Name: Hair
By: Princess Yori
Summary: Ling Tong helps Gan Ning dye his hair.
Pairing: Slightly Ling Tong/Gan Ning
Genre: Friendship/Humor
Rating: K+
Setting: Wu DW6
Warnings: Kind of slashful.
Disclaimer: All mentioned characters, settings, and such belong to Koei Corp.
"Hold still!"
"Ow!"
"It's going to get in your eye if you keep moving around."
Ling Tong raked his fingers through Gan Ning's hair, pulling it to make a point. He repeated the process, with less pulling, after Gan Ning finally settled back into his position sitting cross-legged in front of him. After the last time, they weren't allowed to sit on the furniture, so Ling Tong knelt behind him gliding his fingers through his hair in the familiar process.
"Are you done yet?" Gan Ning whined. "This is boring."
"You say that every time, you're the one who wants to change the color remember?"
Ling Tong leaned to the side, still grasping Gan Ning's hair as a warning for him not to move, reaching for more of the dye. Couldn't they have come up with something better smelling? Something that didn't burn every one of his five senses? He used an old pair of gloves so not to stain himself with the color, personally he didn't want to walk around with hands the color of mud, nor did he really want to find out what the dye could do to his skin. He went through the hair one more time before peeling the gloves off.
"Can I move now?"
"Whatever," Ling Tong shrugged, moving around to the side of Gan Ning, dropping into a more comfortable sitting position on the edge of the platform.
He watched Gan Ning stand up, stretching, while he kicked the dirt under his shoes around. Gan Ning grinned enjoying his short freedom before he'd have to be forced under a faucet to rinse off the excess. Ling Tong smiled at the thought, it was his favourite part of the process, and probably the only reason he didn't tell Gan Ning to screw himself when he asked to get his hair dyed.
"Why do you dye your hair anyway?" Ling Tong asked, thinking the question should have come up earlier in the learning process.
"I'm bored," Gan Ning shrugged.
"So am I, but I don't go around lopping off my hair, or killing it," Ling Tong touched his hair briefly before leaning back on his elbows, studying the underside of the roof. "Maybe you're self-conscious, then again, you're too confident for that…"
"What's it matter?"
"Just making conversation."
He slid the rest of the way down, lying on the floor, closing his eyes. The worst part was waiting around, especially when he was ready for a much deserved nap. He listened to Gan Ning moving around, probably releasing all of his built up energy, it was calming to hear someone else close by…
"Hello?" He briefly came back to consciousness, it didn't last long. "Damn it."
His eyes snapped open, staring up in surprise at Gan Ning. It took a moment to realize the distance between them was merely inches; he blinked regaining control of himself. Gan Ning grinned at him wickedly, like some child who had just gotten caught tormenting another.
"Are you…sitting on me?" Ling Tong said, frowning.
"You wouldn't get up," Gan Ning pointed to his hair, freshly rinsed. Damn.
He touched his forehead realizing finally what woke him up; it was wet, from Gan Ning's hair dripping on him. Gan Ning sat up, still on top of him, running his hands through his hair, flicking excess water at Ling Tong. He slid back up onto his elbows, glaring at the pirate; unfortunately there was nothing for him to retaliate with, without making things more awkward.
"Get off of me," He said, itching to smack the grin off of Gan Ning's face.
"Oh c'mon," Gan Ning leaned forward, their faces nearly touching, making it hard for Ling Tong to focus on his eyes without causing pain to his own. "You know you like it, everyone does."
Ling Tong brought his hands up, shoving Gan Ning backwards, causing him to fall off onto the ground. He shook the blush from his face, folding his arms around his chest. Listening to Gan Ning's sudden laughter.
"Like I said, too confident."