Work Text:
Kazuo woke up in the middle of the night to a sound.
Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he got up and made his way to the bathroom.
He opened the door to find Saki kneeling on the floor,....crying? Then he noticed that her hair was messily cut short, a pair of scissors lying on the floor by her side.
He quietly closed the door, then walked to Saki and sat down beside her.
“Saki?” He said quietly, putting a soothing hand on her back. Saki jerked up her head.
“K-Kazuo-” she sniffed, wiping her face with her hand. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard a noise-” Kazuo started, then fell silent. “Why did you cut your hair?” Saki dropped her eyes back to the floor and tensed her shoulders.
“I-” She gritted her teeth, then sighed. “I'm not a girl.”
Kazuo tilted his head. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that I'm a boy. I'm not a girl, I've never connected to being a girl.” Saki said. “And now I've cut my hair and oh god what will Mother think-”
Saki started to sob again. Kazuo kept his hand on her back as he considered what Saki had told him.
“Okay. You're a boy.” Kazuo said with a nod. “But that haircut is just terrible. Let me fix it.”
Saki looked back up at him. Sniffling, he said “Where did you learn to cut hair?”
Kazuo picked up the scissors and positioned himself behind Saki. “Uh…from the barber down the street. I work there sometimes.”
He started to trim Saki's hair. They stayed quiet like that for a while, affording them both a little time to process what just happened.
Kazuo had the feeling that underneath all that bravado, Saki desperately wanted to prove his worth to Mother.
A thought suddenly occurred to him. “Um, do you want to change your name? Since it's a girl's name and all…”
Saki mulled it over for a bit, then he shook his head. “No…it's strange, but I still like it.”
Kazuo shrugged. “Okay then! And keep your head still.” He muttered as he finished working on Saki's hair.
He got up and retrieved a small mirror from the bathroom cabinet, then handed it to Saki. “All done! What do you think?” He chirped.
Saki stared at himself in the mirror and a smile suddenly bloomed across his face. He then turned and affectionately, yet aggressively, punched Kazuo in the shoulder.
He was quiet for a bit, then whispered “Thank you, Kazuo.”
Kazuo smiled back. “Anything for my big brother.”
They both smiled at each other for a bit. Saki got up and headed out the door, back to bed. Kazuo followed him.
They would deal with Mother in the morning.