Everything really went smoothly over the next few days. Elara heard from the headlines that the movie they had filmed would be released in a few weeks, or probably days.

She and Carris were also getting ready for their music video which was scheduled for Saturday.

Two days before it, Carris said he wanted to get a tattoo and insisted Elara come with him. After a whole lot of persuasion from him, Elara finally agreed with Ziva tagging along too.

The tattoo parlor was tucked away in a smaller district near the Aurelia Administrative Hall. The place smelled of ink and antiseptic while low music drifted through the speakers.

Carris sat lazily on the leather chair, leaning back with his usual composure while the artist worked carefully on his arm.

"You sure you don’t want one too?" he asked glancing at Elara who was leaning against the glass window. "It’s nothing. It’ll look very good on you."

Elara shook her head softly in opposition, her hands instinctively covering her left wrist. "No I’m not doing any tattoos again," she muttered. "They hurt quite much."

Carris’s brow lifted immediately in curiosity. "Again?" he repeated. "You’ve done one before? I’ve never seen a tattoo on you."

Elara’s eyes lowered to her wrist before a quiet sigh escaped her lips.

Right. Not in this life."

Carris watched her for a small moment sensing the sudden shift in her mood. Then he shrugged casually. "Well if you don’t want one, it’s alright. But I don’t think it’s–"

"Never mind," Elara said quickly. "Maybe I should just do one anyway."

Ziva’s eyes widened so much they looked like they’ll fall from their sockets. She slowly lowered the tablet in her hands and stared at Elara like she had just announced plans to jump off a bridge for fun.

"Excuse me?" she said in a flat tone. "What exactly are you planning to do?"

Elara looked at her calmly. "Ziva, I want to get a tattoo not donate my organs."

Carris burst out laughing from the chair.

"Ziva, you’re really a scaredy-cat." he muttered but Ziva ignored him completely. She kept staring at Elara in pure horror.

"You’re really going to do it?" she asked looking at Elara as if some evil spirit had temporarily borrowed her body.

Elara nodded calmly in reply while she went silent instantly, clutching her tablet tighter.

Carris had chosen a hummingbird micro realism tattoo on his upper arm and honestly, it looked ridiculously good on him.

When it became Elara’s turn, Ziva kept glaring at her from across the room sighing dramatically every few seconds like a disappointed mother watching her child join a biker gang.

Elara thought patiently for a while.

The microphone tattoo she had once drawn no longer interested her, so she decided on something smaller.

"A star," she said finally.

"Well that’s better," Ziva sighed in relief. "It’s actually very cute to be honest. Like a tiny one on your ankle or shoulder. Very pop star chic."

Elara ignored her completely and lifted a finger pointing directly to the high point of her cheekbone, just beneath her left eye. "Here."

Ziva didn’t just stand up. She launched herself from the chair like a rocket. "ABSOLUTELY NOT!" she shrieked waving her hands wildly in the air. "Elara Veyne, have you completely lost your mind? That is your face! Your money maker! Your beautiful, porcelain, career defining face! You cannot put a permanent sticker on the main attraction!"

She finished speaking and started breathing heavily.

Even the tattoo artist paused midway through sorting his needles, slowly looking back and forth between the two women.

Elara sighed tiredly. "It’s just a small star."

"Small star?" Ziva scoffed in disbelief. "Small star today, dragon wrapped around your forehead tomorrow."

Then she turned toward Carris, her eyes filled with worry. "Carris, do something! She’s your duet partner. Tell her she can’t get a tear star like she just escaped from a prison!"

Carris laughed at her words, resting his head back against the chair. "Ziva, a star under the eye is high fashion not prison tat. Calm down."

"High fashion?" Ziva cried pointing a trembling finger at the spot under Elara’s eye. "You call that high fashion?"

But the moment she saw the artist actually beginning the outline beneath Elara’s eye, she let out a horrified gasp and immediately covered her face with her tablet.

"Fine! Do whatever you want! But if one eye suddenly disappears overnight, don’t come crying to me!"

The artist completely lost the battle against his laughter at that point. He quickly turned around pretending to grab something from the counter but his shaking shoulders exposed him instantly.

Elara sighed and shook her head tiredly.

Fifteen minutes later, the deed was done.

Elara stood in front of the mirror gently touching the small bandage covering the tiny star beneath her eye.

Carris stared at her reflection for a long second, almost like he had fallen into thought. Then suddenly he asked the artist for another tattoo.

"A star," he said simply. "Same one."

This time, it was placed just beneath his ear on the side of his neck.

Elara didn’t think it was a good idea at all. Both their careers revolved around the entertainment industry. If people noticed the matching tattoos, gossip would spread instantly.

Still she said nothing and simply watched quietly as the artist worked on him again.

At last Carris stood up from the chair too. "We’re a matching set now," he said with a faint smile.

Then he turned his attention toward the corner where Ziva sat frozen in disbelief, staring into nothingness like her soul had left her body.

Carris walked over and stopped beside her chair, towering above her until she slowly looked up at him. "Your turn, Ziva," he said with a serious expression.

Ziva froze. "My... my what?"

"Your turn," he repeated gesturing toward the tattoo artist who was already grinning. "Elara and I have stars. We need a moon to keep us in orbit."

His lips curved up teasingly.

"And I think a giant crescent moon would look very high fashion right in the middle of your forehead."