[CLOSED] It's quick. It's clean. It's pure.

[chronomancer]

Characters: The waffailsprits, Jade!Eridan Ampora and Yellow!Equius Zahhak.
Setting: Floor 8, the forest.
Format: Action.
Summary: In which marksmanship and shooting lessons are interrupted because Equius hair is a crime against humanity and Eridan has run out of spare sunglasses at long last.
Warnings: Awkward, awkward teens in love. Also brushes and hairbands and long-winded bitching about the cold.

[Eridan is a few minutes late to his appointment with Equius - it's not a date, none of them are dates, can his brain please stop making this weird - for the first time since they began. He walks down the staircase and into the snowed floor of the forest, rifle already in hand.]

Sorry.

[He's trying really hard not to make this weird and hoping Equius won't say anything about it, but it's kind of hard not to considering he feels so goddamn naked as it is.]

Ready for this?

Comments

[chronomancer]

[Eridan is going to politely sidestep those implications and think about them later on in private.]

You have nice hair, you know, when you brush it properly. So there's probably that.

[Have another of those scratches right at the base of your neck, Equius.]

But then brushing hair is pretty relaxing, for everyone involved. I mean, once you're done with the tangles.

[He's still not done with those, but thanks to this little line of conversation, he's taking twice as much care to not tug if he doesn't have to.]

[geometry]

I do? [He certainly never noticed.] Uh. Thanks, I guess.

[He casually fiddles with the hem of his-- OH GOD. NO. STOPPING THAT RIGHT NOW.]

...You're pretty good at this.

[chronomancer]

[Do not go down the road of fiddling with shirts, Equius, it ends with bloody arms and other unfortunate acts of self-harm. Trust me, I know how that works. Also don't ask when Eridan noticed, Eridan notices the weirdest things and you don't want to know about them because they're almost all stalkery somehow.]

Ah. Well. I didn't know I was good at it until Feferi put me to task with her hair. Not that she ever let me finish, anyway, she didn't have the patience to sit still for long. But I guess my habit to be fiddling with something all the time has an upside after all.

[One that doesn't involve unfortunate acts of self-harm that is.]

[geometry]

So does that mean you'll just keep going and not know when to stop?

[Another pitiful attempt at Equius humor. Also, he'd be honored to know that you creep so much on him, Eridan. Really. He'd be touched.]

[chronomancer]

[Eridan smiles wryly.]

I never know when to stop anyway, so that's not a big difference from my usual.

[I don't know that's sad or facepalm-worthy so I'm just going to shake my head and go Equius under my breath.]

[geometry]

Yes, but now you're doing something more productive than watching and rewatching terrible movies. This is an improvement.

[That is the most appropriate reaction to Equius at, literally, any point in time.]

[chronomancer]

[Ow, Equius, don't hit under the belt, man.]

Dunno, I usually keep out of people's hair. Pun wholly intended.

[geometry]

And yet, somehow, you get tangled up with me anyway.

[Oh god.]

[chronomancer]

[Very, very quietly.]

Yeah, but I like you.

[Suddenly staring very intently at the hair in his hands, ducking his hair and totally not blushing, yup.]

[geometry]

[Oh. Well.]

...Uh. Thank you.

I.

Like you too.

[And this is the closest they will ever, ever get to vocally expressing their love.]

[chronomancer]

[He's just going to hum a little in agreement and continue with his task, slowly climbing up Equius hair.]

So it's okay if I don't want to get out of your hair, then?

[geometry]

I guess. If you don't want to.

[...Eridan was right, this is relaxing.]

[chronomancer]

Well, I'm glad we're on the same page about that.

[You're never gonna get rid of him, kid.]