Beauty is Pain, pt. 2 Response"Alrigh'," We`rika said as he tossed his keys on his coffee table, along with his wallet that completely missed its mark, and locked the door behind him. It was just after lunch and he immediately regretted not stopping for food before he came home. There was probably nothing in his fridge.
Groaning, the older man rubbed his tired face with a big, rough hand. "You ready ta do this, Sev?" He got no answer. We`rika looked down, expecting to see him right under his feet, but he was nowhere in sight. "Sev?" He called again and got a response from deeper within their apartment.
"Hurry up! I'm all ready already!""Okay, okay, hang on!
Chris'..." Kicking off his shoes in the hallway, We`rika stumbled out of his socks, hit the wall and kept moving like a trooper. His shirt was flung into his bedroom before he finally joined his ward in the bathroom. Having dyed his hair for months upon years, We`rika knew full well how messy this could get if he were careless. God knew what was in this bottle of shampoo, so he was going to be real careful with what clean clothes he had.
In the cabinet below the sink, he grabbed a pair of latex gloves that were one size too small and pulled them on. The sides ripped, but he just ignored it. It happened every time.
"Kay, turn on th'shower and ge' yer hair a lil we'--Yeah, thas good, i' doesn' hafta be soaking. Okay! Here we go. Try no' ta squirm so much,
please," he pleaded with an exasperated sigh. They both knew it was futile, but We`rika refused to give in.
Squirting a dollop of the new shampoo in his hand, the guardian gave it a wary sniff. It didn't smell like chemicals. Actually, it smelled really good, which was great because the fairy's hair smelled rather foul. He rubbed the concoction between his palms and then laid his hands on Sevilin's crown. Gently, We`rika combed through the boy's hair and massaged his scalp as thoroughly as he could.
Then it began. Sevilin began to squirm. If he got too close to the raevan's ears, he'd crane his head to the side and shy away from the touch. If he pulled too hard on his hair as he tried to separate it, Sevilin would screech. It was an inevitable hell that We`rika found himself immersed in once more.
"Ah, that's cold! Stop, stop! you're getting it on my face~!" "Then til' yer head back properly!" With a firm hand on each side of his head, We`rika pulled his head back further.
"Ow... Owww! You're rubbing too hard!""I AM BARELY TOUCHIN' YOU!" We`rika roared, and then sighed in defeat. The quicker he did this, the less time he had to listen to this behavior. "Y'know, if
I complained like this, my mom'd slap me with th'brush."
"I think that's called child abuse.""Ha! Yeah, well, welcome to th'world, Sev."
They stayed silent from then on as he scrubbed every strand of his ward's long blue hair.
Finally, We`rika said, "A' leas' ya smell good again. Y'smell like peppermint."
"Yeah? Really? I love peppermint!" Sevilin squealed as We`rika dutifully stacked all of his foamy blue on top of his head.
"Okay, we gotta leave i' in fer a bit..." Sliding off his gloves, he dropped them in the sink and washed off any of the residue that landed on his dark skin. The little frei, of course, took this opportunity to escape the bathtub and get shampoo foam all over the grungy, tiled floor behind We`rika as he stared at himself in the mirror, an amused smile lifting his small, cherry-colored lips. Seeing that, We`rika could forgive a bit of mess in his bathroom.
"I look like a ******** is a fop?" He almost wished he hadn't asked. It was going to be something he'd have to shake his head at.
"You know! Those guys at court--Royal court, not criminal court--who have those big white wigs and they have their faces painted up! If only I had a fan--Oh and a mole! It'd be perfect!"
We`rika lifted his common brown eyes form the sink to stare up at his ward with a resigned frown. Terror and confusion had been worn away long ago from dealing with Sevilin's strange informational tidbits.
"Yer so weird."
"What? I am not! You're the weird one!"
"Righ', okay, thas true. Yer no' weird, yer--Whas i' called?--essent...?"
"Are you calling me eccentric?"
"...... Only if is no' a bad word? Okay! Time ta wash you off!"
"You aren't getting out of this so--Ow, hey don't push!" With an "Oomph!", Sevilin was head over ribbon with a warm shower of water above him, washing the shampoo from his hair. It took ten minutes to make sure all of it was completely shampoo-free, then his long hair was bundled up in a big, clean towel.
"So... wha'd ya think?"
"My scalp feels tingly."
"Good tingly?"
"Yeah, I think so!" Sevilin smiled after finishing his last adjustments to towel wrap balanced on his small head. He floated out and into the living room. We`rika could hear the tell-tale sign of the TV being flipped on. Looking down at the floor, the older man sighed and ignored it. He'd clean up later when he felt like it, which was to say never.
While the small frei busied himself surfing, We`rika padded old legs into the kitchen to see how bad his reality was. After a few cupboards, he could say it was pretty bad. He had plenty of condiments, but nothing to put them on. Now the question was how tired and lazy was he to put a shirt and some shoes back on and get something for lunch. And dinner! He'd forgotten the day had practically just begun.
"I'll go get something with you..."
We`rika turned around and found Sevilin watching him, arms dangling over the back of the couch.
"Yeah? ... Alright..."
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