Hearthway Hollow

August

Female Reader x Male Monster (both cis)

Every year, when the holidays come around, you get to paint the windows at work. Halloween is a big holiday in Hearthway Hollow, and spans the entire month of October. The stores in the downtown area all compete in a decoration contest, and the local artists all try to best the top performer from the previous year. Storefronts look like miniature scenes from scary movies.

You've just been happy to be included every year. Your boss enjoys your work, even if Sheer Luck hasn't won anything before. The hair salon seems to do it's own thing, rather than give in to external pressure. Last year your boss set up a scarecrow to go along with your window, and that was it. But your best friend is trying to get him to change his mind this year, and actually try to compete.

"You have someone who works for the theatre working here, too! They have access to costumes and props the rest of the town could only dream of," Belle argued.

Angel raised his hands. "I want nothing to do with this. Why does this salon even need to dress up when it's already the best-looking building in town?"

"Because there is a giant pair of scissors on the roof begging for the Halloween treatment!" Belle has been aching to win the Halloween Shop contest ever since she began working here. Her family has owned the diner since it opened, and in all the years this tradition has existed, it's never won.

You're happy just to paint. Most of your days are filled with hair dye and nail polish. You rarely get to work on such a grand scale, and you've prepared for this all year. As soon as November hits, you buy a new sketchpad to prepare for the next Halloween.

"Auggie will be here soon," Belle warns you.

"Alright, alright." You hop down from your perch on the ladder and take off the paint-spattered smock. You go to the back to get ready, preparing the hair dye like always, washing your hands, and getting your equipment ready on the cart.

Auggie, or August, is a regular of yours. He started going grey in high school and has been getting his hair dyed ever since then. He has wonderful hair too, long and with perfect beach waves in it. It's something most people have destroyed their scalps trying to achieve, and he just comes by it naturally.

You're pushing the cart out right as August comes in the door. "Go ahead and get seated. I just have to go find some gloves in the storage closet."

"Take your time." August takes his hair down from the ponytail and shakes it out. You can see the white roots at his crown, as well as the peppered effect in his beard. Something you've always liked about August, aside from everything, is the way that even his eyebrows have flecks of silver in them.

It's not something you're proud of, but you've had a huge crush on August ever since you first saw him in Sheer Luck. He's tall, adorable, and seems totally unaware of his natural charm. He's a bit clumsy, knocking over the coat rack, or kicking something without meaning to. But he's a customer, and a loyal one at that, and you've made a promise to yourself not to date anyone at work, or any of your clients. You find gloves and return to August, turning his chair and adjusting it so his head goes into the sink.

"The window looks great!" August says brightly. "I look forward to your window more than anyone's."

"You're just saying that so I don't fuck up your hair," you tease.

August grins. "Only a little."

"Belle is on a tear this year. She wants Angel to try and at least enter the decorating contest this year." You add shampoo to the mix and lather at his scalp.