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Who: Niou and Tachibana
When: After showering post-expedition
Where: Tachibana and Tooyama's room
What: Just hairwashing with friends
After a shower and a cup of tea at Yanagi’s, Niou felt actually half-alive as he made his way to Tachibana’s room. For the hairwashing task that he’d been bracing himself for, for… what, a week and a half now? But Niou was definitely stubborn and despite the many opportunities he’d been given to back out, he was determined to go through with this.
He could hear Tooyama’s bellowing in the distance (or was that just his nightmares creeping through the exhaustion?) and Niou knocked on the door. “Tachibana, it’s Niou with your hairwashing service.”
Tachibana was exhausted. The expedition had definitely been a test in perseverance and stamina. All he wanted to do was sleep, but Niou had been so insistent on this hair washing thing. He had briefly showered, and then thrown on a pair of shorts.
When he heard the knock, he answered, not surprised to see the state that Niou, himself, was in. "Hey."
Niou did a quick scan over Tachibana as he appeared. Tired and haggard and definitely hadn’t been sleeping anywhere near enough. “You look like shit,” he said with a bit of a smile. Honestly though, he looked much the same, so it was fine.
He shooed Tachibana out of the way with his hand so he could go into the room. “Shall we get started, then? So you can sit down and we can chat.” And maybe look a bit less dead on his feet.
Tachibana nodded and headed to the shower. Luckily, he did have a stool, so he parked himself on the seat before shooting Niou a knowing smirk. "How did your trip go?"
Niou followed Tachibana into the bathroom and was partway through rolling up his pant legs to his knees when he froze. … Oh.
He glanced at the other man and then went back to rolling. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was talking to my great-aunt for 3 weeks straight,” Niou said flatly.
"If you say so, Masaharu." Tachibana smiled. "Did you learn anything interesting?" If this lie was something Niou needed, far be it for Tachibana to rain on his parade. "She must have run you ragged."
Oh, so the given name thing was apparently something they were still doing? Fair enough. Niou finished up with his pant legs, toed off his shoes and stepped into the shower as well and this was… cramped. “No, it was all a very dull time. Lots of talking to herself. Conspiracies. The usual things.”
He got the shower head off and sprayed it at the wall to get the water to a decent temperature first. “... When did you figure it out?”
Tachibana smiled softly. "The second time we met, you were wearing your uniform." He pointed out. "But if it needs to be a secret, I can keep it a secret." He promised.
It was pretty cramped, so Tachibana closed in on himself as much as he could.
The second time they’d met… oh, when he’d had a meltdown about Tachibana and his hair. And had literally rushed out from the engineering lab to do that. Right. Niou just sighed at himself and ran a hand through his damp hair.
“I mean, it usually doesn’t matter,” Niou said, starting to wet Tachibana’s hair. He plucked carefully at the greasy strands to separate and wet them all. “Uion is just my work name. But yeah, keep it a secret.” And he was probably going to get very wet from this shower, even as he tried to aim the water away from himself as much as possible.
The minute hands went into his hair, Tachibana let out a sigh. His hair really was a mess. "You can count on me." Niou probably had his reasons. "...Really, though, how was your trip?"
He knew Niou had been with Hiyoshi, Oshitari, and Ibu. It seemed like a decent group.
The touching wasn’t that bad, especially after so long of just psyching himself up for it. “Thank you, Tachibana.” Niou turned off the water and grabbed the shampoo. And he hesitated for a moment before he started to scrub at Tachibana’s hair.
“It was… okay. Boring.” Although he’d immensely enjoyed getting to know Hiyoshi, which he’d keep to himself. “A lot of sand and nothing else. And not much of interest that we could immediately see in the water.” Niou paused and tapped Tachibana on the top of the head. “Not tense though, like yours was.”
"I thought you were calling me Kippei now." He teased. He closed his eyes at the mention of his expedition. "Ugh. Don't remind me. Both men are perfectly fine on their own, but together…" The two men just did not mesh well together. "I got to practice my shogi skills, so that was nice."
"Thank you, Kippei," Niou amended. He grinned at the rather mild complaining about the group dynamics. It must have been bad, then. "I've only really dealt with Sanada for work, and he's fine there," he shrugged. "Decent go player as well."
He twisted Tachibana's hair up into a sudsy swirl on top of his head. "Close your eyes."
Tachibana closed his eyes again. "He's a very serious man, that Sanada. With a very dry sense of humor." He chuckled. It was hard to not just fall asleep, but he strived to. "I'm glad you were mostly bored. I wouldn't wish that tension on anyone."
Niou awkwardly leaned over to check that Tachibana had listened to him before he started rinsing out the first lot of shampoo. "And Ohtori is… Sanada probably scoffed at his kindness and thoughtful of everyone thing." He felt through Tachibana's hair… yeah, definitely needed a second round of shampoo. "The worst we had was Ibu and Hiyoshi talked out loud to themselves. A lot."
Tachibana had watched some of Ibu’s documentaries, and had spoken with him. He definitely liked to talk, but was a very kind man. “Yes, Ohtori is very concerned about everyone’s well-being…and I know some people don’t see the point of a Morale Officer…but after a few months, we’ll need someone to keep our spirits up.” He sighed. “I’m hoping my ingredients get here soon. I’m hoping that will help people as well.”
“Ohtori seems a bit concerned about me,” Niou said cheerfully, putting the showerhead down to start on the second round of scrubbing at Tachibana’s hair with shampoo. “He seems to think I’m sad and lonely or something.” It was quite entertaining actually. Niou gently kneed Tachibana in the back. “Instead of worrying about others, do you need Ohtori to worry about your spirits being lifted?”
That knee in the back was right on a knot that had formed over the two weeks, so it made Tachibana sit up straighter. “At the moment, no.” He smiled brightly. “I’m actually in a good place right now.” And that was the truth. Looking for new organisms had been fun, despite the tension. “I’m just saying, some people are bound to get lonely or homesick…” He folded his hands together. “You have a way of saying little things here and there that make people concerned.”
“Oh good, or else, you know, you have forms to fill in and I might have to punch you again,” Niou mock-threatened, kneeing Tachibana in the back again. “Well, maybe in a few months, he’ll have something to do.” And if he looked particularly busy, Niou might have a bit of sympathy and not pester him with odd questions.
Standing behind Tachibana and cleaning his hair was weird, but not that bad, Niou had decided. The light conversation was easy enough too. “Does it make you concerned?” Niou asked with a bit of a laugh. “Or are you starting to pick up when I’m lying about things?”
"Careful kneeing me in the back. I have a knot there and the pressure feels amazing." Tachibana laughed. "But yes, I promise, no need to fill out any forms currently." He thought carefully about Niou's question. "I think I'm starting to pick-up on it. But then I see you interacting with certain people and I wonder…"
Niou hesitated before he carefully balanced with his hand on the wall, pressing his knee into Tachibana’s back again. “Okay?” He blinked and… did people just read other people’s conversations or something? Maybe Tachibana had done a lot of it to avoid going crazy while stuck on expedition with Sanada and Ohtori. “What sort of interactions and people?”
Tachibana tried not to groan at the pressure, but it felt too good not to. "I don't mean to pry, but I suppose even I am prone to curiosity when I see you having meandering conversations. " He laughed. "Your relationship with Akutsu–san is interesting…but that Gakuto kid is concerning." Maybe it wasn't really Niou he was worried about. "Your conversations with him stop abruptly. "
Niou blinked at the noise Tachibana made and moved his knee off. And then squatted down to press a thumb into the spot on his back instead. “You’re not the only one on base who’s curious, it’s fine.” It just made Niou think he’d have to really watch when he screened comments, if there were multiple people reading them. And actually it was nice to know that screened did work. “They stop because he gets shy and suddenly screens his comments… sometimes. And Akutsu is annoying, nothing more to it.”
He hadn't realized that knot had been so bad. "Thanks… must be from sitting up for so long…" Tachibana relaxed as the knot began to unfurl. "So even a loud guy like that can get shy…"
"If you're used to being able to stretch out a lot, then yeah. Even my legs were cramping." Niou briefly dug his knuckle into the spot before he stood back up again, going straight back to hair washing. "Mmm, I think Gakuto has two volumes only. Loud and then depressingly quiet. And he jumps very quickly between them."
Tachibana was now a very content puddle. "I'm actually looking forward to nighttime treadmill runs with Tooyama again." He laughed. He closed his eyes as Niou went back to his hair. "I see…"
Nighttime treadmill runs with Tooyama… what the fuck? Niou’s hands stilled to look down at Tachibana in absolute bafflement. He did one last scrub behind the ears and top of the neck, before reaching for the shower head again. “You can ask me when I lie, by the way. No promises I’ll answer, but if I’m delirious and sleep deprived, maybe I’ll answer.”
Tachibana laughed. “With me, I know you’re telling the truth if you’re screening our comments…and I know when you’re lying when you start getting really silly.” But honestly, he always expected a small amount of truth, even in Niou’s lies. “You’re going to get some sleep soon, right?”
“That’s certainly an easy way to look at it, I guess.” And at that point, it was easier to just avoid, or part-answer things than outright lie in private. Niou just hummed vaguely in response to Tachibana’s question, falling into silence as he washed out the shampoo.
“Permission to ask a question.” Tachibana said softly. If Niou said no, he would drop it. Asking permission before questions was one thing Niou did that he actually really liked. It gave people an opportunity to back out of a conversation, if need be.
… Niou didn’t know how he felt about people actually using his own thing against him. He stayed silent as he reached for the conditioner so he could actually start getting some tangles out of Tachibana’s hair. And then he sighed loudly. “Fine, what’s the question?” He didn’t trust the tone of Tachibana’s voice at all.
“Is the reason you don’t sleep merely insomnia, or something more?” Tachibana wasn’t looking for all the details if Niou didn’t want to share them, but he was concerned.
“A bit of both,” Niou admitted, dumping conditioner on Tachibana’s head. He chewed over how to give more than just the absolutely bare minimum response, starting to gently fingercomb through the blonde hair. “.. You know that thing where you deprive yourself of something for so long, your body just… kinda gets used to it? It’s like that. For a few things.”
“Okay, yeah, I get that.” Tachibana said. He hated himself for thinking about how nice Niou’s fingers felt, chalking it up to the desperation of needing his hair cleaned. “I suppose, then, that constantly harping on you to sleep is futile and probably annoying.” He knew he hated it when An told him to take care of himself, to go see people, make some friends. It drove him nuts.
Tachibana’s hair was a different texture to his own, probably from the dye, Niou thought through in a detached way to not focus on how he curiously scraped his nails along the scalp and then dragged his fingers out the length of Tachibana’s hair. “It’s fine. Sometimes I need the reminder that sleeping under my desk isn’t great.” He pulled a face. “And I have to sleep after this anyway. I have to talk to Akutsu and if I show up looking like this, he’ll probably tie me to a bed and knock me out or something.”
Tachibana had no clue his scalp was so sensitive until this very moment, but he willed himself to ignore it. “You and Akutsu seem to go way back. Does he worry about you often?” Tachibana asked. It was nice, to know Niou had some attachments, even if they did seem rather hostile at first.
There was no reaction to his curious touching of Tachibana’s scalp and hair, so Niou took that as permission to continue. “We’ve just known each other for a little bit. We met on Earth.” His expression soured and he dug his nails in maybe a bit hard. “He probably just makes me sleep because I’m more fun to disgust if I’m properly awake. It’s annoying.”
Tachibana was not expecting Niou to dig in even harder, so the sound that escaped his throat made him cover his mouth quickly. “...Sorry, I…” He had not been expecting that of himself. He usually had better control. He was obviously more tired than he thought. “...I’m guessing you didn’t meet under the best circumstances…” He said, desperate to just move on with the conversation.
Niou blinked in surprise at the noise and leaned over to look at Tachibana’s face. “You okay?” Pain, maybe? He rubbed at the spots on the scalp to try and make the nail marks disappear. “Eh, the first meeting was kind of boring. And then he broke into my shop and stole some things.” He went back to fingercombing to make sure the tangles were all out. “And even if he denies it, I know he stole things.”
Their eyes met for a moment, Tachibana’s face bright red in embarrassment. “I’m fine.” He said, trying to be reassuring. If Niou only knew what havoc he was wreaking. “Well, I can’t really judge him for stealing, given my penchant for stealing fruit, but I suppose that would make the relationship a little complicated.”
… Suspicious. “Now he just entertains himself by seeing how disgusted I can get when we talk,” Niou said with a grumble. Which, admittedly, he played up a fair bit for his own amusement, but there were some times that it genuinely was embarrassing. “At least you’re a decent human being to talk to.” He got out the last of the tangles and paused. And then just to test the hypothesis starting to form in his mind, dragged his nails up from the start of the hair on Tachibana’s neck up the back of his scalp.
Tachibana wasn’t expecting that, so he just moaned, which was pretty mortifying. He covered his mouth again, his face bright red. “I’m sorry…maybe I’m not so decent after all.” He didn’t want Niou to think he had any perverse ulterior motives with this whole hair washing thing. He really wasn’t that kind of guy!
Oh. Oh okay, well that definitely answered that question for him. “It happens…?” Niou attempted. And turned the water on again to start washing out the conditioner. “You’re still more decent than Akutsu though,” he said, going back to the much safer finger combing. “He was threatening to fuck me until I passed out, if I didn’t sleep before we talked. Fucking psychopath.” Grumble grumble.
Tachibana was thankful that Niou realized what was happening and didn’t shame him for it. At the second part, Tachibana’s brow furrowed. “Even if he was kidding, that isn’t funny.” His voice had an angry edge to it, one he usually tried to avoid. “If you need any help with him…” While he had every faith Niou could handle things himself, he did not like hearing such threats.
“They’re just empty words, don’t worry about it,” Niou said dismissively. “I don’t need you to be revisiting your violent teenage phase, I can handle it.” He tugged on a bit of hair to make sure he had Tachibana’s attention. “And if you try and do it… I’ll… kick you down and scratch at your head until you can’t move.”
Tachibana looked at Niou, then chuckled. “Okay, that’s a pretty big threat. I’ll leave it to you, then.” He knew Niou wasn’t lying, so he let it go. “Is my hair starting to look normal, yet?” He was worried that maybe the helmet had caused permanent damage.
“You’d pass out from all the blood rushing to your face,” Niou teased because Tachibana’s face was still a bit red. He turned off the water and ran his fingers through it again, squeezing some of the water out. “I think it might actually be okay. Maybe some dark roots poking through to expose your secret.”
“I think I very well would pass out.” Honestly, his scalp? Such a terrible place to be so sensitive. At the mention of his roots, he frowned. “I need to get some bleach, then.” He didn’t mind people knowing he dyed his hair, but he would prefer not to have the dark patches get out of hand. “Maybe I remembered to bring some…” His room seemed mostly back to normal, but he hadn’t checked for his belongings yet.
“I’ll make sure to keep it a secret then, so no one else knows your weak spot.” Niou ran his fingers through one last time before he stepped back and hopped out of the shower. “Maybe check now in case you need to order some. Before the black gets too long.”
“Yeah, I’ll do that.” Tachibana turned off the shower and went to grab his towel. “Thanks, Masaharu.” He grinned. “I feel more human already.” Once Niou left, he would get into dry clothes and probably sleep for the next twelve hours.
Niou sighed at the water on his pants and lower legs - he’d probably have to go and get new ones on before he climbed into his closet. “Well, I said I’d do it, since I made you keep your hair long.” And really, there were times on the expedition that he thought it would have been easier to have short hair too. “... It wasn’t bad. The touching, that is. I didn’t hate it.”
Tachibana smiled softly. “I didn’t hate it, either.” Not that they would be making this a regular thing. It got really awkward there for a moment. “And thanks for helping me not be hasty.” He had really needed a reality check there. “After we’ve both rested in some way, let’s do lunch.”
“I’m just selfish and I like it long,” Niou said with a dismissive shrug. And even just trying to think about Tachibana with short hair, blonde or black was… weird. He dried his hands on his pant legs and gosh but they picked weird places to talk: in front of a cargo lift and then in the bathroom. “I will actually sleep, I promise. For probably a full night at this rate.”
“Thanks for being selfish, then.” Tachibana laughed. He handed Niou a towel, just in case. “That sounds like a miracle, but absolutely relatable. Please don’t need me for the next 14 hours, okay?” He grinned.
Niou dried off his legs and rolled his pants back down before handing the towel back. “But what if in the next 14 hours, I… have a nightmare and really need a cuddle?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at Tachibana. “It’s going to be weird sleeping alone after the last two weeks, you know. Would you really be completely unwilling to help?”
Tachibana gave a wry smile, absolutely defeated by that. “No, I wouldn’t be unwilling. But only for you, alright? Everyone else will have to deal.” Tachibana knew he was doomed when it came to Niou. They were friends now, and Tachibana was very loyal to his friends. “We’ll need a code so I know it’s you.”
“It’s always good to feel special.” Even if both of them knew that Niou would never ask for a cuddle, it was still nice. “I’ll knock three times slow and three times fast so you know it’s me at the door.”
He did another quick scan up and down Tachibana. “You should eat before you sleep though. Even if the replicator is still making green food. It’s on my list of things to fix.”
“Three slow, three fast, got it.” Tachibana nodded. He knew he probably should eat, but he was so tired. “I guess you’re right, as much as I want to argue.” He really wasn’t looking forward to green food. “If being green is the only issue, it shouldn’t be a high priority.” No matter how off-putting it was. “Okay, I’ll get dressed, eat, and then sleep. Any other suggestions?” He teased.
Okay, he was being uncharacteristically naggy. Which actually reminded him that he also needed to eat something besides tea and seaweed crisps. “... Send a message to Byodoin to make sure your roommate is kept out of your room for the next 14 hours.” Or else Tachibana probably wouldn’t be sleeping.
Tachibana blinked. “That’s a good idea.” He really hadn’t thought of that. “Do you think he would be willing to distract him that long?” He really did want to sleep, and there was only so much Santa threats could do for him. “Yeah. I’ll do that.”
“I mean, he babysat him for days for you, didn’t he?” He had to either like Tachibana, or like his subordinate or both, right? Niou fell into awkward silence and pulled on the sleeves of his shirt for a few moments before he moved to grab his shoes. “Anyway, I’m going to go. And eat and sleep. You going to be okay?”
Tachibana nodded, offering a reassuring smile. “I’ll be okay. I’ll do the same. Eat and sleep. Once I get some rest, I’ll be good as new.” He gave Niou a thumbs up, just to show how okay he was. “I’ll see you on the other side.” He joked.
Yeah, Tachibana was definitely not okay right now. Niou took that as his cue to leave and very carefully tapped the back of his hand against Tachibana’s arm as he walked past. “And don’t forget to put clothes on before you go too. Instead of just wearing… shorts.” He waved behind him and left and off he went to go pass out for quite a few hours.
Tachibana waved, surprised at the tap as Niou left. “I’ll see you later.” He said, waiting for the door to close before going to change. He went to eat a quick snack, and went to bed, dead to the world for the time being.
When: After showering post-expedition
Where: Tachibana and Tooyama's room
What: Just hairwashing with friends
After a shower and a cup of tea at Yanagi’s, Niou felt actually half-alive as he made his way to Tachibana’s room. For the hairwashing task that he’d been bracing himself for, for… what, a week and a half now? But Niou was definitely stubborn and despite the many opportunities he’d been given to back out, he was determined to go through with this.
He could hear Tooyama’s bellowing in the distance (or was that just his nightmares creeping through the exhaustion?) and Niou knocked on the door. “Tachibana, it’s Niou with your hairwashing service.”
Tachibana was exhausted. The expedition had definitely been a test in perseverance and stamina. All he wanted to do was sleep, but Niou had been so insistent on this hair washing thing. He had briefly showered, and then thrown on a pair of shorts.
When he heard the knock, he answered, not surprised to see the state that Niou, himself, was in. "Hey."
Niou did a quick scan over Tachibana as he appeared. Tired and haggard and definitely hadn’t been sleeping anywhere near enough. “You look like shit,” he said with a bit of a smile. Honestly though, he looked much the same, so it was fine.
He shooed Tachibana out of the way with his hand so he could go into the room. “Shall we get started, then? So you can sit down and we can chat.” And maybe look a bit less dead on his feet.
Tachibana nodded and headed to the shower. Luckily, he did have a stool, so he parked himself on the seat before shooting Niou a knowing smirk. "How did your trip go?"
Niou followed Tachibana into the bathroom and was partway through rolling up his pant legs to his knees when he froze. … Oh.
He glanced at the other man and then went back to rolling. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was talking to my great-aunt for 3 weeks straight,” Niou said flatly.
"If you say so, Masaharu." Tachibana smiled. "Did you learn anything interesting?" If this lie was something Niou needed, far be it for Tachibana to rain on his parade. "She must have run you ragged."
Oh, so the given name thing was apparently something they were still doing? Fair enough. Niou finished up with his pant legs, toed off his shoes and stepped into the shower as well and this was… cramped. “No, it was all a very dull time. Lots of talking to herself. Conspiracies. The usual things.”
He got the shower head off and sprayed it at the wall to get the water to a decent temperature first. “... When did you figure it out?”
Tachibana smiled softly. "The second time we met, you were wearing your uniform." He pointed out. "But if it needs to be a secret, I can keep it a secret." He promised.
It was pretty cramped, so Tachibana closed in on himself as much as he could.
The second time they’d met… oh, when he’d had a meltdown about Tachibana and his hair. And had literally rushed out from the engineering lab to do that. Right. Niou just sighed at himself and ran a hand through his damp hair.
“I mean, it usually doesn’t matter,” Niou said, starting to wet Tachibana’s hair. He plucked carefully at the greasy strands to separate and wet them all. “Uion is just my work name. But yeah, keep it a secret.” And he was probably going to get very wet from this shower, even as he tried to aim the water away from himself as much as possible.
The minute hands went into his hair, Tachibana let out a sigh. His hair really was a mess. "You can count on me." Niou probably had his reasons. "...Really, though, how was your trip?"
He knew Niou had been with Hiyoshi, Oshitari, and Ibu. It seemed like a decent group.
The touching wasn’t that bad, especially after so long of just psyching himself up for it. “Thank you, Tachibana.” Niou turned off the water and grabbed the shampoo. And he hesitated for a moment before he started to scrub at Tachibana’s hair.
“It was… okay. Boring.” Although he’d immensely enjoyed getting to know Hiyoshi, which he’d keep to himself. “A lot of sand and nothing else. And not much of interest that we could immediately see in the water.” Niou paused and tapped Tachibana on the top of the head. “Not tense though, like yours was.”
"I thought you were calling me Kippei now." He teased. He closed his eyes at the mention of his expedition. "Ugh. Don't remind me. Both men are perfectly fine on their own, but together…" The two men just did not mesh well together. "I got to practice my shogi skills, so that was nice."
"Thank you, Kippei," Niou amended. He grinned at the rather mild complaining about the group dynamics. It must have been bad, then. "I've only really dealt with Sanada for work, and he's fine there," he shrugged. "Decent go player as well."
He twisted Tachibana's hair up into a sudsy swirl on top of his head. "Close your eyes."
Tachibana closed his eyes again. "He's a very serious man, that Sanada. With a very dry sense of humor." He chuckled. It was hard to not just fall asleep, but he strived to. "I'm glad you were mostly bored. I wouldn't wish that tension on anyone."
Niou awkwardly leaned over to check that Tachibana had listened to him before he started rinsing out the first lot of shampoo. "And Ohtori is… Sanada probably scoffed at his kindness and thoughtful of everyone thing." He felt through Tachibana's hair… yeah, definitely needed a second round of shampoo. "The worst we had was Ibu and Hiyoshi talked out loud to themselves. A lot."
Tachibana had watched some of Ibu’s documentaries, and had spoken with him. He definitely liked to talk, but was a very kind man. “Yes, Ohtori is very concerned about everyone’s well-being…and I know some people don’t see the point of a Morale Officer…but after a few months, we’ll need someone to keep our spirits up.” He sighed. “I’m hoping my ingredients get here soon. I’m hoping that will help people as well.”
“Ohtori seems a bit concerned about me,” Niou said cheerfully, putting the showerhead down to start on the second round of scrubbing at Tachibana’s hair with shampoo. “He seems to think I’m sad and lonely or something.” It was quite entertaining actually. Niou gently kneed Tachibana in the back. “Instead of worrying about others, do you need Ohtori to worry about your spirits being lifted?”
That knee in the back was right on a knot that had formed over the two weeks, so it made Tachibana sit up straighter. “At the moment, no.” He smiled brightly. “I’m actually in a good place right now.” And that was the truth. Looking for new organisms had been fun, despite the tension. “I’m just saying, some people are bound to get lonely or homesick…” He folded his hands together. “You have a way of saying little things here and there that make people concerned.”
“Oh good, or else, you know, you have forms to fill in and I might have to punch you again,” Niou mock-threatened, kneeing Tachibana in the back again. “Well, maybe in a few months, he’ll have something to do.” And if he looked particularly busy, Niou might have a bit of sympathy and not pester him with odd questions.
Standing behind Tachibana and cleaning his hair was weird, but not that bad, Niou had decided. The light conversation was easy enough too. “Does it make you concerned?” Niou asked with a bit of a laugh. “Or are you starting to pick up when I’m lying about things?”
"Careful kneeing me in the back. I have a knot there and the pressure feels amazing." Tachibana laughed. "But yes, I promise, no need to fill out any forms currently." He thought carefully about Niou's question. "I think I'm starting to pick-up on it. But then I see you interacting with certain people and I wonder…"
Niou hesitated before he carefully balanced with his hand on the wall, pressing his knee into Tachibana’s back again. “Okay?” He blinked and… did people just read other people’s conversations or something? Maybe Tachibana had done a lot of it to avoid going crazy while stuck on expedition with Sanada and Ohtori. “What sort of interactions and people?”
Tachibana tried not to groan at the pressure, but it felt too good not to. "I don't mean to pry, but I suppose even I am prone to curiosity when I see you having meandering conversations. " He laughed. "Your relationship with Akutsu–san is interesting…but that Gakuto kid is concerning." Maybe it wasn't really Niou he was worried about. "Your conversations with him stop abruptly. "
Niou blinked at the noise Tachibana made and moved his knee off. And then squatted down to press a thumb into the spot on his back instead. “You’re not the only one on base who’s curious, it’s fine.” It just made Niou think he’d have to really watch when he screened comments, if there were multiple people reading them. And actually it was nice to know that screened did work. “They stop because he gets shy and suddenly screens his comments… sometimes. And Akutsu is annoying, nothing more to it.”
He hadn't realized that knot had been so bad. "Thanks… must be from sitting up for so long…" Tachibana relaxed as the knot began to unfurl. "So even a loud guy like that can get shy…"
"If you're used to being able to stretch out a lot, then yeah. Even my legs were cramping." Niou briefly dug his knuckle into the spot before he stood back up again, going straight back to hair washing. "Mmm, I think Gakuto has two volumes only. Loud and then depressingly quiet. And he jumps very quickly between them."
Tachibana was now a very content puddle. "I'm actually looking forward to nighttime treadmill runs with Tooyama again." He laughed. He closed his eyes as Niou went back to his hair. "I see…"
Nighttime treadmill runs with Tooyama… what the fuck? Niou’s hands stilled to look down at Tachibana in absolute bafflement. He did one last scrub behind the ears and top of the neck, before reaching for the shower head again. “You can ask me when I lie, by the way. No promises I’ll answer, but if I’m delirious and sleep deprived, maybe I’ll answer.”
Tachibana laughed. “With me, I know you’re telling the truth if you’re screening our comments…and I know when you’re lying when you start getting really silly.” But honestly, he always expected a small amount of truth, even in Niou’s lies. “You’re going to get some sleep soon, right?”
“That’s certainly an easy way to look at it, I guess.” And at that point, it was easier to just avoid, or part-answer things than outright lie in private. Niou just hummed vaguely in response to Tachibana’s question, falling into silence as he washed out the shampoo.
“Permission to ask a question.” Tachibana said softly. If Niou said no, he would drop it. Asking permission before questions was one thing Niou did that he actually really liked. It gave people an opportunity to back out of a conversation, if need be.
… Niou didn’t know how he felt about people actually using his own thing against him. He stayed silent as he reached for the conditioner so he could actually start getting some tangles out of Tachibana’s hair. And then he sighed loudly. “Fine, what’s the question?” He didn’t trust the tone of Tachibana’s voice at all.
“Is the reason you don’t sleep merely insomnia, or something more?” Tachibana wasn’t looking for all the details if Niou didn’t want to share them, but he was concerned.
“A bit of both,” Niou admitted, dumping conditioner on Tachibana’s head. He chewed over how to give more than just the absolutely bare minimum response, starting to gently fingercomb through the blonde hair. “.. You know that thing where you deprive yourself of something for so long, your body just… kinda gets used to it? It’s like that. For a few things.”
“Okay, yeah, I get that.” Tachibana said. He hated himself for thinking about how nice Niou’s fingers felt, chalking it up to the desperation of needing his hair cleaned. “I suppose, then, that constantly harping on you to sleep is futile and probably annoying.” He knew he hated it when An told him to take care of himself, to go see people, make some friends. It drove him nuts.
Tachibana’s hair was a different texture to his own, probably from the dye, Niou thought through in a detached way to not focus on how he curiously scraped his nails along the scalp and then dragged his fingers out the length of Tachibana’s hair. “It’s fine. Sometimes I need the reminder that sleeping under my desk isn’t great.” He pulled a face. “And I have to sleep after this anyway. I have to talk to Akutsu and if I show up looking like this, he’ll probably tie me to a bed and knock me out or something.”
Tachibana had no clue his scalp was so sensitive until this very moment, but he willed himself to ignore it. “You and Akutsu seem to go way back. Does he worry about you often?” Tachibana asked. It was nice, to know Niou had some attachments, even if they did seem rather hostile at first.
There was no reaction to his curious touching of Tachibana’s scalp and hair, so Niou took that as permission to continue. “We’ve just known each other for a little bit. We met on Earth.” His expression soured and he dug his nails in maybe a bit hard. “He probably just makes me sleep because I’m more fun to disgust if I’m properly awake. It’s annoying.”
Tachibana was not expecting Niou to dig in even harder, so the sound that escaped his throat made him cover his mouth quickly. “...Sorry, I…” He had not been expecting that of himself. He usually had better control. He was obviously more tired than he thought. “...I’m guessing you didn’t meet under the best circumstances…” He said, desperate to just move on with the conversation.
Niou blinked in surprise at the noise and leaned over to look at Tachibana’s face. “You okay?” Pain, maybe? He rubbed at the spots on the scalp to try and make the nail marks disappear. “Eh, the first meeting was kind of boring. And then he broke into my shop and stole some things.” He went back to fingercombing to make sure the tangles were all out. “And even if he denies it, I know he stole things.”
Their eyes met for a moment, Tachibana’s face bright red in embarrassment. “I’m fine.” He said, trying to be reassuring. If Niou only knew what havoc he was wreaking. “Well, I can’t really judge him for stealing, given my penchant for stealing fruit, but I suppose that would make the relationship a little complicated.”
… Suspicious. “Now he just entertains himself by seeing how disgusted I can get when we talk,” Niou said with a grumble. Which, admittedly, he played up a fair bit for his own amusement, but there were some times that it genuinely was embarrassing. “At least you’re a decent human being to talk to.” He got out the last of the tangles and paused. And then just to test the hypothesis starting to form in his mind, dragged his nails up from the start of the hair on Tachibana’s neck up the back of his scalp.
Tachibana wasn’t expecting that, so he just moaned, which was pretty mortifying. He covered his mouth again, his face bright red. “I’m sorry…maybe I’m not so decent after all.” He didn’t want Niou to think he had any perverse ulterior motives with this whole hair washing thing. He really wasn’t that kind of guy!
Oh. Oh okay, well that definitely answered that question for him. “It happens…?” Niou attempted. And turned the water on again to start washing out the conditioner. “You’re still more decent than Akutsu though,” he said, going back to the much safer finger combing. “He was threatening to fuck me until I passed out, if I didn’t sleep before we talked. Fucking psychopath.” Grumble grumble.
Tachibana was thankful that Niou realized what was happening and didn’t shame him for it. At the second part, Tachibana’s brow furrowed. “Even if he was kidding, that isn’t funny.” His voice had an angry edge to it, one he usually tried to avoid. “If you need any help with him…” While he had every faith Niou could handle things himself, he did not like hearing such threats.
“They’re just empty words, don’t worry about it,” Niou said dismissively. “I don’t need you to be revisiting your violent teenage phase, I can handle it.” He tugged on a bit of hair to make sure he had Tachibana’s attention. “And if you try and do it… I’ll… kick you down and scratch at your head until you can’t move.”
Tachibana looked at Niou, then chuckled. “Okay, that’s a pretty big threat. I’ll leave it to you, then.” He knew Niou wasn’t lying, so he let it go. “Is my hair starting to look normal, yet?” He was worried that maybe the helmet had caused permanent damage.
“You’d pass out from all the blood rushing to your face,” Niou teased because Tachibana’s face was still a bit red. He turned off the water and ran his fingers through it again, squeezing some of the water out. “I think it might actually be okay. Maybe some dark roots poking through to expose your secret.”
“I think I very well would pass out.” Honestly, his scalp? Such a terrible place to be so sensitive. At the mention of his roots, he frowned. “I need to get some bleach, then.” He didn’t mind people knowing he dyed his hair, but he would prefer not to have the dark patches get out of hand. “Maybe I remembered to bring some…” His room seemed mostly back to normal, but he hadn’t checked for his belongings yet.
“I’ll make sure to keep it a secret then, so no one else knows your weak spot.” Niou ran his fingers through one last time before he stepped back and hopped out of the shower. “Maybe check now in case you need to order some. Before the black gets too long.”
“Yeah, I’ll do that.” Tachibana turned off the shower and went to grab his towel. “Thanks, Masaharu.” He grinned. “I feel more human already.” Once Niou left, he would get into dry clothes and probably sleep for the next twelve hours.
Niou sighed at the water on his pants and lower legs - he’d probably have to go and get new ones on before he climbed into his closet. “Well, I said I’d do it, since I made you keep your hair long.” And really, there were times on the expedition that he thought it would have been easier to have short hair too. “... It wasn’t bad. The touching, that is. I didn’t hate it.”
Tachibana smiled softly. “I didn’t hate it, either.” Not that they would be making this a regular thing. It got really awkward there for a moment. “And thanks for helping me not be hasty.” He had really needed a reality check there. “After we’ve both rested in some way, let’s do lunch.”
“I’m just selfish and I like it long,” Niou said with a dismissive shrug. And even just trying to think about Tachibana with short hair, blonde or black was… weird. He dried his hands on his pant legs and gosh but they picked weird places to talk: in front of a cargo lift and then in the bathroom. “I will actually sleep, I promise. For probably a full night at this rate.”
“Thanks for being selfish, then.” Tachibana laughed. He handed Niou a towel, just in case. “That sounds like a miracle, but absolutely relatable. Please don’t need me for the next 14 hours, okay?” He grinned.
Niou dried off his legs and rolled his pants back down before handing the towel back. “But what if in the next 14 hours, I… have a nightmare and really need a cuddle?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at Tachibana. “It’s going to be weird sleeping alone after the last two weeks, you know. Would you really be completely unwilling to help?”
Tachibana gave a wry smile, absolutely defeated by that. “No, I wouldn’t be unwilling. But only for you, alright? Everyone else will have to deal.” Tachibana knew he was doomed when it came to Niou. They were friends now, and Tachibana was very loyal to his friends. “We’ll need a code so I know it’s you.”
“It’s always good to feel special.” Even if both of them knew that Niou would never ask for a cuddle, it was still nice. “I’ll knock three times slow and three times fast so you know it’s me at the door.”
He did another quick scan up and down Tachibana. “You should eat before you sleep though. Even if the replicator is still making green food. It’s on my list of things to fix.”
“Three slow, three fast, got it.” Tachibana nodded. He knew he probably should eat, but he was so tired. “I guess you’re right, as much as I want to argue.” He really wasn’t looking forward to green food. “If being green is the only issue, it shouldn’t be a high priority.” No matter how off-putting it was. “Okay, I’ll get dressed, eat, and then sleep. Any other suggestions?” He teased.
Okay, he was being uncharacteristically naggy. Which actually reminded him that he also needed to eat something besides tea and seaweed crisps. “... Send a message to Byodoin to make sure your roommate is kept out of your room for the next 14 hours.” Or else Tachibana probably wouldn’t be sleeping.
Tachibana blinked. “That’s a good idea.” He really hadn’t thought of that. “Do you think he would be willing to distract him that long?” He really did want to sleep, and there was only so much Santa threats could do for him. “Yeah. I’ll do that.”
“I mean, he babysat him for days for you, didn’t he?” He had to either like Tachibana, or like his subordinate or both, right? Niou fell into awkward silence and pulled on the sleeves of his shirt for a few moments before he moved to grab his shoes. “Anyway, I’m going to go. And eat and sleep. You going to be okay?”
Tachibana nodded, offering a reassuring smile. “I’ll be okay. I’ll do the same. Eat and sleep. Once I get some rest, I’ll be good as new.” He gave Niou a thumbs up, just to show how okay he was. “I’ll see you on the other side.” He joked.
Yeah, Tachibana was definitely not okay right now. Niou took that as his cue to leave and very carefully tapped the back of his hand against Tachibana’s arm as he walked past. “And don’t forget to put clothes on before you go too. Instead of just wearing… shorts.” He waved behind him and left and off he went to go pass out for quite a few hours.
Tachibana waved, surprised at the tap as Niou left. “I’ll see you later.” He said, waiting for the door to close before going to change. He went to eat a quick snack, and went to bed, dead to the world for the time being.
