☆WRITTEN IN THE WINTER OF 2017☆

A/N: So the name for this chapter is SHAMELESSLY based on this body spray I purchased last winter.

No judgements.

Anywayyyy I've always liked the idea of working in the city and having ya husband/boyfriend (you know, for the heathens who live with their potential spouses before holy matrimony haha jkjk) help you get ready for the day. So, that's pretty much what happens.

Cute stuff, again. It'll be pretty short, again. Hopefully I can keep that up. (￣∇￣)

I'm sure you know this already, but {h/c} means "{your hair colour}" and as always, lines indicate time skips.

Enjoy!

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"{Y/N}, come on. Get up." You groaned and rolled over, moving closer to the source of the noise. A familiar voice came with a familiar touch.

"'Mmhmmmm."

"What was that?" It was quieter, closer.

"Mmmmmmhhhhhmmmmm."

You heard a laugh. "You're not being that articulate this morning, are you?" You felt cold, all at once, jarring and affronting, and you shot up in what had been a warm bed.

"You took my blanket!" You lurched forward. "Levi! Give it back!"

"Nope." He dodged your punches. You would've gladly hit him if you could. "Get ready. You'll be late."

"I don't wanna." You looked over your shoulder. Snow fell softly. It swirled around outside the windowpanes directly above where the two of you slept beside each other, every night since the fourth of December, when you moved in together. "I only took on the holiday hours because I wanted to do something special here for your birth-"

He cut you off. You closed your eyes as your lips met; you leaned into his arms, and weren't focused on the harshness of the weather or freezing environment just beyond your walls that morning. You were only focused on him, on the man you loved more than anything else in the world.

He pulled away. "I'll help you." He patted your head, ruffling your hair. "And I don't care about my birthday." You smiled.

"Liar."

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The sound of sizzling bacon accompanied the scent of freshly brewed tea, and you worked a little faster to fix your hair. It was pretty, a shiny {h/c} colour, but it could get tangled, and it always seemed to do so at the worst times. You breathed in, and the smell of blueberries, lemons and honey tickled your nose. It clashed with the more piney scent of your Christmas tree and the orangey cinnamon candles you'd been burning the night before.

"{Y/N}!" His voice carried. "Are you coming?"

"Just a second!" You yelled down to him.

"What's taking you so long?" You heard him leave the kitchen, walking to the foot of the stairs as you attempted to force the comb through what was still largely a mess. "You'll want to eat before that six hour meeting won't you?"

"Of course!" You shouted, more loudly than before, even though you were closer to each other then. "I just need five more min-" you swore. "Shit." He trekked into the room. You didn't turn around, and instead spoke to his reflection in the vanity's mirror before you. "The food's gonna burn."

"Brush your hair downstairs." You sighed and thrust the teeth of your unhelpful tool through layers of unkempt tangles yet again. You heard a cracking sound.

"It broke." You spoke at the same time, both pretty shocked at how matted it actually was. Then, you veered around to face him.

"I don't have time for this, Levi!" He put his hand over his mouth, hiding was was clearly a smile. "Don't you dare laugh at me. This is kinda on you, given what we did last night."

"I'm...not..." he cleared his throat. "Come down and eat. I said I'd help you."

"Fine." You ripped the poor broken comb from its prison, laying it to rest in a nearby waste-bin. "Damn cheap thing." You turned and left.

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You lifted a cup of steaming liquid to your lips as you breathed in. A pleasant aroma of Darjeeling and currant filled the space around you, and you set a white china cup back down, only to pick up a small, blue and golden pastry in its place. You bit into it.

"You finished fast." You smiled as you leaned back. "The breakfast part, at least. You couldn't have savoured that."

"It was just the stuff from Smithfield. We get it all the time. You made these."

"They're just scones. I made a mix." You huffed at his response. "I used a box."

"They're good!" You turned around. He raised his hands: a lowly-offered surrender. "Don't undermine yourself."

You swirled back around. "Can I finish or..." his voice trailed off.

"You may proceed." You felt his hands in your hair, then the bristles of a brush before relaxing as his fingertips pushed through {h/c} tresses, finally straightening everything out.

"Your hair was messed up."

"I know, Levi." You concealed a smirk as he finished. You got to your feet, pushing in the chair on which you'd been comfortably seated. "You sure you're good to clean all this up?" You were hesitant. You didn't want to leave. You considered calling in sick.

He nodded, yawning dramatically. "Yeah. I like cleaning. Plus, my job doesn't pick back up until after the holidays." He glanced over at the stovetop timer, just as a clock in the other room chimed the hour. "You better leave or you'll be late."

You smiled openly then, in spite of your previous reservations, knowing the money that came with working Christmas would be worth the hassle. You'd make sure this year was the year for him. You'd throw a party, go somewhere warm, do whatever he wanted. You stepped forward to kiss him, then pulled away as you held his hand. "I love you, Levi." He held out your bag.

"I love you too, {Y/N}."

You opened the door after breaking away again, begrudgingly facing the snowy morning outside. Still, it was beautiful. A light lavender scent carried gently on the wind as it seemed to blend with something else, vaguely akin to bergamot*. The world seemed open and inviting in that moment, as you turned back around, one last time, to say goodbye to the love of your life.

"Thanks for helping me."

His smile briefly melted away the cold, but, only until you couldn't see it anymore. You weren't unhappy, not at all, just a little uncomfortable. It was below freezing after all.

You tugged at your scarf as you walked towards the subway before something caught your eye. You could've sworn the little girl you so frequently passed on the way to work, a cute shy child who always walked hand in hand with her mother and kept her head down, was staring at your hair, almost as though it looked much better than when you fixed it on your own.

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Yayyyy cute, right? I hope so! I know there was a lot of barber/hair/salon-style stuff but ehhhhh, I liked it. Thanks for reading! Lemme know if anyone has any requests! Also, the edit at the top I made, but the art, clearly, is by someone else. If anyone recognises the style, please do tell me! I'd hate to not credit an artist for their work. Thanks again!

~ Britt

(*One footnote~ that's what the SNOWY MORNING spray smells like. It's super light, and I'm more about excessively strong, oftentimes food-esque scents, but I bought it because I get a discount.)