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Cassian
Cassian growled in annoyance as his hair slipped out of the loose bun he’d thrown it in for what felt like the thousandth time this morning, motioning for a time-out so he could fix it.
“Again?” Azriel asked, fixing Cassian with an exasperated look before lowering his hands. “At least make it quick.”
Cassian, Azriel, Gwyn, and Nesta had a standing Saturday morning gym session, and Cassian and Azriel were wrapping up their workout with some light sparring while Nesta and Gwyn were doing their ab circuit. Cassian had been looking forward to this all week, but it was hard to stay focused on the fight when his hair kept slipping out of its bun every five seconds.
“Sorry, I'm sorry,” Cassian answered. He picked the offending hair tie up off the ground and hastily pulled his hair back into a ponytail, hoping this time would be the time it stuck. “Ready?”
“For you to cut your hair?” Azriel quipped back. “I was born ready.”
Cassian laughed as he settled back into his fighting stance. “I’m not allowed to cut my hair.”
“Says who?” Azriel responded, mirroring Cassian’s stance back at him.
“Technically, nobody.” Cassian circled Azriel for a few moments, eventually feinting to his right and trying to sneak in a hit to the left, but Azriel didn’t fall for it. “I just value my life.”
“I’m sure she wouldn’t be that mad,” Azriel said, chuckling. “It’s just hair. It’ll grow back.”
“Easy for you to say,” Cassian said back. He stayed light on his feet and dodged the jab Azriel tried to throw his way. “You and Rhys are practically bald compared to me.”
“Just ask her once we’re done,” Azriel suggested, recovering quickly from his missed hit. “Maybe then you can actually beat me without using all those time-outs.”
“Fuck you,” Cassian replied playfully. “I could beat you any day of the week.”
Azriel snorted. “Not today.”
The two of them swapped half-hearted trash talk until Azriel decisively won the fight, refusing to drop his smirk even after they headed back to the locker room for quick showers. Cassian was more than happy to play sore loser; despite what Azriel claimed, Cassian had won enough rounds over the years that he was fine not being the victor today. There was always next week, anyway.
They both showered and changed into a fresh set of clothes, grabbing their bags and water bottles before leaving the locker room to meet their respective girlfriends. Nesta and Gwyn were sitting on one of the couches near the entrance waiting for them, both looking freshly showered and dressed after their own workouts.
“Hey sweetheart,” Cassian said once he and Azriel were close enough.
Nesta looked up from where she and Gwyn had been chatting, a soft smile forming once she met his eyes. “Hey.”
“Good workout?” Gwyn asked, though she was clearly focused on Azriel.
“Yeah,” Azriel replied. He held out his hand and Gwyn quickly reached out and took it, letting him haul her to her feet with a happy grin. “We actually had a question for the two of you.”
Nesta similarly let Cassian pull her to her feet and fixed them with a cautious look. “Oh?”
“Azriel thinks I should cut my hair,” Cassian told her, mentally preparing for her reaction.
“I see,” Nesta replied slowly. “What do you think?”
Cassian exchanged a glance with Azriel before deciding to just go for it. “It’s always getting in the way at the gym, so…”
“When’s the last time you had short hair, anyway?” Gwyn questioned as the four of them started walking toward the door. They all parked in the same garage, so could continue their conversation as they headed toward their cars. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with it.”
“Maybe high school?” Cassian mused. He’d gotten regular haircuts all throughout his childhood, but once he’d gotten to college he’d missed one too many and had decided to just go with it. “I started growing it out in college and never looked back.”
“He looks like me,” Azriel added, holding the door open for them. Cassian took over to hold it for Nesta and slung his arm around her shoulder once everyone was outside.
“Just not as broody,” Cassian teased with a little chuckle. Gwyn couldn’t hold back her own laugh, but she winked up at Azriel to let him know she was mostly joking.
“Are you really serious about cutting it?” Nesta asked, looking at Cassian with a pinched expression.
“A little bit,” Cassian lied. He knew good and well how much she loved his long hair, but he was in too deep now. Might as well see her reaction through to the end. “Would you hate it?”
“I wouldn’t hate it,” Nesta said slowly. “It would just. Take some getting used to.”
“Translation: she would hate it,” Gwyn chimed in. “And then me and Em would have to hear all about it until your hair grew back out.”
“No I wouldn’t,” Nesta argued, her voice a little too high-pitched to be believable. “I’d be supportive!”
“You don’t have to lie, Nesta,” Gwyn replied with a laugh. “You’re amongst friends.”
“If Cassian wanted to cut all his hair off, I’d be all for it,” Nesta lied right through her teeth. Cassian couldn’t help but grin at how aggressively she was defending her support of his hypothetical haircut when they could all tell how much she would hate it. “We could stop by the salon right now if he wanted to!”
The four of them got into the elevator, Azriel pressing the button for the third floor while Cassian leaned over and hit the button for the fifth floor. “Sweetheart, I’m touched.”
“You should be,” Nesta said primly. “I don’t care if you’re bald or your hair’s as long as Rapunzel’s. I’d still have you.”
Cassian couldn’t help but melt. Every time Nesta did or said something to show how much she cared about him, he just wanted to bury his face in her hair and never let her go. Some of that must have shown on his face, because Gwyn and Azriel simultaneously rolled their eyes while Nesta’s softened around the edges the longer she looked at Cassian.
“And on that note,” Azriel said back just as the elevator made it to the third floor. “I think it’s time for us to go. You proved your point, Cass.”
“Keep it PG until you get back to the house,” Gwyn teased. “There are cameras in here.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Cassian responded, laughing as he waved them off. As if what he and Nesta got up to being recorded was supposed to turn him off . “See you two next week.”
Once the elevator made it to the fifth floor, Nesta turned and looked up at Cassian with a question in her eyes. “What did Azriel mean?”
“By what?” Cassian asked, reaching into his pocket for the car keys.
“That you’d proved your point.”
“Oh. I just told him there’s no way I’d actually cut my hair because I know how much you’d hate it.”
“I wouldn’t hate it.”
“Yeah, you would.”
“Okay,” Nesta admitted with a sigh as she slid into the passenger seat. “Maybe I would.”
“I’m not cutting my hair anytime soon, Nes,” Cassian reassured her as he turned on the car.
“You better fucking not,” she grumbled. “What else would I have to pull you around by?”
He just smirked at the massive opening she’d left him. “I have some suggestions.”