Chapter Text
This was too unlike him, too unlike the Tamsy that the Cleaners often see every morning.
Usually, Tamsy’s navy and blonde hair would be split into two parts entirely with a hair clip holding his blonde locks, not a single strand sticking out in the slightest — something that others had grown used to after seeing him so put together as always in the morning, especially while some…less punctual members are still struggling to get out of bed, let alone get ready for breakfast.
But here Tamsy was, hair somewhat tousled and tangled, much to his dismay. Weirdly enough, his beloved comb that he had treasured and trusted to keep his locks in place had somehow disappeared into thin air just a night, abandoning him to deal with his long tresses alone. How utterly unlike him, truly.
Tamsy had considered ditching breakfast to find his comb, or rather a way to tame his unruly locks after waking up in the morning, but it seemed like his stomach had other choices instead — growling agitatedly as if he wasn’t already fussing over his own looks. Against his initial plan to untangle first, Tamsy reluctantly gathered his hair into a bun, though it was working rather poorly, judging from how it was struggling to keep all of his long locks on his head instead of straight up cascading down his shoulders.
Having his hair down was no different than showing his vulnerability in front of others, Tamsy treasured his long hair, took great care of it — even kept grubby hands from touching it, purely in disgust of having his high-maintenance locks dirtied. Yet here he was, poking at his boring plate of breakfast while trying to look like he wasn’t on the edge of crashing out just because his comb went missing. “Finish this, and go back to your room and find that damned comb” — that was what Tamsy had told himself, until he saw you, walking into the place with a smile.
Striking up a small conversation was the last thing Tamsy had on his mind at the moment, but if it was about finally having a comb to brush out his hair? He would gladly endure it (just for a bit though). He was about to go insane with his long hair getting everywhere.
“You look a bit messy today, Tamsy.”
You spoke up with a small smile on your face as you took in the sight of Tamsy’s hair, tousled and tangled up, so different from the Tamsy you often see in the morning.
No shit Sherlock, Tamsy internally gritted his teeth, maintaining composure to convince himself that crashing out in the morning wasn’t a good thing, especially during breakfast. So being the decent guy that he was, Tamsy had planned to reply with heavy sarcasm, or maybe just shrug it off as a whole – that was, until you spoke again, now with a comb in your hands, outstretched towards him.
“You can use my comb if you want to.”
One particular thing about Tamsy was that he seldom sharing anything with others. Does that make him sound greedy? Yes, undoubtedly. Does he want to have his things touched? Nope, never. But does he need a comb right now? Yes, very much. Sure, if it was a comb from greasy Enjin or someone else similar, he would’ve shot it down instantly, but this was you, someone who actually knows how to take care of themselves, both in looks and hygiene, perhaps in battle too, now that he begrudgingly admits it to himself silently in a moment of gratitude, no longer having to deal with those stubborn locks that won’t budge without a comb.
“Thanks a lot.”
Tamsy quickly thanked you with a polite smile on his face after taking it from you, your hands accidentally touched in the briefest moment, just enough to make the two of you aware of what just happened. Pulling back without another word, you only smiled to ease the awkward tension before leaving to get your own plate, while Tamsy continued eating his breakfast, his sullen mood now suddenly uplifted because of a certain object.
After shoving that boring breakfast down his own throat to fill the hunger in his stomach, Tamsy finally retreated to the confines of his own room with the comb safely tucked away in one of his pockets – your comb, to be specific. Getting to brush out those locks that refused to budge was almost relaxing to Tamsy, now that he finally got to untangle his tresses – he might really go insane if his hair went unbrushed for one more moment. Tamsy needed his hair tidied up to keep up his own carefully constructed facade in front of the Cleaners, that was for sure. And thanks to you, it was now back in place like nothing had happened. Though, he still needed to find his missing comb – or maybe get a new one before tomorrow, if he has the time to. With his blonde hair now tucked up in a hair clip and his navy locks tied in two different sections, that familiar sense of security and calmness finally flooded over him, like a silent reassurement.
…Though, as much as Tamsy appreciated you lending him your comb like this, he was equally fascinated about you – so willingly letting him borrow a comb like this? Weren’t you afraid of him just snatching the comb and pretended he never saw it? The other Cleaners would’ve just looked at his hair and moved on with their day, no? To add to that, Tamsy had taken his sweet time to untangle his hair, shouldn’t you be already looking for it right now?
Tamsy had thought he would finally have a peaceful morning of lounging around since trash beasts have been showing up less and less recently, but it seemed like today is quite busy. Judging from how most of the Cleaners were gathering at the front desk, waiting for Semiu to explain the basics of this mission.
“The deeper parts of this polluted zone are said to contain more trash beasts than most ones, so we will make an exception in this mission. Team Eager and a member of Team Danger, the rest will handle the outer edges.”
A Team Danger member accompanying him and Delmon? This was quite unusual, those people often work alone on missions, was he supposed to watch and learn? Pft, absolutely no way in hell. But then again, maybe observing their moves would help him learn how they fight in battles…for future purposes, if he ever had to go against one of them, that is.
Just as Tamsy took the map from Semiu to take a look, a too familiar voice rang out from a few steps behind — you, out of all people. Upon spotting you, Delmon was obviously very enthusiastic, speaking about ending those trash beasts in less than a minute now that you’re about to accompany them. Of course, being the polite and socially awkward person that you are, you only smiled and nodded to Delmon’s words until Tamsy stepped in, now with the map in his hands.
“You’re scaring them, Delmon.”
Tamsy spoke up with a small smile on his face as he stepped forward to look at you in your Cleaner uniform, his gaze lingering on…certain aspects just as quickly as it snapped back to your face — Would you question him about the comb? Or would you not mention it in front of others?
“Ah, your hair is back in its usual form now.”
“All thanks to you.”
“You’re welcome, I prefer to see your hair like this.”
…Tamsy’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets for one second, but his usual polite expression was back in place again, concealing the hint of surprise (and almost shock) at the random compliment that seemed too out of the blue. Was it just him or was this the first time you’ve ever complimented anyone, let alone actually participating in a conversation? Before Tamsy could dwell on it further, Delmon already spoke up again with that signature volume of it, technically announcing it to the whole base.
“Tamsy’s got complimented by a Team Danger member?!”
“Would you please shut your mouth…”
Tamsy instantly reacted with a small scowl, but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared, despite the sudden flush that was slowly climbing to his cheeks — Tamsy doesn’t get flustered, that’s impossible…A compliment is just words of flattery that meant nothing, that’s all, but then why did it make his stomach feel so uncomfortable? As if there were a flurry of moths bursting to life, making him feel oh so weird somehow. Or maybe it was because of the scarcity of your compliments that caused him to feel like this, maybe he should silence you forever instead to get rid of this fluttery feeling?
“It’s alright, Tamsy, we should get moving, the others are about to leave.”
You snapped Tamsy out of his thoughts before gesturing towards the entrance, walking towards it without another word as he followed right behind you with Delmon. Tamsy supposed he will have to watch you in combat closely to decide what to do with you next…
The ride to the destination wasn’t long, fortunately — though Enjin’s driving skills were definitely…somewhat questionable with how he was driving through every single bump without even trying to avoid them. Occasionally, your shoulder would bump into Tamsy in the cramped space of the jeep despite your attempts to respect his personal space. Though, after a while, the jeep returned to the main road, where everything is smooth again after that bumpy path earlier — which only served to make you feel more sleepy, especially after staying up late last night to read the previous reports about this polluted zone. It was inevitable before your head slumped into Tamsy’s shoulder, too comfortable to even consider moving away and apologizing. Under his loose clothes, Tamsy tensed up for the slightest moment before letting out a huff, looking outside the window to ignore the added weight that was now laying on him from the side.
The others didn’t seem to notice Tamsy’s attempt to play nonchalant, especially Delmon and a few members of Team Akuta.
“They’re actually dozing off?” Delmon whispered in a not-so-quiet tone as he gawked from the seat behind.
“Shouldn’t we be reading about the details of this mission?” Rudo spoke as he peered over to where you were sitting, wondering if sleeping on the road to the mission was a privilege for the experienced.
“Silly, that’s a member of Team Danger, taking out trash beasts is like stretching for them.” Riyo chimed with a smile on her face as she leaned back onto her seat before looking at the map again.
As much as Tamsy wanted to tell them to quiet down, he knew it would come off as too caring — like he wanted them to get their beauty sleep and recharge before that damned mission they were about to go on. Great, now he’s left to take care of a certain someone sleeping peacefully like nothing was happening…Though he hoped you wouldn’t drool on his clothing, that would be disgusting.