[ There it was again — the skepticism. Yuri wondered briefly if Byleth had tried before and had sore results, sensitive as his scalp seemed to be. Whatever the case, he offered his companion an easy smile when he was given the go-ahead. ]

Worst case scenario is you simply don't like it, after all. I don't expect it'll hurt; I've done this for kids before.

[ For his mother too, for that matter, whose frail health brought with it certain sensitivities as well.

With that, he stepped around the couch, arranged Byleth's hair, and gently ran the brush over it. Starting with a mess could lead to catching a tangle somewhere. ]

But do tell me if I'm wrong.