A dove.
It was a dove.

Colt had been awakened by incessant cooing. The redhead cursed the pigeon before trying to dive back to sleep, but he just couldn't.

He spent the next few minutes listening to the noise the bird was making. Coo after coo the certainty that this damn animal was a pigeon weakened. The policeman spent the rest of the time looking for what other birds could possibly be making that noise. It was only now that the name came back to him.

A dove.
This tireless cooing came from a dove. Similar in every way to a pigeon in terms of silhouette. Tho, doves are much smaller, with a uniform and lighter plumage than pigeons.

Colt got up with a sigh, putting slippers on before going down in the living room, still in his pajamas. He rubbed his eyes with his fingers as he walked downstairs. A nice smell of breakfast greeted him.

She was in the kitchen. Colt sighed a small "Hey" while grabbing an apple.
The officer couldn't help but smile at Shelly's cold greeting.
If a grunt could be considered as a "hello."

Tho, he had to admit, he was expecting worse given what happened yesterday. The bandit, for her part, seemed to have healed faster than expected. She could stand on her two legs and walked without limping.
Probably, she would leave at the end of the day ?

Shelly turned around with a plate overflowing with pancakes in her hands, all to face a still half-asleep Colt, disheveled and with a goofy smile. The bandit couldn't help but smile tenderly. Colt always put so much care into his appearance that it was adorable to see him natural. Wait a minute, adorable ?
Shelly involuntarily clenched her fingers on the plate of pancakes. She quickly finished setting the table, trying to be as distant as possible towards the police officer.
To the latter's greatest incomprehension. Where did the tender smile she gave him come from ? Why had she become even colder all of a sudden ? A minute... A… tender smile...?

Breakfast began in awkward silence. However, after his second slice pancake, Colt couldn't help but ask :

"Say, why do you dye your hair ?"

At first surprised, Shelly frowned

"Not like it concerns you, cabrón."

"No, seriously, what is your natural hair color ?"

Silence.

"Lavender…"

"Oh…"

Colt took a second to mentally change the color of Shelly's hair. Of course, his first reaction was that this color on Shelly's dark skin seemed strange, but he had to admit that the bandit must have looked really stylish with purple hair.

"Helloooo, pretty face to the earth...!"

"S'cuse me, what were you saying ?"

"Why does it seem to surprise you so much that I dye my hair ?"

"Oh, nothing very original... The color you used... Well, it's just that I dyed my hair the same black as you for a long time. Strange coincidence, that's all... Tho, lavender hair must be making you look really hot, I mean, objectively !"

Shelly tsked while softly blushing.
'Damn, I look like a light-hearted girl who would blush at the slightest compliments. Where is the real Shelly ? The harsh without pity ?' the thug exclaimed inwardly

"Anyways…" Colt continued. "Say, why don't you leave them natural ?"

"Did I ask for your opinion ?"
"No, because the tricky thing would be if you were dying it like that to make yourself look tougher !" joked the policeman.

Tho, as a long silence settled down, Shelly looked at him as if to say "touché, idiot !"

"Wait for real ?! Do you... do you dye it to make yourself look fiercer ? Oh man, seriously !" exclaimed Colt, who seemed to be speaking more to himself than to Shelly.

"What the deal, pretty face ? There’s nothing so dramatic 'bout."

"Dramatic, no. But that's too much in common with you !" Colt complained. "I also used to dye my hair to look like a tough guy, to please my father ! I did this amateurishly, and as a result, I ruined my natural color."

"Isn't that your natural hair ?"

Colt shook his head sadly before pointing to the photo of a strong woman and a kid with an aviator beret and hugging some sort of rifle. Both with reddish hair. Shelly had noticed this photo before, and now she was certain that it was indeed Colt's family.

"I used to have the same hair color" commented the apprentice cop, sadly

"Red like that ?!"

Shelly had to admit, the dye had seriously damaged his hair. From deep red, it had rather become some kind of pinkish red.
Not that the current color was ugly, on the contrary, but she could imagine that he, the officer who took so much care in his appearance, that the news of his hair would never return to its former colors had seriously had to affect him.

"I... I guess I could reconsider…?"

"Or learn to dye your hair but like a professional hairdresser to avoid having to end up like me." he joked, sure that she would continue dyeing anyway.

Shelly cracked a smile, quickly followed by Colt's, and good humor returned to the unlikely duo.