Status: Closed
This round has closed. It remains open for fills, comments and remixes, but prompts are no longer accepted.
About
"Someone will remember us, I say, even in another time."
"How inconvenient to be made of desire."
"It's me, hi, I'm the problem its me."
Calling all readers, lovers of poetry and music, screen and stage. Quote collecters and lyric hoarders, unleash your archive. For this round, every prompt must contain a quote - you can combine them, add commentary, link to articles, do whatever. Steal from a literary classic, or copy WeVerse drama.
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hair washing is romantic
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: washing someone's hair for them is the most intimate thing in the world, non sexual intimacy, acts of service as a love language
Do Not Wants: nsfw/smut(it's about the non sexual intimacy!!)
Prompt:
I Will by Mitski
[FILL] i’ll be brave
Major Tags: post-surgery grease, nonbinary minghao, hair stylist joshua
Additional Tags: cw for surgery talk and trans characters
Permission to remix: ask!
***
Minghao isn’t allowed to lift their arms above their head for a full week.
They make do, mostly because Mingyu was nice enough to come by before their surgery and help them take everything in the kitchen off the shelves and put it on the floor. Minghao doesn’t have much.
Still, stepping into their little kitchen and dodging bowls and plates is funny enough to balance out how annoying it is. They squat down, retrieving a tea strainer and a little mug.
Minghao’s legs are getting very strong. Their chest, recently, has become very flat.
The healing process isn’t that intense. They’re told to sleep sitting up, not to lift anything, and to avoid getting their scars wet. It hurts, of course, but Minghao knew it would. That’s pretty much all they were prepared for—how much it would hurt.
The pain is secondary right now, a dull ache. What’s more important is the feeling of flat, greasy hair prickling the nape of their neck. It feels disgusting, so tangled Minghao can’t even run their fingers through it.
They stand at their little sink and sip their tea, something bitter to help with inflammation and swelling. They think about calling their mom. She was adamant about coming out to help while they’re healing up, but Minghao refused. Tickets were expensive, and Minghao lives in a tiny studio. They’d be tripping over her and the bowls.
Minghao settles for the next best thing. Facetimes Joshua.
“How do you feel about making a house call?” they ask.
On their screen, Joshua’s face is very smooth. He looks a little lost but then he smiles. “What are you looking to get done?”
“I just need someone to wash it,” Minghao says quietly. “It’s getting gross.”
Joshua nods. “I can do that, sure.”
—
Joshua shows up armed with a plastic bowl and some nice-smelling hair stuff.
“It’s tea tree oil,” he says, holding out the bottle for Minghao to waft into their nose. “Clarifying.”
Minghao would like some clarity. Maybe that would help them out a little bit.
They help Joshua fill the tiny tub in their bathroom and think about how they’re supposed to be happy right now. Finally done with the hard part, the expensive and relentless push and push and push until they woke up, chest flat.
And, and they are happy, but happy is a secondary emotion compared to the insistent edge of how fucking gross they feel. They didn’t read that on the forums—the post-surgery layer of grime that will cover you until you can finally get in the shower more than a week later.
Joshua isn’t the type of guy to offer help, but he’s always happy to help when asked. Minghao likes people like that. Likes how Joshua will do anything with a smile. It’s different from what they’re used to—Joshua understands how they like to be left alone sometimes.
But Joshua comes when he’s called.
“Alright,” Joshua tests the temperature of the water in the tub one last time before nodding at Minghao. “Ready for you whenever.”
Minghao sits on the toilet to begin the lengthy process of getting out of their binder. It hurts, the way they have to contort their arms to get the thing off. Underneath, there’s some steri-tape and some goo and oh, they definitely smell a little. Minghao wrinkles their nose but Joshua doesn’t react. He averts his eyes, keeps them on the bathwater.
Minghao wants him to look. Wants someone to see it for what it is—gross, but something new, something better. Wants someone to see the evidence of wanting something so bad, the evidence of Minghao’s determination.
“You can look,” they say. “There’s nothing there anymore.”
Joshua’s eyes slide over to their face. He’s a little awkward about it, but his eyes rove over their chest anyway.
“Does it hurt?” he asks.
“It’s sore,” Minghao replies truthfully. “When I move my arms. But I’m mostly bothered by the smell.”
“Mm. I can’t smell anything,” Joshua lies.
Minghao giggles. “Liar.”
“I’m trying to be polite.”
“I haven’t showered in a week, I know I smell,” Minghao says, their back cracking as they finally free their arms from the binder. “But this will help. Thanks, again.”
Joshua waves a hand, still looking a little awkward.
Minghao slides to the floor a little too fast and hisses when something pulls deep in their skin.
“Oh, hey, careful,” Joshua says, his hands hovering.
Minghao smiles and shuffles over to the tub on their knees. Joshua clears back to make space for them and gently helps them tilt their head forward.
Minghao takes a deep breath, one that fills their lungs all the way up, and then dips their face into the water.
It’s warm and clean. Minghao feels like crying.
“I’m going to start getting your hair wet,” Joshua says, one hand gentle on Minghao’s shoulder as he leans over to grab a bowl from the side of the tub.
His hand is strong.
Minghao sighs when they start to feel the water trickle onto their scalp, running behind their ears and down their bare back and over their shoulders and it’s like coming up for air.
Joshua methodically soaks their hair. It feels like too much to ask someone to do, all of a sudden. Like Minghao underestimated how it would feel to have Joshua do this. It feels like something you’d do for someone you love.
And it’s not that Minghao doesn’t love Joshua. They love all their friends. But this is way more intimate than anything they’ve ever done before. Joshua isn’t a fair-weather friend, but he’s definitely not the one Minghao would call in a crisis.
This isn’t a crisis though; this feels like a baptism.
Once their hair is thoroughly soaked, Joshua has to crowd against them to start to shampoo, his legs pressed against Minghao’s side.
“Ah, you’ll get wet,” Minghao says.
“It’s okay,” Joshua murmurs, his fingers pressing light to their scalp. Minghao sucks in another breath and Joshua pauses. “Does it hurt?” he asks again.
“Keep going,” Minghao says quickly.
Joshua’s fingers scrub, hard enough to scratch, and Minghao loves it. Feels clean for the first time in years, somehow. The shampoo smells fresh and herbaceous and a little minty, zinging against their scalp.
For a minute it’s quiet, just the gentle zz-zz-zz of Joshua’s fingers in their hair. He finds a knot at the base of Minghao’s neck and calmly combs through it with his fingers, stinging slightly.
Minghao breathes through it.
Then comes the water again, spilling over their head, so warm. It feels so good, Minghao gasps. Embarrassing. Joshua doesn’t make any noise, just keeps rinsing the shampoo from their hair.
“Can we turn you over?” he asks politely. “So I can get your hairline?”
“Um.” Minghao isn’t really sure how that will work. “I think you’d have to support my head, since my arms are useless.”
“That’s alright,” Joshua says. “Let’s get you flipped over.”
Minghao rotates slowly, until they’re sitting with their back to the low wall of the tub.
“We’re both going to get wet,” they argue uselessly.
“That’s okay,” Joshua says again. “I brought a change of clothes.”
One strong hand cups Minghao’s head, right where their neck curves. Joshua’s slippery fingers slide behind Minghao’s ear, making them fidget. They feel very held, something squirming in their stomach.
Minghao wishes they put on music before, to cover up the way their breathing has changed, gone all funny.
With his other hand, Joshua tips the water over Minghao’s hairline. It trails over Minghao’s face, catching on their eyelashes and pooling in the divot above their lip. Joshua puts the bowl down and swipes uselessly at their face.
“It’s much easier in the salon,” he sighs out, oblivious to the spiritual experience Minghao is having. The water soaks them both, hot and then cold. Joshua pours the water back over their scalp, running his fingers through the strands until all the suds are gone.
One more bowl. Minghao shivers again, sure that their face is red.
Joshua pets them again, his hand soft and tender.
“We can do the conditioner now,” he says quietly. “And maybe a detangle?”
Minghao is beyond words, so they just nod. Tries to relax back into Joshua’s grip as he moves them, repositioning them so he can comb the conditioner into their hair, hands strong and sure.
Minghao likes it. Maybe that’s it, actually. Maybe it’s that Minghao likes it, being taken care of like this. Likes that Joshua is the one to do it. Likes feeling clean in his arms.
They’ll ask him again, sometime, for the type of help he can provide.
Re: [FILL] i’ll be brave
Re: [FILL] i’ll be brave
minghao being nervous and antsy and joshua being calm and steady and reassuring...its so good........
Re: [FILL] i’ll be brave
(Anonymous) 2022-12-26 10:50 pm (UTC)(link)Re: [FILL] i’ll be brave
(Anonymous) 2022-12-26 10:54 pm (UTC)(link)Re: [FILL] i’ll be brave
Re: [FILL] i’ll be brave
Re: [FILL] i’ll be brave
[FILL] I Will
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: Hair Washing, acts of service, Established Relationship, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Soft Jeon Wonwoo, words said in silence, bad days
Permission to remix: Yes
***
I've filled this on Ao3! Here's the link: I Will
***
AN: I am filling two prompts with this, which I hope is okay! This one and this one.