Unrequited (Blue Flag Fanfic)

Haircut

A/N: I'm pumping out parts today! Here's Part 13! Enjoy, everyone!

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"Touma," Taichi began, stopping in his steps, "should I get my hair cut?"

Touma and Taichi were on their way back to the subway station after a long outing of bowling. They had just passed a barber shop, and Touma hadn't even noticed until Taichi mentioned cutting his hair. He was just trying to avoid the rain, as keeping his whole body under this tiny tarp he called an umbrella was proving to be a much more difficult task than expected.

It was April now, and rain was common, a lot more common than snow. The cherry blossoms had almost bloomed yet again, and summer was fast approaching.

Touma looked down at Taichi, who still had his head tilted up to him.

"You want that? Why?"

"Well"—Taichi put a finger to his lips, eyes up at the sky—"I'm kind of sick of having the same haircut for so long. I think it's time for a change, you know?"

Touma didn't know. He liked Taichi's hair. He always wanted to play with it, although he never got to do so.

"I mean, if you want to, go ahead. I think it's good the way it is, though."

"Really?" Taichi asked. He patted his head. "I'm pretty sure I'm still gonna cut it."

Touma smiled. He was kind of curious, now, to see what Taichi would look like.

"Hey," he said, "I'm not stopping you. If you want to do it, go ahead."

Taichi's eyes lit up. "Okay! Let's do it now!"

Touma raised an eyebrow. "Now? As in right now?"

"Yes!"

And so, before Touma knew it, he was sitting in a chair in the barber shop, Taichi beside him waiting patiently for a professional to call his name. Touma wondered how things always ended up like this; decisions with Taichi were far too often made on the spur of the moment.

Touma closed his eyes, smiling. That wasn't to say he hadn't nearly boiled over with excitement at the thought of seeing Taichi with a new hairstyle.

Taichi was brought to a chair, and Touma watched in silence as he explained to the barber the exact cut he wanted. The barber began to go in with scissors, fixing up Taichi's hair.

Touma tried to keep his eyes closed once the barber had started—he wanted to be surprised.

Part of him already missed talking to Taichi, even if it would just be a few minutes without him. They probably only got to see each other once a month, as both of their work schedules were so busy, so Touma liked to make the most out of their time. Today was lucky for Touma because of the heavy rain (construction was arduous in such conditions), and Taichi had already worked his hours this morning. Instead of hanging with coworkers, they chose to hang out with each other.

"Touma," he heard Taichi say about fifteen minutes later, his voice close. Touma was relieved to be speaking to Taichi again. He opened his eyes, glanced up, and there was Taichi in all his glory, his hair still spiky, but much, much shorter. Taichi shook out his clothes, trying to get the loose hairs out of his shirt.

"What do you think?" he asked, looking back down at Touma. "Do you like it?"

Touma parted his lips, but nothing but a small huff came out. He then opened his mouth again, this time with something to say.

"Like it?" he started. "I... I love it! It's amazing!"

Touma stood up and nearly hugged Taichi as tightly as his best friend's small body would allow, but he kept himself in check. He decided to give Taichi a high-five instead. Sometimes, it was best not to embarass himself, not only in front of Taichi but in front of the general public as well.

Taichi paid at the desk, and the two headed out. Taichi kept rubbing his neck, pulling at the back of his shirt, trying to keep the itchiness from becoming too much of a bother.

Touma, noticing Taichi's distress and understanding it on a profound level, said, "Tai, let's get to the subway as fast as possible. I know how annoying those little hairs can get."

Taichi sighed. "Yup. Although, at least this haircut is cool, so it's all worth it."

Taichi threw in a thumbs-up, smiling with all his teeth showing. The combination of his pose, his grin, his beauty, and his new hairdo led to Touma's demise. His cheeks grew red, way too red, and he had to begin running toward the train station in order to keep Taichi from noticing anything was astray.

"Touma!" Taichi called. "Where are you going?"

"The station! Hurry, Tai! These umbrellas are small, and the rain is getting bad!"

Once Taichi caught up, the two jogged in sync with one another, breathing labored as they finally reached the station stairs.

Touma put his hands on his knees. "Here we are," he said, inhaling deeply, as he was already exhausted from just those words. "Ready to go?"

Taichi, also tired, nodded.

"Touma?" a faint voice shouted from the distance.

Touma moved his head on a swivel. That was when he spotted him, the guy who had called his name, straight behind him, standing under an umbrella of his own.

"Kenji?"

Kenji came closer, and that was when Taichi, in a fit of confusion and then realization, looked up at Touma.

"Sugawara?" he asked.

Touma nodded. "Yup. That's him."