I uh I made a thing. I was watching that jenna marbles vid where she gave herself a hair wrap and I just oh my god man. Perfect. And I was like NOW I HAVE TO MAKE THIS.
So uh, thats a thing.
Its pre-anna, but like just by a hair (HA)
inspiration: jenna marbles videos, carly rae jepsen music. Particularly "run away with me"
onwards!
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The thread felt nice in his fingers, smooth and cool. Manta wasn't quite sure if he'd even braided hair before, let alone tied it up. But Yoh had heard some girls at school talking and the idea was planted.
"Are you really sure...?" the boy asked, glancing up.
Yoh nodded, a cheerful grin on his face. "It seemed really nice. I can do yours first, if you want."
A thrum of excitement raced through his bones. His father would be livid if he came home with a hair wrap. If not him, then certainly his mother would throw a fit. Biting his lip, Manta glanced down at the thread again.
"The only way to remove this, is if you cut it out you know." he mumbled.
Sky blue, gold and red threads, neatly sectioned off. Still cool, despite the heat of late afternoon. Yoh hummed, "That's fine. Hair grows back, anyway."
Manta didn't reply, listening as Yoh shuffled across the grass to sit beside him. He felt a hand card through his hair, an appraising hum escaping the taller boy. "You have such nice hair, Manta. I wish mine was this soft!"
Cheeks warming, the blond huffed. Yoh laughed, tugging a lock of hair near Manta's ear. "How about here? Its long enough."
Manta shrugged. "Wherever you want. Your the one doing it."
He didn't bother saying that no matter where Yoh put the braid, his family was going to see the bright blue and red. Like a stain, proof of something that they absolutely wouldn't approve of. A finger brushed against his ear and he shivered.
The cemetery was quiet today, a warm breeze rustling the leaves of the tree they were under. Maybe the residents had caught wind of something blooming between the two. Manta would have felt ten times more embarrassed if someone had been there to see this.
"You braid fast." Manta said, for lack of anything better to say.
He could see Yoh shrug from the corner of his eye. "Tamao and I used to braid each others hair a lot. She was really good at it, could do it faster than I could." he said, laughing a bit.
Yoh reached over and plucked a blue thread from Manta's hand. "Oh."
It felt wrong to talk. Like he was disturbing something. Yoh would probably have teased him for that. Slowly, the thread was wound around the small braid. The boy was taking his time, patiently working the thread so it was tight and even in his hair.
Seconds slowed to hours, just the feel of gentle fingers working close to his skin to remind him that this was still real. Yoh reached for another thread, the gold one, humming a tune to himself. Manta thought it sounded familiar. He didn't listen to much.
"Last one." Yoh said, picking the last thread from Manta's hand. "It looks really cool."
"That sounds... debatable." Manta said, a smile pulling at his lips.
"It totally isn't, its really cool Manta!"
Manta closed his eyes, smiling warming. A breeze blew by, Yoh tutting in displeasure when the thread escaped his fingers. He caught it and continued winding it around the braid. When he finished, he clapped his hands and grinned.
"All done!"
Blinking, Manta reached up and brushed his fingers along the wrap. Smooth and slightly crooked, a few hair poking through, but still tightly wound. It felt nice. "I like it."
A tangible piece of proof of what was between them. His cheeks burned, the accessory feeling intimate now. Yoh seemed pleased with his work. "I'm glad. Do you want to do mine?" he gestured to his own wild hair.
Manta looked up at him, the wind catching his messy brown hair. He swallowed hard and nodded. "Y-Yeah."
He reached for the plastic shopping bag Yoh had brought, pulling out a packet of thread from it. Yoh sat patiently, humming a bit, as Manta took a long breath. He wasn't sure where to put it. Unlike his own short hair, Yoh's was long and thick and anywhere would be a good place to root something permanently into it.
Manta gently pulled a lock of hair behind the boy's ear. "How about here?"
Yoh started with the tug, nodding. "Sounds good to me."
It took a moment of thinking, before Manta could make his fingers work. He'd never even braided his sister's hair. He hoped this wouldn't be awful. Working carefully, he slowly moved along the lock of hair. When he looked at it properly, it seemed too loose and fat to be a good braid. He said as much.
"Its alright. Take your time, Manta." Yoh said, voice light. "If you want, you can redo it."
He decided to do that. This was important, he couldn't go with the first draft. Manta unwound the braid and began again, managing much better this time. He wished it would have lasted longer, he thought, staring at the braid. Yoh's hair felt so soft.
Glancing at the threads, Manta contemplated how to begin. He picked the red thread first, working it around the braid carefully. It was a lot harder to do than he'd expected. He envied the taller boy's steady and patient hands. Mess ups wouldn't do. But little by little, he worked each thread around the braid.
When he stood back to admire his work, it struck him how obvious the wrap would be. Red, gold and blue in Yoh's dark hair, standing out even when it was half hidden by the rest of his hair. People would talk. They'd be obvious.
Yoh reached up and felt the wrap, eyes lighting up. "I cant wait to see it! It feels nice though. You're really good at this, Manta."
He didn't care if people talked. Mouth suddenly dry, he nodded dumbly. "I-I'm glad."
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victory. It was initially longer but u know wat they say, familiarity breeds...well, contempt.