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This was, without question, Tonbokiri's favorite time of night. The time of night where he sat, watching Sengo as he went through his nightly routine. First, surprising no one, Sengo would undress. This might have seemed like an obvious step, but Sengo would do so in front of the wide open veranda door, enjoying the late summer breeze in nothing but a content smile. Normally, Tonbokiri insisted against such exposure, especially when just anyone could go waltzing by and see everything… but this was late enough that everyone was in their rooms and didn't usually come out, so he let it slide. Besides, even he couldn’t deny the beauty that was seeing this man bathed in tranquility and moonlight.
Once Sengo got his fill of nightly freedom, he would don his sleepwear and begin brushing out his hair. He took good care of his hair, that much was obvious just by looking at it, but to watch just how meticulously he did so, combing through every strand while humming to himself or rambling on about his day. Tonbokiri honestly never grew tired of it.
But tonight was different.
At first he wondered if he would even see Sengo before bed. He had gone on a mission and the team was late coming back… So it became less of a would he see him and more of a how long would he be waiting up for him. He kept himself occupied until just past four am, when Sengo came staggering into the room, towel around his waist. He was still injured, covered in cuts and bruises that it looked like maybe Yagen had temporarily patched up until he could be tended to better, but he was alive…
“Heh… Still up waiting for me, hmm?” Sengo chuckled half humoredly, trying to fake a smile. “Sounds like I should undress~”
“Looks like you already did that…” Tonbokiri replied, getting to his feet. “Are you alright?”
“Well. I’m not among the four that nearly died so there’s that.” He sighed, limping over to grab his pajamas and throw at least the pants on with as little struggle as possible. “My injuries were not severe enough to be too worried for the night. At least that’s what Yagen said. However, he wants to see me first thing in the morning.”
Tonbokiri hummed for a moment, watching the other man for a moment, then walked over and grabbed Sengo's brush as it was being reached for. "May I?"
Sengo slowly glanced up from where the brush had been sitting to Tonbokiri's face, a little bit of confusion on his face. "May you what? Brush my hair?" When he received a very quick and enthusiastic nod, he gave a small chuckle and a small but genuine smile. "I suppose if you want your hands on me that badly, Tonbokiri, who am I to refuse~"
The dramatics and suggestive wording earned an eye roll of course, but Tonbokiri wasted no time gently guiding Sengo over toward his futon and helping him down to get as comfortable as possible. Once he was settled, Tonbokiri knelt down behind him, reaching out to section out the first bit of Sengo's hair. "Oh…"
"Softer than you thought, hmm?"
"Yes…" Tonbokiri slowly reached out and ran his finger through it. "I knew you took care of it, but.."
"There's little point to having it if it's not as beautiful as my body." He chuckled. "That said, you are welcome to touch it whenever you like. Careful though~ play with it too much and I might just-"
"Not tonight. Not with your injuries."
"Aww…"
Tonbokiri snorted, amused by the fact that he could feel that pout more than see it, and started brushing through the first section just as he had watched Sengo do so many, many times. He took his time, not only because he wanted to make sure he got it all, but because… well honestly he was enjoying himself and he didn't want to stop. However, there was only so long he could spend brushing through spots that had already been done before it became too obvious… "Can I braid it?" The words fell from his lips before he even registered the thought in his own head. He felt his cheeks heat up and he was glad the light in the room was fairly dim because it helped hide the pink color across that bloomed all the way back to his ears when Sengo glanced back at him.
"You want to braid it…?"
"Er… Yes. But you can say no. You are probably tired…"
"I am exhausted …" Sengo sighed, his voice soft and more than a little wore out, but then he looked away again with a small chuckle. "But It'll make it easier to deal with in the morning when I have to go back and see Yagen. Plus, I'll take any excuse to keep your hands in my hair a little longer. You are very good with your fingers~"
The play on words caused Tonbokiri to huff… but he returned his hands to Sengo's hair without any fuss. It wasn't anything fancy… just a simple three strand braiding to keep the tangles out of it overnight, but Tonbokiri put every little ounce of effort he had into doing it right.
"There, that should… Sengo?"
"Mmm?"
Tonbokiri blinked. "Did… were you asleep?"
"I dozed off, yes." Sengo answered with a yawn as he slowly moved away from the other man and toward his own bed. "As I said… you are-" another yawn interrupted him as he got laid down, casting one more tired grin to Tonbokiri before rolling over to get comfortable, "good with your hands."
Tonbokiri hummed, watching until Sengo got still before shutting off the lamp and laying down himself. He didn't really think he had done much, but apparently it had relaxed the injured and stressed Sengo to the point that he could already hear the man snoring softly. Strange that just playing with his hair did that… but if that was the case…
He would just have to ask to do it again tomorrow.