Well I've got thick skin and an elastic heart

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She'd been playing with the idea ever since Mardi Gras, when Aggie hadn't been able to stop looking at all the beautiful and opulent jewelry. More and more in Darrow, she's becoming aware of the things that other girls her age might accept as a given that, for her, had been unforgivable vanities in Blithe Hollow. Now it's a source of curiosity and something she wants for herself, especially after one of the girls at school had actually taken a seat with Aggie at lunch, wearing delicate earrings she had made by hand with beads and wire.

Getting her ears pierced requires a guardian's signature, which is what brings her to Krem's door. There's money in her bag and a carefully rehearsed list of reasons in case he objects. Knocking on the door, she waits.

Comments

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"Me," Aggie says. She nods firmly to Moe and then hops up on the cushioned table, thinking idly that it's just like going to the doctor to get her shots. Fixing Krem with a big grin that makes her look tougher than she feels, she sits still and takes a deep breath.

"Okay." Mo picks up her first needle and lets it press against Aggie earlobe. "Nice deep breath. One...two...three." The needle pushes through as Aggie exhales and her eyes pop wide open, more surprised than alarmed or upset.

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Krem smiled, sitting on the lower waiting bench in the room as he watched Aggie take the seat. He bit the inside of his lip lightly, managing not to chuckle as Aggie's eyes went big with surprise as her ear was pinched and pierced, watching with a sort of morbid fascination as Mo slipped the ring into the fresh new hole.

The second one went just as quickly, and then it was done. Mo offered Aggie a mirror so she could see how it looked, easing her off the table as she cleaned it off quickly and gestured for Krem to take her place.

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Despite Mo's instructions, Aggie can't help wanting to reach out and touch her earrings, constantly reaching up and stopping herself at the last second. She finally has to wait and sit on her hands while she watches Krem settle into his seat while Mo switches on fresh gloves and gets out a fresh needle. Biting he lip, she cranes around the side to get a better look, grinning a little.

"It's going to be great."

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Mo had Krem lie back on the table, and Krem looked over at Aggie, lifting his eyebrows at her in quiet anticipation. He'd never done anything like this before. The tattoo had been one thing, and he'd sort of known what to expect with that from watching Tris get hers. Even though he'd just watched Aggie get hers, he didn't really know what to expect.

"Deep breath," Mo said, taking Krem's lower lip between her fingers and adjusting it out carefully. "Three...two...one--"

Krem made a soft, startled noise as the needle slid into his lip.

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"You flinched," Aggie teases playfully, unhelpfully. Krem will tease her later, she's sure, about the way her eyes nearly popped out so she thinks it's an even swap. Swinging her legs a little, she waits for Mo to say if there's anything else.

"Do I look more grown up now?"

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"The tough looking ones are always the biggest babies," Mo assured Aggie with a grin while she slid the ring into the fresh hole. As Krem was sitting up, she went over the procedures on cleaning the piercings with Aggie first. Hers were the easier instructions for now.

She gave Krem a little card that went over the fine details of his dos and don'ts, and he went a little hot at the ears as Mo laughed and went over how to clean his piercing, and that he'd be able to switch to a different piece of jewelry in about a month.

"Any other questions for me right now?"

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Aggie covers her mouth with her hands to stifle a tiny laugh, no quite successful in her effort. "He's very tough," she says, sincere around the giggle. Krem is one of the strongst people she knows, even if he does flinch at having needles put through his face.

"No. Can I get the saline at the front?" she asks, nodding toward the counter display.

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Mo nodded and shooed them both out of the room so that she could clean up after them. Krem tucked his rule card into the pocket of his jeans as he trailed out of the room after Aggie, back to the front counter to get some salt and saline spray for himself. He got an extra bottle of the spray to have at his house, in case Aggie was over and needed to use it.

He smiled at her, a bit lopsided for the way that he could already feel his lip swelling a little bit. "Not too bad, right?"

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"Not too bad," she agrees. At the front, she buys two bottles and drops her own rule card into the bottom of the little plastic bag. While he pays for his bottles, Aggie looks back at Krem with a thoughtful smile.

"I like it," she says, pointing to his lip. "You look...hm..." For a second, Aggie pretends as if she's never heard the swear before before finally saying, "Badass."

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Krem laughed softly at the way that Aggie deliberated over her choice in words, as if she'd either never heard swearing before or was uncertain of the particular word she wanted to use for the look Krem had achieved. He kept his smile in place and reached over, ruffling her hair gently.

"Come on. Let's go celebrate our new looks. I'll buy you some pizza."

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"Mmm, pizza," she agrees. Poking Krem in the stomach, Aggie raises her eyebrows. "Should we celebrate with something that doesn't have dairy?" He might be her designated adult but Aggie can still tease.

"But I do want to celebrate."

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"I'll get a salad," Krem said. It was a lie. He wouldn't get a salad, and they both knew it. But it would be worth it, he was pretty sure. Pizza tended to be worth it in the moment. Most things did. He wrapped his arm around Aggie's shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze, smiling at her. It was a good day, and they deserved a nice treat to go along with it.