"Something feels off with Noah," Florence spoke as he sat down on the cushion he placed on the ground.
Claude sat on the couch behind Florence with a hairdryer and combs in his hands. "How come?" he asked while drying Florence's hair with his damp towel.
Florence turned his head to him. "He's acting more annoying than he normally does, but not in the same way as before. It feels as if he's acting nicer to me," he replied as Claude softly pushed his head to turn. Florence pushed Claude's hand away and turned his whole body to him with a suspicious look. "Does this have anything to do with the things you said to him the last time you ran into him?" he asked.
Claude took the damp towel from Florence's head as he pretended to be deep in thought. "Nah, I don't think so," he answered. Florence narrowed his eyes, still not convinced that he hadn't said anything to provoke Noah. "I'm serious! I didn't say anything weird to him. Only something about him being a dick," he said.
Florence's eyes widened. "Wait, you did?!" he shouted and furrowed his eyebrows. Claude nodded nonchalantly and Florence sighed. "But still, calling him a dick is no reason for him to suddenly act like that. Did something happen in his private life?"
Claude shrugged. "No idea, but the guy was weird to begin with," he muttered, smiling at Florence's curious expression. "Now, let's start blow-drying your hair. You don't want to catch a cold with this chilly weather, do you?"
Florence shook his head and turned back to face the TV. "I don't have time to delay my magazine shoot... and with the show starting soon, it would be too hectic to also do that and go to school," he mumbled to himself. He jerked his head away when he felt the hot wind on the right side of his face.
"Sorry," Claude chuckled as he grabbed the comb and began blow-drying Florence's hair, which won't take him that long.
"Hah, I would've let you do my hair sooner if I knew how good you were at this," Florence sighed as he slumped his shoulders. "Who taught you?"
"It's something I learned from Sora a few years ago. My mom was pretty busy around that time and we were supposed to do the twins' hair. It's not like we did this every day," he said, turning the cap to Florence's face again. He chuckled at the sight of Florence flinching back out of reflex, "but it's easier to comb their thick hair if it's tamed. Next to that, I also know the basics about makeup and nail polish because of them."
"Wow," he said. "I thought you would've said that you know all of this because of your ex-girlfriends."
"You're making it sound like I have a lot of exes," Claude chuckled as Florence looked away out of embarrassment. "They only helped me polish those skills, I guess. It wasn't like I wanted to waste my free time doing that."
Florence put his head against Claude's thigh. "But you're "wasting your free time" on me right now," he mumbled and Claude ruffled his hair.
"But I enjoy doing it for you," Claude replied, turning the blow dryer off as he combed his straight hair. "It doesn't feel like a chore to help you. It's quite fun to take care of you like this," he smiled and got off the couch to grab something to drink. "Do you want anything from the kitchen?"
Florence grabbed Claude's wrist, but let go when their eyes met. "It's nothing," he whispered, averting his eyes from Claude.
Claude smiled knowingly at his flushed face and bent down to kiss his head. "I'll pick you up after your shoot tomorrow, alright?"
The day after, Florence was hiding in his dressing room before Noah started bothering him again. He heard the door open and hid behind the lockers, to see that it was one of the stylists coming in.
"Florence," he called as he showed up from behind the locker. "The director asked me to come and get you."
"Ah, yes," Florence said, forcing a smile. "I'll be right there."
He went to the rest of the crew with an uneasy feeling. He was greeted by everyone when he reached the meeting spot and held back a grimace when he saw Noah smiling at him.
Noah joined him as Florence walked to the only chair on the grey canvas. "Hey, Florence~," he grinned as he sat down on the chair.
Florence let out a tired sigh and forced a smile. "Good afternoon, Noah," he said as he stood next to the large chair. Without caring, Florence put his hand on Noah's shoulder and one of his knees on the armrest.
Noah found this a great opportunity to grab Florence's slim waist, which made Florence flinch. "You're daring today, huh?" he whispered in his ear as they heard the camera shutter.
He pinched Noah's hand, making him withdraw him. "Stop messing around and keep focused. We still have a lot of work to do," Florence replied with a cold tone.
Noah chuckled, smirking when he saw Florence's cold gaze. "Of course, anything for you, Florence~" he replied with a teasing tone.
After they finished, Florence walked as quickly as possible back to his room but got stopped by Noah who grabbed his hand. "Where are you going in such a hurry?" Noah asked as Florence pinched the bridge of his nose. "Did I do something to upset you?"
"What's your deal?" Florence blurted out as Noah raised his eyebrow. "You've always been acting hostile to me, so why are you suddenly acting all nice and flirty?"
Noah grabbed his hands and pushed him against the wall, leaving no way of escape. "Well, a friend of mine gave me advice about approaching a person I'm interested in. He told me that instead of pushing those I like away, I should show them my sincerity. So I've decided to show you how I feel," he smirked and Florence scrunched his face up.
"With how you're acting right now, I doubt they'd like you any better than before," Florence said as he tried to push him away. "Besides, that certain person might already have a boyfriend, you know?"
"He was the one who gave me this advice," he smirked and looked at the person down the corridor. "Isn't that right, Claude?"
Claude watched them with an apathetic expression while sipping on an iced coffee. "Are y'all done?" he asked and held up another ice coffee. "Flory and I still have a date to get to."
"Of course, enjoy it while you can," Noah smirked, stepping away from Florence. He brushed Florence's hair out of his eyes and smiled. "Till next time~."
Florence watched Noah walk away with a stunned expression and turned to Claude with wide eyes. "What the hell did you say to him?!"
Claude shrugged and handed him his coffee. "Nothing serious." He looked away before looking back at Florence with a grin. "So, are you still up for that date?"
A/N I finished my essay on time. I still have 11 hours left before the deadline but I already mailed it to feel less stress I suppose. The 2.2 banners are also announced in Genshin and let's just say that I'm happy that hu tao and thoma are together on a banner. My throat still hurts from screaming too loud about thoma. But I'm glad that he's finally getting released after being called a clown for farming for him months back. That's about it for now. I have an exam in two days and don't kill mice
-Jerry Da Mouse