They had been lying on the couch in the cabin listening to an old FM radio a few months after they had left Starling, exploring whatever it was that they had recently become. She smiled to herself. As big as he was he loved laying on his back, with his head on her lap, like a little kid. He dwarfed her tiny frame with his legs hanging off of the couch at his knees. She was carding her fingers through his glossy black hair. It had grown, and she was checking to see if the naturally lighter roots were starting to show from any angle. He kept leaning into her touch, oblivious to her self appointed mission. After a few frustrating minutes her patience wore thin and she gave him a firm tug on the hair that she held onto, in an attempt to get him to hold still.
She wasn't expecting him to enjoy it. He let out all his breath in a loud rush.
'Oh, don't tell me that you like getting your hair pulled too?!' she said, shocked.
His head shot back to glare into her eyes. He responded quite evenly: 'Yes, very much. And I am also very jealous, so choose your words more carefully next time you compare me to another man.'
'What makes you think my other boyfriends liked this?' She challanged.
He didn't even blink as he told her: 'You said TOO, that's certainly a comparison, now I am wondering who he was, which isn't too good for HIS health.'
Her head shot back in laughter as her got more irritated waiting for her response. When she caught her breath she said: 'You are way too PARANOID for your own good. I said too because I like getting MY hair pulled.' Her face was flushed red from laughter, or embarrassment, or both. 'And now I know that you do too, so...' She trailed off.
The sound he made next was almost a growl she snapped back to attention.
'And how exactly would you know you like to get your hair tugged unless someone did it for you?'
She didn't answer.
'Nice try but you're making it worse, love.' He harshly wispered through gritted teeth. His heart rate increased to the point that she could see his jugular vein throbbing in his neck. She was trying not to laugh at him.
Being both embarrassed and excited that this jealousy was directed toward her, it was a new development, it took her a moment to react.
She knew she could drag this out and have some more fun at his expense, but she chose not to.
He would get up and run off to train again if she didn't fix it. They didn't get much downtime like this, and he was acting so vulnerable.
She decided to salvage his ego and told him the truth. I mean she was already embarrassed. The worst he could do was laugh at her, and she loved the way it sounded when he laughed, right? He hardly ever laughed since they left starling, it was a rare treat. Taking her chances she spoke without meeting his gaze:
'You are right. But I was the one that did it. I was frustrated at my servers frying after my run in with the clock king. At some point I literally started pulling my hair. About 3 miniutes into it started feeling...'
She dropped off again as He let out a deep low chuckle.
'Relaxed? ' he offered.
She was RIGHT about him laughing at her. She was WRONG about it being the worst thing, it may have actually been the best. Thankfully he dropped the subject while she went back to studying his hair.
'We're going to need another bottle of just for men soon if you're hair keeps growing out so fast.' She could have swore He had actually just pouted at her comment.
She snickered at the memory
