Rico was already in the bathroom. Their darkest navy blue towels on the counter and the water donned the lab coat, not wanting any dye on his favourite T shirt, the one that said in search of-and depicted a serotonin molecule. Kowalski was almost positive Rico didn't know what it meant. And he'd prefer it stayed that way.
Lately he had been losing count of the number of times the breath had hitched in his throat when the demolitions expert had touched him.
Both accidentally or on purpose .The lightest of touches to his elbow on the way past his work bench, the gentle pat on his shoulder when he agreed with something the analyst was saying, the steadying hand on his waist while hen Kowalski was about to walk right into something in the lab due to clumsiness and sleep deprivation.
Or the times their fingers brushed against each other at the dinner table when they were both reaching for the same food item, before Rico pulled away and proffered whatever the item was to Kowalski first.
Kowalski watched Rico nervously as he began to remove his jacket, then his shirt, looking away and cheeks turning a pretty pink. God damn it he'd seen Rico toopless a thouzand times… But there was something awkwardly intimate about a male grooming another male.
He didn't know how but he was feeling slightly awkward. Rico though was blissfully unaware of Kowalski's discomfort and turned round to face his taller friend unashamed and topless. It was only logical that Rico had removed his top, he didn't have a lab coat to put on and like Kowalski didn't want his shirt stained.
The well muscled chest and prominent six pack however was mildly distracting… "We'll have to …" Kowalski began in a slightly higher than normal pitch. He cleared his throat loudly and began again " we'll have to wash it first, to get all of the hairspray out and have it clean so the dye takes"
Rico grunted at this, leaning over the sink and dousing his head under the lukewarm spray.
Kowalski moved forward awkwardly, movements jerky and shaky. It was like his feet didn't want to listen to him. Finally he positioned himself behind the bent back of his friend, popping open the shampoo bottle from the rack and squirting some of the solution into his palm.
He lathered it up in his hands, finally massaging it into Ricos scalp in smooth circles, and making scritches. Rico let out an indulgent groan, causing Kowalski's hands to stop their motions, then begin again a moment later before Rico noticed the change. Kowalski felt a strange feeling when he heard those noises from Rico, and felt a bizarre sort of dirtiness and guilt stemming from it.
But it was ridiculous, so he carried on with the task in hand. Soon the hair was completely coated in crisp white bubbles, soon washed out by the spray from the tap.
Kowalski patted Rico on his bare shoulder, signalling for him to stand upright,wrapping a towel around his head. He then proceeded to scrub at the demolitions experts head vigorously. This was met with much protest, and grunting. Rico trying to escape,but Kowalski was determined, and for once won the physical battle by sheer will. It also helped that whenever Rico tried to dislodge Kowalski's hands he used the towel to trap Rico's hands,immediately after continuing his ministrations. The frantic ness of Rico had kowalski chuckling deep in his throat,Sometimes logic really did win out against brawn.
Finally when Rico's hair was dry enough the attack ceased, and Rico folded his arms over his broad chest,perching on the edge of the bath tub and sulking just a little bit, lip jutting out slightly. "Now now Rico , it had to be done" said the analyst, searching around for the tools needed for the dying process. "I upose so" said the demolitions expert.
Kowalski opened the box of hair dye,laying out its contents, first with the bleaching kit then the red stain and grabbed the tool Rico had used during his last disastrous attempt at dying from the cupboard, and begun to brush the bleach into the ends of Rico's sodden capsized death hawk. All the while concentrating on the task at hand while Rico admired the tiny flecks of green in Kowalski's lagoon blue eyes. Bright Gems resting beneath dark brows, a small smudge between them that meant Kowalski was concentrating.
"Ok, so now we wait" said Kowalski, putting down the lid on the toilet seat across from Rico and sitting on it. Kowalski struggled to keep a straight face, Ricos hair flopped to one side and turning blonde at an alarming rate. He looked like Justin beiber, the spoilt teen skipper detested. He always switched off the tv no matter what when the boy came on.
Kowalski felt his eyelids drooping. He was so tired from last night, burning the candle at both ends in his excitement designing blueprints for his work.
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his head cradled in his hands.
Kowalski felt his vision tunnelling and lost sight for a moment, body falling forwards, expecting the floor to come up to meet him he was surprised when no pain came. Kowalski opened his eyes again to gaze into worried blue orbs. "Oo ok walski?" he was sitting on the floor with no idea of how he got there Rico's hands on his forearms, crouched on the floor above him, ridiculous hair and all.
Kowalski rubbed his eyes, peering around dazedly. Too confused to be embarrassed. until his vision cleared and the pounding in in his head calmed and he could properly take in the face of his friend, who looked distraught. heavy brows drawn into a pained extremely concerned expression,bright blue eyes lit with worry ,boring into him as if trying to see through him and figure out what went wrong. Was Kowalski I'll? Did he have some injury he hadn't told him about?
Kowalski looked down cheeks staining pink " I'm ok Rico, I'm just tired, I've been working too hard lately" Rico's eyes softened, Kowalski hadn't been sleeping again, that was it, relief etched into the crevices of his face where before had been the hard lines of distress. It amazed Kowalski how without words Rico expressed so much.
"Ooh want a rest?" Asked Rico.
"That would be nice…" Kowalski thought back to his coffee going cold downstairs. "I wouldn't mind retrieving that coffee" he replied.
"I'll get it" rasped Rico, Kowalski trying to protest in case Rico got bleach on anything but failing as Rico ignored him. He would get Walski his nasty coffee, so long as he didn't scare him like that again.
As Rico exited the room Kowalski grabbed the hair dye bowl from the cupboard and read the instructions for the part dye three parts pastelizer he said to himself.
Kowalski had never dyed hair before, but he worked in a lab with chemicals every day so was confident he could mix the solution correctly.
Kowalski reached for the first bottle, pouring in the required amount of pastelizer and then dye, "hmmm, not very bright" Kowalski thought, but dismissed the thought quickly, he was a scientist, he could mix two already manufactured solutions in a bowl...
Rico frowned at the coffee, the black sinister looking liquid offering no retaliation to his wished Kowalski would sleep was worried it would get the analyst killed one day.
wouldn't Kowalski a man of science more than anyone understand the dangers of sleep deprivation?He wished Kowalski would realise caffeine could never give him any of the benefits of real sleep. Rico couldn't understand why someone would purposefully deprive themselves of something they needed.
Kowalski was clumsy, Rico got that, but how much of that was natural and not just pure exhaustion?Actually, maybe he should head back upstairs, Rico didn't want the scientist to fall again and knock himself out, he hated it when Kowalski didn't sleep.
Rico picked up the coffee and headed upstairs, scowling over his shoulder at his reflection in the hall mirror, he looked like that spoilt brat Justin Bieber-so that's why Kowalski was laughing at him earlier.
Rico stomped up the stairs, on the way into the bathroom glimpsing Private layed on his front atop his sky blue bed covers writing notes in his binder with a my little pony pen. Hamilton was playing,the sound making its way around the door frame and into the hall.
Rico chuckled, the kid was into some nerdy stuff, he supposed private was team Kowalski and would probably follow in his footsteps, Rico couldn't imagine him in command like Skipper, or beefing up like Rico, and yet… Somehow Rico didn't think Privates talent lay only with science. It was a conundrum the group were yet to solve.
Rico opened the door to the bathroom to a common sight. Kowalski stood above a concoction in a long white lab coat with his head bent and back stooped, mixing.
Rico cleared his throat, causing Kowalski to turn with a small grateful smile that made Ricos breath hitch as he spotted the precious burden in Rico's hands. He smiled happily, Rico being careful to offer the still hot beverage by the handle, turning it with care until it was safe for the analyst to grasp.
"Thank you Rico" said Kowalski Gratefully, accepting the drink.
"your hair should be light enough to die in a few minutes,then we can wash out the bleach and get to the dying" Kowalski leaned against the cabinet behind him, long lean legs crossed at the calf and shoulders hunched around his drink. He was looking thin, Rico made a note to himself to make some sushi later-His friend had been skipping meals again, something skipper wouldn't tolerate if he knew, but Rico was no snitch.
Rico sat quietly, just admiring the way the steam painted tiny flecks of pink across Kowalski's prominent cheekbones and nose. The overall look was quite endearing. He admired the smoothness and clearness of Kowalski's pale skin, wondering if it was really as soft as it looked.
Lately he had been feeling very protective of his friend, feeling little twists in his stomach whenever Kowalski went on and on about something he didn't have a clue about, and his eyes lit up and sparkled,watching his full pink lips go up and down but hearing nothing but his own heart rushing in his ears.
He was seeing dangers where there were none,and finding his thoughts clouded with imagery of Kowalski laughing at his jokes, Kowalski fixing the sink and Rico handing him tools, Kowalski in his lab mixing explosions to make him smile, Kowalski squinting at him through fogged up goggles, Kowalski screaming like a girl at a spider, Kowalski at the cinema cuddling up to him when frankenstein's monster died,and Kowalski getting all teary eyed because it was "such a shame".
More and more he was thinking of his brother as something more than friends, but he didn't quite know what.
Kowalski took one last deep swig of coffee, placing the empty cup on the edge of the bath tub and motioning for Rico to put his head back under the sink.
It turned out the hair hadn't really turned bieber blonde but a rusty orange, the bubbles making Ricos hair look paler than it was. It should however take the dye.
Kowalski washed the demolitions experts hair thoroughly, lovingly making sure all the bubbles were gone. When the hair was clean Kowalski asked Rico to sit on the edge of the bathtub while he painted on the red dye and trapped it between the shiny sheets designed to hold in the colour until it took.
The end result was quite comical. Rico started chuckling to himself as Kowalski added sheet upon sheet of the dye to his hair, He must look really funny right now. Rico plucked his phone out of his Jeans pocket.
"selfie" he explained,barking out a hysterical laugh at the layered tin sheets sticking up all over his head, he pouted his lips, holding out a hand underneath his chin like he's seen on a vogue advertisement and snapping a few pictures.
Kowalski just stood there waiting for Rico to finish, tears of laughter in his eyes. Kowalski yelped as he was pulled sideways by his arm, the touch gentle but unexpected, until he too was sitting on the edge of the tub next to Rico.
Kowalski laughed at Ricos face in the front camera, Rico pouting and raising his eyebrows,the Psycho snapping another of them both. A series of giggles and hysterics ensued, ten photos later ending in Kowalski going limp and sliding onto the floor in fits while Rico got sassy with it, filming the finger click and snap chatting it to private.
Through the ajar door they both heard Private howl with laughter, then ten seconds later put his head through the door, "so, I'm guessing Kowalski is dying your hair this time" said private. The Analyst by this point simply lying like dead weight on the floor, face flushed and pink, and wheezing with laughter.
"Sor't of" said Rico "Walski takin' a break" he explained.
"Yeah, that's what I'm doing" added Kowalski,a small high pitched sound escaping his throat that sounded slightly pained but was actually laughter.
" I can't wait to see how it turns out!" Said private sincerely, excited to see Ricos hair looking even more badass than before.
"Ow's studyi'n goin'?" asked Rico, smiling at Kowalski still laid on the floor grinning like an idiot. "Oh… ok" replied Private. Ricos head tilted to the side and his face took on a subtle sternness. "Ok, ok, I may have procrastinated a little and sung the entire Hamilton musical from start to finish, but science is BORING"
Rico grimaced with sympathy, and maybe a little sadness, what were they going to do with private? He had half the brains of Kowalski which was pretty impressive, and rare, and an aptitude for mental activities that Rico didn't have. He was a great agent already, even at the tender age of 16, but nobody knew where he was going to end up.
Was private destined to enroll into the armed forces like Rico? Was he destined for the science core like a young Kowalski before he joined the team? Was he fated to become a great leader? None of these seemed to fit. The boy was fantastically gifted with people, but Rico couldn't see him lying about his identity more than he already did in intelligence.
But they didn't have to think about that just team was likely to spend long lives together, but a qualification in a decided branch would really help private discover his talents, and would help should the group be forced to disband. As ridiculous a notion that may seem, as skipper would always say, they had to prepare for every eventuality.
"Tak' a bre'k, go tak to skipper bout socc'r, e's gettin stir crazy"
Whenever the team had a holiday, no matter how short, skipper put in extra effort to convince everyone he was relaxing, and not preparing for any and every attack that may come. No psychologist would be welcome or willing to come within a mile of the group, what with Kowalski's insomnia, Rico's night terrors, Skippers paranoia, and young Private who wrapped himself in a blanket of my little pony and musicals,and worked so hard to prove himself after being adopted by the team. They were a mess, but somehow they worked, supporting each other and getting through.
"Ok" said private, eyes tightening a little with anxiety, then softening. It was his responsibility to make sure Skipper was ok. Skipper has raised him and was like a father to him, he deserved a little of his time now and then, and at least soccer was more exciting than replicating Kowalski's insane equations for revision. He closed the door on his way out, laughing at kowalski lying on the floor with that ridiculous grin.
Rico leaned down offering a strong arm to kowalski, who took it, allowing himself to be pulled up into a standing position with one swift movement. " I believe it's time to take the dying sheets out" said kowalski, strong brows drawing together as he squinted in confusion at a lock of hair behind Rico's ear, it seemed more pink than red...but he dismissed the thought, he followed the instructions, it must be his mind playing tricks on him.
Rico grinned with unbridled joy and impish grin splitting his face in half and stretching his scar until it turned white,Kowalski's face tugging up into a similar expression without his permission.
The scientist freed the first lock, peeling back the sheet slowly- dread overtaking his features. As he came closer to removing the sheet Kowalski's hand flew to his mouth, covering it in shock.
The hair was baby pink.
The analyst hands shook, Rico becoming worried before noticing kowalski's body shaking with silent laughter. "What!?" squawked rico, tearing the sheet away to reveal a light pink stain on his locks. "WHAT!?" he took off, pushing past his friend to look into the mirror behind him.
"No" he said brokenly, ripping off another of the foil things entrapping his hair "no" and another "no,no no no no no NO!" he turned frantic eyes to his friend, grabbing fist fuls of hair as if he was about to tear it out "walski wha' happened?" he squeaked.
But Kowalski was helpless to the giggles that wreaked through him, he knew he shouldn't laugh, but somehow that made it worse.
Rico looked frantically at the reflection in the mirror, then back to his friend, waiting for an explanation and apology,but getting nothing but mocking laughter...
Things seemed to slot into place.
"OOH DI' THIS O' PURPOSE!" he bellowed, tackling the scientist to the hard tile floor.
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Hey, thank you all so much for reading! And please review of you have the time, or liked it, this is un Beta'd and my first ever Hunanized POM fic. I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas. Thank you x