dream about you.”
He lifted his brows at her confession. Though he had fibbed about his dream, it was interesting to know she did dream about him. What unfolded in her mind was something he wanted to know, something he hoped he could make a reality for her.
“Tell me about it.” Harry moved his hand to her tummy.
She smiled as he pushed under her shirt to touch her bare skin. “You fucked me on your desk.. the doors were open.”
He smirked. “Oh yeah? You want someone to hear me pound your pretty pussy?”
“Mhm.”
“Fuck you so good, yeah?”
Iris whined. He was making her suffer through the teasing.
“Yes, please. Please rub my pussy, sir.”
Hearing her beg was music to his ears. His cock was growing, but his focus wasn’t on himself. She was the focus.
“I think you deserve it now, baby.”
She felt her insides start to bubble. “Pretty please, sir.”
Harry couldn’t torture her any longer. She proved she deserved a reward. He pushed his hand between her legs, fingers pressing against her covered pussy. He tapped the fabric, smiling as he felt a damp spot.
“Baby, I can feel you through your panties.” He cocked a brow. “Did you touch yourself when you woke up?”
“No, sir. M’just so.. so horny.” She felt embarrassed, even though she knew she shouldn’t be.
“Just woke up with a wet pussy, huh?”
“For you, sir.” She felt her confidence quickly coming back.
“For me?”
She nodded softly. “All for you, sir.”
Harry slipped his fingers beneath the fabric, making her moan out as he started rubbing circles over her clit. She gasped and grabbed his elbow, nails sinking into his skin.
“My pussy. Soaking wet f’me.” He mumbled out as her lips smacked a few kisses on his chin.
“Yes—” She slid her tongue into his mouth, swapping spit with him and tasting every inch she could reach. She pulled back with a moan. “..sir.”
He smirked while whispering to her. “Baby, you don’t have to say it every time.”
She grunted back. “I like saying it.”
“Oh, I know you do.”
Iris gulped as her eyes reconnected with his. She thought maybe she did something wrong. Was he upset at her for saying that?
“Is it okay if I do?” She pouted.
Harry moved his lips to her cheek. “Of course, sweetheart. Don’t worry about it.”
She nodded lightly as her hand twisted around his arm. She moaned gently. His fingers were moving as fast as he could make them.
“Yes, sir.” She answered with a blushing smile.
“Sweet girl.” He praised, pressing a kiss to her mouth. “So, so sweet f’me. Everything about you is sweet.”
The intense feeling in her stomach started to bubble. She whimpered, unable to form any words for him.
“Your lips, your tongue, your tits, that soaked pussy, all tastes so sweet.” His taunting words pushed her over the edge.
“Mm, fuck.” She uttered.
He didn’t let up on her. He made sure he went as fast as she wanted and pressed hard. Iris was moaning and whispering to him, begging for a release. Within a minute, her stomach rolled and her nails scratched his skin.
“Fuck, yes.” She whined. “M’cumming.”
“There y’go, good girl.”
Harry moved his fingers around to coat them. She watched with lustful eyes as he brought his hand to his mouth. He sucked the wetness off each digit while he stared into her eyes. She was burning hot inside.
“So sweet.” He mumbled as he finished.
“Like sugar?” She giggled at her own little joke.
He playfully rolled his eyes and grabbed her jaw. “You’re cute.”
“Do you need me? I can suck your cock.” She fluttered her lashes and gave him the most innocent look.
The corner of his mouth twitched into a smirk “Not yet, baby.”
The frown she gave made him chuckle and press a few kisses to her lips and cheek. She sighed while hiding her face in his neck. She really liked being close to him like this, it made her feel safe.
“Don’t worry. I can’t go another week not fucking you.” He chuckled deep.
“I don’t want that to happen either. I.. I can have it in the office now, right?”
His cock twitched at her words. The way she said it was so casual and innocent as if it wasn’t a dirty thing. He squeezed her hip tight.
“Yeah, you can have it, baby. You’ll be on it first thing tomorrow morning.” His hand dipped down to her ass. “Might not even make you bounce on it, just sit there and squeeze me.”
“As long as you’re in me.”
He chuckled. “Greedy girl.”
Iris moved her hand to his neck, her fingertips softly tracing his skin. “What do you want me to wear tomorrow?”
“Whatever you want underneath, but wear one of your new dresses.”
“Don’t have a specific one?”
He touched the back of her head, the softness of her hair felt luxurious against his skin. He sighed gently. “Surprise me. I like them all.”
She moved her head back, her eyes meeting his. “Okay. I’m good at surprises, I think."
He smirked. “You strutting your ass in here before seven was a surprise. I’d say you’re good at them.”
Their eyes stayed locked for over a minute. They both just poured into one another. Iris could feel her heart start to pound in her ears. Her stomach was twisting up and flipping over. Harry’s chest tightened. In this moment, she felt calm and safe. Anxiety didn’t exist. Without hesitating, she lifted her hand to his jaw and gently rubbed her thumb across his skin. Her eyes shifted from his, but only so she could look over every tiny detail of his face.
There was something happening that neither of them could explain nor understand, but it felt right. Harry stayed silent and let her run her touch across his skin. If she wanted to do this forever, he’d let her. A soft silence formed in the room, the only noise being their breaths.
All Iris could think about was the feeling of his fingers pressing into her clit. Was it selfish to want more? He was so great at making her feel good. It was hard not to think about it. Laying here touching his face and examining every inch of his skin was only making it harder.
“Can I.. can I ask for something?” Her words came out in a whisper.
Harry smiled and tightened his rip on her waist. “Of course you can.”
Her clit was throbbing between her legs at the mere thought of it happening again. She was craving him like never before. Sure, she’s had these desires when they've been apart, but she’s never felt this needy while being directly beside him. She pushed out a deep breath and shook her head.
“Nevermind it’s.. it’s nothing.”
Harry pushed his hand under the silk fabric covering her body. “Iris.”
Although he used a slightly stern tone, she wasn’t going to oblige. She felt embarrassed for even opening her mouth. She curled her arm and tucked her hand between them, no longer caressing his handsome face. Harry sighed, trying his best to push a kiss onto her lips but she dodged him.
“Ask me what you want to ask.” He tried again, this time he managed to land a kiss on her cheek.
“You’ll let me ask for another one?” She lifted her head and looked at him with innocent wide eyes.
He smirked. “I’ll let you ask, I won’t promise I’ll give it to you.”
An apprehensive sigh came from her mouth. She cut her eyes away again. Harry chuckled and reached up to grab her face. He angled her head back and looked into her pretty eyes. She was pouting her lips out.
“Just ask, baby.” He kept his voice quiet and gentle for her sake. He knew she was getting anxious.
She curled her small hand around his wrist. “Can you.. rub my clit again?”
A smirk spread over his lips. “Such a greedy girl.”
They had only been doing this a week, but Iris already knew how to get what she wanted. If she communicated with him correctly and said things he wanted to hear, then she’d get whatever she asked for. She channeled her sultry energy and let lust fill her eyes.
“Please, sir, I need it bad. Need you so bad.”
Harry was pleased with her effort. “Want me to rub that little nub raw?”
She eagerly nodded, sinking her nails into his skin. “Mhm, wanna cum again for you, please.”
She pushed her chest out, pressing her boobs into his body. She would do whatever she could to sway him. Luckily for her, there wasn’t a lot she needed to do to convince him to give in. Within a few seconds, he was caving.
“I suppose I can give you what you asked for.”
She gasped. “Really?”
He smiled at her cute reaction while grabbing the hem of her gown. “Mhm, take this off f’me.”
Without wasting a second, Iris sat up and pulled the fabric over her head. She tossed it on the bed and quickly nestled back down next to him, but this time on her back with her legs already spread for him. Harry spit on his fingers and slipped his hand back into her panties.
“Oh, god. Thank you so much.” Her words came out in a whine. “Feels so good.”
Harry connected his mouth to her nipple, making a moan erupt from her throat. He kept a steady pace on her clit, not letting up for a second. Iris was already so close to the edge. The harder he sucked on her skin, the quicker she felt the orgasm approaching.
“Fucking soaking wet pussy. You hear that baby?” Harry groaned as he moved his mouth to her neck. “Hear how wet you are?”
She struggled to get air in. “Yes-yes sir, so wet for you. Oh.. oh my.. fuck.”
He deviously chuckled as his sloppy kisses trailed back down to her boobs. “Already so close, yeah? Got such a good pussy, baby.”
“So close, please please. Bit faster.” She instructed as her arm snaked around his shoulders.
Harry obeyed and sped up his movements. She wrapped her fingers in his hair and tugged hard as he pushed her further and further to her climax.
“Oh yes, yes that’s it. Fuck.”
He swept his tongue back and forth over her nipple, teasingly biting down on it every now and then. “C’mon, gush out for me, baby. Get all sloppy wet for me.”
The filthy encouragement was working. Her thighs were shaking as it started to roll through her.
“Yes, yes please I wanna cum for you.” She thrashed her head on the pillow as the orgasm flooded her body. “Oh, oh, Harry.”
“Yeah, there y’go, baby. Mm, fuck.”
He kept going, but she was becoming overstimulated. She reached down to snatch his hand away, making him chuckle and move his kissing up to her lips. She stuck her tongue in his mouth and nearly tried to swallow him whole. He flattened his hand over her pussy, which gave her a warmth that melted her skin.
Kissing him was one of her favorite things to do, and right now she was doing it like she’d never get the chance to again. Harry had to break the kiss and give her a few on the corner of her mouth before he allowed it to go too far. He wanted to wait. Plus, he could feel those strings twisting, the strings he wasn’t supposed to have. As he fell back next to her, she rolled over and grabbed his waist.
“Do you need me now?”
He lightly shook his head. “I’m okay, baby.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am.” He pushed out a deep breath. “This week is going to be chaotic at the office.”
She peered up at him. “I’ll make it better, promise.”
“I have no doubt you could, but I’m not sure how much time I’ll have for you.” He said with a gentle smile.
She pouted her lips out, but didn’t say anything. He gave her a few quick kisses before mumbling about needing to get out of the bed. She made sure to pepper her own set of kisses across his face before letting him slip away.
Harry rolled over onto his side so he could sit up on the edge of the bed. He yawned, stretching his arms up as his body adjusted to the new upright position. Iris smiled sweetly as she admired the muscles in his back move beneath his skin. She couldn’t help but be very fascinated by him all of the time. She thought about things she could do to make his day easier. The work week was going to be tough for him, the least she could do now was make his Sunday relaxing.
“Harry.” She rolled over so she could reach his back.
He hummed as he felt her fingertips touch his skin. He didn’t look her way since his phone screen got his attention first. Someone had sent him a message regarding an email he supposedly hadn’t responded to.
“Can I make you breakfast?” Her angelic voice was enough to draw him away from the phone.
He tossed it down and twisted to look at her. Her hand fell from his back, but she quickly returned her touch by grabbing his wrist as his hand sank into the mattress. A smile covered his lips.
“I suppose so.”
She grinned back. “I make very good French toast.”
“You might have to rummage through the pantry first to see what I’ve got.”
“Do you cook a lot?” She asked curiously, chewing on her bottom lip as she waited.
“A good bit, yeah.”
Harry did seem like the kind of person to make his own meals, but she had wondered if he did that or not. She thought since he had the means to hire someone or get food delivered whenever he pleased that maybe he did that instead. It was very wholesome and sweet to know he cooked for himself. He really was just a normal person with a very big, very important job.
“I’ll see what you have around.” She sat up with a sigh, the covers falling down to her lap.
Harry couldn’t help but look at her exposed chest. He had left a few marks across her skin. She leaned forward and grabbed his chin, angling his head up. A smirk flashed across her face.
“My eyes are up here.”
He grabbed her wrist and pressed a kiss to her hand. “I know.”
“Don’t rush to the kitchen. Relax for a bit, okay?” She said with a stern look, but she wasn’t very intimidating. If anything, it was adorable.
He nodded lightly. “M’gonna take a shower.”
“Okay. I’m going to get dressed and then I’ll cook.”
Harry let out a low chuckle. “You can walk around naked, y’know.”
Her eyes rolled and a blushing smile appeared on her pretty face. “No, sir.”
Although he didn’t want to be away from her, he knew he had to give her some space. Besides, he had to shower anyway and it was a good time to get it done. She would be occupied with something and he would only be getting in her way. Iris opted for minimal clothing upstairs. She jumped in the shower to rinse off her body before getting dressed in a lingerie set and a silk robe. She almost chose not to wear the bra, but she figured it wouldn’t hurt anything if she did.
Down in the kitchen, she was going through cabinets and drawers trying to gather up things she needed to cook him a nice breakfast. The pantry wasn’t stocked to the ceiling, but he had all the things she needed for the meal.
She was in the middle of dipping the pieces of bread into the mixture when Harry strolled into the kitchen. Her back was to him, so he snuck up behind her and snaked his arms around her waist. His sudden appearance made her jump.
“Do you need any help?” He asked while peppering kisses beneath her ear.
“No, thank you.” She turned her head back and puckered her lips.
He gladly gave her a kiss. “You should’ve just stayed naked.”
Harry put one hand over her tummy and the other on her hip. The robe was thin and all he could feel beneath it was her underwear.
“Are you ever not horny?” She asked through a giggle as he kneaded her ass cheek.
“When it comes to you.. no.” He bit down on her earlobe, making her squeal and scrunch her shoulders up.
“You’re distracting me.” She whispered, smiling like a giddy school girl. “Please go have a seat and wait.”
“I need to help you.”
“No, you don’t.”
“You don’t have to do all this by yourself, sweetheart.” He sighed back, clearly not as amused as he first was.
Iris sat down the piece of bread she just dipped and turned to face him. She kept her hands up and out of the way to avoid getting him messy. Her sultry eyes looked up at him, forcing him to lock contact. He couldn’t resist those eyes.
“You do so much for me. I just want to do this one thing.”
As the inflection of her voice changed, he realized she wasn’t joking around either. She pushed out a soft breath and pushed herself up on her tip toes to kiss his lips. He wanted to grab her tight and shove his tongue in her mouth, but he refrained.
“Please, let me do this.”
He caved immediately. There was no way he was going to risk arguing with her over this. She asked for permission to do this and he had given that to her. He had no right to barge in and try to take over. This was her way of returning a favor, of giving him something. He’d be an ass to take it away.
“Okay, okay.”
She gave him a smile. “Thank you.”
Harry kissed her one more time before leaving her alone to continue prepping and cooking. He didn’t want to hover and bother her, so he went to his office to check that email he was informed about. Iris stayed quiet and continued on until everything was done. She went and got him, taking his hand to guide him to his plate at the table. It was a nice meal and he thoroughly enjoyed everything.
They didn’t do much for the rest of the day. Harry wanted to work, but she didn’t let him. Instead, she forced him to lounge around with her and just relax for the rest of her stay.
By evening, he was driving her home. He thought about asking her to say another night, but it felt very selfish to do so. Maybe some other time he would convince her to stay more than two nights. For now, parting ways will have to do.
——
When Iris walked into the office Monday morning, her eyes instantly darted towards his desk. To her surprise, he wasn’t there. She sighed softly as she sat her coffee down on her desk before taking her seat. It appeared like it would be a very long week. The stack of papers and folders on her desk was quite tall.
She was logging into her computer when the door opened. Mr. Styles walked in. She grinned, but it quickly faded as she saw Daniel following him. Her stomach dropped as she realized he didn’t even spare her a glance. Maybe he didn’t see her or think she’d be here yet. She wasn’t early, though.
Her eyes tracked him as he walked to his desk and sat down with a big huff flying past his lips. Daniel sat in front of him, partially blocking her view.
“What the hell is the issue?” Mr. Styles asked with a cold tone.
It was literally the first work day of the week and things were already starting to go downhill. Daniel sucked in a quick breath.
“They want to back out of the agreement.”
“And why is that? I gave them all the fucking changes they asked for.” He was irritated, and the tone of his voice made Iris perk up in her chair.
She listened carefully to the conversation, wondering how long it would last. She also wondered if he was going to be too angry to even say hello to her. The thought of being ignored by him caused her chest to tighten. She was unaware that Daniel took a call for Mr. Styles before she arrived that did not go very well.
“They said it wasn’t enough capital.” Daniel added.
“It’s plenty of fucking money. They’re just idiots.”
“Would you like for me to contact them about another meeting?”
Mr. Styles thought about it for a minute while staring at the blank computer screen. The headache that came along with this possible business partner didn’t seem too worth it anymore. He was sick of the back and forth and the compromises that weren’t good enough for them. If they wanted to be difficult, then he’d just throw in the towel.
“No.” He set his jaw.
The sound of Iris’s phone dinging across the room caught his attention. He hadn’t forgotten about her by any means. He rolled his chair over so he could see her. She was rummaging in her purse to turn the volume down.
Even though they spent the entire weekend together, he was feeling very empty. She was the only thing that could fill the void. He missed her more than he wanted to admit.
“Get out of here.” He sighed, waving his hand towards the door.
Daniel didn’t hesitate to scurry out of the office. As the door shut, Iris lifted her head to see what had happened. She caught a stare she had been longing to see. Blush coated her cheeks. Her eyes moved to the computer screen. Before she could get distracted by her work, he interrupted.
“Iris, come here.” He said almost in a mumble.
She calmly stood up, not wanting to seem desperate, and walked over to his desk. He kept his eyes glued on her as she came around the side and stopped just a few feet away from him.
“Is, um.. is everything okay?” She furrowed her brows as she realized the irritation was still visible on his face.
“No.” He sighed back.
“Do you want to talk?”
He shook his head and waved it off. “It’s just work stuff. I don’t want to talk about work.”
“Okay.”
Mr. Styles looked over her outfit slowly, taking in every detail. He had always admired her desire to look well put together and how she matched her accessories to her clothes. Her navy heels corresponded with the color of her dress today. It fit her body well.
“Iris, sweetheart.” He spoke in a low voice.
“Yes, sir?”
He patted his thigh. “Sit on my lap.”
“Yes, sir.” An excited smile shaped to her prettt lips.
“How are you this morning?” He splayed his hand on her stomach.
“I’m okay. Are.. are you alright?”
Iris pushed her fingers into his hair, careful not to mess up the back too much. He licked his lips and gently smiled at her. Now wasn’t the time to discuss how he was. He had better things to tend to.
“M’fine. You look very pretty today.”
She blushed. “Thank you.”
“I like this dress. It’s very nice.”
“You picked it out.” She giggled softly, pressing a kiss to his temple.
“Hm. I know.”
“I’m wearing something pretty for you underneath.” Her words came out in a whisper.
“Are you?” He lifted a brow and moved his hand to her waist.
“Yes, sir.”
“I told you that you didn’t have to do that every day, sweetheart.”
She combed her fingers through his hair, her nails scratching his scalp. “I know, but I wanted to make your Monday better. I know Mondays can be stressful.”
As much as he enjoyed teasing her and wanted to do it more, he was getting too curious about the lingerie. His stomach was burning with desire, rushing with euphoria. He needed her more than ever right now.
“Indeed, very stressful. Why don’t you show me what you picked out?”
“Yes, sir.” She pressed a kiss to his cheek before standing up.
She kept her heels on, but removed her dress. Harry took it from her and draped it over his lap. She did a cute spin for him, kicking her foot up behind her as she modeled the lingerie. His pants were becoming tighter against his crotch as he watched her.
The lingerie was a dark shade of jewel tone purple. It looked extremely flattering on her skin. His quietness was worrying her slightly. All he was doing was sitting there staring at her. She swallowed gently and looked down at her chest.
“Is purple okay? I’ve never worn this color.”
He didn’t like the way her voice sounded in the moment. She seemed anxious, which was never a surprise. The girl was full of anxiety. But he’s noticed that it usually goes away when they do their exchanges of favors. Right now it was still present.
“It’s beautiful, baby. You look like an angel.” He made sure to give her a smile.
Her cheeks flushed and she carefully drug her hand down her stomach, stopping as she reached her underwear. “Thank you. So you like it?”
“You tell me if I like it.”
Mr. Styles looked down at his crotch, her eyes followed. She saw that his bulge had grown significantly since she stood up. A sense of pride filled her gut. It was satisfying to know she was the cause of that.
“I’d say so.” She said with a smirk.
“Do you remember what I told you yesterday?” He asked while unbuckling his belt.
“Yes, sir.”
He slid it out and started with the button and zipper. “Then tell me, baby.”
“You said that.. I’d be on your cock first thing this morning.” Iris felt her stomach start to bubble.
He awakened a greed in her that she didn’t know she had before meeting him. She never knew how intense wanting and craving somebody could be. Right now, she needed his cock shoved as far as he could fit in it her body. If not, she might not survive the day.
“Good job. Now, do you want me to play with your pussy first, or do you want my cock now?”
There was no time spared for second guessing. She knew exactly what she wanted.
“I want your cock, please.”
“C’mere.”
As she stepped closer, he reached for her hips and guided her panties down to her ankles.
“You don’t want me to suck your cock first?”
He glanced at her while grabbing her underwear before they hit the floor. “No, baby. Be patient.”
“Okay, sorry.” She muttered back quietly.
He sat her panties on his desk then returned his hands to her hips. “Don’t say that. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Yes, sir.” She sweetly smiled, appreciative of his reassurance.
“Turn around, touch your toes.”
He helped her rotate, unable to hold in a groan as she bent over, showing him what she had between her legs. He placed a smack to her ass before kneading it hard and slow.
“Good girl.”
There wasn’t a particular reason why he wanted her to do that aside from just being so hungry for her. He stood up from his chair and gently grabbed her hips. Iris raised up and looked back at him. He winked before letting her go.
Mr. Styles tugged off his blazer and laid it on his desk. Without warning, he grabbed her by the waist and sat her on top of the fabric. She gripped his forearms tight, giggling as he started to kiss under her jaw. He trailed down until he was at her shoulder. He thought about taking her bra off, but he left it alone. It would be one less article of clothing she’d have to put back on.
“It was quite a shame I didn’t get to fuck you before going to bed last night.” He deeply chuckled as he grabbed his cock in one hand and spit on his other set of fingers.
She moaned softly when he spread his spit over her hole. He grabbed her knees and held her legs up as he swiped his tongue through her. She whimpered at the feeling, her body craving more.
“Spent two days with you and m’already spoiled, hm?” He leaned in to kiss her while she giggled at his words.
“Missed you last night, sir.”
Mr. Styles gave her a devious grin as he tapped the head of his cock on her clit. The weight of him made her toes curl.
“Yeah? Missed me or missed my cock, huh?” He pushed in, filling the tight space in her body.
“Fuck, both.” She whined back.
“Are you alright, babe, or do you want to lay back?” He furrowed his brows as he waited for her to respond.
She shook her head and gave him a cute grin. “I’m fine. Just want you to fuck me.”
The thrusting started immediately. “Yeah? Want me to fuck this tight cunt?”
Iris let her head drop back as her jaw hung open. He was pounding into her like it would be the last time he’d ever have sex. He dropped her knees to keep hold of her hips, slamming himself into her pussy over and over. She propped her feet on the wood of the desk and wrapped her hands around his forearms to hold on. He had yet to fuck her this hard.
“Look so perfect taking my cock, fuck.”
She couldn’t speak. The pleasure was too intense. It consumed her entire body, every function and control was malfunctioning. She glanced down at the jacket beneath her and decided to take advantage of it. Although she declined his offer the first time, she knew she couldn’t handle his pounding like this.
“Are you okay?” He asked as she leaned back on the desk.
She propped herself on her elbows to watch him. “Yes, sir. Don’t stop, please.”
Sweat beads were forming on his forehead as he fucked her like he’d never see her again. Iris was moaning like an angel and falling apart on his desk. An orgasm rushed through her body quickly, she hardly realized it was happening until her stomach was rolling and she was gasping for air.
Harry proudly smirked. “My favorite girl, hm? So good f’me, baby.”
“Mhm, m’good.”
“You like my cock filling you up, yeah?”
Iris clawed at his wrist. “Love your cock, sir. It’s so big, fills me so good.”
“Yeah? Gonna cum again?”
“Fuck, yes. Yes, please.. keep going.” She begged.
Harry started to hit a spot deep in her that made stars fill her eyes. She let out a loud moan, one she was sure could be heard in the hall. He grunted as he felt her squeezing around him.
“Right there, please. M’gonna.. I’m gonna cum.” She could feel it approaching rapidly. Her hand shot down to give her clit some attention. The sight of her taking his cock and rubbing herself made Harry moan out and grip her hips tighter.
“Cum for me.” He demanded in a stern murmur.
Iris nodded, unable to speak for a moment. The orgasm riddled through her body, shaking her thighs and curling her toes.
She gasped for a breath. “Fuck, yes. Oh my.. oh my god.”
Harry grinned at her, very satisfied with the beautiful sight before him. “Yeah, baby. You want my cum?”
She pressed down on her clit, but didn’t move her fingers. “Yes, sir. Please can I have it?”
He threw his head back, groaning loud. He didn’t care how loud they were. He didn’t care if someone walked in right now and saw them. Nothing was going to take this away from him. Iris was propped on his desk taking his cock and giving him the sluttiest looks. This was perfect.
“Fuck, you can take it all. Where do you want it?” He felt it approaching, but held on to his control.
She giggled lightly. “In my pussy, please, sir.”
He shook his head in disbelief. “Fuck, baby. My cum slut, yeah?”
“Yes, sir, give it to me, please.” She grabbed his hand off her hip and wrapped her fingers with his.
“Oh, fuck.” He shuddered at the feeling.
“Yes, yes.. oh my god.” She pressed her other hand over her stomach as she felt the warmth filling her.
Harry shot ropes in her, his cock throbbing. “So deep, yeah? Fuck.”
He held himself in until the last drop came out. Iris grinned as she watched him pull out. He didn’t dare look away from her pussy as his cum started to drip out. He didn’t care if he lasted half an hour or two minutes. Iris made his climaxes worth it all.
“Thank you, sir. Mm, thank you.” She laughed softly as he grabbed her neck and pulled her up.
He shoved his tongue into her mouth, humming as he tasted her. After a few seconds, he pulled back and looked into her eyes.
“Such a good girl. You did so good for me.” He told her while raking his fingers through her scalp, pushing her hair out of her face. “So, so good.”
She smiled, feeling her warm cheeks stretch. “Thank you, sir.”
“Not too rough, was I?” He lifted his brows, silently comanding an honest response.
She shook her head before grabbing either side of his face to pull him closer. “No, sir.”
“Promise?”
She kissed him softly. “Yes, I promise.”
“I need to clean you up.”
Her eyes playfully rolled. “I can do it, Har- .. Mr. Styles.”
Hearing that come from her mouth made his cock throb. He couldn’t take any more time out of his busy day to deal with his needs, so sadly he had to ignore it and try his best to ignore her unintentional flirting.
“Alright.”
Iris slipped off the desk and looked up at him with a grin. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me.” He reminded her yet again.
Iris took her time wiping down and making sure the mess was gone before putting her dress back on. He offered his hand so she could balance herself while slipping her heels on. She had gladly taken it, of course, and made sure to give it a firm squeeze before letting go.
“I have meetings for the rest of the day.” He sighed out. “If you finish your work early, you can leave.”
It wasn’t right that he let her go so early all the time, but she knew not to complain about it. She appreciated it, even when she thought she didn’t deserve that special treatment.
“Can I have a kiss before I go?”
Mr. Styles smiled and yanked her back to him. “Of course, sweetheart.”
— —
The rest of the week was fine. Things were different though. Unfortunately, something came up that was unavoidable for both of them.
Wednesday morning, Iris came into the office and sat her things down on her desk. Mr. Styles was on the phone, but his eyes were watching her as she walked across the room towards him. She never initiated things first in the mornings, so he was slightly confused by what she was doing. He was always the first to call her over.
She came around the desk and gave him a sweet smile. He reached for her hand and gently pulled her closer. Her smile turned to a soft frown as she remembered why she walked over here to begin with.
He ended the phone call and gave her his full attention. “Good morning.”
“Good morning.” She sighed.
“What’s wrong?”
“I have to tell you something.” She mumbled back, her eyes moving from his.
“Okay.” He put his hands on her waist and squeezed.
“I’m.. um. I started my period this morning.” She lowered her voice as if they weren’t alone.
He licked his lips and sighed. “Do you feel bad?”
“My stomach hurts.” She muttered back.
“Alright. I won’t make you do anything today.” He shifted a hand to cover her tummy. “And, don’t work too hard, either.”
Iris took hold of his wrist, keeping his hand in place. “I can work.. and.. my mouth is fine.”
He smirked lightly at her response. Even when she wasn’t feeling well, she was concerned with pleasing him. Although he appreciated the consideration, he would never put her health below his own selfish needs.
“Just take it easy, okay?”
“Okay. Thank you.” She pressed her lips to his for a few seconds.
He hummed at the feeling of her mouth on his. “You’re welcome, sweetheart.”
For her benefit, despite her not thinking it was beneficial at all, he didn’t request any sort of sexual favor from her all day. He let her leave work a couple of hours earlier than usual. And for the remainder of the week, he treated her with the utmost respect and made sure she was properly taken care of. He made sure her workload each day was as light as he could make it. He checked on her as much as he could, even leaving a meeting at one point to pop into the office for a minute.
He gave her flowers on Thursday, accompanied by a collection of candies to satisfy the sugar craving she had mentioned the day before. Friday was even better. He let her go early because he booked her a massage. It did wonders for her sore back. She appreciated everything more than he could ever imagine.
“You picked it out.” She giggled softly, pressing a kiss to his temple.
“Hm. I know.”
“I’m wearing something pretty for you underneath.” Her words came out in a whisper.
“Are you?” He lifted a brow and moved his hand to her waist.
“Yes, sir.”
“I told you that you didn’t have to do that every day, sweetheart.”
She combed her fingers through his hair, her nails scratching his scalp. “I know, but I wanted to make your Monday better. I know Mondays can be stressful.”
As much as he enjoyed teasing her and wanted to do it more, he was getting too curious about the lingerie. His stomach was burning with desire, rushing with euphoria. He needed her more than ever right now.
“Indeed, very stressful. Why don’t you show me what you picked out?”
“Yes, sir.” She pressed a kiss to his cheek before standing up. ..]
did u remove part 10 of stained from your patreon? i keep trying to read and i cant find it :(
Omg no I didn’t remove it! It got hidden because of some community guidelines issues. I’m not entirely sure why, but I have submitted it for review after changing a few things! I am about to send the update through images in the cherrychat!! So sorry for the confusion!!! 💞💞💞
** okay slight issue — the post is currently hidden bc I apparently broke some guidelines ? Which I didn’t, but I guess some of my wording might have been misinterpreted. I’m working on fixing it now!
Try this link instead ↓
stained: last kiss (10)* by narrycherries on Patreon. Join narrycherries's community for exclusive content and updates.
huge thank you to those of you who are members!! and to those who aren’t, please remember to not feel obligated! this series is available to the public, just at a later date! thank you endlessly for the support, too! the tumblr community does not go unnoticed. I wouldn’t have any members if it wasn’t for the love I receive here! 💞 I will upload the next public part of the series soon!
my final exam is tomorrow. I’m nervous but excited to finally reach the end. it also means more of my free time can be given back to writing and not studying. I am sooo sick of studying and writing notes and reading textbooks. I will return to a more normal schedule as soon as possible 💝
huge thank you to everyone for still supporting me during this chaotic time. love u all 💞
warnings/tags: harry x fem, tattoo artist h, angst, toxic
A sigh blew past his lips as he opened the door of a somewhat familiar place. He swallowed the lump in his throat. It felt odd to be here alone, but he knew he needed this. Escaping from reality was a necessity at this point.
He quietly moved through the doorways, making sure not to bump into anyone. When he got to his destination, he took in a deep breath and pushed it out just as slowly.
Harry slipped the backpack off his back and reached inside to grab something he truly never thought he’d have. It was a sketchbook. He bought it the same day he was last here. He grabbed a pencil and opened the book up. He hadn’t used it yet. Now seemed like the perfect time.
It had been a week since he was in this gallery with Violet. It had been a week since he last saw her or heard her voice. He tried to ignore it. He tried his very best to forget her, but he just couldn’t.
Seven days wasn’t long enough. It was impossible to rid his mind of memories of her. She took up every small crack and space in his body. He was eaten alive by her.
He had never really sketched anything from life before. That was going to change today. He stared at the painting she made for a long minute, appreciating the beauty and complexity of it. He was very accustomed to drawing his own interpretations of things, so trying to replicate the painting was going to be something different. He knew Violet loved to recreate things. If she found joy in it, then maybe he could, too. At the very least, it would remind him of her. It wasn’t the same as having her next to him, but it was something. 
He had to resist the temptation to recreate the scene in his own style. The point of studying something was to draw what you see, not what you’d draw on your own. It had been a while since he did something with an actual pencil. The feeling of scratching the graphite against the paper was vastly different from the feeling of a pen on a screen. He didn’t hate it.
Violet had a way of taking hold of his mind at any given time. She wasn’t here, yet he was thinking about her nonstop. She had changed so much in his life in the short time they’ve known each other. Without her suggestion, he would have never considered buying a sketchbook and drawing outside of work. He wouldn’t have thought twice about a gallery or a museum, or even a studio. He wouldn’t think of the color pink or flowers or sunshine. He wouldn’t have words like pretty, beautiful, gorgeous, or sweet in his vocabulary. She changed everything.
— —
Being at the restoration shop so much in the past two weeks has truly saved Violet’s mind. She was able to sit down and focus solely on the work she was doing and not on her feelings or thoughts. What happened with Harry was upsetting, but she knew she couldn’t let it control her life. But for the first few days, it did.
She didn’t touch anything in her studio. She didn’t eat much. Her parents would call and she’d ignore them. She didn’t go home. She missed her scheduled volunteer hours at the shelter. She completely shut down.
For those couple of days she stayed in her tiny bedroom at her studio. She rotted on the bed as her spiraling thoughts ate her alive. What did she do wrong? Was she too invasive into his life? Maybe he didn’t want to be friends with her. Maybe he didn’t care about her studio. His reactions at the gallery could have easily been an act. She didn’t want to believe that, though.
“Hi, sweetheart.” Her aunt’s happy voice rang through the room.
She looked up and smiled. “Hey.”
“What are you working on?” Maren peeked around the easel to look at the painting. “Oh, you’re amazing, darling.”
“Thank you.” Violet laughed softly.
“That area of loss is literally invisible now.”
She didn’t say anything back, just focused on the area she was working on in hopes that she’d be left alone again. She didn’t have an issue with her aunt. She just didn’t want to be bothered right now. Unfortunately for her, Maren didn’t leave.
“Why do you seem so sad?” She asked as she noticed Violet’s mood.
“I’m not sad.” She muttered back.
“You definitely are. And you have been for a bit. What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing.”
Maren rested her hand on Violet’s back, gently pushing her hair out of the way. “Tell me, please. I’m worried about you.”
Feeling the hand on her body gave her comfort. She never really talked to her mother about things that bothered her, but Maren was always someone who cared enough to ask first. Violet sighed and chewed on her tongue as she thought about the situation. It was really disheartening and she didn’t want to bring it up. She was upset, embarrassed, and angry.
“It’s just.. Do you remember that guy I told you about?” Violet sat the brush down and looked up at her aunt.
“Harry, right?”
She swallowed at the sound of his name. “Yeah.”
Maren frowned. “Are things not going like you hoped?”
“I guess not. He was supposed to come to my studio a few weeks ago but.. he sorta ignored my texts and stuff.” She shrugged as if it meant nothing, but in reality it meant quite literally everything to her.
“Sort of?”
“He completely ignored me.” Her voice was fragile, almost like she’d break apart if she spoke any louder.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
Violet shook her head and picked the brush back up. No matter how upset she was, she still had work that needed to be finished. She dipped the bristles into the paint, twirling the brush between her fingers. She wanted to disappear right now.
“I just wanted to be his friend. I thought.. I thought everything was going fine.” She moved the brush onto the canvas, trying to recenter her focus.
“Have you tried reaching out again?” Maren asked while gently rubbing circles into her back.
“I don’t want to. It’s obvious he doesn’t care.”
“Maybe he got busy or something. You should give it another chance.”
Violet huffed. Why should she give him another chance, hadn’t she given him enough by now? He was rude to her the first time they met and she didn’t hold it against him. That was one chance. He was rude at Anne’s house when he unexpectedly stopped by that day, and she ignored it. That was a chance. Countless times, she’s forgiven his behavior and his mood in hopes of getting to know him. She treated him with the utmost kindness and compassion, yet he chose to hurt her.
“I dunno.”
“Did you want him to be more than a friend?”
Violet contemplated answering that question. The honest trust was that she didn’t know. She thought maybe there was some kind of romantic attraction she had towards him. But it seemed like that was not the case. Maybe her curiosity and wonder was mistaken for attraction.
“No. I.. I don’t know. He doesn’t like me so it doesn’t matter what I want.”
Maren exhaled slowly, knowing the topic was sensitive. “Maybe he’s just a bit hard headed.”
“Or maybe he just doesn’t like me.” She looked up at her again, this time with a layer of annoyance on her face.
“Violet—”
“I really don’t want to talk about it.” She cut in, her eyes shooting back to the canvas.
Maren wasn’t going to pressure her into opening up, so she decided to leave her alone. “Okay, okay. I’ll leave you to your work, then.”
Violet returned to her touch ups and stayed fixated on the painting until she was finished with the small areas of repair. Cleaning up and putting things away were two of her favorite parts about working here. It was satisfying to return things to their places and have a tidy work space. Putting away the retouching paints and other supplies never took very long.
She washed her hands and dried them off before removing her apron. She hung it back on its hook and looked down at her dress. She opted for a soft green colored one today. It was great weather out and she wanted to appreciate it while it lasted. The sundress stopped in the middle of her thigh, letting some of her tattoo see the light of day.
Violet sat down and pulled up the bottom of her dress to examine the tattoo. She’s found herself many times just sitting and staring at it. There were a few spots where the ink didn’t take well. She remembered Harry telling her to let him know if she needed any touch ups. A lump began to build in her throat. What if she went to the shop today? It wasn’t too late in the afternoon.
No, she couldn’t do that. She didn’t want to see him. He made it clear that he wanted to ignore her, so why make it harder for him not to? Now that she’s noticed those spots, they were going to haunt her until it was fixed. She was a perfectionist at heart. Knowing something wasn’t perfect with her tattoo was going to drive her mad.
She didn’t want to see Harry, so maybe she didn’t have to..
Walking up to the door of the tattoo shop felt like she was trapped in a living nightmare. Her heart was racing. Her stomach seized up. She could barely move her feet. If she walked in and Harry was behind the counter instead of Niall, she didn’t know what she was going to do. She hadn’t prepared that far in advance. She prayed that Niall was sitting there as she opened the door.
A sigh of relief pushed out of her mouth. A weight lifted off her shoulders. She saw Niall. He looked up as he heard the door, and lightly furrowed his brows when he saw her. He didn’t recall seeing her name on the schedule.
Violet clasped her shaking hands as she approached the counter. She pushed down a gulp and smiled.
“Hi. I have a question.”
Niall pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. “Do you want me to get Harry?”
“No, the question is for you.” She quickly answered as she saw him moving like he was about to stand.
“What’s up?”
“I noticed a few spots on my tattoo that need to be touched up. Do you have an opening this week?” She tried to use her nicest, most polite voice.
Niall made a weird face almost like he was confused. “We usually only touch up work that we do ourselves. So, Harry would probably be your best bet.”
Violet sighed softly. “You can’t do it at all?”
He scratched the skin above his eyebrow as he thought about it. He was genuinely confused by the fact she didn’t want Harry to do it. He could have sworn that the girl was obsessed with Harry.
“I mean, if it was done by anyone else I probably would. But since it’s Harry’s work, I don’t want to mess it up.” He shrugged.
“Okay. Nevermind, then.” She was disappointed, but there was nothing she could do about it.
“Alright.” Niall still wasn’t sure what was going on.
Violet held her breath as she walked back to the door. She shouldn’t have come at all. There’s other shops in the area she could go to. Why didn’t she consider that beforehand? Now she felt embarrassed. Niall was definitely going to mention their small encounter to Harry, she was sure of it.
Just as her hand touched the door, a voice that was all too familiar to her ears blurted out behind her.
“Violet?” Harry called out her name, his brows furrowed as he saw her at the door. He could recognize her anywhere.
Her body felt numb as she stood there. It was probably foolish to just freeze and not run out of the door, but she couldn’t move no matter how hard she tried.
He had just so happened to leave his work room to come get a pen off the front counter. Thankfully, the unplanned trip was worth it. He couldn’t help but notice the cute dress she had on. She always looked like an angel. It made his heart start to beat faster. She had a strange effect on him.
Niall looked over at him. “She needs a touch up.”
“No, it’s fine!” She twisted around, shaking her head quickly.
Harry started walking towards her. “Can I see what’s wrong?”
“No, it’s.. it’s nothing.” She gently shook her hands, trying to avoid this interaction.
Her efforts weren’t strong enough. Harry was well aware that she was anxious right now. He could see it on her face. But he couldn’t let her walk out of the shop and disappear, he needed to see her.
“I can look at it.” He offered, slowing his pace when he realized they weren’t that far apart anymore.
“It’s really not a big deal.” She sighed, wishing he’d just listen to her.
He slightly frowned. “You came here. It must be enough to make you want to fix it.”
There was a pinching feeling in her chest. She couldn’t just flee. She had a wild desire to be close to him, and right now that feeling was strong. What could it hurt if she complied?
“It’s just a couple spots.” She carefully grabbed the hem of her sundress and pulled it up to show him.
There wasn’t anyone else in the shop aside from Niall, but Harry was blocking his view so she didn’t feel exposed. She held in a gasp as Harry squatted down in front of her, his hand touching her leg to pull her skin taut.
“Yeah, I see what you’re talking about.”
His skin created a fire on hers. It was like a dream come true. She had missed his touch so much. She looked down at him as he rubbed his thumb across different areas of her tattoo. His head fell back, their eyes connecting instantly. It was confirmed that she was beautiful from any angle. He licked his lips as he stood up, crossing his arms over his chest.
“It looks healed. I can run a few lines real quick if you want.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to be in the way of anyone’s appointments.”
“I don’t have anything for a while. It wouldn’t take long.” His lips curved to a smile.
She knew it would be in her best interest to decline and leave. Never seeing him again would be better than further tangling herself up with him. But she couldn’t say no. A huge piece of her really missed him.
“Are.. are you sure?” Her voice was soft.
“Yeah, c’mon back.”
Harry gestured for her to follow him towards the hall. To his surprise, she did. He was relieved to know she was going to stick around for a bit. It was making his insides all warm and gushy. She had a way of melting him.
They walked into his room silently. Violet stopped a few feet shy of the chair and waited for instructions. Harry went over to the counter and started going through the cabinets to collect his supplies.
“Why didn’t you ask to talk to me up front?”
She was thankful that she was looking at his back and not at his intimidating eyes. She gulped gently, trying to decide what she wanted to say. What if she said the wrong thing and it upset him? Maybe she shouldn’t care so much about his feelings since it was clear that he didn’t care for hers. If he did, he would have shown up that day.
“I.. I didn’t think you’d want to.”
He lowered his brows and frowned as he heard her response. Of course, he knew that he probably had hurt her feelings and disappointed her, but hearing the sadness in her tone made it real. He hated himself for what he did, yet he didn’t want to admit that he did anything.
“Why’s that?” He asked while turning around, his hands full of his supplies.
Violet watched him walk to the rolling tray and lay his things down. He started to organize them and get everything ready.
“Because you.. haven’t.. texted me back or anything since.. since we went to the gallery.”
That guilt was extremely heavy. He sighed to himself and quickly decided on a lie to stick with. He kept his back turned, partially because he was too ashamed to catch her reaction to what he was going to say.
“Oh, uh, I got busy here. I meant to text you back, but whenever I’d get home I’d just crash.”
She nodded softly to herself. A tiny piece of her didn’t believe him, but that quiet part was overshadowed by her ever too forgiving heart. She believed him more than she doubted him. That was a dangerous fine line she walked on.
“Right, I understand.”
Harry turned around in time to catch her gaze for just a second. “You can sit down.”
She did as he insisted. It was a bit nerve wracking to be this close to him again, but she knew she couldn’t get out of it now. She got comfortable on the chair and carefully rolled the fabric of her dress up to reveal her thigh, but nothing more than he needed to see.
He sat down on his stool and swiveled towards her. As he slid his second glove on, he studied the look on her face. She was staring at her lap, not really giving him any attention. It allowed him to observe her for a minute. There was no beaming smile on her face, no twinkle in her eyes. She seemed distracted, maybe even anxious. He licked his lips and swallowed as quietly as he could. He knew the reason why she was so down and out. It was because of him.
“Why are you so nervous? You did fine last time.” He asked as he sat his hand on her thigh.
Violet nearly exploded as his thumb rubbed across her skin again. He was seeing if he needed to grab a razor, but there wasn’t enough hair growth to make a difference. Surely he noticed that earlier when he touched her in the lobby. Maybe he didn’t pay attention to it. She had to remind herself that this was part of his job. Nothing more. She looked over at him with her brows furrowed.
“I’m not nervous about the tattoo.” She mumbled back as he shifted his attention on to the tray of supplies.
“Then what’s got you nervous?” He let his hand fall from her thigh as he grabbed the alcohol to clean her skin with.
“You.”
“Me?” He ripped open the alcohol wipe and gently moved it against her skin to clean the area off.
“Yeah. I.. I don't know.” She watched his every move like a hawk.
That tiny piece of her that didn’t believe him must be getting bigger. His demeanor wasn't off, though. He seemed fine. She thought that maybe a liar would be more obviously uncomfortable. Little did she know, he was quite good at lying.
“I’m sorry about the other day. I got busy and it just slipped my mind. I wasn’t trying to be mean or anything.” He finished prepping her skin and got his equipment set to go. “Are you ready?”
Her heart fluttered when his eyes lifted to look at her. She nodded lightly, taking a deep breath as he pulled her skin tight. She closed her eyes as the needle pierced her skin. She trusted him enough to know she didn’t have to eyeball the entire process. He was going to fix the areas he was aware of and check for more.
“I just.. thought maybe something had happened, like I did something wrong.” It was much easier to talk with her eyes shut and her head back on the chair.
Harry clenched his jaw as her words filled his head. She literally hadn’t done a single thing wrong. It was all his fault, all his doing. To know that she was worried about that made him sick to his stomach. How could he do that to her?
“You didn’t do anything wrong.” He replied after dragging the first small line through her skin.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.” He was quick to respond that time.
The last thing he wanted was for her to further sit and worry about this. He didn’t want her to feel bad or confused about anything. Being in the same vicinity as her was comforting. He truly felt different when she was around. The world seemed to slow down, in a good way. All the tightness and tension in his body would relax. He felt like a real person when Violet was around.
One of his favorite things about her was the sound of her voice. If he started a conversation, he knew she’d easily keep it going.
“Y’know, I’m still very interested in seeing your studio. If the invitation is still open.” He glanced up at her, but her eyes were still sealed shut.
“It’s open.” She almost whispered the words.
“I don’t have any appointments Friday afternoon.” It was a risky move, yet he knew it was the right one.
She tried to remember if she had anything planned or scheduled for that day, but nothing came to mind. “I’m pretty sure I’ll be there all day.”
“You wouldn’t mind, right?”
“No, of course not. I’d like for you to come over.” She smiled, he happened to see it.
“Then I will. Promise.”
Violet’s saddened mood had vanished. She was excited now. Her eyes opened and moved down to watch him move the needle through her skin.
“I will be working on stuff, though, so you might have to entertain yourself for a bit.”
He let out a quiet chuckle. “That’s fine. I was hoping to catch some live painting anyway.”
“You can stay as long as you’d like.”
That idea sounded really intriguing, actually. He moved onto the next spot before bringing up an addition to their proposed plans.
“I could bring some food, if you want.”
“That’ll be nice, yeah.”
Harry darted his eyes to her for just a second. “Do you like pizza?”
“Mhm, that’s fine with me.”
“What kind?”
She was surprised by how much he was talking to her and by the questions he was asking. He seemed to care enough to get her preferences. It made some more of that anger and sadness from what happened wash away.
“Hm, I’m sorta picky. I really only like pepperoni.” She laughed.
“That works for me. I’ll bring us a pizza.”
“I’ll have some snacks.” She smiled to herself. “More than just fruit this time.”
He let a smile appear, too. “I’ll be fine with whatever you have.”
Violet’s eyes followed his fingers as he ghosted over her skin, searching for the next spot to clean up. When he found one, he pressed down on her skin to pull it and dropped the needle down.
“Thanks for doing this today.” She kindly told him.
“No problem.” He barely moved his lips as he spoke.
She admired the way he engrossed himself in the process. He was always very attentive and focused when he tattooed. She thought that was a good quality for a professional to have. It made her trust him with the ink. Plus, it showed her that he did care about something.
“How much will it be?”
Harry finished the small line before looking up at her. “We do free touch ups on our work.”
“Oh, okay.” She nodded lightly, unaware of that policy.
They both became quiet as he continued on. Being this close to her skin made it easier for him to check for any missing areas, so he did come across a few more. It didn’t take very long for him to get everything filled back in. Violet was relaxed in the chair, her hands folded on her stomach and her eyes closed.
When he finished, Harry leaned back and carefully wiped the dampened paper towel over her skin. “Take a look at it.”
Violet sat up and looked down at her thigh. She held her dress in place, keeping it off the fresh ink. She smiled as she saw that all those places were now fixed. Her eyes moved to his, of course he was already staring at her.
“It looks great.”
“Have you looked at your other one since it healed?” He asked curiously.
“I haven’t, actually.” She shook her head. Sometimes she forgot she even had that tattoo.
Harry was still holding his machine. “Do you want me to check it out while we’ve got everything out?”
The thought of him touching her hip, even with gloves on his hands, caused butterflies to fill her stomach. She was about to quickly answer without considering any possible consequences, but she stopped when she looked back down at her leg.
“Well, I.. I would, but.. my dress.”
Harry subtly smiled. “I can get you something to cover yourself.”
Although it wasn’t on her list of plans for the day, she just couldn’t get the idea out of her head. She craved to feel him touch her there again.
“Okay, that’ll be fine.”
He stood up and slipped one glove off his hand. He walked over to the counter and opened one of the lower cabinet doors. Violet couldn’t help but watch him move around the room. He returned to the chair with a black towel.
“Let me lay the chair back and I’ll turn around.” He said while reaching for the lever beneath the chair.
She was trying to take in slow, deep breaths to stay calm. He was incredibly close to her. Though it wasn’t the first time, he had literally just leaned over her thigh, it still felt incredibly surreal. Harry gave her the towel and turned away from her.
Violet made sure to place the towel over her pelvis to cover her underwear and the very tops of her thighs. She was confident with the placement until she remembered that he had to adjust her waistband when he initially did the tattoo. She pushed her panties down further on the side, aiming to only expose the tattoo and nothing else.
“Okay, I’m done.”
Harry turned around and instantly felt a tightness in his chest. Seeing her laying there with her dress pulled up, a towel covering her most intimate parts, and her pretty eyes gazing over at him was driving him mad. He remembered to stay respectful and professional with her.
He returned to his stool and put on a fresh glove. He rubbed his thumb over the tattoo, tugging at her skin to stretch it out and expose any spots missing ink. It wasn’t unusual for fine line tattoos to have a few issues.
“Yeah, there’s two little places that need fixing.” He mumbled to her while grabbing his machine.
Violet held her breath as he rested his forearm on her body. The weight was oddly comforting. He ran the lines quickly. It didn’t take long to fix the problems. Though she was glad he was considerate enough to check her tattoo, she wished he had done the fixes a bit slower.
When he was finished, he turned his back so she could fix her clothes. It was definitely not unusual for a client to have to remove clothing or adjust it for him to have access to an area, but it was much different when it came to Violet. Just like everything else. She made it different, and challenging, and confusing, and wonderful..
Harry didn’t follow her back to the front, but he made sure to tell her that if she needed anything else tattoo related to not be shy and let him know.
— —
Friday came a lot faster than Violet anticipated it to. She slept in almost until noon just from pure exhaustion. She had spent the entire day prior in the studio and she was so sleepy when she finally made it to her bed. The early afternoon was full of sketching and planning. She was still working on her mythology studies, so she was focusing on a few different pieces of art for a while.
When she was done with that, she set up her painting palette, which was a thrifted glassware tray. Painting was her main focus for the rest of the evening. There were several pieces she was simultaneously working on sitting around the studio, but today she was fixated on a master copy of another one of her favorite pieces. She’d worry about the original sketches later on. They weren’t as exciting to her.
As time slipped closer to five in the afternoon, she started to wonder when Harry was going to show up. He never told her a specific time. It felt childish to be so anxious about it, but she couldn’t help it.
She was deep in thought, dissociated from reality as she worked on the lily flower in the painting. A loud knock on the door made her jump. She grabbed her phone and turned down the music she had playing through a speaker. Surely that had to be him. She sat her brush down and hurried over to the door.
When she opened it, she was met with a smile and a pair of eyeliner coated eyes. Her heart sparked with joy as she realized he was actually here this time. Harry was holding a pizza box, which smelled amazing. He was in his usual attire, a tshirt and dark jeans.
“Hi!” She greeted him happily, motioning him inside. “Come in.”
“Hey.” Harry glanced around but quickly turned to face her.
Violet shut the door and let a grin take over her face. “I’m so glad you could make it.”
He swallowed gently and forced a smile. “Where do you want me to put this?”
Seeing how excited she was today made his heart sink. He could only imagine how excited and happy she had been that day he was supposed to come over. He just knew he crushed her happiness that day.
“I’ll take it.”
She took the pizza over to the small kitchenette that was tucked away in the corner of the room. Harry took the opportunity to look around from where he stood. He didn’t want to be nosey, but his curiosity was itching.
The studio was well lit by bright lights in the ceiling. He could picture the sunlight pouring in through the windows when the sun was up. There was a small nook that was home to a comfortable looking chair and a small side table with a lamp. It looked like a cozy hiding spot.
He wasn’t surprised by the number of easels set up. There were three located in different spots, each holding their own painting. It was interesting to see the different stages displayed at once. One of the canvases was smaller and covered in a sketch, no paint had touched the surface yet. On the other one that was clearly not being used at the moment was the painting she was doing for Anne. Harry recognized the image. And the third easel was way bigger and sturdier than the other two. It was home to a very large, tall canvas.
“You can look around if you’d like. I need to get the snacks out.” Violet said with a smile as she noticed he was glancing around.
As she started going through a cabinet to gather some things to eat, Harry accepted her offer and slowly began moving around the studio. The space wasn’t overwhelmingly huge, but it was a decent size. There was a large square shaped table that appeared to serve as a workspace. There was a canvas laid on top with an empty jar, a dried brush, and a bottle of gesso sitting next to it. The area was used for canvas prep and things like that.
The thing that caught his eye were the large wooden shelves built onto one wall. They were full of books and supplies. A lot of the storage containers, which were mostly baskets, were full of items. He could see paints, packs of sponges, wash cloths, masking tape, and even simple things like notebook paper and sticky notes. He didn’t hesitate to get a closer look. All of the books seemed to be art related. There were a lot of artist names that he recognized, but quite a few that he had never heard of. He wasn’t necessarily knowledgeable about art. Above the shelves sat a wooden organizer made for canvases.
An area of the studio that he really liked was the section of open wall that she had covered with torn out sketches, notes, and references all taped or tacked in the wall. He figured this was where she did a lot of planning and brainstorming. There was a desk and chair on top of a pretty rug. A stack of sketchbooks and a cup of pencils sat on top.
“I have some pretzel sticks and chocolate chip cookies.” Violet said while getting everything arranged on the counter top. “And some fruit in the fridge if you want any.”
He glanced over the big rolls of unprepared canvas and collection of wooden support beams. She made her own canvases since it was easier than hunting down the weird, unusual sizes she’d need at times. Plus, it was more cost efficient.
“This is cool.” Harry said, pointing to the map of Rome that was stuck on the back of the door.
“I spent a summer in Italy.” She smiled as the fond memories filled her mind. “I was at an artist’s atelier.”
“Really?” He lifted his brows, impressed by that.
“Mhm.”
“You’re quite the talented artist then, huh?” He joined her at the counter.
“I’d like to think I’m decent, yeah.” She shrugged while picking up a pretzel stick.
He laughed under his breath. “Decent? You’re crazy. You’re amazing.”
Her cheeks were flushed. She tried to move past the topic as quickly as she could. Hearing compliments come from him was both jarring and exhilarating.
“The bathroom is over there, if you need it. The door on the left.”
Harry looked to where she was pointing. “What’s through the other door?”
“Oh, that’s my bedroom.”
He furrowed his brows. “Bedroom?”
Violet laughed lightly and nodded. “Yeah, I, um, stay here a lot. Do you wanna see it?”
“No, I don’t want to invade your personal space.”
Her smile grew. “Go ahead. There’s nothing hiding in there.”
Harry debated it at first, but he couldn’t help but be curious. If she stayed here often, then the room must be adequate and more than just a spare room. He took a minute to think before deciding to take a look. Violet was grabbing two cups and a pitcher of lemonade out of the fridge as he walked off.
The room was small. It was just big enough for a full size bed and a tall, skinny dresser pushed into the back corner. There was some walking room around the bed, though one side was against the wall. A lamp sat on a small bedside table, along with a book and a couple of random things.
What really caught his attention was the stack of folded blankets sitting at the foot of the bed. He smiled lightly at the plush looking pillows, a few seemed more decorative than useful.
He flicked off the light and made his way back to her. She looked up when he approached the counter.
“Did you find any secrets?”
He smiled. “No, but you have a lot of blankets.”
A soft giggle came from her as she blushed. “I keep it freezing in here so I can lay under all the blankets and stay cozy.”
“Hm.”
Thinking about her bundled up in bed made a few sparks go off in his chest. He could imagine her being the prettiest, cutest thing ever while slipping under the covers. It probably wasn’t the most appropriate thing to be thinking about, but he couldn’t resist.
“The weight sorta calms me down, I guess.” She added in hopes of not seeming weird.
“You stay here a lot?” He repeated what she had already told him, curious to know why.
“Yeah, a whole lot.” Violet shrugged lightly.
“Why don’t you stay at your house? I assume you.. have a place.” He asked while reaching for one of the cookies she had put out on a decorated tray.
“Well, I technically live with my parents, but they’re never home. It really doesn’t feel like a home to me. I’d rather be here.”
Harry didn’t feel like he was prying. He wanted to know her more, craved to know every little detail about her life. He waited a few seconds as he chewed the piece of cookie in his mouth. Violet wasn’t looking directly at him, but he could tell she was sort of anxious. It had to be the topic of conversation, because she seemed fine before.
“What do your parents do that keeps them away?”
She shifted her eyes to him. “My dad has a lot of rental properties. He’s always at his office. He’s.. a business man, I guess. He actually owns this building.” She looked around for a moment. “That’s why I have the studio. He wanted me to have a creative space, so he let me pick which studio I wanted.”
Mentioning the gracious things her parents do for her was never something she liked to do, since it made her feel so useless and spoiled. She didn’t get the feeling that he was judging her, though.
“It looks like you picked a good one.” He figured she didn’t want to deep dive into the situation, so he let something else capture his attention. “Is that a basket of just nail polish?”
Violet looked at the basket on her counter and smiled. “Yes. I love painting my nails.”
She watched him take a few steps so he could pluck one of the bottles out of the basket. He read over the shade name. It didn’t surprise him that it was a pretty shade of pink.
“I probably have every color you could think of.” She added with a soft laugh.
“I dabble a bit in the nail painting world.” He carefully placed the polish back into the basket.
“Yeah, I’ve noticed that. But I’ve only ever seen you wear one color.”
Harry looked back at her, catching her stare and wide smile. He held out his hands and glanced at the black polish coating his nails. It was starting to chip.
“That’s pretty much all I like.”
“You should try new things.”
He let out a laugh beneath his breath. If she only knew how many new things he’s tried since meeting her. He had never let his guard down before, he tried that with her. He had never been to a gallery or on an unofficial date to a cafe with a girl before. He had never allowed himself to really care about someone else, he’s trying that when it comes to her.
“Do you want to eat while the pizza is hot?” He asked, lifting his brows.
“Oh, yeah, sure.”
While they ate the pizza, neither of them said much of anything to the other. Harry wasn’t sure of what to say and Violet was too nervous to speak. The only time they said anything was when Harry’s phone rang two times within a couple of minutes. He mentioned that it was a client and he didn’t want to be on the phone while they ate. Violet assured him it was fine if he needed to take the call. He did, and thankfully it didn’t last long.
He helped her clean up the small mess they made, despite her saying he didn’t have to. She washed her hands and grabbed one of the cookies before turning to face him again.
“So, are you really going to let me watch you paint?” Harry asked with a smile, remembering that she mentioned she might be working on something while he was over.
“If you want to watch, sure. I don’t wanna be rude though, like doing work while you’re visiting.”
He shook his head. “No, no. I want to. It wouldn’t be rude.”
“Okay, I guess you can watch. I can work on the section I was doing before you got here.” She walked past him, expecting him to follow without being instructed.
He did, of course. Harry stayed a few feet back out of her way as she sat down on her stool and grabbed the thick glass palette covered in oil paint blobs. It was evident that she had been mixing colors and smearing the paint around to create the exact shades she needed.
It was easy for her to slip back into the process. Painting was like second nature to her, even if she had an audience. She had a couple friends who also painted and they’ve worked alongside each other before, or she’s had them over in her studio while she worked. As long as the observer was respectful of her process, she didn’t mind an extra set of eyes staring at her work.
“I’m going to assume these are your studies for this.” Harry sat as he leaned down to look at the opened sketchbook that was laying on a small table close to her.
“Yeah. You can look if you want, I don’t care.” She pushed the tip of her brush onto the canvas.
He looked over to watch her as she made the first stroke. The placement was purposeful and precise. She definitely knew what she was doing, he could tell solely from the way she held the brush and confidently moved it on the canvas. The sketches on the spread were so detailed. He couldn’t believe these were just planning drawings and not the final piece.
“Is it alright if I look through?”
Violet nodded without giving him a glance. “Go ahead.”
The previous page was filled with closer, more detail oriented sections of the reference. He figured she had other stuff in the book, so he flipped back a few more pages. Although it wasn’t the first time his eyes had seen her work, it felt surreal to see it. She was so talented. It was pure and beautiful, just like her heart and her soul. Harry chewed on the inside of his cheek as he glanced over a couple more pages, studying how she laid the graphite on the paper.
She looked his way as he carefully sat the book down after returning to the pages she had previously displayed. A soft smile set on her lips as he moved his eyes to meet hers.
“When did you start drawing?”
She took a deep breath, trying to think of the best answer to that. There really wasn’t an answer. She couldn’t recall a time in her life when she didn’t have a pencil or a marker or even a crayon in her hand. It was a part of her, something she could never escape from - not that she wanted to.
“Honestly, I can’t remember exactly when.”
Harry nodded lightly as she turned her attention back to the painting. “I guess a better question would be how did you get so good at it?”
His interest in her art was something that made her heart swell. It was like he was starstruck by her, whether he saw a sketchbook page or her painting in the gallery. Maybe she was just so used to her work that it didn’t feel extraordinary to her anymore.
She took a deep breath. “Well, I have an older cousin who used to draw cars a lot. One day I asked him how he learned to do that. He told me that he just sat in front of them and practiced until he got it right. So, I started doing the same. I’d sit and stare at things or create still lifes and practice until it was perfect.”
Her explanation made sense. He hummed lightly and put his arms behind his back, holding onto his own wrist as he watched her paint.
“Practice can make perfect, I suppose.”
Violet smiled as he positioned himself behind her so he could get a good view. He didn’t want to be too close or stand at her side and make her uncomfortable.
“I’ll ask you the same question. How did you get so good at doing tattoos?”
He thought about it for a moment. Obviously, he had an interest in drawing beforehand, it just wasn’t as intense as hers. It shifted into tattoos as he got older.
“Well, I guess my answer would be practice, too.”
Hearing the grin laced in his words was nice. It was good to know he really did have a soft side tucked away. It was even better to know that he would let it peek out for her.
“You’re quite an artist yourself, you know?”
He chuckled. “It’s safe to say you and I do very different forms of art. You’re actually an artist.”
She shook her head in disbelief. “I like that you’ll give compliments, but you won’t take one.”
“Hey, I’m just being honest. Your talent is far beyond mine.”
“I couldn’t use a tattoo machine, though.” Violet gave him a quick look over her shoulder before switching brushes.
“I’m sure if I showed you how, you’d be able to without any problems.”
When she decided she wanted to try and be his friend, she knew it would be challenging and difficult more often than it was easy. Trying to gain his trust and open him up meant she would have to be more outgoing herself. Without much thought, because at this point why would she hesitate, she decided to be a bit risky.
“Maybe you’ll have to do that, then.”
Now, would he actually ever agree to something like that? Probably not. She would bet on that. No matter how well she thought she knew him and how his little game of keeping himself hidden worked, she didn’t really know anything. Harry was good at keeping her on her toes.
“I would.. just to show you how good of an artist you are.”
She laughed at his words, not believing that at all. He was just playing along with her. She switched back to her smaller brush and leaned closer to the canvas to focus on a smaller area.
“Whatever you say.”
Harry stood behind her for a minute thinking about what to say. There were two ways he could go about this. He could laugh it off and change the subject. Or, he could offer her the opportunity to prove it to herself. There was no real debate in his mind. If he could spend more time with her, then he was going to pick the option that would allow that.
He sighed. “How about this.. come by the shop tomorrow night and I’ll let you try it out.”
“Are you crazy? Try it out on what?” She furrowed her brows, but kept her eyes on her work.
“Well, usually the answer would be on fake skin, but I don’t have any right now.”
“So, I’ll have to wait then?” She said with a laugh.
“No.”
“No?”
Harry smiled to himself. “I have real skin on my body.”
“What? Are you crazy, like actually crazy?” Violet couldn’t contain her laughter.
He thought it was precious that she thought he was just playing with her. He was being very serious. If she would agree to it, then he’d do it without an ounce of hesitation.
“No. I’m confident in your ability.”
She sat her brush down and twisted in the stool to face him. “Harry, I’ve never held a tattoo machine. I.. I don’t even know how to turn it on.”
“I’ll show you.”
“Harry.” She mumbled his name out as if she was defeated by this.
There was no way he was being serious, right? She had never even thought about doing a tattoo. It has never crossed her mind, even while getting her own done.
“Violet.”
Hearing her name in his voice and watching his mouth move as he said it made her heart gush. He had a way of completely throwing her off guard.
“I appreciate your confidence in me, but I don’t think I should play around on someone’s actual skin.”
He took just one step closer to her. “It’s not a random person. It’ll be me. I know what to do.”
“Harry, I.. I don’t know.” Her words came out in a gentle whine.
“C’mon, it’ll be fun.”
Fun? How could it possibly be fun? Sometimes it was impossible for her to breathe around him, how would she be able to put needles into his skin and permanently mark his body? She would probably explode before she even got close to him.
“You actually trust me to do something like that?”
“Yes, I do. You haven't given me a reason to not trust you.” He was being honest.
There were glimpses of joy and happiness on his face. The idea was definitely intriguing for him and he was hoping she’d cave in. Looking at his smile and glimmering eyes was making it hard for her to stand her ground. Within a minute of just silently looking at him, she changed her mind.
“Okay, but you can’t be mad if it turns out bad.”
He wanted to jump with joy, but he stayed put and just chuckled. “I won’t get mad. I’ve got a few shitty tattoos already. What’s one more?”
For the rest of the time he was over, he watched her paint and flipped through a few more of her sketchbooks that she offered to him. She talked to him a lot about the painting and her reasoning behind wanting to recreate it. They went into the topic of her wanting to create more original pieces, though it made her sort of sad so Harry changed the focus to something else. She didn’t thank him out loud, but she was grateful he did that.
Spending time with him in a private setting was a lot different than being at the gallery. Violet didn’t take it for granted, though. She easily remembered how upset she was when he didn’t show up the first time she invited him. It was extremely important for her to remind herself that he was capable of disappointing her. While the conversations and laughs were nice, it could all be gone tomorrow. She tried not to focus on that too much, though. She had to appreciate his company while he gave it to her.
[a/n: hi everyone, I hope you’re all doing well! I’m sorry for the wait but pls enjoy!!!! early access to this series is available on my patreon]
[tattoo artist h, angst, enemies-friends to lovers]
[.. He had never really sketched anything from life before. That was going to change today. He stared at the painting she made for a long minute, appreciating the beauty and complexity of it. He was very accustomed to drawing his own interpretations of things, so trying to replicate the painting was going to be something different. He knew Violet loved to recreate things. If she found joy in it, then maybe he could, too. At the very least, it would remind him of her. It wasn’t the same as having her next to him, but it was something.
He had to resist the temptation to recreate the scene in his own style. The point of studying something was to draw what you see, not what you’d draw on your own. It had been a while since he did something with an actual pencil. The feeling of scratching the graphite against the paper was vastly different from the feeling of a pen on a screen. He didn’t hate it. ..]
editing to add that once I get home I’ll post some photos and some I’ve added to the stained playlist !
ahh I just finished the hardest exam so far (a whole semester’s worth of a&p in two weeks basically) — my point is, I am now free of studying until my brain hurts for a while, so expect some updates!! both here & on patreon!!
