[ The urge to tease is there, but Kazuha refrains for now. She's not interested in poking Mei that much, tempting as it is, and as easy as the ammunition is to show off. She's aware of how stacked she is, because she had to hide that for years, but now... now she just doesn't care. She's done being a pirate, done being the Dredd Pirate, done being someone she's not. There'll still be an act, of course, because that's who she is, and that's who Mei is. They're together in that.
But she's ready to be Miyuki Kazuha, now. She's ready to just live this life, here, with the girl she missed so much.
As she settles in, a little amused, her focus goes from Mei's sulk to just Mei herself. She shifts close to her, bumping into her where she's not looking, and bows her head, nuzzling in. At first it's her forehead against her shoulder, but she lifts her head up. Trails her nose and lips faintly against it, after. ]
I didn't cut my hair that long ago. [ She murmurs it softly, nose brushing the curve of her shoulder now, her eyes closed, just enjoying the proximity that they have. ] Someone just grabbed it, so it was easier to cut it all off than it was to cut his hand off.
[ the gentle way that kazuha touches her is giving mei goosebumps. there's a hint of bittersweet-ness to this entire interaction--if things had been different, maybe she would have known this long before. but that's mei for you, a girl who shines so bright she's never quite focused on the things right in front of her, always reaching upwards and never reaching back home.
kazuha going missing had been an anchor, though. it was part of the reason she left their village, unable to deal with seeing her dad's lined, tired face on the street, unable to walk by their spots--a bubbling creek, a tide pool, the woods or even just the blacksmith's shop--without feeling a bubbling anger and remorse in her gut all at once. kazuha had disappeared without a trace, and mei missed her, but love had never once come to mind.
now it's all she can think about, as her cheeks flush and she looks down at her lap, small hands curled into small fists and trying to think over the sound of her heartbeat rushing in her ears. there's something even more tender about the gesture, and she has to unstick the question from her throat before she can say it, reaching up to gently move her hair back over her shoulders so it falls in a perfect golden curtain at her back. ]
...would you mind? [ braiding it, though her voice falters. it's a little vulnerable, but she can't think of anything else she'd like more--a quiet bonding from when they were little girls, put into a whole new context. ]
[ If she could, she'd probably trace the very ends of her fingertips across every inch of Mei's skin, just exploring her and learning everything that she's missed over all this time. Kazuha missed her, missed them, even when this was an unattainable daydream and they only curled together because of familiarity and a different kind of love. Now there's a whole different context to them, and the years that they lost to a trade gone wrong.
She wonders if their old creek is still there. If the hidey hole behind her father's shop is still there, full of trinkets they'd collected. Did Mei take them? Did she leave them there?
All she knows is that Mei smells the same, soft and sweet, a sunny summer day. Kazuha turns her nose into her shoulder for a little longer, until she frees her hair, and it's just a beautiful cascade of curls that has her sitting upright to look at them. Because Mei's hair has grown into something beautiful, unbutchered by her brothers' meanspirited affection, and she combs through it, gentle, loving, like it alone is a treasure. Might as well be - it looks like spun gold. ]
As you wish. [ The three words come easily, and she starts to separate locks of hair, more intricate than a simple braid. Because it means more contact, more intimacy, and they both need it right now. Especially with the way her strands of gold brush over her bruised knuckles. ]
[ "as you wish" is a phrase mei's heard a hundred times, almost always sarcastically or simpering. everyone always said that mei acted like a little princess in their village, and that's because she'd always seen herself that way. the spoiled baby girl of her family, she wanted for nothing--except a title, and a crown.
(and she got one, occasionally, like a little crown kazuha made out of sticks and stuck on her head when they were playing knight and princess, a trinket mei took with her years and years later.)
she settles back easily as kazuha's fingers move into her hair. the gesture is so tender and sweet it's making her heart swell up in her chest, in ways she'd never felt with anyone before this moment; mei closes her eyes and exhales.
she doesn't speak for a while, just lets kazuha braid her hair. she could sleep like this, but she doesn't want to miss a moment of spending time with her--not after they'd been separated for half of their lives. ] If you keep saying it like that, I'll have to believe that you always mean it, you know.
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But she's ready to be Miyuki Kazuha, now. She's ready to just live this life, here, with the girl she missed so much.
As she settles in, a little amused, her focus goes from Mei's sulk to just Mei herself. She shifts close to her, bumping into her where she's not looking, and bows her head, nuzzling in. At first it's her forehead against her shoulder, but she lifts her head up. Trails her nose and lips faintly against it, after. ]
I didn't cut my hair that long ago. [ She murmurs it softly, nose brushing the curve of her shoulder now, her eyes closed, just enjoying the proximity that they have. ] Someone just grabbed it, so it was easier to cut it all off than it was to cut his hand off.
no subject
kazuha going missing had been an anchor, though. it was part of the reason she left their village, unable to deal with seeing her dad's lined, tired face on the street, unable to walk by their spots--a bubbling creek, a tide pool, the woods or even just the blacksmith's shop--without feeling a bubbling anger and remorse in her gut all at once. kazuha had disappeared without a trace, and mei missed her, but love had never once come to mind.
now it's all she can think about, as her cheeks flush and she looks down at her lap, small hands curled into small fists and trying to think over the sound of her heartbeat rushing in her ears. there's something even more tender about the gesture, and she has to unstick the question from her throat before she can say it, reaching up to gently move her hair back over her shoulders so it falls in a perfect golden curtain at her back. ]
...would you mind? [ braiding it, though her voice falters. it's a little vulnerable, but she can't think of anything else she'd like more--a quiet bonding from when they were little girls, put into a whole new context. ]
no subject
She wonders if their old creek is still there. If the hidey hole behind her father's shop is still there, full of trinkets they'd collected. Did Mei take them? Did she leave them there?
All she knows is that Mei smells the same, soft and sweet, a sunny summer day. Kazuha turns her nose into her shoulder for a little longer, until she frees her hair, and it's just a beautiful cascade of curls that has her sitting upright to look at them. Because Mei's hair has grown into something beautiful, unbutchered by her brothers' meanspirited affection, and she combs through it, gentle, loving, like it alone is a treasure. Might as well be - it looks like spun gold. ]
As you wish. [ The three words come easily, and she starts to separate locks of hair, more intricate than a simple braid. Because it means more contact, more intimacy, and they both need it right now. Especially with the way her strands of gold brush over her bruised knuckles. ]
no subject
(and she got one, occasionally, like a little crown kazuha made out of sticks and stuck on her head when they were playing knight and princess, a trinket mei took with her years and years later.)
she settles back easily as kazuha's fingers move into her hair. the gesture is so tender and sweet it's making her heart swell up in her chest, in ways she'd never felt with anyone before this moment; mei closes her eyes and exhales.
she doesn't speak for a while, just lets kazuha braid her hair. she could sleep like this, but she doesn't want to miss a moment of spending time with her--not after they'd been separated for half of their lives. ] If you keep saying it like that, I'll have to believe that you always mean it, you know.