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Water droplets fell to the ground with every step he made. Leaving behind him a small trail, one that would be erased by the weather in minutes.
The shower he had taken was a great way to start his day, it helped him be more focused in his surroundings, a small slip-up and things might get worse than they were. Today was what one would call a 'day off', in other circumstances it would mean he would stay at home watching some movies or going out into the city after a long day of work, but now it was just staying at his cell and only go out for food or other necessities while waiting some time to come with new ideas of how to get out of this place.
Dante opened the door, stepped inside and closed it, he observed the interior of the place he was now in. It was a miracle the building hadn't collapsed at this point. He sighed.
He was not alone of course, in the room was also his.. roommate for the moment being,— or rather cellmate?— who seemed to have been asleep but woke up when he entered.
His limbs were all over the bed, his clothes wrinkled and a familiar black bag over his head, it made him sometimes wonder how he hadn't suffocated with it while sleeping. 182 sat up and stayed still for some seconds, letting the sleepiness wear off.
Dante ignored the action and went straight to stairs of the bunk bed, he was planning to maybe take a nap, he wasn't particularly tired but it was better than staring at the ceiling and reconsider his life choices.
Which, with every day that passed by, were getting bigger and bigger.
He laid on the hard mattress, put his glasses on his side where he wouldn't damage them in his sleep, and waited for sleep to take over him. It usually took it's sweet time so he didn't complain and waited obediently. But after some minutes passed by and they quickly turned to at least an hour, he started to get more and more irritated.
Dante frowned and sat up. 'Ah.. seems like I'm not sleeping then.' He searched for his glasses and put them on.
He brushed a hand over his hair to try and make the frustration leave, but stopped when he felt it still a bit wet and also entangled.
'...'
If he was still going to be awake, might as well use the time for something productive, something like untangling his hair. He didn't have a comb at the moment but his fingers would be a decent replacement.
The process was slow and careful, making sure to not cause himself pain or rip some hair by accident, he didn't want to go bald so early in life. The irritation he felt before was now replaced by serenity, it made him forget about the place he was in and just focus on the task at hand.
"What are you doing?" A voice suddenly made him stop combing his hair and direct his gaze towards 182, who was now Infront of the door with his hair wet. The man looked at him somewhat.. confused.
He hadn't heard the 182 go out but it was most likely because he was busy trying to sleep. "I'm untangling my hair, why?"
The guy still looked confused, did he not know what was that? Dante knows that 182 might not be brightest mind in this place but he's not that dumb as to not know what that means. But it was better to ask first, just in case.
"You know what that is, right?"
"Yes, I have heard of it."
Good, he didn't have to explain what the word meant. "Then, why do you ask?" There was no reason to ask for an answer he already knew.
"Why do it?"
Dante didn't expect that answer if he was being honest, but it really didn't surprise him. Him not knowing what untangling was was one thing, but not knowing the benefits was another. So he decided to tell him the benefits of doing so, it's not like it was going to hurt doing so.
"If you don't untangle your hair, knots will start forming, which will end up being uncomfortable and sometimes may even start hurting. And also because of the aesthetic benefits, since it makes it easier to make different hairstyles."
"Does it hurt?"
"Well, if your hair isn't well taken care of, it will if you're not careful. Using a comb would make the process easier and quicker but since I don't have one, I just use my fingers instead."
"Is it difficult to do?"
Well, it was a bit difficult at the beginning since he wasn't used to it but after some practice he already knew how to, the result was not as good as doing it with a comb, but it was good enough.
"Not after some practice, you even would be able to learn how to after some time."
182 just stayed quiet for a moment, thinking about something. When he decided the words, he opened his mouth and asked, "would you teach me?"
.. he brought this onto himself. He should have know 182 would end up asking how to.
Dante let out a sigh. It would be annoying but 182 seemed to enjoy learning new things, how can he say no? He was a teacher, so he was happy to teach anyone eager to learn.
He slowly went down the stairs of the bunk bed and directed to 182 bed, to then sit on it. "Come here."
Mr. 182 nodded and went towards Dante, when he was close enough he sat besides him, watching intensely at him, waiting for a new instruction.
Dante lifted one finger and began to explain.
"Alright, I'll give you a small explanation before we proceed with a demonstration. First, you need to wet your hair, that way it'll make the process more easier. Since you already have your hair wet, there's no need for you to go to showers for when it's time for the demonstration.
"Second, divide your hair into sections so the process is more organized. After that, you're going to start brushing the tips with your fingers and slowly make your way to the roots, untangling any knots in the process. Make sure to not apply much pressure or do it quickly, if you do, it's going to hurt you or you may rip some strands." Dante made a little pause to take air and continued.
"And after doing all of that, repeat it again now in the other sections." The explanation was good enough for anyone to understand, 182 should have no troubles memorising it, or so he hoped.
182 processed the words the other man said and nodded his head. "What's the demonstration?"
"Well, since my hair is already untangled, I'll be using yours for that part. It might be more difficult since you can't see it directly, therefore you'll have to pay extra attention." Dante knew 182 seemed to have sharper senses so it wouldn't be really a problem, but he wanted to make sure he got it on the first try and not have to explain it again later. "I'm going to untangle one side and you are going to do the other one after."
Dante moved himself closer to the edge of the bed and pointed between his legs. "Now, sit on the floor right here, your head watching the wall Infront of us."
Mr. 182 stand up and walked towards the place the teacher pointed, he sat down in a comfortable position, his eyes directed to the wall Infront of him, all while feeling the other man stare at him quietly during all the process. "Good, then let's start."
Dante stared at the pale hair infront of him, the colour of it was unnatural for anyone unless they were an elder. Huh, what if this guy was one?, but no way, he looked too young to be one.
When he touched it, he was expecting a dry and not well maintained hair full of knots, but that wasn't the case at all. Meanwhile there still were lots of knots, the hair was soft to the touch, not too dry or greasy. If he was being honest, it looked as if he was touching a cloud or white cotton candy.
But suddenly, he felt 182 tense at the action. Had he accidentally pulled his hair? Dante lifted his hand away from the hair, he wanted to let the other man calm down so he could continue. But his hand didn't get far away before a hand quickly reached for his and made him touch 182's hair again.
'... What's up with him now?, whatever, it's not important right now.'
Putting all thoughts aside, he focused on the first step of the explanation he made. He slowly started to divide the hair but was struggling due to the lots of knots. After many minutes he finally divided the hair into two sections, he choose the right side for the demonstration, leaving the left one for Mr. 182 to do.
He divided the right side into two sections, one being from the middle of the head to 182's forehead, and the other from the middle to the nape. 'This is going to take a while...' He had only finished the first step and he could feel his back complain.
Dante stretched and looked down at his cellmate, who was strangely still during the process, letting no complaints out when Dante accidentally pulled too hard. But it's not like Dante's going to complain, it was better this way.
"I finished the first step, now I'll do the next one." He told to 182, who didn't nod but let out an affirmative noise.
He decided to first untangled the section closer to him, which was the one from the middle to the nape of 182. He reached out to the tips of the hair and started pulling carefully, undoing any knots he found in the way. Slowly, he started to make his way closer to the roots, 182 let out small sighs every so often. Dante took that as a sign of everything going well
He may not want to admit but this was calming him a bit, more than we untangled his own hair. At some point he even started muttering a song he used to listen to every time he checked the exams of his past students.
When he snapped out that trance, he stopped singing, his cheeks a bit flushed due to embarrassment. But he also noticed how 182 was now leaning closer to him, his eyes closed. 'Should I wake him up?'
He really should, how is he going to learn if he's asleep?
Dante lifted his hand away from 182 to try to shake his shoulder but didn't have to since 182 quickly opened his eyes. The man blinked twice before he looked at Dante, annoyed at being woke up, or so he thought.
"Don't sleep. How are you going to learn if you do?" He said before letting out a huff. Mr. 182 just keep staring at him before directing his gaze towards the wall Infront of them. After the action, Dante went back to untangling 182's hair, it wasn't long until he finished the first section, leaving him only one left.
"182, I have finished this part, I'll need you to move your head up so I can reach the other one better."
"Hm." 182 lifted his head up while still leaning into Dante, staring at the his eyes for some seconds before directing his eyes to some other place.
Dante ignored the action and continued, his fingers repeating the same movements he had done with the past section. He unconsciously started humming again, now a new song, one he used to listen to to clear his mind.
The song caught 182's attention, making him stare once again Dante, the other man didn't notice the gaze, too focused on getting rid of the annoying knots of hair. With every passing minute, 182 let himself lean more and more into Dante's touch, the feeling was.. nice. 182 let out a sigh, trying to keep his focus on Dante's face so he wouldn't fall asleep.
"Done." Dante said, looking proud of the work he had done. 182 right side of hair now looked even more fluffy than before, if you compared it to the left side, you could clearly see the difference.
He directed his eyes to 182, who was staring at him. It startled him due to not even noticing but then calmed down. "I have already showed you how, it's your turn now."
Dante removed his hands from 182's hair and waited for the guy to react, when he did, he only blinked.
"You paid attention, right?"
182 keep staring at him. Dante murmed a few curses while covering his face with both hands. He exhaled loudly before looking at 182 again, who was still watching him.
"I'll do it again, but you better pay attention. I won't explain again."
182 nodded.
"Good, now, look at the wall."