Nny was stretched out on the couch when he heard a startled exclamation from the bedroom Teatime had converted into a magical workroom. This wasn't entirely unprecedented; Teatime was more inquisitive than skilled when it came to spellcraft and sometimes his experiments had unexpected results. So Nny wasn't entirely surprised when Teatime emerged sporting a head of glossy, waist-length blond ringlets.

“Was. Um.” He tried not to laugh. “Was that what you were trying for?”

“No,” Teatime said with a long-suffering air. “I do hope it won't stay this way. It seems rather inconvenient. Although I could get it cut, I suppose.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Nny looked at it, seemingly fascinated. “I can see how it'd get in the way professionally. It's sort of flattering, though.” Stepping closer, he reached out and ran his fingers through Teatime's lengthened hair. It was thick and soft, and framed his face nicely.

“It's distracting, really. I keep seeing bits of it out of the corner of my eye.” He leaned into the touch, however... having his newly long hair stroked was actually quite pleasant.

“Yeah, I guess.” Nny kept on playing with Teatime's hair, looking thoughtful. Strands of it clung, glistening, to the dark red shirt Teatime wore.

“What?”

“Oh.” Looking up, Nny shook his head as if to clear it. “I guess I kind of like the way it looks on you.”

“Hmm.” Teatime looked down at his currently-long tresses. He twirled a few strands experimentally around one finger. “I don't think it's quite long enough to be used as a garrotte. A shame, really.”

“I hope you weren't thinking of garrotting me!”

“Oh, no, don't be silly.” Teatime smiled at him. “In general, of course.”

Nny looked thoughtful for a moment. “We could cut out a few locks and braid them together... make it longer like that. Make you a special hair-garrotte.”

“Oh, yes! I like that idea very much.” Teatime squeezed Nny's hand, then kissed his cheek. “Let's find a pair of scissors.”

“Um...” Nny reached up to stroke Teatime's hair again. “Does it have to be this very second?”

Teatime raised an eyebrow. “You're... rather taken with it, aren't you?”

“Maybe. Yeah, I guess.” He tugged lightly at the hem of Teatime's shirt. “Probably more than I would be if it had just grown like that, because it's all at once. And also because I know it'll be gone soon.”

“That's a bit... silly, really.” Although Teatime couldn't say he minded Nny looking at him like that. Watching Nny's face closely, he began unbuttoning his shirt, then let it slip to the ground. The long hair did feel nice against his skin, he admitted to himself.

“Are you making fun of me?” Nny asked with a trace of wariness, even as he wrapped an arm around Teatime's waist and pulled him close.

Teatime shook his head. “I just wanted to see what you'd do.”

“I can think of a few things.”


Later, they trimmed off the heavy mane, and made not one but two long narrow braids of it; a special golden garrotte for each of them.