81﹕ sender helps receiver [ style ] their hair . (some post canon from ed? :0 )
it's strange , alphonse thinks , to look in a mirror & see his own face looking back , rather than the suit of armor he'd grown used to. he looks just like his father , they both do , the same gold eyes & gold hair. but in his own face , alphonse can see pieces of their mother he'd never noticed , or perhaps hadn't looked for. his eyes are rounded like hers , & so is the shape of his face. his nose is like hers , too , & if he thinks hard enough , he can almost remember her smile in the back of his mind.
it's getting harder to recall what she looked like. it's bittersweet , & it tightens al's chest in a way that hurts , palm resting flat against his chest to soothe the ache. edward stands behind him , carefully combing through the tangled mess that was his hair. it'd gotten long while his body waited for him to return , to go home. not that a hospital room in central is really akin to home. but alphonse can hear the hum of the lights , feel the itch of hospital sheets against his skin , & can see everyone he loves with his own eyes. that's more than enough for him.
❛ careful , ed !! i'd rather not lose all my hair when i just got it back !! ❜
it's in jest , though the wince as the brush catches on a particularly bad knot is real. still , the younger elric takes it in stride , closing his eyes when the brush once again moves smoothly through his hair. he can kind of understand why his brother likes this so much ; alphonse thinks he could probably fall asleep like this. soon enough , the brush is replaced with ed's fingers , & it dawns on al that he has to decide what he wants to do with his hair. golden eyes settle on his reflection again , & alphonse thinks quietly for a moment.
❛ ... i think i'll worry more about a haircut once i'm out of the hospital. for now ... ❜
alphonse tilts his head back to look his brother in the eye , something that almost makes him laugh.
❛ ... can you braid it , like how you used to wear yours ?? ❜