Work Text:
Quickly paced, Peter returned to the changing room, carrying a bottle of wine and a towel. "I'm back. I hope I didn't make you wait too long." he said as he sat down beside Thomas. "Believe it or not, but getting this stuff was more of a hassle than I realized."
"Ah, I bet." Thomas replied as he took the wine from him, taking a generous sip before the other boy had a chance to protest. Another chug, and another until Peter decided enough was enough and snatched the bottle back.
"Hör auf! I got that for your injuries."
Thomas raised his eyebrows in perceived amusement. "Are you my nurse now?"
"Someone will have to take care of you." Peter said as he carefully poured some alcohol on the cloth, the red wine bleeding into the fabric. "Sit still, alright? This might sting a bit." he set the bottle aside and began to wipe the alcohol-infused cloth over Thomas's cheek, and along with the blood, it simultaneously wiped the grin off his face.
"You know," Thomas began, recoiling at the stinging sensation. "I think I prefer to drink it instead."
"Of course you do." Peter chuckled. "How about we share it after? Maybe at Arvid's place?"
"Arvid is a damn lightweight."
"So are you!"
"I can handle it better. Besides, I would enjoy it more if it was just you and me."
"We can't single him out, Thomas."
Thomas rolled his eyes in response but did not make any attempts to protest any further. Neither did he object when Peter lifted his chin with one hand, to continue cleaning him up with the other.Peter tried his hardest not to think about how close their faces were to each other, or how tender the atmosphere felt around them. "Why didn't you stop when I told you to?"
"You know me," Thomas let out a breathy laugh. "I'm stubborn."
"It'll be the death of you someday."
"I wouldn't mind dying like this. With you beside me- and after having beaten the shit out of a Nazi. It'd be a honorable death!"
"Some might argue and say that he beat the shit out of you. Not the other way around."
"Fucking hell. We beat the shit out of each other. Happy now, Peter?"
"Ecstatic." Peter chuckled as he finished dabbing away the last remaining drips beneath his friend's nose. "There you go."
"Thanks... Hey, you'd make a really good nurse." said Thomas, giving his friend a playful shove.
"And you'd make a really good punching bag."
"Fuck off." Thomas said, grasping the neckline of Peter's shirt. "I'll make you sorry for that, Müller." There was no anger behind his words and yet, the prior tenderness had shifted to something else.
Something Peter would've considered flirtatious under different circumstances. If one of them was a girl, maybe."Yeah?" he breathed.
Thomas's gaze flickered to Peter's mouth, his lips, long enough for him to notice.
But neither of them dared to make a move.