Stories Beneath Our Skin (22 page)

"
You don't have any ink here."

"
Yet." Ace winked at him. "Saving that space for something really good."

"
I've got an idea." Liam tucked his chin onto Ace's shoulder, looked down the canvas. "I'll draw it for you. Send it to you when I'm done."

"
No hints?"

"
Not yet." Liam smiled. "Gotta have something to look forward to. You don't have to get it if you don't like it, obviously."

"
Obviously." Ace rolled over and tangled their legs together. Liam slid his hand down over the blade on Ace's forearm.

"
When did you get this one?"

"
When I got back. I felt a lot like a sword back then. That's how I met Benny actually. Sort of a long story."

"
Tell me anyway."

"
Well, there was this bar," Ace began and Liam settled in to listen.

Chapter Fourteen:
Epilogue

Two Years Later

The
outside of the shop had been repainted recently, mutating from hospital green to a viciously dark purple. It didn't help the aesthetic much, but Liam took it in with a grin. He'd bet anything that the color had been on sale at Home Depot the day Ace got it into his head to redo it. The orange and black sign was flipped to open. When he pushed in, the thudding baseline rattled welcoming around his feet.

"
Professor!" Deb jumped out of her chair and came around the desk to pull him into a rib-cracking hug. "Thought you were coming in at six."

"
Goose told me he had some free time, so I moved it up." He pulled back to take her in. She looked just the same, except for a new burst of roses over her clavicle. "It's good to see you."

"
Nice to see you too." She slapped him lightly on the arm, backing out of his embrace. "Six months! What's wrong with you?"

"
It was easier to just push through the last of it. But it's over. Done now."

"
I heard. He never shuts up about it. You'd think he'd gotten that diploma himself. When do you start work?"

"
End of August. Think I can get a few table hours between now and then?"

"
You remember how?"

"
Think I can piece it together. It's either that or I spend all summer here." He gestured around the empty waiting room. "Keep you from getting too bored."

"
Talk to the boss man." Unmoved by the threat, she threw herself back into her chair. "Who has no idea you're here, as requested, you sneaky little shit."

"
You're the best, Deb." He slipped into the back, going right through Goose's open door. The pictures of tattoos past whispered together as he shut it behind him.

"
Our wanderer returns!" Goose beamed at him. His curls sprung wild from his head. The gnomes had been replaced by some funky gargoyles, and Liam gave one horny head a pat.

"
You get the sketches I sent you?"

"
Sure. Made a transfer already. You ready for this?"

"
As I'll ever be." He kicked off his shoes, the blue Converses with their silver stars faded to faint reminders on the canvas.

"
Oh, sure just make yourself comfortable." Goose snorted. "You're supposed to be the classy one."

"
I am the epitome of class." He laid out on the table and rucked up his shirt.

"
Damn. Never actually seen it." Goose held his hand just above the scar tissue. "It's going to be a hell of a punch when I go over those."

"
Pain for now, enjoyment for the rest of my life." Liam shrugged. "I trust you."

"
Of course you do. I'm awesome." Goose beamed.

The transfer looked good. Liam put one hand behind his head and settled in for the inking. Going over the scars was the worst part, not just the pain of it, but the echo of how they got there. Goose talked all the way through it
, though, anchoring Liam to the here and now. Nonsense about a band he'd heard and the ones he wanted to go see over the summer. Somewhere in there, Liam drifted off listening to Goose's little fountain. He dreamed of fat crows gossiping about rhythm and blues. He drifted back awake when the needle crossed over bone in a bright slice of pain.

"
Where'd I lose you?" Goose chuckled.

"
Mmm. Concert on the green?"

"
Oh yeah, the Beefalos! They're pretty lousy except for the glitter, but the Green is a great outdoor space. You should come with." Leaning in, Goose painted a streak upwards then chased the blood with a paper towel. "They have a show on the fourth there, some brass band, fireworks after."

"
What? Not going to sit out on the roof again this summer?"

"
Listen, I like that roof. It's a good roof. But a man has to diversify or what happens?"

"
You make traditions." Liam stared at the ceiling, listening to Ace's music pound through the walls. "Nothing wrong with that."

"
True." A grinding pain, and then Goose stood up, cocking his head to one side. "Who said this anyway?"

"
Rumi."

"
Ha! Him, I actually know something about. Sufi mystic, right?"

"
Got it in one."

"
I've been reading some trippy books past few weeks. Found my library card."

"
Where was it?" The "it" came out more as a hiss as Goose bent back to work.

"
In a library book. Never returned it. I was using the card as a bookmark."

"
What book?"

"
Magic School Bus Visits the Solar System
. Holy shit, don't laugh, don't laugh!"

"
Ow." Liam whimpered, still grinning. "What were you, seven when you took that out? How was the card even still working?"

"
It was like three years ago, shut up. Ms. Frizzle would school you in a second. Do you know how much you'd weigh on Mars? No? 'Cause I do."

"
You're right. Ms. Frizzle is pretty awesome. You know, I heard once some people think she and Mary Poppins were timelords."

"
What's a timelord?"

"
Oh, man, seriously? Goose, you need to watch
Doctor Who
. I think it was created for you. Think
Magic School Bus
in a police box with grown-ups." Liam shifted a little. "Where are we?"

"
Almost done. You got the DVDs for this show?"

"
No, but we can figure out a way to watch it. Marathon when it's too hot to be outside. I think Cole can even watch some of it."

"
He's on a
Power Rangers
kick, you might have to talk him off that ledge first. Joy bought him a whole bunch of action figures for his birthday." Goose flicked his wrist, and Liam squeezed his eyes shut. "You'll see when you go home. Army of the guys on his windowsill."

"
He told me about it on the phone." He sucked in a breath. "How is Joy? I mean he tells me, but..."

"
Not always an accurate report? She's good. Still working at that travel agency. Keeps saying she'll be ready to move out of the house soon, but I can't see it happening for another few months. The money is tight, and the built-in babysitting is nothing to sneeze at."

"
Still in therapy?"

"
Yep. No idea how that's going. I don't ask that woman anything if I can help it." Goose picked the gun up, examining his work. "Getting clocked once was enough."

"
She was high at the time."

"
Whatever. I still say it's safer at a distance. I think you're done. Take a look?"

The mirror hung over the back of the door. Angry red skin made the black ink pop and the color blare brighter. The scars were still there, woven in. Liam stared at it for a long time. Brandon
's messy signature was gone, swallowed up in a drawing of Liam's own design.

"
I'm going to double your fee," he announced.

"
Great. Double gratis is let me see -- still zero." Goose looped an arm over Liam's shoulders. "Glad to do it."

"
Thanks, man." Liam knocked their hips together. "Tape me up?"

"
You got it."

Ink sealed in under a neat bandage, Liam finally let his shirt fall back over his stomach. The music had eased off a little in anticipation of paying customers. He winked at Goose then slipped back into the hallway. Ace
's door was cracked open, the last thready chords of the song reaching through. Liam went straight in.

Ace squatted in front of the far wall, marker in hand. His dreadlocks were gone, replaced by a riot of messy gelled spikes. The tattoo Liam had designed for him ran up to his freshly bared neck, practically begging to be licked. The city under his marker
-stained hands had grown by leaps and bounds. It spread over all the formerly blank space, buildings rising helter-skelter to the ceiling. The sun had spewed forth a few stars over the ceiling, and a subway line ran over the edges of the floor.

"
Got a new one for you. Charles Baudelaire this time." Liam said softly, smiling when Ace jumped to his feet, turning to find him there. "
What strange phenomena we find in a great city, all we need do is stroll about with our eyes open. Life swarms with innocent monsters
."

"
Innocent monsters, huh?" Ace studied him with a tender expression, capping his marker slowly. "Thought you weren't coming home until late tonight."

"
Changed my mind. Sooner is better."

"
You're back for good. Day or two doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things." The marker got tossed aside.

"
Of course it matters." Liam dropped all pretense to cross the floor and lean down for a kiss. "Say hello."

"
Hello, Professor." Ace smiled into it, hands sliding over Liam's hips. When their bodies touched, Liam bit back a whimper of pain. "That eager?"

"
No just a little raw."

"
You got work done?" Ace hooked his fingers under Liam's shirt and pulled it up. "Just now? You let Goose cover it up?"

"
Yeah. It's time. I'll show you later. You can peel the bandage off. Help me with my aftercare." He practically growled out the last word.

"
Someone's got a pain high." Ace waggled his eyebrows. "See, this is why you should have told me when you were coming. I'd've made time to take you home. Say hello properly. Instead, I've got clients."

"
Thought a day or two didn't matter much? I can wait."

"
Got no choice. Why don't you get us dinner?" Ace stepped back enough to peel two twenties out of his wallet. "Pizza."

"
Hawaiian and pepperoni." He took the money, though he didn't actually need it.

They were going to have to talk finances now that Liam was home for good. Ace had been paying the utilities and upkeep on the house in lieu of rent, something that drove
Ace crazy. He tried to pay for nearly everything whenever Liam came back for a visit, trying to make up for it. Liam didn't care one way or another. He had enough to come out of his master's program without much debt and a steady income starting in the fall. Not to mention the nest egg Gene had left behind, enough to keep them in pizza for a long time.

He walked to the pizza place, neon signs snapping to life around him as the sun set. When he got back, Frankie was sitting in one of the waiting room chair
s. Her hair was smoothed back in an effortlessly neat bun and her bangs curled to perfection. She'd kicked off her high heels and tucked her legs under a pink poodle skirt stitched with a black embroidered skull.

"
When did you get home?" she scolded as he came through the door. "I would've made something if I knew you were coming back."

"
Just got in a few hours ago. No one knew." He put down the boxes to accept her hug, inhaling the baby powder, whiskey, and lipstick scent of her. "There's pizza anyway."

"
Pizza isn't home cooking."

"
Not going to stop you from having a piece though." Deb handed Frankie a paper towel. "We can do a big dinner on Sunday."

"
At my place," Frankie guessed. "With me cooking?"

"
Well, if you're volunteering."

"
I can make something," Liam offered. "I've mastered the fine art of chopping vegetables at least."

"
I'll think about it." Frankie took a slice of pepperoni.

"
I smell something awesome." Goose ducked his head into the room.

"
Hey, baby," Frankie said softly.

"
I knew it wasn't just the pizza." He bounded in, swarming the chair to get a kiss. Frankie ruffled his curls as he pulled away, red lipstick smeared over his lips. "Did you see? We've got our Professor back."

"
I noticed." She plucked up a paper towel and rubbed at his mouth. "If you just let me eat first, this wouldn't happen to you."

"
Waiting is for losers." He declared around her ministrations. It came out a bit garbled.

"
What's all the noise about?" Ace had a liter of soda tucked under one arm. "Are they being gross again?"

"
Possibly." Liam took the soda, opening it slowly. "Depends on your point of view, I guess. Does saying hello right away count as gross?"