#BigBro Mattsun

[dontmindmedear]

Tattoo Artist Mattsun, Aka BigBro Issei-nii

Background: Mattsun's mother got pregnant with him very early so he grew up without a father and under poor circumstances. He stays away from the local gangs but isn't really an outsider either, like he doesn't do hard drugs, but he does meet with friends to smoke or do bullshit, while working part time to help his mother or simply to get a new tattoo. He and his best friend, Makki, even visit the tattoo parlor often just to look at the designs and the art or to watch them work. When the tattoo artists see his sketchbooks they are impressed and once they reach a certain age, the artists take them under their wing and teach them (Mattsun tattoos, Makki piercings). Mattsun and Makki dream about having their own shop one day. Meanwhile, Mattsun’s mother works very hard for them both. She’s a bitter woman, lost in her own world, often leaving Mattsun to care for himself as she goes throwing out the bit money they somehow managed to save (Mattsun keeps his own stash without her knowledge to save for when they really need it bc the refrigerator broke or sth). When she has a new boyfriend she often disappears for days or weeks. One day, roughly around the time before Mattsun's talent is revealed, his mother leaves him completely as she's about to marry someone who doesn't know of Issei and she refuses to lose another opportunity life gave her bc Mattsun is in her way. Of course Mattsun is heartbroken, even if he doesn't show it in public, having mastered his poker face long ago, but Makki knows him so he fakes an accident leading to Mattsun’s art book being exposed to the tattoo artists and their new life begins.

Actual Plot:

Years later, Mattsun thinks he had left his old life behind him, he received a letter. He's notified of his mother's and her husbands death in a car accident. He didn't want to go at first but Makki urges him, to bring an end to his past. As it was revealed to him at the funeral, he has a little (half) brother. Mattsun has no interest in him. Until he sees how lonely the boy is. Apparently even the years with a man hasn't taught his mother to be a better mom and her husband's family, especially after it was revealed she already had a son, saw in her nothing but a whore and thus refused to accept the little boy as one of their own. Mattsun tells himself he's got nothing to do with the boy, he's just there to bring an end to his past life and let the ghosts come to rest, but as he sees how the adults are fighting, how they try to make each other accept the boy into their family, nobody willed to volunteer, but nobody wanting to be the ones to bring him to an orphanage either, while the boy is cowering in on himself, not really curled into a ball, not really crying, but with clear tears in his eyes and his knees bend, shaking hands gripping his shirt tightly as he refuses to be seen in tears, not wanting to be seen as a bother, sth in Mattsun snaps. He walks over to the boy and says "Hey little guy, I’m Issei. My home is nothing like the one you lived in till now, but if you want to, you can come with me." All discussing stops as Tooru stares in shock at the to him unknown man. When he registers the words, his body shakes violently, a sob escaping him and he nods before throwing himself into Mattsun’s open arms, sobbing into his shoulder. Mattsun murmurs sth about this being his only suit but doesn't complain anymore as he walks over to the notar to ask which papers he has to fill out. As he and the person leave the room with Tooru, Mattsun doesn't look back at the people watching him

Makki is very amused when he finds out Mattsun "inherited a child".

Tooru is afraid of him at first, bc of the piercings and other body art (Mattsun's are hidden under clothes, mostly, or are too pretty for Tooru to be scared of), but seeing him interact with Mattsun and Mattsun smiling with him and their shared love for sweets soon win him over

Mattsun has trouble to stop smoking, but he doesn't want to endanger the small boy, so he smokes outside while he's asleep or at an open window. One day, Tooru wants to try it too, but Mattsun says no, he's too young. Tooru throws a tantrum, saying he wants to be like Mattsun and Mattsun explains to him that he could get very sick when he does it, it's dangerous and it makes your skin wrinkly and you smell. Tooru is silent then, a bad sign for Mattsun he realises,  as he soon after sees the wobbling lip and the thick tears in his eyes. Before Mattsun has a chance to make up for his words, Tooru cries in his lap, shouting he doesn't want Mattsun to die too. Mattsun needs a moment to comprehend, then he feels super guilty and promises to never do it again. (He keeps to it most of the time unless he's under super-duper stress and Tooru’s nowhere in sight) Makki jokes about it, but doesn't urge Mattsun to break it, even joining in on the new “no smoking in front of Tooru rule”.

Since he doesn't have a babysitter, he takes Tooru with him to the tattoo parlor.

Seeing Mattsun draw all day, invokes interest in Tooru and he starts drawing too. The first time he draws the three of them together, with the word ‘FAMILY’ written above, Mattsun decides to have it tattooed on his calf.

While at Mattsun’s working place, when it gets too hard for Mattsun to watch him, their new guys/apprentices/assistants Yahaba and Watari watch over Tooru and play with him. They often joke about being taught how to be kindergarten teachers rather than tattoo artists.

When Mattsun is at home and works on his drawings, he listens to rock and heavy metal. After a long day shortly after adopting Tooru he forgot to turn down the music (he can’t use headphones bc then he won’t hear Tooru when he has nightmares or calls for him and he doesn’t want to scare Tooru like that; again), waking Tooru up. Tooru cries and Mattsun is unable to leave his side without him whimpering again so he takes him with him into his attic, put the music on low sound and arranged Tooru in his lap before going back to working. Growing used to this after a while, Tooru often awakens in the middle of the night only to stumble into Mattsun’s working space half asleep to curl into his lap or on the couch, going back to sleep with the quiet rock music as his lullaby.

Tattoos:

Mattsun has a dragon that stretches along his shoulder blade and down his arm, entangled by vines and leaves with morning dew sparkling on it, but bc the vines are very fine, you won't see them from afar, only the purple head with green eyes on his shoulders, claws and tail and his arm and the curled wings on his back.

His arm opposite of the dragon tattoo is covered in a ‘sleeve tattoo’ made of black ink. Several geometric figures are interwoven with flowers (which Tooru likes to color when Mattsun is in deep concentration or napping) and beings from fairytale thrown into the mix, creating intricate patterns. (Tooru can spend hours admiring the patterns or following them with his fingers or making up stories concerning them, while Mattsun is napping.)

(Tooru’s first tattoo when he turns 16 is a turquoise chibi dragon with a creampuff in its claws, on his shoulder blade, and large shiny emerald eyes. He and Mattsun spend weeks on the initial drawing (on paper) as Tooru wants it to be absolutely perfect)

Possible Plot twist:

One day a nephew of Tooru s father comes over asking if Mattsun would agree to let Tooru take part in a test to determine his blood relation to his “father” since a positive result would make him the main heir (their family is a bunch of dicks and he feels guilty about leaving Tooru behind without anything to festen his memory of his parents. A previous paternity test seemed like too much of a shame for the family to do, especially since they already agreed that the test would surely turn out negative) Mattsun hesitates but eventually agrees for Tooru’s sake, bc it's the best if he's aware of his circumstances. As the test of paternity turns out positive, the whole distribution of inheritance is changed and suddenly they are in front of a jury to judge whether Mattsun is a reliable caretaker for Tooru.

Mattsun starts smoking again as he doesn't have the means to finance a lawyer, especially since he barely is capable of paying for Tooru’s elementary school fees. He's in a situation where he's forced to consider losing Tooru a reality and he's shocked by how much the small boy has grown on him. “Tooru is the one thing my mother managed to do right… Well, I'm still not entirely sure if it's correct to say ‘thanks to her’, but without her Tooru wouldn't be with us now. And, as crazy as it sounds, I'm grateful for that.” Rescue they find in Tooru’s cousin. Having been living abroad for several years, and therefore having been unable to make it to the funeral, he has surprising influence and connections. He works as an advisor for companies in law matters and helps Mattsun out. He pays the lawyer bills for him and on court only speaks well of him. They win the case under the restriction that the cousin and Mattsun share the ownership of a bank account where the money is being put in for Tooru to access once he isn't a minor anymore. Till then the two older boys may use the money for Tooru’s sake under the obligation that both sign with their signature before each transaction to make sure the transaction happened in mutual agreement and for Tooru’s sake. Also, the cousin will visit them once once in a while to check in on Tooru since Tooru will stay with Mattsun, someone with unreliable background. They both agree and Mattsun can take Tooru home.

Once the case is won, the cousin doesn't just give Mattsun his number (for ‘emergencies *winkwink*) but he even gives him the money for a new apartment (giving them both their own bedrooms, finally) and the starting capital for Makki and Mattsun to start their own shop. (Under the restriction that he will be their first customer and a silent investor). Mattsun tries to refuse all of those things, feels like he's been given too much already, but the cousin only replies “it's not for you, stupid. It's for Tooru, for his future. I want my cousin to grow up well. See it as an investment into future profit.” Another wink and while Mattsun still tries to talk him out of it there's nothing he can say for the other to give in. “If you feel so bad about it then just work to your best abilities and earn the money to pay me back.” another wink and eventually Mattsun can't help but smile at the man’s antics. “Also, invite me to dinner for Xmas and Tooru’s birthday parties. I want to be a part of my investment’s life.”

(The cousin is Tooru’s official caretaker but he let's Tooru stay with Mattsun, as some kind of life-together babysitter so to speak, and he could have simply taken the money that comes with that role, but he didn't. He himself is a closet gay man too and has not much hope of adopting someone, ever, but he still wants some kind of insurance that his property won't fall into his family's greedy hands)

Notes:

Ships and plot are all up for interpretation and changeable.

I wanted to put Iwa in but I couldn’t decide how or in which position.

The ‘Plot Twist’ was my idea of entering some angst but can be left out or changed if wanted.