"I don't know about this."
Merrin tugs on his earlobe. He reaches up and smacks her hand away. "You are the one who suggested it. Do not be a coward now."
Cal shifts a glare in her direction before stepping out of the way of a bustling local. "Suggesting isn't the same as agreeing. If I'd known this is where you were taking me, I would've said no."
"Listen, I...okay, no, I wouldn't have, but still! Oh, don't give me that look."
Merrin laughs. "I do not know what you're talking about."
Cal rolls his eyes, smiling helplessly. "Let's get this over with."
This goes pretty quickly.
The place is as reputable as it can be for the prices, and Cal already knows what he wants to get. Two simple deep green studs for a standard lobe piercing. Nothing fancy. Nothing wild. The pain is nonexistent. This place is loaded with echoes from excitement and laughter to full-on sobbing from either physical pain or emotional hurts. Cal feels echoes of the worst piercings -- he is never going to get one like that, he thinks a little terrified at some of the places people are willing to stick a needle -- and some not so great tattoos, plus his own experience getting a not so great tattoo, so when the needle goes through his earlobe, it barely registers.
Merrin leans over the piercer's shoulder, humming to herself as she observes Cal with a critical eye. "Would you consider a second one?"
"Technically, I'm already getting two," he points out. One for each ear. Greez is going to lose it when they make it back to the Mantis. Maybe they should go to a bar first, give Greez and Cere a chance to be asleep so they can skip the initial awkwardness. Merrin quirks an eyebrow. "What did you have in mind?"
She touches her own ear, where she already has multiple piercings. Cal follows the motion with his eyes until she lands on the one she wants to show him. He grimaces.
"Maybe next time?" Anything past the lobe might be too much right now. Some of Merrin's piercings are interesting, yeah, but they look good on her. They're unlikely to look good on him.
"I will hold you to that."
"Well, ain't you two adorable," the piercer grunts. Merrin flushes grey and looks away. Cal's face turns as red as his hair. "If you ain't gettin another, get outta my chair. Pay up front."