The Last Voyages: IC Inbox

[worthallthis]

There is no voice message here. Better hope you got the right box.

Comments

[worthallthis]

I can work with it. I'm pretty sure.

[He finally pushes himself up, collecting his tray and finishing the cocoa as he heads to put it away.]

[vaccination]

[Ellie's quick to follow, taking her tray and dumping the trash and putting things where they need to go.]

I'm good as long as I don't end up bald, somehow.

[worthallthis]

Ellie. I'm not going to yank out your hair.

[He even manages to look mock-offended. It took effort. Be proud of him, Ellie. He heads out of the dining hall towards her cabin.]

[vaccination]

I know! I'm just saying.

[Bucky can be proud of her for having freshly washed hair, at least. She was waiting for this moment.]

[worthallthis]

[Clean hair will help a lot. And keep him from making faces at it for not being clean. He lets her let them into the cabin, and he gives it a cursory, mock-critical sweep once he's followed her inside. He finally surmises loftily:]

Suppose it'll do.

[He really is being sassy today. Ellie's good at getting that out of him.]

[vaccination]

Oh, my god. It's clean, you prick.

[Ellie manages to say that fondly, at least. And it is! Mostly. No piles of clothes anywhere in sight, at least.]

You wanna sit on the couch and I'll sit on the floor?

[Riley braided her hair a few times for fun, when she was a kid. Ellie was so squirmy back then that she ended up getting yelled at most of the time for not sitting still.]

[worthallthis]

[He hadn't considered far enough as to how they'd sit. He eyes the couch, and the floor, and finally nods.]

I. Guess. That makes sense. You sit first. Get a couple of the bands.

[He'll arrange himself behind her once he knows how she's sitting, so he'll feel less potentially trapped.]

[vaccination]

[Ellie heads to her bathroom to grab some hairbands and her brush, returning to plop down in front of the couch, legs crossed in front of her.

She actually doesn't like people sitting behind her, out of her line of sight, but for this, she'll manage. It's just Bucky. She pats the seat on the couch behind her.]

C'mere. You can show me how far up you want me to sit.

[worthallthis]

[He drifts after her, and after a moment of considering the situation, slides behind her, sitting on one foot so he doesn't have one on either side of her, but also so he's not trapped sitting cross-legged.]

Okay. You can. You can lean back or not.

[He has the reach to manage either way. He flexes his hands a little, one with the typical mechanical noises, and eyes her head. Like with Annie, it's going to take him a minute to work up to actually touching her.]

[vaccination]

[She lets him take his time, sit however he wants, without complaint.

She does tip her head backwards to look at him.]

Not a very flattering angle for you, B.

[That's all. Ellie sits normally and does him the favor of pulling her hair out from its messy bun, and brushing through it to get rid of any tangles.]

[worthallthis]

I'm sure there's a lot of angles that are unflattering, Ellie.

[He does lift that brush out of her hand, though, so he can use that as an intermediary. He starts brushing her hair for her, instead, and it feels really familiar, in a comfortable and automatic way.]

[vaccination]

[She's surprised. Ellie tenses for a moment, unsure about this all too late, but he's not rough. No yanking, here.]

I shed worse than a cat, by the way. Sorry.

[worthallthis]

It's fine.

[He is the gentlest, Ellie. No tugs at all. Each time he encounters a tangle, he stops, works it out carefully with flesh fingers, then continues on. She really doesn't have enough hair for a lot of tangles, or even a lot of brushing, but he keeps it up for a little even when he should probably move on to braiding. But it's for both their benefits: proof for her that he's not going to hurt her, proof for him that he can touch her without hurting either of them.

Maybe five minutes of brushing, then he finally sets it aside and experiments with a pair of braids, just simple ones to start, left side first. She definitely doesn't have enough hair for one long one, or even a fishtail. (What's a fishtail? Hrm.)]

[vaccination]

[It's... nice. The brushing could probably put her to sleep, which says something with how shitty she sleeps and how much staying awake late into the night she does.]

Ooh, am I getting pigtail braids? Neat.

[worthallthis]

Maybe. Might change my mind and.

[He stops, frowns.]

Yeah, hang on.

[Definitely needs to be flatter to her head. He undoes what he just did and starts closer, using smaller strands into a French braid rather than a standard one.]

[vaccination]

[Ellie laughs.]

Hey, it doesn't have to be perfect.

[It's more about the interaction and learning to be comfortable being close.]

[worthallthis]

Just don't want anyone to be able to grab it.

[He's practical about hair, okay. He's going slow and careful, so as not to pull, and also because you kind of have to when hair is this short. There's not a ton of give to deal with.]

[vaccination]

Expecting me to get into a fight or something, B?

[She's been good!]

[worthallthis]

On this ship. You never know. Rather you be safe, just in case.

[He doesn't expect her to start any fights. But sometimes people don't wait for you to start it.]

[vaccination]

[That's oddly touching.]

... thanks, B. Good looking out.

[worthallthis]

You're welcome.

[He says it solemn, though maybe with a hint of amusement. Just a hint.]

Here, hold the end of this, while I do the other side.

[And he'll tap the base of the braid at the back of her head.]

[vaccination]

[Ellie reaches back to do as instructed.]

This isn't so bad, is it?

[worthallthis]

[He starts on the right side. It takes him a moment, but he does finally say,]

It's not too bad. No.

[His skin still wants to shiver, there's still a little sweating happening, but keeping his hands busy helps. Doing the familiar activity helps. It's comforting, like soft things or a proper major triad.]

You should keep growing this out. Then I can do more with it.

[vaccination]

That you suggested I do that just for this purpose makes me think that you might like doing hair.

[She'll call that character growth.]

[worthallthis]

[He reiterates carefully:]

It's not too bad.

[It's not great, but it's the best form of touch he's managed so far, and it's entirely acceptable for practice. Also, he likes this practice better than sessions in the Enclosure with his sister's book, even though he knows those are important, too.]