Archive of Our Own

Glenn opened the door to greet his grumpy baby brother, who seemed about six times more irate than usual, give or take. Instead of a greeting - or a hug, or a smile, or anything - Felix walked past him and went straight for his bathroom, already shucking his jacket and throwing it on Glenn's couch. "I'll wash my hair," he said, promptly slamming the bathroom door shut behind him. Glenn blinked a few times and looked from the door, which he was still holding open, to his bathroom door, which was now shut. Glenn shut the door and scratched at his hairline, waiting for the shower to shut off so he could get to work.

There was a period of time where Felix refused to go to a hairdresser and tried to cut his own hair. Glenn, being a sensible brother with a caring heart and significantly more foresight, was forced to wrestle the electric razor from his little brother's hands before he made a decision that he would regret. Glenn learned some basics about cutting hair to appease Felix’s unusual desire for cutting costs wherever he could and he kept Felix looking at least somewhat approachable.

Glenn would never say it out loud - more specifically, to Felix’s face - but he enjoyed the time together. Felix opened up when someone touched his hair, and Glenn liked to have a little one on one time with one of the most important people in his life. Considering how bad they were at any other kind of communication, it was a relief to have some time where they could drop the bullshit and talk like adults.

The shower shut off - Felix did everything as efficiently as possible, and rarely spent longer than five minutes washing his hair - and the door opened to reveal his wet rat of a brother wrapped in a thick, cozy bathrobe. The robe was a joke gift from Sylvain a few years back, evidenced by the patchwork cats coming out of the oversized pockets. Glenn frowned as he took in his brother’s appearance for the first time since his hasty arrival and saw how haggard Felix looked. He'd save the questions for later. For now, he had to curb his brother's intense desire to fuck his hair up.

Glenn sat Felix down on a barstool in his bathroom, high enough that Glenn could stand and cut hair without bending too awkwardly and dealing with an ache in his back for the rest of the day. Felix sat up straight and waited quietly as Glenn rustled around in his bathroom cabinet for all sorts of tools and torture devices. "I'm only cutting off the dead ends," he said, and Felix answered with a short "fine" and nothing else. Glenn gathered Felix's hair behind him, finger combing it gently into place.

"Your hair’s getting longer."

"That's why I'm ready to get rid of it." Felix still sounded angry, but the slight droop in his shoulders spoke volumes. Glenn grabbed a comb from its perch on the sink and ran it through Felix's hair a few times, catching any little knots he found.

"You'll probably be back at your length before the chop by the end of the year."

Felix stiffened again but didn't snap back. His hair reached the center of his shoulder blades, with a few badly maintained layers spread throughout. It was hard to believe that only a few years ago, Felix tried to chop it all off with a sharpened katana and pass it off like nothing happened. Unfortunately for Felix, Glenn and all of their mutual friends had eyes. No one needed to ask what it meant, everyone could see it plain on Felix's face when they saw him the next day.

Dimitri was convinced to travel cross country to try and get help for his rapidly deteriorating mental health. Felix decided the best way to handle this was to cut off most of his hair.

At least this time he told Glenn first before doing anything that rash.

Glenn pinned up the majority of Felix's "layers" and got to work on the longest pieces, snipping off the dead ends. "How've you been holding up?"

Felix shifted uncomfortably on the stool and folded his hands between his thighs. "Awful. Sylvain has been driving me up a wall." Glenn smiled to himself, the gentle sounds of the scissors cutting through hair filling the room in between their shared silences.

“Any special way? Or the same as usual?”

“He keeps showing me pictures of people on Tinder and asking if they’re hot enough to break quarantine. He’s done this no less than fifty times in the past three days.”

They both sighed in unison, Glenn pulling more hair around to trim. “I can’t help you there. Sylvain will be like that until the end of time.” Felix made a noise in agreement, providing no further complaints about his roommate. Glenn unclipped the hair, finger combed out the next layer, and clipped up the rest as he continued. Bit by bit, Felix’s spine began to relax as Glenn cut his hair, sitting back up at the occasional polite nudge. Their quiet back and forth of piecemeal half-conversations continued for a few minutes longer until Felix spoke up.

“I’m cancelling the trip to see Dimitri.”

So that was it. Felix occasionally made the trip to go visit Dimitri and infuse some vitality back into his bones. With quarantine in place, making the trip was far too dangerous for both of them. “Do you want to talk about it?” Glenn tried, his voice quiet and probing. Felix sat on the question for a few moments longer before he let out a short exhale and tightened all of his muscles at once.

“It’s fucking ridiculous. The Old Man was harping on me for weeks about cancelling it, how I would be putting Dimitri and everyone else there at risk, of course I know that, but-”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me,” Glenn assured Felix, putting the scissors back on his kitchen sink. “It hurts, but you’re doing the right thing. I’m sure Dimitri appreciates it.”

“Of course he appreciates it,” Felix groused, his hands gripping hard at his thighs. “He agrees with whatever anyone else says is best for him. He never entertains a single thought of his own.”

Glenn placed his hands on Felix’s shoulders and squeezed. He didn’t relax, but he also let Glenn keep his hands where they were. A small victory. “Maybe he’s worried about you too..”

“He doesn’t care.” Felix’s eyes were dark, a fire long since burned out. “He shouldn’t care. We’re not together.” The eternal back and forth of Felix and Dimitri would be a constant in everyone’s lives. The distance made things complicated, but Felix and Dimitri made things complicated. Felix was brash, quick to anger, quicker to hurt. Dimitri typically let Felix tear into him and leave him raw and red, but on occasion he struck back and left Felix dazed and broken in turn. Glenn remembered nights where Felix would storm into his loft, angry to the point of bitter silence. They were apart now, until they could find the bridge to cross to talk about what they meant to each other. Glenn learned a long time ago that it wasn’t worth getting burned by offering half baked relationship advice. At least while Felix was feeling open with him, Glenn could try to comfort him.

“He’s still your friend though.” Glenn pulled the clip out of Felix’s hair and combed everything back into place. “I’m sure he cares, Felix.” He picked the scissors up and walked around to Felix’s front, his bangs long and hanging low enough to tickle his cheekbone. “You want me to fix these, too?” Felix nodded and turned his head up at Glenn, looking past him at the condensation still clinging to the shower door. Again, silence. From the front, Glenn watched as Felix stewed in his thoughts, vulnerable enough for Glenn to risk his hide.

“You can video call him.”

Felix wrinkled his nose and started to frown, but changed his mind halfway through and chewed on the inside of his cheek instead. Glenn cut his bangs right where Felix liked them - below his eyebrow, above his eye. “How about when I’m done? I can even blow your hair out, if you like.” Glenn smiled at his little brother, patting the side of his head. “Though it might be a good idea to change back into your street clothes if we do call him.” The bathrobe was fashionable, but he would get an earful if he let Felix go on call without saying something. Felix rolled his eyes and smirked at him, kicking his shin.

“Fine. If I let you blowdry my hair, I expect you not to spend thirty minutes.”

Glenn frowned and put the scissors back, folding his arms. “I do not spend thirty minutes blow drying my hair. Excuse me for giving a shit about how I look.” Felix grabbed the scissors with ease, pointing them up at Glenn’s chest and cocking his head dangerously.

“You forget I used to live with you, Glenn. I could hear you reenacting a White Snake video in the bathroom once a week, minimum.”

Glenn had half a mind to knock the barstool out from under Felix. “You are too young to get that reference.”

Felix smirked and withdrew the scissors, twirling them around on one finger. “Whatever. I’ll continue to be your doll for another few minutes or so. Then I should make sure Sylvain hasn’t invited any strange women into our home.”

“He is an adult, Felix. If he wants to get sick, that is his choice to make.”

“And I live with him. I am not getting sick because he can’t keep it in his pants.” Glenn couldn’t argue with that. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and that meant Sylvain would have to wrangle his less than delicate sensibilities in for a while.

Felix stood up once Glenn finished with the blow dryer, fussing with his bangs and pulling his hair into the complicated pattern he seemed to like so much. Glenn watched with folded arms and waited on the verdict. Felix leaned over the counter and turned his head back and forth, getting the full view of his new cut. Finally, he announced, “Thanks. I don’t hate it.” Glenn took what he could get and clasped a hand on Felix’s shoulder, smiling at him in the mirror.

“Good. You wanna get dressed and I’ll call Dimitri?”

“Fine.”

Felix threw on his clothes and eventually joined Glenn on the couch, trying to look as uninterested as possible. “Don’t forget about the time difference,” he said airily, throwing an arm over the back of the couch. “Did you text him first?”

Glenn rolled his eyes and hit the call button. “Yes, Felix, I texted him.” He nudged Felix with his elbow, earning himself a much harder elbow in return. “Relax.”

“Shut up.”

The phone rang three times before Dimitri appeared, both Fraldariuses sitting up a little straighter. Dimitri waved at them and smiled, adjusting his hold on the phone. “Hello Glenn, Felix. It’s nice to see you both.”

Glenn smiled back. “It’s nice to see you too, Dimitri.”

Felix grunted and looked away.

Glenn, unamused, decided to engage instead. “How’s the west coast? Any better?” Dimitri let out a big sigh and nodded, scratching at the side of his head.

“It’s nice. I miss all of you terribly, but I think this was a good idea. Spending all this time away from home, away from all the stress … It’s really helped me get out of my head. All of that changed with quarantine, but it’s a small blessing to be trapped here.” He chuckled nervously to himself and looked away from the phone. “I apologize, I must be rambling. It’s not often people call and speak with me.”

Glenn tutted softly, moving the phone so he was the only person in view. Felix folded his arms and stared harder at the wall. “There’s no need to apologize. Right, Felix?” Felix made a face that was almost visible from his angry perch, snatching the phone and focusing it on himself.

“When are you coming back?”

“Felix —” Glenn began, but Felix pushed him halfway off the couch with his foot and shot him a dark look.

“I’m not sure, Felix,” Dimitri answered softly. “Hopefully soon. I want to be ready to come back, and I don’t think I’m ready yet.” Glenn got up and walked around to the back of the couch, watching the two carefully. “Felix, you don’t have to wait for me to come back. If you want, you can —”

“Don’t,” Felix cut in, his tone dangerous. “Don’t even finish the sentence. I’m not.”

Dimitri continued despite the warning. “Felix, I don’t want to keep you from enjoying life. If I’m cooped up here, it isn’t fair for you to feel so beholden to me.”

Felix made an incredulous noise. “Enjoy life? I haven’t been able to go anywhere but the grocery store or Glenn’s apartment for the last month and a half. No one is enjoying life.”

Glenn caught the hint of a frown on Dimitri’s face from his angle. “I guess that’s true. Not a very diverse dating pool, is there?”

Felix scrubbed at the side of his face. “Don’t even get me started.” Dimitri laughed, Felix curling into the couch a little more as he cradled the phone with both hands. “Glenn cut my hair.”

“You look magnificent.” Dimitri leaned forward, his blue eye sparkling as he admired Felix. “Glenn, you did a wonderful job.”

Glenn hummed his response, leaning his cheek onto his forearms. “I’m glad someone is thankful.”

“Be quiet,” Felix shot back, not letting Glenn’s attempt at garnering pity hang in the air for a second. He drew his feet up onto the couch, and sat cross-legged. “Go find something else to do with your time.”

“Glenn, you don’t have to leave if you don’t want to.” Dimitri sounded apologetic, but Glenn could take a hint.

“Don’t worry, my feelings aren’t hurt. You two have fun.” He stood up and moved to the kitchen, giving his little brother some space.

“I miss you.”

“I still really want to come see you. Even though we’re not —”

“I know, I know. I already heard it from my Old Man. I’m not coming.”

“Of course I’m upset.”

“No, Dimitri, I’m not upset with you. The whole situation is abysmal, that’s all.”

“Do you think you’ll have to spend more time out there?”

“If it helps, then I have to suck it up. I just don’t like it.”

“Yes, I’ve been seeing them virtually. It’s … different from going in person, but it’s nice that they agreed to keep holding the sessions at all.”

“I just want this to be over.”

“Okay. I’ll call you again soon.”

“Yeah, see you. You too.”

Felix stood in the doorway of the kitchen, his arms folded. “You’re despicable.” Glenn looked up innocently from the dish he had been pretending to wash for the past twenty minutes. He hadn’t even bothered to turn the water on. Felix narrowed his eyes and sneered. “I’m not an idiot, Glenn.”

Glenn shrugged and put the decidedly not-clean dish back into the sink and walked over to Felix, patting his shoulder and looking at him with a sparkle of mirth in his eyes. “You’re in my home, I’m allowed to spy on you. Consider it payment for cutting your hair.”

Felix’s brows furrowed as he swatted Glenn’s hand from his shoulder. “Payment? I’m your brother!”

“Right. I gave you a discount. I cut your hair and let you hang out to talk to Dimitri, and in return you get to tell me that you love me. And I get to eavesdrop.”

Felix tried to make a move for the knife block in the kitchen but was cut off midway in a bone crushing hug. Glenn laughed as he swayed back and forth with his very frustrated little brother. Felix scrambled in his hold for a few moments longer before acquiescing, giving a dramatic sigh and letting his arms hang by his side.

“Say it or I’m not letting go.”

Felix groaned and looked up at the ceiling. Glenn imagined it was because he was trying to calculate how much love he had in his heart for his wonderful and kind older brother. “I love you.”

“What was that?”

Felix wriggled in his grip and found no purchase. “You are the worst fucking brother on the planet and I one day will be your demise.”

“Love you too, Wolfie.”