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Bruno glared into his dimly lit reflection, attempting to pin down the loose ends of his braids, and failing miserably. His most recent mission had left him three broken fingers, the index and middle of his right, and the ring of his left; they were securely wrapped up together, tapped for good measure, but the heedless shaking was becoming a problem. His hands were tired and fatigued, begging to be left alone, but he once again tried to hold down a piece of dark hair and clip it.
The golden ribbed clip clattered down to his bathroom sink, again, for the fifth time. He groaned as his braid undid itself and fell down, again. He looked at his fingers with malice, he found the situation ridiculous. Bruno had experienced things far worse than this; broken ribs, limbs dislocated from their joints, gashes so deep that they threatened death; and yet, in this moment, a couple broken fingers were getting the best of him.
“Whatever.” He languidly tossed the two hair pieces back into their designated spots in his jewelry box, snapping the lid shut and putting it back under the sink. His right hand reached up behind his head to smooth out the longer strands of hair that should have been in a braid over thirty minutes ago, he felt the frustration bubbling up again, and to avoid any further humiliation he quickly left the small bathroom.
He was welcomed back by Leone, who was laid about the couch in an overly casual manner, he immediately took notice to Bruno’s hair.
“Took you a while. Where’s your braid?” Bruno plopped himself down beside the other, letting his head fall onto his shoulder in defeat. “I couldn’t clip it down,” he said, letting his eyes close, a deep sigh made its way out of Bruno’s lungs, and he could feel Leone’s eyes drift to look at the white wrappings binding his fingers together, knowingly. He wanted to slip away, he hated being so outwardly vulnerable.
“Can I do it for you?”
Bruno’s eyes flicked open and he shifted his head to look up at Leone. “Do you even know how to braid?” He smiled, placing a hand on his lover’s knee lightheartedly. “Can’t be that hard,” his tone was so confident and the gentle grin that pulled at his lips made Bruno snort.
“Okay, fine. Let me get the clips for you.”
He peeled himself away from Leone, albeit begrudgingly. Making his way to the bathroom to grab the small jewelry box which held his hair clips and other assortments of bodily decor that he collected over the years. He walked back out and approached Leone, handing him the box, “Use whatever you want.” He took and it and opened the latch, beginning to scour through the items inside, “Sit in front of me.”
Bruno knelt down and placed himself on the floor in front of Leone’s legs, fixing his posture and leaning his head backwards to look up at him. Bruno smiled up at him, and Leone smiled back, he scooted forwards so he had better access to his lover’s head.
“Okay, look forward so I can do this.” Bruno obliged and looked back down, he felt Leone’s hands comb through his hair, claw-like nails scratching his scalp pleasingly. “Hmm,” Bruno hummed, leaning into the other’s touch.
Leone nudged his head, grabbing the long piece of Bruno’s dark hair and separating it from the rest of the clean cut bob; dividing it into three sections. Bruno could feel him pausing his ministrations, most likely in thought.
“How’s it going back there?” He teased, then a playful yank on his hair made him laugh, “It’s going great, thank you.”
Moments passed by in a blissfully comfortable silence, Leone on occasion made soft noises of confusion as he attempted to braid the other’s hair. Eventually, Bruno felt one clip, then two, then hands patting his shoulders.
“Done,” Leone announced, rather proudly. Bruno turned towards him, tilting his head upwards, “How does it look?” He was met with wide purple-yellow eyes, and a horrible attempt to cover a snicker. “Amazing, you look—you look amazing.”
Bruno landed a smack to Leone’s knee and started laughing, “You made me look ridiculous, didn’t you?” At this, he couldn’t contain himself any more, cackling along with Bruno. Tears pricked at both of their eyes, grasping onto each other for support.
Bruno lifted his head up in an attempt to look at Leone, who cupped his face between his pale hands, leaning in to catch him in a wobbly kiss. Their eyes were glossy, full of joy. They couldn’t compose themselves, every time they tried they would fall back into fits of gasps and laughter.
“You look amazing, Bruno.”
“I’m sure I do, Leone.”