Work Text:
'You should dye your hair,' I say on a whim. I think I just wanted to say something because, if I'm being honest with myself I was getting kind of bored. We had been hanging out in the Chase Space's pottery studio(which yes, was absolutely necessary to add when we were renovating the space.) for the past few hours, Alex making a large vase of some sort while I sat and watched. Now, don't get me wrong I could sit and watch Alex for hours, she was stunning. But she was listening to anime intros and hadn't said a word to me since we settled in. So I was feeling more than a little Ignored, plus my ass was getting numb.
'what?' Responds Alex, wiping her hands on a towel and plucking an earbud from her ear.
'You should dye your hair,' I repeated.
'Ugh, Maggie...' She started, looking at me with an expression that said are you ok? Running her fingers through her very green hair to emphasise the point.
'Like, a different colour!' I said, before quickly adding, 'Obviously.'
'What colour?' she said suspiciously while coming to sit with me, she had left her phone and headphones next to the half-formed vase she was working on(she had a few ramekins in the kiln too.).
'Pink.' I said, reaching out to touch her short green locks.
She apparently found this amusing. 'Pink,' she giggled 'that's such a stupid colour to dye your hair,' she said, reaching up to put her hand over mine.
'like green isn't. Also, I thought you liked pink.' She pulled my hand away from her hair.
She looked me dead in the eye and started speaking, 'ok, first of all, I love pink, It's just a dumb fucking colour to dye your hair. Second of all why do you want me to dye my hair pink?'
'Nothing, I just thought I'd look cute!' I say, raising my hands defensively.
That's where I went wrong, in fact, you could probably pinpoint the exact moment that I was screwed just by looking at Alex. Her Hetrocromatic eyes lit up, her mouth contorted into a sly, little grin, even the green of her hair seemed brighter.
'ok,' she said, her voice bright and happy in a way that made me melt. 'I'll cut you a deal, Magnus. I'll dye my hair pink, if and only if you let me dye your hair a colour of my choosing."
She finished her spiel with a smug look on her face, challenging me to say no. I didn't want to see her with pink hair that bad, it had only been a suggestion, but I wasn't about to back out now. May as well check the damage.
'What colour?' I ask with a sceptical edge to my voice.
'It's a surprise!' she says, just as smug as ever.
Common sense dictates that I should've backed out while I had the chance, and just dealt with the teasing. But I'm more stubborn than I appear.
'fine.'
'great!' she says, shaking my hand all businessman-like before leaning over to give me a kiss on the cheek.
'This is gonna be fun,' she giggles maliciously.
---
'Fuck this.' I growl frustratedly as Alex peels of the sleeping mask she had made me wear to protect the sanctity of the surprise, revealing a shockingly bright and utterly revolting blue mop in place of my hair.
A small 'Jesus Christ,' falls from my mouth as I gape at my reflection for a bit before deciding that maybe if I can't see it it'll go away and shoving my face in my hands. I might be crying a bit.
Alex is silent, perhaps(and this is probably just fumes from the dye messing with my brain, but maybe) she regrets this.
I think that I've stomached the colour, it's not that bad. And so I lift my head, only to find the blue just as vibrant and appalling as before.
'What fucking colour is this!' I yell. 'bubblegum ice-cream that made you throw up as a kid?'
Though the question is clearly rhetorical, Alex responds anyway. 'Turquoise Tango, actually.' she says, with all of her usual bite back.
'it's disgusting.' I say, slightly calmer now.
'it'll become slightly less vibrant after you shower.' She states.
'I hate you,' I say, shooing her out of the bathroom so I can shower.
'don't forget to use the conditioner that came with
the kit, it's on the bench.' she mumbles on her way out.
I sigh and try not to look at myself while I shower.
---
I walk out of the bathroom, dressed and hating my self. Alex Is perched on the arm of a chair, fucking around on his(his? his.) phone. He hears me stomping as I sulk over to where he's sitting and lifts his pink head. He immediately bursts out laughing. His phone clatters on the ground as he mimes wiping tears from his eyes.
'yea I think it looks ridiculous too,' I say.
'No, no it's not that,' he responds, shifting to his feet. 'It's just that you look so sad.'
'Well, obviously I'm sad. I look like I'm cosplaying the goddamned, cookie monster!' I yell frustratedly, though I'm now beginning to suspect there's something I'm not getting here.
He snorts out a final giggle before wrapping me up in a pitiful hug.
'Maggie, it's not permanent.'
'what,' I squeeze out, dumbfounded.
'yea. It'll come out in like, six washes. The only reason it's so damn bright on you is 'cause your hair's such a light blonde'
There's a pause, I let out a long breath and shove my head in my hands.
'Alex, I hate you.'
We sit on the ground together and stay like that for a few moments. When I'm ready to talk I let my eye peek through my fingers and glance at Alex, who isn't looking particularly remorseful, but that's to be expected. He looks me in the eye and peels my hands from my face.
'Was it worth it?' He askes, and at first, I'm confused, but then my failure of a brain finally clears a little bit and I process the new, pretty light pink colour of Alex's hair. It looks like fairy floss and frames his face in puffy clouds, which his old hair already did but this new colour reminds me more of, it contrasts the deep tan of his skin and just screams cute. I feel myself go red in the face.
'yes, absolutely.'