Private Talk is Cheap

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora made no effort to resist Makko as he gently worked the books from her grasp.

She ignored the shoulder he offered.

Instead, she immediately buried her head into his chest and sobbed.

Cora was overwhelmed. By her own emotions, by the task that loomed in the future, by how she'd hurt Makko. She'd hurt him and yet, here he was, doing what he could to comfort her.

"I d…"

Clutching at his shirt with both hands, she tilted her head up just enough to catch his gaze with her own. Mascara smeared messily around the edges of her eyes and she hiccuped.

"I don't…deserve you." She wailed, voice creased and awkwardly tight. "N…not after the awful…th-things I've said…"

Pressing her cheek to his chest, Cora listened to Makko's own erratic heartbeat as she took in sharp, shaking breaths. It took a few minutes for the blonde to steady herself enough to speak, mumbling into his shirt.

"I wanna get that tattoo."

Makko Vyres

 

[Makko Vyres]

He frowned over Cora's head. His arms snapped around her a little too firmly. One hand worked into her hair, making it a mess as he held her close.

His breathing was stuttered. With her so close she wouldn't see the tears welling in his eyes. The emotions felt as if they had been bottled up, but still had nowhere to go. It made his skin feel hot and flushed, it made his fingers tremble.

"You wanna..."

"...that...that I can make happen," he offered quietly.

It wasn't a lot, but it was something. He could sit there with her and make a small act of rebellion. Laugh about it and hope that maybe - just maybe - that small act would spark more of a rebellion.

It was a small hope. In reality time would march on inexorably towards that day. He would hide from the news and stay away from the wedding, but he would know what was being done to her and it would hurt.

But until then he could just be a person that knew what she was going through and could offer small comforts along the way.

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

The feeling of Makko holding her tight ushered a shuddering sigh from Cora. If she'd been more aware, perhaps she would have noticed how his own feelings surged in the Force, a complementary shade to her own distress.

Pulling her head away, Cora sniffled and poked him in the chest with a finger.

"You'd best not drag me to some disgusting spice den."

She'd often admired Makko's ink, but insisted that she'd never get a tattoo herself. Her decision was born out of a small spark of rebellion, grasping for the ability to make a choice for herself when she'd been stripped of her autonomy.

That, and she hoped the ink on her skin would honor the connection they had.

"I must look like a complete mess." Mumbling, Cora pressed the heel of her palm against an eye and rubbed. Smudged mascara ringed watery eyes, just above flushed cheeks, framed by messy hair. "I'm not even sure what I would get."

Makko Vyres

 

[Makko Vyres]

There was something utterly normal about being poked and warned against taking her to somewhere too below her station.

He couldn't quite laugh. A small shouting match, followed by a hug seemed to have brought every emotion to the surface. It suddenly felt a little lighter than it had done, but it was still overwhelming.

Makko brought his thumb to the bridge of her nose and wiped some mascara away.

"I'll find somewhere clean and nice," he said. It was the least he could do.

Cora's soft whisper, admitting how scared she was, would stay with him forever. It might have been better for them both to walk away now, but if he could do anything to help her he would.

Even if it was nothing more than listening to her express what she really felt about her future.

"We could go scroll the holonet for ideas?"

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

"Good." She grumbled.

Their conversation was disarmingly ordinary, especially odd in the setting of their fight. While the bigger reasons behind their spat could not simply be smoothed over or even discussed to completion, Makko and Cora had fallen into the familiarity of eachother's embrace.

Eyes watery, she marveled up at Makko as he wiped away the smudge of mascara.

His words were slowly sinking in, and it was gradually dawning on her just how much he was hurting. What was more, he'd willingly allow himself to hurt further for the sake of her comfort.

That thought had her lower lip quivering again, but Cora managed to swallow back her distress this time. Sliding a hand up to his neck, she gently stroked the shattered image inked onto his neck with her thumb.

"I've always liked this one the most." She murmured quietly. "What it represents, I mean." Cora knew that his feelings on the Fractal State were complicated. They'd been family when he had none, but they were still a gang living in a harsh environment.

The idea of rebellion, however distant, was tantalizing.

Makko Vyres

 

[Makko Vyres]

He actually managed a smile. It was small, tentative, looked as if it could flee at any moment.

He swallowed hard, his larynx visibly bobbing. It hard been a sudden confrontation, but it had drawn some clarity to his feelings. He was struck by just how much he had missed her simple touch.

It would be taken away, forever, but he would mortgage his future for just a little more of her now.

"You could get something in that style. I think...I think I'd like it if you had something like that."

This time he wasn't entirely up front. He wanted to have something that linked them forever, to have Cora carry something that would remind her of him. He didn't have the heart to say that all out loud.

"Maybe I'll get something new too," he said. Something that represented their time together.

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

From the moment the door slid open and they crossed the threshold, Cora was busy taking her surroundings in with an overly discerning eye.

Tattoos, while never expressively forbidden, were likely not to go over well in court. Despite Makko's teasing, she'd never given any serious thought to obtaining one until now.

"At least it's...clean." She admitted to Makko in a murmur, nearly glaring at the designs that hung on the wall, photos of the artist's previous works. "And they have their license? You checked?"

Cora was definitely anxious. She'd taken a dose of painkillers an hour ago, both to ward off the headache that had been developing from their confrontation and in preparation for what might be an unpleasant experience.

She squeezed Makko's arm. "They passed their health and safety inspection, right?"

At the very least, she'd given some thought to the marking she wanted.

The crest of House Cholmondeley.

Shattered.

Makko Vyres

 

[Makko Vyres]

"They have a license," Makko said, taking her hand and making sure she followes into the small lobby.

There was a young lady with several visible piercings, both across her skin and through her clothes.

"Coral, appointment at two?" Makko said. He should have been more upbeat at taking part in the small act of rebellion. Instead he carried himself with a relatively somber demeanor.

It amused him a little, he encouraged it and wanted to take part. It couldn't make up for events that were still in motion.

"Have a seat, I think.." She leaned across the counter. There were two open doors into side rooms. "...Bix is still finishing up with someone."

Makko grabbed a seat, pulling forwards a book that contained photos of tattoos the artists had done. He started to flick through.

"You decided where to get it?" he asked.

"Not there," he added quickly, turning the page.

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Even somber, Makko seemed far too calm about all of this.

For her part, Cora fidgeted nervously in her seat next to him. While not having a full blown panic attack, she could feel her breath come quicker.

Her attention drew towards the portfolio as Makko flipped through, averting her gaze suddenly with a blush.

"D-definitely not there." She hissed.

Next came an important decision: placement.

"I'm not sure. Maybe the back of my shoulder or my hip, like you suggested."

Cora chewed at her lower lip, leaning a bit closer to look at the pictures. The lines were clean, and the colors weren't muddled or bleeding. She'd let Makko choose the tattoo parlor, as long as her stipulations were met.

"Somewhere that's not usually visible."

Makko Vyres

 

[Makko Vyres]

"This hip then," he said. "It won't hurt too much there."

Makko was thinking something, but he didn't want to say it out loud. If she chose - or had chosen for her - a wedding dress without a back it would be visible.

He didn't have the heart to be cruel and try and get it placed somewhere that could undermine the wedding. Even if that was what he really wanted to do.

"Coral?" called a another girl covered in tattoos and piercings who popped her head around the door from one of the side rooms.

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora could only nod in agreement. She still couldn't believe that she was actually going through with this.

Proper noblewomen were not supposed to get tattoos—certainly not inkings that depicted the shattered crest of a house they were about to marry into. It was a subtle sign of incredible disrespect.

Looking over at Makko, Cora took a moment to study the sharp angles of his face as he flipped through the photographs. Her heart thudded once, then sank into the depths of her stomach.

She missed him already.

The sound of her almost-name had her back straightening suddenly, a look of alarm plastered across her face.

"O-oh," She cleared her throat. "Present."

Inwardly, she grimaced before rising awkwardly to her feet and grabbing for Makko's hand.

"He can…he can come in with me, right?"

Makko Vyres

 

[Makko Vyres]

"Yeah of course," she said, sunny disposition probably far away from what Cora might have expected.

Makko stood up to follow. In hindsight, he hadn't picked the most inaganitive psuedomym.

A tall Togruta stepped out of the room, his arm covered in clear plastic. He was clearly getting a full sleeve done a little at a time.

"Come on in, hop up on the chair," she said. "I'm Symphony and we've got a short session booked for today so nothing too big I guess."

She looked over at Makko with a professional eye.

"Who's the artist?" She asked.

"Syb Teeva," Makko replied.

"Haven't heard of him actually."

"From Denon."

"Oh right. Looks like nice work. I only tend to follow Coruscant artists. So..." She said, looking to Cora. "...what are we thinking? Is this your first? He talk you into it?"

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

While normally outgoing and confident in meeting new people, Cora was uncharacteristically nervous. Not only did she have cold feet, but she was entirely out of her element.

Symphony's tattoos and piercings were intimidating, but that was offset by her friendly demeanor. Settling into the chair, Cora folded her hands in her lap and attempted to steady her breathing during the artist's brief exchange with Makko.

Anxiety straightened her spine once more at Symphony's questions.

"Y-yes, this is my first time." She admitted. "It was my decision."

Not that there hadn't been a healthy amount of encouragement from Makko.

"Ah, one moment please…" Fumbling with her phone, Cora tapped and swiped until she managed to pull up a picture of House Cholmondeley's crest. Largely circular, with a few sharp edges.

"Would you be able to do something like this? But in the style of…"

Reaching up, she ran a thumb against Makko's gang marking on his neck, tracing the shattered outline of his home district.

Realizing that the gesture might be too intimate for a public setting—at least for Cora—she blushed and withdrew her hand.

Makko Vyres

 

[Makko Vyres]

Makko chased her hand and gave it a squeeze.

Symphony pretended not to see any of the exchange and swiped at the screen. The image was sent to her datapad on a desk.

"I think I can work to that."

She turned on her swivel chair and hunched over it, swiping at the screen with a pen. She hummed to

"Don't worry," Makko said, "something that size will be done so quick you barely feel it."

Symphony turned over her shoulder.

"How big is this going to be and where do you want it?"

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Makko squeezed her hand, and Cora gave him a small smile.

"Really?"

She hoped that he was right and not just trying to ease her concerns. If he was lying, he'd certainly face her backlash.

"Not too big." Cora cautioned. "Maybe…"

She held her pointer finger and thumb aloft, curling them in a diameter that was no more than two inches.

"…and on my hip."

Cora dropped her hand, brushing it against her hip bone. Her cheeks flushed upon the realization that she'd have to expose skin for this.

Makko Vyres

 

[Makko Vyres]

"Alright...I'm going to simplify a few of these lines. We use the best ink but it still spreads out a little over time and you wouldn't want it to look messy."

Makko nodded at Cora. He wanted to reassure her that this was all true. He supposed that he had taught Cora quite a lot about the world, but mostly herself. Even then, he had tried to earn a few credits on the side because he didn't think he offered enough.

Something that turned out to be very painfully true.

Symphony turned around. A small droid arm followed.

"What's going to happen is you just tug your clothes down so I've can get at where you need it. Then I'm just going to shave away any little hairs that might be there. This will spray my design on exactly and then I'll get to work. Sound good?"

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Makko's reassurance put her a little more at ease. Their worlds rarely collided, but he'd always looked after Cora when she was out of her element and into his own.

The blonde immediately tensed at the sight of the tiny droid arm. Perhaps the one bright side to her obvious tension was that Symphony took the time to explain the process to her in simple terms.

"R-right." She nodded.

Her eyes drifted to Makko, still feeling awkward even as she slipped a hand beneath the waistband of her skirt, tugging it down so that the skin of her hip and part of her midriff were exposed. With her other hand, she brushed her shirt out of the way.

Her stomach tensed when she felt the gentle scrape of the blade against her skin. Cora's gaze flickered up to Makko.

"You're sure this won't hurt too much?"

Makko Vyres

 

[Makko Vyres]

"No it really won't," he said. He was mildly surprised that Cora wasn't offended at the notion that she needed to have tiny faint body hairs shaved away. "And I'll be here."

The artist decided to let it come from her partner.

The droid arm came down and projected a small laser image of the tattoo.

"You can just move the arm until you're happy with it," Symphony explained.

Cora was able to change the rotation and size of the tattoo until she was happy. Then, the droid instantly sprayed the outline for Symphony to follow and embellish.

There were droid tattoo artists, but Cora had asked for Makko's advice. That meant a real person both finishing the design and doing it by hand.

"Here we go," said Symphony.

Makko held Cora's hand and held back a smile, knowing there was no ink loaded.

A small buzz and a small scratch to find out if Cora would jump.

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora held Makko's hand tightly and swallowed thickly. He'd see the tension in her body, see her eyes crease with the frantic thought of wait what am I doing??

She'd shot down his playful suggestions of her getting inked quite readily. Cora had never wanted a tattoo before, but she'd never thought about it for more than a few seconds.

But, he'd still planted that seed.

Now she was in the chair, about to immortalize the shattered crest of the family she was unwillingly being married into on her skin. It was, by a long shot, the most rebellious thing she'd ever done.

Watching the needle carefully, Cora yelped and twitched as soon as it made contact with her skin. A squeaky, undignified sound, it was more out of released anticipation than actual pain.

Makko Vyres

 

[Makko Vyres]

Makko gave her hand a gentle squeeze. He bit his lip to try and hide the smirk. He failed.

"Right so there isn't any ink in this yet," Symphony explained. She held it up so Cora could see. There was a tiny pinprick of blood on Cora that she wiped away with a sterile cloth.

"Would you like me to do a little more? Make sure you can manage the pain before I put ink in. It's expensive to get these things erased if you jump and I give you a nice line half way down your leg."