drear | god, he called for rain

[Slow and steadily, Naoto started selecting strips of her hair, mostly at random, and applying the dye. Wrapping it up with one gloved hand in foil was slightly awkward, but she was starting to find a good method.

'I don't know' seemed to be a trademark Rammsteiner answer, and Naoto resisted the urge to shake her head, even minutely. His question however, had her looking up, meeting his gaze in the mirror. It was a thought.]

Maybe.

[It might go with the disguise, but needles made her a bit apprehensive.]

Did you do yours yourself?

[ heine just watches while she gets started on separating locks of hair for dyeing. he wouldn't do it so haphazardly like that, but... well, she's doing it to herself.

as for the piercings he did by himself—heine has to think about it for a second. ] Not all of them.

I did this one— [ touching the lobe of his left ear, assuming she can see in the mirror. ] —and the cartilage one. And I had to repierce one some.

It hurts like hell, so maybe you shouldn't.

[Naoto kept her expression impassive as Rammsteiner spoke, eyes flickering to his ear when he mentioned it. She was on the fence about the matter until he mentioned it hurt, like it was a deterrent.

She bristled slightly, frown on her face.]

I could handle it.

[Perhaps there was still some leftover competitiveness in her, back from when she felt the need to try to be the best jaeger pilot. Even now she couldn't say she had succeeded, Rammsteiner had closed the Rift as well, and it seemed the need to prove herself was still there. If he could handle it, so could she.]

Uh-huh. [ it's more monotone than skeptical, but there's an edge to it. heine smirks a little into the mirror, glancing up for only a moment before he tilts his chin at the back of fuyumine's head. ]

I'll do the back. Maybe I'll try giving you a lobe piercing later.

[Naoto wasn't normally so easy to goad, but that expression on Rammsteiner's face was just begging to be wiped off.]

Only one? Won't just one look strange?

[She might be digging her own grave, but she was too stubborn for her own good. At this rate she'd have Rammsteiner giving her as many piercings as he had, if not more.

Steadily, she worked at dying her hair, which was undoubtedly going to look strange when she was done since she had done strands nearly at random. No one would notice just one piercing first.]

It's not weird. [ he's sure there are lots of people with one piercing, though he'll admit that there are some connotations to it. he doesn't bother explaining them, though. ]

I can do it later. I'd just need a piercing needle.

[ he watches naoto continue dying her own hair, not making any attempt to help her make it look good until she seems almost done. ]

...you sure you want to do it like this?

[Naoto wasn't sure she could trust any sort of needle from this place, her face scrunched up slightly. It was something to consider, at the very least.

Finished with what she can see, she stripped off the glove, glancing back at Rammsteiner curiously.]

Like what?

[It's only hair, and coupled with the clothes and piercing, she'll look odd anyway. And it wasn't like the dye was permanent.]

I'll be more careful with yours.

[If that's what he's worried about.]

[ he makes a vague gesture at her reflection in the mirror. ]

I'm dyeing all of mine, you know. So don't do... that with it.

[She arched an eyebrow at that gesture, unimpressed.]

It's not permanent. Dying all of your hair should be easier.

[Naoto grabbed one of the towels nearby to hand to him.]

Ready?

[ heine makes a noise that isn't entirely convinced, but he takes the towel anyway and drapes it over his shoulders before edging in next to her, closer to the mirror. his hair is short enough that he won't have to separate it much.

he picks up the box of dye and starts mixing. ]

So. You want it in your lobe or cartilage?

[ he asks the dye in his hands. ]

[Naoto moved aside to give Rammsteiner more space, her expression less than enthusiastic at the question. She rubbed at her arm, sighing slightly.]

Would you trust any needles that you found here?

[Because given the general state of the place...]

[ heine just shrugs. he's done his own piercings, he's had worse. ]

I'd be buying them. You think I'd get needles from some pile of trash?

[ getting started on the dye, he makes a face at the brown pigment but starts working it into his hair all the same. ]

[It was odd to find that sentiment comforting, but she did. She watched for a few moments as Rammsteiner set the dye in his hair, curious as to how it'd look when it was all done.]

Cartilage.

[It would probably look better with the rest of her disguise at any rate, and one there wouldn't be as strange as one in her earlobe.]

Though we should save it until our next destination.

[Resting and getting their bearings was equally as important.]

[ cartilage is the more painful location to put a piercing, compared to the lobe, but it's perfectly doable with some piercing preparation gel and a good piercing needle. heine grunts acknowledgement (or something like it), moving closer to the bathroom mirror so that he can get the dye down to his roots.

his hair is so pale that the dye looks dark against it, but it's actually an easier process than he'd expected. the back of his head, though, is another matter. after making a few passes at it, he looks up at fuyumine in the mirror. ]

I can't see or reach the back.

Here.

[Naoto stepped forward, pulling on another glove, working the dye carefully and slowly into Rammsteiner's hair. It was odd to be touching him in a manner that had nothing to do with training, though it could just be because she wasn't the type to be physical with others in general. She preferred her space to be respected, and she extended that same courtesy to others.

Once she was satisfied, she looked around for another mirror so he could see her handiwork to approve it, giving up when nothing promising was found. Still eying it a bit critically, she tossed the glove into the garbage.]

Finished. It looks... [Odd? Unlike him?] Acceptable.

[ heine turns his head in an attempt to get a look at the back and mostly fails. he'll just have to trust her on it. ]

Good enough.

[ after a pause, he strips off his gloves and washes them quickly in the sink, washing away some traces of dye. ] Kind of itches, though. How long do we have to leave this in?

Half an hour.

[It was definitely odd to see Rammsteiner with darker hair, his red eyes still standing out. She reached into another bag to pull out sunglasses, holding out a few pairs to him.

This whole exercise felt silly, so she had to keep reminding herself it was necessary.]

We should get those contacts as soon as possible. Your eyes will still make you stand out.

I know they do. [ heine glances back into the mirror and scowls. his eyes are pale red rather than a very vibrant shade, but with the freshly-dyed brown hair, they might stand out even more than they did before the dye. ]

...I'm gonna go see what's on TV.

[ he hopes there won't be much about the closing of the rift, but that's probably a vain hope. ]

[Naoto nodded in acknowledgement, shoving the sunglasses back into the bag and instead busying herself with cleaning up the bathroom. Most of it seemed to be a hopeless cause, but at the very least she could clean off what little dye got everywhere.

She crinkled her nose at the state of the toilet, and finding little in way of cleaning supplies, gave up and headed back out to the living room.]

Anything of interest?

[ heine's settled himself on the couch in front of the TV, remote in one hand and holding his towel down on his shoulders to block any last drips of dye. the only things on the few channels remaining are news broadcasts about... the closing of the rift.

he sighs at fuyumine's question and tilts his head at the screen. their pictures were shown a little while ago, with no mention of their disappearance from the shatterdome. ]

No. Just this shit. We should get out as soon as possible tomorrow morning.

[Naoto frowned at the screen, leaning over the back of the couch as they cycled to another news story. She supposed it wasn't surprising that they made no mention of them being missing, which should work to their advantage. If they were trying to keep this as mum as possible, they couldn't come out in full force to find them.]

Agreed.

[She straightened with a sigh. Then, a bit thoughtfully.]

I can take the couch.

[Mostly because she wasn't sure she wanted to venture in the bedroom.]

Grab a blanket from the cabinet, I guess.

[ heine won't protest fuyumine's offer. he waits a while longer for his hair to dry off, then goes to settle in with his duffel bag.

the next morning, heine's up bright and early, military schedule ingrained in him from years of living in the shatterdome. struggling awake, he washes his face in the bathroom sink and stumbles out to the kitchen. ]

[The couch had somehow managed to be lumpier than the one at the dome, though it could also have been the fact that Naoto had been restless, ready to leave at a moment's notice.

In the end she had given up and gotten up earlier than normal, cringing at her new outlandish hair before taking a quick shower. She pulled on one of the dresses she'd been given at her old shatterdome, tugging absently at the sleeves as she headed into the kitchen, scrounging around for something to eat. Now that she thought about it, she'd never really had to cook before...

Luckily it seemed like Rammsteiner's friend was in the same boat, and had plenty of microwave friendly dinners that didn't seem too hard to prepare.

At the sound of movement, she turned slightly, dipping her head in greeting.]

Morning.

[She waved one of the dinner boxes.]

Hungry?

[ heine yawns, barely covering his mouth. ] Hey.

[ though they've always lived in close quarters, waking up together in a non-life-threatening experience is... weird. heine's too hungry to worry about it, though, and too sleepy to notice what fuyumine's wearing until he finishes rubbing his eyes.

weird. ]

Nice getup. And yeah. [ he could eat. ]

[She stuck another one of the TV dinners into the microwave, looking through the drawers for silverware. For a moment, she was tempted to ignore the remark on the clothing, but felt like she should offer some explanation for it.]

It was a gift.

[Apparently she was a much more light hearted girl than she appeared to be, whatever that had meant exactly.]

The buses seem to leave every half hour for the airport. We can catch the next one after we're done eating.

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