| Before | - Desert Duo/Scarian - (Hiatus/Discontinued)

Opened doors

I didn't know wether to start using the pesky burb's pronouns in this chapter or in later chapters- I ended up going with the second option, for fluff purposes :]

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TW:

- none that I know of

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Grace walked over to the package, wiping away the tears that forced themselves out of her eyes. Why did she have to start crying as soon as she saw it? Fuck, that was weak.

She cracked open the front door, carefully picking up the package; the cardboard rubbing against her skin telling her that this wasn't just a good dream. Making sure Jellie wasn't anywhere in sight, she slipped into the room, closing the door behind her quickly.

Once she made sure the door was correctly locked, she hurried off to her room, not bothering to take her shoes off on the way. Grace held the package tightly, not wanting to accidentally drop it. The last thing she would want to do was damage the contents, somehow. But, you never know.

Grace almost ran into her door, since she thought she had left it open. Taking a second to back up, she twisted open the knob, as if she was entering an unknown world, which, she could've been. 

Upon entry into her room, she closed the door, setting the package gently on her bed. Here was the part she had been waiting for since last night, when she had that terrible panic attack and finally allowed herself to order this beautiful creation! Well, she could've passed on the 'panic attack' part.

She took a deep breath, preparing herself. She took off her hoodie and set it aside, looking into the mirror. Grace didn't want to look in that mirror again until she had done everything: put the binder on, gotten her hair cut, and gotten people to start using her pronouns and name. Atleast, that was what was on her mental list on things to do.

This was going to be the start of something good, she knew it.

Grace walked over to the mirror, picking it up and turning it around. No longer seeing her reflection felt much better for some reason, like the signaling of a new, better beginnings. Making her way back over to the package, she slowly pulled it open, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

Closing her eyes, she felt around the package until she heard the crinkle of something plastic. Pulling the plastic bag out of the package, she set it down on the bed. Through her excitement, she was also quite scared to see what she knew would make her feel much better.

She gently tore away the plastic, discarding it back in the cardboard box. Slowly, Grace opened her eyes, taking in the details of the black binder she had ordered. She ran her hand over the fabric, taking in the texture. For a few seconds, she just stared at it, amazed that it was actually there.

Grace shook her head, clearing her mind of its wonder. She wanted to try it on, to make sure it fit properly. She took her shirt off, grabbing the binder and stepping into the hole, carefully pulling it up. After a few moments of awkward angles and a bit of struggling, she got the binder to where it was in the perfect position against her chest.

How did having a binder on feel?

Fucking amazing.

In all honesty, although the compressed feeling was quite.. different, to say the least, it felt really nice to finally have it on. She wanted to dance around her room, and probably would've, except she didn't want to be too loud for the neighbors down. Instead, she celebrated by gently grabbing Jellie and holding her close in a hug, eliciting a meow from the fluffy creature.

After a few moments, she sat back on her bed, kicking her legs like a little kid, patting Jellie's soft head with a smile. She put a reluctant reminder on her phone to take the binder off in about an hour; she had read online it was best to ease her way into binder-wearing. 

Grace kissed the purring cat's nose, unable to wipe the smile off of her face. She had known wearing a binder would feel much better, but.. this just felt.. much better than she had thought. Yes, she still had to get used to the pressure on her chest, but knew that that would be pretty easy to do.

Eventually, she grabbed the cardboard box, making sure to put her shirt back on, before walking out to the kitchen, putting the cardboard in the recycling area. She couldn't help but giddily look at her - now flat looking - chest, although stopped because it probably looked quite weird; although, she was, for the moment, alone. Scar had told her he'd probably be home around 3:50. Well, that was if he didn't get distracted, which, she knew he would.

Turning back towards her bedroom, she knew there was one more thing she wanted to do today. Although, this 'step' made her much more nervous than the previous. How would everybody - especially her parents - react if she suddenly had short hair one day? She knew she was making a big deal out of it, but still.

Well, she hadn't been making a big deal out of the parent part of her worries.

Grace walked back over toward her room, cracking the door behind her when she entered the comfortable space. She rummaged through a couple drawers until she found a pair of scissors, before contemplating wether she should cut her hair in her room, or in the bathroom. 

She ended up going to the bathroom, since that was where she could wet her hair, anyway.

She walked into the bathroom without closing the door behind her, setting the pair of scissors down on the counter. For a few moments, she looked tensely at the mirror in front of her. She was really going to do this? She was really going to do this. 

Grace hadn't looked at the clock. If she had, she would've known it was 4:16.

She turned on the sink, carefully wetting most of her hair, most of which she knew wouldn't be there by the time she was done with it. She didn't really know how to cut hair, so she was pretty much cutting her hair blind.

Grace hadn't been listening. If she had, she would've heard keys unlock the door, and footsteps walking happily into the apartment.

She hesitated, holding the scissors close to her hair, but not close enough for the metal to touch the soft strands. Grace didn't have a reference for the haircut she had wanted. Maybe she should've went to a barbers to cut her hair.. She took a deep breath. She didn't have to spend money on something she could do herself. She brought the scissors closer.

Grace didn't realize Scar had been walking down the hallway, towards his own room, until it was too late. The two of them made sudden eye contact: Grace was surprised, worried, and a bit scared, even. 

Scar was just confused.

She looked from Scar to the scissors, assuming immediately that Scar was judging him. After a few moments, she found her voice, although it was quite small and awkward.

"Do.. Do you know how to cut hair..?"

Scar smiled.