Page 30 of Rough Night

Sage was over the moon when she agreed to get a tattoo. He knew it had been a big thing to suggest and also a big thing to do considering how painful it would be, but he thought it would be something they could share together, something that was theirs and that no one could take away. He had never done anything so extreme with anyone before, and he was happy that it was with Mia. She made him want to experience life more than he had before. He wanted to explore with her and possibly travel the world with her one day. She brought out a side of him that had been hidden for so long, he wanted to embrace it and hold on to it with both hands.

Maybe one day soon he'd be able to talk about the future. He wasn't 100 percent sure but there was definitely hope for him even after he had given up on thinking he would share his life with anyone. He knew Mia was good for him. She had helped him in so many ways that she didn't even know about. He hoped she knew on some level how much of an impact she had made on his life.

He had been a lonely ex-military man who had no love for life, no meaning that was truly getting him through but she had entered his life like a ray of sunshine, a rainbow that shone through all of his cloudy days. She was just what he needed. He was completely committed to her.

Sage knew he didn’t have to prove anything to anyone, but he wanted to prove to Mia that he was committed to her. Maybe getting a tattoo together would seem childish to other people but he didn’t care. No one else mattered more to him than Mia. It was crazy for him to think that he had tried so hard to push her away in the beginning. He had been such an idiot at the time, and he had almost lost her for good. He didn't want to think about how he had almost pushed her away.

"So what can I do for you today?" the tattoo artist assigned to him asked. She was a tattooed woman, covered almost head to toe with tattoos and also a lot of piercings. Sage had always found people with a huge amount of tattoos to be rather fascinating. Getting covered in tattoos wasn't exactly socially acceptable so it could ruin any potential for any other job opportunities. She was clearly dedicated to being a tattoo artist though. He admired her artwork, captivated by the story the woman had put on her body. Although he hadn't been a huge fan of tattoos, he could appreciate the work that went into them. Maybe it was also because he spent so much time with Mia that he had started to appreciate art more.

He pulled out a piece of paper with his tattoo design and showed it to the artist. He had managed to look up a design that he really loved while Mia had been getting ready. When he saw it, he knew immediately that it was what he wanted.

"I'd like something like this, but instead of the flowers around it I'd like it to have a piece of sage in its mouth," he replied. He had thought long and hard about his design before he had asked Mia if she would be okay with getting a tattoo. If he had been willing to share his idea with her he probably would have asked her to design it herself, but he wanted it to be a surprise. It would be a surprise for everyone.

"Okay, that's cool. Would you like to keep it that simple?" the tattoo artist asked.

“Yes, please. I'd like it to be soft just like the picture," he replied.

He knew the deeper meaning behind the tattoo, and he wanted it to be simple and almost elegant. After all, he wasn't a gangster of any kind, so he didn't need anything to represent how tough he was.

After the tattoo artist set everything up, the process started instantly. They didn't talk much during the time because Sage closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. He hadn't expected the pain to be as much as it was so he had to focus on keeping still instead of slapping the artist away. After a few hours of pain, Sage could finally look at his tattoo. He loved it, and he hoped Mia would love it too. He had learned over some time that Mia was strong and capable of pretty much anything and to him, he wanted to show her that he recognized that.

He had decided to get the tattoo on the back of his hand. That way, everyone would always be able to see it, they all had to know that he belonged to Mia. It wasn't that he was her property, but he knew that if anyone saw his tattoo, they would immediately know what it meant. The tattoo artist had done an amazing job, and Sage stared at the tattoo for some time before he could say thank you. He was left a little speechless.

"It's amazing, thank you so much," he said.

"I'm glad you're happy with it. Now for the healing process, I'd like you to clean it twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening for only a week. You should look at some of our products in the front. We have a few balms that you can use to make sure it peels nicely, that's important. You can't leave it to dry out too much," she said with a warning look.

"Got it," he replied. He knew he’d do what he had to do to make sure the tattoo healed properly. He hadn’t gone through a few hours of pain for it to amount to nothing.

He was extremely pleased with the tattoo, and he was so proud of himself for coming up with the idea on his own. He hoped Mia would love it just as much as he did. He was also interested to see what she had gotten done since they hadn't shown each other their designs.

He really wanted to show her as soon as he was out of the booth, but she was still busy with hers, so he had to wait and he decided to settle the bill while he waited.