Chapter 10 #3
Falk pointed over his head. “There is a window,” he said as though that was the only explanation necessary.
“You could escape through it. And technically, I am supposed to have eyes on you at all times. Whether they be my own or another Warriors’ or someone trusted in the castle.
You are not supposed to be alone at all, including for things like relieving yourself or bathing. ”
“That’s dumb,” Ren mumbled.
“It’s no different from when you were in prison,” Falk pointed out. “I have seen you bathe before, Ren, so don’t be so nervous.”
“You haven’t seen me naked, though,” Ren snapped, wrapping his arms around himself.
Sure, Falk had seen him change—but Ren always turned his back to Falk when he did, and he always changed one item of clothing at a time.
Sure, Falk had seen him relieve himself, and had even had to watch while Ren had…
relieved himself in a different way during his heat.
But Ren’s heart still raced at the idea of Falk seeing him completely bare. What if he hated how he looked? What if he found Ren ugly? What if he found the scar on his lower stomach—a constant reminder of his first pregnancy—disgusting?
Falk stepped toward Ren who jerked back just as quickly, making Falk freeze. “I can look away while you undress and get into the tub, okay?” Falk asked, voice soft.
Ren waited for Falk to do just that.
He had been correct to be excited for such an extravagant bath. Even if he had wanted to curl up in his new bed, he had to admit, the water warming him to his core was a good way to end the day.
He sighed happily as he sank against the warmed stone.
“Feels nice?” Falk asked. He was smiling at him, sitting on the edge of the tub, when Ren peeked an eye open.
“Very,” Ren said, sinking down until only his eyes and nose stayed above the waterline.
Falk let him soak for a long time, until the bathwater turned gray from him sitting there doing nothing. Eventually, he made Ren take the soap and the rough, hard cloth to scrub himself. Ren’s nose scrunched at how disgusting the water was getting—and he still needed to wash his hair.
“Want me to do it for you?” Falk asked, holding up the shampoo.
Ren stared at him as though Falk had grown a second head, “Huh?”
“I’ll wash your hair for you,” Falk hummed, already taking the soap and lathering it between his hands.
Ren didn’t even have time to protest before Falk was moving to reach over and scrub the suds into Ren’s scalp.
He sat there, frozen, while Falk worked the shampoo into every strand, his nails scratching at his scalp.
Ren didn’t know why, but he almost felt sleepy—lulled into a daze by the soft ministrations.
It was nice—he’d never had someone else wash his hair for him, even when he was a child.
“Alright, rinse yourself off,” Falk said once he was done.
Ren held his breath as he dunked himself under the water, scrubbing at his head to get rid of all the soap.
When he stepped out, Falk laughed at the grimy water. “Maybe you should take another bath tomorrow,” he chided and handed Ren a towel big enough to wrap entirely around him. He made sure to keep his gaze averted; it made Ren’s heart clench in a strange, almost painful way.
“I want to sleep,” Ren said, lip jutting out.
“That is why I said tomorrow,” Falk hummed.
Ren was more than happy to grab one of his new shirts and steal a pair of undershorts from Falk for sleeping before burying himself back in the wonderful smelling bed.
He went right back to wrapping himself entirely around one of the pillows and nestling into the blankets.
He tugged the duvet up and over his head, and heard Falk laugh at him.
He felt the bed dip a second later, alerting him to another body coming into his nest.
“Scoot over, you’re hogging everything,” Falk said, but Ren didn’t hear a true scolding in his voice.
Ren peeked out from his little cocoon, but shuffled until his back was up against the wall, giving Falk plenty of room to lay down.
Ren’s mind had been spinning all day, and now that he was exhausted and tucked beneath the covers, and everything around him smelled like familiar spices, it was racing for a completely different reason.
Ren stared at Falk’s profile as he laid down with a soft sigh, his eyes shut.
He looked as tired from their day as Ren felt. The morning seemed like an age ago.
Ren’s heartbeat slammed in his chest, so he buried his face further into his blanket until only his nose could be seen. He pulled his knees up until they were tucked beneath him.
They both laid there in silence, the light still bright above their heads. Ren listened to Falk’s soft breaths.
Ren took a deep breath before deciding to move. He untucked his legs and shifted onto his hands and knees. A bit shaky, he moved closer to Falk until he could reach out to tug his pants and undershorts down.
Falk’s eyes flew open as Ren tried to move between his legs, hand reaching into his shorts as his mouth went dry. Falk immediately tried to sit up, “What are you doing?”
Ren blinked at him. “I… figured you’d want me to?—?”
Falk balked, taking a few seconds before shaking his head furiously. “Ren?—”
“I mean, you saved me—you took responsibility for me and everything,” Ren said quickly.
“I figured it was… I figured it was because you wanted an Omega, right? Why else would you have helped me?” Ren fiddled with the hem of his shirt, trying to will himself to lift it up, as explanations continued falling from his lips.
“I-I don’t mind. I can—I really appreciate what you did so I don’t mind using my mouth?—”
“Ren, no,” Falk finally said when he found his voice. Falk groaned and sat up, rubbing at his face as Ren crawled back up to his side of the bed and sat with his knees to his chest… “Ren, I didn’t do all of this because I wanted… because I wanted anything from you—I?—”
“So you don’t want me?” Ren murmured, anxiety dripped from his veins into the question.
“Yes I—no, but—Ren,” Falk groaned. “I didn’t save you just because of that—I did this because I genuinely think what happened to you was wrong. I genuinely don’t believe you deserve to rot away in prison for the rest of your life.”
Ren looked down at his hands. “So you don’t want me,” Ren repeated, but this time the question had become a statement.
“You’re not even twenty, Ren,” Falk said softly.
Ren peeked up at him and said, “I will be soon.”
“Yeah, and we can revisit this then,” Falk said.
“But right now, I don’t… I don’t want you like this—especially not when you think you have to do this for me.
” When Ren said nothing, Falk sighed and put his hands on Ren’s shoulders to help him lay down again.
“Rest,” Falk said. “You’ve had a very long day. ”
Ren chewed on his bottom lip as Falk tucked the blanket back around him. “You… you’re not just saying all of this right? You won’t do anything to me now? Like, in my sleep or something?”
A flash of hurt spread over Falk’s face, but it was gone in an instant. “Of course I won’t, Ren. Will you murder me in my sleep?”
“Maybe if you snore.”
Falk barked out a laugh, the sound shocking in such a strained quiet between them. “Goodnight, Ren,” he said, reaching above them to turn the lamp off.
“Goodnight,” Ren whispered back.