sixthiterationlogs | (no subject)

WHO: Cougar Alvarez
WHERE: Alvarez-Jensen-Sawyer Residence
WHEN: June 21st
OPEN TO: Jake Jensen
WARNINGS: Haircuts and Complaining
STATUS: Open

The last time Cougar had been on a mission this far north during the summer, he hadn't slept for a full week straight between the sunlight and the mission. It had left him a little splintered of reality then. Here, he isn't sleeping as much as he'd like, between the heat and the light, and it's taken him back to old habits. He sits in shady spots in high trees to keep an eye on people, his observation skills as critical as ever. Maybe more, because he's not sleeping, and when he is, the nightmares are worse than ever. So instead, he stays awake and he makes notes about people and he watches, always watches.

It's how he notices that Jake is starting to get irritated with the heat and his hair. It's little signs at first, but then, Cougar's unwavering eye notices enough little additions that he knows just what he needs to do. He fetches his scissors and a bowl of the coolest water he can find, putting everything together and then sitting in the corner of their bedroom with his hat pulled low over his head, sweating through his tank top and self-made shorts (his scrubs, cut, which means he will not have them for the winter).

Unmoving, he sits there and waits, his own hair tied in a bun behind his head. After what happened the last time to make him cut his own hair, he's not trying that again. No, this is about making Jake stop with his fidgeting and complaining and sweating, at least, for a few seconds. It will be a few seconds worth it.

Threaded | Flat

Growing up in the foster system meant Jake had never really had many luxuries a a child. The inherent instability of his living situation hadn't allowed him to get too comfortable with any one family, and as he was never anyone's real child, even the good foster parents weren't falling over themselves to spend money on him. For most of his childhood, haircuts were doled out on the back porch, or in the kitchen, or over the bathroom sink, all with a pair of clippers, usually set to one length with no concern for style or fashion. Enlisting in the Army hadn't changed very much in that respect, though when he got more settled in with the Losers, and realized he was able to push the boundaries of the rules a little more — like with his glasses — he started to affect a more stylized look.

Even with the occasional clipping he's managed to finangle since he showed up here, this is the longest his hair has been his entire life, and he hates it.

The incessant sunshine and oppressive heat has been making everyone miserable, and Jake is certainly included there. He's sweating, he's sticky, he's uncomfortable, and his hair sticks to his neck to matter what he does. It's awful. If Veronica weren't still living with them, he'd spend most of his day naked, just to escape the feeling of his clothes sticking to him, but alas, he cannot. What he can do, though, once he's checked on the rabbits and made sure Baby's been fed, is to trudge up to the room he shares with Cougar, stripping down to his boxers as he goes so he can spread-eagle across the bed and whine piteously into the pillows. Maybe if none of his limbs are touching, he'll feel better.