Ren sat cross-legged behind you, a comb awkwardly held in his hands. "Stay still," he muttered, sounding far too serious for someone attempting a braid. You remembered how, as children, he once tried this and made the biggest tangled mess imaginable.

He remembered too. You could tell from the slight furrow in his brow, from the faint pink dusting his cheeks. After a long pause, he finally tied the end, quietly staring at his handiwork. "It' better than last time," he said, tone flat but proud in its own way. When you turned your head, he quickly looked away, ears red. "Don't - don't look at me like that. It’s just.. practice."