Chapter Text
Are you busy today? Fancy a coffee?
Delivered 11:03
Cyno hit send on the text before he had a chance to overthink it. If Collei were busy, she would say so. Her people pleasing tendencies aside, Cyno hoped they knew each other well enough for her to be honest with him; they had been friends for a couple of years, after Cyno had helped her move into the building they both lived in. On the day they met, Collei had been standing outside the block, dripping with rain and surrounded by cardboard boxes and suitcases that were quickly becoming saturated with rainwater. Cyno had asked her if she needed a hand, and she had broken down crying, mumbling something about her foster parents ditching as soon as she turned 18. Naturally, Cyno had helped her without hesitation.
Her response was quick and to the point.
would love one! your side of the hallway or mine? ◝(^⌣^)◜
Cyno frowned at his screen, before tapping out a swift response.
Actually, I’m kind of desperate to get out of the house. I’ve been going crazy locked up in here studying.
This was in fact, true. Cyno had been refreshing and re-learning years’ worth of knowledge for his upcoming bar exam, fully aware of the pressure on him to do well, should he ever want to make his plans of becoming a district attorney into reality. And yet, even the most determined mind had its limits; it had been days since Cyno had last seen the sun, interacted with any of his friends, or taken any time for himself to do anything other than study and perform basic everyday tasks. It had gotten to the point where he was running out of instant noodles, and he was sure he hadn’t eaten any fresh produce in at least a full week. His digestive system was feeling it.
Collei’s response drew out a long sigh of relief from him.
of course! let’s meet in the lobby ٩(•̤̀ᵕ•̤́๑)
And so, Cyno double checked his worn t-shirt for food stains, tied up his tangled hair, and stepped out of his front door for the first time in days. Collei took a few minutes to arrive in the lobby, allowing him the time to run through a mental checklist of the topics he had been revising just prior.
“You seem lost in thought.” Collei’s cheery voice interrupted his complex train of thought, though the interruption was certainly welcome given that Cyno was one single legal term away from an aneurysm.
“Hmm. Yes, I suppose you could say I’m a-bar to give up on this exam.” He offered her a weak smile. Really, it was his best attempt.
“Cyno.” Collei looked utterly devastated. “That was exceptionally poor. Even for you.”
He sighed. He’d have to work on beefing up his joke portfolio in a couple of months, once the imminent threat of his bar exam was over.
“So, where are we going? I don’t really mind, although, I’d rather not go to Lambad’s. I’m not in the mood to watch Kaveh and Alhaitham have one of their weird flirtatious arguments.”
“No, me neither.” Cyno replied, shaking his head vehemently. “We could always go to Puspa Cafe.”
Collei nodded her agreement, and the pair began to make their way through the crowded streets towards their destination. Neither of them was the type to gossip, and anything that could be said about Kaveh and Alhaitham’s more-than-slightly odd relationship remained discreetly unsaid.
The summer sun beat down on Cyno’s shoulders and back, almost making a mockery of his decision to take the bar exam in summer. These were the best months of the year, with the brightest, warmest, most uplifting weather, and he was choosing to lock himself away and study? He was actively choosing to spend his hours toiling away in a small, cheap, and ever-so-slightly mouldy apartment when he could be enjoying his time out in the sun?
In all honesty, Cyno could somewhat defend his decision. Although as an emerging lawyer, that really was the bare minimum; if he were unable to do even that, a career change would probably be in order. No, Cyno had convinced himself that studying in the summer would keep him sane, for the following reasons as outlined below:
- The sun would boost his mood, making him feel more motivated (N.B. please refer to the numerous psychological studies pertaining to the topic of weather and its effect on the human psyche)
- Taking into account the previous point, if the obligation of study was added to the depressing winter weather and blistering cold, Cyno would most likely lose his mind
- The aforementioned event would be most tragic indeed and would most likely result in failure of the exam (due to clinical insanity)
- While the aforementioned would technically count as extenuating circumstances, it would still result in the exam being resat in summer
- In the unlikely case that Cyno was sane enough to take the resit, he probably would be too insane to do well, cadit quaestio
- If he did not-
Oh, they had reached the doors of the cafe. Cyno blinked a few times, realising that his mind must’ve been adrift for quite some time, since Collei was shooting him a sidelong glance of considerable concern.
“Are you okay?” She asked, as the cafe’s doorbell tinkled above their heads. “I know you’re stressed for this exam, but I hope you’re not pushing yourself too far.”
“I’m alright, Collei, but thank you for the concern.” Cyno sighed as he sat down in a window seat. “I just needed to get out of the house a bit. I’ve been feeling pretty run down.”
“You’re probably Vitamin D deficient.” The biology student in Collei reared its head. “Why don’t you study outdoors from time to time? You wouldn’t get distracted, I’ve seen how unflinching your focus can be.”
“I suppose I could, yes.” Cyno agreed, standing up with a languorous stretch. “I’m going to go and order. What do you want?”
“Huh?” Collei pointed at herself in surprise. “Oh, no don’t worry, I’ll buy my own-”
“Don’t be daft. I invited you out, I’ll get you a drink.” He shook his head, cleanly interrupting her protests.
“Oh… are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, thank you.” She smiled at him, and glanced over at the drinks list on the wall before deciding on an iced vanilla latte.
Cyno ordered at the bar, his head off in another universe. He barely registered the barista’s face, or the price as he tapped his phone to pay, and almost missed the barista calling out his name to pick up his order. Shaking his head to clear it, he returned to the table to find Collei staring out of the window with a little smile. She accepted the drink gratefully, and turned once more to face Cyno.
“How are your studies going, then? Do you feel ready?”
“They’re going just fine, but I’d rather not discuss studying at all, if possible. What have you been up to since your finals finished?”
“Well,” a small, shy smile crept its way onto Collei’s features. “I managed to find a job.”
“Oh, that’s great news.” Cyno’s eyes widened ever so slightly. “Where are you working?”
“I’m working as a receptionist for a nail salon in town, not too far from our building. An upperclassman of mine also took a job there, but as a nail tech rather than a secretary.”
“Oh? Which upperclassman is that?” Cyno furrowed his brow in interest. “Anyone I would know?”
“Well, not personally.” Collei paused, putting a finger to her lower lip in thought. “I’ve mentioned him to you before, though. Tighnari?”
“Tighnari…” Cyno placed a finger to his lower lip in thought, his mind scanning over various people Collei had mentioned. “Ah, yes. The one who mentors you?”
“Mhm!” she nodded, smiling whilst taking a sip of her drink through the little paper straw. “He’s surprisingly talented, actually! And really smart. He’s definitely your type.”
Cyno did a double-take, blinking at her in confusion. He smiled, unimpressed, and shook his head.
“I hope you’re not trying to play cupid.”
“No, no!” Collei laughed, holding her hands up sincerely. “I just think you’d like him, that’s all. He’s cute. You should come and get your nails done regardless.”
Cyno narrowed his eyes at her, and she giggled softly, holding her drink in both hands to take another sip.
“I promise I’m not trying to set you up with him. I’m just asking you to come and visit me at work, and have your nails done while you’re at it. Tighnari probably won’t have a free slot anyway, so you’ll most likely be with someone else. He’s popular.” Collei continued, noticing that Cyno didn’t yet seem convinced. “I can do you a friends and family discount…”
“Alright. Fine.” Cyno conceded. “When?”
Collei grinned, bringing out her phone to check times.
“I shouldn’t be doing this off-shift, but hmm, how about tomorrow at 3pm?”
Cyno’s silence prompted a quizzical glance from his companion.
“Cyno? Does that not work?”
“Hm?” Cyno blinked, jolted back to reality. “Oh no, that works just fine. I’m just trying to think of a joke to make with ‘Collei’ and ‘Cupid’.”
“Cyno…”
“Okay, sorry.”
“I’ll book you in first thing tomorrow when I get into work.” She grinned up at him, and Cyno smiled back, glad for the opportunity to make her happy.
The next hour passed in a leisurely ease, the two of them trading idle chatter until Cyno informed her he needed to get back to work, and so they slowly walked side by side in amicable silence until they reached Cyno’s apartment door.
“Promise me you’ll take care of yourself?” Her brow furrowed as she glanced up at him. “You need to take breaks, and study outside sometimes too.”
“Yeah. Thanks for this, Collei. It’s been nice to have the company. Look after yourself too, and make sure you’re staying away from any vegetable patches.”
Collei stopped in her tracks where she was rummaging through her pockets for her apartment key, and looked up at him in profound confusion.
“Well, with your green hair, anyone could mistake you for a Collei-flower. You certainly wouldn’t want to be taking a shovel to the head.” He stared blankly at her, at least somewhat expecting a laugh.
Collei stared at him with the pain of a thousand generations past.
“You don’t get it?” Cyno cocked his head to one side. “It’s a joke on the word cauliflower, which-”
“Nuh-uh.” Was all Collei said, shaking her head solemnly. “No, Cyno.”
Cyno shrugged, her lack of amusement water off a duck’s back, and she smiled warmly before opening her door.
“I’ll see you around, Cyno. Take care. And make sure you wear something nice tomorrow!”
He waved goodbye, shaking his head with a faint smile of disapproval, before stepping back into his ivory tower of books and legal terms.
The following mid-morning, as a young, tired-looking PhD student clocked into his part time job, scanning over his list of clients for the day, he paused upon noticing a new name on the list.
“Collei?” Tighnari called over to the receptionist. “There’s someone new here. ‘Cyno’, do you know him?”
“Oh, yeah!” Collei beamed over at her senior. “I’m friends with him. He’s a lawyer.”
Tighnari did a slight double-take, for various reasons. Not least concern over just why Collei was in the friendship circle of a lawyer of all people, and confusion at the apparent lack of context.
“Why would a lawyer need his nails done?”
“Well, he’s not a lawyer just yet. He’s about your age, maybe a couple of years older, studying for his Bar exam.” Collei smiled knowingly at him. “Very handsome, but a huge nerd. Definitely your type.”
“Collei!” Tighnari berated her. “We talked about professionalism.”
Honestly, if Tighnari had a tail, it would be swishing in annoyance. Or maybe if he had long, fluffy ears, they’d be twitching in irritation. But people obviously don’t have tails or fluffy ears, and this is clearly an AU. Get with the programme, people.
“Tighnari?”
Tighnari shook his head almost violently to dispel his train of thought. What had he even been thinking about? He turned back to Collei with raised brows.
“Sorry, Collei. Tuned out for a second there. What were you saying?”
“Oh, I was just saying that you’ve got quite a full day today. Did you want me to leave your laptop by your table so you can get some work done in your breaks?”
“That’d be brilliant. Thank you, Collei.” Tighnari sighed, smoothing back his dark hair.
Truthfully, he almost regretted taking this job. Sure, it paid the bills, and his doctorate grant didn’t come close to covering the astronomical living expenses of the bustling, urban city in which he lived. But it was an incredibly time-consuming job and every client required his full attention, even when he would rather repeatedly smack his head into a brick wall than listen to their trivial neighbourhood gossip. He would much prefer to bury his head in a publication from one of his favourite biology professors, or mull over the latest problem that presented itself in his thesis, but at the very least he could count on the ever-understanding Collei to cover for him in his breaks so he could get something productive done.
Nonetheless, his breaks were given for a reason; and with Tighnari working himself to the bone both on and off the clock, he had been left a little threadbare when it came to trivial matters such as eating, sleeping, or generally keeping himself alive. So really, of all the days Collei could have picked for her impromptu matchmaking, Tighnari was certainly less than thrilled that it happened to fall on a day in which he had failed to shower. Or get any sleep.
He sighed, taking a seat in his swivelling stool and redundantly re-organising his already tidy workspace, shuffling tools around and switching them back again as he waited for his first client; late, of course. When did Miss Dori ever see fit to arrive on time?
He glanced over his schedule one more time. No break after Dori, but the following client, Nilou, was very relaxing company. Not to mention, she was always willing to sit quietly as he worked, giving him the space to think about where to take his research next. Then, luckily, a break. Tighnari sighed in relief; at least he would be able to note down any eureka moments from Nilou’s session before he forgot them.
And so, he did, the hours passing in a tired, grey-tinted blur as he did his work with precision and little complaint. Despite Dori’s ridiculous design requests, Tighnari knew she always tipped remarkably generously, and Nilou’s unusual chattiness could be justified by her upcoming show the next day.
The hour after his break brought with it a middle-aged professor at the Akademiya, who for some reason saw Tighnari as some sort of therapist, discussing student-based issues that really, definitely, certainly had to have been at least somewhat confidential. Especially given she was speaking to an Akademiya student. But what was Tighnari to do, anyway? After all, as soon as he stepped through the aggressively tinkling door, donned the blue latex gloves of duty, and grasped the tools of his craft, he was a botanist no more. Just a nail tech.
The aforementioned door let out its aforementioned pitchy, aggressive ring, and Tighnari’s head perked up from where it had been buried in his laptop. If he recalled correctly, his next client was Collei’s little matchmaking project.
Tighnari could candidly say that the man who came through the door was not what he had been expecting, with his shock of white hair, the elegant sideways swoop of which somehow defied gravity. A pair of lilac headphones hung from his neck, and a pair of brick-red eyes contrasted sharply with his tanned skin. Tighnari watched with interest as he made his way over to Collei, glancing around the salon furtively. Tighnari covered his mouth with one hand to cover up a laugh; the poor guy looked completely out of his depth. He was frowning as he spoke quietly to Collei, as if he were afraid to disturb the sacred environment of quiet, inane chatter that buzzed around them in the salon.
He watched them chat for a moment, before Collei flicked her eyes over to Tighnari. Thinking he may as well make the most of the opportunity, Tighnari swiftly stood up and had vanished behind the employees only door by the time the handsome stranger had turned to follow Collei’s eyes to his freshly-vacated seat.
Snagging a still-boxed eyeliner pencil from the beauty stores’ cupboard, Tighnari swiftly and discreetly scampered to the bathroom. They had dozens, and he was sure they wouldn’t miss just one. Especially if it went toward the charitable eyeliner fund for the guy who was voted employee of the month in his first month. In the bathroom he smoothed out his hair, making the most of what he could (given its day-old state), and added the smallest, most tasteful hint of eyeliner to his eyes. He pocketed the eyeliner, now back in its box (he knew they wouldn’t miss it), and glanced at himself one more time before turning to leave the bathroom.
“That’s strange, he was literally right there a second ago.” Collei frowned good-naturedly. “Oh well, it’s quite typical of him to pull little disappearing acts every so often.”
She shrugged, laughing at Cyno’s puzzled expression.
“Don’t worry about it, Cyno. Take a seat, he’ll be back in a second.” She pointed at Tighnari’s empty booth. Cyno took a few tentative steps toward it, sitting down in a way that crossed the threshold of tentative into the territory of flat-out scared. Glancing around to make himself feel slightly more at ease, he noticed Tighnari’s bag hanging from the back of his chair. He craned his neck to get a better look and caught sight of a stack of well-used textbooks crammed into it, the spines creased and a few pages dog-eared. A handful of paper sheets nestled between pages, and in the next compartment of the black leather satchel was a dark green laptop sleeve.
“Anything you’re looking for in there?”
A light, boyish voice snapped Cyno to attention and he threw himself back into his chair with nearly enough force to topple it. Looking up, he caught sight of a short, pretty guy roughly about his age. Really pretty. Really, really pretty. His black hair sat in a neat chin-length bob, the ends of it dyed a bright, leafy green.
His cheeks burst into a flush and he opened his mouth to speak, but found no words springing to mind. He supposed Collei had been right; this guy totally was Cyno’s type.
After a moment of Cyno floundering that felt more like an eternity, the boy evidently deigned to take pity on him with a light laugh.
“I was only joking, don’t worry. My name’s Tighnari, I’ll be doing your nails today. Cyno, right?”
“Yeah. Yes.” Cyno was too busy staring into Tighnari’s sparkling eyes to realise he was sitting like he was about to get a colonoscopy.
Tighnari took a seat opposite him and Cyno reached one hand out as if offering a handshake. Tighnari paused, bemused, and Cyno withdrew it awkwardly.
“Uhh, do you generally do handshakes here? Is that a thing, or..?”
“I mean, we can if you want.” Tighnari rested his chin on his palms, cocking his head ever so slightly to the side as he gazed at Cyno through his lashes. “But considering I’m about to get all up-close-and-personal with your hands, it seems a little… redundant, no?”
“Um… yeah, I suppose.” Cyno blinked, his cheeks tinted pink.
Tighnari smiled and held out a hand to him, his palm facing upward. This time, Cyno took the hint correctly and placed his own mirroring hand atop Tighnari’s. His palm was a little clammy, and Tighnari couldn’t help but find it slightly cute.
“So, Cyno.” He asked mildly, lifting Cyno’s hand to get a closer look at his nails. It took all of his mental fortitude to not wince as he caught sight of the state they were in. “What do you do?”
“Studying, mostly. At the moment, at least. I’m taking the Bar exam in a month.” Cyno’s gaze was focused on where their hands were joined, and the flush on his cheeks had darkened.
“Must be stressful.”
“Yeah, it definitely is.”
“Mhm. I can tell.” Tighnari remarked dryly, holding Cyno’s own hand up to him to look at.
Cyno blinked, bewildered.
“Thick, fast-growing cuticles and a big nail-biting problem…” Tighnari trailed off as he rotated Cyno’s hand back and forth. His fingers lingered on Cyno’s palm for slightly too long as he shot him a playful smile. “You really are a nightmare case.”
“Uhh… sorry?"
“Nothing to apologise to me for. Apologise to your poor shredded nails.” Tighnari’s tone was playful as he gently placed Cyno’s hand back on the cushion.
“Well, what do I do about it, then?” Cyno frowned, taking Tighnari’s teasing all too seriously.
Tighnari let out a soft chuckle, tucking one side of his hair behind his ear.
“Well, to get the most benefit, you’d be best off with semi-regular sessions, but I’m here to sort out your nails, not to advertise. I’m not a money grabber.” He shrugged in a your-call sort of way, shooting Cyno a small smile. “The best thing for you would be to just… stop biting them.”
Cyno hummed contemplatively, seeming to approve of the suggestion. His cheeks were still slightly flushed in embarrassment, and Tighnari found the pink hue entirely satisfactory.
“So, what made you come here? No offence intended, but you don’t seem the type to frequent nail salons.” Tighnari probed, attempting to glean just how much meddling Collei had done between them. As he spoke, he opened a drawer, lining up his various tools.
Cyno took one look at them and blanched, his eyes widening. Tighnari supposed he couldn’t blame him; for the uninitiated, the artistic tools of a nail tech did somewhat resemble medieval torture devices. Tighnari had to consciously stifle a giggle.
“Sorry, what was the question again?”
“I was just asking why you decided to come and get your nails done.” Tighnari fought through his laughs to speak. “You seem… uninitiated.”
“Oh. Well, Collei asked me to come. She thought I needed some self-care.”
“Oh, you know Collei?”
“Yes. She and I live on the same floor of apartments. I helped her move in, so we’ve been friends since.”
“That’s sweet. I know her from the Akademiya.” Tighnari informed him, although he suspected that, given Collei’s transparency in setting them up, he’d already been made aware. “I’m her upperclassman and I mentor her from time to time.”
Tighnari reached under his desk and snapped on a latex glove. Cyno mourned the loss of skin-to-skin contact for a split second, but then Tighnari picked up the nail file, objectively the least terrifying-looking object on the table. Cyno still paled as he looked at it.
“Is there any particular nail shape you want, by the way?” Tighnari paused his movements to look up into Cyno’s eyes.
Cyno wasn’t sure what to say. He didn’t know any nail shapes by name, because of course he didn’t, but even if he did then he certainly would not remember them when he was caught in the swirling greens and browns of Tighnari’s gaze.
“Not… really?” He blinked several times, finding the eye contact almost hypnotic. “Why, should I?”
“No, not at all. Your nail biting has limited my options a little, anyway. I just have to ask everyone in case they complain later.” Tighnari smiled and picked up Cyno’s left hand, his fingers trailing over the side of his wrist not entirely unintentionally. “I’m going to file them down. When you’re on your own, do not bite them. And don’t clip them, either, you’re not a dog. Take care of your nails, and if you want them shorter, then file them down to the correct length.”
Cyno nodded along as Tighnari admonished, too busy staring at the subtle slope of his nose to completely absorb everything he was saying.
“When you’re filing, keep the file at a 45 degree angle like this.” He held the file against Cyno’s nail to show him, and Cyno reluctantly tore his gaze away from Tighnari’s face to look. “And only file in one direction, not back and forth. You’ll see while I do it.”
Tighnari got to work, buffing away at Cyno’s nails. In keeping with Tighnari’s words, Cyno watched him work, doing his best to commit to memory what he was doing. As his focus drifted, he noticed Tighnari’s own nails on his ungloved hand; slightly longer than his fingertips and ever so slightly pointed, almost like blunt claws. They were painted a forest green so dark that, in low light, it might be mistaken for black, and over the surface of them spiralled a lighter green marbled pattern. On his ring finger, he had a jade green constellation that resembled a sleeping fox. Cyno had been about to compliment them when the other boy spoke.
“So, why did you choose to be a lawyer?”
“Well, I want to be a district attorney, specifically. I’m not going to settle for lower.”
“Ambitious. I like that.” Tighnari stopped filing for a second and glanced up at Cyno through his eyelashes.
A scarlet blush unfurled over Cyno’s cheeks, and the corner of Tighnari’s mouth curled up. He really was adorable. Collei did a good job; he’d have to remember to bring her a houseplant from his lab the next time he saw her.
“Then why a district attorney?”
“Well, I’ve always had a big thing about justice ever since I was a kid. Initially, I wanted to be a cop when I was little, but as I grew up I realised I’d do pretty well as a lawyer.” Cyno tilted his head to the side as he spoke, in a way that was reminiscent of a coyote investigating potential food. “I feel a pretty strong connection to the balance of good and evil, in an objective sense. I was into the idea of philosophy for a while, but I grew up wanting to be out there, bringing criminals to justice rather than sitting at a desk pondering and writing books. I suppose it also helped that my GPA was high enough for a good law school, so things just worked out.”
Tighnari laughed. The sound almost seemed to reverberate in Cyno’s chest, fluttering away.
“That’s cool. You’re an interesting guy, Cyno.”
Cyno flushed at the praise, and his features, so far having stayed completely stoic, cracked into the slightest hint of a smile.
“Well, what about you? What are you doing at college?”
“I’m doing a PhD in Botany.” Tighnari smiled. He put down his nail file, ready to move onto the next step. “I can go into more detail if you like, but it might be complex.”
“Let me research some stuff about plants first, then we can definitely come back to that one.”
Cyno spoke confidently, refusing to break eye contact despite the spoken implication that he wanted to see Tighnari again. For a split second, Tighnari’s eyes widened in surprise, but he was quick to grin, his lip curling up to expose a pair of unusually sharp canines. His eyes sparkled for a moment before he placed Cyno’s hand back on the cushion.
“I’m gonna push back your cuticles. It’s normal for this to ache a little, and you might bleed a little when I clip them off. You’ve got very thick cuticles though, so it does need to go. I’m surprised you don’t feel tightness on your nails because of it.”
“Oh. I always thought they were normal.” Cyno frowned slightly, his head cocked to one side.
“Don’t worry, they’re not abnormal. But I think you’ll notice a difference when it’s all gone.” Tighnari smiled at him reassuringly and got to work.
He had been right; the process of pushing back his cuticles did ache a little, but Cyno busied himself with committing every feature of Tighnari’s face to memory instead of thinking about it. He mapped out every tiny mole on Tighnari’s cheeks, the straight sweep of his hair, the glinting of the little gold earrings that decorated his ears from top to bottom.
And then Tighnari reached down under his desk and snapped a mask onto his face, before picking up a terrifying looking machine that whizzed mysteriously.
“I’m buffing your nails. This makes their surface slightly rougher, but also gets rid of any thin skin layers that might have grown over them.”
“Oh. Ok.” Cyno appreciated Tighnari explaining the process to him as they went along, and likewise appreciated how he also kept his explanations short and simple. No need to overcomplicate things, after all.
Despite the slightly sickening noise of the electric file buzzing away his skin and nails, Cyno was mostly mourning the loss of his view. With his nose and mouth covered, Cyno could only admire the gentle fluttering of Tighnari’s eyelashes as he worked. But he supposed it wasn’t the end of the world, or anything.
In line with Tighnari’s predictions, one of his cuticles did bleed a little, but nowhere near the carnage Cyno had feared.
“Well, what do you expect? I’m a very good nail tech.” Tighnari had responded, and Cyno had laughed with his stomach for the first time in months.
“We’re done with all of the pruning.” Tighnari placed Cyno’s hands back on the cushion and removed his glove and mask. He idly picked up one of Cyno’s hands, running his fingers along Cyno’s as if it were the most natural thing in the world; Cyno felt he wasn’t being too presumptuous in assuming the touch went a little beyond simply professional.
“Huh. Pruning. I get it.” Cyno’s eyebrows perked up all of a sudden.
Tighnari blinked, bemused.
“Well, you’re a botanist. And you’re trimming my nails, and pruning is what you say when you trim a tree. Good one.” He nodded, a pleased smile spreading over his features.
“Oh. Um, thank you?” Tighnari now seemed more confused than ever, clearly not having intended to make the joke.
He reached over, his arm brushing Cyno’s as he retrieved a tiny oil bottle from the edge of the desk. As he gently dabbed it over Cyno’s cuticles with one hand, he picked up a plastic board full of colour samples to hand to him.
“We don’t have to paint your nails any colour. I can do a clear polish, and I can make that shiny or matte if you want them to look extra natural.” He stoppered the oil and replaced it as he spoke. “But there are the colours if you want one. I’m going to assume you definitely don’t want gel polish, so those are the standards.”
Cyno had no idea what gel polish involved or even was, but trusted Tighnari in his judgement that he would ‘definitely’ not want it, so he glanced over the array of colours.
“How about a nice pea green?”
“I… I don’t think-” Tighnari frowned and leaned over to glance at the colour samples himself. “That’s not on there, Cyno.”
“That’s a pea-ty.”
Tighnari stilled and looked at him as if he had just directly witnessed someone getting hit by a bus. Blank-eyed, slack-jawed, the works.
“Did you not get it?” Cyno asked, ready to explain at a moment’s notice. “it sounds like ‘pity’, so-”
“Anyway, did you want a green? There’s a few on here.” Tighnari continued talking as if the entire exchange had been an unpleasant hallucination.
“Oh, no, not really.”
A sharp intake of breath was followed by a quiet, breathy chuckle and a small ‘okay’.
“Why did you ask then?” Tighnari raised an eyebrow, deciding to humour him.
“Hmm. That’s none of your pea-sness.”
“Oh.” This time, Tighnari’s face more resembled someone who had just witnessed his every earthly possession being flushed down a giant toilet.
“Did you get that one? It’s because-”
“No, I got it.”
The subsequent silence was louder than their entire conversation had been up to that point.
“Umm. I think I’ll just go for a plain black.” Cyno decided to be the one to break the silence.
“Sure.”
The atmosphere remained awkward for another moment as Tighnari fetched the nail polish, but eventually mellowed out once more as their idle chatter picked up. At one point, as most of Cyno’s conversations tended to, the topic turned to Genius Invokation TCG.
“Oh, you play?” Tighnari glanced up momentarily. “So do I.”
Tighnari could pinpoint the exact moment he saw Cyno’s entire face light up, and he couldn’t help but feel warm at the sight.
“Really?”
“Yeah. Not a vast amount. I’ve only got a couple of decks, and I’m not competitive or anything.”
“We should definitely play some time.” Cyno smiled warmly, and the flush on his cheeks made Tighnari’s pulse stutter.
“Yeah. We definitely should.” Tighnari smiled back, and for a moment forgot that he was supposed to be painting Cyno’s nails, the brush stilling halfway from the bottle to his hand.
He caught himself right before the polish dripped, blinking a few times before returning to the task at hand. Huh. Hand. Cyno would like that one.
As it turns out, Cyno loved that one, bursting out into raucous peals of laughter. And, despite his regret at indirectly encouraging Cyno’s terrible joke habit, Tighnari was much too invested in watching Cyno laugh to care.
Once they were finished, Tighnari spent his break chatting to Cyno under the guise of ‘ensuring his nails had fully dried’ so he ‘wouldn’t smudge them’. Collei’s knowing look indicated that perhaps the only person who believed that excuse was Cyno himself, who was currently busy admiring his own hands. After all, he had made sure to declare they’d never before looked so pretty.
As Tighnari’s next client arrived, a young, pretty campus security guard named Dehya, Cyno reluctantly extricated himself from the seat and stood up to pay at the front desk.
“So? When will I see you next?” Tighnari asked, right before Dehya entered their earshot. His smile was coy, playful, and his eyes glimmered with little sparks.
Cyno laughed and shook his head, unable to make plans with Dehya rapidly approaching them. Tighnari, knowing this, bit his lower lip to conceal his smile.
“Don’t worry. We’ll work something out.” He whispered at the last minute.
Cyno nodded as he made his way over to the front desk. Collei’s puffed out chest and proud expression as he paid caused enough embarrassment to last Cyno a lifetime, but he supposed he had her to thank, after all.
“Could I… re-book, or something?” He asked hesitantly.
Collei giggled, somehow managing to choke out an affirmative amidst all the tittering.
“Will I be with Tighnari next time?” Cyno asked once Collei had calmed down a little.
“If I put you down as his regular client, then yeah.” She smiled at him.
“Okay. Can you do that?”
“Mmmkay.” She flashed him a toothy grin. “I’ll book you in for 3 weeks’ time.”
“Oh, ok. 3 weeks.” Cyno tried to hide his disappointment, but nothing escaped Collei’s watchful eye.
“We close in an hour. Do you fancy waiting for me, and we can walk back together?” She asked, leaning against the desk and tapping her ballpoint pen against her freshly manicured nails.
“I’m not sure, I should probably…”
“Tighnari lives in the same direction as us for about half the-”
“Absolutely.”
Collei’s soft laughter followed Cyno to the door, where he paused and glanced back. Tighnari, his attention caught by the tinkling bell, was already looking up at him, and when their eyes met, Cyno could have sworn he felt the slightest zap of electricity.