Work Text:
The sound of the redstone elevator buzzed throughout the bunker, signaling Spokes return. He slouched, eyes scanning through the room quickly to spot his friends. Once his gaze landed on Mapicc, he let out a sigh of relief.
"You're back!" Mapicc exclaimed, then repeated the same thing to their roommate, Zam, in the other room.
Spoke nodded tiredly, attempting to run a hand through his hair and failing horribly due to all the knots in it. "Yeah. Those spies are all dead now, I think." He said, straightening up his shoulders a bit at that, feigning a confidence he seemed to be losing as of late.
Mapicc nodded slowly, eyes following his movements as he walked to a couch they'd added and plopped down.
"Hey, Spoke, when did you wash your hair last? I can basically see the knots from here."
Spoke narrowed his eyes a bit, half in thought and half in fake offense. "I dunno. I haven't had much time since we've been getting chased.. so maybe a few.. months?" He added the last word meekly, saying it with a smile as if it would soften the blow.
Mapiccs eyebrows shot up. "You haven't washed your hair in a few months? Spoke, dude, you're gonna go bald."
The other just laughed hesitantly, looking the other way.
"No, you're not getting away now. Come on." Spoke felt Mapicc grab his wrist and tug him to stand up, marching towards the bathroom like he had a purpose he needed to fufill.
Warm water started to run before Spoke could even comprehend his awkward spot by the doorway. The noise of the shower spray filled the otherwise quiet room as Mapicc worked to unknot Spokes headband. With a lot of effort, it finally untangled, not without the cost of a couple handfuls of black hair coming with it.
Next thing Spoke knew, he was leaning over the bathtubs edge with a towel across his shoulders and Mapicc next to him, spraying him with the shower head. At this point, he had accepted his fate as Mapiccs next quest.
Besides, it wasn't that bad. It felt nice to have someone care for him, for once. It wasn't often he let his weak side show, but maybe this once, it'd be okay. Mapicc could never betray him, not after all this, especially not over just some knotted hair he took care of out of boredom and nothing else. Because if Spoke admitted to himself Mapicc was actually caring about him enough to wash his hair, he might just let his walls down; and he couldn't have that. Instead, he focused on his friend's roughened hands kneading conditioner into his aching head with a tender care that only a friend like him could give. Spoke could admit, he almost fell asleep in the quiet moment. It really was enjoyable, even if Mapicc was quite aggressive with untangling the mats.
It was over in the blink of an eye, it seemed. Now Mapicc was shoving a different towel into Spokes chest before rummaging through a drawer. Spoke messily worked the towel through his hair, as if it was a foreign thing to do. Now it was starting to seem like Spoke had never washed his hair, to the blind eye. But even if that was the case, it looked like Mapicc didn't even mind. Instead, he just pulled out a comb and a brush and beckoned Spoke out to the main room. Like Spoke was normal for being this way.
All Spoke saw in his friend's eyes was the usual happy glittering, but behind was that underlying question that had stayed there as of late, an unwelcome bird making its nest in anothers territory.
Are you okay?
He always seemed to look on the verge of saying it, now. Spoke wanted to be the hawk that threw that bird into a bears den. Worry didn't look good on Mapiccs face like a smile did. A smile made Mapiccs eyes glitter a little more, and his cheeks would puff out a bit, and he'd look at Spoke and smile harder like he was the main punchline of a joke. Worry made his eyebrows crease in a way that hid the joyful expression always present.
Spoke shook the thoughts away and settled on the floor in front of the couch, Mapicc sitting on the cushion behind him. They'd talk about it later, about the spies, about Leo, about Jamato. For now, Spoke let himself and his friend have this. For once.
Brushing through his hair was apparently not an easy task— not like it appeared to be in the first place. It took plenty of tugging and pulling to get the tangles out, and there were still two mats nestled in there. Mapicc now had hair cutting scissors in his possession, and Spoke wouldn't lie and say he wasn't a little nervous for Mapicc to cut his hair in any intensity. Even a light trim made him jumpy, but maybe it was for the better. After all, Spoke didn't like how long his hair was getting to be. It was falling all over his eyes all the time, and making his neck itchy. So he gave his friend the word, permission to do literally whatever he wanted with his hair. It couldn't be that big of a deal, right? Mapicc isn't that bad at hair cutting.. Surely.
Spoke shuddered uncomfortably at the unfamiliar feeling of hair falling onto his back. He hadn't cut his hair in ages, as much as he wanted to. Usually he'd just tie it up and call it a day, since he never had time for anything else— which was practical enough, as tiring as it was, and it looked pretty good on him, in his opinion, but he did prefer shorter hair he didn't have to put into ponytails.
Spoke was actually surprised with how careful Mapicc was being, usually being a reckless guy like him (not as reckless, but still). His long, red tipped fingers threaded through the now slightly less mussed hair, occasionally bringing up the scissors to a small mat buried beneath layers. A comfortable feeling covered the room for once, instead of the usual tenseness rigged into their bodies from months of running. Spoke felt his shoulders slowly relaxing, the natural tightness slowly melting into something softer. At some point, Mapicc had picked up a brush again, dusting off Spokes back and shoulders with the other hand.
His eyes started to feel heavy, a welcome sensation he didn't feel much anymore, leaving him with long nights with no sleep, worry etched into his each nerve like a tattoo he didn't ask for.
Spoke wasnt sure when he fell asleep. All he knew was that he woke up feeling much more rested than he had in a long time, alongside a face full of red fabric.
Slowly, he sat up, registering his surroundings.
Nothing had changed, everything was quiet aside from whatever Zam was doing in his room (which sounded like he was placing blocks). Mapicc was asleep next to him, hairbrush on the floor.
Spoke let a small smile come to his face. It wasn't a very natural thing for him to fall asleep so suddenly, but it felt a little better to know his friend had too. Even if it was embarrassing to fall asleep on him.
He laid down fully on the couch, pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his tail around himself like a cat. Slowly, he drifted off again, with clean hair and his friends warm presence by his side. Just like how it always should be, and always will be, if Spoke has anything to say about it.