Communicating Vessels [COMPLETED]

Chapter 21

Eight years earlier

"Are you sure about this?" I asked as I held the buzzing needle in my hand.

"I'm positive. Whatever you want. Just, please, not a penis drawing," Josh replied.

It was a day in May of our senior year. Josh and I had just received our acceptance letter to Caltech, where we'd both be majoring in Aerospace Engineering. We were over the moon to know that we would be in the same school for the next four years. Our future was looking up more than it had ever been.

Indeed, Josh was supposed to have gone back to the UK at the end of our junior year, as per the original plan. But when the moment to pack and say goodbye had come, it was obvious neither of us would deal well with the separation. Our relationship was too strong, too real, too intense for it to end there. He spent days and weeks arguing with his parents, I spent them crying and miserable, and then, finally, Mr. and Mrs. Paxton conceded. Josh was allowed to stay, on the condition that he would live with Sasha, who had just gotten an apprenticeship in a tattoo shop in LA. Sash hadn't been too pleased when she'd understood she'd be stuck with her little brother for a while, but she had seen our relationship and she knew it'd be cruel to split us up, so she had agreed to the deal. And for that I would forever be grateful to her.

The Paxton parents had had to end their lease on the big house and had relocated their children to a nice two-bedroom apartment. No more fooling around in the swimming pool but that was a small price to pay to be with the man I loved.

We had received our letters in the morning. Having the certainty that we would not be forced apart for the next four years was the most glorious feeling, and Josh had decided to commemorate the news by getting a new tattoo. He had already gotten a lot more since the first time I had met him, mostly on his arms, torso, and back, all drawn by Sasha. But he had decided that he wanted me to be the artist of the new tattoo he'd get. I had refused at first, but he had convinced me with cute eyes and cheesy lines.

Sasha had lent us one of her tattoo machines and we had set up in his bedroom.

"I'm afraid I'll mess it up," I tried one last time to get out of it.

"Nonsense. I'll love whatever you do. It's not about the art, it's about the artist," he threw one of his obscenely flirtatious winks at me, "and about commemorating the best day of our lives so far."

When he said it like that...

I exhaled once and got to it.

I pushed on the pedal and the machine buzzed louder. To my surprise, the tattoo gun did not have one needle, but a bunch of needles packed together in one spot that were moving up and down. I dipped the needles in the small pot of black ink and started stabbing his skin. I had no particular talent in drawing, so I went for something simple. I drew a heart on his chest, just atop where his actual heart was, and traced the letters J & A in my most beautiful cursive. Beneath it, I wrote my love declaration in my native language: Te amo, corazón. He didn't flinch a single time while I butchered his skin.

When he looked down at my 'art', a smile grew on his lips.

"Aw, that's beautiful, love."

It wasn't beautiful. The lines were shaky, the saturation uneven, and it was the corniest design one could ever think of. However, I had made it, which made it beautiful to Josh's eyes. In the same way, everything he made looked beautiful to me. That was young love at its finest.

He kissed me eagerly as a thank you; and also because we loved to kiss all the time.

"I could do one to you too, if you want," he suggested against my lips.

I had never been a rebel nor a cool kid before meeting Josh, and tattoos had never had any appeal to me. However, in that instant, the idea of being permanently marked with a commemoration of our love seemed like the greatest idea.

"I would love that," I accepted.

I wanted this tattoo to be in a place where only he and I could see it. After a long time spent thinking about the right location, we settled for my left hip bone. I let him choose the design. My only exigence was that it represented him, or us.

He took a book from his bookcase, took a minute to find the page he was looking for, then set up the tattoo machine for another round. When the needle touched my skin, I was surprised to find out that the pain was bearable, not nearly as excruciating as the nipple piercing, for example. It took Josh around thirty minutes to do my tattoo, which he was clearly copying from the book open in front of him. He had forbidden me to look at it before it was over and I did not cheat.

When the buzzing stopped, Josh pulled me to my feet and invited me to discover his tattoo in the mirror. It was very thin and delicate. It consisted of a few stars linked together in a simplistic pattern with dotted lines: a constellation. In the bottom right corner of the drawing was a number: 14.2. Tears immediately started pooling in my eyes.

"Aquarius?" I asked, almost choking.

He nodded, visibly happy with how moved I was.

"And that's your birthday," I pointed at the number.

14.2 like February fourteenth. He had written it the British way.

"No, it's not," he contradicted me. I was confused.

"Yes, it is. You were born on February fourteenth."

"I mean, yeah, but that's not what it means. It would be quite egotistic of me to tattoo you with my birthdate, wouldn't it?"

I laughed. I honestly wouldn't mind, and he knew it.

"It's the day when we first kissed," he explained, and I cried for good.

This tattoo could not be more perfect. I was about to throw myself at him but he stopped me midway to remind me that we should take care of our fresh tattoos before getting all sweaty and worked up. He dressed mine and I dressed his, after what we had blissful sex, silly teenagers that we were.

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A/N: Hi everyone!

I've noticed lower engagement on the Friday chapters, which happen to be the alternative timeline chapters. Do you guys not enjoy those? I mean, fair enough, I guess they distract from the main storyline of Arthur and Abby, but I can't say I share your sentiment😂. I'm just in love with Josh and Abby's story. I'm probably in love with Josh too, tbf. But of course, everybody is entitled to their opinion, I'm just curious.

Next chapter on Monday and, as always, please vote and comment if you're enjoying my story.

Love,
Charlie.