A/N: Looking back, I realized that this was a pretty clumsy story as a whole and didn't want it to forever remain on the site publically displaying my embarrassment. While I understand that this was uploaded at an earlier time in my life (and less mature), I also realize that there are people who actually do enjoy this, so instead of deleting it altogether - along with the lovely comments you have given me - I went back and made some minor edits that are slightly less amateur. This is what one would call 'meeting halfway'.

All that aside, I am endlessly grateful for all your continuing support. Despite all the dumb things I may or may not have written, you stuck with me, and for that I thank you.

So with that, please enjoy this slightly improved fluff fic between my favorite KS couple. :)

Much love,

-LR

I stared blatantly at Rin, her messy red hair much messier than before and her bangs almost completely covering her eyes.

"It's getting hard to see."

"Let me guess…"

"I said I was going to need a haircut. Now I need a haircut."

Yes, you certainly do.

Out of the pure goodness of my heart, I accompanied Rin to the salon in fear that she would wander off to somewhere else completely, or worse, a different province.

We luckily made it to our destination without any misadventures (which was now common for us) and walked in through the salon door, which made a small "ching" upon entering. The lady behind the counter seemed to recognize Rin right away and routinely led her to what I was guessing was her "normal spot".

She sat Rin down in a relatively short stool, short enough for Rin to sit on easily without any struggle, located in front of a large mirror with hindsight for almost the entire room. I was impressed; Rin must be a regular here.

The lady turned on the sink behind her and carefully tipped Rin's head backwards, being sure not to cause any extreme discomfort for her. Her thick and rather unkempt hair was somehow weighed down with water, which I found absolutely miraculous. It was a rare sight.

She closed her eyes as the lady washed her hair and then let herself get sat back up right after she was done. It was strange for me to think it, but I didn't feel uncomfortable at all watching her as she sat there, unmoving. I secretly hoped for a brief moment that I wasn't demonstrating creepy behaviour; not that Rin would even care.

Rin retained perfect posture as the lady quietly trimmed her hair. I sat on a chair close to her, reading a book about some kind of prophecy. I had to try hard not to look at Rin. I knew she wouldn't mind me watching, but I felt I wanted to see her in full afterwards as opposed to an in-progress glance every now and then. My previous thought about acting creepy also bothered me a bit. Even if Rin couldn't care less about how much I stared, I had a feeling that the lady might be gazing upon me with judging eyes. I felt it would be best to keep my pupils focused on the pages rather than what was, in my opinion, something much more interesting to watch - not that anyone would put that past me.

Before long, I heard the sounds of feet shuffling and a polite "thanks again" from the lady. And a subtle, robotic "ditto" from Rin.

I slid a bookmark between my page and looked up at her, hair dried, brushed down and neatly trimmed. Her bangs were back to their usual length, about a centimeter from her forehead, and surprisingly tidy. I can't say "it was almost like looking at a different Rin"; that would be an outright lie. But, if I had to say something about her, she looked slightly less… Rin-ish.

"… I'm done," she announced in her usual tone.

"Aren't you going to ask my opinion?" I asked, wondering what her response might be.

Rin paused to think.

"Why would I do that?"

"Well, most people do it so they can know what another person thinks of them."

"I see."

"So… are you going to?"

"Well, initially I wasn't, but since you've raised the issue, I suppose I will."

Silence.

"What do you think?"

I took a good, long look at her. Finally, I stood up.

"Hmm… I think it could use a little bit of this."

I placed my hand on her head and gently tousled her hair. I swished it back and forth until it began to stick out from the sides. I then finished with a pat on the head.

"There. Now you look like Rin. My Rin."

Rin looked up at me, almost worriedly.

"Whose Rin did I look like before?"

I wanted to laugh, but she was dead serious. Her deep green eyes were filled with question. My response was another hand to the head and ruffling her hair again.

"You know, it really doesn't matter."

Rin accepted this.

"Okay."

We walked back together, talking about the many ways hair can be a hassle for us but we keep it anyway. (Obviously Rin was the one who started it.) She had a good point; we wake up every morning and are instantly assigned to the chore of brushing our hair before going to school. I guess we just put up with it because we've pretty much lived with it all our life, and are more-or-less used to it by now. For most of us, at least.

"Hisao?"

"Hm?"

"Did you really like my haircut?"

I turned to her, almost surprised at her sudden interest in further probing the topic I had brought up on the fly without even realizing it. I pondered my answer carefully.

"... I thought you looked very nice. Nice enough to go to the royal empire and have brunch with the queen. I just wasn't used to it, is all. But, as strange as it sounds, I think you look best like this, when you're at the peak of your Rin-ness."

She gazed at me for a moment and put on a very surprised look.

"I didn't even know I had a peak, Hisao."

"Sure you do."

I pointed to her head.

"You have one right there," I said jokingly, my finger in the direction of one of the little peaks I had created in her hair. "And there." I pointed to another one.

This time, I was the surprised one, hearing Rin laugh at my joke.

"You have some, too," she replied, looking in the direction of my head, where my own peaks were. The laughter followed us all the way to Rin's room.

"Hisao?"

"Yes?"

"Am I at the peak of Rin-ness right now?"

I leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

"You'll always be at the peak of your Rin-ness, Rin. I can promise you that."

Rin smiled.

"I think you are also at the peak of your Hisao-ness, Hisao. But I'm not sure if you'll always be that way."

I laughed again. I'm not sure how, but Rin always had some way of making my day, no matter what happened a few hours, a few weeks or even a few months ago. Personally, I think this woman is hands-down the weirdest, coolest, funniest girlfriend in the world.

I pulled her into a hug and buried my face into her hair.

"We'll see about that."