Vows
by Evan
It was very late and the candles were soft from burning. It was
their wedding night. No one wore white, the both thought it would be better if they wore
nothing at all. No one would officiate their union but themselves which is more than could
have asked for anyway.
Ryo dabbed the point of the needle into royal blue ink, Seiji's body
was a white canvas that watched him without any real fear. He didn't make a sound when Ryo
began his work, the needle pricking his skin and bringing forth a small ruby bead over and
over again. He didn't need a sketch to remind him what he was doing or where the needle
went next, the blue ink suffusing the white skin slowly turning slowly into a picture that
wound down Seiji's chest and side then onto his back. It was Ryo's dream of Seiji spirit,
ferocious and serene in a dragon's claws and gleaming eyes and fiery breath breathed cool
under Ryo's hands.
Seiji said nothing when the red beads of blood mixed with clear beads
of his sweat. Running too fast for Ryo to clean properly with a soft cloth as he went.
Ryo's love made him a master for one night marking Seiji as his forever.
When it was morning, Ryo left Seiji on the bed they shared. Seiji had
finally fallen to sleep. He had paid for Ryo's art in pain. He could not move at all
without bringing agony through every part of him. It was as if Ryo had burned him. Many
days passed and the art finally became clear as Seiji's body healed. Seiji chose dark red
ink and took up the same needle Ryo had used. Ryo was not as silent has he had been. He
hissed under his hands as the needle went in and out of the tender skin of his hip and
thigh. Ryo's spirit was different, instead of a serene mythical monster Seiji chose a sun
ensnared in a battle with a snarling tiger. The sunlight poured and mingled with the
tiger's blood and Ryo's. The sheets under Ryo became damp and sticky with blood and sweat.
The sun rose when Seiji was finished. Ryo could not sit up to see, his eyes closed as he
went to sleep. It was done. No vows or words were ever exchanged just the things that
mattered the most.
the end