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

One, two, three

Sorry this took so long, but I'm starting to get motivation again! :D

Good luck reading for those of you that are more emotional

"Y'know, I'm basically an expert at this! Lia had always been afraid of the hairdresser, so I would always cut her hair. Then when the twins were born, they saw me cutting Lia's hair and decided they wanted me to cut their hair too.."

Scar paused for a breath. He had been talking ever since Grace had asked him the 'big question.' Grace had been quite surprised with how easily Scar had went along with it. But she was glad, and, for Grace, Scar's ramblings helped distract herself.

"So I've basically just been the family hairstylist for years! My mom even got me in a class when I was 12, and I was one of the best students there! Sorry if I'm bragging, I'm just really happy to try stuff out on a diffrent hair type. Sorry if I'm being annoying-"

"No, it's fine. I don't mind" Grace replied quietly, eyes closed. She had pulled up a reference image, and Scar - surprisingly - hadn't asked any questions. It honestly made her much less nervous. 

Scar smiled, running a hairbrush through Grace's hair, which he had wetted a few moments prior. He looked at the reference image, before setting the hairbrush down and grabbing his professional scissors, which he had coincidentally brought while packing.

"Alrighty~ Do you want me to just.. chop it?"

Grace nodded, tightly grabbing her shirt. The compressed feeling on her chest was still quite noticeable, but in a good way. It comforted her to know that this was going to be the beginning of something new.

Something... better.

But still, one thing was nagging at her, gnawing away at her comfort. 

How would her family react?

How would her parents react?

Grace snapped herself out of her thoughts when she felt Scar gently grab ahold of her blonde hair, which was a little bit longer than shoulder length. Well, it wouldn't be that long for much longer. Although the fear of her previous thoughts still had seeped through, it still made her quite giddy that this was going to be happening. Right here, right now.

She kept her eyes closed tightly as Scar hummed a song, slowly cutting away her hair. Even without looking, she could tell how focused and diligent he was. She was a bit grateful that Scar came when he did, since she knew she would've botched her hair up horribly.

Snip..

Snip..

Snip.. 

Grace could hear the careful cuts of the scissors Scar was holding, and the swish of her hair slowly falling to the ground. She forced herself not to move, knowing that could mess Scar up. After a few moments, he stopped, checking the reference imagine before continuing his practiced movements. 

She wanted to open her eyes, to see the process, but was too scared to do so. What if it didn't look.. right? She hoped, by waiting until Scar was done, that would calm her nerves. It did help slightly, as with each strand of hair gone, the weight on her chest decreased as well.

Yet at the same time, her other worries grew. But she knew this was right, this was going to help, and anybody who said otherwise could suck it. 

Grace shifted in place as Scar paused, looking at the reference image yet again. Feeling a tap on her shoulder, she turned around. She could feel Scar's hands in her hair, being gentle yet certain with each cut. 

She hoped Scar's clumsiness didn't show right now. But, by the feeling of the snips of her hair, Scar knew what he was doing. To be fair, he was enrolled in a class at 12, so he couldn't be any worse than what Grace would've done if she hadn't been caught.

"I think you'll look nice with this hair!" Scar said suddenly. Grace could practically feel the happy, innocent waves radiating off of the taller man. She knew the compliment was purely platonic, but still.. 

It made her feel better, too. 

"Thank you"  

"Hm? Oh, your welcome! It's no biggie, really!" Though Grace's eyes were closed, she could tell Scar was smiling, and she couldn't help but smile, too. God, this guy was so adorable. 

Not in a weird way, though.

After a few moments of silence, with the occasional hum from Scar, the taller man stepped back. She could tell because of the small noise Scar's foot made when hitting the ground. "Alrighty! I think I got it as close to the reference image as possible!"

Grace swallowed, opening her eyes. Since she wasn't facing the mirror, the first thing she saw was Scar. The taller man looked quite proud of himself, and she didn't know if that made her feel better or not. She assumed it made her feel better.

"I really hope you like it! It might not be perfect, though-" 

"It's fine, it doesn't have to be perfect. I highly doubt you could exactly replicate the reference image, anyway."

Scar's smile softened, and he began bouncing slightly. "Thank you! Now look, pleaseee!!" He paused, rubbing his arm.

"I mean, you don't have to look if you want to- I'm just excited for you to see!"

Grace chuckled softly. In all honesty, it was amusing how happy Scar looked. The other must be quite passionate about cutting hair, huh? "It's alright, I understand. I'm excited, too."

She paused, wondering if she should continue. It would show weakness. But Scar had cut her hair for gods sake, and could've fucked it up. Though technically she didn't know yet- 

"I'm just.. nervous to look."

Scar blinked, before smiling again. "Well.. then how about you turn around on the count of three?" 

Grace nodded, squirming in place slightly. It would be okay; she might look weird, but it would make her feel better. First a binder, now a haircut. She didn't have time to fully process everything, yet at the same time she fully understood what was happening. 

"One!"

Would the haircut look good on her? What about what others thought? How would they react to her coming to school tomorrow with this haircut?

"Two!"

What about Pearl? What would she think? When should she come out to Pearl, anyway? And what would her parents think? She was not looking forward to whenever she would see them next.

"Three!"

Before Grace could stop herself, she turned around, making eye contact with herself in the mirror. Her eyes widened, and she just stared at herself for a few moments. 

She looked so.. different, it was weird at first.

But at the same time..?

It felt so..

Right.

Grace smiled, wiping away tears that had formed in the corner of her eyes. She couldn't help but look back in the mirror again. She couldn't remember the last time she had looked in the mirror so.. happily.

"So, how do you like it?" Scar asked, smiling too. Though his smile had widened when Grace had looked so happy.

"I love it. Thank you, Scar." Grace ran her hands through her now-short hair, feeling the softnes of it and the expertly cut layers. Scar was quite good at all of this.

"Your welcome G..?"

Grace turned around, smiling softly. Before she knew what she was doing, she hugged Scar tightly.

This was the first time in a long time she remembered hugging someone who wasn't Pearl.

This was the first time in a long time she remembered looking at herself, a smile on her face.

This was the first time in a long time he had felt comfortable in his own skin.

"Grian. It's Grian.."

"Grian! Well, your welcome, Grian!"