Chapter Text
Enjin was a hopeless lover of women. The softness of their features, the sweetness of their voices, and even the sensuality of their curves were just a small part of what made him question his sanity every time a beauty who met his tastes passed by. At that moment, his feet moved on their own and his brain began to work more quickly than usual, trying to think of a good phrase with which to start the conversation. At first, his words are chosen cautiously, looking for some kind of green light, either in body language or conversation, to indicate that the woman is comfortable with his presence and that, in fact, she wouldn't mind spending the night together. Everything else after that, if you ask him (after a few drinks), is a piece of cake.
That's right! Enjin was very proud of his heterosexuality and love for the female gender. Maybe his room in the cleaners' quarters wasn't the biggest, or maybe his salary didn't allow him to buy all the cigarettes he wanted, but being able to go out with Bro and Gris for a drink from time to time and have some fun with a lady on the side made him more than happy.
There was only one thing that made him rethink all of the above, something that mercilessly shattered his thoughts one by one. A small detail that caused Enjin to wonder in the middle of the night if it was really just women that made him lose his mind.
The funniest thing of all was that the cause of all this confusion was named Tamsy Caines, also known as his coworker.
Tamsy was someone who seemed to have been created solely to increase the confusion and instability of Enjin's sexual orientation every day. Yes, he was a man, there was no doubt about that. However, in Enjin's eyes, Tamsy was also a walking contradiction of this fact and of what he would define as ‘man.’
It was a set of facts and observations that Enjin could not ignore: the delicacy with which his voice escaped his lips, the beautiful long eyelashes that decorated his golden eyes, as if they were the frame of a work of art. His skin (although Enjin had not been lucky enough to touch it) seemed to be as smooth as porcelain, and the smile with which he addressed him every time Tamsy spoke to him was somehow... angelic. His mannerisms were, in Enjin's eyes, effeminate, and the scars on his skin only made him seem even more interesting, as if Tamsy was hiding much more than he was letting on.
Clearly, all these thoughts remained in the privacy of his own mind. In fact, Enjin did his best to hide them not only from the rest of the world, but also from himself. Finding Tamsy attractive made him uncomfortable in a way, so the best thing he could do was ignore all of the above and get on with his life.
However, Tamsy didn't do his part.
The boy kept walking in front of him, showing off his pretty face on every mission they shared, reminding him over and over again that, no matter how much he fooled himself, his feelings were still there, indelible.
Not content with that, Tamsy seemed determined to create strange and uncomfortable situations for both of them, as if playing with his heart was just another pastime for him. An example of this? The terrible situation Enjin had to go through just a week ago, when he thought he finally had some free time to smoke a cigarette.
His heavy boots echoed against the hallway floor as one of his hands rummaged through his jacket pocket for the precious pack he kept there. With a certain agility and grace, he pulled it out and, with a gentle flick of his wrist, a cigarette appeared from the top of the box. Enjin smiled to himself, walking toward the main door of the cleaners' quarters, while taking his lighter out of another pocket. He brought the cigarette to his lips, and just as he was about to step outside, a voice stopped him.
“Enjin.”
His eyebrows immediately furrowed, instantly recognizing the soft tone Tamsy used to call him. Without thinking twice, he turned to look at him, the cigarette still in his mouth.
However, it ended up on the floor after Enjin fixed his eyes on the figure waiting for him at the foot of the stairs, looking at him with a soft smile. Tamsy's hair was not tied back in the usual way Enjin was accustomed to seeing him. Instead, long blonde strands rested on both sides of his body, reaching down to the boy's hips. The dark blue shade that he normally wore pulled forward was now in the background, almost blending in with the shadow of his hair.
“Enjin, are you free right now?” When Tamsy tilted his head to one side, his hair swayed with it, like a soft curtain.
Enjin's eyes traveled to the cigarette he had been about to smoke, which lay on the ground in front of his feet. He turned his attention back to Tamsy, an indecipherable expression on his face, as if he were fighting with himself in his head, then sighed softly and bent down to pick up the cigarette, putting it back in the pack.
“I guess so,” he replied simply.
The soft smile that formed on Tamsy's lips when he heard his answer sent a chill down his spine.
“Great,” Tamsy said, one of his hands taking one of the blonde strands of his hair to play with the ends, pursing his lips. “Could you do me a favor and help me for a moment?”
Enjin simply nodded, quicker than he would have liked.
“Thanks,” Tamsy smiled at him again, then turned around and started climbing the stairs behind him.
At the same time, Enjin opened his mouth to question the other man, wondering what it was all about. However, seeing that Tamsy didn't even bother to check if Enjin was following him, he decided to keep quiet and climb the stairs himself, quickening his pace.
When they finally reached the first floor of the building, Tamsy turned to look at him at last, without erasing the small smile from his lips.
“I guess today's not my day,” Tamsy sighed, embarrassed. “But, as strange as it sounds, I haven't been able to tie my hair back as usual. It seems like the hair tie doesn't want to do its part, and on top of that, I've had a headache since this morning.”
Enjin's eyes widened in surprise, finally understanding what Tamsy wanted from him. Unconsciously, he swallowed, and his hands began to sweat almost supernaturally, showing how nervous and… happy? He suddenly felt. His gaze immediately traveled to Tamsy's straight hair, which swayed gently every time the boy took a step forward.
He had always wondered if it was as smooth and soft as it appeared, and with that, how it would feel to run his fingers through it. Also, what would it smell like? He was more than sure that Tamsy spent quite a few minutes of his day taking care of his hair, but what kind of products would he use? Perhaps a shampoo that didn't have too strong a scent and was as natural as possible, always taking care to protect the blue-dyed strands. Tamsy seemed like the type of person who preferred mild scents, although that was just an assumption based on his personality.
His thoughts faded into the background when Tamsy stopped in front of one of the doors in the long hallway and opened it with a key he had taken out of his pants pocket. The boy entered what Enjin assumed was his bedroom, then gestured for him to come in, locking eyes with him once again. Tamsy closed the door behind him, causing certain thoughts to flash through Enjin's mind without his consent, coloring his cheeks.
“Sorry if it's a bit messy,” he apologized as he turned his back again to walk over to what looked like a dressing table. “Between the trips I've been forced to take and last-minute missions, I haven't had time to tidy up my room.”
Hearing him, Enjin couldn't help but remember what a terrible mess his own bedroom was. What Tamsy referred to as “messy” was actually a good day for Enjin's room. Enjin's lips formed a grimace almost automatically, remembering the pile of dirty laundry that had been sitting in a corner of his bedroom for a week, waiting for him to eventually take care of it.
Without saying another word, Tamsy sat down at the dressing table, then took several items out of one of the drawers and placed them on the table. Meanwhile, Enjin walked behind him, also reflecting in the small mirror in front of them.
“Here,” Tamsy's hand picked up a brush and handed it to Enjin. “You can brush it a little, if you want. Then you have to gather the blonde strands with this scrunchy,” Tamsy said, handing him a scrunchy with his other hand. “I don't think I need to explain how I want my hair styled, do I?.”
After listening to his words in silence, Enjin nodded confidently, and Tamsy smiled at him through the mirror, locking eyes with the other man.
At that moment, Enjin took a breath, then held it for a couple of seconds in his chest, counting in his head, until he finally exhaled, preparing for his task.
There was no reason for him to be so nervous. After all, he was more than used to brushing Riyo's hair and helping her style that eccentric hairdo she liked so much. He was more than sure that Riyo's style (which was inspired by the way he tied his own boot laces) was much more complicated to do than Tamsy's. However, the person in front of him was the culprit of his sleepless nights, of those racy thoughts and scenarios that invaded him from time to time, turning him into a bundle of nerves. This task was on another level.
It wasn't like fighting a twenty-meter-tall beast. Nor was it like having to put up with Gris and Zanka's reproaches about his incredible and perfect (in his opinion) driving. This task was much more arduous than any of the dangers and adventures he had experienced in all the years he had spent as a cleaner.
And Enjin was going to do his duty, just as he always had.
With one hand, he grabbed the handle of the brush, then with the other, he took one of Tamsy's strands of hair and brushed it carefully. Immediately, almost all the doubts that had crossed his mind on the way to the boy's bedroom were resolved. Tamsy's hair was as soft and smooth as silk itself, melting between his fingers. It even seemed fragile, and for a few seconds, Enjin was afraid of damaging it with his clumsy hands. However, when he saw Tamsy closing his eyes with a smile in the mirror, he relaxed too, determined to continue with his task.
However, not all his doubts were resolved, and Enjin was not a man capable of boasting about his self-control.
He checked once more that Tamsy's eyes were still closed, then carefully took one of his locks of hair between his fingers and brought it close to his nose. Just by breathing, a soft coconut scent flooded his nostrils, and Enjin smiled to himself as he closed his eyelids, proud to be right.
It was only when he opened his eyes again that he met Tamsy's gaze fixed on him in the mirror's reflection, looking at him silently. The boy's lips were slightly upturned in a smile, and from the sparkle in his pupils, Enjin had to suppress a sigh of relief, assuming that the boy wasn't upset. Quite the opposite, in fact.
As Enjin dropped the strand of hair from between his fingers, clearly embarrassed, Tamsy laughed to himself.
“I'm sorry.”
“Don't worry about it,” Tamsy shook his head, unable to hide how funny he found it all.
After that rather... awkward situation, Enjin spent a few more minutes making sure Tamsy's hair was free of knots, then put the brush back on the dressing table and turned his attention to the scrunchy on his wrist.
Okay. All he had to do was take the blonde part of his hair and wrap it around the scrunchy to form that strange bun that Tamsy used to do in his hair. It couldn't be that complicated. Maybe if his nervous system stopped acting like he was being chased by a fucking trash beast, it would all be easier.
Eventually, Enjin was able to calm his heart rate and, with an agility he never knew he had, he managed to thread only the blonde strands through the scrunchy, forming the characteristic bun after wrapping it around several times. As soon as he finished, his fingers accidentally brushed against Tamsy's neck and Enjin swallowed hard, quickly pulling his hands away.
His skin was probably as soft as his hair.
Enjin’s eyes traveled back to the mirror, where Tamsy seemed to still have his attention fixed solely on him, smiling. Enjin looked away, feeling his heart pounding hard in his chest again, then took a couple of steps back, finishing his work.
Tamsy finally contemplated his hairstyle, observing himself in the mirror from various angles as he turned his head. Enjin watched him with a serious, indifferent expression on his face, trying to contain his nervousness. Finally, Tamsy smiled with satisfaction, and Enjin felt his limbs relax immediately.
“It's perfect,” he said, turning to look at him. “Thank you, Enjin.”
“It's nothing,” Enjin shook his head, dismissing the matter with a gesture. “Do you need anything else?”
“Not at the moment.”
“In that case,” he drawled, taking another step back toward the door. “I'll leave you to it.”
Without saying another word, Enjin's feet walked clumsily and quickly to the bedroom door, then grabbed the doorknob and opened it. Breathing more calmly, Enjin made a move to leave the bedroom, but Tamsy's voice was once again the reason he didn't walk through the door.
“Did you like it?”
Enjin looked at him, blinking silently, not afraid to show his confusion.
“What?”
“The smell of coconut.”
As if to prove his words, Tamsy brought one of the blue strands of hair resting on his chest to his nose and sniffed it.
Enjin's cheeks flushed red once more and the man stumbled over his words, trying to respond appropriately without sounding too strange.
“Y-yes? I think, in a way, it suits you.” As soon as he said that, Enjin pursed his lips, embarrassed.
“You think so?” Tamsy looked at him again, brushing his hair aside. “I bought the shampoo at a market in one of the towns we stopped at a few days ago, when we went to that polluted area in the north. I wasn't too sure about the smell, but if you like it, then I'll keep using it.”
Enjin's lips opened and closed several times, unable to formulate a response that made any sense. ‘If you like it, then I'll keep using it.’ Those words echoed in his mind, repeating like a mantra, and if he hadn't been holding on to the door handle, Enjin might have tripped over his own feet.
“I-I'm glad,” he finally managed to say, smiling nervously.
Just feeling the heat rising in his neck and face, Enjin knew he probably looked as red as a tomato.
Tamsy laughed at his nervousness, then crossed his legs and rested his chin on one of his hands.
“I can lend it to you, if you want,” the words came out of his mouth quite naturally. “Just come here when you need it and ask me for it.”
Enjin didn't know if it was because of dehydration or because he hadn't smoked in too long, but from the tone of Tamsy's voice, it was more than clear that what he had said had a double meaning.
“I'll... keep that in mind.”
“Good,” Tamsy said goodbye with a wave. “I hope everything goes well, Enjin.”
The latter just nodded, then hurried out of the room, closing the door behind him with more force than he intended.
After all that little scene, Enjin was finally able to enjoy his long-awaited break at the gates of Cleaner HQ. As he put a cigarette to his lips and inhaled the smoke, thousands of thoughts raced through his head, all of them starring Tamsy. The memory of the softness of his hair lingered in a pleasant tingling sensation that ran through his fingers, and the way Tamsy had looked at him through the mirror, with that sweet yet cheeky smile, made Enjin lose his mind even more.
But those were just a bunch of strange, fleeting feelings that Enjin was almost 100% sure would disappear with time.
That's it! He just had to survive a little longer through all those moments that were so uncomfortable and exciting at the same time, and as the days, or weeks, or months (in the worst case) passed, that tingling and nervousness that accompanied him every time Tamsy looked at him would disappear completely.
He just had to wait a little longer...
But Tamsy wasn't going to make it easy for him.