"Is this okay?" Rin quietly mumbled, his voice muffled slightly at the position of his head. He knelt at the edge of the bath tub, placing his arms over each other and buried his head in the gap in between them. The coolness of the porcelain material seeped into his arms - though he didn't mind too much. It was a contrast to his usually warm skin.
"Yeah, good." Suguro scraped a chair across the en suite bathroom floor, scooting closer to the half-demon that sat there. He paused temporarily, eyeing Rin's position. "Are you comfortable?"
A small hum of approval came from the other, indicating that he was somewhat comfortable. His knees would begin to hurt and the slight strain of his neck would do something to him too, but for the time being everything seemed to be alright.
Suguro sat on the seat and began rolling his sleeves up. "I won't be too long. Sorry, I couldn't find another way to do this without getting all yer clothes wet."
"Nah, nah, this is cool. I wore shorts for a reason!". Rin indicated to his legs.
For once, it seemed that Rin was actually using his brain and chose appropriate clothes he didn't mind getting soaked in water that didn't cover the entirety of his arms or legs. Good thinking. Maybe he is a smart idiot. Suguro reached over and unhooked the shower hose from its place on the wall. He turned both taps on and adjusted them inch by inch, running his free hand under the stream, until the temperature was deemed warm enough. He let the rivulets bask his hand in satisfying warmth for a few prolonged seconds. The water splattered across the length of the bath floor, the puddles expanding and conversing along each other. Suguro always liked watching that before he took baths.
He switched the flow so that it was ejecting from the shower hose and held it above Rin's head. Rin slightly flinched when warm jets of water ran across the length of his scalp, streaming down the locks of his hair, drenching them.
"Is this warm enough?" Suguro cautiously asked.
"A little hotter, please." Rin simply requested, to which Suguro responded by a very slight shift to the left tap, careful to not turn it too far and scorch his scalp. Though, the reaction would be so darn hilarious. He'd save scalding Rin with hot water for another time.
"I'd thought you'd want it colder, assumin' the whole fire demon thing."
Rin chuckled. "That would make sense, but nothing I do makes sense. I prefer lukewarm water."
It took a few hesitant seconds, but Suguro finally drew his hand to Rin's head and threaded his fingers through his soaked hair. It had been an awful long time since just about anyone had done that to him, wet hair or not, and the feeling brought fuzzy feelings to his chest. He couldn't help but tug a smile at his cheeks as he felt the sensation of gentle fingers running their way along the top. He sighed in pure contention, his shoulders relaxing as he leaned into the touch.
This is so nice.
He ruffled around in silence, disturbing the straight shiny nature as the sunlight through the window glistened his hair. The radio they had plugged in at the side started a new track and Rin hummed along, matching the tune somewhat. Deeming that he spent long enough, he let go of Rin's hair and picked up the shampoo bottle on his side.
"Do you use this? KAO Merit Sunshine..?"
"Yeah. That was originally Yukio's but I tried it once and it's actually a lot better on the hair than the one I normally used. Says it's for busy people..."
The warm streams were replaced by a cool dollop of the substance as Suguro poured a generous amount on his head. Rin involuntarily giggled at the slight shivers it sent him.
"Cool. I think I sometimes used this. It's pretty good." He commented, lathering the shampoo into Rin's head. He tangled his fingers in the navy locks, working the white semi-liquid in thoroughly. In the process, he had gently pulled on Rin's hair and for a moment, it made Rin wonder if he was going to feel something from this. I heard some people like hair-pulling...
"Yeah, I could recognise the smell." By the time Rin realised that statement sounded oddly creepy but he had already said it too long ago to retract.
Thankfully, Suguro didn't pick up on that note, allowing Rin to avoid an awkward moment. Or maybe he did and wasn't showing it. Probably the latter if we're talking about Suguro here.
"Is it that strong?"
"N-no, just when we fought a lot, I could smell it."
"O..kay?" was all Suguro said before silence fell upon them once more. Rin sighed, lulling his head to one side as the fingers continued to lather each and every strand of hair until his head was coated in bubbly foam.
The silence became a little overbearing for Rin and a little on the uncomfortable side. He stammered and screwed his eyes shut as he tried to think of something to say.
"You're in need for a trim, Okumura."
"Hmm...I guess so. I don't know any good barbers around here, though…"
"I, uh… I could… cut your hair, if you wanted?"
"You can?!"
"Yes, I could."
"Oh dude, sweet! Okay, come to our dorm on Saturday, okay? Oh man this is gonna be awesome! I'm getting a haircut by the legendary Suguro!"
It was almost unreal that, at the time when Rin was in desperate need for someone to sort his hair out, Suguro, his cool friend - and big-time man-crush, though he kept that to himself - just so happened to have a few hairdressing skills up his sleeve. Not only that, he even offered to do the job, which Rin accepted on a whim without a question.
Rin didn't even doubt for a second; it was obvious the guy understood the art of hairdressing - the work of art that was his meticulously-kept blonde stripe running through the middle of the dark chestnut was enough of a qualification the young demon needed.
Shima told him - and Rin had even witnessed once, on their Kyoto trip - the amount of fussing and styling Suguro put himself through, every single morning. The first time Rin had seen Suguro's morning hair was a shocker. At first he barely recognised the taller Exwire, who had wet from tidy and pampered to scruffy and almost feral-like. It was scary. It was then Rin realised and appreciated the amount of work he did, so early in the morning and never missing a morning ever since they started school, to sort out the unkempt nest. Both styles, though, were cool in their own way.
Maybe I should tell him his hair is cool. It seems like he cares a lot about it. Which is also cool. I could ask him about it.
"Say, uh… what got you so into hair? Like, how you always care so much about yours and things."
Suguro's fingers paused their job. "Uh…" He switched the hose back on and washed his coated hand with the water. "I guess I've just always liked carin' for my hair. I like washing it regularly. Plus now that I've gone and dyed part of it, I have to take extra care of it to keep the colour strong. The dye is strong, though." His hands were clean of foam and he readied himself to run the foam off Rin's head too. "Could ya lean forward a bit?"
Rin did as Suguro requested, removing his arms and resting his chin against the tub edge. Suguro pressed one hand into Rin's neck, the other holding the showerhead. "Oh that's coo-" Rin began but caught a mouthful of watery shampoo in his mouth and spat it out into the tub. "Eurgh!" He frantically wiped at his tongue, genuinely concerned he might get poisoning and have to go to hospital and have his tongue surgically replaced with someone else's.
Suguro smirked, if not for a second before snapping. "Don't talk while I'm washin' you! I'll do the talkin', alright?"
Rin let out an open-mouthed whine, tongue still sticking out. He reached above his head to cup some of the clean water in his palm and rinsed his mouth with it for a solid while, in defeat.
Good, that'll shut him up for a bit. "As I was saying, I like stylin' my hair a lot, I suppose. I styled Shima's too, when he first dyed it. His hair used to be a little longer and a lot more uneven, partly because he tried cuttin' it himself numerous times and it ended up failing, that idiot. So I eventually got sick of seeing him with a mess on his head, now in pink, and took it upon myself to give him a decent haircut. The product is what you see now." A smug smile breached Suguro's face and he held no shame in keeping it there, knowing Rin wasn't able to see it.
Rin spat his mouthful out while Suguro turned off the stream and closed both taps off. Rin lifted his head - the strain in his neck finally being felt by a jet of pain right in the very core of the nape - and shook his hair fervently, sending the droplets of water that hung from the ends of his strands all over the washroom. Suguro held his hands out to stop any from getting on his face, murmuring "Okumura…", annoyed by Rin's sudden dog-like nature, to which Rin ignored.
"That was you too? It looks really good." Rin turned his head back and gave the other a warm smile, his eyes wide in awe, impressed.
Suguro lowered his hands, blinking. It was one thing being proud but to have someone else acknowledge that was something else, entirely. A flush began to creep up to Suguro's cheeks and he fought it down to the best of his ability. "W-well, of course." He grunted, trying to keep his cool. He distracted himself by pushing the chair back and standing up.
Rin waited for any sign of gratification, only to receive none. He simply rolled his eyes, following suit and standing up as well. "...You're welcome, Sug."
Another grunt came from Suguro and after a few moments of keeping his gaze averted - from the guilt that he was being an ass and discarding the compliment, unlike that of a friend - he let his pride settle on the side. "Thanks, that's what I meant- Hold on, what did you call me?!"
"Sug." Rin casually shrugged, reaching behind Suguro for the hand-towel. The action caused Rin to near too close to Suguro's chest and he braced back against the sink, the blush he fought against now making a visible appearance. Rin chuckled, a small "Dude, calm down." ushered from his lips as he drew away from Suguro and proceeded to dry his hair with the towel.
"D-don't call me that. You may call me Suguro and that's it."
"But that's like-" Rin paused when he felt a second set of hands pressing into the towel. Both pairs stilled and older of the two interpreted that as a sign of breaking the wrong boundary. He was about to draw his hands away, figuring out Rin did not welcome the action when his wrists were held by paler fingers. Rin pushed the larger hands into the towel, guiding them along the surface, rubbing the fabric into his head. "-like, way too formal. I'm your friend right? We've known each other for a while now and I think that's long enough for nicknames."
"That might be true with whatever other friendships-" - pff, what friendships- okay, okay, no, he actually has friends, I'm the more lonesome one- "-you may have but I do things differently."
"You have your rules, huh?" Rin grinned from underneath the towel. "I like it. Fine, I'll oblige to these terms and conditions of yours."
Suguro briskly ignored that last sentence and found himself focusing on the way Rin's fingers latched onto the back of his hands. Rin stopped momentarily, callously stroking his thumbs along Suguro's skin before letting go entirely.
Suguro didn't understand what that meant or why he did that so he did his best not to think of it too much. Though, the skin that was stroked began to heat up from the lost warmth.
"Soo…" Rin removed the towel from his head and hung it loosely around his shoulders. "Part one done, right?"
"Y-yeah. I need to dry your hair now." Suguro cleared his throat and motioned for the door. They walked out of the bathroom, one by one, towards the twin brother's bedroom. Rin kept his eyes focused on the back of Suguro's head, quietly admiring the soft nature of his hair.
Rin slid his desk chair to the middle of the room and slumped onto it. He rubbed at his knees - that did hurt a bit from kneeling - while Suguro fished around in his bag of supplies for a sleek beige sheet. Once locating it, he drew it round and threaded the hole in the middle over Rin so it sat on his shoulders. Rin couldn't help but be tempted to feel the material as it hung over his body. He cracked a small smile. It's just like one of those barber ones. Only, not black.
"The dryer's over there." Rin lazily pointed to a heap of device and wire on the floor. Suguro grimaced at the condition and the tangled mess that was the cord. At the very least, it had been plugged in.
Keeping his disgust at the atrocity to himself, Suguro fiddled around with the switch and settings on the hairdryer, that were a little stiff from being seldom used and from dust sticking them, until he managed to turn it on. Hot air roared and guttered through the fans and Suguro distributed the heat throughout Rin's hair, shaking the device in his hand as he blew-dried the dripping locks.
At one point, Suguro grabbed a handful of longer strands and tugged on it. A light groan escaped Rin's throat and his head was brought back. He opened his eyes slowly to find Suguro staring back at him in slight concern.
Suguro did not miss the slight blush that tinted Rin's cheeks.
"Sorry, did I pull too hard?"
Rin didn't answer, and settled his gaze to anywhere but Suguro.
Did I just freaking moan ? Where did that come from all of a sudden?
Hold on, did I like that?!
Rin's eyes popped wide open at the realisation.
Suguro apologised a second time and became more gentle in holding parts of his hair. Rin shifted in his seat, unable to kick back the shockingly pleasurable sensation he felt in his chest from the gesture. He was thankful his hair masked his internal freaking out; he didn't want to have to explain to Suguro that he might have sort of gotten a bit of pleasure from that?
Is this what hair-pulling is?
Am I gonna be like this the entire time? Oh god I think I am...
Rin drew out a heavy sigh and nervously swung his legs back and forth underneath the chair, lightly gripping the edge of his seat. Keep your cool, keep your cool!
"You don't know where your brother is?"
Rin became aware that in the midst of his internalisation, Suguro had asked him a question.
"Huh?"
Suguro turned the hair dryer off, so he could be heard better. "I asked where your brother was, and you didn't say anythin'.."
"Oh, he's…" Rin paused, backtracking to Yukio's last conversation. "...been called out , to uh… he-he didn't tell me where, but somewhere."
"Is he usually like that?"
"Yeah. He just rushes off like he always does."
"Don't you ever get worried about him? He's younger than you."
"I do, but…" Rin sighed dejectedly. "There's nothing I can do. I used to send text messages the first few times he was out super late, when we first started out here. He barely answers my texts nowadays so I don't bother anymore. I guess I'm just used to him being away all the time, never telling me where he's going or when he'll be back, leaving me to just sit here with Kuro, worrying about him and cooking him food that he never ends up eating most of the time and…" Rin trailed, aware that he was rambling to someone who didn't even ask for it and now was a poor victim of his ramblings.
Suguro traced his finger along the top of the chair. "You should... talk to him." Suguro suggested, now invested in Rin's frustrations towards his twin brother who also doubled as their Cram school pharmacology teacher.
" Ha . Talk to him. Believe me, Mr Suguro, I've tried . So many times." Rin shook his head, bemused. "He won't listen. I say again and again, I'm here for him, but he just politely refuses and continue this unhealthy life. I won't be surprised if he woke up with grey hairs or collapses from all the running around."
Suguro fell quiet, in thought. "How does he even manage to cope with school work..? Not to mention all the teaching and marking he has to do for us lot."
"Who knows Suguro? Who knows…" It was a good question. On day offs, usually Sundays, Yukio would be seen working on paperwork and assignments, but as the year went by, his day offs became day- on s, almost always being whisked away. Rin didn't ignore those grunted sighs that came more and more often when Yukio finally found the time to work, only to be called away again. He would have suggested to just reject the call, say he was busy with another mission, but Rin knew Yukio didn't have the heart to say no to anything. If he was almost never in the dorms, w here was he finding the time to keep on top of everything?
One more thing to worry about .
"You've ever gone lookin' for him?"
Rin scoffed. "I don't even know where I'd go. Dunno where he'd go."
As his older brother - by only a few minutes, but enough minutes to make him older - it, of course, was his responsibility to look after him.
Rin stared up at the ceiling and let out a sigh. Suguro stood behind Rin for a few moments, unsure of what to say. He eyed Rin's comb across from him and swiped it off his desk.
Rin was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt Suguro run the comb through his hair.
He was gentle. Each stroke was careful but firm, running down the length with moderate ease. That is, until he reached the knots that had formed at some point between the hair wash and now.
Suguro held, more like gripped, the lock of hair that contained the knot in one hand and tugged the comb through multiple times. He pulled hard, eliciting another groan, that sounded more moany than the last time, from Rin. He rested his cheek on the chair back, breathing hard, his bright blush seeping right the way through his skin, right to the tips of his pointed ears.
If Suguro didn't hear him the first time, he definitely heard him how.
He froze, comb dangling half of the way through its second round. His hand was stretched out, hanging from where he previously held the comb.
I'm done for...
"Did you just moan?"
"A-ah…" was all Rin could utter. He whimpered, embarrassed. He couldn't bear to look up, to see Suguro's appalled and most likely disgusted face. What's happening to me? He kept his eyes locked on the other side of the room, almost missing the sight of his arousal beginning to poke from behind the sheet.
Great.
He sat right up, face still burning, and lifted his knees to his chest before anyone else noticed. He swallowed thickly. "I-I don't know why I did that, but you can leave if you want."
The silence lay heavy, way too heavy, in the room and Rin wanted nothing more than for his classmate to run off, deal with his problem and to never speak of this thereof.
But he also wanted Suguro to do it again.
"I'm not leavin' until I've finished."
Rin turned around, dropping his knees down, forgetting that he was supposed to be hiding his problem. Suguro glanced down, for a second, before looking right back at Rin, his cheeks flushed.
"I don't think you should… stay…"
"And let ya walk around another day with that ridiculous look?" Suguro gestured to his head. "I don't half-ass things. If I'm gonna be doin' this, I'm doin' this properly." He sighed, knowing his face was still red. He walked round so now he was right in front of Rin, and he placed his hands on his shoulders. "Talk t'me."
"A-about what..?" Rin nervously asked, attempting to play innocent.
Suguro nudged his knee into Rin's erection, that made him shiver from the touch. He crossed his legs, feeling his face grow redder.
"I… It just happened. I swear I don't know-"
"Was it because I did this?" Keeping one hand on the side of the chair to steady himself, he lifted one knee onto the seat and threaded his fingers of his other hand into the drying hair, wrenching some of it into his balled hand.
With another moan, Rin jerked on the chair, shaking it. Suguro lost his balance and stumbled into Rin's lap, his arms loosely thrown on the younger exwire's shoulders.
He lifted his head up from Rin's chest, bewildered. Neither moved a muscle for a few prolonged seconds, just staring. They didn't know why, they just stayed there.
Blinking, Suguro shifted himself so he straddled the chair, placing his hands back onto the shoulders. His moves were slow, almost uncertain, though keeping his eyes fixed on Rin.
"..Yeah?" Rin weakly answered.
As Suguro pushed more of his weight down, Rin's arousal pushed into his thigh, quite forcefully.
"And that's somethin' you're into?"
"I-I guess so…"
Suguro turned his head to look at Rin, brushing his nose against Rin's cheek as he did so. Their skin warmed from point of contact.
The next thing they knew, they had leaned in and placed needy lips against each other. Rin slipped his arms around Suguro's neck, bring him closer to his chest. The older's calloused fingers crept up, hesitantly, from his shoulders, up Rin's neck and cupped his face. His skin was hot underneath his fingertips and he couldn't tell if it was because he was a fire demon or because of blood rush.
As they deepened the kiss, Suguro began rolling his hips against Rin's, pushing friction between his thighs and Rin's junk. Deep-throated groans escaped Rin's throat and he clutched onto the back of Suguro's shirt, curling his fingers into the soft cotton. They continued like this for a minute or so, the both of them releasing levels of sexual tension that they didn't even know they had all this time.
Suguro broke the kiss first. He abruptly stopped the grinding and, if not reluctantly, pulled away from Rin's lips, a few strands of his otherwise gelled hair sticking onto his forehead. He wriggled himself off Rin.
"Wha- where are you going..?" Rin whined, immediately missing the warmth of Suguro, watching with his half-lidded vision as the other rummaged in the bag.
"I need to... finish what I started."
He still cares about that? Ugh, just when things were getting good as well!
He stood up, a few hair clips in one hand and Rin's comb in the other. If Rin was looking actions alone, it looked like they didn't just kiss each other for a solid minute. But he noticed Suguro's face, and there was a hint of softness in his eyes. He didn't completely switch off.
Rin's hair had become knotty at some point during their little 'session', much to Rin's surprise. Suguro resumed the brushing, this time taking a slightly different approach. Even Rin could sense that; from the moment Suguro's fingers touched his scalp. The strokes were slow, more pronounced. A hand rested on the top of Rin's head, steadying it while he twisted some of the locks within his fingers and gave a gentle pull. Soft sighs escaped Rin, this time with little constraint, as each strand was taken care of. With every sound that escaped Rin's throat, Suguro's fingertips and hand grew warm, the blood rushing all couldn't see but he knew that Suguro was blushing. He wondered: Is Suguro getting turned on by this too? He figured he'd wait until there was a better view and check.
"O-okay, so…" Suguro began, trying his very best to keep his voice as composed as he could, despite the profuse flustering. "How much did ya say ya wanted cut off?"
Rin sighed, trying too to keep a neutral tone. "Not too short. Just chop off the split ends."
"You want layers?"
"Layers sounds nice. Just don't take too much off, yeah? I trust you."
"Okay." That was all Suguro said before clipping several bunches away to get only the part he wanted to work on first. He grabbed the metal scissors before snipping away.
Within the silence, there was a loud, audible snip that pierced through the strands. Suguro's fingers briefly brushed against the nape of Rin's neck, as he glided along the length, which tickled his fine hairs. Most barbers were quick at their job but Suguro was being slow and cautious. Rin would excuse him because this haircut was a whole different experience.
Different on an entire level.
What Rin wanted to do next was daring, so to say. He slipped his hand underneath the sheet and guided it to under the waistband of his shorts. His fingers rested above his standing erection and he began to palm.
"At least your doin' it under that."
Shit, he saw.
"I'm not… well, I'm not directly, anyway." It felt oddly nice to be open about these sort of things and not have to outright deny it abashedly.
From what he could see, it seemed to Rin that Suguro was sort of stretching his arms to cut his hair. He could just stand flush against the chair, Rin wouldn't mind. It would be inappropriate to mind the closeness.
Unless…
Of course. Rin smirked.
"What." Suguro spat out.
"Wanna take care of your problem ?" He teased. He reached backwards and felt around for the bulge in Suguro's trousers. He prodded it once he located it
Rin could imagine Suguro's blush darkening, the thought only making Rin's smirk grow wider.
"I- Lemme finish first." Suguro shifted on the spot, clearly in need for relief but wanting to hold back until he finished what he came here for. Fine. Rin rolled his eyes. We'll have fun later. Not that this isn't fun already.
They cooperated in silence, save for the sounds of the snipping and Rin. Suguro didn't admit it out loud but those sweet sighs and jittery moans he managed to elicit were driving him insane with pleasure. This was only the surface of what he could also elicit from Rin.
He badly wanted to unfurl these feelings from Rin and himself, too.
They patiently waited until Suguro was sure he cut every single split or dry ends he managed to see before removing the clips and taking a step back. Suguro motioned to the mirror on the opposite side of the room, which Rin eagerly rushed to.
Rin peered hard into the mirror, a wide grin plastered on his face. He turned his face both sides, feeling his new hair and stroking his fingers through to take account of the shortness. He watched Suguro quietly approach him, thumbs twiddling themselves.
"What do you think?"
"I look so cute! I like this short layered style! I think it suits me."
"I, uh, agree."
"You think I'm cute?" Rin turned around to face him square-on.
"N-no, that's not what I… well, yeah, that but I think it's a good look on you."
Rin smiled softly before closing the distance between their bodies. He lifted his hands to Suguro's cheeks and pulled him in for a second kiss. There was no hesitation from the other side, Suguro melting into the touch and pressing back just as hard. Rin parted for a brief moment to whisper a "Thank you" and kissed again. They broke for breath and could feel the tightness in their trousers from their bodies pressed against each other.
"Heh, well I guess it's time to take care of these." Rin chuckled. With a hand on the small of Suguro's back, he guided him to his bed and pushed him flat on the covers. Rin wriggled out of the shiny sheet and dumped it on the floor before clambering over the taller of the two. They pressed open-mouthed kisses to each other again and again, fisting their hands into each other's hairs now that they knew this was a turn-on for the both of them. To try something new, Rin ran his fingernails along the scalp of Suguro's head, a shivery moan escaping as he traced the length. Soon afterwards, Suguro had done the same but it seemed to work better when the fingernails were longer, like Rin's were.
At some point, Suguro's belt had been unbuckled and his button opened, his trousers lay loosely around his waist. Rin's shorts had bunched up at his ankles and his shirt rode up, exposing his chest. Rin noticed Suguro staring down.
"You like what you see?"
Suguro nodded, not denying for once. Rin sat up and moved his hands to Suguro's thighs, placing his thumbs and index fingers to form a loose diamond shape around the still strong erection.
As if looking for comfort, warm hands trailed to Rin's. It was cute, of Suguro, to do that. They intertwined their fingers, Rin squeezing Suguro's palms reassuringly.
"Oh and Suguro? If anyone asks, keep the story to the haircut."
