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a-strange-inkling · 1 year

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Trimmings (pt 2)

Amber works for about fifteen to twenty minutes clipping away diligently. The sound of the scissors opening and closing around his split strands like a slice to the meaty flesh of his heart. He keeps wincing so much that she eventually spins the chair around so he can’t see himself. It doesn’t matter, he can still see his dark hair piling up on the white tile below.

It’s a lot.

“Okay, honey, that’s all the burnt ends,” she tells him. “I’m going to give it a wash and see what can be salvaged, okay?”

“…Mmkay.” he answers numbly, eyes round and vacant.

“Hey dude,” Gareth says from where he’s bouncing the baby on his heels. “She’s real quiet, I think she fell back asleep.”

Eddie blinks himself out of the void, glancing over at them, smiling a little when he sees his baby daughter slumped forward in the front pack, snoozing peacefully. His girl really does love her sleep. “Yeah, she’s out.”

“What do I do?” he asks.

“She can sleep in there if you sit back somewhere so her head’s propped up,” he instructs.

“You can sit with her in my office if you want, Gare Bear.” Amber tells him as she turns the water of the shampoo bowl on. “Got a nice comfy chair in there.”

“Oh, that’d be great Ambie, my legs are killing me.” he replies as she pulls back the bead curtain for him, giving her a quick smooch in passing. She then turns Eddie’s chair around and relines it back at a one hundred and fifty degree angle, wetting his hair with the sprayer. This is usually a pleasant experience for him when he goes in for his occasional trim, but he remains stiff as a board, the water amplifying that awful burnt smell that’s lingering all over him. He can tell that at least four inches are gone already as she scrubs the shampoo into his scalp. He can feel it.

“Alright, honey, real talk,” she says, rinsing out the suds before slowly sitting him back up straight. “I’ve had to take off a good hunk already, and if we’re going to even it out, I’ll have to take off even more and...”

“It’s bad isn’t it?” he asks dully as she dries his hair vigorously with a towel. “Just give it to me straight.”

“Well,” she sucks in air through her teeth, turning him around again as she pulls the towel away so he can assess for himself in the mirror. She has it evened out to the best of her ability up to his ears, with a little more length in the back. He looks like a fucking page boy. “I mean, we could do a lot of layering here and it wouldn’t be too bad, but the thing is, there’s still some heat damage, and I’m afraid if we leave it… you’re going to have trouble growing it out as long as you had it before.”

He squints at her reflection for a long while, finally heaving a long sigh. “…You think that I should just cut it down and start over, don’t you?”

“Sorry, honey, I know it’s not what you wanted to hear and I know how you rocker boys love your long wild hair,” she sympathizes. “But it’s probably what’s best for it in the long run.”

He swallows thickly before resigning himself with a short nod, eyes misting over. He already sensed that this was going to be the case on the ride over… and well he really doesn't want to be stuck at this Amish boy bowl cut length forever. “Alright, okay…” He inhales sharp and deep. “...just do it.”

…

One look at him and Gareth is laughing so hard that he’s wheezing at an unnatural pitch, pointing at him from across the room. “Oh. My. God.”

Eddie deadpans, watching his drummer fall back against the desk chair, struggling to breathe. Olivia’s awake from her catnap, looking quite confused about her whereabouts and her Uncle Gareth’s sudden fit of hysterics. She looks up and around to try to see what all the fuss is about.

“Dude!” he barely manages to say between his short breaths. “Holy fuck!”

“Stop.” Eddie warns darkly.

“Gare Bear!” Amber admonishes in disbelief. “Be nice! He looks great! It’s hard to lose such long gorgeous curls like that.”

“Sorry, sorry.” Gareth tries to calm himself, hooting softly, only to break down all over again, louder than before. “I’m sorry, I can’t even look at you… all you need is a fucking sweater vest and khakis!”

Eddie locks his jaw, heat crawling up the back of his neck. He can’t bring himself to look in the mirror again, but he knows he looks ridiculous.

“Don’t listen to him, honey.” Amber says up to him, patting his shoulder in defense. “I know it was a bummer today, but you still look so handsome!”

“...What time’s the frat party on Saturday, bro?” Gareth asks. “Will you have time to make it after your polo match?”

“Man, you’re really pushing it.”

“Why are you laughing at the cut, Gare?” Amber asks with a frown, putting her fists on her hips. “Do you think that I didn’t do a good job or something?”

“No, baby! No way, you did great!” Gareth assures quickly. “I mean, look at him, he’s so...” His voice cracks right open. “Pretty.”

“That’s it! Give me my baby back so I can kill you.” Eddie quips angrily, stomping forward and reaching for his daughter. Gareth helps him unstrap her from the front pack, still giggling merrily, his amusement apparently worth an ass kicking.

“Let me touch it,” he whispers in awe, reaching up to feel the thicker curls on top that Amber put some product in for texture.

“If you touch me, I will rip your dick off.” he vows under his breath.

“Please,” Gareth begs, fingers curling. “Just once.”

“No.” Eddie seethes.

He pouts in disappointment, but drops his hand. “Jimmy better watch out, you might be the prettiest one in the band now.” Gareth points out, catching his breath. “God it’s been so long…Has your forehead always been so big?”

“Keep going while you still have vocal chords, Gare Bear.” Eddie gives him a venomous smile, lifting his four-month-old up into his arms. “Hey princess, ready to go home?”

Olivia focuses on him with her giant baby cow eyes, blinking twice before suddenly breaking into a fit of tears, wailing in fear.

Her cry startles him out of his skin, the sound puncturing him right through his guts when he realizes that she doesn’t recognize him.

“Oh no! Bug, no, no, no, it’s okay! It’s okay!” he assures her softly, holding her up under her arms, leveling their faces. “Look, it’s me! It’s Daddy!”

She closes her eyes tight as he tries to kiss her cheeks, shaking her head against him, her lower lip trembling. It’s enough to make him want to wither up and die. “Livvy, look, look, please, it’s me! It’s me!” he pleads, hugging her close and nuzzling her gently with his nose. His touch and voice must calm her a little, her cries fade to little whimpers when she gives him a second look.

“Yeah, see it’s Daddy, it’s just Daddy.”

“Oooahhh…” She coos up at him sadly as if in question, patting his face with her chubby little hands, still very confused. He sounds like Daddy and feels like Daddy, but he doesn’t look like Daddy.

“Aw, she knows, honey, don’t worry.” Amber consoles as she grabs a broom to start sweeping up the remains of his glorious locks.“Just going to take some getting used to, is all.”

…

“The guys aren’t going to believe me.” Gareth is still snickering as he pulls up on the side of the road outside his building.

“Well, they can see for themself next week.” Eddie replies in feigned delight. “That will just be so great.”

“Aw come on, you know you’d be rolling on the floor if the same thing happened to any of us,” Gareth points out. “I mean you look good, Amber did a great job given the circumstances… you’re lucky you can pull off both.”

“Yeah, sure.” he mutters miserably.

“And Chrissy will probably like it.”

Something snaps like dry stick in the back of his head at that.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asks sharply.

“Nothing!” Gareth replies, realizing he just stepped in it. “Just that you know… Chrissy she’s… you know…”

Eddie waits, eyes fixed on him threateningly. “She’s what?”

“I just mean… she’s a clean cut kind of girl, so she’ll probably, you know, not hate it.” he points out, shrinking beneath the weight of his dark and ominous gaze. “And…I-I’m dead aren’t I?”

“…You’re definitely something.” Eddie replies lowly as his words slithers into the creases of his brain, settling there.

“For real, man, I’m just kidding,” he shifts gears and grows serious, despite his smile. “…you going to be okay?”

Eddie shrugs his shoulders with a roll of his eyes, going for careless, unbothered. “I mean, yeah whatever, it could have been way worse and it will grow back, I guess.”

“Yeah, probably pretty quickly too.” Gareth offers. “And longer.”

“Uh huh,” he sighs, getting out of his seat and grabbing Olivia’s car seat and the baby bag out of the back.

“Hey, you sure you’re good?” Gareth asks him through the window.

“Yeah, yeah, man, I’m fine.” he says back over his shoulder. “Totally fine.”

…

He and Olivia spend the better part of the next hour crying together on the couch.

She usually gets fussy around this time of day anyway, wanting her mother and to be nursed. She takes a bottle fine, but sometimes she’s just not keen on it. Eddie can’t blame her, lifeless silicone can’t possibly compare to the soft comfort of Chrissy’s warm breasts.

It doesn’t help that she's still uncertain about him.

“I know, baby girl, I know…” he laments, cradling her in front of him along his knees as she continues to cry in an almost pleading tone.

“Ooooo.” she hoots out. “Ooo hoo hoo hoo.”

“You’re probably wondering what happened to your cool dad and who the hell this lame, preppy dweeb is.” he wheezes, straining his eyes against the tears as he sobs. “It’s so bad, Olivia.”

He straightens when he hears the front door open and close, followed by a short intake of breath and the sound of keys hitting the floor.

He glances up quickly over his shoulder only to jump out of his skin when he sees his tiny one hundred and eighteen pound wife standing over him, wielding an ice scraper high above her head, ready to swing.

They both let out a scream in surprise.

“AHH! NO! CHRISSY! IT’S JUST ME!” he shouts, pulling Livvy up to his chest as he ducks down low, raising a hand.

Chrissy freezes. “Eddie! What…?”

“It’s me!” he cries, peeking up at her as he slowly unfurls. “Jesus Christ, Christina! It’s me!”

“Oh my God! You scared me!” she gasps, lowering her weapon as her hand grips her chest.

“I scared you!?” he asks incredulously, exchanging a look with Olivia, who is now stunned quiet from all the noise. Eyes huge.

“I thought—I thought someone broke in and was stealing the baby!”

“Well, it’s good to know you’re prepared to straight up decapitate break-ins!” he exclaims.

“I’m so sorry, sweetie...I had no idea…” she breathes, taking him in as she slips off her coat and boots, slowly approaching him in disbelief. “What on earth did you—When—Why did you—Your hair!?”

His face crumbles.

“Oh, baby!” she coos, moving around the couch to his side. “What happened?”

“No, don’t look at me.” he whimpers, drawing her close with one arm, hiding his face in her stomach, while he holds Olivia to sit on his lap with the other. Chrissy staggers forward at his pulling, placing a hand on his head.

“I had to cut it all off or it wouldn’t grow baa-ha-ha-hack.” he explains woefully into the fabric of her sweater. “And Livvy doesn’t even know who I am and I look horrible and Gareth laughed at me and all the other guys are going to laugh at me and the whole aesthetic is ruined! No one is ever going to take me seriously in the metal scene ever again! I’ll never be able to play music! It’s all over! The dream is dead!”

“…You don’t look horrible.” He feels her run her fingers through what’s left of his hair consolingly, nails gently scratching his scalp.

“Don’t lie to me just because you love me!” he retorts vehemently.

“I’m not lying,” she promises soothingly, tugging him back gently, tilting his head up to meet her gaze. “It’s different, but it’s kind of nice...I can see your whole face.” She smiles as she strokes his jaw lovingly, making it very hard for him to pout and be immature about it, so he instead buries back into her. “…Why did you need to cut it in the first place?”

Oh, yeah… that. He peeks up at her hesitantly, his dark eyes huge and shaky, before quickly hiding again.

“Eddie?” she repeats a little more firmly. “Why did you need to cut it?”

“Okay, okay, before I tell you,” he stands up, holding Olivia out to her. The baby immediately reaches out for her mother, squealing excitedly. “I need you to take this,” Chrissy smiles, accepting the offering happily, covering her plushy cheeks with warm kisses. “This perfect angel child,” he runs a hand over their daughter's soft dark hair. “That we made out of our love for one another.” he reminds her intently.

She seems to be catching on that she isn’t going to like with what she hears next. “Okay, yes… now tell me what happened,” she insists as Livvy melts against her, resting her head snuggly against her chest, giving Eddie curious side glances. “What did you do?”

“Okay, so at rehearsal…we’ve been talking about having some new effects for the gig on Saturday for a while now… and Jimmy brought in some of the equipment for these effects, you know, to test out.”

She narrows her eyes immediately, her lips pressing together. “What kind of effects?”

“I just want to point out that no one got hurt, physically speaking…”

“What kind of effects, Eddie?” she repeats through her teeth.

“Various stuff, you know, lighting, smoke, and… pyrotechnics.” he mutters the last part quietly under his breath.

“What was that?” she asks, eyes flashing.

“Pyrotechnics.” He winces, clenching his teeth.

“Edward Robert Munson!”

Oh wow, the full name. Not just ‘Edward’ or the next level up; ‘Edward Robert’, but the actual full trifecta.

He’s dead.

“Yeah… so um… long story short, a faulty flame projector went off and my hair caught on fire while I was on stage.” He starts backing away with his hands up.

“Are you serious!? You caught on fire!?” She follows after him angrily, but then remembers she’s holding the baby and pauses. She looks down at Olivia and then back up at him, realizing why he passed her off.

“Smart tactic.” she admits.

“Thanks,” he breathes. “…I swear baby, nobody got hurt…”

“Nobody got… You caught on fire!” she says again incredulously. “Eddie, are you crazy!? What if it was more than your hair! What if the whole studio caught on fire?” she asks. “Did any of you think about that?”

“No, no not really, the general thought process was pretty much ‘Fire gun? Let me try!’, which by the way, Gareth said Jimmy knew what he was doing and gave him the go ahead…”

She glares darkly.

”So…it’s his fault really, technically speaking!”

“And where was our infant daughter when this happened!?”

“In the sound booth with Randy,” he promises. “Completely safe and nowhere near any fire, I swear.”

She seethes quietly, but seems to be deflating a little as she reaches up to grab his chin, turning it one way and then the other. “And it was just your hair? You didn’t get burned anywhere else?”

“No, I’m okay, promise.” he takes her hand, kissing it tentatively, giving her the big doe eyes he knows she can’t resist.

“Eddie…” She empties her lungs in one exhale. “You’re going to give me a nervous breakdown one of these days.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, so, so sorry, it really was a total freak accident and we’re not going to have any fire effects during the show.”

…At least for right now.

He rubs her occupied arms, ducking to kiss her pouty lower lip which she benevolently allows. “Sorry, mmm sorry, I love you, I’m sorry.” He keeps at it until she is smiling and twisting away from him.

“Okay, I get it.”

“Forgive me?” he asks, lifting his hand to hold her in place by the neck, chasing after her lips with a cheeky grin. “Hm, please?”

“Alright, okay, yes!” she giggles, just before he recaptures her mouth.

Olivia makes a noise from between them in protest, whimpering softly, gripping onto Chrissy’s sweater.

Eddie pulls away, frowning sadly. “She’s scared of me now.”

“No she’s not,” Chrissy assures him. “She’s just hungry.”

…

Olivia just keeps eyeing him all through dinner and when they begin to get ready for bed.

“Hey pretty girl,” he tries softly when she looks up at him while Chrissy dresses her in her fuzzy pink pajamas as she lays in her bassinet beside their bed.

She sucks on her fist, kicking her legs.

“Do you know me yet?” he asks in a high, soft voice, rubbing her round little tummy. “Huh?”

“Of course she knows you,” Chrissy says as she snaps the line of buttons along the seam of her onesie. “You’re her daddy.”

“Then she really just hates the new haircut.” he muses.

“She does not.”

There’s a bit more kicking and squirming until she suddenly smiles around her fingers, her round eyes crinkling up happily at him.

“Hey!” he beams. “Hey, Livvy! Hi! Yeah! That’s right, it’s me! It’s Daddy!”

“See? I told you she knows!” Chrissy coos as she lifts her up with a wide open smile, handing her to him. She cries out happily, smacking his face lightly with both her gooey hands as he kisses her nose.

“She was probably just sensing your… distress.”

“Or she’s just finally accepted Mommy’s new dork boyfriend that won’t leave.”

“Oh, stop.” Chrissy sighs in exhaustion.

…

After they get Livvy to sleep, they settle into bed for the night.

Eddie leans over and kisses her before switching off the lamp on their bedside table. He shifts under the covers, pausing and looking down when he feels her hand slowly sliding up his arm. He eyes it with a salacious smirk, a single dark brow raising high. “Oh… is this a hand on shoulder kind of night?”

She smiles coyly as she stretches up and presses her mouth to his, kissing him long and slow, gracefully swinging her leg over his waist to straddle him.

He gasps excitedly between the push and pull of her lips, easing down against the pillow beneath her, his hands rising to squeeze her hips. “I think it is!”

“Shhh…” she hushes, holding back a giggle, her palms finding purpose against his chest as she edges down, making him hiss softly. “It won’t be if you wake Livvy up.”

He hums lowly in agreement, grinning against her lips as she gently rocks into him. He moves a hand to the back of her neck, tilting his chin to deepen the searing kiss, lifting his hips high, making her keen softly.

However, when he feels her fingers trail up his neck into his hair, gripping the thicker layer on top, he suddenly stills, thrown off by how strange it feels.

How lacking.

He breaks the kiss, meeting her gaze. “Hey, wait, wait.”

“What?” she breathes. “What’s wrong?”

“Chrissy will probably like it.” Gareth’s comment echoes in the back of his mind.

“…Do you like it like this?” He voices his thoughts aloud.

“Like what?” She tilts her head at him.

Like all the preppy fuckers she goes to school with that always make a pass at her. Like all the guys she grew up surrounded by. Like her ex-boyfriend.

“My hair.” he pants. “Short like this.”

“Eddie…” she sighs tiredly, her forehead falling to his chest. “Oh my God.”

“I mean… you’re awfully giddy.”

She gives him a thoroughly unimpressed look.

“Think carefully… is there a right way for me to answer this question for you?” she asks, locking their eyes. “If I say I don’t you’ll be upset about losing your hair, and if I say I do you’ll be upset that I prefer it short when you prefer it long.”

“I won’t be upset either way, I promise,” he says. “I mean, you’re my wife, I honestly just want to know your preference.”

She doesn’t quite look like she remotely believes him. “Well, I don’t have one.”

“Oh, come on.” he replies. “You have to! The contrast is insane. I look like a whole different person. Our daughter didn’t recognize me. You have to have an opinion!”

“I don’t,” she insists, grabbing his chin, angling him up toward her. “I don’t care what your hair looks like as long as you're attached to it… You’re really overthinking this, baby.”

“…Sorry.” he finally sighs, shaking his head at himself as he meets her lips again. “I’m just really in my own head right now.”

“It was a stressful day.” She reminds him, softening as she sits up on her feet a moment to lift her shirt over her head. She tips back over him as his palms slide up the smooth plane of her back. “But, you’re not hurt, thank God, and it’s going to grow back.”

He nods slowly, closing his eyes and tries to focus on the slip of her warm tongue between his lips… but now she’s not touching his hair at all, instead fisting the fabric of his shirt.

And just like that, more irrational, unprecedented paranoia.

Does she really not like it? Does he look too different? Too much like those cookie cutter yuppies? It’s not like she married any of them.

She married him.

He cuts her off again, hands sliding up to cup her face, gently tugging her back. “But do you um… do you want it to grow back?”

“Eddie.” she whines limply. “Do you hear how ridiculous you sound right now?”

“I just really need to know if you like it or not!”

“It doesn’t matter!”

“Yes it does!”

“Okay, okay, Eddie, fine,” she cries in exasperation. “You caught me, I was only ever attracted to you for your hair, and now that it’s gone, I guess we’re just going to have to wait for it to grow back out to have sex.”

With that, she dismounts him and lays back down beneath the comforter, turning over to her side.

“…Well I mean, let’s not get carried away here.” He whispers hurriedly, following after her, spooning her up against him.

“Too late for that.” she mutters in annoyance, curling up tight when he tries to nuzzle her neck.

“I know, I’m sorry.” he says again into her hair. “I’m being an idiot.”

“Why do you think it would even matter to me?” she asks. “I mean you didn’t even have any hair when we met and I still thought you were the coolest.”

“I don’t know, it’s just throwing me the fuck off…” he murmurs into her shoulder. He probably sounds like a hypocrite right now. He’s always the one reminding her, showing her, how beautiful she is. He’s always been the one comfortable in his skin while she struggles in her own. “I’ve just been growing it out for so long and now it’s like my whole look… identity is gone and… I guess I thought it would throw you off too.”

“I mean, yes,” she sighs, turning and laying on her back to look up at him. “It’s really different, but I still like it… It’s not a more or less thing.”

“Mhm.” he hums halfheartedly.

She caresses his face, moving her thumb along his cheek. “I went through a lot of changes over the last year too and I know there were a few things you appreciated about that.” Her eyes flit down to her fuller, rounder breasts then back up at him, making him flush and avoid her gaze sheepishly.

“…Did you not like them before when they were smaller?” she asks.

Guilt seeps into him at that, remembering all of her physical challenges and insecurities she had to overcome while she was pregnant with Olivia.

He shakes his head. “They’re perfect, they’ve always been perfect.” he mutters a little petulantly. “You’re perfect.”

“Okay, but what about my waist? My hips?” she asks him, placing her hands over his, drawing them along her curves that have become softer, less jagged. “They’re more filled out now, I’ve put on some weight, almost ten pounds.”

“Chrissy…”

“Do you like me better like this?” she asks him.

“Alright, okay,” he surrenders, pressing his forehead against hers. “I get it, I get the point.”

“Good,” she smiles with a little huff. “…Now will you please just kiss me.”

He snorts, unable to fight off his smile as he obliges.

#reposting because t*mblr is very irritating #hellcheer #eddie x chrissy #eddissy #munningham #chrissy x eddie #hellcheer fanfiction #hellcheer fanfic #old haunts #trimmings #ohu #old haunts cinematic universe

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