Day 11 - Hair

I'm really sorry this is coming up so late, my time at the computer has just been consumed by other things lately. I'll try to return to semi-consistent updates now. I won't ever give up on this project, though.

Edward was slightly peeved, to say the least. Leonardo was looking more tired than he normally was, and in short, it worried him. And he hated being worried, gods damn it. The blond had been neglecting his appearance, which was extremely out of character for him. And more importantly, his hair had lost its familiar shine and began developing split ends, and worst of all, he completely forgot to brush it on some days.

Welp, this was a huge problem. With a tiny frown settled on his face, the myrmidon watched his partner wander off in a seemingly random direction.

The archer dragged himself into the armory almost like a zombie and began tending to the bows and other weapons, but primarily the bows. Long strands of hair fell in front of his face as he scowled, staring down at one particular arrow that seemed crooked if he held it one way, but was straight otherwise.

Perhaps he was tired.

Yes, maybe that was it.

With a grunt, he heaved himself to his feet, closing his eyes momentarily as the world spun for a split second, bringing a headache with it. Then he headed off to his shared tent with Edward to read a book, and maybe calm his nerves. Carefully pushing the flap aside, he picked out a seemingly random book on history and sat down at the desk, lighting a candle to illuminate the small space.

Within half an hour, he had fallen asleep, the fatigue finally having caught up with him.

Another half hour later, Edward entered and spotted the blond soundly sleeping with his face buried in the book. The brunet barely stifled a laugh at the sight. Leonardo shifted slightly and brought his arms up to use as a pillow with a slight grumble.

Which still had the standard archer gauntlets on it. Why on earth did he still have those on?

But despite the rather uncomfortable facepillow, he seemed rather peaceful, more at peace than Edward had seen him for days. But the tight ponytail he put his hair in seemed odd... It resembled Shinon's more than anything else at the moment, and in all honesty, it looked horribly uncomfortable. He quietly snuck towards the other and pulled out the hairtie, letting the gold tresses fall out of place. And to his great disappointment, they were still neglected and tangled, unlike the silky hair he usually ran his fingers through every now and then.

With a determined 'hmph', he combed his fingers through the other's locks gently, trying to untangle them without rousing him from his sleep. He continued the action, until a certain voice broke his concentration.

"Edward, what on earth are you doing?"

Caught red-handed. Said brunet froze, one hand still partially entangled. Leonardo was awake.

Well, it was kind of obvious he'd wake up from all that, but still.

"Uh, you see-" The myrmidon began, withdrawing his hand, before the archer stopped him.

"No, nevermind. You can continue. Just- What are you trying to do?"

Edward hesitated on the answer, running his fingers though the other's hair again, nervous because he couldn't read Leonardo's facial expression, although the tone sounded... Happy, almost.

"Well, you fell asleep on the desk, and you kind of looked like a mess and, uh-" 'Another pause as he gulped. Way to be too direct, Eddie.

The blond only nodded, and it was safe to assume that he was smiling softly.

Silence passed between the two as Edward continued to sort out the strands, then he spoke, almost whispering. Leonardo nearly missed what he said.

"Why haven't you been taking care of it lately?"

"Taking care of what?"

...

"Oh." The blond reached towards his hairtie and began playing around with it. "Personal issues, there's no need to worry about it..."
Leonardo froze as Edward shot him the 'That's bullshit and you know it' look, even though he couldn't see it- But he could literally feel brown eyes almost boring holes in the back of his head, envision the furrowed brows and the frown.

"It's just... I guess the realisation of the war is getting to me. Those people at the other side are like us, have friends, family, gods know. If we kill them... What does that mean for those people?"Closing his eyes, the blond waited for a dismayed response or a snide comment on how cowardly he was, but he only received a little sigh in response.

The brunet shook his head in understanding, even if Leonardo couldn't see the action. "It's not fair, right? That's why we're fighting, we're trying to protect everybody from any more pain, right? Sitting around and wallowing won't help. We have to fight to stop this, it's too late to try to do otherwise..."

Another pause in conversation as Edward buried his face in the nape of the other's neck, pressing a light kiss to it. The other shuddered.

"Don't disregard your health over it, Leo. We'll get through this, and you can't afford getting yourself sick now, right?" he murmured, before pulling away and making to sit on the desk. The blond smiled.

"Alright."