It's so easy to imagine Hana tormenting Kei by fussing with his hair or making him look pretty with makeup or other things.

All characters belong to Gackt, not me

Kei fingered his damp hair as he studied his reflection. His hair was too long, and he needed to get it cut soon. The tips of his hair brushed past his shoulders and got in the way of his vision a lot. Definitely too long.

"Kei?" The vampire glanced down as he felt a hand tugging his sleeve. Hana stood by his side, dressed in her pajamas. It'd been almost a year and a half since Kei had agreed to raise Hana, and the vampire adored the little girl.

"Yes?"

"You have pretty hair! Can I style it?"

Kei blinked. "Uh… thank you."

He wasn't used to hearing that, and her question filled him with horror. Style his hair like he was some oversized Barbie doll? He could only imagine what she would do. But since this was Sho's daughter, Kei couldn't say no. "Sure."

Hana's face lit up. "Thank you! Now let's get your hairbrush."

Kei took his brush out of the drawer, feeling apprehensive. Hopefully Hana would simply brush his hair then call it quits. That hope was dashed as Hana grabbed the box that carried all her hair supplies. Well, so much for just getting his hair brushed.

"Let's go in the living room!" Hana seized Kei's hand and let him out of the bathroom. She sat down in one of the armchairs and indicated the space in front of the chair. "Sit here so I can give you pretty hair."

"Okay." Kei settled down in front of her, leaning back against the chair. He made a contented noise as Hana started to brush his hair. That felt nice. The vampire tensed as Hana separated a small section of his hair, obviously intent on braiding it. "Hana?" He hadn't agreed to braids in his hair!

"Hold still so I can braid it," the girl instructed as she continued braiding his hair.

Kei resisted the urge to bolt. This was worse than nine-year-old Sho asking if Kei would sleep with him. Sho had always asked him perverted questions as a child. He hadn't known the meaning of what he asked, but that had never stopped him. Kei could only hope Hana would not follow in her father's footsteps and ask him dirty questions all the time. It'd been awkward enough with Sho, but it'd be even worse with his daughter.

The vampire sighed softly as he remembered Sho's childhood. Kei's life had been simpler and happier back then. All his children had been alive and sure taking care of them and raising them well had been hard, but they'd still been relatively innocent and hadn't carried the burdens they would in their adult lives.

Tiny arms wrapped around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Don't be sad, Kei."

Kei smiled a little as he patted Hana's arm. "I'm not; I'm just being nostalgic."

"What's that mean?" Hana asked, sounding confused as she resumed styling Kei's hair. She tied off the braid and stuck a horribly jeweled clip into Kei's bangs.

"Nostalgia is when you're thinking about the past," the vampire explained, grimacing as he caught sight of his reflection in the window. He was going to look like a gay twelve-year-old by the time Hana had finished abusing his hair.

"Oh." The little hairdresser began braiding another section of his hair, clapping her hands in joy once she'd finished. "You look so pretty, Kei!"

"All because of your… lovely work," Kei replied with a pained smile. Hopefully Hana would get tired soon so he could return his poor hair to its normal state. He was definitely cutting it short soon so he could avoid more hairdressing scenarios.

"Mmhm." Hana moved on to another section of Kei's hair. She put a couple pigtails and some more sparkly hairclips in before adding in more braids. By that point, Kei was praying for his hairdresser to get tired and finish abusing his head. He couldn't be her living Barbie doll for much longer. Plus, Sho was coming over tonight. Kei had to make sure Hana was asleep in bed and that his hair was back to normal before his lover arrived.

Kei's eyes widened as he noticed movement by the window. He froze in horror as he recognized Sho's familiar frame leaning against the glass. The younger vampire looked shocked as he saw Kei, but the surprised look changed to a smug smirk as he shook with laughter. Kei resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands. Once he let Sho in, he'd never hear the end of it. Maybe he should just leave Sho outside…

"All done! Your hair looks so pretty, Kei." Hana stuck one more barrette into his hair and patted his head, moving off the chair so she could admire her handiwork.

"Thank you, Hana." Kei shot another glance at the window. Sho ducked out of sight for human eyes, but Kei could easily see him with his superior vision. Sho still bore that amused expression, but there was a trace of sorrow in his features as he studied his daughter. Sho hadn't been able to face Hana after Kei had changed him, and the blonde vampire hoped his lover would change his mind. Hana needed her real father.

"Let's show you your hair!" The little girl seized his hand and pulled him into the bathroom. Kei bit his lip to keep from screaming in horror as he saw his reflection. His hair was a mess of braids, ponytails, and sparkly barrettes. In other words, he looked terrible.

"Okay, Hana. It's time for bed now."

Hana yawned. "Will you tell me a story?"

"Sure." The vampire nudged her towards the sink. "Brush your teeth first; I'm going to open up a window. It's kind of warm in here."

"Okay." Hana obediently grabbed her toothbrush as Kei went into the living room. He unlocked the window and pushed it open, stepping aside so Sho could enter the house.

"When did you get this lovely style?" the taller man asked, snickering as he tapped one of the barrettes.

Kei flushed. "Shut up! Hana wanted to do my hair today, so I let her."

Sho smirked. "It suits you." He grasped Kei's chin and turned his face up so he could claim a kiss. Kei returned it, but drew back. He couldn't get distracted. The last thing he wanted was for Hana to find him kissing her supposedly-dead father.

"Go hide somewhere; I need to tell Hana a bedroom story before she goes to sleep." He gently pushed Sho away.

"Make sure to keep this hairstyle," Sho chuckled.

Kei kicked him in the shin. "Brat."

"Ow! You love me anyway." Sho stole one more kiss before disappearing down the hallway. Kei waited until he was out of sight before entering Hana's bedroom. She was in bed already with an eager expression on her face. Hana loved bedtime stories.

"What story do you want me to tell?" Kei asked as he sat down on the edge of her bed.

"Tell me a story about Daddy!" Hana said eagerly. She still believed her father would come back into her life, and Kei didn't have the heart to tell her that such a thing was unlikely. Sho was too ashamed of what he'd become to face his precious little girl.

"All right. What type of story?"

"Something about Daddy when he was little."

Kei looked thoughtful as he debated what story to tell, lips curving into a wicked grin. He'd tell Hana an embarrassing story about Sho. That'd teach the brat a lesson about laughing at him. "Well, when Sho was eleven he decided that he'd make me a birthday cake. This was all before Sho knew how to cook."

"Did he burn the cake?" Hana asked, giggling a little at the thought of her father trying to cook at a young age.

"Surprisingly no. He managed to make me the cake, but it was shaped weirdly."

Hana laughed. "Poor Daddy!"

"Well, once Sho had made his cake he filled it with birthday candles. There were a lot since I've been around for a long time, and Sho lit them all. I was asleep during all this, and Sho shook me awake. I woke up, but since the cake was so hot because of all the candles, it hurt Sho's hand and he dropped the cake onto my bed. He ended up setting my sheets on fire!"

"Did Daddy get in trouble?" Hana asked, wide-eyed.

"Well, once I got the fire out he was. I gave him a big lecture, and he cried."

Hana giggled a little. "Did Daddy learn his lesson?"

"Yes he did. Now, it's time for you to go to bed." Kei pulled the sheets up to her chin and kissed the top of Hana's head.

"Good night," Hana yawned and snuggled up under the covers.

"Good night." Kei smiled at her then slipped out of the room, heading into the bathroom. He immediately started taking out the ponytails, jumping as strong arms wrapped around his waist.

"Taking out your lovely hairstyle, Kei?" Sho chuckled as he pulled Kei up against his chest. "I'd hoped you'd keep it."

The blonde growled and roughly elbowed Sho in the ribs. "Shut up and help me if you ever want to have sex again."

"Don't be such a grouch." Sho pouted as he stroked Kei's chest. "Besides, I don't think you could resist me." He kissed the top of Kei's head and snuggled him closer.

"Watch me, Sho," the blonde snapped.

The taller man snickered, but raised his hands from Kei's petite waist to help him undo the numerous braids. With both of their help, they managed to get all the braids, ponytails, and hairclips out. Kei whined a little as he saw his poor hair. There were various kinks in it from the ponytails, and the braids had turned his straight hair wavy. He dragged his fingers through his hair in a desperate attempt to make it look normal again.

"You'll just have to take a shower. Do you want me to help you?" Sho purred, dropping his hands to Kei's waist and sliding his pants off his hips. The blonde scowled and smacked Sho's hands away, adjusting his sweatpants.

"I'll shower in the morning. And try to get your mind out of the gutter, Sho."

"I don't think you can talk." Sho snorted and turned Kei around, tilting his head up so he could kiss the shorter vampire. Kei considered pulling back, but relented and returned the kiss. He didn't have many chances to see Sho this often. Sho dropped his hands back to Kei's waist, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him close.

The blonde drew back first, pushing his hair behind his ear. "Did Hana ever make your hair pretty?" he asked, chuckling.

Sho snorted. "Yes she did. She made it even 'prettier' than yours since she used her glitter hairspray and pink ribbons. Yi-Che laughed so hard she cried when she saw the final result, and she took a bunch of pictures."

Kei smirked. "You're showing them to me."

Sho made a face. "I'll show you the next time Hana makes your hair all pretty so I can take pictures of you."

Kei scowled. "Fine." He'd just have to look for the pictures tomorrow while Hana was at school.

Sho took Kei's hand and pulled him away. "Come on; let's get out of the bathroom." He brought Kei into the bedroom, lying down on the bed and pulling Kei up with him before wrapping his arms around him. "So how is Hana?"

"She's good. She still misses you and Yi-Che, but she's happy."

"That's great."

Kei snickered. "I told her the story about when you were little and set my bed on fire. She thought it was hilarious."

Sho made a face. "Why do you have to tell Hana embarrassing stories about my childhood?"

"Because they're funny." Kei snuggled closer and draped his arm over Sho's waist, content to just lie in his arms and talk.

The taller vampire combed his fingers through Kei's messy hair. "You should braid your hair more often," he said, changing the subject.

"I look like a dork in braids."

"No, you look cute." Sho pressed Kei closer, leaning over to kiss him. "I can't stay long tonight… I have to feed."

Kei sighed. "As long as you can stay here for part of the night."

"I will, and I'll be here for as long as I can tomorrow. You should come with me tonight."

"I can't. I don't have anyone to watch Hana, and I'm not thirsty."

Sho frowned. "You're lying. You always say you're not thirsty, but I know you are."

Kei shrugged. "It's true. Hey, Sho… are you ever going to come back for real?"

"You know I can't do that."

"Yes you could."

"No I couldn't. How could I come back into Hana's life? She thinks I'm dead, Kei. How would I explain that I'm back from the dead?"

"Tell her the truth," Kei replied simply.

Sho sighed sadly. "I can't do that. I don't feel right facing her now that I'm not human anymore… and I'm afraid of hurting her. I can't trust myself to be around her. I wish I could stay and watch her grow into a beautiful young woman, but it's not possible."

Kei winced a little. It was because of him that Hana would never see her father again, but Sho wouldn't be here either if Kei hadn't been so selfish. Out of all the humans he'd known throughout his life, Sho was the most precious. Kei hadn't been able to give him up to death's cold embrace.

"Let's talk about something happier," Sho urged, hugging Kei closer. There was so little happiness in his life nowadays that Kei didn't mind changing the subject.

"Like what?" the blonde took Sho's hand, lacing their fingers together and making a contented noise as Sho combed his hair with his free hand.

"Anything you want."

All too soon, Sho had to leave. Kei opened the window so his lover could slip out into the night.

"Good night, Kei." Sho kissed the shorter vampire before disappearing into the shadows. Kei shut the window and locked it, watching the dark streets. It'd only get harder to sneak Sho in as Hana got older, but Kei would deal with that when the time came… and hopefully by then Sho would have changed his mind. Kei still hoped that Sho would walk back into Hana's life once he'd gained control over himself.

Sighing, Kei turned away from the window and went back into the bedroom, resigning himself to another long, lonely night.