The Gentle Giant

Hairbrush

Axel's POV

I put my plate in the sink to be washed later. Should I be happy that she wants me to brush her hair? Or is this the initiation of her demandingness?

I was probably right when I didn't do anything to spoil her. She didn't ask me to do anything for her before I did.

This first request was probably first of many. It may seem ridiculous, but it's true. Hazel will start by asking me to brush her hair, and she'll continue to ask more and more of me until eventually I'm on the bottom worshiping her.

The only question is how I want to handle this.

I want to cut off the selfish and bratty behavior, but she hasn't done anything yet to really warrant a punishment. Of course, me in my stupid giddy mood, agreed to brush her hair and I've already gone back on too many things with her to go back on that agreement too.

I guess I'll just go with the hair brushing thing and see how that goes. I can test her and probably push her to get all demanding, so I 
can nip her bad behavior in the bud.

"Hazel!" I call, going into the living room with a brush. She's laying on the floor by the sofa already. She sits up, smiling widely when she sees me.

I sit down with a groan and she immediately gets between my legs and turns around, so that I can brush her hair. I switch on the television, not having anything else to do on a Saturday.

I decide to start off gently with Hazel, and see how that goes. She says nothing, only humming quietly in contentment. "Thank you." She tilts her head back, so she can see me and I nod my head in acknowledgment.

After we have settled into quiet again, I start to get a little rougher, letting my hands catch some of the strands of her fine hair and tug on them. She winces and I expect her to get snappy with me, but she just sits in silence.

I let the brush scratch her ears and forehead, but even then, she says nothing. I carelessly stroke her hair, letting it get all tangled before dragging the brush through it, yanking her hair back.

At her lack of reaction, I continue to get more and more aggressive until I realize how tense she is. I run my fingers over her hair gently, going back to being soft. She finches at my touch and that hurts me more than any snappy response would have.

I massage the back of her neck with my head and a soft sigh leaves her lips. She relaxes and this time, I take great care not to tug even the slightest bit as I detangle her hair.

"Why didn't you tell me I was hurting you?" I pull her off the floor, so she can sit between my legs. I hug her back against me and she holds my hands to her.

"I didn't want you to stop," she says, and I realize that she's crying.

I feel so guilty for hurting her.

"I was hurting you though?" I say in confusion.

"I like when you take care of me," she sniffles.

"But I wasn't," I say in confusion.

She nods her head, looking back at me, "You were grooming me." She sits sideways, so I'm cradling her.

I don't understand her one bit.

If someone had been hurting me, I would have told them. And if they were hurting me, I wouldn't want them to continue to do it either.

I guess me and her have much different mentalities though. I hold her closer to me, sliding my arm under her bottom and picking her up.

She snuggles into my neck and I pet her, placing kisses along the crown of her head. Blue meows somewhere down the hall and I head towards her, taking Hazel with me.