✎[NSFW]
✎Tattoo Artist AU
✎TW; needles

A/N: in celebration of 420 followers! And uh, this has straight up smut so do with that info what you want pfft–

...

"Ah! Stop! Fuck–"

Petite hands gripped the leather cushions with a vengeance, fingertips whitening as he squirmed.

Izuku glanced up from the mechanism in his gloved hands, eyes squinting pitifully.

"I'm... Still sterilizing the needle, Kaminari."

The blonde's head whipped around, features distorted with disbelief.

"W-Wha? But I'm sure that something was touching my back!"

"Oh, that was me."
Eijiro chuckled, capping Izuku's pen and placing it back atop his desk.

"Jackass!"

Denki sat up, balling up his shirt and tossing it at the redhead.

It obviously wasn't painful, but it was the closest, least risky object that he could hurl with full force.

"Quit messing around, you two. You're gonna make Katsuki split a vein."
Ashido's eyes fixated on the visibly irritated blonde, whose composure was lost in a mix of fear and anger.

His eyes suddenly twitched, indicating that her words had finally registered.

"Who's splitting a vein? Over these snot-sucking dickweeds? I don't think so!"
He protested.

Denki's head bobbed to the side, a worrisome grimace befalling his expression,
"...D-Dick what-"

"In my opinion, I think we're all just a little tense because nobody here really wants to get a tattoo... So just hand over the cash and we'll go get some pizza."
Eijiro beamed a toothy grin, holding out a palm to his nearer friends.

In celebration of the baby of the group hitting his 20's, the uni students took a break from their workload and took Eijiro out for his birthday.

After a day of hopping from store-to-store, Eijiro--admittedly with a few beers in his system--proposed getting a tattoo... Of course nobody was actually interested, but after throwing in the wager of cashing their part-time salaries early...

The group was a little more complacent, to say the least.

Didn't exactly give him the right to be a smartass, though.

Katsuki's eyes slit in utter distaste at the redhead, a scowl pulling tightly at his features.
All that walking rambutan wanted was to win the bet--as if Katsuki was going to give him the satisfaction.

"Fuck no."
The blonde snapped, tossing his tank top to the floor.

Now, Katsuki didn't care about the money. But letting Eijiro best him at a simple game of chicken was fuckin' lunacy.

"S-So...Are we all just... Stripping now?"
Kyoka eyes lingered a bit too long on Denki, as she nervously twiddled her thumbs.

Izuku sighed exasperatedly, standing before a leather-coated lounge seat, his bare-back patient throwing weak punches at his friend across the room.

This was likely to be his longest shift yet.
...

Now, Eijiro wasn't a complete idiot.

There were obviously conditions to a bet that could possibly leave him broke for months, such as the size of the tattoo, the placement and the amount of detail required.

It wouldn't exactly be fair play if someone tattooed a dot onto their thigh and called it a day, so there was a minimum size of two inches.
Since everyone was in on the bet, they collectively agreed that the person with the least ink per squared inch would pay.
(These are fucking scholars, everyone)

Their chosen designs were simple enough, ranging from pineapples to bunnies, so Izuku wasn't exactly up for a challenge in terms of artistic liberty.

"I have a feeling I'll regret this somehow,"
Denki stammered, sprawling tummy-first across the lounge seating.

With sweaty palms, he gripped onto the edge, bracing for the pain that would potentially send him screaming in agony.

It made him wonder what made him think this was a good idea in the first place.

I mean, he'd never had a high pain tolerance before, so why was he basically paying someone to stab a drawing onto his-

"You good so far?"
Izuku wiped where he'd began, concerned more than anything that Denki didn't so much as flinch when the mechanism came in contact with his his skin.

"You... Started?"
Denki murmured.

Izuku chuckled, taking that as his cue to continue.

Denki couldn't believe it.
Of course he felt it now, but it was still much less painful than what he'd anticipated.

For a needle that injects ink into your skin, it was... Pretty decent, to say the lea–

"Oh, fuck–"
Denki covered his eyes, the tips of his ears reddening from the sudden pain.

Alright, so maybe it hurt a little.
...

"If you make me flinch on purpose, I'll kill you."
Katsuki sat upright on the seat, looking up to meet Izuku's face because of the latter's slightly towering stature.

Izuku frowned.
"Why would I ever do such a thing to my precious Kacchan?"
He gushed sarcastically, cupping Katsuki's face within scarred hands.

"I hope I fuckin' kick that smug look off your face because of nerve reflexes."

Izuku laughed sheepishly, stroking blonde tufts tenderly.

"Don't worry, I'll be gentle,"
he mused, rubbing circles into the backside of Katsuki's palms.

"So, where are you planning on getting it?"

"I want that," Katsuki pointed at the design poster that Izuku'd hung from his wall with several of his signature pieces,
"Here."

Izuku's eyes widened,
"Surely, you don't mean–"

"Damn right I do. Now hurry up, before I change my mind."

Izuku's eyebrows furrowed, a hand shooting up to cover his cheesy expression.

'Kacchan's truly amazing,'
He thought, heart racing.

Katsuki scoffed.
What a Deku.

Surely, since one of them was going to have to pay for everyone's ink, they had to choose an artist that was both reliable and inexpensive due to bias alone.

No one was suited better than Izuku, Katsuki's highschool sweetheart.

Although, Katsuki himself would hardly call him that, seeing as how persistent he was at keeping their relationship a secret.

Hell, his closest friends had only found out that he had a boyfriend up until about a year ago, when they were just starting university.

Izuku was roughly four months younger than Katsuki, but he'd managed to get a business license right after graduating, and opened a corner shop tattoo parlor in the heart of Tokyo.

Katsuki was never fond of tattoos personally, but he did enjoy the spectacle that his lover had to offer.

Since they announced that they were dating, it was no secret the two were obsessed with each other, spending every moment they could in a sickeningly sweet, ignorant bliss.

It was a wonder how Katsuki managed to keep dating Izuku under wraps.

Katsuki hissed in pain with the sudden contact, a foreign material wiping over the freshly penetrated skin.

"Sorry, just towelling down the bleeding. You doing good, Kacchan?"

"Mhm."
Katsuki mumbled unenthusiastically, too lightheaded to make a witty remark.

Wasn't this a fine time of learning.
Katsuki didn't even know that people bled while getting tattoos.
Serves him right, he guesses.

After all, he was about to get a permanent image imbedded into his skin banking on nothing but shitty pride.

He just hoped that the dumb ink would serve its purpose.
...

"I wish I went to your highschool."
Izuku sighed, placing the keys to their apartment in its ceramic dish.

"Not only are your friends funnier than mine, but they're great company. Generous tippers, too."

"Didn't take you for the money-hungry type, Freckles."

"Am not, I just like pocket money, is all."
Izuku mused, removing his jacket with an expression equivalent to a kicked dog.

"Huh. Whatever."
Katsuki's didn't want to hinder on the subject, since money was a big reason why people thought they'd never work out.

Coming from a well-renowned, successful family, there were certain expectations he had to live up to.

But from changing his major last minute, to moving in with a complete nobody from the city, he was basically outcasted from those who'd known him the longest.

He was constantly told that his relationship with Izuku wasn't going to last now that he no longer depended on his family's finances, but they were getting along just fine.

Even before Katsuki got cut off, Izuku never asked for a cent--only insisting that Katsuki went to university and got his degree.

From there, Izuku'd built his business up from nothing, and Katsuki got to see firsthand just how much he'd accomplished.

He really does love Izuku.

"Touch me and I kill you."
Katsuki muttered, cornered between Izuku and the kitchen counter.

The taller of the pair's brows knit in bewilderment,
"I was just reaching for a glass, is it a sin to be thirsty?"

"In your case, damn right it is."
Katsuki nudged Izuku's outstretched arm out of the way.

Izuku's jaw hung agape as he'd taken a comical offense,
"What is so wrong about me admiring my stunning boyfriend?"

"So you admit that you had ulterior motive, fucker."

"You kinda signed up for my antics, though."
Izuku smiled, clasping Katsuki's hands within his own.

"I don't remember poor excuse of a fuckboy being in the contract."
He countered.

Izuku dramatically hissed in pain, quite enjoying his boyfriends almost poetic creativity.

"Was tall, dark and handsome apart of that contract?"

"If it were, I'd be a cheater. Ain't no tall dark and handsome men in my bed, that's for damn sure."

"I mean... Not right now... But I can change that."
A small smile tugged at Izuku's lips, before he quite literally swept Katsuki off his foothold, slugging him over his shoulder like a potato sack.

Katsuki yelped, exhaling a string of curses about as naturally as he breathed.

"I hope you're having fun right about now, because when you least expect it, I will have my revenge."
Katsuki mumbled in a skillfully ominous tone.

Izuku barely paid his threat any mind, even going so far as to give him an enthusiastic clap  on his backside.

"The view is worth it."

He started towards their bedroom, boyfriend in tow.

"Wish I could say the same."
Katsuki mused, smacking Izuku's ass with intention to sting.

He exclaimed in surprise when Izuku slid him over his shoulder, silk sheets cushioning his fall.

"Well there you have it."
Izuku climbed onto the mattress soon after, holding himself up using the expanse of mattress on either side of Katsuki's head.

"Tall dark and handsome, at your service."
He chuckled.

Katsuki smiled warmly, reaching to stroke the side of Izuku's face.
"When did you get so damn cocky, you Deku."

"Let's just say... I've used a few egos for reference."
Izuku kissed Katsuki's forehead, as the blonde exhaled a light snort at the remark.

He hummed complacently as Izuku's lips brushed against his, entangling lithe fingers between dark, mossy green curls.

Izuku raised Katsuki's hips off of the bed, calloused hands splayed across his partner's waist, tugging playfully at the hem of his underwear.

"Can I?"
Izuku breathed against Katsuki's sore lips, tongue swiping across his teeth with a subconscious greed.

"Mm--do what you want..."
Katsuki groaned in annoyance, wondering why Izuku was keen on ruining the moment.

Izuku smirked, eyelids slit with an ecstatic admiration.
His fingertips were practically stuttering with excitement, as he tugged Katsuki's shorts off and discarded them to somewhere along their carpeted bedroom floor.

"Did I ever tell you how stunning you are?"
Izuku spoke low, pressing a kiss to Katsuki's inner thigh.

"Every damn day, unfortunately."
Katsuki huffed a light snort, eyes glued to the ceiling in favor of Izuku's cocksure expression.
"Well, it's true, after all."
Izuku chuckled, sliding Katsuki's underwear until it dangled from his ankle, only because he was too impatient to yank them all the way off.

"Deku, if you do that, I'll–"

"Cum?"
Izuku mused, perplexed if anything.
"That's--That's kind of the point, babe–"

"You know what I mean! You can't just–"
Katsuki hissed through clenched teeth as Izuku took in his full length without warning, gripping onto the sheets for dear life due to the unexpected sensation.

The feeling of sheer euphoric pleasure was enough to leave Katsuki biting back moans.

Izuku was never sloppy, since his concept of pleasure had always been a calculated one.
After years of trial and error with Katsuki, he'd had the blonde's habits and preferences down to a T.

...Which is why Katsuki's reaction astounded him, to say the least.

"Wait, dammit!–"

Izuku did as he was told, thumb swiping across his lip as he broke the line of saliva and precum while sitting up to look directly at Katsuki.

"What's wrong?"

Katsuki sucked his teeth.
"Wipe that mopey look off your face, you didn't do anything wrong... I just..."

Katsuki diverted his gaze, legs still spread wide atop Izuku's lap.

"Hey... If you're not in the mood, I'll sto–"

"No."

Izuku cocked a brow, further bewildered when Katsuki began to turn to his side, hand splayed across his lower back.

He brought attention to the semi-pink skin of a freshly applied tattoo-- as beads of sweat faintly sparkled across the  design.

"I want you... To see it."
Katsuki mumbled, palm clasped over his rosy face.

Izuku's heart nearly gave out on him from sheer overexertion, beating a mile a minute now that his dear Kacchan was all hot and bothered.

He was criminally gorgeous.

"Kacchan,"

Katsuki jolted as his fluster was overcast by the stifling warmth, as Izuku swept him up into yet another breathtaking kiss.

When did this bastard get so good...

Izuku hardly wasted any time--breaking the kiss with a hand to Katsuki's hip, and turning him the rest of the way with their tongues barely intertwined.

"N-No... Need."
Katsuki panted, acknowledging that Izuku was probably about to prolong the process with unnecessary prepping.

"I already... Earlier..."
He fumbled between phrases, but Izuku was ecstatic when he'd soon understood.

Katsuki was eagerly awaiting some sort off alleviation, but was snapped away from his thoughts when his back arched with an spike of pure bliss, fingers curling at the sheets that now spilled over the side of the bed.

He cried out in broken moans, too surprised to care about restraining his voice any longer.

"Fu--uck!–"
Katsuki's yelling was sporadic at first, but they established a rhythm as Izuku eased into a steady pace.

"M-More, more, faster–"
Katsuki whined, far too accustomed to Izuku's movements.

"No need to tell me twice,"
Izuku hummed against the crook of Katsuki's neck, biting down on the sensitive skin.
"Or do you prefer begging between screams?"

Katsuki could tell that the question was rhetorical when Izuku punctuated the sentence with a tilt of his jaw, defiling every corner of his mouth that his tongue could reach.

Katsuki huffed with an infatuated necessity, a series of wet moans stifled by Izuku's lips as his pace grew faster.

Izuku broke the kiss once more just as Katsuki had reached his limit.
"Ah!--Deku--C-Cumming!–"

Blonde brows furrowed as Katsuki reached his gut-knotting climax, jaw slack as his entire body jolted with an override of pure ecstasy.

Izuku bit down on his lip as he grunted, riding out his orgasm in succession of overstimulating both he and Katsuki in the process.

Izuku collapsed onto the expanse of tangled sheets and comforters beside Katsuki, pulling the blonde to rest his head against his shoulder.

"Was it good? How are you feeling? Are you in pain anywhere?"
He examined Katsuki's lax posture, a little concerned that he'd worn him thin after a busy day.

"Mmn, shut up already."

Katsuki rocked his hips with whatever remaining strength he had left, shimmying until he was completely comfortable against his lover's build.

Izuku brushed a few stray tufts from Katsuki's eyes, gazing lovingly at his angelic resting face.

Katsuki was already bobbing in and out of consciousness, resulting in Izuku simply pulling the covers over their intertwined figures.

He subconsciously found his hands hovering over Katsuki's lower back to hold him, but maneuvered them over the covers instead upon recalling the tattoo.

Katsuki would probably play it off as painless out of sheer pride, but the possibility of hurting him--whether or not he was willing to admit to it--was out of the question.

Izuku glanced down at his inner wrist.
Among many of the depictions blotched into his forearm was a small key going down the very centre of his lower wrist.
He smiled warmly at the thought of the image Katsuki had insisted on getting, the mechanical heart-shaped lock of which a key was lacking.

It was hardly an unfathomable concept, the imagery of a lover holding the key to your heart for as long as they lived, bound together by nothing but raw emotion.

It was seemingly a reckless decision in the moment, but Izuku could tell that Katsuki had been considering this for a while.

It didn't change their relationship, and it didn't make Katsuki anymore devoted than he already was, but it meant enough to Izuku to know that Katsuki was able to express his love in such a medium.

It was just ink and flesh at the end of the day, but it was now something new that they shared among many.

Actions speak louder than words, after all.

...

Extra:
"Pizza doesn't taste good with tears,"
Denki cried, bottom lip quivering as he took another bite out of the gooey slice.
"But I can't stop fucking eating."
He sniffled.

Eijiro shrugged, eating his food without an issue now that he was a couple hundred bucks richer.
"I dunno man... Have you tried downing some Coke with it?"

Denki immediately stiffened in posture, expressing setting as dead serious as concrete.

"Wow. Okay, then. I'm just gonna pretend that you didn't drag Pepsi like that."
He huffed, wrist swaying.

"Trust not the words of a sore loser."

The waiter, who was a friend of the group's from university uttered in a low exhale while placing Kyoka's food down, prompting Denki to choke on his food as he coughed out,

"I don't appreciate this slander, especially from you, Tokoyami–"

"If you didn't wanna get teased, then you shouldn't have lost."
Ashido said plainly, manicured fingers wrapped around her straw as she took another sip.

Denki's face turned a dangerous shade of red; the thought of what Katsuki would do in this situation flashed through his head as he cried,

"Fuck you!"