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“The hell is this? It fucking stinks!” Sniffing it again just to make sure his nose wasn’t lying to him, Barou gagged, holding the bottle away from him.
“Oh you are being so dramatic,” Aryu pouted, pushing away Barou’s hand to insist he apply the contents to his hair. “I already told you, it's an apple cider vinegar wash. So it smells like vinegar .”
Scrunching up his nose, Barou tipped some of the liquid into his hand, inspecting it closely before slapping it onto his head.
“There you go! Unless you are using this stuff, you aren’t getting your hair fully clean! You use so much gel, there is no way you are getting it all out of your hair every night when you shower.”
Scooting his small shower stool behind Barou, he grabbed the bottle from his hands, tipping it over directly onto Barou’s scalp. Barou huffed through his nose, long past accepting that this was happening, and the flamboyant and eccentric striker would be helping him in the shower that evening. Adjusting the towel covering his lap, he leaned into Aryu’s hands, accepting his misfortune.
He knew exactly how to talk Barou’s language unfortunately…mentioning that his hair was probably not fully clean, despite his already meticulous shower routine. But he hadn’t exactly expected Aryu to participate in his shower, despite his own protests. He just wanted Aryu to give him the shit and leave him alone , but Aryu seemed insistent on assisting.
Rubbing his fingers through Barou’s hair, Aryu sighed happily, scrubbing away at his scalp as the wash began to later slightly. Running his fingers through Barou’s hair, he detangled it with his hands as the wash did its magic.
“It already feels so much better than it did when we started,” Aryu commented, rubbing his fingers directly over Barou’s scalp. He had to admit, it did feel quite nice to have Aryu’s long fingers running through his hair. He didn’t really let people touch him in this way, as he never knew where their nasty hands had been, but Aryu does seem to generally be clean and tidy, even if he leaves strands of his long black hair everywhere . Shedding like a damn cat, leaving a trail for himself all around the Blue Lock Compound.
“Rinse time,” Aryu said, a sing-song tone to his voice as he reached a hand around Barou, grabbing at the detachable faucet in front of him. Barou closed his eyes, jumping slightly when he felt one of Aryu’s boney hands under his chin, gently tipping his head back before turning the water on. Aryu hummed as he worked, some tune that Baoru wasn’t familiar with, and he felt the tension in his shoulders ease as Aryu’s long finger’s massaged his scalp under the warm water.
Almost too soon, it was over, and Aryu turned the stream of water off, running his fingers once more through Barou’s hair to ensure there were no tangles. Standing up, Aryu scooted his own shower stool away before grabbing his bottle of hair wash.
“Now shampoo and conditioner like normal. I have a fourth step, if you want your hair to be heavenly soft and stylish, but it's applied after you finish showering and your hair is mostly dry. Come find me if you want to try it.”
Flitting away like he hadn’t just inconvenienced Barou for the last half hour, Aryu left the showers, going to join the others in the baths. Barou grumbled, swiping at his shampoo bottle and squeezing it into his palm, cursing Aryu and his gentle touch that Barou decided he absolutely hated.
Annoying, overwhelming and extravagant. Good words to describe Aryu. But the only thing Baoru couldn’t call him was “wrong”, because his hair did feel very different and light as he began rubbing his shampoo into his scalp. He had half a thought to thank him, but Aryu was already gone by the time Barou entered the baths.
When he returned to the dorms, he found a small bottle of something on his bed. Frowning, he picked it up, noticing a handwritten note underneath. Directions, written in Aryu’s long, ornate script, on how to use the leave-in conditioner if he chose to use it. Barou felt his face heat, irritated all over again at how presumptuous Aryu could be.
Grabbing the bottle and the note, he stomped over to where he knew Aryu’s room to be, and found him combing out his hair and singing along to some song pouring out of his phone.
Aryu did not immediately notice him as he entered the room, and Baoru threw the bottle down in front of him, glaring down at him as Aryu lifted his head.
Aryu frowned slightly, before returning his face to a more neutral position. “Oh, did you not want to try? So sorry for being presumptuous. Your hair already looks so shiny and gorgeous compared to how it was.”
“You know how to use it, so you fucking do it,” Barou mumbled, turning around to sit on the edge of Aryu’s bed. He could tell the other boy was shocked by his response, but he did not say a word as he opened up the bottle and began to work the conditioner into the tips of Baoru’s hair.
“Is it alright if I use my brush?” Aryu asked, politely lifting it to show Barou it was clean, and without even more than a few strands of hair from that evening’s brushing.
“Ya ain’t got lice?” Barou asked, arms crossed tightly over his chest as Aryu continued to play with the tips of his hair.
“Lice? Me? I would never be inflicted with something so unstylish.”
“Then go ahead,” Barou said, tipping his head back slightly, giving Aryu full access to every long strand that fell over his shoulders.
Aryu sighed happily, loving having another head of beautiful, long hair to play with, not caring one bit that it was attached to a grumpy old man of a teenager, who was desperately trying to not enjoy this whole process too much.