Synopsis: what happens when Meï has to sacrifice her hair. Set just after season 2.

I haven't watched season 3 yet, I have no idea about how the characters look like in season 3, I don't want to watch it illegally (did you know that some TV shows have already been cancelled because they were watched illegally?) and I hate spoilers so don't tell me anything about season 3.

Disclaimer: if Galactik Football belonged to me, I wouldn't be writing fanfics.

Rapunzel

The week-end had started well for the Snow Kids. They were having fun on the Obia moon as Tia's parents were working somewhere. Just now, they were in the garden. "Tia, I can't believe you never told us you have a swimming-pool!" Micro-Ice said happily.

"Yeah, but please don't do anything stupid!" Tia shouted while he was bending down to look at the water. "There are cameras everywhere and you never know whether they are working or not!"

Rocket's face fell. "Cameras?"

"Cameras, yes." She came closer and whispered: "except in the laundry and the bathrooms. I'll show you where we can meet."

Rocket sighed with relief. Then Thran ran to Tia. "Will your parents mind if we use the electronic barbecue?"

"I don't think they'll mind but it never worked, anyway."

"I bet I can make it work!" he said happily. Ahito had just fallen asleep on the barbecue so he pushed him away and started examining it.

"Hey, Yuki!" Micro-Ice shouted excitedly. "Look how well I can dive!" And the small boy removed his shoes and dived into the swimming-pool with all his clothes on, sending water everywhere and especially on Meï, who was sunbathing on a reclining chair. She got up, completely furious.

"Are you silly?" she said angrily. "My hair is all wet, now!"

"Yes, so what?" Micro-Ice asked. "That's just hair!"

"I'm still under a contract. I shall not damage it!"

Micro-Ice sighed. He liked Meï but sometimes she had really weird reactions. He had already seen her wet and smelly with perspiring after a match so what was wrong if there was a bit of water on her hair? "OK, I'm sorry", he said. "Want to join us in the pool?"

"Uh, Micro-Ice", Yuki said slowly. "There's no us in the swimming-pool. You're alone."

"I'd better get towels", Tia stated. "Come with me, Rocket, I'll show you the… rooms you'd better know about."

oOoOoooOO

Rocket followed her into a bathroom that was bigger than his bedroom on Akilian. She grabbed a pile of towels and stopped suddenly. "No cameras in this room", she said. "If Micro-Ice was not soaking and cold in the garden, I think I'd kiss you now."

He embraced her. "Yeah, kissing would be a bad idea." He kissed her anyway. "But what about spending one more minute here? I'm sure nobody will notice."

"OK, one more minute." She cuddled against him. "It's not that cold, he can wait, but… what if…"

"Don't think, Tia. It's our week-end." He kissed her again and again, running his hands on her back. She was about to slide her hands under his shirt when a wild shout made them jump. They stared at each other for one second. "Meï…" Tia whispered. And they ran back to the garden.

oOoOoooOO

The first thing they saw was Thran and Mark who were trying to restrain an angry D'Jok from hitting Micro-Ice. "Are you crazy?" he shouted madly. "You dumbass, you could have killed her!"

Then Rocket and Tia noticed that Ahito and Yuki were kneeling next to Meï, who was lying on the grass, wet and sobbing. Rocket walked to Thran. "What happened?" he asked.

"A bit of an accident. I was trying to fix that barbecue and… someone bumped into me and it fell down. It happens that Meï was lying there and her hair caught fire…"

"I'm so sorry!" Micro-Ice whimpered. "I didn't want to hurt her, you know it!"

"I think we'd better call the hospital", Yuki said.

Meï flinched. "No hospital!" she said. "I'll be okay." She looked up and everyone saw that her face hadn't been burnt. She got up cautiously and turned to Tia, who guessed what she wanted to ask for and handed her a towel. The brunette hid her hair under it and went back into the house, closely followed by Tia.

D'Jok was still boiling inside. "Couldn't you look at where you were going?" he asked furiously. "Bumping into a barbecue, how stupid…"

"Hey, calm down", Thran said. "You're not making things any better."

"Meï's strong", Yuki added. "I bet she'll be okay."

"I'll have a look", Mark suggested, but Ahito opened his eyes and held him back.

"No. Not the right moment."

Thran nodded. "Ahito's right", he said. "I don't think Meï would want a boy to look at her just now."

Everybody stared at Yuki, who just nodded. "OK. I'll check if she's all right and I'll come back."

oOoOoooOO

So Yuki went to knock at the girls' bedroom's door. Tia opened the door cautiously and let her enter. Meï was standing in front of a mirror with her hair down and a frown of annoyance on her face. Big chunks of hair were missing as if someone had cut down random wisps but otherwise, she still looked good.

"That's bad", she finally said.

Tia remembered the way Meï had constantly comforted her during the last cup. She had a sudden surge of affection. "Meï, you shouldn't think about what your mother may think of it", she said. "This is not her business."

The shampoo model forced herself to laugh. "Actually, my mom suggested me to make it thigh-length or waist-length several times. I never accepted. Having hair that long made me feel a bit special."

"Yeah, but this is not that serious", Yuki suggested. "It will grow back."

"I know, but… it took me ten years to have hair that length. Ten years. I have the feeling I just lost something huge."

Tia gestured her to sit down, sat beside her and put a comforting arm around her shoulders. "Meï, I know you feel bad about it but you don't need feet-length hair to be a special person. You are."

"She's right", Yuki added. "The way you look is not that important. I've never been pretty, so what? I'm not making a fuss about it."

Meï stared at the redhead for one moment. When she talked again, she sounded much calmer.

"Actually, Yuki, you have great skin, nice shoulders, nice arms, nice abs and perfect knees…"

"Knees?" Yuki interrupted.

"Yes, knees. You don't imagine how many girls feel self-conscious when trying a skirt because they don't know how their knees will look like. The only thing wrong with your looks is the way you sometimes wear colours that don't look good on you. Do you know your season type?"

"My… what?"

"Never mind. I bet you're a spring, but I'd prefer to make sure." And she went to her travelling bag, opened it and found a pile of fashion magazines. Tia sighed with relief. If Meï was in touch with her nurturing side again, it meant she was feeling better.

"What's she going to do?" Yuki whispered, blushing and slightly worried.

"Nothing serious. Just a bit of a makeover."

Yuki opened wide eyes. Tia walked slowly to the door and said: "I'm back in a minute" while Meï was looking for the right magazine and Yuki was about to beg anyone to tell her what was going on.

oOoOoooOO

In the corridor, Tia practically bumped into D'Jok, who was closely followed by the other boys. "How's she?" he asked worriedly.

"She's about to give Yuki a fashion lesson."

The boys sighed with relief. "And the hair?" D'Jok asked.

"Part of it will have to be amputated, I'm sorry."

Ahito opened his eyes and noticed that his red-haired friend looked somewhat relieved. Micro-Ice looked embarrassed.

"Err… will we have to skip the dinner?" the small boy asked. "I'm hungry!"

Everyone stared at him except Tia, who started laughing. "Of course! There's a cold meal ready in the kitchen. I guess I'll have to bring Meï's and Yuki's in their room. We'll be back later, I hope."

They went into the kitchen and helped themselves to bread, salad and cold meat. Tia put food on a tray and Rocket grabbed it. "I'll carry it", he said. This gesture just meant he wanted to be alone with her for a while and nobody was fooled. When they had left the room, Ahito opened his eyes and said something to Thran. Thran laughed. "D'Jok, were you actually relieved when you heard that Meï's hair will have to be shortened?"

Sonny's son shrugged. At first he had liked the idea of having a girlfriend with Rapunzel hair but as much as he loved her, he had to admit that her mane was sometimes a bit of a nuisance. Intimacy was particularly tricky: either he couldn't touch her without ending up with his hands entangled, or she braided it before sex and it took ages.

"This sucks", he said simply. "Girls in a bedroom, boys in the kitchen… I have the feeling I am ten!"

"I'm not complaining!" Micro-Ice said. "This is the best ham cake I've ever eaten!"

The other boys laughed. Micro-Ice's inalterable optimism was a great help sometimes.

oOoOoooOO

Rocket and Tia stopped in front of the girl's bedroom and listened carefully. Meï was saying something about flattering colours. Tia sighed. "That's Meï all along", she said. "Nothing makes her feel better than fashion or clothes. Listen, I know I told you we could meet tonight but she needs me now. And so does Yuki. I wouldn't be a good friend if I forsake them now."

"Right", Rocket said, wondering who could be in the worse situation: Meï who had lost part of her hair or Yuki who had to have a fashion lesson, whether she wanted it or not.

"And I wouldn't be a good girlfriend if I let this last too long. I guess I'll be free tomorrow."

She winked, they kissed and she entered the room, ready to help whoever needed her more.

oOoOoooOO

Meï woke up early the day after. She walked to the mirror silently, unwilling to awake the other girls. So her hair was gone. She just had to accept it. It still hurt her but as Yuki said, other things were more important. If she had been given the choice between her friends and her mane, she would have chosen friends without a hint of a hesitation.

And maybe there would be positive points now. Washing it would take less time, combing it would take less time, maybe she would run faster on the field… She sat down, started combing her hair and smiled. This was supposed to be a fun weekend, after all: better trying to make the best of it.

The end!