Kudret couldn't resist. The taxi continued onwards, rumbling quietly beneath their feet. Natia had placed her backpack on the middle seat between them, and now stared out of the window deep in contemplation. Deciding to put his stealth skills to work, Kudret began rifling through the bag’s pockets in his desperate search for some goddamn bobby pins.

His quest was rudely interrupted by a bewildered,

“Dude, what the fuck are you doing?” from Natia.

Kudret froze, a tin of breath mints, 3 scrunchies, and a zipped pouch of bobby pins sitting in his guilty hands.

“I, uh, I wanted to fix your hair,” he stammered. “I mean, I wanted to fix it during our conversation before but… I was being a good friend and not saying anything?”

Silence.

The space between Natia’s eyebrows furrowed as she self-consciously touched her hair.

“What's wrong with my hair?” she asked.

And, look, Kudret was nothing if not honest.
“It looks… Sad. That was my first thought before. You were being all ‘people put me in a box’ as your hair drooped sadly too,” admitted.

More silence.

Hesitantly, Kudret offered, “I knew I could fix it with a few bobby pins, and I knew you kept bobby pins in your bag… Being the excellent friend I am, though, I refrained from mentioning it in the moment.” He paired his explanation with a sheepish smile, desperate to be forgiven.

Natia huffed an amused laugh. She gestured to the items in his hands, “Okay, that explains the bobby pins. What about the scrunchies and mints, though?”

Ah. Dammit.

“U-hm…” Kudret floundered for an excuse. When absolutely no ideas sprang to mind, he decided to admit the truth.

“Well, I mean, the scrunchies are mine now. You never wear them. I love the patterns… And my mint supply is running low?” He hoped his wide, innocent smile would help him get away with it.

“I'm not a fucking store, Kudret!” Natia laughed.

It was good to see her laugh. It proved that she really was loosening up after their tense conversation. Kudret may have...