Labour day Monday morning was bright and undisturbed by clouds, and Alex Prior was first in line at Inkquire's Tattoo Parlor.

Three nights ago, he had expressed a hidden eagerness to get his first (and likely last) tattoo, to his father over dinner. Grayson allowed it, on the condition that Alex spend two days at the Umbramoor Manor while Ridley stayed over at the Prior home. Alex had thought it was quite the deal; he had gotten the sense over the past couple of days that the two adults had been desperately looking for some extended alone time together.

He had called Lev later that night and told him of the incredible bargain, before asking for suggestions on what he should permanently get imprinted on his body. Because Alex wanted something not too big, not too small, with no colouring other than black, and that wouldn't take a lot of time to do — Lev had come up with the perfect idea.

The next day, the group had met up at Umbramoor, and Alex had once again recounted his incredible bargain. His news had been met with much enthusiasm and an extensive list of suggestions for possible tattoos, but Alex had politely declined them all, since he had already received the perfect idea from Lev.

So, instead, the group had aided him in searching for a shop to get the job done. Lev had adamantly recommended that Alex get his tattoo done before school started. Alex was wholeheartedly in agreement, but still nervous at the thought of a needle stabbing his skin for over a hundred times, so he'd preferred it to be done at the last possible minute. The group had selected Inkquire — the only tattoo parlor in the city that would be open on Labour Day.

And now, inside the shop, Alex was situated sideways on a velvety bench, his back hunched a bit and his hands gripping the edges. He quietly whimpered, not noticing how much he'd been writhing as the tattoo artist, Scot was his name, got to work on the lower back of his neck. Alex went still when he felt a cold hand take a firm hold of the top of his head.

"Stop moving so much," Lev instructed. He had crouched down in front of Alex, his hand still clasping his head, and then scooped up one of the hands Alex had been using to clutch the bench for dear life. "It won't take long, just think of something else."

With a fraught look and shattered breaths, Alex followed his words and shut his eyes, trying to imagine that there wasn't currently a needle in progress of permanently etching a design on the back of his neck by repeatedly puncturing his skin. For a minute nothing came to mind, but then he remembered the galvanizing sensation that was Lev's callused hands.

He remembered how the cold and rough twin body parts had gotten to explore much of his body for the first time last night. He remembered the soft brush of Lev's fingers as they glided across his skin. He remembered how they traveled down his neck and back, around his waist, back and forth on his thigh, and running back up the same path to do it all over again. I'm not ready yet. Words they had both admitted then, though not out loud to each other, yet through the tranquil quiet evening inside the Umbramoor Manor, both had been able to hear each other loud and clear.

And then Alex remembered tracing his own hands over Lev's minacious dragon tattoo on his back, in anticipation for his own inking. He had touched it once before when Lev had first exposed it the day he'd arrived at the Prior home for sleepover number two, but this time had been different, more intimate.

Alex's trip down memory lane was interrupted when he heard a deep growl coming from Lev. Thinking it was meant for him, his body shuddered and his eyes flickered open to obediently face his boyfriend. But Lev wasn't looking at him. He turned his head, as much as could without Scot having to keep him steady, and followed Lev's gaze, noticing Jeremi bent forward, leaning in quite closely, trying to get a better look at the ink being formed on the back of Alex's neck.

"What? Too close?" Jeremi asked, looking mildly panicked as his eyes buzzed between Alex and Lev.

"No shit," Lev replied lowly.

Jeremi's eyes quickly returned to study Alex's neck. "How close?"

"Asphyxiation. Move," Lev threatened.

Jeremi flshed an innocent grin, as he backed away with his hands in the air. "Call me a masochist, but I've actually really missed having you around, chamo," he said to Lev.

Without looking at him, Carsyn, Evan, Tate, Six and Ziro all said in bland unison, "masochist."

Jeremi scoffed, while Alex had briefly forgotten the pain accumulating on his back neck, and managed a short, jubilant laugh.

Though the laugh was so powerful, that Lev apparently felt swayed enough to muster up an affable smile that he aimed at Jeremi. "Yeah, you're not entirely bad yourself, Steele."

Jeremi feigned shock as he stumbled back into a chair, clenching his heart through his orange t-shirt. "Woah...the big and bad of Moonhaven, complimented me. I can cross that off my list of things to accomplish before I can die peacefully."

Alex laughed again, and the minor vibrations of it caused him to unintentionally shift his neck slightly, which cause the needle in Scot's hand to jab at him just a little to deep, turning his laugh into a shrill groan.

"Keep it steady, kid," Scot quietly coached, his voice rough but mellow.

Out of the corner of his eye, Alex had glanced up and noticed Carsyn, grimly lounging in a black reclining studio chair. He squeezed the hand that Lev was using to comfort him a few times, and when he got Lev's attention, he motioned to the far left with his eyes.

Lev craned his head seeing Carsyn in the chair, not looking as spirited as she usually was. "Hey, Mitchell! Prior wants to know why you're being such a downer," Lev yelled at her. Alex tightly squeezed Lev's hand again in objection, but Lev only grinned in return.

Carsyn huffed as she sat up in the chair. "You know Lexy, there are such things as stupid questions."

Alex opened his mouth in attempt to defend himself, but then the needle hit a sensitive spot on his neck, causing his lips to zip shut and his body to slightly recoil. Lev maneuvered his hand on Alex's head so that his thumb could slide down to his forehead, and gently rub circles into it. Alex was at least able to relax his shoulders now, as he relinquished complete control of the weight of his skull to be held in place by Lev.

Meanwhile, Carsyn crossed her legs in the chair and continued: "Today's the last day. Starting tomorrow, all we're gonna hear for the next nine months is, 'what are your plans for the future?'"

Evan crossed a leg over the other after picking up a magazine on lifestyle choices from a glass table. "Is that what you're worried about? Syn, you're like a straight 'B to A' student. One of the last people who should be worrying about that, is you."

"That's not the point," Carsyn retorted. "I don't wanna get nagged for the next year by every adult figure that knows me, if I'm keeping on top of things and preparing for life, or whatever."

Ziro also had a leg crossed over the other as he leaned back in the seat. He was on his phone, scrolling through the latest magazine issue of Weaponized. "Spare us the drama and just say that you're scared."

Carsyn glared at him, and continued to do so even though Ziro wasn't looking at her. "닥쳐! (dak-cho). I'm not scared, I'm annoyed."

Tate was skimming through a tattoo catalogue, and stopped on a page to marvel at an etching of a centipede on someone's arm. "Hey, I know teachers can be really irritating about that stuff, but sometimes, it helps."

Six was gazing at the back of a magazine of which she knew nothing of. There was a picture on the back of a woman with lengthy thick braids, and she wondered if Nyne could pull off the hairstyle. "I agree," she said. "They know all these resources, and can write you a recommendation letter, and they just provide all these options that we didn't even know existed."

Carsyn scoffed, collapsing back into the chair. "You say 'options', I say systematic ultimatums. Either apply to a post-secondary school, or face the prolonged period of suffering — known as life — 'unprepared'."

"You know when I was in my senior year of high school," Scot had suddenly said, "I was worried and scared too, absolutely terrified of facing life after I graduated." He had set down the needle cartridge on a desk beside him. "All that info about different programs, applying for funding, getting good grades — all mercilessly being shoved down my throat. The pressure was unbearable. But I wasn't alone though. I had some of the best friends a guy could have asked for right by me the whole time. We were all in the same boat, and we made it through the storm together. To this day, those wing-nuts are still with me. Always there when I need 'em, even when I don't know that I need 'em."

Scot ran an inky had through his bald head as his following chuckle bellowed throughout the parlour, and Alex could feel his neighbouring vibrations because of it.

Through all the agony Alex could feel on the back of his neck, Scot's oration allowed him to manage a small smile. Lev wasn't one for random speeches, but rarely, when they happened, he supremely agreed with whatever was being said. Six gave a simple nod, approving of Scot's words too. Evan nodded as well at a much more sedate pace, her eyes staying right where they were o the magazine page she was reading. Tate grinned in agreement also, crossing a leg over the other in an attempt to imitate Evan and Ziro. Jeremi nodded just once, gazing at the ceiling and humming his assent as well. Carsyn seemed calmer, so she uncrossed her legs and pulled her knees up to her chest to hug.

Ziro was smiling, grinning really, laughter tempting his lips but it had sounded like he had stifled it with a cough. He looked over to Scot, his grin slowly disappearing. "All done?"

Scot's deep chortling finally eased and he nodded. "Yep. Just one sec." He grabbed a heavy roll of clear plastic wrap, and cut a small piece from it with a pair of scissors. Then he grabbed a thick roll of tape and cut a short piece from that. He took the piece of plastic wrap and gently placed it over the 'L' on the back of Alex's neck, then stuck the piece tape right over afterwards.

Alex was still in great discomfort, so he wasn't listening much as Scot explained what to do after removing the clear wrap from the new ink. Lev noticed, so he did much of the listening for him instead.

After Scot finished, Ziro stood and pulled out Alex's wallet from his back pocket. He fished out eighty-dollars and handed it to Scot. Then the rest of the group stood up as well, Alex lastly, and they returned all the reading materials to the glass table before starting for the exit.

"Hey, mind if I ask what that 'L' stands for anyway?" Scot called out to Alex.

Alex had his hands locked together over the tattoo on the back of his neck to try an dampen the inflamed pain. He glanced over at Lev, who was grinning like the slyest fox he'd ever seen. "Life. I've recently discovered my deep affection for it, and have decided to get a little more serious in the relationship."

Scot nodded, much admiration glinting in his eyes, while the group erupted into laughter, and Lev glared and growled at Alex, who's hands abandoned his neck to instead protect his forehead from incoming danger.

It was noon, and the last day before the first day of school, was just getting started.