#hidden tattoos

You felt the warmth of his body underneath your fingertips as you followed the lines from his arm up to his shoulder and his bare chest, which was only partially hidden underneath a blanket. You smiled mischievously, remembering the last night before all your clothes disappeared somewhere into the room.

Thinking back, you really didn’t plan to end here right next to him but he was surprisingly charming and you just couldn’t help yourself. You also had to admit that all his tattoos had intrigued you as well. When he approached you with a cheesy pick up line and introduced himself you had laughed loudly at first, not believing what he just tried.

He redeemed himself though when he continued. “I’m sure you heard that line already a dozen times, haven’t you?”

You smiled and played coy, thinking about the answer deeply. “Indicating you think I’m attractive enough to have heard it a lot.”

His plush lips turned into a smirk and he shrugged with his shoulders. “Guess you caught me here.”

“You couldn’t make it any more obvious, couldn’t you?”

“I think you’re attractive.”

Another laugh escaped your lips at the bold statement and you slowly caught on to why he introduced himself as Bambam.

From that point on both of you fell into a simple conversation, drinking and laughing together. You had caught glimpses of the dark lines on his skin throughout the night as they were peaking through his shirt. But it never felt like the right time to ask him about those tattoos and you still hadn’t asked.

Now you were lying next to him and had the chance to take a closer look. Not just a look though. You couldn’t help yourself but to touch the almost shadow-like curls on his skin. You frowned when the tips of your fingers felt an irregular pattern on Bambam’s skin. You gently moved your fingers from side to side, making sure you didn’t just imagine the feeling.

As you were deep in thought about this pattern you hadn’t noticed that Bambam woke up again and observed you silently. He placed his hand on yours and pressed it on his chest - right across the irregular pattern on his skin. “Morning beautiful”, he mumbled with a voice still heavy from sleep.

You jumped slightly and wanted to pull your hand away, feeling caught doing something you weren’t supposed to do. For a second you really felt like a child again and the embarrassment flooded your system. You felt the heat rising to your cheeks and quickly wanted to retract your hand but Bambam held it in place, refusing to let you go. “Sorry”, you whispered and looked away, too embarrassed to look at him now.

“Don’t be.” He smiled lazily and rubbed his thumb over the back of your hand. His rough pads gently moved over your skin, feeling like a teasing scratch. “It seems you have something on your mind though.”

You bit on your lower lip, contemplating if and how you should ask your question. You played different options in your mind until you just blurted out: “What are you hiding underneath your tattoos?”

Bambam chuckled lowly, looking at you with only one eye open. “Not all of them are tattoos.”

You frowned and stared back down to his chest, observing the lines and shadows again. They were clear and definitely visible. You weren’t imagining them but it confused you to hear that they weren’t all tattoos.

Bambam chuckled again and threw you on your back, hovering closely over you within seconds. His lips were parted into a teasing smile with his canines poking into the plush flesh.

Your heart pounded rapidly inside of your chest and you couldn’t tell if you felt scared or aroused by the sudden change of position. The squeak from the initial shock was still stuck in your throat as you stared up into his twinkling eyes.

He leaned down until his lips brushed over the shell of your ear. “I’m not entirely human, sweetheart. Those ‘tattoos’ are remnants of my animalistic side.”

A shiver ran down your spine from hearing his low and almost husky voice. You kneaded your fingers on top of your chest, while you tried to control your reactions. A voice in your head told you that those tattoos weren’t the only animalistic thing about him and you had to agree.

Bambam moved gracefully like a cat, totally in control of his every movement. His eyes were sharp and attentive. Some of his behaviour reminded you of a cat as well.

You stared with wide eyes up to his hovering form and one of your hands returned to the spot on his chest. You gently moved your fingertips over the shadows on his skin again, seeing them in a different light now.

“You’re not scared, hm?”

“Should I be?”

“Maybe”, he chuckled again and started to nibble at the soft spot near your neck. “Normally humans freak out once I explain my tattoos.”

You hummed in acknowledgement while a small smile played over your lips. “I’m too curious to freak out.” A whimper escaped your mouth when Bambam bit down on your shoulder with a low growl. “You also didn’t answer my first question.” You tried to stay focused but Bambam’s lips and tongue on your skin made it very hard to think.

“I knew you were something else when I saw you.” Bambam lowered himself until he was flush against your body, spreading his warmth over you as well. He still kept his full weight from you as he leaned mostly on his arms.

Your hands were now trapped between your bodies and you were unable to move them away. When you saw Bambam’s predatory smirk another shiver ran down your spine. You tried moving your fingers, slightly scratching his skin with your nails in the process.

“I use real tattoos to hide the very obvious jaguar pattern on my skin”, he growled and nuzzled his nose against the underside of your jaw. 

“And?”

“And the scars of my past.”

Once again you hummed, understanding his reasoning. “You shouldn’t have to hide that”, you whispered and turned your head - as much as you could - to peck his cheek.

“Scars aren’t necessarily hot or pretty, sweetheart.”

“They are signs of endurance. Signs you have been strong and sometimes even signs of survival. People should be proud of their scars instead of hiding them.”

Bambam stared at you for a long moment, thinking about your words. He had tried to forget his past, forget the pain and experiments on him, forget he wasn’t entirely human. With you though, he didn’t fear his past. He didn’t feel ashamed for what he was.

You were supposed to be just another fling, scaring you away like all the others before with what he was. Instead you quietly knocked on his walls and something stirred inside of him. 

“I could hurt you,” Bambam said after a while instead of facing his own hurt again.

“So could a very dedicated duck.”

For a second it was completely silent before Bambam snorted and hid his face in the crook of your shoulder. “You’re unbelievable.” He snickered once more while one of his hands wandered down the curve of your body. “Let’s hope you won’t regret this.” He grinned and kissed you passionately. “Jaguars can get quite possessive.”