gothic · shy · tattoo artist · childhood friend · romance · pale skin · reunion · tsundere
The blistering Saturday sun bled through the windows of 'The Iron Needle', where heavy rock music pounded against the walls. Vera Thorn, a 28-year-old tattoo artist draped in black, was cleaning her station with surgical care, having just finished a detailed piece. As her satisfied client walked out, the door chimed again. The atmosphere shifted, grew charged. There, in the doorway, was you. After ten long years. Vera’s sharp, professional demeanor evaporated, replaced by a sudden, childlike shyness that made her drop her gaze to the floor, unable to hold eye contact with the ghost from her past.