Work Text:
You are in your quiet apartment working on an assignment when you hear tossing, turning and distressed noises from your bed.
It has been six weeks since your best friend Adam-Faulkner-Stanheight escaped the Jigsaw trap he didn’t deserve to go through. You insisted on letting him stay with you knowing he’d never recover from his trauma if he was living in the place he was kidnapped that night. Against his will, he is using your bed while you sleep on the couch. He doesn’t believe he deserves what you’re doing for him, but you assure him that he would do the same if it was you, and you love him too much to let him suffer. You have loved him more than just a friend for a while now but you have pushed your feelings aside to give Adam a healthy recovery. Being in a relationship is the last thing he needs right now.
You leap from your desk as Adam continues to groan with fear in his sleep. You sit on the side of the bed and place your hand on his forehead, his hair stuck to it with cold sweat. “Adam,” you say loudly but calmly, your hand caressing its way to his cheek. He gradually wakes up, his breathing rapid and eyes filling with tears. “You’re safe, okay? You just had another nightmare, that’s all,” you tell him softly as he sits up and readjusts. “Holy shit,” he mumbles before his tears uncontrollably come out. “Hey,” you say with concern as you pull him into your chest. He proceeds to sob into you, his heart pounding with terror. “When’ll it fucking end?” he weeps with exhaustion. You place your hand on his back and rub it back and forth to comfort him. “I know, I’m here,” you repeat a few times as he lets all of his built-up emotions out. You continue to embrace him in silence when his cries turn into short sniffles. He then lifts himself to meet your eyes.
“Honestly, I’m better off dead, the way Jigsaw wanted y’know. I can’t take this anymore,” he confesses. Hearing this breaks your heart but in his circumstances is a far from selfish thing to say. He lets out a “sorry” once he sees your sorrowful expression. You instantly dismiss his apology. “You don’t have to be sorry. It’s how you feel. I wish there was more I could do.” Adam tries to smile at you. “You’re doing enough.” You nod reluctantly, wishing more than anything you could take your best friend’s pain away with the click of your fingers. You then think of something that could help to calm him down. “I could run you a nice bath if you’d like.”
Adam gulps nervously at this proposal. “I, uh….I appreciate it but…I woke up in a bath of cold piss water in that trap. I don’t think I could ever have one again.” You take his hand with understanding. “Unless you stayed with me,” he then proposes. “If that’s not weird or anything.” You beam, squeezing his hand tighter. “Not at all.”
You continue to hold Adam’s hand as you lead him to the bathroom. You turn on the bright lights and ensure him that the door is not going to lock, since the lock had broken a little while ago anyway. You then begin to fill the bath with nice lukewarm water, letting Adam test it so he can pick out the temperature he’s comfortable with. You head to your bathroom drawer to pick out some bubble mixture. “You got a favourite scent?” you ask him. “Uhhh….your scent,” he responds, pursing his lips with embarrassment. You smile as you grab the mixture you use most and pour it into the bathtub.
Once full and to Adam’s satisfaction, you turn your back to him so he can strip off in privacy. You then hear him slowly slip into the bath, his breathing rapid. It gradually slows once the warmth engulfs him. “I’m in,” he says.
You finally turn around to see Adam sitting hugging his body. He still looks a little frightened, but it is evident that your presence is helping him. You sit on the edge of the tub, and he places his hand covered in bubbles in yours. “You okay?” you ask. He nods as his body slowly stops trembling. “Yeah, I think so.”
You sit with him in comfortable silence as he adjusts. He then asks if you can wash his hair which you happily oblige. He sighs happily as you massage the shampoo through his hair. “Where was this in the trap, huh Jigsaw?” he jokes. “Yeah, how dare he ruin baths for you,” you say giggling. You then turn on the shower head that connects to the bath to rinse his hair. “Is the temperature on this okay?” you check. He hums a response, closing his eyes so no water gets in. As soon as you’re finished, he slides deeper into the bath to lie down, bubbles now covering his entire body. You beam as he closes his eyes, knowing that you have successfully made baths relaxing for him again. “I’m not going anywhere,” you assure him as he proceeds to relax for ten minutes or so, not letting go of your hand.
When he tells you he wants to get out, you lift the towel high to give him privacy, and you then wrap it around his shoulders so it covers his whole body. He shivers a little but luckily you have his pyjama shirt and bottoms heated up for him. You turn to let him change, but then he calls your name. You spin around to see him at the sink, still not wearing his shirt. “Can you help me put some of this on?” he asks, referring to the ointment for his gunshot scar. He is still very weak in his shoulder. “Of course,” you reply.
It breaks your heart to see his scar knowing it will never go away, and always be there for him as a reminder of that harrowing night. You wished more than anything that you could make it go away. You proceed to pour the ointment on a wipe before rubbing it on his scar.
“Ow…ow” Adam winces as you apply. “It’s okay I’m almost done,” you tell him. He sighs with relief when you finish. “God, I’m sorry.” You place your hand just above the scar, gently caressing his skin. “Please don’t be.” You continue to do this as it relaxes him, which then leads you to hugging him from behind. He doesn’t refuse your touch and you stay this way for a minute or so.
Adam spins around to face you, your hands still placed on his shoulders. His cheeks are flushed and pink. You immediately develop butterflies in your stomach. You become lost in his gleaming eyes.
“I…I…love you, Adam,” you mutter as your heart-rate increases. You weren’t sure what way you meant that in, but there was no denying that you were in love with your best friend. Adam stares at you in devotion for a moment until he unexpectedly pulls you close and kisses you. Your eyes widen in shock at first, but you then kiss him back, melting into his touch. He kisses you slowly and gently for a few more seconds, before pulling out and resting his forehead against yours.
“Jesus, I don’t know if that was the best way to respond,” he whispers. You immediately place your lips against his again as he brings his hands to the back of your neck, his touch warm and tender. You stop for a moment, but your lips are still an inch away from his. “Did that clear things up?” you ask softly. Adam nods and smiles before you kiss him again passionately.
Nothing could beat this current feeling of having helped him overcome a huge fear he had and kissing him, your feelings for each other finally confirmed on this wonderful night.