content warnings. 18+, tattooartist!manon, fem!reader, established relationship, flirting, kissing, mild suggestive themes and domestic fluff.

word count. 1.6k

♫ sweet boy — malcolm todd.

tattooartist!manon who comes home smelling faintly of coffee, clean gloves, and the expensive perfume she put on before leaving that morning. she always drops her keys into the little bowl beside the door, toes off her shoes without bothering to line them up properly, and immediately starts looking for you. she doesn’t even say hello at first. she just finds you in the kitchen or curled up on the couch, wraps both arms around your waist from behind, and rests her chin against your shoulder with a tired little hum. “did you miss me?” she’ll ask, even though she already knows the answer and has probably been texting you between appointments all day.

tattooartist!manon whose hands look intimidating when she’s working. covered in black gloves, steady around a tattoo machine, careful enough that clients immediately stop fidgeting when she tells them to.. but become unbelievably soft whenever she touches you. at home, those same hands are always somewhere warm and familiar: rubbing slow circles over your thigh while you watch television, resting at your waist when she passes behind you, or slipping beneath the hem of your shirt just to feel your skin while she kisses your cheek.

tattooartist!manon who pretends she doesn’t give you special treatment at the studio, even though absolutely everyone knows she does. you can walk in without an appointment, sit quietly near the front desk with a drink for her, and watch her expression soften the second she notices you. she’ll try to remain professional while finishing with her client, but the tiny smile she keeps fighting gives her away every time. once the client leaves, she immediately comes over, takes the drink from your hands, and kisses you like she hasn’t seen you in weeks instead of five hours.

tattooartist!manon who always complains when you sit on the counter after closing, mostly because she knows you’re doing it to distract her. she’ll be wiping down her station, reorganizing inks, or checking that everything is properly put away while you swing your legs and watch her move around the room. “stop looking at me like that,” she’ll mutter without turning around, already smiling because she can feel your eyes on her.

tattooartist!manon who forgets what she’s doing anyway. it starts with her stepping between your knees, one hand resting beside your hip on the counter while the other tilts your chin upward. she tells you she only has ten minutes of cleaning left, but then you kiss her once and suddenly she’s leaning closer, her forehead pressed against yours while she quietly laughs at how easily you derail her. she still finishes cleaning afterward, though. manon may be distracted, but she refuses to let romance interfere with sanitation.. what a lovebird.

tattooartist!manon who lets you choose the music when you stay with her after hours, even though she acts like your playlists personally offend her. she’ll roll her eyes when the first song starts, ask whether you genuinely listen to “this mess,” and then catch herself singing along ten minutes later while wrapping cords and locking cabinets. whenever you point it out, she immediately stops and claims she only knows the lyrics because you play the song too often.

tattooartist!manon who keeps tiny reminders of you scattered around her station without realizing how obvious they are. a hair tie you left around her wrist, a picture of the two of you tucked behind a mirror, the lip balm you swore you lost, and a small note you wrote before one of her longer appointments. her coworkers tease her whenever they notice something new, and she always responds with a bored expression and a quiet, “mind your business,” while carefully making sure nobody moves any of it.

tattooartist!manon who sketches constantly when the two of you are together. restaurant napkins, grocery receipts, old envelopes, the corner of your notebook.. anything within reach becomes covered in tiny stars, flowers, eyes, moons, or unfinished linework. she insists she’s only keeping her hand busy, but you eventually notice that half the designs are inspired by things you’ve said. a flower from the first bouquet she bought you. the shape of your favorite pendant. the little heart you always draw beside her name.

tattooartist!manon who gets visibly shy whenever you call her talented. compliments about her appearance are easy; she’ll smirk, thank you, and sometimes ask you to say it again. but tell her that her work is beautiful and she suddenly looks away, pressing her lips together while pretending to organize something. later that evening, she’ll casually show you three unfinished designs and ask which one you like best, as if your opinion isn’t the one she secretly values most.

tattooartist!manon who has a habit of tracing your tattoos when the two of you are lying in bed together. she follows each line slowly with the tip of one finger, even when the tattoo wasn’t done by her, studying the shapes like she’s memorizing them. sometimes she asks what you were thinking when you chose a certain piece. other times, she simply presses a kiss beside it and murmurs that it looks beautiful on you.

tattooartist!manon who has designed tattoos for you but refuses to pressure you into actually getting them. she’ll show you the sketches, explain why she chose each detail, and then tuck them away again with a soft shrug.

tattooartist!manon who becomes extra attentive whenever you do decide to let her tattoo you. she checks the stencil from every angle, asks whether you’re completely sure about the placement, and watches your face closely once she begins. she knows you can handle it, but she still pauses whenever your breathing changes and asks, “you good, baby?” in that calm voice that immediately makes you relax.

tattooartist!manon who gives you the full aftercare speech every single time, even though you’ve heard it before. she points at the wrap, reminds you not to scratch it, and watches you repeat the instructions back to her because she knows you have a habit of pretending you remember everything. later that night, she asks for a picture of the tattoo, zooms in to inspect it, and sends a mildly threatening text when she sees your hand anywhere near it.

tattooartist!manon who absolutely does not trust you when you say, “i wasn’t touching it.”

tattooartist!manon who comes home with sore wrists after long sessions and tries to hide it. you usually notice when she flexes her fingers too many times or switches which hand she uses to hold her glass. when you pull her onto the couch and start massaging her hands, she protests for approximately thirty seconds before melting against you, her head dropping onto your shoulder while she watches your thumbs press carefully into her palms.

tattooartist!manon who becomes ridiculously affectionate after difficult workdays. she doesn’t always want to explain what happened or discuss the client who kept moving. sometimes she only wants to stand behind you while you cook, arms wrapped around your middle, face buried against your neck. she’ll leave lazy kisses there between quiet complaints about her day, occasionally squeezing your waist when you laugh at how dramatic she’s being.

tattooartist!manon who knows exactly how much you like those neck kisses and uses that knowledge whenever she wants your attention. you could be answering a text, washing dishes, or trying to finish a show, and she’ll quietly come up behind you, move your hair aside, and press one slow kiss beneath your ear. when you immediately lose track of what you were doing, she only smiles against your skin and asks, far too innocent questions.

tattooartist!manon who wears mostly dark clothes to work because ink stains are inevitable (😒), but you keep leaving bright pieces of yourself around her. one of your colorful hoodies over her chair, a charm clipped to her bag, or a pastel water bottle sitting beside her usual black coffee cup. the other artists claim they can always tell when you’ve visited because her entire corner starts looking less serious.

tattooartist!manon who sometimes asks you to sit beside her while she draws at home. she’ll spread her sketchbook, pencils, and reference pictures across the coffee table while you curl up nearby with a book or your phone. the two of you can stay like that for hours without speaking much, occasionally leaning into each other or sharing a quick kiss when one of you gets up.

tattooartist!manon who gets mildly possessive when someone compliments you too enthusiastically at the studio. she won’t make a scene or say anything rude. she simply walks over, settles one hand against your lower back, and joins the conversation with that calm expression that makes it very clear the two of you are together. when you tease her afterward, she insists she was only being friendly. the way her fingers remain hooked around your waist says otherwise.

tattooartist!manon who likes taking pictures of you in the studio after hours. not polished portfolio photographs, just small, intimate moments she wants to remember. you sitting on the counter in her hoodie, your hand wrapped around her coffee cup, your reflection beside hers in the mirror. most of them never get posted. they stay in a private album on her phone with a name she refuses to let you see.

tattooartist!manon who claims she would never get your name tattooed because names are “too risky,” yet somehow ends up with a tiny symbol connected to you hidden somewhere most people never notice. when you realize what it means and accuse her of being sentimental, she looks away with the faintest smile and says it doesn’t count because it isn’t technically your name.

tattooartist!manon who has accidentally fallen asleep with her sketchbook open on her chest more than once. you’ll find her stretched across the couch, pencil still between her fingers, glasses slightly crooked, and a half-finished design beside her. when you carefully move everything and cover her with a blanket, she wakes just enough to catch your wrist and pull you down beside her.

tattooartist!manon who loves slow mornings on her days off. she sleeps later than you, one arm reaching across the bed whenever you move too far away. once she finally wakes, she stays tangled around you, voice rough with sleep while she asks what time it is and whether you can both ignore the day a little longer. breakfast usually gets delayed because every time you try to get up, she tightens her arm around your waist and presses another kiss to your shoulder.

tattooartist!manon who always remembers the smallest details about what you like. your usual coffee order, the jewelry you wear most often, the exact spot on your back that relaxes when she rubs it, and which side of the bed you prefer. she acts casual about it, but her love is hidden in the way everything around you has already been considered.

# 5 fav songs i listen to !