on the lars homestead...
"This is where you grew up?"
As they approached the Lars homestead, Avery's eyes widened in wonder. He assumed it was because she had never seen anything quite like it. The architecture she had been surrounded by on Earth was not at all similar to his childhood home. While she had stayed in Ben's house for some time, the two properties were still considerably different, especially in structure. Not much could be seen from the distance they were currently at, save for the underwhelming hut standing alone, cursed to spend its lifetime in the remoteness of the Jundland Wastes.
When he had put the speeder in park, he offered her his hand. She stepped out of the vehicle and stood beside of him, squinting at the brightness of the suns, which they were now facing.
"It's different," was all she said.
He chuckled at that, causing irritation to seep into her expression. Before she could snap at him, he told her he'd show her around.
He had been expecting the look of surprise on her face after she'd seen the actual living space.
"A lot of this is outside. What do you do if it rains?"
"It doesn't."
"Ever?"
"Nope."
"Huh. Well, shit."
"We do get sandstorms, but even then, the most that the interior suffers is just the random debris that the wind blows inside. It's not like we've ever been able to keep the sand out, even if the weather is calm."
"I guess that makes sense. And you wouldn't really be hanging out in this area, right? I see a lot of doors."
"Yeah, that's right. This is mainly just used as a giant hallway."
"And for sunlight. Vitamin D is important."
"Uncle Owen made sure I saw plenty of sunlight while I was farming. You eventually get sick of it."
"That sounds awful. I'd hate to be a farmer."
"I'm sure you would."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"What? I was just agreeing with you."
"Your tone suggests that the things I do are indicators of not wanting to be a farmer."
"You're reading too much into this."
"I want to know what you think of me."
"It's pretty clear what I think of you, isn't it? But fine, I'll humor you. Farming is dirty. You like things to be clean."
"Oh," she mumbled, "Okay, that's fair. I agree."
"We never disagreed in the first place, Avery. We're saying the same thing."
"Whatever," she scoffed, "Hey, where's your room at?"
He pointed to the door that was his, and the two of them stepped inside.
"It's different," she said, and he laughed once more.
"Do you say that whenever you don't like something?"
"What? I never said I didn't like it. It's just not what I'm used to."
"If you say so," he replied, grinning, "Anyway, this is where I slept growing up. No sunlight in here. Sorry."
"It's miserable."
"Ah, there's your blunt honestly."
"Yeah, did you miss it? I was trying to be polite, but since you seem to dislike that, I'll entertain you a little more: your hair looks terrible."
"It's getting long, yes," he agreed, running his hand through it.
"It's getting in your eyes. You won't be able to see. Also, you keep running your hands through it to get it out of your face. It makes it look greasy."
"Are you sure it's not just different?" he asked teasingly, mocking her words from moments ago.
"Watch your mouth. I'll shave it all off while you sleep. You'd look pretty bad bald."
"Or just—"
"Stop."
"Okay," he surrender, laughing, "I won't torment you any longer. Do you want to cut it?"
"What?"
He went to one of his old drawers and pulled out a pair of scissors, waving them in front of his face like he was flaunting a treasure.
"Do you want to cut my hair?"
"Um," she managed to say, "Okay, but wash it first. I'm not touching it if it's greasy."
"I washed it this morning."
"I can't cut it if it's dry. Your hair is too thick for that. Get it wet."
With a sigh, he obeyed, standing to grab a canteen of water from their bag.
"This feels like a waste of water," he complained, pouring the cool liquid over his head anyway.
"Yeah? Just farm some more."
"Very funny."
"I've been told I'm hilarious. It's a shame that my genius humor goes over your head sometimes."
"Genius," he snorted, brushing his hair back with one hand. "Okay, it's wet. Does this satisfy your standards?"
"Whatever. I'm sitting on this chair, and you're sitting on the floor. Actually, kneel in front of me and face the wall."
"That sounds uncomfortable."
"Stop bitching and do what I say."
"I shouldn't have woken you up so early this morning. You're insufferable."
"Be careful about how you speak to someone who's holding a sharp object next to your head. How short do you want it?"
"A lot shorter than this. Just do whatever you want."
"Mohawk?"
"What? No."
"Why? Scared you'll like it?"
"No one would take me seriously."
"Sure they would," she told him, parting his hair down the middle. "Have you always had bangs?"
"I think so. My aunt always cut my hair, and I guess she liked bangs."
"They look nice on you," she replied as she gathered the top layer of hair from his skull.
He hissed in pain when she used one of the hair ties Leia gave her to pull it into a bun that rested on top of his head, brushing out the layer underneath. She made him look at where her finger was measuring the length she was going to cut in the reflection of his bedroom mirror.
"This good?"
"Shorter."
"Really? That's a lot of hair."
"Yes. I can grow it back out when the war is over."
"Ah, always the optimist. How about here?" she asked, moving her finger up a few centimeters.
"Better."
"So picky," she hummed, though she didn't seem to think much of it. "Kay, speak now or forever hold your peace."
He said nothing, and she began to snip away at his long overgrown locks. The whole process took about an hour, as she was very concerned with making sure every single strand of hair was evenly cut. When she was done, she placed a hand underneath his chin to motion for him to look up. He was met with his reflection in the mirror.
"Perfect," he said, smiling at her.
She rolled her eyes and attacked his scalp with a towel, soaking up any leftover moisture from the water she'd made him pour on himself. He let out a strangled sound of surprise, but she ignored him and continued with her ministrations. Deciding his hair was dry enough, she brushed it out, styling his bangs with her fingers and flattening the top.
"Well," he asked, standing up and stretching, "Your thoughts?"
"I liked it better long," she admitted with a scowl, "But it'd suck if you were carrying around a laser sword without being able to see, so I understand the sacrifice."
"You're the one who said it looked gross before."
"Not because of the length. You just don't take care of it correctly."
"I think you're just bullying me," he accused, though a content grin still played at his lips.
"Are we sleeping here?" she asked, irritated, as she changed the subject.
"Is that all you think about?"
"I'm tired. Dealing with you is exhausting."
"Yes, we're sleeping here. Is that okay with her majesty?"
"That's some big talk coming from a guy whose closest friend is a literal princess."
"I guess so," he admitted, chuckling, "Well, if you're so eager to sleep, I'll show you a little bit of what I did to keep myself busy growing up here."
"No."
"Let's see," he mused, "I don't know how functional our equipment will be, if the scavengers even left any of it alone, but I'm sure that I can at least provide a demonstration."
"I said no. Did you lose your hearing with your hair?"
"Moisture farming is a very helpful skill. Who knows when you might need it?"
"Never."
"Actually, it'd be handy to have some extra water right now. We just wasted an entire bottle on pure cosmetics."
"You're infuriating, really."
"You can't sleep all day. If you're working, time will go by faster, and you'll be that much closer to being under the covers."
Sighing, she threw the towel from earlier at him, hitting him in the chest. "Fine, let's go farm water."
"Perfect," he replied, beaming, "And after that, we can—"
"Stop talking. Please."
He only laughed.
a/n: !!!! sorry i had something personal come up and wasn't really able to update, but here's the promised chapter of avery cutting luke's hair <3 ik it's kinda short but i'll be updating again this week!
as always, please remember to vote/comment if you enjoyed!!