The Viper and the heir

We'll build it back up,brick by brick

He couldn't believe it.The heir didn't childishly demand something or beg for Jamil to let him do a thing he wanted.He presented the facts and resolutely made a request.The brunette was weirdly impressed,if he was being honest.This was the first time Kalim had ever shown a bit of the powerful blood running trough his veins.A request that left no room for a no,simply by its decisiveness.So,he sighed and walked over to his bed."Alright.You've convinced me.But..."he began,turning to glare at the other boy"If I see a fistful of my hair in your hand,I am never talking to you again,despite the deal we made.Is that clear?","Crystal."the younger said,giving him a smile and a thumbs up.

Jamil rolled his eyes and turned his back to Kalim once again,as the heir climbed onto the bed."So,the oil is...","In the box under the bed,I know."the white haired boy responded,bending forwards and reaching under the bed.He wrapped his fingers around the handle pulling the box out from under it.Placing it next to himself,Kalim opened it,taking out a vile of gold liquid.After he applied it to his palms,Jamil tilted his head back,giving the heir the go ahead.The younger scooted over,his hands shaking."Why am I nervous?" he thought,before steeling himself with a deep breath.He slowly reached towards his friends hair,taking a handful of the coffee colored locks.The tresses felt silky under his fingers as he applied the oil to them.The sensation was making Kalims mind wander more than it should've,Jamils low hums only making it harder to think.The hair glistening made it look alive,almost like the locks were sable...snakes.The heirs breath hitched,as he let go, the hair dropping down the others back.He took a deep breath.That was over now.Long over."You okay?"the brunette asked."Yeah."Kalim choked out.He saw Jamil turn towards him,his smoky eyes regarding him with a troubled gaze.The younger smiled,trying to lessen the Vipers concerns,but he failed to give anything more than a shaky grimace."Let's get back to it,shall we?".His vice dorm leader still looked unconvinced,but turned around regardless.

"What was that about?"Jamil thought.He could hear Kalim gasp and swallow thickly behind him.His strained voice was enough indication that his response was an outright lie.He was clearly pretending to make him feel better.Did the Asim heir always cover up his feelings,for the sake of others and he failed to notice till now?And for that matter,did that make the two of them similar in some way?After all,they both had to pretend for the sake of others,though in Kalims case he did it out of desire,not obligation like Jamil did.Or maybe it was out of obligation for both.After all,nobody likes a sultan who doesn't inspire any morale or a servant that complains too much.

"Hm."the heir hummed,utterly stumped.Ok,so he knew the braid had to be thin,but how thin exactly?Maybe he can just spitball it and hope for the best?That probably wouldn't do,considering it's gonna get a bit thinner once he starts braiding.Then again...He can see the start of the thing and estimate from there?"About this thick."Jamil said,demonstrating with his finger half an inch from eachother."Did he just read my mind?"Kalim thought."And I'm talking about the amount of hair,not the braid itself.","He did it again!" .The younger took his advice and got to it,taking a strand of hair and separating it into three smaller ones.He intertwined them rather easily and finished it off with one of the golden baubles from the nightstand.This got him a single hum of of acknowledgement from his advisor.And he thought it leaned more on the "you didn't screw this up"side.But what if he's wrong?He should check."Just to be clear,that hum meant "you did good",right?"Kalim asked.Jamil took a deep breath,probably trying to resist the urge to turn around and yell"You think Captain Obvious?".However,that's not what happened."Yeah,that's what it meant."came a clearly tired,but gentle response.Kalim smiled at his good guessing.

"When have you started being so perceptive anyway?"the taller asked."Well,I kinda had to figure it out...Considering we didn't speak for a bit."the heir said.The hurt in his voice was hard to miss and that might've made Jamil feel a bit...guilty.He exhaled,slightly regretting what he was about to ask."What was that reaction from earlier about?","What reaction?"Kalim asked way too quickly."Don't play dumb.When you dropped my hair.","Oh..."the tone of dreadful realization was unmistakable,as he continued."It's just...your Overblot passed my mind that's all."And there's the guilt again."Oh.Sorry about that.","Don't be.Besides,as you said...I was ignorant.","To be fair,keeping you ignorant was the point,so it's not entirely your fault."Jamil muttered,holding back the urge to tell Kalim that it wasn't his fault at all.But his pride kept his mouth shut.Ugh,why was he so hard to hate all of a sudden!?