Y'all, TattooSleeve!Ross is a terrible, terrible thing that should either be abolished immediately or put into place this very second. So this one is for RJ and Tiffany. Thanks for the Twitter heart palpations.
Laura could put up with a lot of things. She could put up with long days, with people constantly trying to get information on her personal life, with her boyfriend jet setting around the world to promote his various adventures, with courses bogging her down and putting out an album at the same time. She could even put up with the (admittedly very attractive) fact that her boyfriend had recently gotten into the art side of body modification up and down his left arm. But she absolutely could not put up with the mop growing on his head any longer. She had asked him about it, nonchalantly of course, and he had given some answer about how he liked when she pulled on it, which led into a whole other conversation between her legs. That had been last week, and by the time she remembered what had started that particular incident, it was a little too late to continue the conversation.
She had something up her sleeve (made of actual cloth, thank you very much), and she was counting down the days till it could be put in action.
The band had agreed to come down to Walt Disney World for some promotional thing or the other, and the staff had generously agreed to let them bring a few guests along. Which meant Laura was about to spend her week with exactly one boyfriend, one best friend, one boy who drummed on anything, including small children and cats, one boy who was starting to bear a disturbing resemblance to Jesus, one elementary school teacher, a slightly better contained mop of hair, and a yoga instructor.
God bless her soul.
She loved them all, dearly, but it was a combination of couples and family that was going to either end up being fantastic or killing them all.
But first, she was going to have to enact her plan.
Phase #1, The Seduction
This part was very important, as it set up everything else. So she picked her timing carefully, and attacked as he got out of the shower. She ran her hands up and down his chest, stopping at the towel hanging off his hips, before peppering kisses up and down the line art sleeve that was largely on display.
"You know," she whispered, tracing the lily that lined his bicep, "I really think this sleeve is the best thing you've done to yourself in a long time."
"You think?" he said huskily, picking her up and kissing her before depositing her on the bed.
"I do," she said, fisting his hair. "I think it'd look really good if you parted your hair away from it, though. It'd draw more attention to it…"
"I'll have to take that into consideration," he moaned, and that was the end of that conversation.
The next morning, he was doing battle with a comb and a bit of gel in front of the mirror. She smirked to herself, knowing that he was playing into her hand. Just like she wanted him to.
Phase #2, The Media Campaign
They were strolling through Main Street, USA as a group, before the band decided that they needed a picture in front of the castle. Laura was more than happy to volunteer, taking the picture with her iPad and tweeting it out with a simple hashtag- #bringingthesidepartback.
She was fairly proud that it was trending within the hour, complete with old photos showcasing the best haircuts he'd ever had. She was scrolling through while they stopped at Starbucks, lost in the app, when a soft southern accent spoke in her ear.
"I don't know exactly what you're doing, but I think I want in."
Laura was particularly a fan of Rocky's girlfriend. She was fairly quiet, but she was passionate and caring, and she was great at her job. Vi had gotten to join them on this trip since it was over Spring Break, and she had the week off from teaching. Living across the country, she wasn't around often, but Laura had developed a soft spot for the girl. But she was all too aware of her tastes toward giving lectures. It kind of came with the teaching territory.
"There's a possibility that I'm milking the social media campaign to bring Ross's old hair back."
Vi pursed her lips, considering the pros and cons.
"If it works, we're going after Rocky's stache next, alright? What do you need me to do?"
Out of her bag came her iPhone, and the hashtag went on her account as well. Vi also retweeted a few of her choice favorite photos, tagging Laura on them.
"I love the kid, I really do, but he's needed a good chop since about 2013. Let me know if you need me to get Vanni and Rydel in on it, too, okay?" She gave Laura a quick hug before flitting back across the room and under Rocky's arm.
Ross came to sit with her, handing her a macchiato and dropping a kiss into her hair before wrapping his arm around her waist. She traced the leaves that lined his wrist, appreciating the way they looked hooked around her.
"What are you looking at, babe?"
Hook, line, and sinker.
"Oh, just a few people were tweeting about how much they liked your old hair. The way you did it today reminded them of it, apparently, and they were sending me some pictures. Look at this one! Remember when I surprised you at your concert? This one seems to be the winner…"
Ross looked at it for a moment before brushing some hair out of his face.
"Well, maybe I'm due for a trim."
She couldn't have written a script better than this.
"Maybe so," she mused, before dragging him by his tattooed arm off to the Peter Pan ride she'd been begging to go on all day.
The plan continued to go remarkably well, she noted, as she flipped through more tweets backstage. The band was playing in the parade this afternoon, and they had deposited the girls in a delightfully air conditioned location while they warmed up. Laura was leaning on Vi while they filled Vanni in what was going on. She had offered up her support, tweeting the hashtag as well. It was still trending, which was wonderful, and she was enjoying the 'paparazzi' shots of the two of them today. She was entirely right. The side part really did set off the sleeve nicely. And if she was going to admit it, so did she. Her ripped up Mickey Mouse tank went pretty nicely with the tattooed rockstar idea. Everyone else seemed to think so as well.
Including the, excuse the obvious pun that she was very proud of, lynchpin in the whole situation. A quietly placed phone call about her plan had received full support and funding (which was laughable, considering it would maybe cost $30 total), along with a collage of photos with the caption, "OMSTARS, MY BABY BOY LOOKS SO NICE WITH HIS HAIR PARTED KEEP IT UP SWEETHEART I LOVE YOU XOXO". Really, this would be a tipping point. He didn't say no to his mother.
Which led them to:
Phase #3, The Execution
Or, as she liked to refer to it, Ross's mop meets the guillotine.
Really, the Harmony Barber Shop was a gift. Not only did it provide haircuts, but it was in the right location, and it was full of distractions.
Now, she just had to get him to the shop.
The thing about dating a romantic rockstar was that photo ops were never passed up. Which was how she had ended up slow dancing in the middle of the street in Walt Disney World, in front of Cinderella's Castle, being twirled not unlike the vines covering the arm of the one twirling her, and ending in a dip and a perfectly timed kiss. Picture perfect. Except for the hair.
Which was why she was very grateful for the barbershop quartet currently drawing her in. It was the perfect excuse, really.
So she might have accidently pushed him into the shop. And into a chair. No big deal.
"You were talking about a trim anyway, babe! Might as well do it in the happiest place on Earth, right?"
He shrugged as she went to sit down. And that was when the quartet walked in and surrounded him, singing loudly while the cosmetologist started to grab at hair and gesture at Laura for approval on the length. She nodded, the singing intensified, and Ross was sufficiently distracted enough to not notice the large chunks of hair falling until it was too late to stop. Which was exactly her plan.
By the time he was out of the chair, his hair was back to a respectable length, with plenty of bangs left for flipping about on stage, and enough in the back that it could still be grabbed onto. A pair of mouse ears was slapped onto his grumpy head, a picture was snapped on an iPad, and there was a growl toward Laura about never posting that, ever.
"But you look so handsome, Ross," she said, swinging their hands as they walked toward dinner. "Besides. It really makes your sleeve stand out, and it looks hot…"
Said sleeve gathered her up against him as he kissed her long and hard.
"Don't think I didn't know this was your plan all along, missy. You're just lucky I love you."
Laura really couldn't say that she minded the slight anger if it meant that she was going to get to appreciate the new haircut in conjunction with his sleeve without worrying regular trims weren't going to become persona non grata again.
"Enough to keep getting trims for me?"
"You're pushing it, Laur."
But his hand found hers again, and they went off in search of the restaurant where his family was waiting. Naturally, the reaction to the haircut from the girls was enthusiastic. The boys knew better than to go against the important women in their lives, and their mouths stayed relatively shut, save from a distinctive cough from Riker that sounded suspiciously like, "Whipped," before it turned into an actual cough due to a slap on the back by his girlfriend.
The fact remained that Ross had finally, finally gotten a haircut.
And when he wasn't looking, she uploaded a picture of him with mouse ears on, arms crossed, tattoo bulging from his shirt sleeve, frowning at the camera, with a simple hashtag- #missionaccomplished.