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Duncan wakes in the middle of the rarest pleasure: an Aberdeen sunbeam. His face is pressed against Jimmy’s warm, strong back, and now that he’s listening he can hear the soft rasp of Jimmy’s breath, the pulse of his dependable heart. One more day of precious holiday, though his homesickness from tour never quite stopped pulling. It will be good to walk through that door together. He unpeels himself carefully from Jimmy’s freckled skin and lies on his back. The sunlight catches every rogue ginger hair that has annexed Jimmy’s shoulders, every silver curl on his own chest, glints off the silver ring in his left nipple. He chuckles quietly to himself; they are a pair of mad old men. Mad for each other and just mad, to boot.
Today is the day: Jimmy’s appointment with Agnes is for ten, if he still wants to go through with this. Duncan’s randy certainty of the night before (and the months before) has given way to something a little more cautious. Even a wedding ring doesn’t require a hole in the body. But as he considers the integrity of Jimmy’s nipples his fingers drift to his own ornament, and a tracery of pleasure spreads across the front of his body. He must make a noise, because Jimmy is sighing, stretching and turning to face him, slinging a heavy arm across his ribs and grumbling a kiss into the side of his head.
“Hmmgmornin.”
Duncan turns and smiles as Jimmy squints his eyes against the sun.
“Good mornin, love.”
“Hmm.” Jimmy nuzzles his head and ear again, then pauses. “You okay?”
“Oh aye. I was just lyin here thinkin about your big morning.” There’s trepidation in his tone, but Jimmy just huffs a laugh.
“Have you decided which it’s to be, then?”
“Wha?”
“Lefty or righty, man?” Jimmy asks, grabbing at his nipples, which startles a laugh out of Duncan. Duncan rolls over to gaze down into clear blue eyes, gliding a palm up the drum of Jimmy’s belly to the swell of his chest.
“Ah well, they both have their merits, don’t they?” His thumb teases one, then the other. “Sometimes I think this one is my favorite. And then again…” He dips his head to trace his tongue on a tightening bud. Jimmy hisses, sighs.
“Shall I have the same as yours?” He tugs Duncan’s ring gently, and Duncan’s cock nudges against his thigh in response.
“Maybe, maybe. Was thinkin of doin my other side wi’ ya,” he smiles shyly.
“Oh really.”
“I might.”
“Should I get both?”
“Start wi' one, big man. See how it suits you.”
“So when you pierce an ear, which side is the, ah… the gay one?” He looks so earnest. Duncan tries not to laugh.
“Not tae worry, Jimmy. Whichever side you choose, it’s certain tae be the gay one.”
“Ah, shut it.”
“There’s really only one way tae decide. We’ll need tae determine which is more sensitive.”
“An experiment.”
“Aye, scientific.”
***
The sun is hiding when they walk into the tattoo parlour, but their cheeks are flushed. It’s the left one, it turns out. They’re shown into one of the curtained stalls in the back of the shop, and Jimmy hangs his coat, pulls off his jumper and vest. Duncan can’t quite reconcile the familiar sight of his lover’s unfussed disrobing with the rest of this scenario. Jimmy settles into the reclined seat, and Duncan sees him for a moment as someone else might; boyish but masculine and well past youth. Pale and pink and broad. Square. So square. A cop. A shirtless cop in a tattoo shop, about to pierce his nipple while his lover looks on. Duncan swallows.
Agnes knocks, then pulls back the curtain. She’s petite and wiry, with dark hair and eyes. She nudges a wheeled stool away from the wall with her foot, then scoots in at Jimmy’s left side, pulling a little tin table over as well. Its surface is laid with a sterile paper cloth and covered with the ominous-looking tools of her trade. She pulls on blue nitrile gloves and tears open an iodine packet, then begins to wipe down Jimmy’s pec while they exchange murmured pleasantries. He’s a little stunned at how calm Jimmy seems, though in fairness Jimmy is an island of calm. This ends when Agnes grabs his nipple with a forcep.
“Bugger!” Jimmy half-shouts, then schools his features, takes a heavy breath. The sight of Jimmy’s pinched nipple is suddenly a bit much for Duncan, and he steps around so that Agnes’s head obscures his view. His eyes find Jimmy’s as Jimmy finds his, and the gaze feels as firm as tightly gripped hands. She works quickly. He knows the needle has passed through as twin tears overflow Jimmy’s wide eyes. He doesn’t know what to do with the throb his cock gives at this sight. Then Agnes is fastening the ring in place, wiping more iodine across the wound, and packing Jimmy’s nipple with gauze and a plaster.
Agnes leaves as discretely as she arrived and pulls the curtain closed behind her. Jimmy stays lying where he is: a fierce flush has spread down his neck and across his chest, and sweat has broken out across his face. His eyes are a bit wild. He reaches a hand toward Duncan and Duncan rushes to sit by his side.
“Alrigh’, Jimmy boy?”
Jimmy nods, dazed.
“No' too tender?”
“Sight better than bein stabbed,” he says, pulling a lazy half smile.
“Well I’m always relieved tae hear you say that,” Duncan deadpans.
“Honestly? I feel like I could climb a mountain right now.” His voice drops to a rumble. “An’ give you a seein to at the very top. Or…” and he makes to sit up, but quickly lies back again, letting out a rush of breath. Duncan weighs his free hand down on Jimmy’s bare chest, just above the plaster.
“Take ‘er easy, love. No rush.”
“Maybe a wee kip before tha’ mountain…..”
“Maybe so.” He kisses Jimmy’s cheek, just below the tearstain. “What were you goin to say just now?”
“Hm? Yeah, so. I was thinkin I might like tae see you do it too, before we go. Like you said before.”
“Oh, aye?” Duncan feels that throb again.
“You know how I feel. This is yours.” He gestures at his own heart, their joined hands. “An’ I was thinkin… if you’re willin…” Duncan’s mouth is on his before he can fumble any further. Jimmy’s mouth is lust-pliant and the kiss stretches out. Duncan pulls away just enough to whisper against his lips.
“Yours, it’s yours. Gimme a ring, I’ll wear it.”
“That so?”
“Don’t be daft, course it is. Now shove over an’ get yer kit on.”
Jimmy’s color has settled a bit, and he’s not so heavy as Duncan pulls him to his feet. He lets Duncan help him into his vest and jumper and steals another kiss before leaning out from the curtain.
“Agnes, you have time for one more?”