The Bell Tower

Five-Shot

"I don't know about this..." Aasim looked nervously at Clementine as she burned paper to ash in a clean bowl.

"This is right. A girl named Jane showed me how to do it, see?" Clementine held up her left hand, showing Aasim the 'AJ' tattoo that resided there. "You just don't like me burning your paper."

"Of course I don't, we only have a limited supply!" Aasim crossed his arms in frustration, "And why do I have to be the one to do it?"

"You don't have to, you can say no, but you've got the steadiest hand here and you're the best at calligraphy. I think you'd be able to draw a couple of stars no problem." Clementine shrugged. When Aasim 'hmph'd' Clementine smiled, "You can consider it your wedding gift to me and Vi."

"Fine, I'll do it, but you're not allowed to get mad at me if it doesn't turn out right." Aasim watched painfully as Clementine burned his precious pages.

When Clementine and Violet discovered that neither of the rings Clementine had acquired fit either of their fingers, the brunette suggested an alternate plan. Matching constellation tattoos. Together Clementine and Violet had drawn up a rough sketch of how they wanted their star birds to look. Aasim had taken the rough sketch and drawn it out more precisely, the girls were shocked at how well he had drawn it.

"I've got it." Violet announced as she walked into the room, planting a kiss on her fiance's cheek, showing her the needle that she had carved from bone.

Clementine looked at it, her smile faltering slightly. She wished that Mitch could have been able to carve the needle for them and that Tenn could've helped design the star bird tattoo. Their absence was sorely missed, even all this time later, "That's great." she finally said, trying to shake the sad thoughts from her head.

"Where should we get it? I was thinking on the inside of our wrist? On our left arm? Since people used to wear their wedding rings on their left hands." Violet asked, sitting next to Clementine on the floor, watching her burning the pages.

"Sounds perfect, you're sure you're okay with doing this? It's very permanent." Clementine looked at Violet.

"Of course I am, marriage is permanent right?" Violet grinned.

"It will be for us." Clementine leaned over the short distance and pecked Violet on the lips. "Can you get some water to mix with this? It needs to be clean."

"I'm on it." Violet hopped up to fetch the water.

Not too much later the water was mixed with the ash to create a paste like substance. Clementine handed a nervous looking Aasim the bowl and bone needle.

"Who's first?" Aasim looked from one girl to the other, grim expression on his face.

"Me." Clementine volunteered before Violet could offer. She pulled off her jackets and hung them on the desk chair, rolling up her sleeve as she sat down, laying her arm flat on the desk. Aasim pulled a chair up in front of it.

"We don't have any pens or markers so I'm going to have to freehand it." Aasim set the picture he was working from down on the desk next to her arm and all the other materials. As he readied himself Violet pulled a chair up to Clementine's other side, taking her free hand into her own, stroking it lightly.

Clementine clenched her teeth as Aasim dipped the need into the ink and made his first poke into her skin. She squeezed onto Violet's hand and Violet squeezed back. He kept going, making fairly quick work for having never done this before.

"Clem, we'll do the wedding in about a month, right?" Violet attempted to draw her attention away from the pain.

"Yeah. In... thirty days." Clementine smiled at Violet, though her teeth were clenched. "It's going to be amazing, the weather's going to be just right."