Title: Blue Tattoo
Fandom: Hard Core Logo
Rating: PG
Length: 300 words
Content notes: Billy/Joe, warning for language
Author notes: Based on this horoscope from astrology.com: “You may think that a surprise rendition of some songs you’ve written will be a treat for everyone in the office today. Think twice about that, because it may not go over as well as you hope. You won’t mind the boos, but who brought the eggs and tomatoes?”
Also fills the prompt "crumble" at dsc6dsnippets.
Summary: One last night, one last song, one last desperate hope.


It’s been ages since they’ve played “Blue Tattoo”—so long that Pipe takes fifteen, twenty seconds to find the right beat and John tries to find his notes but ends up not playing at all.

The crowd doesn’t like the song – it’s too slow. They’ve come here for the noise and the anger. There’s a couple of disappointed shouts, but it’s not as if Billy isn’t already on the way out, it’s not as if Joe and him are playing for anyone except each other.

They lock eyes across their guitars, singing the chorus at each other, the lyrics the last remnant of something honest and good, a blue tattoo on your shoulder, a blue tattoo in the shape of a heart.

He looks straight at the camera that no doubt has been lingering on his shoulder whenever it got the chance, turns around and looks at John, whose gaze on him is unsettling.

They’re still looking for some story, some goddamn moral to this whole mess, and it makes Billy laugh how desperate they are. There’s no story. That book’s closed.

It’s a good job they’re in the middle of the song, or else he’d be tempted to smash the lens or punch John, to yell yes, he wrote that song for me, yes, I’m the asshole who’s gonna break his heart tonight, are you happy now?

But he doesn’t. Tonight is all they’ve got left. What Joe needs, what Joe wants, is far more than Billy can give him. If he thought this elaborate lie was what it would take, then whatever they had was beyond saving from the start.

So he plays on, gives it his best, and hopes beyond hope that at least he’s left something good behind before he crumbles Joe’s world again.