On Haircuts and Dangerous Men
"I'm so sorry to impose," Chrome said, wringing her hands together and avoiding looking Bianchi in the eye.
"Oh, it's no trouble at all." Bianchi moved around Chrome, set a towel over her shoulders, and pulled out her hairpiece. Chrome's hair was longer than it looked when it was tied up. Bianchi took a comb, wetted it, and carefully moved it through violet locks. "Is your hair naturally this color?"
"Um...yes, it is. I know it's strange…"
"Don't worry. You might not believe it, but my hair's naturally this color, nearly pink. Had a lot of jokers at school make fun of me for it. Had to dye it all blonde my freshman year of high school, school didn't believe me when I said it was natural."
"Mm-hm. My mother made me dye mine black when I started school."
"Boo to that. You know, unnatural colors of hair and eyes tend to run with great power. Not even strawberry blonde, but like yours. I've heard you're a fantastic illusionist. The color of your hair and the violet in your eye is that power overflowing. And it's beautiful on you, besides."
Chrome went red at the compliment. "Thank you."
Bianchi picked up her scissors and started trimming off of the bottom. "Do you usually cut your own hair, then?"
"No. Ken did it, for a while. He never had very good scissors, thought. And he yanked out the knots if I didn't brush it out beforehand."
"Hm, well, he did a fairly even job last time. Some good scissors and a little more patience could do wonders."
"What kind of scissors?" She blushed again. "Sorry. I...I still need to thank all of them. Ken and Chikusa and M.M. And Fran, I guess," she added like an afterthought.
"Do you really like being around them? They seem a little…"
"They're all good. Ken and Chikusa show kindness in their own way, they just were never shown it themselves. M.M. was concerned for me, visited me in the hospital. Fran is...he's…interesting."
"What a compliment." Bianchi checked to make sure both sides were even, and moved on to the bangs. "And Rokudo Mukuro?" She nearly spat the name.
Chrome forced herself to keep focused on Bianchi. "I'm sorry for what he did to you, Miss Bianchi."
"You weren't there. And he's helped Tsuna and Hayato since then, right?" She was still tense.
"I think he wants to be better." Chrome touched the earring that had been left on her nightstand. "But I don't know if he can. And I know that if I want to love somebody, it should be somebody better. But I can't help it, sometimes…I'm sorry."
"Ah, well, if anyone knows bad people to fall in love with, it's me. Even when you should know better. And maybe Mukuro can be a better person."
"I hope so."
Bianchi thought of sweet nothings whispered, and refusals to back down shouted, insults grunted and muttered. Well, the coroner's report said it was severe food poisoning that killed Romeo, but money in the right hands could do a lot for making the coroner overlook obvious evidence of foul play.
"Miss Bianchi? Are you okay?"
Her hand was shaking. It had the feeling of his fingers entwined in her own, and holding her wrist so tight it hurt.
"Chrome, can you just keep in mind, if he ever comes back: love, it's wonderful, it can make you see the whole world in a different light, make every day seem brighter and full of life, but it can also blind you to faults in the person you love. Through rose-colored glasses, all the red flags just look like flags."
Chrome considered it a moment, and nodded. "Okay. Thank you, Miss Bianchi."
"Think nothing of it. You should try wearing your hair down more, it looks nice, and it's better for the hair to be loose sometimes."
"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind."
A/N: Partially inspired by Luki Dimensions's 'Mafia Ever After', all about an asexual Bianchi. I highly recommend it, it's in my favorites if you want to check it out.