Work Text:
Bad had always had pretty short hair.
Or well, if you could even call it that- his whole body was covered in a light layer of black fur that grew thickest on the top of his head, the back of his neck, and at the base of his tail. It never really grew much longer than a couple inches, just enough to at least attempt to style if he really wanted, but more often than not was just hidden under his hood. It was easy, and since the overworld was so much colder than the nether, he never really felt the need to change up what might've been charitably called his 'sense of style.'
So whenever he was invited to Mike's barber shop, he didn't really think much of it at all.
He'd seen the other monstrosities that'd been inflicted on the others, sure, but he figured it would be pretty difficult to mess up the hair he had to work with, and even if it did prove to be to much, or even something sensible, as long as it could be tucked underneath his hood, he figured it would be fine.
Except that Mike had somehow figured out how to just... magically grow hair, apparently.
And now Bad was surrounded by the wheezing laughs and delighted gasps of his other server mates, his vision half-obscured by the long and blonde hair that was now falling all around his face. He could feel it gathering in the shallow of his hood, rubbing awkwardly against his existing fur, and shuddered at the alien sensation.
"I think this is probably my masterpiece." Mike said with a reverence in his voice, holding a mirror out for Bad to see.
Bad stared dumbfounded at his own reflection, powdered blush sitting high on the fur of his cheeks, his face framed by cheery yellow hair that was most certainly not his own. He could hear Baghera typing frantically into her comm as she cooed at him from a corner, could hear Pac's tearful congratulations, and could hear his own voice as he whispered, "What the fudge-"
So he had long hair now, which, at the behest of literally everyone, he wasn't allowed to cut.
Fine. Fine. At least Dapper liked it, even if he personally couldn't stand how it spilled out of his hood, how it felt against every part of his face, how it seemed to get everywhere. He hated the sudden upkeep it needed, how it needed to be brushed and washed beyond a simple dust bath, how heavy it was- almost everything about it really.
He held it all gathered in one fist, glaring at it contemplatively.
The sword in his inventory was looking really tempting right now...
"Badboy!" A voice called, startling him out of his reverie, and Bad turned around to see Forever approaching, waving enthusiastically as he approached. His own now-red hair was tucked into its neat and familiar braid, and Bad squinted at him slightly before offering his own wave in return. Though he quickly dropped his hand with a huff as Forever pressed his hands to his cheeks to coo at Bad's hair again. "Oh, you look so pretty with your blonde hair, Badboy. I hope you keep it long enough for us to be matching, you know?"
"No, no, no, I'm definitely going to cut it before then." Bad said firmly, though he allowed himself to smile at Forever's responding groan of dismay. "It's so annoying, I don't know how you deal with it all the time, Forever. It just gets everywhere and-"
"Oh, but you can just put it up, you know?" Forever said without missing a beat and Bad tipped his head back with his own groan of exasperation. As if he hadn't already tried that so many times already, with very little success. It always seemed to turn out as more of a mess than when he'd first started, a tangle of hair and ribbon. He'd given up a couple days in, deciding that he would just have to suffer. "Do you have a ribbon or something? I could do it for you."
"No, I don't- look, don't worry about it okay? It's fine." Bad said with a sigh, tossing his hair back over his shoulder and tugging his hood back over his head. Instantly the strands crowded around his neck, sitting uncomfortably against his fur again, but it was- manageable.
"Oooh, don't be like that Badboyhalo." Forever scolded teasingly, already taking a hold of Bad's sleeve to try and tug him down. But his expression was earnest enough that Bad gave in with only a moment's hesitation, and he sat down cross-legged on the cool green grass. His brain hitched for a moment as Forever circled around to stand behind him, Bad's eyes following him on instinct more than real worry, but if he couldn't trust Forever, then he couldn't trust anyone, really.
And Forever had been nothing but loyal since Bad'd first met him, even in situations where it would've been better for him if he hadn't.
Forever met his eye and smiled.
"Turn around for me, Bad?" He asked, and because it was Forever who'd asked, Bad did just that, though he crossed his arms with a huff to let Forever know he still wasn't happy with the arrangement. Rough but familiar hands removed his hood again and started raking through the mess, working through the knots with gentle care as they went. Way more gentle than Bad himself would've done, already frustrated with the process before he'd even started. "If you were having problems with it you could've just asked for help, you know?"
"Oh, what? You're gonna help me fix my hair everyday then?" Bad grumbled petulantly, readjusting his already crossed arms for further emphasis, and Forever laughed close enough that Bad could feel Forever's breath on the back of his neck, and he fought back a shudder.
"If you want." Forever offered calmly, resting his fingers just behind Bad's pointed ear before running them through the hair again, and some part of Bad wanted to melt under the attention, but he refrained. "But I was thinking more like maybe I could just teach you how so you could do it by yourself. But if you want to come to me everyday..."
"I see you everyday anyways." Bad said with as much indifference as he could and Forever laughed again.
"That's true! Lemme see..." Forever hummed in contemplation, before he worked his fingers in at Bad's hairline, dragging back everything before he separated a few small sections into strands. "It's getting everywhere when you work, right? We can do a french braid, I think Baghera would like that."
"Oh, only Baghera?" Bad asked sarcastically, but he held himself still and let Forever work. There was something soothing about the motions of braiding as Forever did it. His fingers were quick with clearly practiced motions, and Bad could feel his knees pressing lightly against his lower back.
"No, no, I think you would like it too. See, you're lucky I have more than one hairtie on me, Bad, otherwise your beautiful hair would still be a mess."
"Well, if it's such a mess to look at, maybe I should just cut it off already."
Forever shifted so he was in Bad's line of sight again, already in the process of tying off the braid before he stepped back entirely to admire his own handiwork. Bad ran a hand over the neat weave, sighing in relief as it rested down his back rather than everywhere he didn't want it to be. He brought it over one shoulder, noting the pink ribbon Forever had used to secure it and rolled his eyes.
"It looks good on you." Forever said fondly, smiling up at Bad as he reached out to toy with the end of the braid. He paused, considering it for a moment, before he slowly raised the end of the braid towards his face, his gold eyes intent as they tracked Bad's the whole way. Bad kept himself still, one hand still smoothing back the few strands that were too short to be contained, right up until Forever pressed the end of Bad's braid to his lips.
Bad shoved him away, blushing furiously under his dark fur and thanking every star in the sky that know one besides him knew. "What the fudge Forever! Why did you do that?"
"What?" Forever asked, far too innocent and smug to be genuine and Bad turned away completely, his tail whipping wildly behind him as he grumbled to himself. "It was just a friendship kiss, you know? Roier told me that’s how to greet your bestest friends."
"No!" Bad said petulantly, dragging his hands over his face as he groaned, trying to scrub the heat in his cheeks away. "Oh my gosh, of course Roier told you about that. I'm going to strangle him-"
Bad paused, the last part of Forever's sentence finally catching up with him and he turned, looming over the other without even meaning to. Forever didn't look intimidated, which would be gratifying if it wasn't for the mischievous expression plastered on his face instead. But Bad chose to ignore that in the face of the bigger issue.
"Wait. I'm your bestest friend?"
"Of course! Who else would be?" Forever said easily, though his smile was a little too knowing as he nudged Bad's hip with his elbow as he ran past. A secret passed between two people who'd already known the truth, kinda. Except Bad was just fine with the idea of staying like this for a while longer, of course. "C'mon Bad, Baghera is waiting for us in France!"
Bad hummed in acknowledgement, pleased despite himself. He ran his hand over the braid Forever had done for him and smiled, just a little bit.
Maybe he'd keep the hair, just for a little bit longer.