#grumpy uncle that loves you but doesn't show it and peppy nephew who loves his uncle with his whole heart

[twstwonderlandstuff]

Braids (Leona and Cheka Kingscholar)

Leona is OOC, forgive me.

[Name] has long hair.

"So... you brought me here to..." You tilted your head and raised an eyebrow. "teach you how to braid...?"

"Don't ask any questions. Just do it." The lion replied, dodging your question and baring his teeth. You shivered but stayed silent. A couple seconds later, you struck up the nerve to ask again. "Can I ask why you want to learn how to braid? Doesn't Ruggie do it for you- I mean, not to add more work to him but..." You prattled off as Leona glared at you.

"It's because..."

=

"Uncle, uncle!" Cheka called with a big grin, holding a mirror, catching the light of the Afterglow Savana. Leona, draped lazily on the pristine white couches merely let out a huff to Cheka's call. Undeterred, Cheka continued, walking towards his uncle. "Can you braid my hair?! I wanna match you, uncle!"

"Just call the stylist-"

"But uncle does his own braids, right?! And they look really pretty, so I wanna have the same ones!" Cheka interrupted him, looking at Leona with giddy eyes. "Please???"

=

You nodded sagely at his explanation. 'What a surprisingly wholesome reason.'

"Happy, herbivore?" He growled. You nodded. "Then get to it."

You grabbed the long, blonde wig that you brought (Sam has some pretty strange items on sale) and shifted it towards you so Leona could watch and you could do it.

"So, um, if he wants one like yours, it's pretty simple." You lifted a lock of hair from the wig. "You do the 3-strand braid."

"First, you separate the hair into 3 strands. Then, you cross over one of the strands- either left or right- to the middle." You instructed, doing so. "You do the same thing with the opposite side..."

"And then you just keep on doing it until your happy." You finished the braid pretty quickly, dismantling it. "Now you try, Leona-san."

Leona grabbed the wig roughly and did as told, hands combing through the wig first (which you didn't even do- goes to show his determination, you supposed) before separating them into 3 strands.

"Where goes where herbivore?"

"Ah, um... the left strand to the middle." He does so.

"Then?"

"The same thing with the right strand."

"Mmm."

The two of you fell silent as he continued plaiting the hair. Ruggie quietly peeked through the door of his room and met your eyes, both of you giving each other thumbs-ups before he left with a grin on his face. You made the mental note to give Ruggie some donuts you recently brought (that is if Grim hasn't eaten them all).

"Done," Leona muttered, bringing your attention back to him. The braid was a little messy, of course, but far better than you expected.

"Nice, Leona-san! Now..." You turned your back towards him and handed him a brush. "Try with my hair."

"Hah? That takes too much energy." Leona huffed.

"Yeah, but don't you want-"

"Tch." With a click of his tongue, Leona set to work, first combing your hair.

"O-ow, Leona-san... don't tug too hard." You winced, and he growled.

"Tch, herbivores..." Yet, he slowed down, combing at a calmer pace. After that, it's just a repetition of what already happened. Separate into 3 strands, braid, and tie.

"Done." He carelessly handed you a mirror and you caught it in time, looking at your reflection. It's a genuinely nice braid, you thought as you titled your head around.

"It's lovely, Leona-san." You caught a sneer on the lion's face from the mirror.

"Hmm. Now leave. I need to sleep."

"Yes~" You hummed, taking your items and walking out.

=

"Yay, Oji-tan!" Cheka grinned widely, looking at his own reflection.

"Hah, try to do it on your own next time..." Leona grumbled.

"Can you teach me?!"

"No."

"Aww, uncle! Still, thank you!" Cheka ran, leaping towards his uncle and grinning. "I love you!"

"...hmph." Leona gave Cheka sneer as he pat his head. "Maybe I will teach you."

"Yay-"

"Kidding."

"Uncle!!!"

= EXTRA =

"Leona-san, wake up-" Ruggie stopped midway, seeing the lion already up and... braiding his hair...?

"Ruggie. Stop standing there." Leona yawned, continuing to braid his hair.

"Okay~" Ruggie hummed, stepping into the room with a grin. "You know, [Name] gave me donuts the other day, shi shi shi! Really needed them."

"Hmm."

"Does that mean I'm not gonna braid your hair anymore?"

"What, do you want to?"

"'Course not." Ruggie rolled his eyes. "I got more important things to do..."

"What was that?"

"Nothin'."