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There had been a mishap with the chickens. One of the little ones decided to try and make a mad dash away, causing both you and Muriel to run after it. You got the chicken back safely- but that didn’t mean everything was dandy.
“It’s coming this way!” You shouted, skidding close to a small hill. The land was wet from the last rain- and you could feel the mud causing you to lose balance a bit. Muriel looked in your direction, and began chasing the chick. He got close, but ended up slipping. The chicken got close to you, but when you leaned down to grab it, your own feet slipped. Your whole front was caked with mud as you sat up. Muriel was already back to his feet, chasing the chicken again. You sighed, but got yourself up too.
You eventually caught the chicken, putting it back in its coop. “We did it!” You cheered, putting your hand up for a high-five. Muriel looked at your hand for a long moment before sighing, and slowly bringing his own hand to yours in a very weak high-five. It was then when he glanced down at your clothes.
“You’re covered in mud…” He said, frowning.
“You aren’t faring much better yourself.” You said, grinning. “We should probably go get clean.” Muriel nodded. You both were silent for a moment. You’d never bathed while staying with Muriel- you always waited to go back to the shop, since it was dangerous in the woods alone. Muriel seemed to realize this at the same time as you, as his face flushed, and he averted his gaze.
“It’s… Definitely not safe for you to go alone… And I doubt you want to walk all the way back to the shop covered in mud…” He was getting quieter as he spoke. “We should probably go together…” You nodded. You didn’t really have a problem with that- since you were really comfortable with Muriel at this point.
After getting your towels and soap- and Inanna who insisted on accompanying you- you made the short trek to the river. You put your things aside, and began undressing. Muriel turned to you before he realized, and quickly slapped his hand over his eyes as you pulled your shirt over your head. “Uh… You’re getting in first, then?” Muriel asked. You raised a brow.
“I thought we were getting in together?” Muriel hesitated.
“I thought I could just keep watch while you bathed, uhm…” You could see his blush meet his ears at this point. “...And go after.”
“I mean, I guess, but that’d take longer, and if we bathed together, I could help you wash your back, which is covered in mud by the way.” You pointed out, now working on getting your pants off.
Muriel didn’t say anything for a long time, not until you began trying to rinse the mud out of your clothes. “I guess… You’re right.” He said, the embarrassment heavy in his voice. You set your now rinsed clothes aside, before stepping in the water.
“Alright then.” You said, before quickly dunking yourself, so you could get used to the temperature. You came back up, and began rubbing the mud off of yourself. While you did this, you could hear Muriel getting himself undressed as well. You forced yourself not to stare- but the temptation was definitely there.
Once Muriel’s clothes were off, he did similar to you, rinsing them off in the river before setting them aside, then got in with you.
He dunked, getting the first layer of mud off himself quickly, before noticing that you weren’t that far from him. He quickly looked away from you, going to grab the small bar of soap and small rag you brought with you. He fumbled with it, and that’s when you knew you had to get rid of some of the awkwardness. You gently put a hand on his forearm. “Muriel, hey.” You spoke softly. “Let me get your back for you.” You held out your hand, waiting for him to give you the soap. He hesitated, but did, and you went to stand behind him.
You dipped the bar of soap into the water, before smoothing it over Muriel’s tense back. You made sure to be gentle, especially around his scars, as you scrubbed with the rag. You could feel Muriel’s muscles slowly relax under your touch, though they tensed again when you got to his lower back. “Is this too far down?” You asked, stopping.
“N-No, it’s fine…” Muriel mumbled out quickly. You continued, stopping at the dimples in his back, before making your way back up, making sure to clean every inch. You were also trying to massage him at the same time, kneading into his tense muscles. Muriel let out a soft noise, sighing, leaning back into your touch, just barely. You smiled, before carefully rinsing the soap off of his back.
“There you go.” You smiled. Muriel looked over his shoulder at you. He was blushing, but turned slightly, holding his hand out, eyeing the bar of soap in your hand.
“I’ll do yours now…” You grinned, putting the soap in his hand, before turning around. Muriel lathered your back, before he carefully took the rag, smoothing it over your upper back, scrubbing gently.
It felt good. Muriel used the perfect amount of pressure, and you shuddered. Muriel stopped, but you quickly urged him to continue. He did, though it was with more caution at first. Once he had scrubbed down to your mid back, he slowed considerably. You knew what he was going to ask, but you waited for him to say it.
“Can I go lower..?” Muriel’s voice seemed more gravely than usual- and while it caught you off guard for a brief moment, you nodded.
“Yeah, go ahead.” You encourage.
Muriel’s hand smoothed down, scrubbing your lower back with care. You felt his other hand rest on your waist, gently massaging a knot of tension out with his thumb. You practically purred it felt so nice.
Once Muriel was finished washing, he began to just focus on massaging your back. He took care to be gentle, and his hands slowly worked out the knots of tension, most of which had probably formed more recently, from all the stress of Lucio… Lucio . You’d totally forgotten about that… Weren’t you technically in danger?
You considered telling Muriel you needed to hurry up, but… Would Lucio really be bold enough to attack both of you while you two were naked? You didn’t think so, so you decided to not say anything.
Muriel’s hands worked up to your shoulders, and you felt him much closer now, seemingly more at ease near you. As he worked out the final knots, he leaned down, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. “I hope this feels nice.” He said.
“Mm, it does…” You almost let yourself lean back into his touch, but you knew what that might cause.
Once Muriel was finished, you turned towards him, keeping your eyes locked on his. “Can I wash your hair?” You asked. Muriel seemed slightly taken aback by the request, but he nodded.
He had to kneel in the water to be low enough for you, and he handed you the soap, though he kept hold of the rag. You began lathering the soap into Muriel’s hair, before handing him the bar of soap, so you could put both of your hands to use.
You started at the top of his scalp, rubbing the soap in, making sure to coat the roots. You slowly massaged your way down to the base of his skull, then back up again, making sure you were thoroughly cleaning all of his hair. You gently began detangling, running your fingers through his hair. It didn’t take you too long before you could easily run your hands through his hair, and you coated every last hair in soap. You spent a while just massaging his scalp, before finally deciding to rinse.
You gathered some water up in your hands. “I’m gonna rinse now, shut your eyes.” You instructed. You started by running the water down the back of his head, then the sides. “Lean your head back.” Muriel did as told, so you could fully rinse the rest of the soap off.
You were careful not to get any in his eyes, and once you were finished, you leaned down and pressed a kiss to Muriel’s forehead. “All clean.”
Muriel proceeded to wash your hair, being quite thorough himself, though he did accidentally get soap in your eyes while trying to rinse. He panicked briefly, before you reassured him it was fine.
You turned to look at him, and you could see Muriel’s eyes lock with yours. You chuckled, and got to your feet. Muriel’s eyes snapped shut as he did the same, only opening them again once he was standing.
You met his gaze, taking a step forward, running a hand over his shoulder. You were careful not to get close enough to press against him. “Kiss me.” You said it in a soft tone. Muriel’s face turned red, but he leaned down, obliging you with a soft kiss. You hummed, your hands coming to rest on Muriel’s neck. Muriel’s hands found themselves on your hips, kneading his fingers into your soft skin.
Your hands slowly trailed down to his chest, tracing your fingers across his scars lightly. Muriel hummed, and you tilted your head slightly, gently catching his lower lip between your teeth. His breath hitched, but by the way he squeezed your hips, it didn’t seem like he disliked it.
Your hands traveled lower, over his tight ab muscles, tracing against the many scars littered there too. Muriel’s own hands began sliding their way up, finding themselves on your ribcage. He ran his thumbs under your chest, but didn’t dare to move up any higher.
He was a little more bold in the kissing department- carefully taking some control. His mouth tried to overpower yours, and you allowed it, encouraging his rare attempt at dominance. You felt a low rumble in his chest as you gave in, and you felt his grip stutter, almost pulling you closer before catching himself. You decided to press yourself forward, your chest pressed firmly against his. There was a surprised noise from Muriel, but it seemed to encourage him, his hands coming up to hold your face as he continued to ravage your mouth.
You eventually needed to pull back for air, and once you did, you gave Muriel a smirk. “See? Aren’t you glad we bathed together?” Muriel let out what was almost a laugh, and nodded.