Pretty young lady

Leo's concentration is on the tool bench and he lifts an eyebrow as Ryan comes up behind him. Giving her a sidelong glance, his hands stay busy wiping grease off a wrench with a rag. "Dinner? You and me?"

A little laugh surfaces. "What gives, Ryan? I keep waiting for the punchline here."

He sets down the tool and rag, then turns around to lean back against the tool bench and fold his arms across his chest. He cocks his head, studying Ryan's eyes. "I rank among the most-ignored. How come all of a sudden you want me around?" It was apparent that though he continually tried to get Ryan's attention, now that he was getting it, he didn't believe it was real.


Ryder grins as Thirteen leaves the chair, and he stretches long, yawning again. "Me, trim your hair?" He would have laughed, had he not suddenly seen a disastrous picture in his mind. Making Thirteen sit in a strange shop in a strange chair with a stranger behind her with scissors... not good. Well, he'd cut hair before. He could do it again.

"Alright. Go clean up and I'll meet you in the kitchen. Then we'll have breakfast."

A little while later, Ryder has Thirteen sitting in a kitchen chair with a towel around her neck, her hair still damp from the shower. He takes a comb and gently works through a few tangles. "Okay, here we go..."

He grabs the scissors off the counter, and studies her hair for a moment before going to work. He's silent as he clips, letting the short trimmings fall to the floor. Coming around the front of Thirteen, he bends a little and tells her to close her eyes as he trims around the edges. His thumb rests under her chin to tilt her head back as need be.

It doesn't take long before the scissors are laid aside, and he's raking his fingers through her hair instead, helping it dry the rest of the way. Finding a small mirror, he leans down from behind her and holds the mirror up in front of her face, smiling over her shoulder. "There now... who's the pretty young lady, hmm?"