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“Max, c’mon. It’s just gonna go in your hair.” “But what if it burns?” “It’s not gonna burn, Jä-ger-man.” Okay, so maybe Richie was lying a little, but he already had the stuff to dye Max’s hair out and ready, and the other boy was bugging him about it all day. Max already had the coconut oil in, and Richie was super excited for this. “You promise?” Max questioned, a skeptical look on his face. “I promise.” Max sighed, leaning back against the chair they had brought into the bathroom. “Just hurry up, nerd..” Richie grinned, and he put the latex gloves on, immediately getting to work. He brushed the mixture of bleach and developer over Max’s curly bangs, making small talk. God, three months ago, if you had told Richie that Max Jägerman would be in his bathroom, with Richie dying Max’s hair, he wouldn’t believe you. But, ever since the incident at the Waylon place, and how Max somehow stopped falling after the first break in the floor, the two clicked. Max hadn’t realized that the nerds actually had a nice presence to be around. Sure, Pete still didn’t trust him, but the two bonded about Star Wars. Ruth was actually surprisingly funny, and the two had gotten close. She taught him about fanfiction, and let’s just say.. Max had spent several nights on the Wonder Woman/Reader tag on ao3.. Grace was nice enough. After he found out the whole Waylon place incident was a prank and not a party, he sorta lost interest in her. She was still really pretty though, and it was fun to tease her. Then see her get all red in the face and run off.. Steph had told him to knock it off, but he still did it anyway. Sue him, seeing nerds run off because of a little teasing was entertaining to say the least, even if he actually liked them now. And then there was Richie. Max didn’t expect to bond with Richie as much as he did. Maybe it was because they saw each other more often with Max being on the football team, and Richie being Zeek the Fighting Nighthawk, but he’d grown a soft spot for the nerd. The two spoke more than any of the other’s in the friend group, and they hung out often. Sometimes it was so Richie could tutor Max, sometimes it was to play video games, but he still enjoyed it. Richie was good company, and had shown Max anime, which he didn’t think he’d enjoy as much as he did. Sure, it was a sports anime, but that didn’t matter. It was still entertaining as shit, and he’d gotten Jason and Kyle to watch it too, that way they could talk about it together. Once Richie finished the bleach, Max furrowed his brows. “You said it wouldn’t burn, shit-lips.” He said the nickname in a lighthearted, more teasing tone. But not bullying. Not like he used to do. Richie scoffed in response, setting the brush and the mixture to the side. “It doesn’t burn, it just tingles.” “Tomato potato.” “That’s not how that works.” Max just stuck his tongue out in response, and the two laughed. Richie always liked Max’s smile.. his big, pearly whites, and how his canines were the highlight of it, and the way his lips curled up, and- He was snapped out of his thoughts when Max was about to stand up. “What are you doing?” He quirked an eyebrow, holding Max’s shoulder to keep him down. “Getting up?” “I gotta put the shower cap on you.” Max groaned, but flopped back down. Richie chuckled, before putting the shower cap over Max’s hair, having to hold in a snicker. Max stared at himself in the mirror, grumbling. “Y’made me look like a lunch lady..” “Maybe you should dress up like that and come to comic con with me.” Max flipped him off, huffing. The two idly waited for a bit, Richie up on the countertop while they talked about school, friends, their own lives, etc, etc. Until Max said something to shock Richie. “You’re the best out of all of them, y’know.” “Sorry?” “The nerds. You’re the best.” Richie still looked confused. Max sighed. “Ruth may be my like.. close-ish friend now, but she’s still a little weird. Pete is still warming up to me, and I’m not sure if he even likes me. Grace clearly is in love with me, and honestly, I can’t blame her. If I was a repressed chick, I’d want a piece of the Jägermeister too. I don’t know PJ and Reese that well, but I think they’re still scared of me. But you, Richie? Dude, you’ve like- fully forgiven me, even after I targeted you for so many years. I gave you so much shit for being sweaty and gross all the time, and liking anime, and being scrawny, but.. you’re cool.” Richie looked stunned, but he somehow managed out a jumbled mess of words. “I- Max, if I’m being honest, I don’t know why I’ve forgiven you, but, you- you’re actually really fun to be around when you’re not a dick - no offense.” Max huffed, but laughed nonetheless. “None taken.” “Anyway, you’ve been super sorry about everything, and ever since you opened up about your home life, I get why you did it. Feeling pressure, your dad being an asshole, your mom.. you were just coping, but in a really bad way. Now though, you’ve given your apologies. and most people forgive you. Kyle and Jason actually enjoy being around you now, and none of the nerds live in constant fear. You’re sweet, Max. Even when you don’t wanna admit it. But, at the same time, you’re like- really fucking brave, and I’m pretty envious of it, because I wish I could be like that too. You’re funny, and charming, and handsome, and-“ “You think I’m handsome?” Richie froze, his heart racing a million miles per millisecond. Fuck, why did he let that slip. He just stammered out a sound. Idiot. “I- uh.. you’re pretty cute yourself, man.” Max scratched the back of his neck, and Richie looked confused, a small grin on his face. “Yeah?” “Shut up.” Richie was unable to hide the giddiness that fluttered inside of his chest, and he took the shower cap off of Max once the time was up. He watched Max put his head under the faucet of the bathtub, rinsing out bleach and shampoo under the water. Once it was dry, Richie applied the toner in Max’s hair, while the jock avoided eye contact, watching TikToks on his phone. As soon as the toner was done, Richie sat back up on the counter, staying quiet as he looked down, the only sound in the room being their breathing, and the videos that Max would scroll past on his phone. Max, of course, forever and always hating silence, broke it. “I’m not lying.” “What?” “You’re cute, Richie.” His heart skipped a beat. “Thank you.” “Mhm.” And then it was silent again. Should he compliment Max? Should he pour his heart out about how, despite Max being a jerk to him all four years of highschool, as well as all of middle school, and fourth and fifth grade, he had a mega fat crush on him and literally dreamed about them being together? Wrong, he stayed quiet. Max did the same. Finally, after an excruciating amount of waiting in silence, it was finally time to add the dye. Max handed Richie the color that he had picked out, which was the closest thing he could find to Nighthawks blue. Richie squirted the dye into a bowl, and put some gloves back on, then applied the blue dye over the toner. After that was done, he put the shower cap back on Max, removing the gloves, and sat down on the counter. More waiting arrived. “Shit-lips?” “Yeah?” “I like you.” Richie froze. “What?” “Aren’t you supposed to be smart? I said I like you, dumbass.” The shorter boy was shocked, to say the least, and stuttered out a half assed reply. “I- uh- um- I like- like you too-“ “Of course you do, who doesn’t want a piece of the Jägerman?” Despite putting on a cool persona, Max was screaming inside. He had hidden his feelings for Richie, trying to get rid of them, trying to deny the fact that he was gay by bullying him, and then bullying the other nerds, but after becoming friends, he didn’t wanna hide it anymore. He wanted to tell Richie. He wanted to date him. “You’re such a cocky bastard, you know that, right?” “Yeah, but not everyone hates it. I doubt you do, considering you agreed to dye my hair.” Richie scoffed. Okay, maybe he liked it a little bit. “Whatever, Jä-ger-man.” “Can it, Lip-sch-itz.” The two laughed, before sitting in silence again. Richie was the one to break it. “So.. if we both like each other, in a romantic sense, do we.. date?” Richie had no idea what to do in this situation. He had never had a boyfriend or girlfriend, other than testing out the idea of being gay in seventh grade, and dating Pete for two days before realizing his crush on Max, and that he just had no feelings for Pete. “I dunno, Richie, you think you can handle the Jägerman?” Richie scoffed at the grin that covered Max’s face. “I dunno, but I’m up for a challenge.” Max’s grin softened to a smile. “Then it’s settled, we’re dating.” “Cool.” “Very cool.” The two giggled, and they started talking casually again, but this time it included obvious flirting from Max, and some flustered reactions from Richie. It was now eight o’clock, and time for them to rinse out the dye. Max took off the shower cap, and stuck his head under the bathtub faucet again. Richie scrubbed out the blue, before they dried off Max’s hair, who was grinning like an idiot when he saw the dark blue color illustrating his bangs, making his blue eyes pop almost as much as Richie’s. “Thank you, Richie.” “You’re welcome, Max.” The two smiled, and took a picture together, showcasing their matching blue hair. Max posted it onto his Instagram, with a caption that the two of them thought of. Nighthawks for life.