Chapter Text
“Your hair is so long, Gina.” Susato ran a brush through it. “How do you keep up with it?”
Gina smiled. “I guess in a bun.” She shuffled a bit, looking at her hair in the mirror.
“It’s wavier than I thought, too.” She pointed out. Susato had anticipated the amount of different hair colors in England (though perhaps not Iris’ pink…), but the variety of textures was interesting too. She wondered why that was.
“Pro’lly from all the plaits.” Gina said. “Okay, so grab three sections.”
“Yes, yes, I remember this part. Which do I cross over?” Susato said.
Gina instructed her, straining to point at different sections of the back of her own head, and having more incomprehensible speech than usual (“The ‘eft, Sooze. No, yer other ‘eft, no, the middle. No, you were ‘ight the first time.”), but Susato managed a decent braid. She held it up as if for all to see.
“Good one, Sooze! Now, the rest of my ‘air, please.”
Susato looked in horror at the sheer volume of hair Gina had—not as severe as a certain Mrs. Beate, but definitely longer and curlier than one would think, considering Gina always wore it up with that hat.
Clearly Gregson had been rubbing off on his new kid, because Gina was a tough boss—by the time Susato had finished she thought her fingers would never stop going through the motions of braiding. If someone handed her a woodwind, there was a good chance she might so happen to play a tune.
Although it was well worth it, when Susato got to spend several more minutes with Gina, delicately unbraiding her hair. Gina was handsome in her street clothes, for certain, but she was a different sort of beautiful when she let her guard down a bit like this.
She combed her fingers through Gina’s hair a few more times—it was soft, though she should like to detangle it sometime. Gina really did spend all her time outside, so some sort of spa day would be nice.
A comfortable silence was just beginning to fall over the two, when Iris barged in. Her chipper voice startled Susato as much as a marching band would—she stood straight up, but without releasing Gina’s hair, sending her crashing backwards to the floor.
“Oh, Iris, hello!” Susato faced her. “Look, Gina did my hair so I can wear that adorable hat you made.”
Iris shrugged. “That’s alright, Susie, you don’t need to go out of your way… Because I’ve made you a new little hat to fit with your hair!” From her bag, she procured a tiny pink hat that looked like it would barely balance on the top of her head.
Susato took the teensy article in both hands, smiling as she placed it on her head. “Oh, thank you, Iris, this is lovely!” She looked in the mirror, making eye contact with Gina’s reflection. She looked away, back at the little seamstress.
“Sooze, wot are you gonna do about yer other 'at, then?” Gina asked.
“Hurley says he’ll wear it if I give him a pound!” Iris laughed.
Susato smiled. “And I guess if I ever need a hat, your lesson will be useful. So thank you, Gina.”
Iris spoke again, “This one’s much cuter on you anyways, I think.”
“Eh, that’s just anyfin’.” Gina shrugged. “She’s a dolly pearl, y’know.”
Susato could not for the life of her decipher that sentence. Gina’s accent could be such a pain… Though, in case it was an insult, Susato was content being confused on this front.
“Oh, you think—you fink so?” Iris asked, hands clasped. She faked an East End accent, though not very well. “Fis is Susato, my ‘er indoors, and I just apple and pears her to deff!”
“Blimey, Iris! That’s all cobblers, and it doesn’t make no sense anyways.” Gina scowled. “I do not talk like that.”
Susato just laughed, a bit afraid, not really sure what either of them were saying at this point.
“I didn’t think I’d ever need to wear a hat, but then you were accused of murder, so…” Susato trailed off. “I suppose I’m very grateful to Gina, even if she doesn’t know how much she helped with my disguise.”
Haori smiled. “Then I’m grateful to her too—without her, I might never have seen you dressed so gallantly!—That is, I mean, I might have wound up in jail.”