Special thanks to everyone that has commented; you kept me in the game. If you're interested I have an 'Ask tattoo fic Charles or Erik' thing going on until July 26th at my Tumblr. Links on my profile page still aren't fixed so you'll have to perform a search for: euphorbic ask tattoo fic Charles or Erik

Finally, within a week or so I'll post a 'pseudo chapter' of cut scene and other extras.

Epilogue

It's almost 3am when Raven's phone begins chiming. Hank makes uncomfortable waking-up sounds behind her but she doesn't flip the phone over to ignore the call; it's Charles' ring tone. He knows her GMT intimately and wouldn't call unless it was important. So she stretches her arm and her fingers and takes the phone.

"Are you okay?" is the first thing out of her mouth.

"I'm so sorry," Charles says from somewhere the sun has been shining, theoretically, for the last three hours or so. "Can you perhaps move out of the bedroom so we don't wake Hank?"

"Yeah," Raven says, mumbling. "Yeah, I'm going to the kitchen. Are you okay?"

"I am," Charles whispers. "I am, but I need to talk to somebody I trust."

Raven smiles despite her concern and eases out of the nest of body heat she and Hank have created together. Charles occasionally confides in her these days, mostly on the topic of his love life which hasn't happened since high school when he realized he was attracted to people regardless of gender.

"Okay," she whispers back.

It's dark throughout the small house but Raven navigates from their bedroom, down the hall and to the kitchen by memory. In the kitchen the window over the sink is cracked enough to allow in the recent rain's revival of wet grass and decomposing leaves. Raven backs up to the kitchen bench and hoists herself up to sit next to the slow drip of the kitchen sink.

"I'm in the kitchen," she says, "but I can't raise my voice after getting out of bed; Hank might wake up the rest of the way."

"I'm sorry," Charles replies, but Raven's really not sure if he actually is. "Erik sent me the image for your project. I'll pass it to you."

"Okay."

She receives the image over their messenger app nearly instantly and when she takes the phone from her cheek and opens the notification she understands why he called. "Jesus fuck, Charles, this is serious, isn't it? Is this what you want?"

But she knows the answer even before Charles starts in with breathless laughter.

"Last chance to back out," Erik says.

Raven rolls her eyes at Erik's teasing and continues the grunt work of separating paper towels for him. She might have taken over Quicksilver since Erik left to tour the world on his German-issued EU passport, but she will always be his apprentice.

Quicksilver isn't his anymore, but that hasn't stopped Erik from rearranging the workspace to make the most use of the light coming in through and around Raven's collection of plants in the windows. Charles' thigh is prepped; he's lying down on the bench, one leg of his boxer briefs rolled up to the joint, and arms crossed behind his head. He's the picture of calm, but Raven knows better; last night over drinks he got teary-eyed with emotion and Raven took him aside to talk while Hank and Erik discussed the physics of tattoo splash back. It's exhilarating to ease even further into the role of confidante.

"For Christ's sake, I volunteered for this knowing full well the consequences," Charles says in clear exasperation. "Just start."

"Stop provoking my brother," Raven says. "Your favorite prelude to sex has no business in my workroom."

The look Erik directs her way would send anyone that didn't know him better into a defensive tizzy. Raven ignores him and reaches over to flick on the tattoo machine; she suspects that Erik's delaying tactics are also meant to tease her. After all, this is a big moment for all of them.

"That isn't his favorite prelude to sex," Charles says from the bench. "When he's in town he just presses his morning wood against my arse."

Raven thinks Charles has been in England too long; the strengthening of his accent and word choice always gives him away. "I am so glad Hank isn't here to listen to this. C'mon guys, just shut up and get to work."

Her impatience seems to give Erik what he wanted; a small turn at the corners of his mouth reveals a smile that he hides by pulling the surgical mask over his face. He dips his needles in an ink cup. "Deep breath, and let it out slowly."

Charles complies and Erik's machine descends to the sketch that's been transferred onto his shaved skin. Raven sees Charles flinch as the needles bear into his flesh in rapid succession. He hides it well in public, but she knows he's longed for this moment for a while now; it's all the sweeter for what Raven and Hank have contributed.

"Thank you, Charles," she says as Erik works on the outline. "I really appreciate what you're doing for us."

"Hush," Charles replies through grit teeth. "You know I've wanted to get you out of tattooing. If this works out in the long run I will eventually get my way, won't I?"

Erik snorts but doesn't deviate from his work. He doesn't usually talk while he's working and that hasn't changed, but the music on Raven's sound system is Charles' lounge music and the incense burned before Erik started was Erik's; there's no smoke, just the lingering scent.

Raven doesn't take Charles' bait, either. She knows just as much as Charles does that even if the ink has the staying power they hope for, even if her trust-fund backed business takes off, she'll never give up the needles that gave her freedom. Instead she asks him about his recent experiences with the Craniofacial Foundation of Europe.

Charles donates generously to the UK's Operation Smile, but has been frustrated enough by the CFE's internal politics that he's started talking about getting on the board of directors. Charles has the motivation and money to either take the CFE or start a new one and poach all the former members. He just has to decide which way will be for the greater good.

They sit together for three hours, take a short break, and then continue on another two. By the fifth hour Erik admits his wrist is aching, which means it's probably been hurting since the fourth. All the same, he finishes both hearts, because the color fastness of Hank's red is what they're most interested in.

"It looks pretty good fresh," Raven says.

"Doesn't look much different than any other red," Erik replies. "But a month of sun and diving in Phan Thiết should make it clear if the ink is going to last."

Raven can see that Charles is less concerned with the upcoming holiday that doubles as a test and more with the imagery Erik's engraved in his skin. Before Erik manages to wipe away all the excess ink, Charles slips off the bench and pads barefoot over to the mirror opposite the windows. Raven sees the shine in his eyes, the press of his lips as he looks at the mirror image of the unicorn-knight chess pieces and playing card imagery Erik designed for him last year.

It's overwhelming for a moment; she had initially thought Erik and Charles would just be good fuck buddies. It wasn't until later she realized there was more to them than animal attraction. And here Charles stands now with a tattoo that redefines her journeyman tattoo; Erik has made her tattoo his own and he's done it through Charles with ink she and Hank hope will become the basis of a new business and greater freedom.

It's more than she ever hoped for.

She looks back at Erik. His eyes are on Charles, his left hand unconsciously rubbing at his right wrist. She asks, "You like what you see?"

Erik nods and passes her the disinfectant wipes so she can attend to the fresh tattoo and the remaining ink. "You take pictures while I call in an order to Morpho and then we can go down to eat."

"Sounds like a plan." Raven collects her camera and listens to Erik's footsteps as he goes for the shop phone.

She joins Charles before the mirror where he continues to look at the tattoo. He's holding together well, all things considered. Every now and again, though, she sees the extra water in his eyes, but she says nothing because Charles has never liked her to intrude or pry into his feelings. It's important to her that he gives them to her freely.

"Let me get the rest of the ink off, dumbass," she says and crouches next to him to wipe the ink off his leg. It's been obvious since the first hour of work that the piece is one of Erik's best works; she'll have to try to convince him to submit for an award or something. "You know, this could win a competition if Erik would show it with you at a convention."

"Really?" Charles takes his eyes from the mirror and looks down at her. "I wouldn't be opposed, but I don't think Erik would do it; it reveals too much about him. There are too many people following his career that would get the significance."

"True." Raven passes the paper towel up to Charles and turns on her camera. "But it would be the icing on the proverbial cake, you know? To see the two of you standing together with an award for this tattoo."

Charles hums a sound of agreement. "It would, but he's also still paranoid after the whole Facebook thing."

"I'm glad I found it first and that he waited until you were home to open it."

Erik had reacted poorly when a cousin in New York had contacted him after recognizing Erik on the cover of Sentimental Ink. Erik had swept his laptop from Charles' desk along with half the clutter that resided there. Charles had helped him calm down before things got worse and Erik had later paid for the repair of one of Charles' vintage fountain pens and replaced a paperweight. It was a milder reaction than expected, but they weathered the sudden storm together.

"Apparently he has more family in New York than Germany," Charles says. "After the Facebook message, I think he painstakingly went through that cousin's Facebook and blocked everyone he could find there and then blocked said cousin."

"Sounds like him." Raven had always wondered if family was the reason Erik hated all the social media she'd forced him into.

Raven pushes on the side of Charles' knee to get him to pivot into the direction of the windows. She takes several shots in natural light and then takes him to the big bathroom for more in white light conditions. In a few days a photographer friend of Janos' will take more photos as part of their project.

When they've finished shooting, Raven dresses the tattoo in a bandage. They come into the sunlit gallery space to find Erik doing wrist stretches by the windows. Charles joins him there and takes over from Erik; Charles has enlisted his boxing trainer to teach him massage therapy for Erik's wrists. It's sweet seeing Charles try to take care of Erik and for Erik to accept the gesture.

Erik turns toward Charles and Raven notes how he turns a foot out and moves his weight to the leg closest to Charles. It's a habit she hadn't noticed until Charles pointed it out. It's the smallest tell and she doesn't always notice it, but it speaks volumes when she does.

"Put your shorts on," Erik says as they stand together. "Kitty's bringing up the order."

"I thought we were going down?" Charles asks.

"Kitty doesn't want to get called away by other customers," Erik says by way of explanation. "And I don't want your thigh to get bumped."

"Ah, shorts it is." He releases Erik's forearm and kisses his jaw. "Next session you better promise to stop when your wrist hurts; the manly man act doesn't impress me."

"Says the man that worked out and dieted for two months just so he could crack a walnut with his thighs," Erik retorts.

The bray-like laughter that erupts from Raven's mouth is so loud it covers whatever Charles shoots back as a retort. It also covers Kitty coming in through the front door, but not the cold October breeze that sneaks in past her. Raven tries to calm down, but the curious look on Kitty's face and the way Erik hustles Charles toward the work room further unglues her.

"Hey Raven," Kitty says, staring off at Erik's back. She takes their bags and drinks over to the coffee table by the couch and unpacks everything, including a wax paper parcel that's judiciously taped with bright green masking tape. "How'd the tattoo go?"

Raven calms down enough to smile normally and joins Kitty at the table. She thinks she knows the real reason Kitty brought the order up herself. "Going well so far. How's Lockheed?"

"Big," Kitty deadpans. "He's been eating a lot more since I made him a bigger enclosure and added another heat rock. My big scaly baby is growing up."

"What's in the wax paper? Special delivery?"

Kitty's cheeks flush a faint pink. "I cooked some stupid food for Erik and your brother. It's my mom's recipe. Erik likes it. That asshole."

Raven thinks about it for half a second, but then puts one arm around Kitty's shoulders. "Well, to tell you the truth, I've discovered I have a special gift for asshole whispering. I know it sounds like farting, or talking out my ass, but what I mean is: I can help you with asshole language and culture."

Kitty looks at Raven with the most profound expression of teenage disapproval Raven has ever laid eyes on. Kitty's head is down, and she looks up from beneath serious eyebrows; her frown set deep in her face. "Raven, don't make me burn the new socks you gave me."

"I will eat those socks if Erik doesn't do whatever you ask him. It's not romantic or anything but he really likes you. He'll listen. Besides, he probably feels bad that he only gave you two months of lessons before he left."

"Pffft," Kitty scoffs, "he teaches me online whenever he's somewhere the wifi is solid. So far Charles has the best wifi; I hope they become live-in boyfriends or something."

Raven has been hoping the same, but she doesn't say anything about it now; she never shows her hand when it comes to the relationship Charles and Erik have for fear of jinxing it. It's the one topic she's hesitant to speak of even with Hank. "Guess we'll see. Anyway, Erik has a hard time denying you, so ask him whatever you have in mind."

Raven has a theory about how Erik gets on so well with Kitty and the other workers at Morpho. She thinks it's because they're all young and that Erik unconsciously craves the sort of normal teenage relationships he never had in prison. Maybe it's why he had connected so strongly with Kitty's friend Xi'an even though nobody has ever told him Kitty's ulterior motive in recommending her to him.

At her hip, Raven's phone buzzes and she disengages from Kitty long enough to check if it's a message from Hank. It is. Do you want me to cook tonight or are we going out with Charles again? What does Erik think of the ink's viscosity?

She grins at the first sentence and is spurred into action by the second. You should talk to Erik! I don't know why you're so intimidated when he's really interested in this. How about I bring Charles and Erik to our place? You could make your dad's eggplant parmesan and discuss viscosity over dinner.

Charles and Erik come back in while she's typing, but she doesn't miss the one-armed hug Erik squeezes into Kitty's shoulders. Kitty's not half so reserved; she shoves her face into his chest and holds him tight. Half of her speech is muffled by Erik's torso but Raven makes out 'asshole' and 'hate you' in the midst of it. Raven sends her message to Hank, but remains unmoving, her head bowed to her phone and listens.

"If that's how you say hello to your friends," Charles says, "I'm not sure I want to get on your bad side."

Raven glances up quickly to see Erik's fond expression as he watches Kitty pull her face from his shirt. It's not the first time she's seen him look at Kitty like that. In addition to his loss of normal teenage relationships, Raven thinks Erik might have been lonely as an only child. There's no telling though; whatever he reveals to Charles, Charles rarely passes on to her.

"I missed you, too," Erik says.

Kitty nods. "You better have. Xi'an's seeing somebody and doing Goldsprint championships so we don't hang out as much and Lockheed probably doesn't even remember you. My mom keeps asking if you're going to move back."

This time Raven doesn't even bother to hide her curiosity; she lifts her head up and glances briefly at Charles. Charles is biting his lips. Raven switches targets, homes in on Erik, the way his eyes track toward her brother and then back down to Kitty.

"I don't know," Erik replies. "While I've been in Europe I've been working off and on in England as a guest artist at a few different shops. But it's getting on my nerves that most shops I guest at don't keep up an acceptable level of sterilization. So I'm looking into opening a new place."

Kitty whirls and stabs a finger at Charles. "I blame you for this."

There's not a hint of guilt on Charles' face. He raises his hands in surrender and smiles sweetly. "I'm sorry Kitty, but I have many years more experience and far fewer ethics than you when it comes to getting what I want. Next time don't hesitate."

Both Erik and Kitty roll their eyes at the amount of arrogance Charles has knowingly pulled into the gallery space. Raven knows Charles' is playing with Kitty but she's not sure if Kitty does.

With a snort that seems to say she isn't the least bit intimidated, Kitty grabs her wax paper parcel off the coffee table and thrusts it at Erik. "I made you boyos but I'm never going to give you the recipe. You have to come back for 'em."

"I could find him a recipe online," Charles interjects even though he's fooling nobody. Charles can be a competitive jerk, but they all know he'd never attempt a hostile takeover of Kitty's mother's comfort food.

"That's no good," Kitty replies archly. "My mom's recipe is always being fine-tuned. Even though it's good now, she'll find a way to make it better."

"Kitty." Erik takes the wax paper parcel and replaces it on the coffee table. "As long as Hank, Raven, and you are here in Portland, I'll always come back. I'll be back in a month and I'll be back again for a few weeks in April."

Kitty brightens at that. "If you're here then, we'll package up our Pesach leftovers for you like usual."

"Maybe." Erik blows a light sigh through his nose and looks over at the windows in thought. "Maybe if the timing's right, I'll join you."

The diameter of Kitty's sudden widening of eyes or the strength of her gasp of is indication enough that Erik's answer is unexpected.

Raven's heart leaps in her chest in response; Erik has never accepted Kitty's family's attempts to include him in their religious celebrations. He's never even given the slimmest glimmer of hope to Kitty or her mother that he would.

Kitty breathes out a long breath and nods enthusiastically. "That would be awesome. And I'll make sure nobody says anything about your tattoos."

Erik shrugs at that and Kitty throws herself at him once more.

Raven shakes her head ruefully at Erik's lack of reply to the tattoo topic; Erik is still the type to disengage when it suits him or decline a conversation no matter how much someone else might want to have it.

From her right there's a touch on Raven's hip. She finds Charles next to her, smiling softly. She enjoys a moment of peace with him before she leans her shoulder into his and says, "I think you two are going to be alright."

"I hope so." Charles says… and leans back.