_Barrettes (part1)_

It was a little surreal, Zack decided, to be sitting on the hand-sewn quilt of a little girl's bedroom reading documents about safe handling of long range weapons while his would-be-fiancé amused herself by tying knots in his hair. He shifted a little and kept reading the stack of reports he had brought along, wincing occasionally when she was particularly aggressive in implementing her plan to 'do something' about his hair. Just so long as she wasn't hacking it all off, he figured the damage wasn't permanent.

"This is entirely hopeless, Zack."

He smiled as he re-read the page about a new live-fire policy on the main ranges outside of the city. "Told you so."

"Are you sure I can't cut it? I'm really good."

"Oh and you have a lot of practice with that, do you?" He turned slightly, catching the end of her long twisted hairstyle. Aeris pouted when he tugged her hair playfully. "Seems you're a bit overdue, if you ask me."

"I trim other people's hair!" She stared him down. "The other children here in the slums, for example."

"Thanks but no. I out grew the bowl-cut look when I was five." He turned back to his files, ignoring the punch she landed on his shoulder. She had sharp boney little fists, but the kitten-tap effort was hardly enough to sway him into feeling penitent. "I happen to like my hair the way it is."

"But it's everywhere!" She slouched against his back melodramatically, quickly changing her position so she could hug him from behind instead. Half dangling over his shoulder, Aeris reached forward to gather up his bangs and pull them back away from his face. "Look, it's just hanging down in front of you all the time! Even when you read, doesn't that bother you?"

Zack had to admit, it was easier to read for the few seconds she held his mane at bay. As soon as she let go it flopped forward again, returning to its usual mop. "I look stupid with short hair. I have photos. Remind me and I'll bring them next time."

"What if we just trim the front?" She started toying with his hair again. He just shrugged and twisted two of the more annoying locks behind his ear so he could finish the new page. She punched him again when she found herself ignored. "Zack! You didn't have to come if you were busy."

"Nah. This gives me something to do when you're hiding behind me the whole time. Besides," he turned to offer her a wicked grin. "I've never seen a little girl's bedroom before, and for all I knew this was my only chance."

"I wish you wouldn't call me a little girl." Aeris gave up on clinging to him and climbed off the bed with a sigh. "I _am_ sixteen you know."

"Uh huh. And I'm at an age where I've stopped being proud of getting older. So pardon me if I still think of you as a cute little thing." She hit him in the shoulder again to express her displeasure. Zack set his papers aside with a laugh. "Ok, I give. What do you want? Should we go see a movie or something?"

"Mom would kill me if I went out after 11," the girl grimaced as she looked at the clock.

"And what will she do if she finds out you invited your boyfriend over in her absence?"

Aeris' eyes twinkled merrily as she surveyed him on her bed. "Probably shout the roof down."

"After she murders me, you mean." He leaned back on his hands, wondering just how he had gotten into this mess in the first place. Babysitting, there really wasn't another word for it. He had no particular reason to stick around after she had invited him over to dinner. He just felt weird leaving her home alone while her mother was off tending to some emergency in Sector3.

Zack's rich imagination was just extending as far as the assortment of meat-cleavers in the kitchen as potential weapons to watch out for, should the woman come home early, when Aeris flew into action with a pleased, "I know exactly what you need!"

"Eeeh? Wazzat?" He was treated to the sight of her digging around in her dresser like a small animal digging for treasure; a small animal with a cute pink bow, of course. She emerged victorious, holding a pretty shoebox in her hands.

"I've got just the thing for your hair! Since you won't cut it."

"A box? I'll look a little funny walking around with that on my head." He grabbed it as if to demonstrate, but she jerked it out of his reach with a sigh.

"No stupid, the stuff that's in the box."

Zack laughed and leaned forward to get a peek at what she had. The small container was filled to bursting with ribbons, hair ties, bobby pins and other various fripperies that found their way into some of her cuter hair-dos. He raised a doubtful eyebrow at the assortment. "You're going to do me up in bows?"

"Well..." She tilted her head playfully. "Maybe. But only for spite. I was really thinking about _these_" Aeris rummaged around in the box, dropping ribbons on the floor until she produced a fist-full of barrettes. "I really don't use most of these anymore, so they'd be perfect to give to you!"

"Hand-me-down chocobos?" Zack picked one up at random, snapping and unsnapping it to test it's strength and then pausing to admire the molded plastic bird glued to one side. It was rather chubby when compared to the real thing, but pretty happy looking regardless. "You're going to dress me in hand-me-down chocobos?"

"They're not that old." She protested, snatching the barrette back. "I've barely used them! Here, hold still and let me see if they work. I don't know because your hair is so springy."

He winced as she slid one of the clips into place and snapped it shut against his scalp. "I don't think the point it to make me bleed, cute stuff." She paid him no attention, pondering his modified hairstyle.

"You need more clips."

Zack just winced as several more were snapped into his hair in rapid succession. The end result was actually was actually tolerable. He rubbed one of the sore spots and with a bit of fumbling, re-adjusted the barrette so it stopped digging into his head. Wandering over to her little dressing mirror he tilted his head to get a better look at the result.

"Huh. What do ya know. These are a lot less gay than I was expecting." He laughed at the sour face she made. "What, it's true. They're actually really cute. I'll have to start wearing them at work."

"Do you think they'll let you?" Aeris gave him a disbelieving look. "I mean, with you being in the army and all?"

"So long as the boss goes for'em I don't see anyone else complaining." He shrugged. "Do these things come plain? Like, without the little bows on them and shit?"

"Yeah you can get them in brown and black and silver too, but those are boring."

"Too true." Tilting his head to admire the other side, Zack had to admit, he was sold on the moogles. He wasn't so sure about the little ribbon ones, but the moogles were keepers. "Why don't I try'em for a week and let you know how it goes?"

"Yeay!" He caught the girl as she bounced off the bed and gave him a kiss for once he even pecked her back. She was contagious when happy. Just for fun he picked her up and twirled her around before setting her on the bed with a bounce.

"Think you'll be alright until morning?"

"You leaving?" Aeris frowned.

"Yup. Last train is in half an hour." He grinned as he packed his papers into his bag. "Behave yourself now, I'll let you know how the barrettes go over later this week."

*****