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"Damn it. More white hair?" Yohei wondered as he looked at the vanity mirror and saw another few strands of his hair losing melanin. The grayish tones were alike metallic sheens on his dark blue locks.
It is inevitable, since he's no longer getting younger, and he tried not to be bothered by it, but it does tick him off if anyone ever pointed out that he has white hair. (that someone would usually be Iori or Hajun, but the both of them didn't fare any better, and went as far as dying their hair to cover up their own white hair).
While his fingers combed his hair, now kept at armpit-length, Yohei had a thought of buying some blue dye to cover those white ones, or going to a salon that specializes in removing white hair, though he doubts that he'll have any more hair left if he chose the latter.
As he kept looking at the reflection, his eyes caught another man approaching him. The man, older than him, while keeping his hair at the same length since two to three decades ago, gave a gentle smile as he came closer to Yohei and embraced him from behind. Saimon Naoakira, after all these years, never felt any shame in showing hints of affection towards him.
At this point, the both of them have decided to stay together in Naoakira's apartment, which was meant for two. Whatever bond that they have right now couldn't replace the love between Naoakira and Tsubaki, since the latter was a love meant to be eternal, yet, the adoration and intimacy that they have with each other right now, is a real thing, that developed over time, by a timeline full of challenges and opportunities and memories experienced together for decades.
"Something bothering you, Yohei?" Naoakira prompted a question into his left ear while stil keeping his hold on the younger man.
Yohei, as time went by, had started to admit a lot more things to his partner, probably out of searching for peace in his heart, or, out of fear of forgetting a lot of important things hence the need to convey things to others so they can remember the memories by the time his own fades by age. And hence, he has to admit to Naoakira, about his hair having more white and gray ones decorating his head in midst of dark blue. He also pondered how his long-time partner, being six years older than him and therefore in his fifties, has less white hair, compared to Yohei, who had celebrated his 48th birthday just a few days ago.
"Say, Nao. What do you think about it?" Yohei, now comfortable in addressing his partner by his first name, and sometimes shortened it to 'Nao', asked for the elder's opinion, which, in the 30 years of knowing each other, is a rare occasion.
Naoakira, letting out a gentle laugh that emphasized his crow's feet and subtle smile lines, prompted Yohei to take a seat on the couch in front of the vanity table, while his hands, now with prominent veins, grabbed a hair oil and comb in front of the mirror.
"Are you sure you want me to talk about white hair, Yohei?" pouring some of the oil onto his palms, Naoakira prompted the question.
Yohei took him time to form his answer, "Not like we have anything to do today, since it's a holiday and the bar's closed". It's not everyday or every year that they can spend their whole time sitting on a couch, and have a casual conversation with each other. Or doing something like grooming each other's hair or having a picnic together with Shiki and Ryuu, now both being adults, when all of them have free time in their schedules. Time went by and they have increased in age, they have begun to appreciate and embraced more of these relaxing moments. And this, is also probably something the both of them would cherish.
After rubbing the hair oil on his palm, Naoakira lathered them onto Yohei's longer hair, massaging his scalp in the process, and disentangled any of the hair strands that may get stuck together. "Do you want to do a simple ponytail, or a bun? Or would you like a braid?" asked Naoakira.
"You're a hairstylist now, Senior Professor?" Yohei chuckled, "whatever suit this hair… You know what, just give me the half knot I usually do".
After ensuring that all of Yohei's hair have been nourished with the hair oil, Naoakira placed the comb on his hand at Yohei's crown, and started to comb his hair, in a downward movement. It is a simple gesture, yet he, being a meticulous person in his job, nurtured his partner's hair with care.
As he continued to do it, Naoakira, as if he's in his classes, prompted a question to Yohei "have you ever wondered why do we have these white hair and some wrinkles as we age?", and as he waited in silence, expecting Yohei to answer, the younger of the two, feeling comfortable with his hair being combed, answered with some snide, "to show that we're OLD now, Nao?". Yohei answered the question as a form of joke or perhaps sarcasm, yet, Naoakira, hummed in agreement, which intrigued Yohei a little. "What do you mean 'mmhmm'? You're really embracing the middle-age era, aren't you?"
"Now isn't it interesting, Yohei? That we have lived long enough. And that we have shown signs of aging." Naoakira had started his eloquent remark, which, to his credit, does not bore Yohei as much as it used to, as Yohei would treasure the moments where he'll listen to his partner's take on any topic they talked about. "You do realize that when a child grows to a teen, and a teen becomes an adult, some of their features change right? Along with some of their attitude, and level of knowledge. That kind of growth shows progress, on how things develop, on how the person grows with time. And in our case, growing some white hair and having wrinkles, it showed that we have lived long enough, and hopefully, will live a few more years, or decade. Do you remember, Ryuu counted your wrinkles on the forehead?"
Naoakira opened up his palm, prompting Yohei to give a hairclip or hairband for the other to tie his hair with. Yohei, handing the elder a simple blue hairtie with a cat accesssory, answered, "Yeah, ever since he came to the bar, he kept track of how long my wrinkles were, and how many more were to grow. Did he know HE'S the one making me grow frigging wrinkles?" Yohei sighed. Now Ryuu is acting a bit more like a decent adult, if he weren't doing any bizarre adventures that'll end up on the news tabloid.
"See? Ryuu is one of those who has lived with you for years. And so was Shiki. We both have seen them grown up, and they have both seen us reach our prime age together."
"You call this age 'prime'?"
"It IS our prime. From the start till the end, we have seen each other progressing, and striving, physically, and mentally. And the wrinkles and white hair proves it, we have lived long enough to reach our ambitions together and will still keep going till our candle extinguishes."
"Poetic as always, Professor Nao."
Naoakira, using the cat hairtie, secured the top half of Yohei's hair into a neat bun, and ensuring the hair is neat, combed the rest of the untied hair downwards. "Besides, white hair is a form of beauty. There's a reason why the term 'silver fox' exists to describe men like us… The grey sheens and our age give charm to our looks and personality."
"Heheh. You think there'll be people attracted to us 'old men', Nao?" Yohei chuckled, while adoring the looks on his face. Come to think of it, they two boys the both of them took care of, grew up into men probably a little too fast, and they never realized how age caught up to them till the time came and Yohei complained about his back aching. Now, looking at all the lines and sheens in the reflection, he realized that, perhaps, the boys, now men, have also noticed how their two guardians also grew older, and hopefully, more mature, with time.
"You'll be surprised, Yohei." Naoakira, putting down the comb, gave a peck on Yohei's cheek. "There are people whom are attracted to middle-aged men. Perhaps… It's the mature aura, or the vibes of someone with experience. Who knows? Either way." Naoakira, once again, gave Yohei an embrace from behind. "I do believe that you're beautiful no matter how you look.".
"Tsk. Whatever you say, silver fox." Yohei chided, yet didn't resist the gesture, putting his palms onto the back of Naoakira's hands, and keeping the elder's hold on him.
Sometimes they may have wished to go back to the times where it was the three of them; Tsubaki, Naoakira, and Yohei, pursuing ambitions. Yet the both of them know that that time had passed, and is meant to be there, as memories meant to be held dear, and to be flourished by new legacies. They were sure to create more memories.
And at that moment, Yohei, seeing how he looked so elegant with his hair tied well, thought "maybe I don't have to dye my hair after all."