For Akire_yta and their fic Bounce. And for myladykayo, who also wrote about Kayo's hair in Crowning Glory.
It had been a throwaway comment, but it did get Kayo thinking.
Just where did Scott learn to braid hair?
She knew it wasn't really important, but the fact that he hadn't told her, had given a series of more and more ridiculous answers, piqued her interest.
There was something here that Scott wasn't telling. In fact, he was obfuscating.
Kayo knew not to ask John. The spaceman was tight-lipped about anything that could be construed as blackmail material - whether it was on Scott or himself - and she'd only be putting herself in the firing line.
She was pretty sure that Gordon and Alan would know nothing for the same reason. Honestly, sometimes it seemed all the boys were interested in was getting one up on each other.
That left Virgil and Grandma.
Hmm. Virgil first, she decided. If at all possible she didn't want to involve the old lady, pretty sure in her own mind that she was the cause of all the 'evidence collecting' the boys did.
Plus, she wasn't sure she wanted any of the boys to know that Scott did her hair. It was a whole 'nother layer of their relationship. But she hated not knowing…
Waiting until Virgil was up one morning early enough to see the braiding was going to be the big issue - that and Scott's threats to stop doing her hair so she'd learn herself.
Learn herself? Kayo loved Scott doing her hair. Maybe she needed to be a little more vocal about that. It wasn't like her to do so, though, the relationship still new.
And then there was the perfect combination of events, and Virgil was in the kitchen with his coffee when they got back from their run.
Scott kissed her hair and left to shower, and Kayo pounced on Virgil.
'Virgil?' The man eyed her warily. She grinned, which did nothing to relax him.
'Kayo?' She toyed with the end of her braid as she considered how to ask the question. Best be upfront as always, she guessed.
'Who taught Scott to braid hair?'
Virgil, in the middle of taking a swig of coffee, inhaled awkwardly and spent the next five minutes coughing so much he was wheezing and crying by the end of it.
'Who taught Scott?' he repeated hoarsely. She nodded. Virgil rubbed his eyes with one hand and exhaled sharply. 'What did he tell you?'
She counted off her fingers as she told him: 'Bored at work. Virgil's mullet stage. High school girlfriend and lastly high school boyfriend.' Kayo gave Virgil the eye when the man sighed. 'Why can't he just tell me the truth, Virgil?'
Virgil put his coffee down and took Kayo's hands in his. There was something…sad about his eyes. 'If I tell you, you cannot tell anyone else, especially Gordon and Alan.' She nodded, frowning. What on earth could it be?
'He wasn't quite misleading you when he said my mullet stage, only it was much younger.' A faraway look came over Virgil. 'Scott was nine, John was seven and I would have been almost five. I did have quite long hair because I hated the barbers in town and refused to get my hair cut.'
Kayo settled in for the story.
'Dad was on his last mission to the moon. Mom was pregnant with Gordy, only she was having a really difficult pregnancy, throwing up all the time. Grandma virtually moved in with us for the first six months because Mom had been hospitalised three times with dehydration.
'Grandma used to braid Mom's hair to keep it out of the way. Scott used to watch, and he used to practice on me until he was perfect at it. When Grandma had to go home because Grandpa had an accident, he took over braiding Mom's hair.
'I used to love watching the concentration on his face while he did it, tip of his tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth. Mom always said he made her feel better. She wasn't well enough to do her hair herself.'
Kayo nodded. It sounded so much like Scott, and she could see why he might not want to recount that. She squeezed Virgil's hand and smiled warmly at the man.
'That is so very like Scott. I can picture him sitting there doing that. And don't worry, I won't tell anyone.'
She left Virgil finishing his coffee while she went to grab her own shower, thinking about a nine-year-old Scott braiding his Mom's hair. Yeah, it was very like her man.