Kartiks’s Three Tattoos and Aman’s One Tattoo

Kartik got his first tattoo, a triangle, when he was in Goa on a solo trip, out of his wits. His drunk ass had fought with his father about everything under the sun on the phone, so he had walked into the first tattoo parlor, with the foreigner guy he was flirting at the pub.

“What design would you like for your tattoo, sir?” The man finished scribbling some gibberish on Paul’s back and now looked at him.

“Tattoo?” He asked and shrugged. He looked at the triangle on the tattoo’s artist's wrist and pointed at it.

“Where?”

“Anywhere,” He slurred.

The next day, when he saw his mirror reflection, he had almost shrieked when he looked at the black triangle on his neck and had fainted when he realized he was about 3 thousand short of cash.

Aman liked the story, it was so Kartik, rash, and stupid at its best. But a better reason was when he snuggled Kartik as they slept, his nose touched the tattoo, only to make Kartik turn to look at him and flirt till Aman pushed him off the bed, or they had sex.

The second tattoo, Ardhanarishwar was to emphasize that Shiv and Shakti, together, the strongest force in the world according to Hindu mythology, was both masculine and feminine. Whenever anyone commented on his clothes or body piercings, especially the elderly, he would go on to give examples in the Hindu mythology that showed that God had no gender or sexuality and if doing so that did not help, he would sass them with his wit.

Aman marveled more at the tattoo artist’s creativity and talent every time he looked at the tattoo. It was soothing and scary, at the same time, and with Kartik joining the gym and veins popping, Aman believed that there was no tattoo more beautiful than this one.

Kartik got a tattoo on his knuckle, a small heart that almost looked like a dot and said that it was just for the sake of it, but it was because that was the first kiss Aman had ever given him, on his knuckle, when he had hugged him after a nightmare, trying to soothe him down.

When Kartik saw Aman’s tattoo, his head swirled because it made no sense. He had gotten a tattoo on his inner wrist that read 5 September 2018.

“But 377 was annulled on 6?” He asked as he kissed the tattoo, something Aman loved doing to him.

“It is the day we almost got married, it is the day my family accepted me, and they accepted you, not completely, but somewhat,”

Kartik looked up at him and smiled, tears brimming in his eyes. He kissed the corner of Aman’s lips.

The next day, both the men went to work with 5 September 2018 written on their wrists and a small heart on Aman’s neck, reminiscent of Kartik’s favorite spot to kiss him.