Chara hadn't known what to expect when it came to a piercing parlor. Yet, this wasn't it. This place wasn't punky or sharp or even remotely dangerous in its appearance. Instead, it was actually pretty tame with an aesthetic that seemed steeped in some sort of spiritualism that was utterly lost on them.
There were wood carvings upon the walls and articulate paintings that gave off a warm inviting vibe. The air smelled heavily of incense, rich with cinnamon, vanilla, and other spices that reminded them of something that Toriel would've used in her baking.
It would've been easy to get lost to the ambience and feel like they'd been teleported to some bygone era. Yet, there were essences of modernity mixed into the space, tiny hints which were littered about.
Among the traditional elements there were recent photographs and pieces of artwork that were digital in nature. A pristine metal tray rested upon a cart with many stainless-steel tools upon it, all of which were wrapped in plastic. Plus, the sound of newish folk music leaked from tinny-sounding speakers.
``I can't believe you talked me into this,'' Asriel grumbled.
Chara rolled their eyes. ``I didn't talk you into anything.'' They reached out and flicked his cheek. ``I told you that I was planning to do something and you decided to come with me.''
``You guilted me,'' Asriel said as he glared at them.
``I didn't guilt you,'' Chara replied, shaking their head. ``I just said that it would be really cool if you got some piercings with me.'' They shrugged and hit him with that coy little smile that they so liked to weaponize. ``And I want you to know that I'm perfectly fine with you being uncool. It's what you are most of the time anyways.''
Asriel huffed.
``And it's not going to be that bad,'' Chara then added. ``Just a couple of tiny pokes and then we're going to have some really cool piercings.''
``Until mom finds out,'' Asriel chided.
``Mom's not going to find out,'' Chara said, shaking their head. ``She's distracted grocery shopping anyways. We have like an hour before she even starts looking for us.''
Asriel sighed. ``What's she going to do when she finds out about this?''
Chara smirked. ``I don't know. What can she honestly do though? Unpierce our ears?''
``I think that's just called taking our piercings out and letting the holes heal over,'' Asriel grumbled.
Chara scoffed. ``Then I'll just put the holes back in. It's an arms race, Azzy, and I'm not about to let her win.''
Asriel simply cocked a brow, obviously awed into silence by their sheer dedication to the cause.
``Look, I got us covered,'' Chara said, shaking their head. ``If something goes wrong you can just pin the blame on me. It's what you do most of the time anyways. All you need to worry about is acting tough and getting those big dumb ears pierced.''
Asriel blushed and looked off to the side. ``They're not dumb.''
``They're so dumb,'' Chara replied, reaching out and poking one of those puffy ears with their finger. ``But that's okay because I think it's cute that they're dumb.''
Asriel's cheeks warmed even further though he went utterly silent. It almost seemed like he wouldn't say anything at all. When he did, his voice was soft, barely louder than a mere whisper. ``You think they're cute?''
``Totally,'' Chara replied. ``But I bet they would look even cuter if you got them pierced.''
Asriel went back to being silent, though he soon nodded. It was hesitant at first but quickly grew resolute in nature. ``Yeah... I... I agree.'' He grinned. ``I think they'd look baller.''
``Baller?'' Chara asked, lifting a brow. ``You never say baller.''
``I always say baller,'' Asriel replied.
Chara shook their head. ``If you want, I can go first and show you how easy it'll be.'' They grinned as they bonked their head against his shoulder. ``I heard that it's totally painless.''
Asriel drew in a breath and puffed out his chest. ``Nah, I can go first.'' He reached out and patted them on the leg. ``Because I know you'll be a little bitch if you go first.''
Chara gasped. ``I won't be a little bitch.'' They once again bonked him with their head, getting even rougher this time around. ``You're the little bitch.''
``Nuh uh,'' Asriel jeered right on back.
``Well then...'' Chara placed a hand upon his, giving it a gentle squeeze. ``I guess you'll get to prove how brave you really are.''
Asriel's eyes widened and Chara could feel his pulse quicken through his skin. It made them grin, shivering with glee. They were wanted. Truly wanted.
They weren't able to revel in it for too long, however, as they heard the door open. As they tore their hand away from Asriel's, they looked over and saw a big cactus monster come into the room. He was holding two folded slips of paper in his thorny hand.
``Seems that the signatures check out,'' he said, offering the slips back to them. ``Can't believe the queen sent you out without a chaperone though.''
Chara took both slips and flipped one of them open, looking it over. It was so hard to hide their satisfied little smile at how good their forgery of Toriel's signature had become.
Though they still scoffed as they returned their attention to the cactus, lifting a brow at his statement. ``We're fourteen. We don't need a chaperone.''
The cactus only smirked in response. ``Sure thing, kid.'' He cleared his throat and moved over to a padded chair that was next to his cart full of instruments. ``So, which of you would like to go first?''
Asriel bravely puffed out his chest and lifted his hand. ``Me!''
The cactus nodded and gestured towards the chair. A silent instruction which Asriel followed as he got up and made his way over, settling into the offered seat.
``So, we're just going to do the ears today. Is that right?'' the cactus asked, grabbing a black marker.
Asriel nodded.
``Glad to hear it,'' the cactus added. ``Always good to start nice and simple.''
It seemed that the philosophy of nice and simple had left him long ago as there were now numerous rings and studs embedded into his chloroplast. Each of them looked so cool and Chara couldn't help but want every single one of them. They wanted them right there and right now.
Stupid rule about only getting three piercings at a time.
He carefully grasped Asriel's ear and poked his tongue out of the corner of his mouth, using the sharpie to draw a guiding mark.
As he did so, Chara couldn't help but notice that Asriel was now gripping the chair. He was digging his fingers into it and going white-knuckled, which was kind of a miracle considering the existing lack of pigment in his coat. Yet, he continued to breathe, looking so very serious and brave in the face of this imminent pain. It was honestly a pretty commendable effort.
``Are you getting your ears done too?'' the cactus asked, briefly looking over at Chara.
Chara shook their head. ``Septum.''
The cactus grinned. ``Hell yeah.'' He moved over to Asriel's other ear, marking it as well. His attention went between both marks, clearly making sure that they were just the way he wanted, level and even. ``I bet you two are going to look pretty cool after this.''
This put Asriel a little more at ease, making him grin. ``That's what Chara says.''
``They have a point,'' the cactus chided as he wheeled back and grabbed a few metal instruments, laying them out upon his tray. ``So, what made you two come to my shop anyways?''
``I was planning to take care of the piercings myself,'' Chara teased, ``but Asriel thought that we should get an expert to do it instead.''
The cactus scoffed. ``Probably for the best. I know that I might be a little biased but getting it done in a shop always leads to better results.'' He smirked. ``Trust me.''
``And I overheard one of the palace guards talking about this place,'' Asriel added.
``Make sure to give me their name,'' the cactus said, affixing a sharp needle to some sort of shiny clamp. It caught the light of the room, glimmering under it. ``Always want to thank clients who help me out with word of mouth, you know?''
Asriel went pale as he now looked at the needle. His expression was so dire that Chara could practically feel it.
And why does that make you smile?
Their expression promptly slipped. It would seem that their mood had decided that it was now time to take a detour and plunge into the abyss.
Freak.
``Probably better than my Plan B,'' Chara cut-in, changing the subject in order to distract themself from their thoughts. They were unable to hide the sudden sadness which now infected their voice.
Yet, it seemed that only Asriel noticed as he looked over with an edge of concern in his eye. He didn't comment, however.
The cactus smirked. ``Do I want to know what this plan B was?''
``Well, I mean... Asriel has some pretty sharp teeth,'' Chara teased, wrestling their emotions back under control as they batted their lashes at the cactus. ``And I'm sure that he would've got the job done easily enough.''
The cactus shuddered. ``I was right, I didn't want the details.'' He grabbed the metallic clamp and held it up, showing it off to Asriel. The sight of it made him flinch but the cactus did his best to keep his tone level as he lifted a reassuring hand. ``This tool is going to get the needle through which will feel like a really sharp but brief pinch. It'll then be followed by some pressure as I get the jewelry into the hole. Shouldn't hurt very much but it can be a bit surprising, especially when it's your first time.''
Asriel nodded, swallowing a lump in his throat. ``Just a little pressure.''
``Just a little pressure,'' Chara repeated, grinning at him. ``Don't pussy out.''
``I'm not going to pussy out!'' Asriel yelped.
The cactus threw Chara a sharp look but they merely grinned back at him, being the adorable little rascal they always were. It seemed that this would be enough to disarm the monster as he shook his head and focused his attention on Asriel instead.
``You ready?'' he asked.
Asriel nodded.
This seemed to be enough as the cactus brought the clamp over to his ear, careful to put the skin between both ends. The needle glimmered, looking so terrifying in its design. Thankfully, Asriel couldn't see it from this angle.
Yet, as he looked over, he seemed to recognize the wide grin that Chara now bore. Their smile had spread from ear-to-ear, growing with the sadistic little excitement which festered at the very back of their brain. This seemed to make his nervousness return in force with his eyes growing so wide and terrified.
Asriel just focused on breathing, looking ahead with pure terror in his eyes.
``Remember, just a little pressure,'' the cactus chided.
``Just a little...'' Asriel began.
Yet, the cactus clamped down before Asriel could even finish his statement, forcing his way through his skin. The sudden penetration clearly caught Asriel completely off guard as he hollered at the top of his lungs, screaming.
His terror and pain were so intense that Chara actually flinched and covered their ears.
Hell, even the cactus nearly fell out of his chair in shock, launching himself backwards and bumping into the wall behind himself. Several of the photos and relics jostled at the impact with one even falling and crashing to the ground.
Oh Angel. Oh fuck. Oh fuck! Fuck! FUCK!
Chara winced and reached out, placing their hand over his and giving it a tender squeeze. It wasn't much but they tried their best to offer what little comfort that they could.
It didn't seem to do much as Asriel panted heavily for breath, looking wide-eyed and utterly terrified about all of this. There were actual and honest tears brimming in his eyes and not the kind that he got when he was being a cry baby.
``I'm here, I'm here,'' Chara whispered. ``I got you.''
Asriel whimpered. ``I know... thank you, Chara.''
One question struck Chara.
How badly did this hurt?
Chara could feel the sudden realization of what they'd signed up for weighing down upon them. As they watched Asriel go bolt still with wide-eyes and a frantic panicked breathing that jerked free in pained bursts of exertion. They felt a sense of dread start to wash over them as it gripped into their very psyche.
The cactus blinked, stunned into a stupor. ``Are you okay, bro?''
``Y-yeah,'' Asriel whispered, sounding almost shell-shocked. It was like he was on the verge of passing out. ``That wasn't so bad.''
The cactus managed to wheel forwards and grabbed the piece of jewelry, approaching Asriel's ear with it. He was so very careful as he attached the ring to the pin and then pushed it through. All the while Asriel mewed and whimpered like a kicked puppy. It wasn't until the ring was all the way on and the bead captured that he finally stopped with his misery.
``I think I'm good with just one,'' Asriel whispered, sounding so very small.
The cactus nodded to himself, placing a hand upon Asriel's shoulder. ``I think that's a really good idea.''
Asriel carefully got up and his legs shook underneath him. He looked at Chara in absolute horror, nodding towards them like he was ushering them towards the gallows. ``Your turn.''
Chara whimpered and felt stuck in their seat. A part of them wanted to cut their losses and bounce. Yet, they didn't want to seem weak in front of him. If they did that, then that would be admitting that he was braver than them and they certainly couldn't let that happen.
So, they got up and moved towards the chair, patting Asriel on the shoulder as they moved past him. As they settled into the seat, they felt like they were at the dentist, waiting for some gruesome surgery to take place with an intense light beamed directly into their face.
The cactus looked a little frayed, worriedly glancing at Asriel before focusing on his work. He soon settled down, placing aside all of the equipment that he had just used and grabbing a whole new set that was also neatly wrapped in plastic.
``I promise it isn't that bad,'' the cactus tried, opening the packaging of a matching metallic clamp.
``It's super bad,'' Asriel murmured.
Chara drew in a breath and smirked. ``I'm sure that I can handle it.''
``You sure?'' the cactus asked.
Chara nodded. They weren't about to be a little bitch. Especially after Asriel had proved how brave he was capable of being. They had a reputation to uphold after all.
The cactus approached and carefully cupped their chin, forcing them to look him in the eye. He then gently drew a mark inside of their nose with the sharpie, filling it with a strong chemical scent.
``You can always back out,'' Asriel said. He almost sounded... coy... as if he wanted them to do so. ``I don't want to see you get hurt.''
That only made them want it even more.
Chara huffed. ``I'll be fine.''
The cactus drew away and then got started on putting together the piercing apparatus, affixing a needle to the new metallic clamp. It had been a daunting sight when they first saw it from across the room, though that was nothing compared to seeing it this close. Now it was downright terrifying.
``Hey Azzy,'' Chara said, biting their lip. ``Make sure that Mom respects my will.''
Asriel blinked. ``Why?''
``Because I'm going to die,'' Chara whined.
The cactus scoffed. ``It's not that bad.''
``I mean it's a pretty easy will to follow,'' Asriel teased. ``It just says that you want your body donated to anti-human weapons research and that I get all of your manga.''
``It's a pretty big manga collection,'' Chara chided, looking at the cactus. ``Not that I'm a weeb or anything.''
``Oh yeah, what's your favourite manga?'' the cactus asked, approaching and holding the clamp just below their nostrils. They could feel the needle poking at the flap of skin inside. ``I personally like Coco's Wacky Voyages.''
``Yo! Coco's is a classic,'' Chara said. ``I like the...'' They winced as they felt a tiny prick from the needle. It seemed that the cactus was struggling to find his mark. ``I like Part four.''
When was this guy actually going to put that needle through?
Chara sighed. ``Maybe we can talk about this after the piercing?''
``Oh, I already finished with the piercing,'' the cactus said.
Chara blinked and looked at him before glancing over at Asriel who just gawked at them in utter disbelief.
``Little pressure,'' the cactus added as Chara felt a fresh pinch with a metal ring now dangling from the bridge of their nose. ``Anyways, yeah.... Chira was a fantastic villain and I think he's better than any of the other villains until part seven and King Silly Easter.''
``That was it?'' Chara asked, shaking their head. ``Are you sure?''
The cactus nodded and pressed the captive bead into place, securing the piercing. ``Like I said, it doesn't hurt very much.''
Chara continued to blink in utter disbelief. They honestly had no idea why Asriel had screamed at something so minor.
All they knew was that they needed to be there for him. Everyone had different thresholds for pain and it was good to let him know that they still respected his even if his was apparently shockingly low.
So, they looked over at Asriel, smirking. ``You're such a little bitch!''
Okay... okay... what happened to being there for him?
``Shut up!'' Asriel yelped, looking betrayed. He glared at them with disdain. ``I was just surprised is all!''
Brain.
``Surprised by how much of a little bitch you were?'' Chara jabbed. They looked at the cactus. ``Right?''
BRAIN!
``Well, everyone handles pain differently,'' the cactus said before sighing and motioning towards Asriel. ``But... you were kind of a little bitch, dude.''
``What the fuck?'' Asriel yelped.
There was suddenly a knock at the door and everyone looked towards it, seeing an anxious-looking receptionist peering inside. Though what really caught Chara's attention was the woman who lingered behind this monster.
It would seem that the queen of monsters had finished her grocery shopping as she now peered into the room. She didn't look very pleased with what she saw.
``I don't recall agreeing to this,'' Toriel murmured.
The cactus looked at her and then back at the kids before looking at her once again. His emotional state could only be described as declining and declining fast.
Chara couldn't help but smile sheepishly, quickly doing the only logical thing that they could think of as they shoved the forged papers into their mouth. As they chewed, they ensured that they maintained eye contact with Toriel.
``Hey Mom,'' Chara grumbled with their mouth full.
Asriel swallowed a lump in his throat. ``It was Chara's idea!''
``Traitor!'' Chara shouted back.
They should've been struck by his treason but they knew that it was coming. Asriel was too much of a goody two shoes to not cave the second that Mom started asking questions.
It sucked but at the end of the day, they'd gotten him to make that decision in the first place. They'd gotten him to act brave and that piercing was very real proof of his devotion. And it wasn't going away any time soon.
Chara glanced at Toriel,
Well... hopefully that piercing wasn't going away any time soon.
``Yes, I'm very aware that it was Chara's idea,'' Toriel murmured, looking at them and letting out a heavy sigh. ``Do you have anything to say for yourself?''
Chara looked at her and then at Asriel, seeing the guilt in his eye. So, they swallowed the evidence and made sure to pick their words carefully. They could've said anything, literally anything to help clear their name. Yet... ``Asriel was a little bitch about it?''
``I mean that's to be expected,'' Toriel said.
Asriel gasped. ``What the fuck?''
``Don't cuss, dear,'' Toriel added, wagging a finger at him.
``But... but... Chara just...'' Asriel whined.
``It's to be expected from them,'' Toriel replied.
``Yeah Azzy,'' Chara beamed, grinning at him. ``It's expected.''
Asriel looked like he was about to say something. It really did. Yet, in the end, all he could do was sigh, burying his face into his hands.
``Am I going to get executed for this?'' the cactus whispered.
Chara smirked. ``Probably.''
