Title: Stained Fingers
Fandom: Free!
Pairings: Sousuke/Rin
Rating: T
Word Count: 1.8k
Warnings: N/A
Summary:
"Seriously, you don't want me to do this for you," Sousuke protested, voice growing meeker the longer the argument went on.
A/N:
I hit a huge writer's block while writing my next A Life Worth Living fic so I'm trying to work through it. This is a fun idea I had but I don't know how good it came out since I'm still really stuck. Also I really love thinking about Sousuke and Rin Not jumping into a sexual relationship right after they get together just because they're, you know, teenage boys. Embarrassing and teasing each other because they're both not ready is just so much more fun (and makes a lot more sense IMO.)
Either way I hope everyone likes it, I had fun thinking about it lol. If there are any glaring errors let me know!
Stained Fingers
"Seriously, you don't want me to do this for you," Sousuke protested, voice growing meeker the longer the argument went on. Rin rolled his eyes and started opening the box in his hands, reading the directions before tearing the small bag and dumping its powdery contents into the plastic bottle.
"You'll do fine. Gou already did the hardest part anyways."
He turned on the faucet to a gentle trickle before filling up the bottle to the marked line. When it reached it he turned it off and screwed on the top tight before starting to shake it furiously.
"Just have her do the rest too," Sousuke sulked, though he was already slipping on the plastic gloves. Gou had to run off for some friend emergency so she had only been able to bleach his roots.
"I'm not going to just leave my hair like this," he huffed, tossing the bottle to Sousuke. "Besides she took her overnight bag. Who knows what time she's getting back tomorrow."
Rin sat down on the stool and wrapped a towel around his neck. Sousuke shook the bottle again before standing behind Rin and very carefully squirting a little bit onto the roots. The smell was potent and burned the inside of his nostrils even with its weird floral scent.
He tried to smear it with his gloved fingers but it barely moved and Sousuke felt a twitch of anxiety in his stomach. He wasn't making much progress with the gloves and he knew that the stuff was time sensitive, though he didn't know how much. If he let a giant glob like that sit there for too long without dying the rest would it come out darker? Would the dye make his hair look weird?
Rin took to humming below him, patiently waiting and trusting him to take care of it. Sousuke resigned to his fate and peeled off the plastic glove, dropping it in the sink before taking his bare fingers to the dye. It smoothed over much easier and he was able to rub it in to the light strands.
"You're hands are going to be red," Rin warned. He ignored it in favor of concentrating not to let any of the dye slip down onto Rin's forehead.
He worked in quick rotations between squirting the dark liquid onto Rin's head and his fingers combing it through, rubbing it into his bleached roots. Rin started talking about his friends at Iwatobi and plans they should make for the weekend as Sousuke worked through his hair, not that he could respond. He was too nervous about messing it up, but he already started so he'd have to just do his best.
The hardest part was making sure he got all of the roots on the underside. He wasn't sure how Gou managed to do this for them both every time, it was ridiculous and time consuming. They had actually been putting it off this time since Rin and Gou had been so busy. He couldn't remember a day he had seen Rin's roots this long in years. Years, that is, meaning since they were in elementary school and Rin had his natural hair color.
"Done, I think," Sousuke exhaled, after finishing scanning his head for any stray pieces he had missed. He had combed through it all at least three times so he's sure he didn't miss any big spots at least.
"Great!" Rin grinned as he took his phone out and set on a timer. Sousuke just dropped the empty bottle of dye into the sink with the plastic gloves and pumped as much hand soap onto his hands as possible.
"Your hand is going to be red for weeks," Rin snickered from behind him.
"I don't even understand how you can get anything done with those damn things on."
Rin leaned around him and turned on the faucet for him. Sousuke dipped his hands on the water for a second before lathering up the soap even more. It's once soft baby blue now a deep purpling red in his hands, pinkish bubbles dropping into the porcelain sink and washing away. He put his hands under the water when he felt he did all he could do and rubbed his skin hard as the water carried the dye and soap down the drain.
His palms were clean, but his fingers were stained. The hand that was holding the bottle was completely clear of the color except for the very tips of his fingers, around the nails. The dye must have colored them when he was scrubbing away at his hands.
"How long do we have to wait?" Sousuke asked as he shook his hands dry. He grabbed a hand towel and finished dried them off as Rin turned the faucet off again. Rin sat down on the stool and pulled out his phone.
"Like twenty minutes or so," he hummed, "or else the color won't stick as well."
"Whatever you say," Sousuke groaned, flipping the toilet lid closed and sitting down.
"Thanks."
He glanced at Rin and saw his trademark frown in place of his usual smirk. Maybe he had been a little too dramatic or sulked a little longer than he should have. It's not like he actually minded helping, though it still scared the hell out of him.
"Don't thank me yet," he reminded him and Rin laughed.
"Well thanks for attempting, but I'm sure it'll be fine either way. Besides, it's your first time so I can cut you some slack," Rin finished with a smirk.
"This better be the last time."
Rin just cackled away in his seat, and Sousuke tried not to let his frown break. The time continued to tick away as they talked about random things. It was comfortable like normal, though Sousuke felt it was weird that they were just sitting in the bathroom.
Rin was looking up places he wanted go that weekend on his phone. They had it all to themselves so they were bound to do something interesting if he had anything to say about it. Their discussion of whether or not going to the city or going on some nature hike would be better when a soft tune started to play from Rin's hands.
"Alright, I'm just going to hop into the shower since it's easier," Rin said as he turned off the alarm, putting his phone on the sink counter top. He picked up a small tube of special conditioner out of the box the dye came in. Sousuke stood up, stretching his back a bit, assuming it was his time to go.
"You're leaving?" Rin questioned, surprise in his tone and one eyebrow arched. Sousuke paused, his ears starting to burn.
"Do you want me to stay?" He asked, confused. Rin snorted and began to strip, and he turned his eyes away though he wasn't sure whether that meant to stay or go.
"You're not going to peak are you?" Rin teased and Sousuke sat down, knowing that meant to stay. He heard the shower curtain get pulled across and finally let himself relax. The shower came to life and he heard Rin hiss for a second, probably colder than he expected.
There was silence then, only the sound of the shower's spray. He felt his whole body heating up and he wasn't even sure why. Nothing unusual was happening, but everything was loud and distinct in his ears. The sound of the water hitting the tub's floor, and the sound of the erratic spray against the shower curtains as Rin likely scrubbed his hair, they all rang out clear. The noise tickled his ears in a weird way and Sousuke tried to rub away the feeling, taking a harsh hand to his ears that were already hot to the touch.
"Is there any real reason you wanted me to stay or were you just trying to embarrass me?" Sousuke finally asked.
"Both I guess," He laughed, "but what's the point of leaving? I'm going to be done in a second."
"Then what's the point of staying," he grumbled in response. Rin just snickered more and suddenly the water was turned off. Sousuke closed his eyes when the curtain was yanked back. His ears started tingling and he covered them after an awful shiver ran down his spine.
He felt Rin's presence in front of him and he let out a deep breath.
"Please tell me you're dressed," he pleaded. Muffled laughter reached his ears and he carefully let them down and opened his eyes. Rin was fully dressed and a sigh of relief left him. He wasn't sure how much more he could handle of that.
"Something wrong Yamazaki?"
Sousuke glared at the other before he saw Rin's hair and let it go. The color of his roots matched the rest of it. No weird spots or uncolored hair left over. Rin noticed and brushed his hands through it, parting it for him to see.
"See? You did fine," he assured before swooping in and giving him a kiss. "Thanks."
Rin stepped back, a smile plastered on his face as he picked his towel up from his shoulders and continued to dry his hair. Sousuke just sat there and watched helplessly. If he was trying to save face before, which he wasn't, there was no going back after that.
"Close your mouth dork."
Sousuke just pulled his mouth into a frown and didn't bother with a retort. He tried desperately to forget that his face was probably just as red as the color of Rin's hair. He rubbed the back of his neck and attempted to regain any sense of ease he had felt before. It wasn't like Rin was making him uncomfortable, but the weird jitters in his stomach and the weird tingling feeling of his ears and cheeks were far from his comfort zone.
Rin was examining himself in the mirror. He ran a hand through his hair before taking a brush to it, untangling the damp strands. He threw it up into a high ponytail when he finished and hung the towel up to dry.
"Next time I'll have Gou teach you how to bleach it too."
"Why?" Sousuke's eyes went wide with confusion. That seemed even harder than just coloring it. Rin looked at him like he had grown a second head before leaving the bathroom, knowing Sousuke would follow.
"Why not? It'd be easier to have my boyfriend do it than going to find my sister whenever I have to have it done. And it's not like I can afford to get it done professionally every time the roots start to show."
Sousuke's words died on his lips, a strangled noise being the only thing that made it out of his throat. Rin stopped in the middle of the hallway to grab his hand and kiss him, and he knew then that his fingers would likely be stained red for many years to come.
Whether it'd be from the blood rushing to them or the dye itself only time could tell.