#first tat

My tattoo reads "جندي (jun-dii)" which is the Arabic word for "soldier."

My brother, Randy, taught me it when he became a Cryptologic Linguist for the Army; the tattoo is styled in his handwriting. It represents both him, as well as myself and the personal battles that I face.

Summary: Reader goes in for her first tattoo from a well known artist in her city only to find out he’s super cute.

Word count: around 1500

Warnings: none, fluff

You found his work on instagram. A simple insta with aesthetic pictures of every piece of art he’d done. From intricate flowers to simple drawings to massive geometric pieces that looked like they had taken hours.

You’d been thinking about getting your first tattoo when you followed the artist. You assumed he was a he, his insta handle being the simple: “tattooistCalum”

When you first messaged him, he responded quicker than you thought he would. He asked for a picture of what you wanted and you began a back and forth. He was known for taking an idea and putting his own unique twist on it and before you knew it, he had turned your original tattoo into something insanely beautiful and better than you’d ever even imagined.

A date was set for you to go in and you counted down the days. 

Walking into the tattoo parlour your heart threatened to beat out of your chest. Two blonde guys were sitting at the reception desk talking and both looked up when you walked in, “Hi, i have an appointment with Calum.”

“you must be Y/N!” one of the guys grinned, “I’m Ashton, this is Luke, Calum hasn't been able to shut up about your tattoo for days.”

“really?” you laughed.

“Yeah, its not often he gets a request that he actually vibes with so you’re special.” Luke teased, “i’ll go grab Cal, be right back.”

He stood and walked towards a hallway you assumed led to the back. Ashton leaned forward to look at you, “is this your first time?”

“What?” you asked, his voice pulling you from your thoughts and racing heart.

“You first tat.” he clarified.

“Yeah.”

“Well you made a good choice with Cal, he makes the experience a lot easier.” Ashton assured you. 

Luke came back into the main area followed by a guy in black ripped jeans, a muscle shirt showing off all his tattoos and a beanie. Your eyes trailed over his arms at all the beautiful dark art that seemed to glide over his muscles.

“Hey, I’m Cal.” the guy grinned, holding out a hand to you.

You awkwardly shook it, feeling a blush rise to your cheeks, “sorry i’m really nervous.”

“that’s normal, don’t worry about it.” he said, “you can follow me over to my station and we can get this thing started yeah?”

you nodded and followed him over to one of the tables. Calum pulled out a black note book and opened it to a page, your tattoo was there, looking even better in person. “So this is still the one you want?” he asked.

“Yeah, it looks beautiful.” you breathed.

“Thanks.” again with that beautiful smile, “so i’m going to print it out in a few sizes for you to try out, then when you choose one, you can choose the placement and what kind of looks like a pen drawing will be pressed on your skin to form the outline, after that we can get started.” he explained.

after setting everything up, he pulled out the tattoo gun but stopped when he looked up at your face, “you okay?”

“yeah just nervous.” you answered, “how bad does it hurt?”

“not that bad.” he said, “you know, i’m a little surprised someone isn't here with you. like a friend or a boyfriend or something.” 

“my friends are busy today and i’m single.” you answered.

“would it make you feel better if i called over Luke to distract you?”

“i wouldn't want to cause any trouble-”

“no trouble. Luke’s next appointment is in two hours, i’m sure he wouldn't mind talking to a pretty girl to pass the time.” Calum said, waving over Luke who immediately bounded over.

“what’s up?” he asked.

“if you’re not busy would you mind distracting her?” Calum asked.

“i’m great at that.” Luke said, pulling over a chair to your other side, “so... what made you want to get a tattoo?”

you began to answer when you heard the tattoo gun start up and one of Calum’s glove covered hands pressed against your skin. you felt the first pierce of the needle and tensed up. Luke reached out and grabbed your hand, distracting you again.

Luke gave you a sympathetic smile, “here, i’ll tell you about all my tattoos.” he suggested. 

The blonde began to show you the tats on his arms and you had to admit it did distract you. He was quite passionate. 

“I was terrified about tattoos growing up.” he explained.

you rolled your eyes and Calum laughed, “its true. this guy didn't even get his first tattoo until last year.”

your eyes widened, “but you have so many!”

“once you get a tattoo you get addicted.” Luke said, “there’s nothing like waking up and looking down to see a piece of art that you love.” he held out his arm, “so this is the first one.”

“did Calum do it for you?” you asked.

Luke laughed, “yeah, it has his touch doesn't it. Every time i look down at it, it makes me think of Cal, guess we’re both going to have that in common huh?” he teased.

You blushed, Luke laughed and Calum sighed, “Sorry about Luke, he likes to think of himself as a wingman.”

“I’m a great wingman.” Luke insisted.

“oh yeah? then how come we’re all still single?” Calum asked.

“Michael is either here or playing video games, Ashton has weird commitment issues and you’re just picky.” Luke stated.

“that doesn't explain why you’re single.” you said, pulling the pressure off Calum as his eyes darted up to look at you.

Luke just laughed, “damn Cal, girl’s already sticking up for you.”

a particularly painful sting made you grip Luke’s hand tighter and he immediately let out an “ow.”

“sorry Pretty Girl just a little bit longer.” Calum said.

“looks great though.” Luke assured you.

true to his world only a few more minutes and Calum pulled the tattoo gun away. he wiped the area and gave you a mirror. tilting it to look at the tattoo you almost melted, “Calum it looks amazing, thank you so much.”

he smiled and for the first time you thought you noticed the beautiful boys cheeks get slightly red. “I’ll just put the bandage on.” he said as Luke left the area to go back to the front.

smoothing the bandage gently against your skin he grinned at you, “i’ll give you a pamphlet on aftercare for it.” he said, “you can come to the front desk when you’re ready and i’ll go over it with you.

you collected your stuff and took one last look at the tattoo through the see through bandage in the mirror before fixing your clothes and going up to the front. Luke and Ashton were god knows where and you pulled out your wallet, “so how much do i owe you?”

“on the house.” Calum stated.

“what?” you squeaked.

“on the house. it was a pleasure to make that tattoo for you.” Calum said again.

“well... you have to at least let me buy you a coffee or something.” you suggested, “i mean, if you want.”

he grinned, “i’d love that.”

“yeah?”

he nodded, “i mean, i’m done for the day now if-”

“i can do now.”

“okay.” he smiled, “i’ll just grab my stuff, i’ll be right back.” he turned to leave then stopped turning back to you, “don’t go anywhere okay?”

you laughed, “wouldn't dream of it.”

he went into the back where Luke and Ashton were waiting, “so?” Luke asked.

“so what?” Calum said, grabbing his wallet and jacket.

“So is she gone or what?”

“We’re getting coffee.” Calum said.

“never say i’m not a great wingman.”

“yeah that whole ‘every morning when i look down i think of him’ was kinda weird but i guess it worked.” Ashton said.

“Cal is a sexy beast, i meant when i said.” Luke insisted, “let us know how the coffee goes.” 

One coffee date turned into a check up for the tattoo over dinner that turned into a movie and after a week where you’d hung out almost every day you finally asked Calum if he wanted to stay over after a movie night.

Your tattoo had still been healing but Calum was as gentle as ever. 

the next day when he walked into the tattoo shop Michael grinned, “well someone got laid last night.”

“how can you tell?” Luke frowned.

“have you ever seen Calum wear a T-shirt with a proper neckline?”