merlin wip relay fic, run by @merlin-fic-server and based on the idea from @excaliburstark
Archive Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Elyan/Merlin
Characters: Elyan, Merlin, Gwen, Lancelot
Additional Tags: Other Additional Tags to Be Added, when i've figured out who tf is going to be in this fic and what relationships, Yearning, How is that not a tag, Needles, detailed description of tattooing, seeing as it is, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Tattoos, the intimacy of being a tattoo artist and having a hot client, POV Elyan, Hurt Merlin, because they're getting tattooed, that shit hurts i should know, not this fic finally prodding me to get a tattoo myself after three years, First Meetings, elyan is a cynic, and honestly good for him, tattoo artist elyan, piercer gwen, tattoo artist lancelot, Painter Lancelot, he's back fight me, They/Them Merlin, yes i wanted to post this as a completed work but life happened so it's chapter by chapter, apologies in advance, it has been four months i don't remember how to tag, They're both awkward, Trans Elyan, she/they gwen, Getting Together, merlin gets a tattoo from elyan that is essentially it, with pining and dancing around and stuff
Summary: Elyan Smith, co-owner of tattoo and piercing studio The Forge with his sister, Gwen, is growing tired of the monotony small and trendy tattoo designs brings. So when Merlin walks in with a blank ribcage and a fresh idea, Elyan is more than happy to comply with their request. But he quickly realises that he is perhaps pouring his heart into something other than just the tattoo itself...
Elyan didn’t believe in fairytales. He didn’t believe in grand and sudden love, or the type of romance that would sweep him off his feet, nor did he believe that there was only one person for everyone. He didn’t believe in destiny or fate bringing two people together across time and space to meet one another and build a fantastic life together. What he did believe in, however, was incredibly hot people.
Incredibly hot people like the one who had just walked into his tattoo parlour.
The rain from the morning had faded to puddles on the pavement and had been replaced with an unforgiving wind that bit at Elyan’s exposed ankles when the door was opened. Elyan, in the middle of eating a cheese sandwich and trying not to get crumbs on his copy of Much Ado About Nothing, didn’t look up until the door had closed again. At the soft sound, he raised his head and was met with a tall figure lingering awkwardly on the mat.
Their cheeks were dusted with a diluted red from the cold, mouth buried in a large tartan scarf, and their thick black hair was spotted with raindrops from the beginnings of a fresh shower. ‘Hi, I, uh—I was wondering if there were any available tattoo appointments?’
