a/n: this was supposed to be a drabble but then it got out of hand, so i decided to post it on its own! i write seiya as a nonbinary lesbian with he/him pronouns. title is a mitski song.

"You cut your hair!"

It's the first thing Usagi has said to him in years. Maybe it's for the best, Seiya thinks. They should start small. Something lighthearted, befitting of old friends. Not sentimental enough for former lovers, since they aren't.

"I did." Seiya laughs, running a hand over the nape of his neck. The ponytail is long gone, although his hair is already growing in shaggy at the ends.

Usagi stares at her feet as they move through the city. Although he was surprised that she suggested a walk rather than lunch, it was her idea to meet up. Traffic lights force them into occasional eye contact.

Seiya's neck burns every time Usgai grins up at him. For a moment, he wishes he still had long hair to hide his flushed skin.

"Why did you cut it?"

Seiya settles on, "I thought it suited me." He no longer transforms into a male form; there's no mission that warrants a disguise, no excuse to live as a teen idol. Even so, he's found he still buys mostly mens' clothes. "What do you think, Odango?"

"Of your hair?"

He rolls his eyes. "Mhm. Does it suit me?" he asks.

Usagi runs her cool hand through his cropped hair herself. Seiya's composure, his wits, his thick skin all fade. It's like she ripped a bandaid off of him and left him bare.

"Still fishing for compliments, even now," Usagi muses. She's bright even on an overcast afternoon. "But it does suit you. I like it."

"Of course you do." Seiya reaches up as she pulls her hand back. They touch. It's all light and fleeting.

"Well, it's better than the rat tail," Usagi says, her cheeks turning pink. "Obviously."

Usagi speeds through the crosswalk as soon as they get the pedestrian signal, tugging Seiya by his sleeve. Did she always touch him so freely? No, she used to shy away.

"We can't all settle on our permanent haircut at fourteen, Odango," he says. He taps one of her buns. Soft as ever, spilling off the top of her head. "Give me some credit for the soul-searching and personal improvement."

Usagi spins around, nostrils flared in mock-outrage. But some of it is real, Seiya knows.

"Rude," she says. "I've done soul-searching, too. Or something like that."

Seiya looks at her and tries to forget visions of the future from their past. A queen, an immortal princess, a guardian in a sailor suit—they all flood his mind. And yet, none of those forms are the person in front of him. She's just… Usagi.

Her skirts and sweaters and lipgloss and odango haven't changed, but he sees how she's reshaped herself all the same—or cut away parts of herself that no longer fit, like hair that's too long.

The realization doesn't fill Seiya with dread; they still stand on the same sidewalk. No matter who Usagi becomes, who she is or isn't, he finds he can still reach her.

He just wants to know her.

"I believe you," he says, and he holds out his hand. "I guess this isn't just a reunion then, is it? It's like a 'nice to meet you,' too."

"Nice to meet you again," Usagi adds, smiling. "I hope this is the last time."

"Ouch, Odango."

"Not the last time I see you!" She ignores his hand and moves forward, pressing herself to his chest. She loops her arms around his neck and holds on. "The last time we have to say hello again. 'Nice to meet you' means it's been way too long—and I hate goodbyes."

They hug on the street corner like that, and people pass them by like it's nothing. Usagi starts playing with his hair. He wonders if she realizes she's doing it. It's grown out too much, really, but her fingers are gentle on his skin.

Seiya never thought he'd feel so inconspicuous holding her.

It's the first time he's ever held her, he realizes. Somehow, it feels the same as it always has. As though they've done this before. He doesn't know how that's possible.

"So do I," he says.