#lawless asks

Time did meet Twilight during one of the lower points in his life, but he has yet to meet rock bottom. Because no matter how much time or distance Twilight puts between himself and his parents, it will still hurt like hell the day that they disown him. Twi is a good kid. He doesn't mean anyone harm. He just wants to be who he is and love who he loves, is that so much to ask? Is acceptance from his own family really so impossible?

Although he'll cry bitterly and be disconsolate for a while, though, Twilight has built up such a support network without even really meaning to. He's got Champion to back him up without fail no matter what he needs, he's got Sky for physical comfort and Wars and Legend to make him laugh, he's got a friend to go talk it out with in Hyrule, he's got someone to distract him with projects in Four. He's got a cousin who can and will freeze his parents' assets until they pull their heads out of their own asses (please don't do that, Wind).

Twilight - Fumbles to spit the bar back out on instinct, then promptly starts laughing as he's drooling chocolate-saliva down his own chin. He's cradling the disgusting candy bar against his ruined shirt and smack Wars on the shoulder as he's stumbling to the trash can. Later that night he sneaks another one in his room, just for the snack. Sure.

Sky - Stops and stars at Warriors with the bar hanging half out of his mouth. And it's the stare. The one that's giving you a head start Wars and if you ain't smart enough to start running, then you're going to get what's coming to you. (He eats the bar anyway.)

Wild - "I don't taste anything different." "Wi-- Well first of all, you didn't follow directions." "You said to put it in my mouth." "I said to put it in your mouth upside-down." "Why would you want me to eat it while hanging upside down?" "Gods, jus-- nevermind, Wild."

Hyrule - Looks Warriors dead in the eye and slurps the entire bar into his mouth, whole, in an impressive display of throat goatery. He reminds Warriors that "No one will believe you," as he's walking off chewing his free snack.

Legend - Freezes with the bar in his mouth. Squints. Thinks about it. Stares at Warriors in annoyance. "No it doesn't--" "Come on, the vein???" There's a split-second of incandescent rage in his eye before Legend just goes back to whatever he was doing. "You're a waste of oxygen, y'know that?"

Four - Barely misses a beat before spitting the bar right back at Wars and nailing him with it. "I don't like them anyway." (He prefers Milky Way.)

Wind - Rips that candy bar right back out of his mouth and throws it at Warriors from across the room, who starts screeching about the chocolate stain on his sweater. It turns into a hot pursuit around the first floor that goes until an end table gets knocked and a lamp broken.

Time - He's a morning shower guy. He needs it to wake up and, since he likes to run or work out in the mornings, it makes for efficient timing. Plus let's be real, he's not getting the volume in those bangs unless he applies it in the morning, every morning. He prefers to be clean-shaven, making that therefore a daily duty. He used to use a combination shampoo and conditioner before Warriors got to him, and even if his hair is softer now he sure as hell isn't going to admit that to anyone. If he has a particularly eventful day at work, he'll have an evening shower as soon as he gets home, too--very hot and very, very thorough, followed by an aspirin nightcap.

Twilight - He's such a night-showerer. I attribute it to being raised on a farm. He gets up, he gets shit done, in fact he's getting shit done the whole day long so that by the time he's through Twi is ready for a hearty meal, some time to shoot the shit with his friends, and a hot shower before bed. He's not too fussed about making sure his stubble is shaved down every day, although for an event or something he's sure to be clean-shaven. Doesn't believe in conditioner. Twi's toxic trait is using the same towel for a week or more.

Wild - Showers occur daily, although at random times of the day. Maybe it's right after breakfast. Maybe he has to prep something for dinner, so he hops in sometime in the afternoon. Shaving occurs when he feels like it, although his facial fuzz is pretty sparse so it never matters much. His real barrier to entry is the length of his hair and the time it takes to dry it. Thus, hair washing is a once- to twice-weekly event at most. You know he uses Mane n' Tail shampoo, and he swears by conditioner, mainly because it helps him comb through all the tangles. He doesn't dry his hair, just plops it on top of his head in a towel or braids it damp to keep it out of his way. You always know it was a wash day because there's a six to eight-inch ring of dampness outside of the shower curtain. Hope none of the other boys were keeping a dry towel in there for any reason.

Champion - Showers after every work-out, so at least once but often twice a day, morning and afternoon. His showers are thorough but short: quick shave once a day every day, shampoo, soap up, rinse all at once. He's in an out of the shower in six minutes flat. He washes his hair EVERY time and towels it dry (RIP those split ends). Fastidious but utilitarian, Champion isn't one for conditioner or aftershave. He also didn't start using antiperspirant until he was in the Guard and saw that everyone else used it.

Warriors - There are two types of showers for this man. The first is the daily affair, usually taken as soon as he wakes up. He starts by warming the water while brushing his teeth (recharging electric toothbrush only) and inspecting his brows, then washing his face with a gentle cleanser containing salicylic acid (the only boy on the list so far who does), followed by a thorough shampoo and conditioning (this is the longest part of the routine). While the conditioner sets he takes a moment to inspect his nails and attend to any cuticle mishaps, then there's a rich lathering of shaving foam applied to his face, his underarms, maybe his legs if he needs it that day. (Before you ask: the hardwood floors get addressed by a trusted professional, licensed and bonded). He has a natural sponge for washing and exfoliation. Once all that's done, he has specific microfiber twist-towels for his hair (I hc he has natural waves or loose curls) and his towels are white and washed in unscented detergent. The rest of his routine has to be attended to in his room; he's already been in the bathroom well over the prescribed 20 minutes per shower, according to Legend. His other type of shower is the Spa Night affair, and that's more of a bath situation.

Sky - Ohhh Sky darling. I love him so, and his hygiene practices are adequate, but somewhat questionable in my book. He's a morning showerer, definitely needs that wake-up rinse, and the bathroom is his stop immediately after chugging orange juice at the fridge each morning. (Yes, right out of the carton. Yes, his name's on it.) He's an electric razor guy because it's quick. He always gets in the shower before the water is warm enough because he's impatient in the mornings, and he subsequently gets burned when it gets too hot and has to stand outside the spray doing that quick-reach-for-the-handles-and-shrink-back thing until it's cool enough to resume. My biggest hangup is that he uses a combination shampoo-conditioner-body wash product. Because it's quick. His hair is fluffy because it's probably dry as shit. The other thing about Sky is that he never EVER remembers to lock the bathroom door, so whenever he's in the shower it's a free-for-all if anyone else wants to come in and brush their teeth or whatever.

Legend - In the beginning, when he was living with Hyrule in that first apartment, Legend wasn't a daily showerer. He was pretty fucking depressed, so it ended up being every third or fourth day, at least until he came around to realizing "Hey, this kills some time." He's another random-time-of-day showerer, and sometimes it's an overnight affair if he's out working late with Ravio (like, 2-4am). He'll use cheap drugstore shampoo and body wash, and on occasion will shamelessly use some of War's expensive bullshit conditioner for a special occasion. One of the few boys to use a hair dryer regularly. His toxic trait is putting his hat back on before his hair is completely dry, making the hair at the top of his head kind of stringy and limp most times.

Hyrule - Listen. Med school makes you a very versatile showerer. Hyrule has literally no preference for taking a morning or an evening shower anymore. Whenever he's awake enough and has enough time to spare is when he does it. He functions best with nighttime showers because it gives him ample time in the mornings to have his coffee and a slow wake-up. Rulie's hair is naturally curly, so his haircare routine is different from most. He actually doesn't use shampoo at all. He conditions every day, sometimes two rounds if he makes his little scalp scrub with brown sugar. He does a quick blind shower-shave and prefers a loofah. His toxic trait used to be towel-drying his hair until Warriors made him swear to never do it again. Now he wisely lets it air dry.

Four - Mister Nevernude showers before dinner since his work can get him fairly messy. At the very least, soldering leaves an awful smell in your hair. He's another user of cheap drugstore shampoo, he's not fond of conditioner, and is a bar-of-soap kind of guy. He used to take lightning-fast showers in the beginning until he really settled in to the house, and now he's in there for a more reasonable 10 minutes or so. He goes in fully clothed, he comes out fully clothed. Like Twilight, he unfortunately uses the same towel all week. He only has one, really, and just throws it in the laundry together with the rest of his clothing.

Afterward, Warriors slept soundly. There was no outburst, no shouting match between them. The bed was warm, the sheets were soft. His company kept him gingerly encircled all night, not smothering him but not leaving him to feel alone, either. But at some point in the night Time must have left him, because when he woke there was no swing in sight. His clothing was folded on the armchair, there was a glass of water waiting for him on the bedside table.

He was alone. 

He took his time in the shower. He washed his hair, his face, scrubbed at his arms and his legs. As he tended to every part of himself, he found that he was… sore. 

“I thought you liked this sort of thing.”

He stood beneath the shower spray, staring at the valve and willing himself to turn the water off. But the sound of the water kept his ears and his brain busy. So Warriors wavered. 

He couldn’t bring himself to turn the shower off until the water had started to go cold. 

He wasn’t in the mood for breakfast. Tea was nice, was warm and familiar. Warriors sat leafing through the paper and staring at the pages without reading a single word. Around him, the household was as raucous as ever, Legend and Four in a spirited argument over goddess-knows-what and Wild excitedly talking about their options for dinner over the sound of the television in the next room. 

He poured out half of his tea before retreating back to his room. 

His bedroom wasn’t for sleeping these days. Much of his bed was blocked by folded clothes and he was missing a pillowcase, lost somewhere in the hellhole that was their shared laundry room. 

Warriors pulled back the comforter and tucked himself beneath it, slotting into the little sliver of bed where he could lay.