Work Text:
It was a lazy afternoon in the gardens of the Henituse Estate.
“Hah...” Cale sighed in annoyance as he pushed his fringe away from his face yet again. He wanted to eat an apple pie, not his hair. Why was hair so annoying? His hair always grew so fast and he was lazy to go through the process of requesting a barber visit their estate.
“Let me help you, Cale-nim,” Choi Han offered, his voice full of suppressed laughter. He got up from his seat across Cale.
Cale sighed again, relenting as Choi Han came to stand right behind him. The sword master’s gloved hands were gentle as he smoothed Cale’s hair back, gathering all the strands into a loose ponytail behind Cale’s head. Neither of them had a hair tie, so Choi Han simply stood there, holding Cale’s hair while Cale ate his apple pie.
“Thanks.”
With his hair finally out of his face, Cale hummed in contentment and continued to eat his apple pie, using his fork to break off bite-sized chunks.
“What about you?” Cale frowned, pointing his fork at Choi Han’s untouched plate.
“I’m alright, Cale-nim.”
“No, you should eat too. Should I feed you?”
...
“Choi Han?” Cale prompted again after a long moment of silence.
“Eh? Ah, um, I...I’m fine.” Choi Han’s voice sounded flustered.
Making decisions for Choi Han, Cale carefully lifted a bite sized portion of the apple pie on his fork until it was above his shoulder.
“Eat it.”
“...Okay.”
Choi Han leaned down and took the bite into his mouth. He chewed slowly, thinking that was the end of it, but then a second bite of apple pie came towards him again.
“I’m... really alright, Cale-nim. Please eat it yourself.”
“If you say so,” Cale shrugged. He continued eating with the same fork again, unknowing of the blushing mess behind him.
Cale had never cared about things like sharing saliva or personal space, and it killed Choi Han every single time because Choi Han cared. He cared immensely about every casually shared touch, every little thing Cale did.
The poor swordsman lifted his eyes to the sky and breathed in deeply, attempting to calm his stuttering heart. His hands were occupied, so he couldn’t rub his red face with them.
“Should I just shave it all off?” Cale muttered under his breath.
“You can’t, Cale-nim!” Choi Han retorted immediately.
“Why not?” Cale tilted his head back, and Choi Han matched his movements in a panic, lowering his hands so he didn’t tug on Cale’s hair. “Hm? Why is your face so red?”
“It’s... a bit hot,” Choi Han said evasively, never good at lying. He hurriedly shifted the topic back to the one on hand. “I’ll cut your hair for you, Cale-nim! Please don’t shave your hair. It’s so pretty.”
Choi Han pursed his lips, but it was too late to take the words back. He had always thought Cale’s hair (and Cale himself) was gorgeous, but it was another thing to let the person himself know. Of course, Cale-nim would be beautiful no matter what hairstyle he had and Choi Han would love him all the same, but when Cale tucked his hair behind his ear, the sight of it was just...
A string of key smashes went through Choi Han’s love-filled mind.
...Pretty?
Cale contemplated Choi Han’s words. True, the children did like playing with his hair.
“Hm, I guess it is easier to get sunburnt if I don’t have hair protecting my scalp.”
Choi Han breathed a sigh of relief.
Just when he thought Cale forgot about the matter of his blushing face, Cale added, “Let’s go back into the mansion, Choi Han. You’ll get more sunburnt if we stay out here. I’ll ask Ron for some aloe vera gel for your skin.”
“...Yes, Cale-nim.”
Choi Han groaned internally. He had no doubt the old servant would be teasing him about it for weeks.