𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 -- 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥'𝐥𝐞
    𝟎𝟎𝟒: Curls
        (𝘼𝙧𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙚, Stay Ready)

𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 was a good father. Not a perfect one—he'd be the first to admit that. He let his kids roam the dangerous streets of the Undercity without much supervision, turned a blind eye to Powder testing her volatile gadgets on her siblings, and didn't always monitor who came and went from his home—or, more importantly, his kids' rooms. That was something he probably should have been doing, especially with their hormonal years upon them.

In his defense, it was mostly just Ekko hanging around, and when it came to Moon and Powder, he was sure the boy was harmless.

And maybe, just maybe, he shouldn't have let Moon start drinking coffee at eleven—a habit he was fairly certain had stunted her growth. But Moon had this way of looking at you—those wide, determined eyes that could melt steel—and convincing you to do whatever she wanted.

Take a deep look into those eyes and tell him you wouldn't have done the same.

No, Vander wasn't perfect. He couldn't be the perfect father to all of them; it wasn't possible. But he could be the father they needed—the one who taught them loyalty, gave them safety, and loved them unconditionally.

Still, there would always be a difference between him and his children, a gap he couldn't quite bridge. They weren't his by blood, and the evidence was plain to see in their features: Powder's wild hair, Claggor's broad nose, Mylo's sharp chin, Moon's almond-shaped eyes. They were different from him, from each other, and he loved that about them. But there were things about them—about Moon especially—that he could never fully understand.

One of those things was her hair.

When Vander first found Moon, her hair was a short, tightly coiled Afro that framed her delicate face. She mentioned, almost offhandedly, that someone at the brothel had helped her keep it somewhat presentable—enough to maintain appearances. But there was only so much they'd bothered to do.

At first, her hair seemed manageable, but as days turned into weeks, it began to tangle into a stubborn mess that no one in the Lanes seemed to know how to handle. Or wanted to.

Vander tried, though. He really did. Sitting her down on a wooden stool in the corner of the room, he set about untangling the mass with a comb that was far too small for the job. She didn't flinch, didn't cry. She just sat there, stiff and silent, her face unreadable as he struggled against what felt like years of neglect and pain, tangled so deeply it had become part of her.

Eventually, he sighed heavily, setting the comb aside with a frustrated grunt. His hands rested on his knees as he looked at her, his voice gruff but kind. "You're gonna have to teach me how to take care of this."

Moon only shrugged, her small shoulders barely lifting. "No one ever taught me."

The quiet way she said it, the matter-of-factness of it.

That broke his heart in a way he hadn't expected.

The next day, he went out and found someone who could help—a kind woman from the deep in Lanes who knew how to care for hair like Moon's. She showed him what products to use, how to braid it, and, most importantly, how to make Moon feel like her hair was something to be proud of, not something to hide.

Over the years, Moon had taken that lesson to heart. Her hair became a part of her identity—something she styled with care and creativity, something that reflected who she was. Sometimes she wore it in elaborate braids, other times she let it cascade freely, wild and untamed like her spirit. Vander didn't always understand the time and effort she put into it, but he admired it all the same.

To him, it was just another reminder of how different they were—and how beautiful those differences could be.

And now? She likes to use that talent to help out others.

Ekko had decided to grow his hair out years ago, but what he hadn't decided on was how to maintain it. His style reflected his personality—bold, carefree, and chaotic—but his hair? His hair didn't always follow the script.

That's where Moon came in.

She held his face between her hands, cradling it as she studied him with a scrutinizing expression. Her lips pursed slightly, eyes flicking over every angle like she was examining a problem she was determined to solve. She turned his head to the right, then to the left, then tilted it up, her focus sharp and unrelenting. Finally, she turned it back to the right, squinting slightly as if to confirm her decision.

"I'll be damned if I let another dread head roam the streets," she muttered under her breath, the conviction in her tone making him blink in surprise.

Ekko swallowed hard, praying she couldn't see how warm his face had gotten under her touch.

"Braids," she declared, a slow smile spreading across her lips as she released his face with deliberate care. The confidence in her decision made it clear there was no room for argument.

Ekko raised an eyebrow, trying to sound casual despite the lingering warmth on his cheeks. "What, no consultation? Don't I get a say?"

She shot him a knowing look, already gathering supplies. "Nope. You gave that up when you let your hair get like this."

And just like that, the teasing air shifted into something quieter, more familiar. Moon's presence had a way of grounding him, of making things feel simple even when they weren't.

"Sit still," she muttered, her hands deftly working through his hair with a mixture of impatience and care. He sat cross-legged on the floor of her room, his head tilted slightly forward as she parted his curls with precision.

"I am sitting still," he shot back, though the twitch of his knee betrayed his restlessness.

"No, you're fidgeting," she countered, tugging lightly at a particularly stubborn knot. "If you want me to help you with this mess, you have to let me do my thing."

He sighed dramatically, his shoulders slumping as he tried to relax. "You're the one who told me to grow it out in the first place, you know."

"And I stand by that," she replied, her tone playful as she began twisting his curls into neat sections. "But you can't just leave it to do whatever it wants. Your hair deserves better than that."

The first hour passed with them bickering back and forth, Ekko whining about how long it was taking and Moon shutting him down with quick comebacks. "You're lucky I don't charge you for this," she quipped at one point, her fingers deftly working through his curls.

"Charge me?" he scoffed, wincing as she tugged on a particularly tight tangle. "This feels like punishment."

Moon smirked, leaning forward just enough for her breath to brush his ear. "Oh, it absolutely is," she teased, her fingers brushing lightly against his scalp.

The sensation made him shiver, but he stayed quiet, letting her work in peace.

By the second hour, their banter had softened into quieter conversation. Moon told him about how Vander had learned to braid her hair when she was younger, sitting with her for hours until he got it right. "He used to say that taking care of someone's hair was like taking care of their soul," she said, her voice softer now.

"That sounds like Vander," Ekko murmured, his head tilted slightly forward as her fingers moved rhythmically. "Always making everything deep."

Moon chuckled, shaking her head. "Yeah, but he was right. It's not just hair, you know? It's... a part of who we are."

Ekko nodded, the weight of her words settling over him. "Yeah, I get that."

By the third hour, the room had grown quieter still, the sound of the comb and Moon's steady hands filling the space. Her movements had slowed slightly, not from hesitation but from the careful precision of someone who cared deeply about their craft.

"You're really good at this," he said after a while, his voice softer now.

"Years of practice," she replied, pausing briefly to flex her fingers. "Vander always said it's important to take care of the things that make us different. Said it makes us stronger."

For a moment, neither of them spoke, the intimacy of the moment hanging in the air like a fragile thread.

When she finally finished, hours later, Moon leaned back on her heels with a satisfied sigh. Her hands rested lightly on her knees as she admired her handiwork.

"Alright," she said, pulling the pocket mirror from her bag and handing it to him. "Moment of truth."

Ekko took the mirror carefully, angling it to see his reflection. His hair was braided neatly, each twist precise and full of care. He turned his head slightly, taking it all in.

"Damn," he said softly, genuinely impressed. "You really are the best at this."

Moon smirked, leaning back against the wall. "Told you I knew what I was doing."

He turned to face her, his lips curling into a small smile. "Thanks, Moon. You're the best."

"Don't forget it," she quipped, though her tone was warm.

As he stood and stretched, running a hand over his freshly styled hair, he glanced at her with something softer in his gaze. "You know, I think Vander was onto something," he said.

Moon raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? About what?"

He grinned, the mischievous spark in his eyes returning. "Taking care of the things that make us different. You, for example. You're definitely one of a kind."

She rolled her eyes, but the heat of her cheeks gave her away. "Yeah, yeah. Don't let it go to your head."

He got closer to her, smiling. But as he leaned down, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead, she froze. Ekko froze too, unsure why he had done it in the moment.

The silence stretched between them, heavy and charged, before Moon cleared her throat and glanced away, her fingers brushing over her knees. "Don't make it weird," she muttered, her voice softer than usual.

Ekko nodded quickly, his cheeks burning. "Yeah. Totally. Not weird."

But as they sat there, the quiet settling around them once more, neither could quite shake the weight of what had just happened—or the way it lingered, unspoken but deeply felt.

𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐒!

Y'all can comment, I don't bite. I love to hear from you. Moon is 14, Ekko is 16. To put in perspective how long this book might branch out. Moon was 19 and Ekko was 21 when OG Timeline! Ekko came to the alternate universe. And if you read the oneshot of both of them you'd know they start dating when Moon is 17.