A/N Hey My Lovelies!!!! So I saw something on Tumblr that inspired me. I love tattoos and other kinds of body art. (I have 7 tats myself lol) I will include the start of the design for the tattoo (I can't find my art supplies to do the full picture) Just picture it fully realistic with lots of details sitting in front of the sheet music for The Watson Waltz. I will post a picture of the final product when I finish it. Enjoy <3
*Also....Just a side note for anyone that is interested...John uses an old technique for tattooing where he only uses a single needle machine and only black ink. It's a difficult technique because most modern machines have 2-3 needles for shading and the artists make their greys by mixing black and white inks. This technique that John uses involves diluting the black ink with water to change the color. Just a bit of trivia for My Lovelies <3 (Sorry, I'm a bit of a tattoo geek)
John was moving back into Baker Street and Sherlock couldn't be happier. Mary was gone and since she took the baby with her when she left, John could return to working with Sherlock full time. They were just moving the last of John's stuff back into his old room when Sherlock found the box. It was clearly old, covered in dust and stained with dirt. He placed it on the kitchen table and opened it, wiping the dust off his hands before reaching in and pulling out an envelope. It was filled with old photographs. It was easy for Sherlock to pick out John in the pictures. He looked like what he looked like now, though his hair was shaggier and there was less sadness on his face. He looked like the type of boy that would have bullied Sherlock in Uni.
"What are you looking at Sherlock?" John's voice shocked Sherlock out of his thoughts. He handed his flatmate the pictures, not sure what to think. "Holy shit, I forgot I still had these. Where did you find them?" John sat across from Sherlock, shifting through the photos with a soft smile on his face.
"In this box." Sherlock pushed it towards John, still thinking of what John would have been like in Uni. He watched as John enthusiastically dug through the box, chattering on about all the old memories the items were bringing up. He pulled out a black case, smiling fondly at it before setting it aside without saying anything. "What is that?"
"Hmm? Oh, that? Its nothing important." That piqued Sherlock's interest and he automatically reached for the case. "Sherlock!" John cried as Sherlock grabbed the case and ran out of the kitchen. He made it to his room and slammed the door closed, locking it behind him. He heard John banging on the door begging him to give him back the case. He ignored the pleas and opened it, ending up with more questions than answers.
Inside the case was a tattoo machine.
He was in shock. Why in the hell did John have a tattoo machine? John didn't even have tattoos. Did he? Sherlock had never seen John naked, not fully at least, and he had never seen any ink on the army doctor's skin. The thought of John with tattoos intrigued the detective in a way that he hadn't been in a while. He shook the image from his mind and closed the case, standing and walking to the door. He opened the door to find John standing in the hall. His face was red and he was shaking, he looked horrifically embarrassed.
"John?"
"Yes Sherlock?"
"Why do you have a tattoo machine?" John rubbed his hands over his face, growling as he did.
"It's a long story."
"Shorten it."
"Fine!" He motioned for Sherlock to follow him into the sitting room. When they were seated, John sighed and leaned forward, taking the case from Sherlock's hands and looking at it. "This was how I made money during Uni. You would be surprised how many tattoos one can do on Friday nights on a university campus. I did a few in the army to, but I was never comfortable with doing them in the desert. Not the most sanitary environment."
