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 Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 5:21 am
"Do the best you can with what you've got," said Adrien sagely, which might have sounded like wise advice had he not gotten it from an old rerun of an episode of That's So Raven, which he'd been binge watching, much to Yuuri's distress.
He patted Ignacio's shoulder consolingly as they moved back to the normal chair in front of the mirror, Adrien patting at the sodden locks with the towel until they weren't dripping as much anymore. He rearranged the cape again, then rested his hands on Ignacio's shoulders and gave him - or rather, his hair - a long, studious look in the mirror across from them.
"Hm. Have you ever considered a side part instead of a straight middle part? Not that there's anything wrong with a middle part, but it might look a little...fresher with a bit of a swoop going on. You could keep your length, I'd make sure of that, just adding a bit of - "
Adrien held his hands up to demonstrate something going boom. " - oomph, I think."
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Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 7:18 pm
A side part? Ignacio's brows raised. "No, admittedly, I haven't." When Ignacio found a hair cut he liked that worked for him, he wasn't particularly inclined to change it in any way. He had always enjoyed new things when he was younger, and was starting to get that way again, slowly, but his hair was one thing he hadn't messed with particularly much once he had gotten it the way that he wanted it. His brows lowered as he squinted at himself, trying to visualize the idea of a side part on his head. There were a couple ways this could go, admittedly, at some of them could be awful -- but Adrien said that he was going to keep his hair the same length. If the part didn't work very well, he could probably just re-comb it and put it back. It wasn't that hard to fix a faulty part, so long it wasn't one of those styles where half the hair was shaved off... "Alright," Ignacio glanced over at Adrien through the mirror. "Work your magic?"
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2017 8:03 am
He was still considering Ignacio in the mirror, Adrien's expression the intent, concentrating one that really only came out when he was working with a client on their hair. His mind normally went a thousand different directions all at the same time, loud and aggravatingly frustrating, but when it came to hair, and his favorite thing, it helped ground him.
He knew how to do this. This was his happy place, his sanctuary, other than Yuuri. Here was where he had made his fortune and made his life. He was safe here, from the rest of the world, from the noises inside of his head, from everything that was not his.
Adrien brightened considerably at the acclimation.
"Beautiful! You'll look great, and if you don't like it, we can just fix it, no problem," said Adrien with a beaming smile. He reached for a comb and a pair of small, delicate scissors, already starting to flip over certain sections of hair to find the part he wanted.
"So. Ignacio. Got a special someone you're gonna show this new do off to?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2017 9:27 am
Ignacio could have sympathized, really. It was hard for him to stay still, and perhaps even harder to keep his mind still. He had gotten better at it, but the need to be doing multiple things at once always ended up displaying itself. Currently, his legs were bouncing as he kept tapping his feet on the rings of the salon chair. Ignacio couldn't help grinning when Adrien beamed, relaxed just a bit further. The other obviously knew what he was doing. If he thought it was going to look good, it probably would. At the very least, it didn't hurt to try. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting himself relax a bit into the care of the stylist. One eye popped back open when Adrien asked after a special someone. A teasing smirk edged onto his face as he asked, "Why, you hitting on me? I know, I'm quite electric." He was only able to keep the smirk on for a few seconds before snorting aloud, already knowing that Adrien was far too into Yuuri to be up to anything like that. "I'm just playin'," in case Adrien took offense to the suggestion. "Yup. His name's Richard?" He smiled a bit, a considerably less wide smile than the one he was usually plastering onto his face. "He's an MBA student at DCU, so he's super busy. But he's doing well, I think."
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2017 8:15 pm
He had managed to get the part done nicely, making sure there was enough in each section before he straightened it all out, running a comb through the wet strands carefully. It was a meticulous and careful process that Adrien didn't take lightly, as much as some of the other stylists did.
"Not at all, I'm very happily taken," said Adrien brightly, his eyes positively sparkling at the chance to talk about Yuuri. "My boyfriend works here sometimes as a receptionist, and he helps out, he's absolutely wonderful, but we're very monogamous, I don't think I want anyone else besides him for like, ever, so I mean, you're nice, but - " He patted Ignacio's shoulder consolingly.
Adrien's hands moved to the tips of the other's hair, expertly beginning to trim away the excess, shaving off the split ends first and then snipping higher to shorten it, just enough to make it a little more rounded out on the bottom. "Oh, Richard! That's a great name, it sounds awesome, is he really handsome? Yuuri's beautiful, I hope you get to meet him someday. How'd you and Richard start to date?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2017 9:40 am
Ignacio snorted again when his shoulder was patted. No offense was taken, of course, considering that he was only kidding, but Adrien's affection was so strong for Yuuri it was almost sickeningly sweet. And cute. He was happy for Adrien, in as much as he could he happy for someone he barely knew. Still, it was hard not to feel like Adrien was already a friend. He was so, just, nice. Ignacio watched Adrien work in the mirror. It was looking pretty good so far. He wasn't quite sure what he thought about the part yet, but it didn't look bad. He would wait until Adrien finished to make his final judgement on it. He needed to see how it looked with his hair fully shortened. "Oh, I met Yuuri at the party," teased Ignacio, lightly, "but I'd definitely like to get to know him better! If you like him so much, he must be a good guy, yeah?" He winked at Adrien through the mirror, not wanting to move his head around. At being asked how he started to date Richard, he actually gulped. "Ah, it's complicated," he responded, evidently just brushing it over his shoulder. He even lifted his arm a bit and swatted back, even if he couldn't really lift up his arm all the way. It wasn't a great time in his life, even if something good came from it. He wasn't going to go into detail. "But it's been a long time now, I think. And I mean, I think he's handsome. He's a dancer. That's why he's getting an MBA actually? He's going to be taking over his mother's dance studio eventually."
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2017 8:42 pm
He'd forgotten that - but it wasn't actually that unheard of, since Adrien had a habit of forgetting a lot of things. "Well, you can re-meet him!" he said brightly, expertly shaving off a portion of hair that was too long past the comb's edge. Just a few strands, nothing to be drastic, but enough to even it out. "He's wonderful, he's like, the best guy I've ever met, even if he doesn't think so."
Adrien's fingers moved, sliding to a different section to work, twisting up the part he was finished with. "I'm sorry it's complicated," he said truthfully, sounding quite distressed about this. "A dancer sounds amazing, I know a few dancers, but none that are going to school for it."
He fiddled with another strand of hair, stretching it to make sure it was the correct length over the comb.
"How long have you guys been together?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2017 11:11 pm
"Are you the leader of the Yuuri fanclub?" Ignacio's tone was teasing, but it was clear he wasn't trying to seriously poke at him. It truly was nice to see how much Adrien clearly loved Yuuri. Honestly, considering that Yuuri seemed a bit like a shrinking violet when he met him, and also according to Adrien himself Yuuri wasn't particularly confident, he could probably use the boost from someone who was so utterly heads over heels with him. And he was a cute kid, anyway -- and oh gosh, did he just think kid? He wasn't that old. Ignacio wasn't a senior citizen or anything. Ignacio shuddered just a tad. "Don't worry about it," he murmured when Adrien apologized, quickly moving on from it as soon as he said it. "Richard's really good, though. He specializes in like that Latin dancing? Lots of salsas and stuff like that." He paused thoughtfully when asked how long they had been together. Honestly, he wasn't entirely sure. When did they get together...? "It's been like ... s**t, five years, at least. Maybe six?" offered Ignacio, with a laugh. "I don't know for sure, which some people probably would find to be a sin but," he laughed a bit more, eyes rolling a bit. "I guess it doesn't matter overly much. It's not like I forgot a marriage date or something." He glanced back at Adrien, watching as he carefully trimmed up a few more strands of hair. "How long have you been with Yuuri?"
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2017 6:17 am
"I am! " said Adrien proudly, as if it hadn't been a joke at all. Really, he could have waxed poetic about Yuuri for a long time, but eventually he was going to have to stop talking about him (an unlikely story) and actually talk about other things.
Or maybe not.
Adrien slid fingers through Ignacio's hair, bending slightly to squint at the ends, trying to make sure it was all even across the bottom. For someone as flighty and off kilter as he usually was, he took his work incredibly seriously, Adrien's lips pressing together in concentration as he snipped off a few stray threads.
"That's a very long time!" he said, sounding awed. "I don't think it's bad you don't remember an exact date, as long as you remember the important parts."
This coming from a man who remembered everything down to the last detail when it came to Yuuri, and almost nothing about anything else except his business. "A Latin dancing boyfriend, that's pretty amazing. I can't dance at all, really."
Mostly because he hadn't tried. Adrien beamed.
"Eight months!" he said happily. "He moved in a few months ago, and we're very happy!"
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Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2017 9:49 am
Adrien seemed very fastidious about his hair. Ignacio kept looking through the mirror at the other, watching as he bent down to get the best possible view of the hair he needed to trim. Well, he was definitely going to have an even cut... When Adrien didn't jump to shame him about his inability to bother remembering the date, Ignacio had to admit to some relief. Adrien's utter dedication to Yuuri did make him a bit concerned that Adrien was the type to shame someone for not remembering what specific event happened when, which wouldn't have been great. Ignacio was generally terrible with dates, even dates that might have been important. They were often lost to the fog of time. Ignacio's legs were bouncing again. "I've gotten better at dancing with his help," admitted Ignacio, with a laugh. "And it's actually a talent that's useful as an actor, so I can't complain." The eight months thing honestly made him wonder again if Adrien and Yuuri were still in their 'honeymoon phase' so to speak, especially with how utterly devoted Adrien seemed, but at the very least, Adrien definitely seemed very into Yuuri. He assumed it was mutual, if Yuuri had moved in with Adrien. Maybe their attachment had just happened rather quickly. "Congrats! I'm always happy to hear about happiness," offered Ignacio, with a laugh. "I hope it keeps working out well for you."
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2017 5:34 am
Adrien remembered only some things with absolute precision - Yuuri's eyes, Yuuri's hair, Yuuri's voice, Yuuri - other things were left to get lost in the wind. He was forgetful to a fault, even with his business, but there were steps in place to prevent that, for which he was very grateful.
His mind, after all, was a complicated, frustrating thing.
"Are you an actor?" asked Adrien brightly, trimming off a few more stray hairs by Ignacio's ear. "What sort of acting do you do, theatre or television? I always wanted to do some sort of acting, but I'm not good at the whole - " He paused in cutting to wave a hand - "improvising thing. Not in the way that helps, at least."
He was good when it didn't require anything. Adrien went back to snipping.
"Thank you! I hope so too, it's gonna be great and everything will be lovely. Okay, tell me what you think, I think I'm done!"
He had turned Ignacio's chair away from the mirror while he worked so that it was easier, but now Adrien spun him back around, patting the top of Ignacio's head with a towel to smooth down some of the more cowlicky bits. It was a simple cut, nothing extravagant, with only a small bit taken off at the bottom and a casual side part that was, in Adrien's opinion, not too dramatic and was, in fact, quite flattering.
"If you don't like it, I can fix it."
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Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2017 11:25 am
"I am!" Ignacio honestly loved the chance to talk about his acting, even for a few moments. "I'm primarily into movie roles at the moment, but honestly, the best actors are the ones that can do all three. There's a reason why the EGOT winners are so prestigious." And, in case Adrien didn't know what EGOT was, because honestly it was mostly an acting awards term -- "You know, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony. All the major acting-related awards. And a music one, but you can get a Grammy for soundtracks and stuff." He watched as Adrien took off the last few pieces, fiddling vaguely with the cape as he did. "Improv acting actually isn't too hard. I find it's best to just ... not think that hard sometimes. Let it come to you. Oftentimes the first instinct is the best, and you get better at that instinct as you hone it." For a moment, it felt like he was back in improvisation classes at DCU... His babblings were cut off, probably for the best, by his hair cut being completed. His eyes darted away from focusing on Adrien through the mirror to the hair itself. The side part was definitely ... different. It wasn't different in a bad way, but it framed his face a little differently than he was used to, hence different. He tilted his head from one side to the other, watching how the hair moved and how it framed him when he moved his head around, because he had to make sure he looked fantastic from all angles, of course. Ignacio tried to lift his arm and play with it, but he decided that since he still had the cape on, he'd hold off on that for the moment. It was honestly just different. And it did seem to frame his face rather well. Adrien definitely knew what he was doing with his scissors. He realized he had been quiet for what probably seemed like too long of a time only in his own mind and quickly moved to respond. "It looks good! It's not what I'm used to, but--" Ignacio cut himself off as he moved his head to the other side, admiring the side that the part fell on. "That's not a bad thing, anyway."
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2017 8:56 am
"If you ever get famous, please tell everyone where you got your hair done," said Adrien brightly, going a little starry eyed at the thought of helping out a potential movie star. He did love television and movies - but he also liked Ignacio. He was a nice, engaging person, and he'd complimented both the shop and Yuuri, so really, what was there not to like?
"Ah...well, yes, that's true," Adrien admitted. "I sometimes can't turn off my brain, either."
Or all the time. But that was beside the point.
He waited patiently for Ignacio to figure out what he thought of his new hair. As much as Adrien took pride and joy in his work, he also took pride and joy in customer satisfaction, and no offense would come if Ignacio didn't like it. Adrien would just keep working until he figured out something he did like, and that was that.
"New hairstyles take time to get used to, that's all right," said Adrien smoothly. He reached for the blowdryer. "Don't worry; we'll dry it up and see how it looks and then, if you still don't like it, you can come in again for a new 'do and I'll make it better."
He flipped the switch and began to smooth out Ignacio's damp, straight locks. When he was done, he clicked it off, set it back where it went, and moved to unfasten the cape, whisking it away from Ignacio's shoulders. Adrien brushed stray hairs from his face and neck with a brush, and then stepped back.
"Voila. All done."
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Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2017 12:04 pm
"Neither can I, really," quipped Ignacio, quietly. "But there's a difference between focusing on the mind noise and letting the right strings come out." His mind used to be a lot chattier, before ... well, before a lot of things. But he still couldn't focus very well in general, and at times seemed like he couldn't hold his mind or body still for the life of him. He had gotten a lot better at it, though, and to some extent it was just overcompensation -- -- Ah, anyway. He reached up to swish at his hair just a bit as the cape came off, playing with the newly shortened locks. It was definitely at a better length now, and it certainly wasn't getting in his eyes, which was honestly the most important part. He wasn't exactly fond of the whole side-swept bangs stylings that looked like they came out of the early aughts. Not that it had gotten that bad yet, but it didn't matter now. He turned around to Adrien once he was done blowdrying his hair, grinning at him. "Thank you!" And he meant it. He might need some adjustment for the different part location, but he already preferred this length, and honestly, it was a nice hair cut. He swished his hair a bit again, now that it was dry. "I got the trim I wanted and a new style. I think that's a win." He waited a few more seconds, before coming to his feet and brushing himself off. Wait, "Ah, how much do I owe you--" Unfortunately, he couldn't exactly pay Adrien in a reputation boost or something...
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2017 6:21 am
"True," said Adrien, lapsing into an uncharacteristic silence for a moment. His mind, already too much and too chaotic, had gone to the conversations with his father, with his mother. The reminders that he wasn't supposed to be like this.
You're not my son.
He jerked himself out of it with a broad smile that showed he'd never even been thinking of such things. "You're very welcome," said Adrien grandly, and gestured for Ignacio to follow him over to where the front desk was. He tapped in a few buttons - the receptionist had stepped out for lunch, leaving Adrien and his stylists to work things in the meantime - and finally printed out a receipt.
"Here," he said, sliding it across the counter towards Ignacio. "Your total comes to $28 even. You can slide your card anytime you're ready, or pay in cash, whichever you're comfortable with."
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