Seto Kaiba stared at Ryou Bakura.
Ryou Bakura stared back at him.
Kaiba crossed his arms.
Ryou placed his hands on his hips.
"Hm."
"Hmph."
"Did you guys try the cookies that Mokuba made yet?"
Duke's voice outside the bedroom door didn't break either man's concentration on the other. He fumbled for a moment at the door before pushing it open with his hip, a plate of cookies balanced in one hand with a half-eaten cookie in the other.
"I'm not usually big into sweets, but like, these are so good that–" He stopped when he realized the tension that filled the room. "Okay, what's going on? Ryou, you go first."
"Seto thinks he can tell me what to do." The Brit pushed his chin forward in defiance. "And I'm not okay with that."
"You're overreacting," Kaiba scoffed, blue eyes rolling in annoyance. "I'm not telling you what to do. I'm telling you what not to do."
"And what is he not supposed to do, Kaiba?" Duke asked before taking another bite of his cookie.
"Cut my hair!" Ryou exclaimed, and punctuated the answer with a little stomp of his foot. "It's my hair and I'll do what I want with it!"
"Not this again." Duke sighed.
Personally, he was flattered that Kaiba was opinionated enough about his own hair to demand that he never cut it. Kaiba had tried to rule Duke in other ways, and this often led to him being punished in the ways he loved best. But Seto's request that his hair stay long was the one rule Duke had yet to break.
"He's not the one that has to take care of it," Ryou huffed, clearly annoyed. "It's not easy keeping this"—he gestured to his hair with both hands—"from being a huge tangle at all times. It takes a lot of time, and it's annoying."
Ryou's hair was currently long enough that it fell past his elbows, longer than he'd ever worn it before. He'd been voicing his desire to cut it for months now, but he seemed unwilling to do so without Kaiba's permission.
They still stared at each other as Duke ate the last bite of his cookie, trying to think of the most peaceful solution. Sure, he could advocate a compromise—"What if he only got a few inches off?"—but that wouldn't solve the true problem.
"If…" Seto hesitated. "If it would make it easier, I could help brush your hair."
Brown and green eyes met, both surprised.
"Do you even know how to brush another person's hair?" Ryou asked curiously.
Kaiba uncrossed his arms, his posture relaxing.
"I've brushed Mokuba's hair before."
Brown eyes narrowed.
"More than once, right?"
"Yes." Seto sounded annoyed again. "I wouldn't offer it unless I knew what I was doing."
And that's how they ended up on Kaiba's bed together, Duke touching up his toenail polish as he watched Seto brush Ryou's hair. To his surprise, the brunette seemed to genuinely know what he was doing. Seeing them like this, it was easy to imagine him doing the same for Mokuba when they were both younger.
"How about we make a deal?" Ryou proposed, nibbling on a cookie of his own. "If you brush my hair at least three nights a week, I'll keep letting it grow out."
"Exceptions must be made for when one of us is out of town." Seto slowly pulled the brush through Ryou's hair, from the crown of his head to the splitting ends. It was smooth now, no tangles left, but he still repeated the careful motion.
"Of course, it wouldn't be fair for that to count against you." Ryou took a larger bite of his cookie.
"Can you brush my hair next?" Duke asked.
Seto blinked at him. He clearly hadn't expected the request, and he didn't seem to understand why it was being made.
"I don't see why not."
That simple answer sparked Duke's mischief.
"Scoot over, Ryou, it's my turn."
"No! He's not done yet."
"There haven't been any tangles in your hair for, like, five minutes."
"That doesn't mean he's done."
"Yes it does!"
"He's done when I say he's done."
Ryou grinned, cheeky and smug, but shrieked a moment later when long fingers tickled his stomach. Kaiba pulled his hand away quickly, so when Ryou turned around, mouth open in shock, he looked utterly innocent.