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It had been a very long time since Kravitz had taken a bath, it simply wasn't necessary, and even so- he never had the time. He recalled faintly, the perhaps in his previous life he did enjoy baths, the warmth they provided, the smell of special soaps and oils on his skin and the soft feeling of silk slipping across his shoulders from a robe- much like the fuschia one that was entwined in his fingers as he sat cross legged on the toilet lid in Taakos bathroom. The elf in question was humming some time, horribly off pitch and cracks in some parts, Kravitz's lips twitched into a smile- as if it was the prettiest song he'd ever heard.
Taako pours something he mutters as Epsom salt, it smelled heavily of lavender, into the steaming water of the tub. The wisps of steam curled and danced, both into each other as well as tumbling through the air as if they were acrobats, slow and calculated- spreading a thick scent across the air. Taako grabbed a soapy looking liquid, pouring it along side the water that tumbled from the spout, bubbles quickly arose, then multiplied, fizzling and growing into tall, rose scented mountains.
Now Kravitz was quite sure he had never taken a bubble bath before. Taako turns the handles, making the spray of water cease to be. He punctuates his song with a sharp hum before turning to Kravitz, eyeing him for a moment before sticking his tongue out.
“Geez man, cut it with the goo goo eyes- “
Kravitz grins and prods Taakos exposed shins with his cold toes, causing him to yelp, “Oh as if you're one to talk!” He tilts his head up and tries his best to impersonate Taako, “Oh darling, how can I just keep myself from kissing that handsome face? I could listen to your singing forever and ever you lovely litt-” He is silenced as Taako shoves a hand over his mouth.
“Oh shhh, shhh shhh!” He grumbles with a pout, a heavy scarlet settling in his cheeks. Kravitz shorts, his shoulders bobbing up and down as he dissolves into a fit of laughter. Taako huffs, before letting out a laugh himself- that melodic, awkward laugh that Kravitz fell in love with bouncing off the walls as the hands slip from his mouth and into his hair, thumbs tracing the edges of Kravitz’s cheekbones, the pads of his thumbs were warm and soft, tracing lines of tingling heat across his face, shaking slightly as Taako giggles.
The laughter resigned into something pleasant, a shared silence, two beings in one moment- together in a moment of comfortable and satisfying silence, as their foreheads pressed together and Taako’s breath ghosts across Kravitz’s cheeks. Taako lifts his head slightly, placing his warm lips at the center of Kravitz's forehead, inhaling softly.
“The baths gonna get cold,” Kravitz mutters. Taako sighs, pulling away, not before placing one more chaste kiss at Kravitz’s hairline before scooting back, unceremoniously dropping his robe and stepping into the bath. Kravitz caught a brief flash of heavy lines that impeded Taako’s back, long and deep gashes. He commonly did not ask for the details of Taako’s near death experience, it was, by all means, an emotional endeavor for the both of them. He knew the little things, however, the gashes from the broken machinery that bore marks across him, the shoulder pains from lack of proper treatment, and whenever Taako found himself in a high amount of stress, he would hack small spatters of blood- nothing harmful, but just enough to make Kravitz panic.
He shakes the thought, watching as Taako submerges himself in the towers of bubbles, sighing and allowing his eyes to flutter shut, his nose was just above the bubbles, ears twitching as they poke one of the taller towers near him, freckled cheeks shining with the moisture of popped bubbles. Kravitz clicks his tongue and Taako tilts his head in confusion.
“What’s up hubbaloo?” Taako hums, Kravitz crinkles his nose in delight at the nickname, the ring on his finger suddenly feeling very present, Kravitz then is making a circular motion with his hand Taako jerks slightly- and a ring appears in between Kravitz index finger and thumb, a diamond glittering as water drips from it, slipping across small sapphires, across the length of the golden band before falling on the floor.
“You’re lucky our rings are soul-bound both ways or else we may have lost a gem in that drain,” Kravitz says coyly, removing his own ring and setting it beside Taakos on the edge of the counter. Taako rolls his eyes and sinks back lower into the tub.
“Okay Mister clever, are you gonna or in or what?”
“Taako,” Kravitz says in a low tone, “I am ice fucking cold and the best chance I can get to cuddle my husband is by sitting with him in a warm bath, of course, I’m taking that opportunity.” He drops his robe and lowers himself into the bath across from Taako, the warmth was very inviting, though space was slightly awkward- the bath was decent in size but by no means built for two full grown men, but they make due.
Kravitz goes down until eye level, not needing breath had its perks, allowing more skin to warm faster within the hot confines of the bath, Taako must have enchanted it- perhaps the salts, to make the heat last longer- or more so stay warm despite Kravitz cold body entering the water. The bubbles stick to Kravitz’s long dark hair, fizzling and popping in his curls.
Kravitz looks to Taako, who is staring at him intently with bright eyes, toes prod at Kravitz’s triceps, testing the temperature. “You’re good now babe, get over her and snuggle cha boi.” His fingers lace With Kravitz’s, tugging him towards the elf insistently, Kravitz rolls his eyes and shifts towards Taako, it was an awkward maneuver, but the settled on Kravitz being below Taako, who was leaned against Kravitz’s chest, his wet hair sticking on nearly every free expanse of skin.
The sensation of cuddling in the water was always a strange feeling, but pleasant nonetheless. Kravitz wraps his arms around Taako’s torso, holding his shifting body in place. Taako sighs contently at the action, head lolling backward so that he was looking up towards Kravitz.
“Hey.” He says, smiling.
Kravitz hums, pulling Taako a little closer, “Hi.” He feels that odd fleeting feeling within his chest again, the closest thing he could get to a heartbeat, the ghost of a life that Taako always seems to spark within him, “I like holding you.”
Taako grins, his cheeks dimpling at the sentiment, “Well that's swell baby,” He hums as he rolls over in Kravitz's arms- allowing his own arms to ghost up Kravitz’s chest and breach the water just so they could wind around the back of Kravitz’s neck loosely, as if he was holding himself in place, “Cause’ I like to be held.”
Kravitz lets out a short laugh, diving downward and kissing Taako on the nose, watching how it crinkles when he pulls back- the small freckles that dot across it almost appear to wink at him. “Mm’ again with the sappy stuff?” Taako whines, it was playful, however, the drawl of each word made that clear, Kravitz knew tit for tat that the man very much indulged and reveled in any praise and affection- as well as surprisingly enough, giving it.
Kravitz clicks his tongue and laughs, his fingers releasing Taako’s waist and playing with the floating mass of hair that was chock full of bubbles, fizzing with each small motion. “Mhmm, I love telling my husband how much I love him and everything about him.” Taako groans and buries his face in Kravitz’s chest, blowing a raspberry against his skin that causes Kravitz to burst into a fit of laughter.
“That’s not fair, you’re not allowed to be hot when you're being tickled, that is not- that’s not a thing!” Taako whines, Kravitz opens an eye to see Taako pouting, a heavy flush across his cheeks, but there was a large grin on his face, those dimples he adored clear as day on Taako’s face.
Kravitz’s hands slip to gently grip onto Taako’s hips, pulling him closer and pressing a chaste kiss to Taako’s lips. His husband lets out a complacent hum, fingers stroking lightly on either side of Kravitz’s face. Everything about this moment was soft, was warm, it was a pleasant buzzing in the back of the head- the sweet smell of roses and lavender filling the nose, affection in its purest form, as short and gentle kisses were found in multitudes upon their lips, nothing more, just simple presses of the lip- but it was in every way, intoxicating. Kravitz finds himself chasing for Taako’s lips, instead- accidentally kissing the other’s chin.
“This is so nice, to finally catch a fucking break,” Taako sighs, his forehead rests on Kravitz’s shoulder, fingers aimlessly playing with Kravitz’s hair, “To just, relax and enjoy myself- enjoy you, enjoy us…” His voice trails off, inhaling deeply, Kravitz could feel every little thing- the steady thrum of Taako’s heart, the swell of his body as he inhales, the noise Taako’s hair makes as it shifts across the water, the steady and calculated circles his finger made as it wound itself within a lock of Kravitz’s hair, every little thing- he loved every little thing, “I know this is gonna, it’s gonna turn into some messy emotional shlop, so take that with a grain of salt but, it’s always been hard to love someone- I guess? Not hard but, scary, you know? I grew up with Lup, she was, well we learned really fast how to cut ties- to not let them wind around us, because we would just go insane, you can only lose so much before you just go fucking bonkers.” Kravitz is nodding, listening intently, his nose pressed to Taako’s hairline, his lips resting on the elves forehead.
“Truth be told, I was scared as hell, when we both lost each other, I was so- I was so fucking unprepared for the metric mess of emotion that just ate me up, between the apocalypse and everything I was so… I was lost, you know? Because I spent all this time trying to build these walls, these crazy ass walls, because I was afraid to get hurt but, but-” He shakes his head, and Kravitz plants a kiss atop it, this wasn’t the first time Taako had begun dwelling aloud, but Kravitz paid no mind, to know that he was someone Taako could trust with this, to confide in him, it meant so much- he does his best to listen, to coax his husband along with soft reassuring whispers and gentle touches, it helps- and in moments such as now he can feel Taako pressing more into him, his body tensing and relaxing, “I was, I felt like a fuck up, I fucked up a lot- my dude I won't even sugar coat that shit! I felt like a fuck up that… deserved to be alone, and for some reason that made me want to be alone, but not really, fuck that doesn’t make sense.”
“It’s fine, love.” Kravitz whispers, placing a couple more soft kisses, Taako lets out a shaky sigh.
“You, you helped me realize- because I mean, it takes two to realize it, me and you, you and I- grammar and all that I guess- I, I’m getting off track uh.” He shrugs, his toes were dragging on the outer portion of Kravitz’s calf, “You helped me realize that, I have fucked up, but I’m not a fuck up, that I, like any other being, can have love, can give it, can receive it and I guess, fuck, well- now we’re married and all that and I, gods you’re still so unspeakably- I love you so fucking much, everything, I love everything about you, you, I love you, Kravitz, thank you- for everything, for being here with me, here, in this slightly cold bathtub on a Sunday afternoon, with many more days likely to come, and every single time- I will still enjoy it, it won’t get old, because you’re here, and I love you, and you make everything better by just, being there. I love you.” He pulls himself up and kisses Kravitz again.
“I love you too Taako, I said I was crazy about you once before and,” He smiles, “I meant it, I love you Taako- to the end of this dimensional plane, and then some.”
Kravitz hadn’t noticed the fact that he was crying, only the fact that he could feel Taako wipe tears from his cheeks, whispering affectionate words between kisses, “No crying okay, you big sap, oh now I'm crying- ugh don’t, don’t loooooook.” He groans and pulls back, Kravitz opens his eyes and has no time to react as a handful of bubbles is shoved in his face, he lets out a noise- much similar to when he accidentally stepped on Magnus and Angus’s new puppy’s tail, that made Taako howl with laughter, leaning back and trying to muffle it his snorts with his hands.
Kravitz grins, flicking away the bubbles, “Oh, now you’ve done it.” He says as he grabs an armful of bubbles and throws it into Taako’s face, he lets out a screech and grabs onto Kravitz with one hand, and desperately wipes away the bubbles with the other- noticeably missing the bottom half of his face, looking as if he had a beard.
“Oh god, you look like Merle with that bubble beard, love.” Kravitz snickers and Taako scoffs, playfully shoving Kravitz's chest.
“That is the worst possible insult I have ever heard, but,” Taako pauses, and does the best he can to make his voice raspy, “Healing? Never heard of her, what a strange name- are my teammates dying? Better make sure their attackers are telling the truth as they murder the--m!” His sentence breaks off as he begins to laugh, genuine body wracking, collapsing against Kravitz’s chest- his laughter echoing against the Reapers skin, his laughter fades, and they find themselves once again in that familiar silence- familiar and all the while, perfect.
“I love you…” Taako says, leaning up and kissing Kravitz chastely, their foreheads rest against each other.
“I love you too.”
“I know,” Taako hums with a smile, “I just like to say it, and to hear you say it.” There is a pause, as they rest there, foreheads pressed together, Kravitz arms wrapped around Taako- Taako’ arms loosely wrapped around Kravitz’s neck. They were wound together like bonds, strong and everlasting, “I hate to kill the moment but, the waters cold-and colds are not Taako’s style.”
Kravitz nods, kissing his husband once more, enjoying the warmth that radiated from him. He realized as the exited the bath that, yes, perhaps in his previous life he had indulged and enjoyed baths, but he could say- undoubtedly. That now, in his afterlife, he found something more appealing about baths- tender kisses, tender words, soft touches. If this is what it meant to bathe, he would most certainly make the time.
He would make all the time in the world, and then some, to be with Taako.