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He is exhausted yet unable to sleep. He checked his phone, which showed 1:15 a.m.; his fellow housemates, like practically all of the other guys, were sleeping as expected. Rin should be sleeping, but he hasn't been able to do so since attempting to close his eyes at 10 p.m., and he still doesn't feel tired.
He envies the other guys who appear to be sleeping comfortably; they haven't even flinched at the noise he makes as he repeatedly shifts in his bed, hoping to find enough comfort to fall asleep. They also didn't appear to mind the loudness of his phone as he flicked through video after video, but he soon became bored and fell silent again, in the darkness of the room.
He clicked his tongue before yanking off the sheets in annoyance, only to halt for a second when he saw Karasu twitch in his bed, then begin to go towards the door when he saw him fall back asleep blissfully, wishing it was him.
The only thing that came to him was to take a shower, so he walked to the facility's facilities and took one of the folded and dry towels on one of the shelves, undressing before turning on the hot water. He felt water run over his body, dampening his hair that was constantly getting in the way.
At the very least, he felt his muscles relax slightly, hoping that this would allow him to fall asleep at any time during the night. He turned off the water and took his towel, brushing it through his hair to remove any excess water before putting on his clothing and draping the damp towel over his shoulder as he left. Surprisingly, the bathroom no longer contained only his presence.
Passing by the sinks, Meguru was in front of the mirror, a comb and scissors in each hand, a focused expression on his face, and his tongue hanging out like in cartoons. Rin groaned and attempted to depart silently without moving his gaze away from the elder one, but tripped over one of the lockers with his foot, causing a loud noise and eliciting a sharp curse from his lips.
"Son of a bitch." He spoke passionately to emptiness, his face displaying pain. Opening his eyes with difficulty, he noticed Bachira looking at him curiously before smiling to the side.
"I'm sure that took away all the sleepiness you had." He spoke to him in his usual humorous tone. "Although you scared me quite a bit, a tragedy could have happened with these scissors!”
Rin rolled his eyes. "I wasn't sleepy, that's why I came at this hour." He heard Bachira hum in response to that.
"Oh, I guess we're in the same then! Truth is, I didn't know what else to do at this hour; no one was awake to do anything." He remarked with a bright and radiant smile, but Rin simply looked away and dropped his towel in the dirty clothes to seek for his slippers in her locker.
I should brush my teeth again. He pondered as he opened the metal door, hearing zig-zag noises of scissors in the quiet between the two youngsters. And Rin would think he was lucky to get out of the bathroom so quickly, but it couldn't be easy when we're talking about Bachira Meguru, the king of not knowing when to shut up.
"Rin-chan." He called him, not perceiving the same irritating tone he always uses, which has reached the point of drilling into his head.
He sighed with annoyance anyway. "What?"
"Are you thinking of growing your hair long?" he questioned, and the one with green orbs blinked in astonishment for a few seconds. He wasn't going to question what he meant because he wasn't an idiot; he knew his hair had grown over the last few months and couldn't recall the last time he had it cut. It's not that he needs them; his hair has always taken a long time to grow, but he's lost count of time after being caged up for so long, and he's not someone who cares much about his appearance.
His green hair, which had been perfectly trimmed and styled when he first started the program, was now long enough to reach his shoulders but not so long that it gave the appearance that it was his purpose. The last few months have been spent putting gel in his hair—Hiori seemed to realize his problem, and one day Karasu showed up with two bottles of gel, leaving one on his bed for him—but by the end of each match, it's a mess, and he has to keep pushing it away from his face every now and then. He considered asking for pigtails, but he constantly forgets or doesn't know how.
He took a brief look in the mirror; with his hair wet, it appeared darker and more appealing than when it was dry or just waking up, despite the fact that he has always had issues with how his hair appears in the morning. His side-swept bangs were nearly as long as his neck, allowing him to tuck one strand behind his ear.
He thinks about Chigiri's long hair and how much time it takes to dry and style it every day, and he knows he would never be able to put in so much work. He thinks about the other guys with long hair and how much gel and hairspray they use, and he realizes he's becoming more like them. Ugh. "No. It's a hassle.”
Both of them stood there in silence, Rin waiting for a response from the blonde to his strange question until the other gave a shy smile, tilting his head and showing the scissors in his hands.
"Do you want me to cut your hair?" Making bright zig-zags with the scissors. Rin frowned, outraged by the mere suggestion that he may accept such a notion.
"Do you want me to believe you know how to cut hair with your uneven bangs!?" He accused, pointing an irritated finger at the blonde, who gasped in response.
"My bangs are perfectly symmetrical! I have a mental ruler even, so there is no room for error.” Rin huffed and crossed her arms. "Besides, I have a better chance of knowing how to cut hair than you do.”
"What? Are you saying that I'm incompetent—?"
"I'm saying you look like the guy who goes to the barber every month, and I've perfected my skills with YouTube tutorials and Yuu always helps me." Bachira responds, happy with his expertise. Rin does not bother asking if the tutorials include horrible bleach jobs or who Yuu is, and instead keeps mute. "Honestly, I am your best option. Let's take advantage of the fact that your hair is wet and neither of us is tired.”
He stayed there for a few seconds, watching Meguru celebrate, before sighing resignedly and approaching his locker to get some hair ties and a towel. Rin sat on one of the benches, watching the blonde go back and forth in the bathroom.
"Okay, take off your shirt." Rin raised an eyebrow, and Meguru appeared to understand what he had said, blushing slightly as he laughed. "Don't think like that! It's so you don't get hair all over your shirt; well, I'll wrap the towel around your neck, but the less the better.”
He continued to gaze at him warily, but he had little choice but to remove his shirt, leaving his upper body entirely exposed, his skin somewhat pink and heated from the hot bath earlier. He felt the smaller one's gaze on him as he placed the towel around his neck and started combing his hair before dividing it into portions.
As Bachira knotted his hair, a question occurred to him. "How did you get those scissors? Anri refused to give me some when I asked for it." He remembers the redhead's frightened expression before she informed him she couldn't give him that.
"She wouldn't let me have any, and my bangs were too long. Chigiri is the only one who owns them, so I borrowed it.” He explained quickly after dividing his hair into three sections: bangs, middle of the head, and back. "Do you just want it trimmed or are you thinking of doing something different?”
"Whatever has the least chance of leaving me bald." He spoke stoically, and Bachira simply grinned.
"The ends then!" He ran his fingers through his hair, then the comb to ensure it was smooth before beginning to chop. He heard the scissors make its zig-zag noise, and with the mirror in front of him, he noticed Meguru's expression of concentration, which was much more intense than when he first saw him.
He doesn't deny feeling nervous, but he can't back out after this and hopes Meguru knows what he's doing.
The bathroom becomes silent, with the only sound being the scissors continuing to cut his green hair that falls to the floor, and occasionally Meguru humming songs at a low volume, some of which he recognized and others not so much; he didn't think they had similar tastes to know most of what the blonde sang. Overall, however, the silence is nice.
Rin is at ease in the silence, even in Meguru's presence, which would normally irritate him. Perhaps the lack of sleep is harming him? He would never have imagined himself in this scenario, and if he were more sane, he would not let the other to manage his hair, even if it meant getting into a famous club. And, despite his familiarity with stillness, he can't understand why he feels compelled to fill it with his words.
The worst part is that Rin has never been fond of small conversation, thus he is not adept at it either. He is unsure of what he could say or discuss with him, but he is certain that he wants to say something.
Meguru appears to read his mind, or at least notice the pout on his lips or the waiting expression in his eyes, for his good—or bad—luck. "You know, I seriously thought you were going to let your hair grow." maintaining focus while speaking calmly to break the silence. "For a moment, I thought you were going to reject me when I offered to cut it.”
"...Why would you think that?" He noticed him grinning at the younger Itoshi's perplexity in the mirror.
"I thought you wanted to look like Eren Yaeger." At his answer, Rin scowled. "You can't really do that either... I can't picture you wearing a bun though.”
Rin's eyelashes twitched in confusion. "Who the hell is Eren Yaeger?" he inquired, soon regretting his words when Meguru gasped in surprise, gripping his shoulders and undoubtedly getting his hands full of hair.
"You don't know who he is? You haven't seen Attack on Titan!?" He yelled as if it were the most serious offense possible, or perhaps unwilling to believe this new information about the green-haired guy.
Rin is aware of its existence, but he has never seen the anime or understands its plot. He's heard that it's good, and he's added it to his Watch Later list, but it hasn't piqued his interest enough to start it.
"Tsk, it's probably the same as any other shonen. The name is obvious enough." He rolled his eyes and was ready to add more when Meguru grabbed his mouth with a palm. He stared at him intently and briefly remembered that the youngster was still clutching a pair of scissors.
"Not another word, you don't know what you're talking about." He threatened the other and nearly felt afraid, if not for the fact that the boy resembles a humanized bee. "You'll watch Attack on Titan at my house once they give us a break from this confinement.”
Rin raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think I'll go all the way to your house just to watch an anime?"
"It's not an anime, it's the anime! You can't live without seeing it”. Rin rolled his eyes again, signaling the other to keep cutting his hair. "I tried to force Yuu to watch it but she didn't want to, and Isagi doesn't like shonens."
Rin fell silent while Meguru finished cutting the first section. "You watch anime with your mother?"
Bachira hummed. "Hmm, Yuu doesn't watch much because she's more into manga— Wait, why did you assume it's my mom?" He stopped abruptly, asking genuinely as if it weren't ridiculously obvious to Rin.
"You talk a lot about her and today you mentioned her quite a bit." He replied curtly.
"And why do you assume it's my mom!? I could talk a lot about a woman because she could be my girlfriend!" And in response, Rin made a grimace, perhaps the most expressive thing she had done that wasn't out of aggression.
"...You don't look like someone that would have a girlfriend." He spoke with disdain, glancing at his reflection in the mirror. Bachira, surprised, opened his jaw so wide that it appeared to tumble to the floor.
"Oh my God… Do I look that gay?" he asked, surprised.
Rin made a frown since he didn't want to respond anything so obvious. "Ugh." He heard Meguru give another gasp of astonishment before laughing freely. Rin, for some reason, wants to laugh with him but settles for a faint smile because the other is so concentrated on suppressing his laughter.
"Okay, okay... Phew, well, I've finished the back so there's only your bangs left.” The blonde announced, and Rin looked at the mirror in surprise, who would have thought the guy would be so quick at his job. "Do you want it like always?”
"Please." It nearly sounds like a whisper when it escapes from his lips. Meguru appears to hear him say it based on the surprise in his eyes and the flush in his cheeks, but he doesn't say anything and only grins as a gesture of hearing him, untangling his front strands of hair.
"Lift your head a little." He spoke softly, and Rin quickly obeyed. He could feel the boy's legs brushing against his knees, attempting to shift for greater comfort. He could see his chest rising and falling with his breath, and the blonde tips of his hair brushing delicately against his shoulders, looking somewhat damp, indicating that Bachira had probably clipped his ends as well as his bangs.
He had the youngster right in front of him, his tongue hanging out in concentration as he continued to meticulously cut the strands. He wasn't sure whether to look at his honey-colored eyes, which he could see as they broke from his hair and met his gaze. If he looked at his nose, which furrowed from time to time, he would notice his cheeks, which were flushed with the same pink tone as his lips and were moist with his saliva.
I had no idea what to do, where to look, or whether I could breathe. His fists grabbed his slacks so firmly that his knuckles whitened. Should I touch him? The position was uncomfortable, at least for the one standing with his legs wide, so he elevated his knees a little higher to gain balance and nearly let him to sit on top of him, the tips of his fingers almost brushing the inside portion of the other's knees.
He noticed him lose his balance in surprise at feeling support beneath him, then cleared his throat nervously at his contact, but said nothing. Maybe Meguru is a true professional, who does not appear to be fazed or concerned by anything, even if it can only distract him for five seconds.
Meguru took a deep breath and, with a smile, ran his fingers through Rin's hair, grooming the taller one contentedly. "Done."
Rin continued to observe his honey-colored eyes and pink cheeks, as well as the dimples of his smile as he moved a few centimeters to turn and gaze in the mirror, without moving away from the one with green eyes. "Are you satisfied with the service?”
He kept his usual stoic and serious attitude and blamed the hour and his lack of vital sleep, but when he saw Meguru's pleased and hopeful smile in the mirror, he couldn't help but let a tiny smile come on his lips, accompanied with a quick, light giggle.
"I'm surprised I'm not bald." He said and felt the other carefully getting up from him. He resisted showing any sign of disappointment on his face.
"I told you I'm an expert."
"You said you only watched tutorials on YouTube."
"Which makes me the qualified person to cut Rin Itoshi's hair."
They both tidied up and cleaned as much as they could, leaving something in order, and Meguru allowed Rin to put on his shirt so they could brush their teeth together before leaving the bathroom together.
"I wonder what time it is." Meguru said in the halls that he had to go quicker than usual and Rin—though he would never admit it—slower so that they could keep up.
"So late that tomorrow we'll have a bad day." He replied, listening to the other complain with a grunt.
"Ugh, at least you won't have to shower in gel anymore and I won't have to pretend my bangs are at the perfect length." He replied enthusiastically as they stood in front of the doors to their individual rooms. Meguru smiled before grabbing the doorknob. "Rin, rest well. Dream about angels or myself, which is the same.”
Rin grunted, rolling his eyes, but there was no real annoyance; they both knew it. "Rest well, Meguru." He opened the door and closed it behind him without bothering to see the blonde's expression.
Inside his bed, his blanket felt more comfy, and his pillow seemed colder, which he greatly welcomed; it appeared that the room was finally cold. He noticed his phone light up with a notification and took a closer look.
Unknown.
>> [Image]
>> you look like him!!!!!!
>> but he's sooooooo much hotterrr 👅
It doesn't take a genius to know who's sending him these.
<< i don't look like him at all
<< even if i did, he looks like me and not the other way around.
meguru.
>> yes you do 🙄🙄
>> and more than you think but that's an spoiler!!! so you'll just have to see it when we're at home watching ;P
<< whatever
<< how do you want me to go to your house if you don't send your address? do i have to guess?
>> RUDEEEEE respect your elders rin-chan
<< no.
>> 🙄🙄
>> dont get the excited!!! i'll drag you to my house the moment they let us out 🐝🐝🐝
<< you can try
<< go to sleep
>> [Sticker]
>> [Sticker]
>> sleep well rin-chan😚😚
You reacted with "👍" to that message.
Now that he was done he quit the chat and shut off his phone for good, leaving it on his nightstand. He blinked a few times slowly, tiredly running his hand through his cool hair, caressing it until he entirely closed his eyes and allowed sleep to infiltrate his body. The last thing on his mind was Meguru.
He had a dream about an owl chasing a troublesome bee through the air, who did not seem to mind the owl's grumpiness or the bee's noisy presence.