Summary: You want to paint your brother's nails. Also Eyeball is there too.
"Ace? Can I paint your nails?"
Your brother slowly turned away from the TV to glare at you.
"I'm sorry, you want to do what now?" he asked, as if he hadn't let you do it plenty of times before, as Eyeball broke out laughing from his seat next to him.
But he immediately stopped laughing when you added, "Your's too, Rich."
"Oh, no. Absolutely not."
"Please! I'm bored!" You gave them your cutest puppy-eyes, knowing they never could say no to those. "C'mon, it'll look great!"
Ace was already pulling the grimace that always preceded him caving, but Eyeball stayed resilient.
"Can you imagine what my old man's gonna do if I come home wearing nail polish, Y/N? He'll take one look and bash my fucking head in."
"I can remove it again before you leave."
Eyeball shook his head. "Just paint Ace's."
"Excuse you?!"
"Don't act as if you don't let her do it all the time," Richie grinned, and Ace's frown only deepened.
"I don't know how the fuck you know that, but I swear to god if you tell anyone I'm gonna bash your head in."
Eyeball grinned even wider.
"Tell them what? That you're an absolute softy when no one's around? That our little Baby-Cobra here"—that earned him a "Hey!" from you—"got you completely wrapped around her little finger? Or that you apparently wear nail polish at home sometimes?"
Ace rolled his eyes and threw a pillow at him. "Just shut the fuck up."
You had gotten settled in the space between them on the couch now, and set down the differently colored little nail polish bottles in front of you, for your brother to choose from.
"Which one do you want?"
"Black."
"Not an option."
"What? Why not?!"
"Because you always pick black. Pick one of these."
Ace sighed and finally payed attention to the nail polishes lined up between you two. He quickly decided on a dark blue one—an easy decision when most of the other options were either pink, sparkly, or both.
When you opened the bottle both boys wrinkled their nose at the smell.
"Be honest Ace, what's worse– the humiliation of wearing nail polish, or the smell?" Eyeball asked.
"The smell. Definitely the smell."
You grabbed Ace's hand, instructing him to hold still and started painting his nails.
Eyeball scooted closer, and rested his chin on your shoulder to watch.
"Don't shove her," Ace warned him with a glare. "I don't want this stuff to get all over my whole fingers."
He didn't shove you. He kept perfectly still, fascinatedly watching how precise you were with the little brush, and it wasn't until you were screwing the bottle of nail polish shut that he broke out laughing again.
You looked up, and yes, the sight of Ace with his hands stretched out in the air as he couldn't touch anything until the nail polish was dry was very laughable indeed.
The look he was giving Eyeball though, not so much.
"Keep laughing and you can walk home," he said with a glance toward the window, outside of which the rain was pouring.
"That's cruel," Eyeball complained, but stopped laughing.
"And you're really sure you won't let me paint yours too?" you asked, pouting at him.
"Yeah. Sorry, Princess. Maybe some other time, okay?"
"Okay. I'll take you up on that."
And if Richie was hoping you would forget he'd said you could paint his nails some other time, well, then he was going to be disappointed.
Ace Merrill x Eyeball Chambers (& Merrill!reader) - Mediator
Summary: When your brother Ace and his boyfriend Eyeball have a bad fight it's on you to mediate between them in order to try and save their secret relationship.
Warnings: Mentions of homophobia, slight misogyny I think?, cheating (kinda), swearing
You're startled from the nap you were taking in your brother's car by the sound of yelling.
Before you can even try to decipher what's going on, Ace gets into the car, slams the door and drives off without bothering to look back at whoever he'd been arguing with.
You do look back, after you sat up from the little nest you'd made for yourself from a blanket and Ace's jacket, and see Eyeball standing there next to the backdoor of Irby's. He's already too far away to make out his expression in what little light the street lamps provide, but his fists are balled at his sides, his head hanging low.
You turn to look at your brother. He's gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles are turning white, and his clenched jaw and furrowed brows tell you it would be very ill-advised to ask questions right now.
Not that you need to. It's obvious your favorite lovebirds had a fight, and it's not exactly hard to guess what about, either. When there's trouble in paradise it's always for the same reason.
That reason being that your brother dearest takes the keeping-the-relationship-with-his-boyfriend-secret-thing very seriously — which in and of itself is a good thing, as they both agree. Ace insists it would be suspicious if they didn't flirt with girls and take them out occasionally, and that's certainly true. Eyeball agrees, but that's where the trouble starts, because unfortunately Ace tends to take things a little too far. If he starts making out with these chicks as a cover, can that already be considered cheating? Ace says no, but Richie has a quite jealous side to him, and so fights about the dates Ace goes on aren't uncommon, while Eyeball's various dates are never mentioned, because he "knows when to stop".
As common and short-lived as these fights are, that doesn't make them any less unpleasant. And as the only person who knows about the boys' relationship you're always stuck in the middle, trying to mediate.
You risk another glace at your brother's face and rest your head on his shoulder, hoping it'll give him some calmness. This fight must have been a really bad one. You can't remember the last time you've seen Ace this upset.
Finally he pulls into your driveway. The lights are off, and since it's only quarter to ten that probably means neither of your parents will be home tonight. All the better.
You follow Ace inside without a word. He'll start talking when he's ready.
You pause in the hallway between your rooms while Ace enters his, wondering if you should give him some space. You don't want to leave him alone like this though...
Before you come to a decision he waves you inside, so you follow him. After closing the door behind you you sit down next to your brother on his bed.
"Wanna tell me what happened?" you carefully ask.
He shrugs and takes his time answering, lighting a cigarette before he finally says, "As if you don't know. We had a fight, the whole parking lot must have heard that."
"Yeah, well, I was sleeping. Only woke up when you got in the car. What did you fight about?"
Ace sighs. "The usual. That idiot seriously thinks I'd rather be with that ugly Beverly Thomas bitch than him. As if it's my fault she kissed me."
"...did you kiss her back?"
Ace crosses his arms over his chest, scowling at you. "Well, yeah. What else was I supposed to do?! I got a reputation to uphold, you know that."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. But you wouldn't like watching Richie suck face with some stupid chick either, would you?"
"That's not the point! If anyone finds out about us we're done for. We gotta keep up the act! I can't believe he doesn't know that."
"Of course he knows that, Ace. And he does his best to keep up the act. But... I wasn't there so I don't know, but could it be that maybe you overdid it a little?"
The question earns you another glare from your brother. "Whose side are you even on?!"
"There shouldn't be sides, Ace! I just want you to stop fighting! I'm sick of it. As if it ain't bad enough that Mom and Dad are screaming at each other all the time, now you guys gotta start with the stupid, pointless arguments too!"
Ace's expression softens. "'m sorry, Princess. But if Richie gets jealous about every little bullshit that's not my fault."
"It's at least partly your fault. The least you could do is make sure he doesn't have to see you making out with those sluts–"
"Language, Sweetie."
You blow a raspberry at him and continue. "I'm just saying you both need to work on this issue."
Ace sighs once more. "I'm not sure if there's much left to work on after today..."
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"It's supposed to mean that I don't know if he even wants to be with me anymore."
You're too shocked to say anything for a moment, but then you jump up from the bed. "Hold the fuck on! Of course he still wants to be with you! You're just having a stupid little fight, you can't break up! You... You love each other! You can't break up!"
Instead of answering Ace just buries his face in his hands.
You sit back down and hug him, and say, "I'll talk to him. I'm sure he doesn't want to break up with you. It's gonna be fine, Johnny, you'll see."
When he doesn't even reprimand you for calling him Johnny you know he's feeling really terrible. There's no doubt in your mind that Eyeball is feeling just as bad, so you decide to head to his place and talk to him right away.
Ace gets a kiss on the cheek, then, before he knows it, you're out the door.
It's a short walk to the Chambers' place, and you wonder if Richie is even there already. What if he's still at Irby's? You shrug the thought off, and walk around the house to the window leading into the room he shares with his brother. You don't want to take the front door, not only because it's late and his Dad's car is in the driveway, but also because you'll be talking about a sensitive topic that no one else needs to know about.
Looking through the window there's no light on, but that's not saying much, so you softly knock. There's no answer at first, but when you knock again Chris' face appears before you.
He opens the window, frowning. "What do you want?"
"Is Eyeball there?"
"No."
You sigh. Looks like you'll have to wait.
"Why are you looking for him?" Chris wants to know.
"None of your business."
You head back to the street to wait in the driveway, but out of sight from the house.
It's a mild spring night, but even so you're getting cold because you didn't think to bring a jacket, and you're glad when it doesn't take long until Eyeball shows up.
He stops when he sees you, hands in his pockets, shoulders slumped. It's hard to tell in the dark, but you think he might have been crying just minutes before.
You don't say anything, and let him come closer.
"Did Ace send you?"
"Not directly. But I told him I'd talk to you. He thinks you wanna break up with him. But you're not gonna do that, are you? Please say no, Richie. Please!"
He shakes his head. "Maybe I should, before he does. Maybe he'd be happier fucking around without me holding him back."
"No! He loves you, Rich, really. You know those chicks are just cover. I know he's taking it a bit far, I talked to him about that already, but he's just trying to make sure you guys don't get caught! If the wrong person finds out–"
Eyeball interrupts you with a hand on your shoulder. "I know the stakes, Y/N, believe me. If anyone even suspects anything my Dad's gonna kill me. But that doesn't mean Ace can just go around fucking everything with tits that crosses his path."
"Whoa, okay, now you're exaggerating. He's never actually fucked any of them, and he wouldn't. You gotta have some trust, Richie!"
"I do. I do trust him, okay. Shit, I know he wouldn't cheat, but I just can't help but think he'd be better off with someone else. Some chick or another, so he doesn't have to hide."
"That's bullshit, Richard!" You glare at him, hands on your hips, and put as much authority into your voice as you possibly can without yelling. "And if you assholes would actually talk about your problems instead of sulking and blaming it on the other you would know that. Ace doesn't want someone else, and he would not be happier with some stupid broad. And you are not gonna leave him just because you think you ain't good enough for him or whatever bullshit it is you've convinced yourself of. I decide who's good enough for my brother, not your self-esteem, and I say you two are absolutely made for each other. You're coming home with me right now, and then you idiots are gonna talk this out."
You don't give him a chance to protest, taking him by the hand and dragging him down the street back towards your place. You don't let go of him until you're standing in Ace's room; there you push him towards your brother and cross your arms.
"Now make up!"
At first they just stare at each other, unsure what to say. Neither of them wants to apologize first.
You give your brother a pointed look. Eyeball might have overreacted, but Ace did give him reason to be jealous.
"I'm sorry," he mutters. "I'll try to tone it down a little."
There's no need to specify what he's talking about, and no doubt he means it. If Ace says sorry and admits there was something wrong with his behavior you can be sure he really cares, because otherwise he wouldn't bother.
Eyeball walks over to him and sits down next to him.
"I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to make it seem like I don't trust you. I just hate seeing you with someone else, even if it's just for show."
Ace takes his boyfriend's hand, intertwining their fingers, and nods. "I'll try to keep the flirting to when you don't have to see. And I guess if I don't go on quite as many dates it wouldn't be all that suspicious..."
"Glad you finally realized that. I love you, asshole."
"I love you too, idiot."
They start making out, seemingly forgetting that you even exist.
You clear your throat. "Okay then. Now that we've cleared that up I'll, uh, be in my room with the music up loud, so you guys just... do your thing and don't mind me, okay? Okay."
Summary: The night after the fight over the dead boy's body, your older brother Ace has a nightmare and accidentally wakes you.
You woke up from the sound of your door opening and sat up in bed. Your room was dark, but even so you could make out the form of your brother standing in the doorway.
"Ace? What's up?", you asked, as you rubbed the sleep from your eyes.
"Nothing. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. Go back to sleep."
He spoke quietly, and you'd rarely ever heard his voice as unsteady and vulnerable as it was now.
He turned to leave, but before he could do so you asked why he was awake.
Ace didn't answer, didn't react at all, but he didn't leave either.
"Was it a nightmare?"
He confirmed so with a sigh and came over to sit next to you on your bed, laying an arm around your shoulder, as if it was you and not him who needed comfort.
"You wanna talk about it?"
Ace shook his head. "I'm good. Just wanted to check on you since I was awake anyway."
"Something happened to me in your dream, huh?"
With another sigh your brother gave in and told you about his nightmare. "Yeah. I dreamt that it was you that was laying on those train tracks instead of the boy we found."
Now you were glad Ace had made you wait in the car while they went for the body. Your brother was the toughest guy you knew, so the dead boy must have looked really bad if even Ace was having nightmares because of the sight.
You hugged him, knowing it was what he needed, even if he would never admit so.
"It wasn't me though. 'm here," you reminded him.
Ace nodded. "I know. I just can't seem to get that image out of my head."
"Don't tell me I wouldn't still look good with my skull bashed in," you tried to joke, but your brother didn't think it was funny at all.
"I don't know how you can joke about something like that."
"Sorry. I guess I just don't really understand it because I didn't see the body. And I can make fun of it 'cause I have the best big brother in the whole world, who would never ever let anything like that happen to me."
You gave him a cheeky grin he probably wouldn't even see in the dark of the room, and Ace let out a bitter laugh.
"If you were to get lost when you're out on your own and ended up in front of a train I wouldn't be able to do shit about it."
"Well, no, but you never let me out of your sight long enough for me to get lost n' become train fodder. Not to mention that I'm way too smart and awesome to do that," you continued trying to cheer your brother up by making light of his nightmare-induced fears.
This finally got a smile out of him.
"Right. We'll just ignore that one time you somehow managed to get lost in the library, huh?"
"That doesn't count. There's no trains in the library, so getting lost in there is perfectly safe."
Ace chuckled, and you smiled at your success.
"Alright. So since there's no trains in here either, I guess it's perfectly safe to send you back to sleep, too, yeah?"
"Sure. But you're welcome to sleep here tonight if you think that'll help make sure you won't get another nightmare," you offered, remembering all the times you had slept in your brother's arms after a nightmare when you were small.
He laughed and ruffled your hair.
"Yeah, I don't think so. Unlike you I'm not a little baby. Now shut up and go back to sleep, alright?"
"Alright." You kissed his cheek. "Good night, Ace."
Summary: It's Christmas morning and you're sick. Luckily your brother likes to spoil you.
You woke up shivering, but as you sat up in bed your pajamas were stuck to your skin with sweat.
"Fuck."
You had known it would be bad for you to be outside for so long in the cold without a coat yesterday. You had still hoped you would be able to avert getting a fever, but clearly luck wasn't on your side.
It was still early, so you laid back down to sleep some more. You would ask Ace to bring you some tea later, and spend the day in bed.
But after a few seconds your eyes shot wide open again, and you jumped out of bed despite how groggy you felt.
It was Christmas morning! How could you have forgotten that?!
"Ace! Are you up yet?"
You cringed at how hoarse your voice sounded. You really should stay in bed...
Instead you barged into your brother's room and jumped onto his bed, straight into his lap.
He had been reading, but when he heard you were up he had put the magazine aside, so his hands were free to catch you.
"There you are," he greeted you. "I was starting to think you forgot it's Christmas."
Ace had already gotten up more than an hour ago, to make sure your presents would be under the tree when you'd wake up.
"I think I got a fever," you said and snuggled up to him.
Ace's hand felt miraculously cool against the skin of your forehead when he put it there, and you allowed your eyes to fall shut, but the relief only lasted a few seconds before he removed his hand.
"Yeah, you got a fever for sure."
You pouted. "You're supposed to say 'No Y/N, you're fine'."
"Sorry Baby, no can do. If you're sick, you're sick."
"But I don't wanna be sick!"
Ace chuckled.
"Liar. You love how much you get pampered when you're sick."
"Yeah, but I just like that, not the actual being sick. Can't you magically cure me somehow?"
"Nope, and unfortunately it's too late to add it to your wishlist either. C'mon now, let's check if Santa brought you anything. And after that you're going straight back to bed and I'll make you some tea."
"Don't you think I'm a little too old for that Santa bullshit, Ace?"
He shrugged. "If you don't want your presents–"
"Hold on, that's not what I said! Just because I don't believe they're from Santa doesn't mean I don't want them!"
"Hurry up, then. Whoever gets to the tree first gets the presents."
He gave you a light shove and you jumped up to run down the stairs.
Ace followed you, making sure to stay behind you even if you were a little slow today.
When you had reached the living room you sat down under the tree and reached for the first of your presents, ripping it open before your butt had even met the floor.
It was a book you had been waiting for for a long time, the next in a series you loved, and while you eagerly turned it in your hands to take in all the pretty details of the cover art, you used your foot to push the present you'd gotten for Ace toward him.
He could already tell from the shape of the package that it was a vinyl record, and when he opened it he saw he'd guessed right: You'd gotten him the newest Elvis Album.
"Thanks, Sweetie."
"You'll let me listen to it too, right?"
Of course your reasons for choosing this gift for your brother hadn't been entirely unselfish; you loved Elvis.
But Ace didn't mind.
"Of course."
When all of the presents were unwrapped and had been sufficiently admired, Ace shooed you back to your room and into bed.
You complied without complaint, but when he turned to leave the room you sat back up.
"Hey, where're you going," you complained.
"To make you some tea. Or do you want hot chocolate?"
"Hot chocolate. And then you have to cuddle with me."
Ace chuckled. "That an order, Princess?"
"Yeah."
"Alright then. I'll bring the new record too, so I don't die from boredom while you play koala clinging to me..."
You rolled your eyes and threw your pillow at him.
"Shut up and make me my hot chocolate now."
He gave you a mock salute and headed for the door.
"Wait! I want my pillow back!"
He picked it up and threw it back, right in your face. "Can I finally go to the kitchen now?"
"Yeah."
He was halfway down the corridor when you yelled after him, "bring me some cookies too! ...and do we have cough drops? My throat is sore."
Ace Merrill x sibling!reader - The ugliest Pumpkin alive
Summary: You may not be any good at carving pumpkins, but that certainly doesn't stop you from doing it and making your brother join in.
"Y/N, what the hell is that?"
You turned to look at your brother who had walked up behind you, a confused look on your face.
"What is what?"
"That."
Ace pointed at the pumpkin you had worked so hard on.
"That's my jack-o'-lantern for Halloween!"
You held it up for him to get a better look, but the expression on your brother's face left no doubt he didn't think much of your masterpiece.
"C'mon, Ace! I know it's not exactly the prettiest but it's not that bad!"
Upon seeing the pout on your lips Ace made an effort to downplay just how hideous the pumpkin really was.
"No, no, it's not that bad. 'course not. Once you look a little closer you can actually tell it's supposed to be a..." Shit. He had no idea what the chaotic shapes you had carved in there were supposed to display. "...a pumpkin."
You glared at him and he sighed again.
"Okay, I'm sorry, but I have no idea what the fuck you tried to carve there. Maybe just... try again on the back?"
You groaned, setting the pumpkin back on the table with a heavy thud.
"Ugh, I know it's ugly but do you have any idea how difficult this is?! Go and carve your own pumpkin if you think you can do it better than me."
Ace laughed.
"Never said that. And I sure as fuck ain't gonna waste my time trying to carve a stupid pumpkin. Anyway, I'm gonna meet up with the others now, do you wanna come or would you rather stay here and disfigure that monstrosity even more?"
You got up, throwing a murderous glare at your poor pumpkin, and followed your brother to his car without a word.
During the drive you had an idea.
"Hey Ace, you know what? We should all carve pumpkins together! I bet I'm better at it than any of you," you said.
"Are you fuckin' serious?"
"Yeah! C'mon, it's gonna be fun!"
"Y/N, pumpkin carving is for little kids," Ace insisted.
"No, it's not! You're just scared that I'm better at it than you."
"Bullshit."
"No? Okay, then there's nothing stopping you from doing it."
Your brother sighed.
"Fine, we'll ask the others if they want in on your childish bullshit. But if they say no you're gonna stop getting on my nerves about it. Deal?"
"Deal."
Ace had been sure there was no way the other Cobras would agree to carve pumpkins with you, but he had underestimated how convincing you could be. It took almost no effort to talk them into it, to the point that Ace suspected a few of them might actually secretly be thrilled about the idea. All you had to say was "C'mon, we'll make it a challenge" while giving them those damned puppy eyes and already they agreed.
Ace had no choice but to accept his fate, and it wasn't long until all of you sat in the backyard with a pumpkin in front of each of you.
You immediately started carving again, not bothering to actually plan out what your pumpkin's face should look like. You'd figure it out as you went. Of course you had to hollow it out before you could start on the actual face, which you did very quickly and sloppily.
The boys got to work too, and as time went by and the carvings took form it quickly became apparent who had artistic talent and who lacked it, and you clearly fell into the latter category.
When everyone was done you lined the pumpkins up next to each other to rate them.
Yours looked abominable with it's crooked features, especially next to the one Eyeball had made, which was a real work of art as he had successfully carved the Cobra mark in it.
The others looked much better than yours too, but you had a smug grin on your face nonetheless.
"Ha, I won," you exclaimed.
"Uh, no you didn't," Charlie objected. "Your pumpkin is ugly as fuck."
"Exactly. We never said what the goal of the challenge is." You shrugged, and, after the boys only gave you confused looks, added: "I decided the challenge is Who can make the ugliest pumpkin alive. Therefore I won."
"You know what that's called, Baby? Cheating," Ace informed you.
You stuck your tongue out at him. "You're just angry that you lost. Your pumpkin is way too pretty."
Summary: You have a fever but decide to go for a walk with your dog anyway, despite the rain. Your brother Ace thinks you're an idiot.
Yes I wrote this because I had a fever and no one took care of me. No, I totally don't turn into a whiny little brat whenever I'm sick, what makes you think that?
You opened the front door and stepped inside, letting your dog sit while you shrugged off your raincoat and boots. You reached for a towel to dry off your dog, then–
"You're supposed to be in bed."
Turning around you saw your brother standing in the hall, arms crossed and a stern look on his face.
"I'm fine, Ace. We just went for a small walk."
Your dog was getting impatient, but before you could take care of it Ace's hand was brushing damp hair from your face to reach your forehead and feel your temperature.
"You should be in bed," he repeated.
You shivered in the cold air coming in through the open door, but refused to admit that Ace was right.
"I'll go right back to bed, okay? But I know you don't like walking the dog and some fresh air is good for me, isn't it?"
"Yeah, fresh air is. But going outside in the rain when you already have a fever is not. And don't even try lying to me, I can tell you're still sick."
You rolled your eyes and finally knelt down to dry your dogs paws.
"Okay, maybe I'm still a little sick," you answered your brother while doing so, "but I'm already feeling better."
"You still shouldn't be running around in the rain, you fucking idiot. Now it's probably gonna get worse again."
You were done with your dog and let it inside, finally closing the door behind it.
Ace noticed you rubbing your arms to warm up and immediately wrapped his arm around your shoulders and walked you to your room.
When you had reached it he let go of you, grabbed your pajama and thrusted it into your arms.
"I'll make you some tea. When I come back in here you better be changed and back in bed, you hear me?"
You nodded obediently.
As promised Ace came back with a cup of tea a few minutes later.
He found you laying in bed, but to his dismay you hadn't pulled the covers over yourself.
He set the cup down on your bedstand and did it for you, tugging you in with the blanket up to your chin, despite your protests.
"Ace, it's too warm in here!"
"No it's not. It just feels like that because you got a fever, Baby. You gotta keep warm anyway. And I think we both know that in a few minutes you'll be saying you're cold again."
"I know," you whined. "But it's so warm right now!"
Ace sighed as you pushed the covers off, and pulled them back over you, although not all the way this time.
He sat down on the edge of your bed and handed you the tea.
"Here, drink. It's your favorite."
You took the cup and exaggeratedly blew on the tea to cool it before drinking from it. After one sip you put it back on the nightstand. You weren't thirsty.
"Ace? I'm bored."
"Why don't you try to sleep a little?" your brother suggested.
"Nh-nh. Wanna do something."
"Yeah, well, you're not leaving this bed until your fever goes down." He walked over to your record player and put on your favorite album at a low volume. "There. Now quit whining and drink your tea."
You obliged, but it didn't take long until you started complaining again.
"Ace, I'm cold. Come cuddle with me."
"No. I don't wanna catch your fever. This is your own fault for going out in the rain like a fucking idiot."
But it only took one look at the puppy eyes you were giving him to make Ace relent. He climbed into bed next to you and, after you crawled on top of him and got comfortable with his shoulder as your pillow, tightly wrapped the covers around you. You drank the rest of your tea, and Ace took the cup from you and put it on your nightstand. You snuggled up closer to him, still cold.
"Ace, 'm tired."
"Go to sleep then. You'll feel better when you wake up."
First time writing for Ace so I hope he doesn't seem out of character or anything. Let me know what you think?
Summary: You get upset about a misunderstanding but your brother makes it up to you.
Warnings: Swearing, some angst, tattooing
"Hey, can I get the cobra tattoo next?"
Eyeball had just finished giving it to Billy, and you didn't want to wait for your turn any longer.
Your older brother Ace looked at you like you had gone crazy. "Absolutely not."
You frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means there's no way in hell I'm letting you get the tattoo."
You jumped up from your spot on the hood of a car, hurt and anger flooding your veins. You thought you were one of them, Ace had even said so himself. You spent all your time with them, wherever you went the others weren't far, and people knew not to mess with you. Messing with one of the Cobras meant messing with all of them, and the other Cobras were particularly protective of you. They affectionately called your their little princess, even though you weren't much younger than them, and if someone implied you weren't a real part of the gang and that they only let you hang around because you were Ace's sister they were ready to throw hands.
And now you were all getting matching gang tattoos, all except you. How could you not feel betrayed?
Ace watched as your bottom lip trembled and you fought to keep enough of your composure to speak without bursting into tears, but you were too upset, so instead you stormed off towards Ace's car, getting into the passenger seat where you hugged your knees to your chest and hid your face against them.
The other Cobras, who had silently watched all this unfold, uneasily looked between you and your brother.
Everything stayed silent for a few minutes until Ace eventually called out to you. "Y/N, stop being a fucking brat and get your ass back here."
You remained where you were, unmoving until Ace called again. The second time he told you to come back you shook your head. "Nh-nh"
Ace fought with himself a bit before he gave in and came over to you. Getting in the car he tried to get a look at your face but you still hid it against your knees.
"Okay, what's wrong?"
The annoyance in his voice made you want to talk to him even less. But when you didn't answer Ace reached for your face, forcing you to look at him and was shocked to find your eyes glistening with unshed tears. He had been almost convinced you were just being a brat, trying to make him cave and give you the tattoo by making a fuss. Seeing you actually upset disturbed him. He didn't understand what you were so upset about so he asked again, softer this time.
"C'mon, Princess, talk to me."
You stayed silent, but just when Ace thought you weren't going to answer him at all you did.
"Why don't you want me to get the tattoo?"
Ace sighed, so he had been right and you were really just having a childish tantrum.
"Y/N-"
"You said I'm a Cobra too," a single tear flowed down your cheek, and by the way your voice trembled Ace was sure more would follow if he didn't manage to calm you down quickly. "But if you don't want me to get the tattoo I guess I ain't."
Suddenly Ace realized why you were so worked up. You had misunderstood him.
"Of course you're one of us. You're our little princess."
Another tear. "Then why can't I-"
Your brother interrupted you. "I meant not yet. I won't let you get it yet."
Your sniffles, that had been about to turn into full-blown sobbs, lessend. You cocked your head to the side a little and looked at Ace expectantly, waiting for further explanations.
"You can get it when you're a bit older, okay?"
You hesitated. "I'm still a real Cobra, even if I don't have it yet?"
Ace nodded and wiped the tears from your face. "And you will get it some day, I promise."
"Pinky promise?"
"Pinky promise."
"Okay then." You said, managing a small smile when Ace ruffled your hair.
You let Ace lead you back to the others, who tried to pretend like they hadn't heard everything.
You sat back down in your spot, lighting a cigarette and getting lost in your thoughts. It was good to have Ace's promise of letting you get the tattoo someday, but you still weren't happy about the prospect of having to wait until Ace deemed you old enough. That could take god knows how long. It could be years.
Your brother's voice ripped you out off your thoughts. "Y/N, stop sulking and come over here."
You walked over to where he was sitting. "I'm not sulking."
"Sure you ain't." He gestured for Eyeball to hand you something. "You wanna do my tattoo for me?" Ace and Eyeball were the only ones left to get it.
Your surprise was written all over your face, making Ace smirk.
"You want me to do it?"
Ace nodded.
"But.. why? I mean.. I've never done that before, Eyeball can do it much better for sure."
Ace shrugged. "Maybe, but I want you to do it, Princess. You're not getting your own tattoo yet, but that way you can be a part of mine."
You felt your heart grow warm with love and adoration for your brother. He knew how much being a Cobra meant to you, and this was his way of letting you know it meant just as much to him.
"But what if I mess it up?"
"You won't. Eyeball's gonna show you how to do it, okay?" Ace reassured you, brushing a loose strand of hair from your face. "You'll do just fine, Princess."
You hesitantly nodded, proud that Ace trusted you to carve such a permanent artwork into his skin, but at the same time anxious you wouldn't do it justice.
Eyeball squeezed your shoulder. "He's right, Princess, you've got this."
He carefully placed the ink-covered razorblade in your hand, showing you how to hold it, but as you brought it close to Ace's arm your hand was shaking so much you quickly retreated it.
"I don't know if I can do this, Ace," you all but whispered, too ashamed to look him in the eyes. "I'm too nervous, I'm gonna fuck it up."
Eyeball offered a solution. "How about you practice on me first then, huh? I still gotta get my tattoo too, and I can't do it myself."
You looked up at him with big eyes. It seemed Eyeball had instantly grasped the fact that it wasn't the thought of giving the tattoo itself that scared you, but the pressure of having to get it perfect on the first try. Because Ace's tattoo did have to be perfect. He was your beloved big brother whom you admired and looked up to, and, more importantly, the leader of the pack, and if his tattoo was anything but a masterpiece you would never forgive yourself, even though you knew to him it wouldn't be that big of a deal.
So Eyeball offered his own skin as your canvas, so you could at least get a slight idea of what you were doing without the pressure. "It doesn't have to be perfect. Just try it, and if you don't like how it turns out I'll do Ace's."
"Are you sure?"
When Eyeball nodded you took a deep breath to calm your nerves. As you brought the blade to his skin your hand still shook a little, but considerably less than before. Eyeball gave you another reassuring smile, and you pushed the last doubts from your mind and got started.
"Okay, I'm done."
You took a step back and admired your work. You had to admit to yourself that the boys had been right. It really hadn't been too difficult and you were quite happy with the result.
"What do you think?" You asked Eyeball.
"Looks great Princess," he ruffled your hair. "Good job."
With a smile you turned to Ace. "I'm ready to do yours now."
Ace smiled back, offering you his arm. "Go ahead then."
