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Harvey sighed as he gazed into the bathroom mirror, combing his fingers through his hair to find a few new greys underneath the surface. Despite his many jokes about it, he wasn't an old man. As a doctor, he knew that the premature grey was likely due to the stress of his job, but the embarrassment he felt when he looked into the mirror each morning was enough to make him consider dying it.
Jay soon poked their head into the bathroom, already dressed. "Hey, almost ready to get going?"
"Almost." he replied, with a plastered-on smile.
After a particularly busy week on the farm, Jay suggested that the two of them take a nice walk through town to enjoy the beautiful weather. Unfortunately, the light only made it worse. Harvey knew the sun shining on his hair would draw attention to the silver patches at his temples. He only hoped that Jay wouldn't notice it too.
...
Harvey and Jay walked hand in hand along the dirt path that led into town. The combination of the warm sunlight and a gentle summer breeze made it the perfect weather. Soon, Harvey forgot all about his insecurities, and simply let himself enjoy his morning stroll with his favorite person by his side.
After saying a quick hello to all the townspeople who were also out enjoying the morning, the two of them turned down Willow Lane to head into Cindersap Forest.
Harvey smiled at Jay whenever they would let go of his hand to rush ahead and pick up a mushroom, excitedly showing it to him before storing it away in their backpack. They would quickly jog back over to him to take his hand again, like magnets who couldn't bear to be apart from each other for too long.
Venturing deeper into the forest, they soon made their way to the dock by the lake. While Jay was off picking spice berries, Harvey looked out over the shimmering body of water, completely at peace.
He turned back to Jay to find them holding up their cell phone and pointing it at him.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Taking a picture of you. You look nice out there."
"Really? Can I see it?"
Jay made their way to the edge of the dock where Harvey was to show him the photo.
Even Harvey had to admit it was an excellent picture. The way the lake reflected the surrounding trees, the sunbeam that shone on Harvey like a spotlight as he gazed wistfully into the distance. Unfortunately, all Harvey could see was the grey streaks in his hair. He thought about asking Jay to delete it, but seeing the bright smile on their face, clearly proud of taking such a nice photo of their husband, he couldn’t bear to make them get rid of it, no matter how insecure he felt about himself.
“That’s very nice.” he lied.
...
As they decided to circle back towards Sour Cherry Farm, Harvey stayed quiet for the remainder of their walk. He knew that Jay wouldn't keep the picture if he asked them not to, but it made them so happy, he felt guilty asking them to delete it. He considered asking them to edit out the grey in his hair, but he didn't want to draw too much attention to it in the first place. It didn't seem like Jay noticed it at all, which was just fine with him.
While he was busy overthinking again, Harvey noticed Jay staring at him as they walked.
"Something on my face?" He asked.
"Nope, just looking at my handsome husband." Jay replied, smiling dreamily at him.
Harvey's face burned in embarrassment when he caught their eyes drifting towards his hair. He immediately looked away, focusing on the dirt path ahead.
When they approached the farmhouse, Harvey looked back at Jay, who was still watching him.
"Stop staring at it." He finally said.
"Staring at what? I'm just looking at you."
"You're looking at my grey hair. Stop it."
"No I'm not." Jay said, quickly averting their eyes. He couldn't help but notice their eyes flicking up to his hair again, their mouth twisting into a small smirk at the sight.
"You’re still staring at it."
"So?" Jay chuckled. "I'm not allowed to stare at my wonderful husband?"
"I already feel old enough knowing it's there. I don't need you staring at it and making me feel even older."
"Harvey, you're not old, we're practically the same age. Do you think I look old?"
"Not in the slightest." he said, firmly.
That was the worst part about it. As Harvey got older, Jay seemed to stay the same. Their vibrant, youthful complexion remained untouched by time. Meanwhile, Harvey got further and further away from them with each passing year. The idea of growing old with Jay was one that Harvey often fantasized about when he pictured his future with them, but the whole point was that they would do it together.
"Please be honest, do you think I should dye my hair?" Harvey asked. Artificially prolonging the inevitable would at least give him some time for Jay to catch up with him.
"No! Of course not." Jay replied, nervously shaking their head. "I love the way you look."
"You don't care that I look so much older than you?"
"Honey you age beautifully. I don't mind one bit."
"Well, I don't know about beautifully... definitely aging."
"No, I mean that. Grey looks good on you, honestly. I can't wait to have a silver fox husband one day."
"You're just saying that."
"Am not!" Jay argued. "I love every part of you, especially the hair."
"Thank you, but do you have to fixate on the hair so much?" he asked.
"I'm sorry if I'm staring too much but you're very handsome and it deserves to be recognized. You have no idea the endless list of things I adore about you, love."
"And is the-"
"Yes, the grey hair is pretty high up on that list." they grinned.
"Alright, if you say so."
Jay squeezed his hand, tugging him down so they could stretch up and kiss his cheek. “You’ll always look perfect to me.”
Harvey smiled, and stopped walking, turning to take Jay’s face in his hands as he kissed them properly.
“You’ll always look perfect to me too.”