Day 265 - Friday, September 12th

[papalobo]

[A Chinese man who is definitely a mature adult and not a teenager checks in to the Hyatt, one of their more exclusive rooms, along with his half-white half brother who is also certainly not a teenager and most definitely not the notorious gang leader wanted on suspicion of a September 11th New York City bombing in retaliation for an angry rogue sect of anti-American zealots.

The entire suite floor has been rented out, and it requires a special key card in the elevator and on the stairs to enter that floor. But they can rent one of the still very luxe rooms directly beneath.

A familiar white limo is in the car garage, though the opportunity to gawk or investigate is slim, between the security cameras and live guards.

There's still no contact from Max, but the Department of Homeland Security has become involved, and has begun to enter Ash's territory with intent to arrest any known figures within his gang to bring in for questioning.]

Day 284, Wednesday, Oct 1st

Comments

[sentimentalstoic]

But do you also know that I meant it?

[jadedlynx]

I don't have a complex about how I look, and you find a lot of people attractive. Why should I doubt it?

[sentimentalstoic]

I'd be disappointed if I couldn't convey my feelings appropriately.

[jadedlynx]

You think I'm attractive. I managed to get the very complex emotion.

[ Almost there... ]

[sentimentalstoic]

Mmm... I don't think that's quite it, either.

[jadedlynx]

[ Finally, Ash reaches for the shampoo. ]

You said you were looking at me and finding something attractive, but I'm wrong in assuming that means you think I'm attractive. It sounds like you missed some reverse days during our lessons.

[sentimentalstoic]

If that's all that you got from it, something was lost in transmission.

[jadedlynx]

[ At first, he's simply applying the shampoo and massaging it into his scalp. Ash has deft, firm fingers that move with the skill picked up over far too many years. ]

Don't get sappy, I already know you like me.

[sentimentalstoic]

[Falling silent, he remains in place, letting Ash do as he will. This is something intensely intimate, really, he can't imagine Ash being groomed by or grooming anyone else. Even Ash's actual lover, he suspects, tries to handle himself as much as possible as a matter of pride, although he supposes it's possible the two have engaged in grooming for intimacy or flirtatious purposes, before Blanca entered the picture to spoil it all.]

[jadedlynx]

[ He'd cared for Griff, but that was hardly romantic in nature.

This soon begins to lose romance, too, as Ash uses the shampoo to make his own shapes. They're more like spikes and are longer and thinner than the cat ears had been. ]

[sentimentalstoic]

[He pretends not to notice; let Ash make a devil of him. He's likely having a good time. Too many handsy figures have left their marks and rendered most of Blanca's preferred techniques for bringing Ash pleasure unavailable for the time being, so he'll do what he can, and what he can do is let Ash play Bathtub Barbie with him.]

[jadedlynx]

[ A devil would only have two horns. When Ash is finished, Blanca's head is more like a cactus. ]

Finished. You never looked better.

[sentimentalstoic]

Thank you for your services. Shall I have it sit or should I rinse, now?

[jadedlynx]

[ There's a laugh behind him. Blanca really has never looked sillier.

Blanca rarely looks silly. ]

You know you shouldn't leave shampoo in too long.

[sentimentalstoic]

[His head leans back to look up at him, still wearing a serene, seductive smile, as if truly oblivious to what Ash has decided to do to him. Is it so wrong to want to see Ash's smile?]

Then, can I have you rinse it, too?

[jadedlynx]

[ Ash's eyes dart to his head on last time as if to memorize the sight before he nods. This isn't sexual; Max wouldn't be happy, but it really isn't sexual so much as trust.

And mockery on Ash's part.

There's a lot of shampoo in his hair. It'll take a few rinses. ]

[sentimentalstoic]

Am I getting conditioner too, or have you had enough practice?

[jadedlynx]

[ Ash thinks it over before reaching for the conditioner. Blanca went outside of his box. Ash can try the same.

Max isn't being allowed half of this. ]

[sentimentalstoic]

[It is good quality conditioner. Ash can likely feel the difference already in his own drying hair. As for Blanca, his hair is quite thick, and bound to be a little messy after being played with, even if it was more the lather than anything, but his fingers can glide through it with ease soon enough.]

[jadedlynx]

[ Ash's own products were as good as one could get without worrying about imports, and he'd lived with a rich man who was very invested in his looks. He's no stranger to quality. He's not even a stranger to washing hair. He'd had to pamper men in a lot of ways. For every 10 that took him quickly in a hotel room, there were the weekend trips.

But more recently, there was Griff, and it's his care that Ash now mimics. Fingers comb through Blanca's hair to get the strands back into a manageable position. With conditioner in hand, Ash starts somewhat off the scalp and brings the product down, coating the bits. His touch is more gentle than one might expect.]

[sentimentalstoic]

[But presently, Ash had just gotten out of a month long stint of captivity, with decidedly not the finest shampoo known to man on stock. Not that Ash's looks really suffered for it. At all. But he does wonder if any of this helps him return to form, or if Ash won't really quite settle until Max is home... No, Max is no longer the man Ash thought he fell for, either. Maybe all of this will leave him perpetually off kilter.

Whatever the case, he doesn't focus much on Ash's tenderness, so much as wondering if he's enough of a distraction for Ash to escape into, for now.

Blanca knows he's an escape, not salvation.]

[jadedlynx]

[ It's the latter; Ash needs Max. Even if his feelings for Blanca have grown, Ash needs Max. ]

It needs a few minutes to absorb.

[ Once he's satisfied with the coverage, Ash finally breaks the silence. ]

[sentimentalstoic]

Mmh... I can rinse it out in a few minutes if you're bored already.

[jadedlynx]

I'm going to bed after this. I'm not in a hurry.

How long are you staying?

[sentimentalstoic]

Do you need me gone before morning?