AKUSAIMONTH: BERSERK
Day 22 - Hair
Summary: Lea's getting old and he's afraid it shows.
Genre: Rom/Slice of life
Length: ~560
Sunset Years
Lea scrunched his face while looking into the bathroom mirror with slight disdain at all the wrinkles that emerged. He knew that he wasn't as young as he used to be, but he didn't like the reminders on his face. It had been years since he had stood at the brink of death, fighting for his life and for Isa's, too. They had both exchanged their lives as warriors for something more domestic once their bodies started to remind them of their mortality. It was the domestic life that had made Lea much too conscious about the subtle wrinkles on his face and his slowly receding hairline.
He loved his hair. It was thick, red with small, streaks of gray that always called for attention. Lea was doing everything in his power to keep his luscious mane. He used everything from expensive, all-natural shampoos and conditioners, to olive oil and eggs. Some in his circle of his friends went as far as calling him vain for caring for his hair as much as he did, but not everyone were born lucky enough to have gorgeous and thick hair in wind and high water.
Isa was one of the lucky ones. He couldn't care less about his hair, and yet it grew like weed. He cut his hair short not long after he was rescued from Xehanort, using nothing but a sword to make it happen. For some time Isa had the same disdain for his hair that Lea has for his wrinkles, but then he discovered the buzzcut. He goes to the barber shop nowadays whenever he feels his hair needs to be trimmed down. It had taken some getting used to for those around him, but Isa knew what he wanted and didn't budge an inch. Lea was exactly the same.
"What's taking you so long?" Isa stopped by the doorway when he saw that Lea was still in the bathroom. "Stop doing that with your face. You'll only get more wrinkles."
"I'm just counting them. It looks like there's a hundred of them now." Lea glanced at Isa's reflection in the mirror before he turned his attention back to himself.
"Come here," Isa said and walked inside, urging Lea to turn around and face him. "Let's do a blind test. Ready?"
Isa cupped Lea's face in his hands as soon as Lea turned around. Lea chuckled as Isa gently rubbed his face against Lea's and seemed to be doing a headcount of the wrinkles he felt.
"What's the verdict?" Lea asked after a moment.
"Definitely a life well lived," Isa replied thoughtfully.
"I'm only forty. I still have a long, long way to go. Besides, most of these wrinkles are thanks to you."
"Mmm," Isa hummed.
"I was gonna take a shower. Care to join this old man?"
"Depends on how long you'll be shampooing your hair."
"Actively shampooing, less than a minute. But I will be wearing my shower cap after that. I got a new conditioner with an improved formula."
"Shower cap, huh?" Isa smiled and softly kissed Lea.
"And shower sandals."
"The baby blue pair?" Isa laughed.
"Damn right. I'll be irresistible."
The grin on Lea's face enticed Isa into leaving a trail of butterfly kisses on his Lea's lips and on the small wrinkles at the sides of Lea's mouth.
