#leo writes

Unfortunately, with KATSEYE forming and the intense rigidity of being in a global girl group, you had never had the opportunity to cut it. Recently though, your manager had notified you that the company was willing to relax their standards and allow a higher degree of self-expression in the group's outfits and hair styles. 

That was how you found yourself at the hair salon, hesitating outside the door as your nerves started to get the better of you. You hadn’t told anyone about your plans except for Missy, who had given you the green light to chop. After a few more seconds of hesitation, you shake yourself out of it and make your way inside.

A nice young woman greets you, introducing herself as Samira and telling you that she will be the person cutting your hair today. She brings you over to the hair-washing station, washing and shampooing your hair before bringing you back and getting you situated in the salon chair. As she cuts, some of your fears start to seep into your thoughts. 

What if it looks ugly? What if I hate it? …What will Megan think about it? 

That last thought makes you blink, forcing that idea away. Your raging crush on your best friend and groupmate had started in your trainee days, and had only gotten worse since KATSEYE had debuted. The pink-haired girl was the subject of many of your thoughts, and you couldn’t help but hope that maybe her seeing you embrace your most personal self-expression would cause a… realization of sorts for her. 

You are pulled from your own head by Samira wrapping up, turning you towards the mirror to show you the finished product. She grins as she hands you a mirror to see the back. “So… what do you think?”

You let yourself take it in for a second, letting the shock wash over you as you see your hair as you’ve always imagined but never been able to actually execute until now. 

You meet the woman’s eyes and grin. “It’s perfect.”

The hairdresser smiles back at you before giving you some styling tips and advice for taking care of your new hair. You gratefully pay her and leave the salon, feeling more comfortable and confident in your own skin than you have in what feels like forever.

—

Megan leaned in towards her phone, squinting at the rapidly passing comments from fans, her screen showing her current livestream. Every once in a while she would catch one and answer it, usually leading to some kind of tangent or another.

User36: i love you megan!!!!!

User59: give us a spoiler for the album 🙏

User26: what are the rest of the kats doing?

User87: where’s y/n???

“Y/n?” Megan replies, thinking for a moment before realizing you hadn’t told her where you were going for the afternoon. “I’m…not actually sure where they are. Out somewhere, I think. Lara’s out too. I have the whole house to myself right now.”

Suddenly, she hears the front door to the shared apartment unlock and then close behind you. She glances over at her closed bedroom door, a soft smile taking over her face. “Speak of the devil. They just got home.” 

Her smile only grows as she hears you shuffle around, settling in after being out all afternoon. Because of her distraction, she misses the comments zooming by at an even faster pace than before.

User99: Y/N!!!!!

User67: she can recognize them by the way they close the door? Literally soulmates.

User54: the way her face lit up, ooo that girl is in loveee

Your footsteps only get closer as you make your way towards the pink-haired girl’s room. You knock on the door, nervously wringing your hands together as you prepare for her reaction to your new look. 

You hear Megan eagerly jump up off of the floor. She throws the door open, already starting to greet you. “Y/n! You’re home-” She abruptly cuts herself off as she finally sees you for the first time that day. The grin on her face morphs into a look of shock and something else that you can’t fully describe. 

You awkwardly rub the back of your head, running your fingers through the freshly cut hair. You give the shorter girl a soft smile, inquiring, “What do you think, Mei?”

Megan just blinks, still staring at you. Finally, she manages to shake herself out of her stupor. “You look… wow.” She tries again, “You look like… woah.” She shakes her head, trying to get the words straight. Taking a deep breath, she tries one more time. “You look incredible. Like, really really good. It suits you really well. You look hot.”

Her face turns bright red at that last sentence, as does yours. Suddenly, she turns on her heel and rushes back into her room. You are left standing awkwardly in the doorframe as you watch her snatch up her phone. The hurt that had begun to creep in was dispelled by Megan stumbling over her words to end the live you hadn’t realized she was on. “Gotta go guys, stay safe out there!”

User98: theres no way

User54: megan u cant leave because of gay panic we wanna see too

User22: megannnn let us seeee

She hits the ‘end live’ button before taking a deep breath and turning back towards you. “So, when I said ‘hot’, what I meant was-” She sheepishly starts, but you cut her off, waving a dismissive hand as you try to ignore the disappointment filling you up at the fact that of course Megan didn’t mean anything deeper by it, of course she doesn’t like you like that. 

“It’s fine, I know you didn’t mean anything by it. No need to make it weird or awkward or anything.” You reply, thinking that you’ve masked the hurt you’re feeling well enough. You begin to turn away, about to start heading to your room to hide from your best friend who may have just broken your heart.

Suddenly, you feel her smaller hand wrap around your wrist and yank you back. You have to look down, as she pulls you back much closer to her than you were before. She takes a deep breath before looking up into your eyes. “What if I did mean something by it?”

Your eyes widen. “What?”

Megan finally seems to realize just how close you are to her, a deep blush taking over her face. She doesn’t make any move to step back, though. “What if I did mean something by it?” She repeats.

“Did you?” You shakily ask. 

Megan takes a step even closer, a sense of hesitant confidence taking over as she gives you a questioning look, slowly wrapping her arms around your neck, and finally settling them on your shoulders as you nervously nod your approval. 

You are now so close that you can feel her breath on your lips. She runs her nails through the newly cut hair at the nape of your neck, causing a shiver to run through your body. “You really do look hot,” she murmurs, your noses lightly brushing against each other.

“Yeah?” You whisper back, your nerves lighting on fire with every soft scratch she lays on your head.

“Yeah,” she nods lightly, before finally closing the gap between you.

You easily melt into the kiss, letting out a light groan as Megan’s nails bury themselves further into your hair, your own hands finding space on her waist. Her lips are soft as they move against yours, and you notice that they taste like vanilla and cherries.

Cherries… that's a funny coincidence.

You lose track of time, not knowing if you stood there kissing your best friend for 30 seconds or 30 minutes. Finally, though, the two of you slow down and break apart. You keep your foreheads pressed together, just breathing together until your breath evens out.

“That was… unexpected,” you exhale.

Megan finally pulls back, but not too far, looking up at you with her big brown eyes filled with hope. “But not unwanted, right?”

Instead of answering with words, you just lean back in and press a smaller, much more gentle kiss to her lips. She smiles up at you, before grabbing your hand and pulling you further into her room and pushing you down onto her bed. 

She easily follows, situating herself and manipulating your body so that you end up with your arms wrapped around her. She grins up at you, before teasingly asking, “So. How long have you liked me for?”

—

The two of you talked for hours, wrapped up in each other’s arms. You discovered that Megan had liked you since KATSEYE’s trainee days too, but had always been too scared to say anything. You discussed anything and everything, sharing slow kisses as you talked about everything you were always too scared to say to the pink-haired girl.

You were so wrapped up in each other that you didn’t hear Lara finally returning from her day out, and making her way towards Megan’s room. Right as she enters the doorway, Megan leans up to press another kiss to your lips. A loud squeal makes the two of you jump apart, looking up to see an excited Lara Raj staring back at you. 

“Oh my god, finally!” She grins at you guys for a second before turning on her heel and running off, exclaiming, “I’ve got to tell the others. They’re gonna freak!”

You and Megan slowly turn to look at each other, before bursting into laughter. You pull her closer in your arms, still shaking with laughter as you start to calm down. 

After a moment, Megan looks up at you with a soft look in her eye. “Hey,” she gently calls for your attention. You make a questioning noise, shifting so you can see her face better. She sighs, smiling up at you. “Thank fuck you cut your hair. The short-circuit it caused led to me actually being able to confess.”

You snicker lightly, responding, “You confessed because I was too attractive.” Megan slaps your shoulder, causing you to laugh even more. Finally, you settle down. “I’m glad you told me.” And then even softer, you add, “You make me happier than you know.”

Megan’s eyes soften. “You make me so happy.”

You pull her closer to you, both of your eyes starting to drift close as the excitement of the day starts to hit you.  As you drift off to sleep, the last thought that flits through your mind is, thank god for my haircut.

—

You're a better shot with a bow than he could ever be, a smooth exhale followed by a clean shot every time. You kill mercifully- a shot through the skull or the heart to drop an animal swiftly. You use every bit of the animal- entrails become fish bait, hide becomes a tent and blankets, meat and bones become food and tools.

You tame a cat somewhere along the way. He doesn't know what you name her, but he sees her curl up on your lap as you sit by the fire, and he longs to join you, longs to hear what you have to say. He slinks back into the treeline instead.

He loses track of you at some point, and when he finds you again, you're worse for wear, with diamond equipment instead of iron. You still haven't made a sword, he notices, watching you cower behind a shield as a creeper explodes.

You have more scars now. You look more tired than you did when he first saw you. It doesn't seem to be the kind of tired sleep can fix. No, this is the kind of tired that weighs heavy on the soul. He knows the feeling well.

Your cat spots him often. You leave her at your little cottage when you go cave diving, and he's managed to coax her closer with bits of fish. You remark one day that she's getting fat in a scolding tone of voice and he glances away guiltily, as though he's the one being scolded. Oops.

He wonders sometimes if you know he's there. Sometimes he hopes you do. Other times he vanishes behind a tree before you can even turn around. You never see him, he thinks, but you glance around sometimes like you know something is watching.

He loses track of you for a week. A week. And that's enough for you to have vanished into the End, apparently. He follows your trail of campsites to the stronghold and finds your cat sitting outside the portal room. She glares up at him offendedly. He offers pets in exchange for her silence.

You come back a day after he arrived, and you look exhausted. He doesn't have time to hide before you're striding in, clad in armor that shines like the night sky and a pair of wings that suit you a little too well.

And for the first time since Herobrine saw you, you lock eyes with him. And he's bracing, half-expecting hostility. He sees the way your hand drifts to the shiny new sword that rests on your belt, your eyes unreadable.

But you do little more than rest your hand on the hilt and sigh wearily. Your cat gives up her place on his lap in favor of trotting over to you, meowing. You scoop her up and pet her chin, cooing softly. He can't help but grin fondly.

You carefully lower yourself to sit next to him, mindful of your armor and wings and the cat that's perched herself on your shoulder. You ask his name. He thinks you might already know. He tells you anyway.

You hum noncommittally, smiling like you know something. You tell him your name in return. He thinks it's rather lovely, and tells you so. He thinks the colour your cheeks turn when you blush is even lovelier.

He learns your cat's name, too. She hops over to his shoulder and smushes her face against his own. He laughs. You laugh. He feels his face warming, and you grin even wider. Your cat meows politely for a snack she knows he has. He gives it to her.

He doesn't lose track of you anymore, because you travel together. You give him a set of armour and his own pair of wings so you can fly together. You don't have to carry a sword anymore, and he doesn't have to be alone.

He learns that you're afraid of the ocean's depths, and so he shows you how to traverse them without fear of drowning. You find beauty where once there was only terror. He finds he likes the way your hair flows underwater.

You learn that he's used to being shunned. Feared, even. You pull him into your arms and tell him that anyone who fears him is a fool. He buries his face in your shoulder to hide his smile. You feel it, though, and laugh. You tell him you love him.

He hesitates for only a moment before he tells you he loves you too.

Bruno does his best not to spook you, but you jump a little when he places your coat on top of the files you’re working with. You blink up at him, slow and unfocused, and it takes you a second too long to realize it’s him looking down at you expectantly.

“What are you doing?”

“We’re leaving,” he says, hoping for your compliance but realizing himself foolish when exhausted amusement settles on your features, defiant. 

It’s never been easy with you in all the right ways. He can’t get enough of it.

“‘We’ sounds like a team effort,” you quip, raising your brows.

“You close your eyes longer each time you blink,” he quips back. “Next time I look at you you’ll be drooling all over your important policework. I’m tryin’ to save you from yourself here.”

You smile at him and it’s brittle, a little too long a day to keep up with joking appearances. “As much as I appreciate your valiant effort, if I don’t do this tonight then I’ll have to do it on Monday and I just… can’t.”

Bruno’s fingers twitch with the need to reach for you, touch your cheek and try to soothe the corners of your mouth so it loses its tension, but he doesn’t dare. He’s already being too brave for his own good, he thinks as he sneaks a look at Liv’s office, which remains closed and quiet. 

“I know,” he says, trying to convey the affection that’s brimming inside him with his voice alone. God knows there’s enough paperwork on his own desk to keep him awake and working through the weekend, but his vision’s blurry and his back is aching. Bruno’s seconds away from getting on his knees and begging for a mattress that hasn’t been in the break room since the dawn of time. 

His voice is quiet and hoarser when he says, “It’s awful, when it’s kids.”

At the explicit acknowledgment of the working case you seem to age decades between a blink and the next, but other than a hearty sigh you don’t discourage the conversation. 

“Yeah,” your laugh is humorless and short, eyes suddenly growing wet. You look down at your desk and fuss with your stuff in a failed attempt to stop your tears from gathering his attention. “I can’t get it out of my head. You know, the crime scene.”

Bruno exhales through his nose. He feels only slightly guilty that he was moved more by your reaction to the abandoned building with abandoned bodies than the crime itself. He’ll have nightmares about it for longer than he’d like, sure, but he remembers the feeling that took over him when you fled out of there, desperate to put as much distance as possible between yourself and the scene. 

You’d thrown up behind a police car and Bruno hadn’t been able to do a damned thing about it other than stare longingly at your retreating figure before Liv called him over. He’s been trying to get you alone ever since but its proven itself to be a difficult task; you’re all so very busy, and he’s not the only one in the squad who feels protective of you. Both Liv and Fin have been keeping a careful eye on you in case there’s something they can help with, and it leaves Bruno a little sidelined. 

“Come on,” he says softly, terribly inviting as he offers you his hand. You stare at it like it’ll hurt you to accept any kind of comfort right now, but there’s very little you want more than to let him take care of you.

“I’m not done,” you try again, less and less insisting each time. 

“We’re never done,” he says, something he learned the hard way through Bronx SVU and his lawsuit. It’s not something he likes, let alone something he’s learned to accept, but it’s easier when he doesn’t have to carry the burden alone. “But we can’t fix the world, baby. Let alone overnight.”

You, after all your years in this business, know it, too. He takes the last step forward, lowering his hand to touch your fingers where they clutch tightly at your pen, featherlight. “Come on. Let’s go home.”

You search for something in his face then sigh, deep and weary. Hook, line, and sinker, he’s got you right where he wants you.  

Nodding, something in your own expression softens: your shoulders lose some of their tension and Bruno wants nothing more than to put his mouth to the skin, spend the night at your place and strip you down of both your clothes and worries. 

He wants to take care of you. A year ago, wanting that much from someone would’ve sent him running for the hills, or, well, the strip club. Now, it fills his chest with warmth, which expands to the rest of his body when you take his hand and rise, fight done. “Alright, handsome, you win. Take me home.”

Bruno does. He stays close while you pack up your things and you leave side by side, one of his hands on the small of your back as you enter the elevator. He wouldn’t be so daring and you wouldn’t let him linger this close if there were anyone else in the room, but the precinct is a ghost town and the B shift isn’t as interested in gossip as the rest of your coworkers are. 

As soon as the doors close, you turn and rest your head on Bruno’s chest, sighing heavily. He rubs your arm leisurely up and down, not trying to keep you warm but rather just keep you in good company. You hum, appreciative and so, so tired. 

“Chinese tonight?” he wonders against your hair, suddenly fighting the urge not to bury his nose in it. It’s awfully domestic, which is something he’s getting used to again, but he feels something dangerous and brave thrum under his ribcage at the thought of doing it outside of the walls of his or your apartments. 

“I’ll settle for anything quick and edible,” you reply, muffled by his coat.

“In New York City?” he jokes, and finds himself rewarded with your nose tucked in the underside of his jaw, breath warm. 

Your days of riding the subway are far less than before now that you two started- whatever this thing between you is. The chances to leave work together are few and far between, but Bruno likes you in his passenger seat; his hand on your thigh and the streetlights facing your features just so, music playing lowly from the speakers.

It’s interesting, he’s never been one to be comfortable in silence. With Rose, it usually meant he’d done something wrong and was supposed to figure it out by her pointed glances alone.  But you, there are days in which you’re content to hum along to the music and Bruno’s come to learn that doesn’t mean there’s anything he should be worried about. On the contrary, you keep his hand between yours and bring it to your cheek, brushing your skin tenderly against his knuckles just because you can.

He won’t say love, but you’re way beyond the casual stage, and you both know it. He finds himself not minding at all.

- end -

author's note: an old draft that is NOT proofread for you lovely people. love bruno and would thoroughly enjoy kissing him on the mouth MUAK