Work Text:
Gabby would use the heat wave as an excuse if anyone asked questions, but truthfully, the desire to cut their hair was an old one.
They didn't dislike it, exactly, but...
For their whole life, it had been part of a long list of things that didn't really belong to them.
Their body, their voice, their whole identity.
Their hair.
As long as they could remember, their hair was little more than public property. Kept long and loose, for the people around them to gawk at and comment on, because that's what good girls did.
A nuisance, cascading down their back, loved by everyone but them. Easy for people to touch.
Easy for people to yank.
They stared at their reflection in the mirror, trembling fingers curled around a shining set of scissors.
Taking a lock of the offending hair in their free hand, they lifted the twin blades and tried to steady themself.
Could they really do it? Could they honestly make this leap, sever the past from the future, just like that?
They felt the ghost of unfamiliar fingers on their scalp, and with a burst of rage they could almost taste, the decision was made. The scissors snipped decisively, and with that, there was no turning back.
Once they started, it was impossible to stop.
In a frenzy, they set themself to work at the rest of it, chopping recklessly at the reminder of who they weren't, and could never be.
In minutes that felt like seconds, they were finished with it. The long waves they'd had since childhood were reduced to a short, irregular bob.
It was messy, amateurish, with uneven layers all over. Anyone looking would be able to tell they'd done it at home.
They'd never felt more like themself.