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Despite all of the things that she had been through as Sailor Vulcan, it was easy for Vanessa to forget sometimes that Destiny City was at war with itself. Especially on days like this one, when she had arranged to do something as normal as getting a piercing done with a friend.

A very good friend.

Bjorn was the ultimate comrade in simplicity, and a pillar of reliability. In Kam's absence, he was the person she'd turned to most often for company. Because he was huge, and strong-- but also, and most importantly, because he was nice to her. Bjorn was a veritable goliath of a man, but he was so gentle, and never made her feel stupid. And she was pretty sure he was the best kind of person.

The ******** bee's knees.

They lifted weights together. Sometimes he lifted her. And they pigged out on pizza. It was kind of magical.

When he'd confided in her his desire to get a labret, Vanessa had beamed with delight and insisted that they go get something done together. And there just happened to be a parlour for that a couple of blocks down the road from their gym. Vanessa had even done research on the place, out of concern for Bjorn more than anything else. As far as she'd been able to tell, they had a spotless reputation. Which was boring, but ultimately for the better.

"I'm so excited about this. You don't even know," she said, beaming up at Bjorn from outside the front doors of their gym. If he'd asked, Vanessa wouldn't have been able to say whether she was more pleased at having something done herself or helping him fulfill this dream.

"We're going to look so awesome."

She lifted the hem of her shirt a little, to show him her navel.

"I can't decide if I wanna get like a butterfly or a pretty jewel or what. Maybe just a metal bar. What do you think?"

Genius.

Bjorn was a genius.

Her stomach was very toned. A little gold chain would look sexy. Vanessa was positively delighted, with both the suggestion and Bjorn's compliments. She was simple enough not to read more into his words than he probably meant by then, having already learned the difference between men that wanted to be 'just friends' and men that wanted to be other things.

"Yeah!" She said, gathering her fiery curls with her hands. She pulled her hair back to show Bjorn her pierced ears. A pair of little stud apples twinkled up at him. "It didn't hurt at all."

That was mostly true. There'd been a little pinch, but it was nothing compared to some of the hits that she'd taken in battle. And Bjorn was so big Vanessa wouldn't have been surprised if pain was afraid of him.

"You're right about the starter pieces, though," Vanessa let her hair fall back down. "I forgot. But it doesn't matter. It'll heal, and then I'll be able to put whatever I want down there."

Smiling, she glanced sideways at Bjorn, "Are you excited? or more nervous? I promise you don't need to worry. I checked these guys out and they're supposed to be really good. They do tattoos too."

Bjorn's admisson prompted Vanessa to wonder about her own nervousness.

Except there was none. Tons of people had their belly buttons pierced. And it was just a little poke through her skin, really. There would probably be some blood, but she was a warrior, and she'd even done some research on the business in question. As far as she could tell, there existed no cause for real fear. Her faith in the internet was absolute.

Not that she blamed Bjorn for his apprehension.

"Yes," she said, beaming up at him again. It meant a lot to Vanessa to know that she was helping Bjorn realize something that he'd wanted for such a long time. She lacked the words to express the feeling, but could not hide how much it pleased.

"I have wanted a tattoo forever."

Her mind flickered to Kam, and the intricate tattoos that decorated his shoulder.

"I dunno what I'd get done, though. Probably something cool like a dragon or a pirate ship," she pursed her lips in thought, and considered Bjorn's question. "I'm not sure how long it'll take to get our stuff pierced. Probably it'll be quick. Unless they're really bad at their jobs."

She laughed, and then shot him a playful glance out of the corner of her eye.

"I think you'd look pretty tough with tattoos. Real bad a**."

"Chyeah, I like dragons and pirates," Vanessa said in a way that sounded a little as though she couldn't believe Bjorn was asking. "I dunno what a sea dragon is, though."

The little Vanessa knew of dragon mythology was limited to pictures she'd seen in books and Hollywood films. It was hard for her to reconcile images of Smaug the Dwarf Eater with something as wet as the sea. Fire and water did not really go together.

"Unless you mean Godzilla or something?" That would make a pretty cool tattoo.

She thanked Bjorn for holding the door, and smiled at his concern over the unassuming furniture. "Don't worry. I'm sure it'll be fine.

The walls of the parlour were painted black to provide a backdrop for much of the artwork that Bjorn admired. Disparities in the line work and overall style of the showcased pieces suggested a number of different hands. Some of them were steadier than others. Most of them were beautiful. Vanessa paused to admire a black and white sketch of a tiger.

"Can I help you?"

The voice belonged to a woman. She stepped out from behind a beaded curtain, and greeted her customers with a genuine smile. She was tall and skinny, Vanessa thought almost too skinny to be allowed, and her dark hair was twisted into an untidy bun at the top of her head. She wore bangle bracelets around her wrists, and both of her arms were decorated with red vines. Vanessa waved a couple of fingers by way of greeting, and then gestured from herself to Bjorn.

"We're here for appointments? I called last week. Name's Vanessa."

The woman examined them, dark eyes flickering from Vanessa's curly hair to Bjorn's... everything. She started flicking through a date book on the desk.

"Ah, yes. The labret and the navel. Elliot's just finishing up with another client, but he'll be able to take care of you guys in a second."

It took a moment for the meaning behind Bjorn's question to register. Vanessa blinked, bright eyes shining at the scrawny clerk even though her attention was focused primarily on the large man standing behind her.

Vanessa smiled finally when she understood, lips quirking at the corners.

"Oh, didn't I tell you? I said we both wanted our belly buttons pierced!"

She waited a couple of heartbeats, so that Bjorn could process what she'd said, and then burst out laughing, incapable of prolonging such a cruel torture.

"No, no, I'm just kidding," Vanessa made an effort to reassure Bjorn with a pat on the arm, "She knows you're just here to get the labret done, and the belly button's for me. Don't worry."

There was the sound of soft footsteps, coming from another room in the back. A moment later a white-haired woman appeared. She was petite, with dark eyes. Her hair was cropped short around her ears. Pixie-like. Close behind her there followed a slender man with a freshly pierce eyebrow. Both of them stared at Bjorn a moment before turning to the woman behind the desk.

Vulcan waited impatiently, excited by the prospect of having a needle shoved through her skin, for the man to pay. The woman Elliot gave him instructions for taking care of his new decoration, and then turned to her new clients with a flirtatious smile on her pretty face. Vulcan couldn't tell if it was meant more for herself or for Bjorn.

"Who wants to go first?"

It did tickle. Boisterous laughter subsiding into a softer giggle, Vanessa arched out of reach and swatted playfully at Bjorn's finger.

"Yeah, I'll go first," she flashed a toothy grin at Bjorn over her shoulder, pleased by how brave it made her look to step up to the plate ahead of a man as large as he was. Besides, the way he'd said it was as good as a dare. And Vanessa had never said 'no' to one of those in her life.

"Sure thing, sweetheart," Elliot said, "you can both come through here."

She led the way through a curtain of beads, waving for Vanessa and Bjorn to follow. Vanessa was close behind her, buzzing with excitement and a little bit of nervousness. The room beyond the curtain was spacious and clean. It smelled faintly of sterile hospital, underneath a layer of spicy incense. There was a chair first for clients, and a set of two more for those that came bearing moral support.

"What do you want me to do?" Vanessa asked, rolling back onto the heels of her feet, "should I take off my shirt?"

Elliot shook her head, and gestured at the appropriate chair. "You can just roll it up. Sit here."

Vanessa tried not to look nervous while she tucked the hem of her t-shirt up underneath her chest, revealing her navel, and promised herself she wasn't going to ask to hold Bjorn's hand. As both Super Van and Sailor Vulcan she had come up against far greater nemeses than this pretty pixie girl with her tiny needle. It was stupid for her to be on edge-- but she was, and hiding it behind a wall of excited impatience.

"You're next," she told Bjorn, pointing at him with a competitive finger.

Bjorn's compliment helped ease some of Van's anxiety. She smiled at him and then down at her naked navel, cheeks brightening with a slight blush. It was going to look really good. Probably her father wouldn't approve, but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

Blake would like it. But she wasn't doing it for him either.

"Oh, you're on, buddy." Vanessa said, climbing onto the chair Elliot had pointed to, and trying not to look as nervous as she felt. She flashed Bjorn a toothy grin, stretching out her long legs while Elliot prepared the necessary instruments, wearing gloves and chuckling under her breath.

"I hope you know you're going to lose," she told Bjorn, determinedly not looking at the clamp that Elliot fixed to her belly button. Vanessa exhaled her excitement, slender hands clenching and unclenching at her sides.

The piercing itself did not take long. Once Elliot had the skin cleaned and the needle ready, the deed was simple. p***k, and push. Vanessa inhaled sharply. She pressed her lips together, and tried not to make any more sounds, bright eyes wide on the site of the needle sticking out of her skin. It was slightly surreal, but also kind of cool, and over in moments-- because Elliot was replacing it with a pretty, simple piece of jewellery.

Vanessa couldn't help the note of glee that slipped from between her lips when it was done.

"Well!" She demanded of Bjorn, "How does it look?"

Vanessa could not really have been more thrilled with Björn if he'd told her the Negaverse had fallen and the earth was safe from the threat of chaos forever. If her love was easy to earn, it was even easier to keep, and Björn had a way about him that appealed to Vanessa's ego without other complications. He was kind and sweet, and did not seem to read too much into the way she raved about his muscles.

"I'm going to have to get a TON of crop tops," she said, incapable of taking her eyes off her belly, cheeks still pink from the exhiliration of having a needle shoved through her skin.

"Don't touch it," Elliot warned Vanessa in a stern voice, stilling the hands that had started creeping towards the fresh piercing. "You'll have to be careful to keep it clean, and to watch whilte it heals. Make sure it doesn't get infected."

For both of their sakes, Elliot decided to go into the mechanics of proper post-piercing care before tending to Björn, perhaps sensing that it was better to tell Vanessa sooner rather than later. She dictated how long each piercing was supposed to take to heal, said that sometimes it could take even longer, and encouraged them to call back if they had any questions. Once she'd finished, she answered Björn's question;

"It is not different," Elliot smiled, gesturing for Vanessa to vacate the piercing chair so that he could replace her within it. "We'll be finished in no time."

Vanessa climbed out of the chair, already reaching for the cellphone she'd forced into the impossibly small front pocket of her little shorts.

"I'm going to send snaps of this to everyone!"

And then she would get Elliot to take a picture of her and Björn together.