#roura

Looking up at the black awning and the neon signs in the window, reality began to settle in for Robin. Part of her still couldn’t believe that she was the one to bring up wanting a tattoo to her girlfriend instead of the other way around.

The day Robin told Aura about her decision, she nearly flipped their dining table in her excitement.

Aura helped her set up the appointment, even booking one for herself so they can make a date of it. But now the day has arrived and it was starting to dawn on Robin that her time left of completely uninked skin was dwindling. 

“Nervous?” Aura asked, fondly watching her girlfriend whose eyes are glued to the flash sheets and butterfly taxidermies decorating the wall beside the sofa they were sitting on.

Robin’s attention was taken by Aura’s voice, losing her staring contest with the décor, “Not sure that’s the exact word I’d use, but yeah pretty close,”

“You’re gonna do great baby,” Aura assured, swinging her arm around to hold Robin's waist and tugging her into her side, pressing a kiss to her temple.

Not long after her reassurance, Robin was fawning over her artist’s design.  Then excitement took over as Robin made sure the placement was perfect before getting comfortable in the tattoo chair and clasping onto Aura’s hand with as much strength as she could muster (without tensing her shoulders) while she braced for the needles to prick her skin.

The tattoo artist did a few passes with the machine and asked her how it felt, and Robin was pleasantly happy to find out that it’s not nearly as bad as she expected it to be – it hurt, yes, but it’s not unbearable.

She loosened her grip on Aura’s hand, who joked about how she can get blood flow back to her fingers again.

Time flew by as the rest of her tattoo was getting done, conversation flowing about a popular show that they had been watching lately.

Robin was so shocked at how quick it went by when the artist announced she was complete and prompted her to take a look.

Robin was speechless. Part of her couldn’t believe it was a real part of her body, and part of her was stunned by how perfect it was. It looked like it belonged on her body, the delicate art suiting the placement perfectly.

“What do you think, babe?” Aura calls from across the room, who was already laying down on the tattoo bed for her own tattoo to soon begin.

Robin didn’t want to turn away from the mirror, not wanting to tear her gaze away from her new artwork, but managed to turn long enough to reply, “I love it, it’s absolutely perfect,”

Once she’s had her fill of staring in the mirror, the brunette heads back over to get a cover of second skin over her arm to protect her tattoo, feeling giddy and glad that she went through with the appointment.

Now, Robin gets to sit with Aura as she gets a new addition to the gallery of art that already adorns her body.

While the majority of her tattoos are on her arms, today Aura is getting this next piece in an inconvenient place to tattoo due to the accessibility, but luckily she came prepared.

“Told you it was a good idea to keep these pants,” Aura smiled smugly, referring to the tearaway pants she used once for a dance competition costume.

The multiple snaps that hold the pants together were quite handy to allow the tattoo artist to access the area without having be more exposed than she needed to be.

Robin just shook her head with a small smile, “Okay, baby, whatever you say,” She charmed, knowing full well that those pants had not seen the light of day since Aura wore them on stage four years ago.

The rest of Aura’s tattoo goes by nearly as fast as Robin’s as the couple and the tattoo artist resume their conversations from earlier.

While holding her hand, Aura mindlessly played with Robin’s rings and nails, running her own fingertips over the cool metal and smooth polish. An action that the brunette doesn’t give second thought to.

It’s become such a habit for Aura to interact with her hands in some capacity. Whether it’s fiddling with her rings or as simple as running a thumb over the back of her hand, if they find themselves in stillness, Aura is always connecting their hands.

Robin lost track of the conversation while watching the way Aura played with her hands, the feeling of fondness washing over her. She never would be here if it wasn’t for Aura.

If it wasn’t for Aura’s extensive knowledge, experience, and excitement – plus some gentle persuasion – Robin would have never gotten this tattoo. Aura is the only reason Robin is sitting in the tattoo shop, with her first tattoo, watching her girlfriend getting a new tattoo, and having said girlfriend holding her hand. 

Funny how the world works huh?  Robin thinks to herself, suddenly aware of the growing smile on her face. Aura notices the look on her girlfriend’s face, but doesn’t say anything to her until they clue up their appointments and say their thank you’s and goodbyes to their tattoo artist.

“What was that smile for earlier?” Aura queries once they’ve both gotten inside the car.

Robin quirks up an eyebrow, “When? What look?”

“You had this almost lovesick smile on your face while my tattoo was finishing up,”

“Oh,” The brunette realizes, letting out a soft chuckle to herself, “I just… I’m glad I did this. I’m glad I did this with you,”

"I hope this peppermint bark is good enough for your family," Robin said as she carried the large Tupperware in both hands. She heard Aura lock the rental car as they walked up the driveway leading up to the intricately decorated large house.

"I already told you, you didn't have to bring anything. The caterers have everything covered." Aura reassured her, putting a hand on her elbow.

"I don't care how crazy rich your family is, I was taught to always bring something to a party," Robin said, with a hint of a smile. "But maybe we can find a nice plate and sneak these on the table."

Aura opened the front door and let Robin in first, "My grandparents have tons of nice china, I'll hand this off to the kitchen staff and let them know." She took the Tupperware from Robin and brisked off to the kitchen.

As Robin stood in the foyer and took off her coat, she looked around. There was music and voices coming from other parts of the house as she found a hanger in the coat closet to house her coat for the evening.

An older woman appeared in the doorway to the rest of the house. Her face fell when she saw Robin standing alone, "Where's Aura?"

Robin looked up at the woman, trying to straighten out her black maxi skirt and white sweater, "Oh, she went to the kitchen for a moment, but I'm Robin, her girlfriend. It's nice to-"

"Aura! You're here!" she was interrupted by the woman passing her and wrapping her arms around Aura.

Aura laughed as the hug ended, "Auntie, at least let me take my coat off first." she smiled as she started shrugging off her puffer coat. "Have you met Robin?" she asked.

"Oh, yes, we've already said our hellos and everything." the woman said. "Now come see the rest of the family, it's been way too long."

As the woman led them down a long hallway, the couple walked hand-in-hand. "We will be back in time to watch The Polar Express, right?" Robin asked quietly.

"Of course we will be," Aura told her. She knew this was Robin's first Christmas away from her family, so she wanted at least something to resemble her home traditions.

Once they entered the main living room, the rest of the family bombarded Aura with hugs and greetings. Robin tried to stay holding Aura's hand but eventually had to let go as the group surrounded her girlfriend.

"I'm going to get our drinks," Robin told her and Aura gave her a quick nod in understanding.

After handing Aura her drink, Robin didn't see her much more for the night. She did try to stick close by, but Aura's family kept whisking her off to different relatives who wanted to catch up.

Eventually, Robin gave up on trying to keep up with staying on Aura's side. She tried lumpia that the catering team specifically made for the family, but it wasn't nearly as good as when Aura taught her to make it.

After settling on some cut fruit and crudites, Robin politely greeted people who were near the corner she lingered in. Either they gave her a side-eyed look when she made her presence known or moved to another part of the room to continue talking.

Robin eventually gave up on trying to be friendly, since it wasn't being reciprocated.

The more she people-watched, the less she enjoyed being there. She really missed being with her own family on Christmas. Her family was nowhere near as big or rich as Aura's, but at least she never felt isolated from everyone.

She quietly sipped her second glass of sangria, picking through the finger foods on the table. Whenever she walked by a group talking amongst themselves, they quickly switched from English to Tagalog. Robin pretended not to notice, but part of her took that personally.

She found an empty seat on the end of the white couch after getting bored of wandering around the room. She didn't care if the older aunties shot her looks as they lowered their voices.

Robin never wanted to go home as much as she did then.

Suddenly, she felt a shorter presence come up behind her and felt something move along her back. She turned and felt a small tug on one of her braids.

A small child was standing behind the couch, reaching out to touch Robin's hair. She jumped off the couch, quickly smoothing out her braided hair.

"Hey, please don't touch my hair without asking permission first." She tried her best to sound calm, not needing to make a spectacle of herself.

"Just let the kid touch your hair, they're just curious," one of the older women spoke up.

"Yeah, they aren't hurting anything. Just let them do it." Another woman said as more children came closer to her, some reaching up to grab her braids.

That was definitely Robin's last straw, now she really did not want to be there.

Forgetting the rest of her drink, she briskly left the living room and found herself in the kitchen. The caterers worked around her, none of her bothering to look in her direction.

Then on the corner of the counter, Robin saw what she brought to the party. The Tupperware of the peppermint bark she made the night before sat untouched and completely forgotten.

She should have listened to Aura before. She just didn't understand why until now.

Robin grabbed the container and took a bottle of hard apple cider off the drink counter. Staying here wasn't seeming worth it anymore.

She found herself outside and turned on the porch lights. The swing bench still had the cushions on, along with the throw pillows. She sat on the bench, started snacking on the peppermint bark, and opened the bottle.

Robin found The Polar Express on the YouTube app on her phone for about $5 to rent. She charged it to her credit card and hit play. She was barely into the hot chocolate scene when sleep overtook her.

"...Robin?...Wake up...Robin..."

The familiar voice and a gentle shake of her shoulder lored Robin out of sleep. She opened her eyes to see Aura's concerned face looking back at her.

"What are you doing out here? I've been looking all over for you." Aura said as Robin slowly sat up, and she sat close to her. "How long have you been out here? You feel freezing." Aura wrapped her arm around Robin's waist and felt her exposed hands.

She felt like her mind was still swimming in drowsiness as she tried to come up with a response, "I, um, I guess I fell asleep." she said in between pauses.

Robin ignored her body shivering despite Aura placing her coat over her shoulders. "Can you take me back home?" she asked in a small voice.

“My god…” she trails off, turning to Robin with that somber, specific look in her eye, and Robin knows that she isn’t ready for whatever’s about to come out of her mouth. “You’ve been getting these for how long? And never told me?”

“I hoped she’d come around,” Robin excuses, but both of them can hear how weak it is, how fragile she sounds.

Aura puts down the phone and grabs her arm. “Robin, what if we just… what if we ran away together?”

She freezes. “What?”

“We could go somewhere else, somewhere we could live together and nobody would care.”

“Aura…”

Robin is trying to stop herself from thinking about it, trying to stop before she imagines the life she could be living in another city. A life she could be living with Aura. But wouldn’t that be like giving up?

“Robin, please. I have people in Chicago, we could go up there. We could get an apartment, find jobs. Be happy together.”

“My love, we can’t just—”

“But we can. We can do it. We can be happy. We can be together.”

Robin looks at her, mind racing. She could do it, jump the gun and agree to this stupid, crazy, impulsive idea. Pack up her stuff and move away, move from Tennessee to Chicago, of all places. Find a new job and a new apartment, find new friends who accepted and supported her and Aura. 

What’s holding her back? Her shitty retail job? It’s crazy and it’s stupid and it’s impulsive but it’s what she needs to do. She can feel it in her gut, something telling her to trust her intuition this time around. To trust Aura.

“Give me time to pack,” she says, and Aura all but throws herself at her, capturing her lips in a sudden kiss.