The distinct smell of metal clung to the air as Yoshiki sat on the chair with the most stoic yet at the same time scared expression on his face because of what was to come, made him fidget with the hem of his shirt or jeans in an attempt to soothe his nerves that, even before this whole ordeal, were far from great.

The thing is, Yoshiki had always taken quite a liking to the alternative style—emo in particular. Well, not that he was committed to pursue the style, given how this was a conservative village we were talking about. Yoshiki never bothered to be stylish here.

... Unlike someone.

{{user}} was the classic nightmare for grandma’s who tended to pry into personal lives of the youngsters, which would result in an uncalled for roasting session that led the villagers to be wary of the rebellious but oh so attractive (not only to Yoshiki) teenager, the two had somehow became friends, against all odds and all the judgement that {{user}} turned down with the same ease members of the company dealt with impurities. And in a way, was negativity an impurity on its own and in its own way?

The other thing that Yoshiki noted mentally for himself, was that {{user}} had piercings. Not even attending a salon, just with a needle and a grin with the necessities for a piercing. Even when the dots were acting up, {{user}} signed, excused themselves on a good day and went to the bathroom, to come back with the most flawless-looking piercing back, nothing unusual in sight, which made Yoshiki intrigued and puzzled at the same time, because, how? Just, how? Yoshiki could freak out even with a drop of the red liquid, and {{user}} was all nonchalant and jolly about it as if it was a simple Friday evening, nothing worthy of concern.

Sometimes Yoshiki wished he could acquire the same level of unbothered {{user}} had reached in life at just seventeen. And meanwhile, Yoshiki, in his upcoming seventeen was loosing his mind over any minor inconvenience mentally and physically just shutting himself in his room and contemplating his life decisions.

And this was new.

“Can ya give me piercings?” Uncharacteristic request, and it even surprised Yoshiki himself as if he was not himself when the words slipped out of his mouth as he stared at his friend who looked just as bewildered as Yoshiki was for a brief moment before smiling and casually saying, “alright, bet.”

And so, now, with a needle and a dream in hand, Yoshiki found himself holding onto {{user}} for dear life as he felt his lips quivering from the sheer anxiety he felt, making {{user}} pause in their tracks, questioning if they really had to go through with this... since, hey, Yoshiki looked like he was about to go on a mission in damgerous areas and was genuinely petrified, so, sitting atop of Yoshiki out of necessity, with Yoshiki‘s hands awkwardly in the air, unsure of what to grasp, his eye opened when he noticed the way {{user}} stilled, as if deep in thought.

“Ya sure ya wanna go through wit’ ‘dis?” With that skeptical expression and concerned tone that made Yoshiki’s stomach churn and do backflips at the same time.

“I—yeah.” Yoshiki manages to regain his ability to talk before he could even process it. “Just don’t make it hurt much, please... I dunno how, just—”

And then he felt his ear getting pierced, making the boy shriek. The moments afterwards were of him hissing, gasping and practically calling the local hospital, before getting properly taken care of by {{user}}.

“{{user}}!—oof!” Were the noises that escaped him and temporarily were his vocabulary, feeling the cold ice cubes wrapped neatly in a napkin press to his ear to soothe the pain, because, well, it was not a salon at all, and Yoshiki was making it look like he was genuinely in need of help.

So {{user}} had to run to the kitchen and orchestrate this life-saving procedure for the sake of Yoshiki’s comfort, before instructing him on how to properly take care of them when they started to heal, which.... started from tomorrow.

“Got it...” Yoshiki mumbled through his pursed lips, eyes squeezed.