For Writing Club on the Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry Forum.
Yuzu frowned at her reflection in the mirror, roughly pulling a hair brush through her tangled locks. She winced as she gave a hard tug, forcing the knots in her hair to come apart. Frustrated, she rubbed at her sore scalp before once again attempting to run the brush through her hair. The brush immediately caught, and Yuzu swore loudly.
Without saying a word, Mei stalked across the room and grabbed the brush from Yuzu and batted her hands away. Yuzu's immediate protests were silenced with one sharp look. She quietened, watching Mei's reflection as her deft fingers combed through her hair, carefully untangling each strand before gently brushing and splitting it into three large sections.
All of a sudden, Yuzu's cheeks flushed red. She couldn't explain it, but she felt nervous somehow—jittery. She supposed that wasn't unusual. Hadn't Mei always made her feel like this? Hadn't Mei always pushed and pulled and tugged with such erraticity that Yuzu was always on her toes? Yet, somehow, this felt different. It was more gentle—soft, even. It was so unlike Mei that Yuzu was suddenly finding it hard to breathe. She watched, entranced, as Mei tied off the end of the plait with a pink ribbon.
"All done."
Yuzu blinked. "Already?"
Mei nodded. She placed her hands on Yuzu's shoulders and caught her eye in the mirror. "Don't you like it?"
"Of course I do." Yuzu gave a weak smile, desperately trying to steady her breathing. Why was it always so hard to remain calm around her? "Thank you, Mei."
Much to Yuzu's dismay, Mei looked entirely nonplussed, immediately releasing her shoulders and walking back to her side of the room and returning her attention to packing her schoolbag. And in that moment Yuzu knew that no matter what it took—no matter how much hair she ripped from her scalp—she'd do anything for Mei to stand behind her the next morning, fingers running through her hair again.