Work Text:
5:36
Crap. She took too long in the shower. Hina was late again. Chisato would chew her out for this one for sure, and her lectures sucked big time. She tossed her phone back on the counter and towelled off quickly. Trying to get dressed with wet skin sucked too.
She threw on the same clothes she wore before; there was no time for clean ones. These were more comfortable anyway. Good enough to be seen in public.
"Sis, I'm heading out!"
Hina already had her hand on the door knob before Sayo's response came from the living room.
"Not looking like that you're not."
Sayo approached her, fixing her with what Hina had dubbed the Disciplinary Committee Glare. She didn't really get why nobody seemed to like it; it meant Sayo was focusing on you, like, really hard. It was her not noticing you at all that you really had to be afraid of.
She smoothed Hina's collar, before redoing her shirt buttons that didn't line up properly. Hina wasn't sure why it was such a big deal, it's not like her cleavage was visible or anything. Not that she would reject Sayo's attention, even if it was something so trivial.
For her part, Sayo gave her work an approving look over.
"Wait here."
She disappeared down the hallway towards their rooms, only to return shortly. But instead of heading back towards Hina, she sat on the couch and gestured in front of herself.
"Come sit here."
If there was any guilt in her mind about being late, it was easily outweighed by her sister's proposal. Hina plopped herself on the floor, nestled between Sayo’s legs.
Sayo ran her fingers through her hair, teasing it out and working the occasional knot. Far more interesting to Hina, though, was the brief feeling that came every time Sayo’s nails found her scalp. If this was what dogs felt when being petted, she was ready to trade lives here and now. Maybe she could find a machine to do that - wasn’t there a movie with one? It would probably be faster than trying to convince Sayo to pet her, anyway.
She moved on to the brush, pulling it through Hina’s hair. Sometimes it caught on a knot she had missed or a particularly thick lock, but there was never enough force behind it for it to hurt.
Most people thought she was stern, but Hina knew there was a soft side to her. You just had to know what to look for. It wasn’t that she tried to hide it particularly hard, at least not as far as Hina could tell, she just didn’t express herself in the same way as others. She might have felt a sort of kinship with Sayo about that, if they weren’t already kin. Though she wouldn’t ever want to live in a world like that.
She could feel Sayo’s compassion in the intention she put into avoiding pulling her hair, in the brushstrokes that seemed to ooze warmth and intimacy.
It was pretty mesmerising, having her hair brushed like this. Almost enough to put her to sleep. She leaned back, earning a slightly irritated sigh from her sister. She must have made it harder to keep brushing, but she was content enough to leave it at that. Being closer to Sayo felt more appealing.
Sayo must have decided that she wasn’t going to get any more brushing done, as she slid her arms over Hina’s shoulders in a sort-of hug. Hina wouldn’t have minded falling asleep like that, ensconced in her arms. The two of them sat in silence, enjoying each other’s company for a moment.
“Do you want to put your braids in? I,” Sayo turned away slightly, “I don’t know how to do those.”
She fidgeted with her own hair. A bashful Sayo was a rare sight indeed, so Hina thanked her lucky stars (Vega, Sirius, and Alrescha, to be precise) that she was born into this family to witness it.
“Nope, I like it just how you did it. Oh! I’ll teach you how to do them, it’s easy!” Hina’s phone buzzed in her pocket. “But maybe not now. Chisato’s gonna kill me!”
“Where exactly were you running off to earlier?” Her tone had more than a tinge of suspicion to it. Hina was already on her feet and halfway to the door by the time she’d finished talking.
“I’m really late for our show tonight anyway gotta go love ya sis bye!”
“Hina!”