Moment In Time

Chapter 75

Chapter 75:Sibling Bonds
(Gokudera)

Standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom, Lambo frantically tried to remove the half-eaten chocolate bar stuck to his hair. The eight-year-old thought nervously of Gokudera, who was somewhere in the house.

"Come on," he hissed, trying to untangle his thick black curls. After years of hardly getting his hair cut, his afro-like hairstyle was not only high, but also dominated most of his face. It didn't help that he hid candy inside his curls, causing stickiness and knots. Because of this, Gokudera had finally put his foot down-any more problems and he was getting it all cut off.

That was not an option.

"Scissors," he muttered, opening up the cabinet above the sink and rummaging around. "I'll cut it out."

Thump! Thump!

He froze at the heavy knocks that landed on the door. "Occupied!"

"You've been in there for a half hour!" snapped Gokudera. "What are you doing?"

"What do you think I'm doing?" he retorted, tugging even harder on the stuck chocolate bar.

The door flew open and Lambo hastily scrambled back. Dang. Knew I should have locked it, he thought, stomach bubbling fearfully. Gokudera stared at the predicament the kid was in and opened his mouth. Before he could say anything, Lambo screamed,"No!" and charged past him, flying down the hall.

It took Gokudera a second to recover from his surprise and by the time he raced after Lambo, he was out of sight. Cursing, Gokudera glared at the open front door. He darted out into the afternoon sunlight and looked down the street. He couldn't see Lambo, which meant the child was hightailing it.

"I-Pin!" he bellowed, and it was only a second before the girl appeared in the doorway.

"Yeah?"

"Lambo took off running. He's having problems with his hair again, which means I'm chopping it off." Gokudera levelled the girl with a stern look. "Where is he?"

As Lambo's best friend, she knew all of his hiding spots. Pursing her lips, she thought before a moment before sighing softly. "Probably at the park," she said reluctantly. "There's enough spots to hide without having to go far if he gets freaked and wants to come home."

Gokudera nodded and started jogging down the street. I-Pin waited until he was out of sight before closing the front door and hollering, "Lambo! He's gone!"

Stumbling into the front hall from the living room, Lambo let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, I-Pin."

"You realize the amount of trouble we'll both be in when gets back." I-Pin crossed her arms.

"I don't want my hair cut," whined Lambo. "I've always had this hair!"

"It'll grow back."

"I know...but I don't want to be bald."

"Who said you're going to be bald?"

Lambo glared at the floor. "Stupidera would think it's funny to cut off all my hair."

I-Pin shook her head. "Lambo, he's not going to do something like that."

"How do you know?"

"Because Gokudera-san cares about you a lot more than you think," she replied. "I'm going back to my book."

She headed upstairs, leaving Lambo to stare at the floor and think about what she had just said.

It was an hour later when Gokudera returned from his wild goose search, and Lambo was waiting for him on the front step. The child flinched at the glower the teen sent him. "Um...hi."

"You think it's funny?" snapped Gokudera, red in the face with rage. "I looked like an idiot, running around that stupid park calling your name. I should have realized I was tricked after five minutes instead of an hour."

"Sorry," muttered Lambo. He reached behind his back and held out the hair razor kit. "Here."

Arching an eyebrow, Gokudera crossed his arms. "So after an elaborate plan to not get caught, you're now willingly getting a haircut."

Lambo nodded. "Yeah. Um..." He bit his lip. "You're not gonna make me bald, right?"

"That's what you were worried about?" Gokudera snorted. "No, ahoshi, I'm not going to make you bald. You drive me insane, but not enough for me to cut off all your hair as revenge."

Lambo looked dubious. "Are you sure you know how to cut hair?"

"Get your butt in the bathroom."

Lambo obeyed, hurrying inside the house. Gokudera followed after the boy, pausing only to holler, "I'll deal with you later!" up the stairs. He entered the bathroom and set up the razor. "Ready?" he asked, pressing the power button.

Lambo muffled a groan as the razor started to hum insistently. "Uh-huh."

"Did you take out all the crap?"

"Yes."

Tilting Lambo's head up slightly, Gokudera got to work. Lambo watched the clumps of dark hair fall to floor in slight dismay. As much as he knew it had to go, he was also going to miss it. He let out a soft sneeze as some hair tickled his nose.

"Hold still," chided Gokudera.

It wasn't easy for Lambo to sit still for ten minutes, but he managed to do so with little wiggling. Gokudera set the razor down and studied his handiwork. "Yeah, that's much better."

Hopping up, Lambo went over to the mirror and peeked at his reflection. His hair no longer went all the way down to his chin. It ended just above his ears, and his afro was now more of a shaggy haircut. His curls were not as prominent, but still noticeable.

"I like it!" he decided with a wide smile.

"Good. Best part is you can't hide anything in there." Gokudera brushed some hair off of Lambo's shoulders. "After I clean up in here you can get in the shower."

"Okay." Lambo hesitated for a brief moment before leaning forwards and wrapping his arms around the teen's waist. "Thanks, Haya-nii."

Gokudera would not admit that he'd been waiting a long time for the kid to say that, and he also would not admit that it made him ridiculously happy. Sniffing slightly, he ruffled Lambo's new short locks. "Idiot. Don't mention it."

And that was the day he officially gained a fourth brother-and also the day I-Pin got a scathing lecture from the irate Storm Guardian.

....