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“Just a little more...” Snip. “There.”
“All done?”
“All done!”
Rielle stood up and shook her head, as if an animal shaking off water. Gabriel held up a hand mirror so she could look herself over.
“What d’you think?” asked Gabriel, standing anxiously at attention.
Rielle ummed and ahhed, furrowing her brow and poking at her new haircut. It felt as though she were stretching seconds into hours.
“It’s lovely!” she said at last, prompting Gabriel to release the breath they had been holding in. “I think I like it better a little shorter.”
“Very good,” said Sidurgu. It was the first time he had spoken since this adventure had begun. “Now if there’s nothing else, might I get back to tending my swords?”
“Not so fast, you.”
Sidurgu had been dreading this. “Must I?”
Gabriel nodded solemnly. “There’s nothing for it, I’m afraid.”
Rielle giggled. Sidurgu sighed. He knew surrender was the only way to guarantee himself a moment’s peace from either of them. He raised his hands in defeat. “Do what you must.”
“That’s the attitude!” chirped Gabriel, taking him by both hands and leading him towards the chair. Before he could sit, their hands reached confidently for the clasps holding his armour on, their locations well and truly familiar to them by now.
“That won’t be necessary,” protested Sidurgu.
“Says you.” Gabriel chided him as they continued dressing him down. “I’m the one who has to hear your sorry complaining about scratchy armour full of hair for the next moon.”
His armour came undone with a click, and Gabriel deftly caught it and set it down gently on the floor. The days of chipped floors and reproachful glares were thankfully behind them. Sidurgu, now clad only in an undershirt from the waist up, seated himself.
Gabriel untied the knot holding the sheet of fabric around Rielle’s neck. It was a simple bolt of hempen cloth, but it served its purpose amply. They moved behind Sidurgu and flicked their wrists, unfurling the cloth above him with entirely more showmanship than was necessary. A quick couple of loops and it was secured snugly around him.
“Grab your scissors and get cutting,” said Sidurgu. “Let’s make this quick.”
“Not so fast,” said Gabriel, with a gleeful purr. “We’ve tidying up to do first.”
They grabbed a hairbrush from the sink behind them, instructing Sidurgu to hold still as they ran it through his hair.
“OW!”
“Good Gods,” said Gabriel. “Have you ever done this before in your life?”
“Not… Not for some time,” Sidurgu admitted.
“I’ll say,” said Gabriel. “I’ve groomed muddy karakul less matted than this.”
“It might be that this was overdue,” he said, chagrined.
“This is going to hurt, I’m afraid,” said Gabriel. They sounded genuinely remorseful for this first time this afternoon. “Hold still and I’ll do my best to make it easy on you.”
“I’ve collected my share of battle scars, Gabriel,” he said. “I should think I can-”
Gabriel brushed once more.
“What in the h-” Sidurgu remembered there was a child in the room with them just in time.
“-eavens,” he finished through gritted teeth.
“I’ve cleared away most of the tangled roots,” said Gabriel. “We should, Twelve willing, have seen the worst of it now.”
They picked up the pace, holding each of his thick strands of hair tight in their free hand and brushing to the ends, slowly enough that they could tell when the brush caught before any particularly hard pulling occurred.
When they were satisfied, they pulled their hands away and turned to Rielle. “Well? How’s he look?”
“Droopy.” Rielle was laughing. Sidurgu’s hair was in fact hanging down at the ends, less able to maintain its signature spiky look without tangled hair binding it in place.
“Why, I think you might be right,” said Gabriel, grinning. “Let’s see what we can do about it, eh?”
They started humming a joyful tune, carefully holding strands of hair between two fingers and making only the most judicious of cuts to them.
“Careful,” muttered Sidurgu. “I can’t be striking fear in our foes if you’ve made me up to look like some kind of pampered prince.”
“There is nothing intimidating about dishevelment, Master Orl.”
Sidurgu grunted. He didn’t have a good counter-argument.
“Don’t worry. You’ll cut quite a fearsome figure indeed when I’m done with you.”
“Very well,” said Sidurgu. “Consider my image in your capable hands.”
He had relaxed somewhat, and Gabriel found their job had become easier in turn. “I assure you your trust is well-placed. Now, just a few moments more...”
They resumed humming and redoubled their efforts, making short work of split ends and uneven lengths, correcting and adjusting to their satisfaction. A few final corrections, and they set the scissors down with a triumphant cry. “All done!”
Sidurgu poked at his own hair with a still-gauntleted finger. He was a little startled to find it much more pliant under his touch than usual. He turned to Rielle, a little helplessly, looking for guidance. “Well?”
Rielle put a finger to her chin and looked over him in judgement. “I think it needs a little styling, but I think you’re onto something!”
“Well,” he said. “I suppose that’s good news.”
“Aye! The young lady has the right of it,” said Gabriel. “Now, about that styling…”
“Must my torment continue?” asked Sidurgu.
“This is the fun part, promise.” Gabriel squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. “However...”
They looked at Rielle and squared their shoulders in a picture of mock-authority. “I believe someone has some undone chores to get to.”
“Aw, no fair!” She protested. “You know this isn’t something I get to see every day.”
“I know,” said Gabriel, crouching to her level. It didn’t take much. She was growing every day, and it wouldn’t be long before she was taller than them. “But between you and me,” they said in a conspiratorial whisper, “we both know how grumpy Sid gets when people see him with his hair wet.”
Rielle giggled. “You should have just said so!” she said, loud enough for Sidurgu to hear. “I suppose I can get to sweeping.”
“’Atta girl.” Gabriel saw her out of the bathroom, feeling a pang of fondness for the young girl in their chest. They turned back to Sidurgu with a glint in their eye. “Now, as for you...”
They leaned in close to Sidurgu, close enough that they had to rest a knee on the chair between his legs to maintain their balance. Close enough that their chest pressed against his as they reached behind his neck to untie the cloth. Close enough that he could hear their whisper clear as a bell as they purred into his ear. “Now I’ve got you all to myself.”
Then they kissed him, long and slow, savouring his lips on theirs.
“You were right,” he said. “This part is... fun.”
“Told you.” Gabriel flashed him a grin. “Now scoot backwards.”
Sidurgu obeyed, pushing back against the chair until he was up against the basin.
“Alright, now put your head back,” came Gabriel’s next instruction. Sidurgu let his head roll backwards slowly, trying to ensure he didn’t catch his horns on the rim of the basin.
Gabriel drew warm water from a bucket beside the bath with a washcloth, wringing it out and wetting it again a few times until the basin was comfortably full. Once that was done, they set about the business of washing Sidurgu’s hair.
They were leaning over him to get at the basin, close enough that their bodies brushed together now and again. Often, when this happened, Gabriel would sneak in a kiss, usually on Sidurgu’s cheek or neck. It was alien to them to have that kind of physical intimacy without pursuing it any further.
Sidurgu, for his part, couldn’t complain any longer. The combination of warm water and Gabriel’s slender fingers working at his scalp was soothing, and he could feel tension melting away from parts of his body he wasn’t even aware he was carrying it in. He was relaxed enough that he had no problem allowing Gabriel to manipulate his head, pulling it forward out of the water to lather in some shampoo, and back down again to rinse it out.
Fortunately, Gabriel knew well how to handle his horns, applying just enough pressure to pleasantly scrub them clean, ever mindful of how sensitive they were. It felt as if the jolts of feeling coming from his horns were the only thing keeping him from drifting off to sleep.
He had actually lost track of time when Gabriel finally drained the water from the basin and coaxed him to sit up so they could towel him off. He was still relaxed enough that he – almost – didn’t spare a thought to how undignified he must look as he was being dried.
His hair was hanging down loosely around his head, in a manner he had always disliked. But he could feel how much softer and stronger it was after Gabriel’s ministrations.
“Open your eyes,” said Gabriel. Sidurgu hadn’t even realised he’d had them closed. “One last thing.”
They were holding a jar he recognised as his own, mostly-full of a clear viscous gel. They scooped some of it onto their fingers and leaned over him once more. “We’ll have you back to your customary spiky self in no time flat, eh?”
“You knew about the gel?” asked Sidurgu.
“Oh, no.” said Gabriel. “You didn’t think that was a secret, did you?”