Work Text:
It had been weeks of this. Weeks of being cooped up in the townhouse, which felt seemingly more full than ever as those that had jobs were suddenly forced to remain at home at all times.
Even Time’s work had been limited, with him only going to the castle monthly to manage the few things he couldn’t address remotely. Only Hyrule was allowed to leave, and even then he had moved into the basement (with Legend, after quite the loud fight that no one had been able to ignore) so they all still barely saw him.
Warriors was getting antsy. At first the forced lockdown in Hyrule had seemed fun, almost like a snow day from school or a sleepover with friends as a child. Then the horrors had set in.
Not the rising hospital numbers, not the concerns about the economy, no. His hair had started to grow too long. It started when he realized that his monthly trip to the Gerudo spa for his waxing would be postponed indefinitely. Fine. He could shave. It was far from ideal, but it would do.
Twilight had started to let his scruff get longer, and Sky’s messy mop of hair seemed more chaotic than usual, but it was really only when Wars put his headset on to join Wind’s stream one evening that he could feel his hair parting around his ears differently.
The realization set off a chain reaction, and suddenly he could feel how long his hair was on his neck, how his bangs brushed too close to his eyes, and all at once he couldn’t get comfortable.
That was how Time wandered from his study into his bathroom to find Warriors craning his neck to see his reflection as he uncertainly held a pair of scissors in his hand, muttering testily under his breath.
“What on Hylia’s earth are you doing?” Time asked, leaning on the doorframe and raising a brow in question. “And more importantly, why are you doing it in my bathroom?”
“In case you haven’t noticed, my hair is too long and I’m trying to figure out how best to manage that,” Warriors snapped, letting the scissors fall to the counter with a clatter as he instead started to grab for the handheld mirror under the sink.
“I repeat, why must this be addressed in my bathroom?” Time reiterated, unmoving as Warriors tossed aside the first aid kit, more items clattering as he sought the mirror.
“Because the scissors in here are sharper, and furthermore, the thought of using the second floor washroom for this is almost as abhorrent as my having to do this myself,” Wars snapped as he finally straightened with the mirror in hand. Time could see now that his eyes had a slightly frantic gleam to them, Wars’s Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed the tension threatening to overtake him.
“You realize Legend cuts his own hair, he could probably help you,” Time tried as he took in the growing chaotic mess that was becoming his bathroom.
“He also dyes his hair with KoolAid when his dye is out of stock, next option,” Wars snapped, once again combing his hair before shakily grabbing the scissors.
Time watched silently as Warriors leveled the scissors and closed the blades, the shearing sound painfully loud in the otherwise silent floor of the house.
Short blonde hairs finely rained onto the counter before Wars huffed, dropping the scissors once more and wheeling on Time. He pressed the mirror into Time’s chest and snapped “If you’re here to spectate, you may as well be useful, hold this.”
Wars whirled once more, this time unlocking his phone to play a video of some Hylian giving advice on haircuts. He propped the phone on the faucet as a nasal voice started droning about layers and feathering. Time could feel Wars’s tenuous grasp on his temper and self control waning, as he huffed his now-uneven bangs out of his face.
“Stop it, here,” Time said quietly, lowering the mirror to grab the scissors from Wars’s hand. “Sit down, and if I hear one complaint you’re being left in whatever state you happen to be in,” Time warned as he guided his lover to sit on the toilet lid.
Warriors huffed, grabbing his phone and fidgeting with it silently, picking at the ring on the back of the case anxiously. He knew better than to snark, but was unable to say anything remotely grateful or kind when his hair was like this.
Time draped a towel across Wars’s shoulders before grabbing the comb and shears for what he could only hope would be the only time.
He was impressed as Wars managed to bite his tongue through the first half of the trim, though he could feel the tension increasing as more hair fell onto his lap and the floor around them.
Deciding to reward his ornery partner, Time began “I didn’t always have Malon, nor did I have money to get my hair done, in case you were wondering.”
Wars raised his brows, caught between being shocked Time had offered to help at all and stumbling over the image of Time having Malon cut his hair. He supposed it made sense, really.
Time could see the toll this was taking on the other man, and he couldn’t wait to be out of this situation. He dreaded to think just how many different ways he’d end up paying for this little venture if he messed up. He resisted the urge to shake his head as he imagined Wars’s sonorous litany of complaints, forcing himself to remain in the present, to finish the job quickly and efficiently. He tried to fill the silence with words, stumbling over them but keeping up a low monologue in the hopes he and Wars both survived this.
As Time’s low voice continued, Wars did his best to focus on the rumbling sound rather than the itchiness around his collar, the sounds of the shears, and the pile of blonde hairs littering his lap and shoulders. He willed himself to sit still, picking at his phone case with increasing urgency but otherwise still and silent. Wars’s sense of time passing was skewed, as the minutes seemed to be moving very slowly, and yet somehow it didn’t really feel like long at all, and-
He jerked when Time handed him the mirror and stepped back, and if Wars didn’t know Time as well as he did he wouldn’t have seen how his partner seemed to be bracing for Warrior’s impending wrath.
He raised the mirror and took in his appearance, appreciating the slightly choppy layers, the not-quite-perfect bangs framing his face, and the fact that he couldn’t feel the hair tickling his goddess-damned neck any more.
Without a word, he stood, lowering the mirror to the counter before turning and embracing Time quickly, burying his nose into Time’s shoulder and leaning into him for just a moment.
And just a moment, as he then promptly turned away and shed the towel, flicking more little hairs everywhere and breezily murmuring “I guess it’ll do,” as he moved to turn on the shower and unbutton his shirt, pointedly not making eye contact.