Work Text:
The base was rather quiet for the day, with most of its members having gone off on their own expeditions in search of a cure for Asta's arms. The only exceptions being Henry, of course, but also Asta himself, Noelle, and Yami somewhere doing his own thing.
"You don't have to do this," Asta murmured, "I know it's kind of weird. I can figure out a way to do it myself! I mean, probably..." He trailed off while they walked together, Noelle's steady hand on his shoulder guiding him towards their rooms, which Henry had been keeping together since Asta was injured.
"Stop that, Stupidsta!" She lightly cuffed the back of his head, admonishing him. "It's not weird! You'd do the same for me, right? Plus, we're packmates and bondmates. Let me help you, okay?" Her tone was firm, leaving no room for argument.
Asta chewed on his lip for a moment, then nodded. She gave him a grin and pulled him into a brief side hug as they reached the twin doors that indicated their rooms. They stepped into Asta's room first, where the boy sat down on his bed while Noelle rummaged around to find his swimming trunks from when they went to the beach.
She tossed them onto the bed before turning to Asta, motioning for him to turn around so she could undo the slings supporting his arms, yet still leaving the individual bandages on them for the moment. She gently maneuvered his shirt off, careful to not disturb his injuries too much, before swiftly helping to swap his usual pants for the swim shorts she'd laid out.
Noelle looked up to see Asta avoiding her gaze, face flush with embarrassment and teeth gritted in shame. She frowned, then gently butted their heads together and purred soothingly. His eyes flicked over to her, feeling his own quiet purr answer hers. He took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then exhaled slowly. When he did meet her gaze, he just nodded softly, for once lacking the energy to reply verbally. He hated to admit it, but he was exhausted. Physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Asta wasn't used to letting others take care of him, much preferring to do it himself and help others instead. He fought the urge to shrink into himself and make himself smaller, swiftly trying to bury the intrusive thoughts saying that the Bulls wouldn't want him if he wasn't useful, that becoming too much of a burden would make them resent his existence.
Noelle's comforting presence helped a lot with chasing them away, her firm insistence of helping him with tasks he now struggled to do warmed his heart and made him feel safe and loved.
Asta waited outside of Noelle's door while she herself changed into a simple outfit of an old t-shirt that hung loosely on her frame and a pair of similarly old shorts that she wouldn't mind if they got wet. Exiting her room, her warm arm returned around his midsection, so he chirped softly in content and leaned into her a bit while they walked.
After a short detour to grab towels, soaps, ointment, fresh bandages, and a few other miscellaneous items for after the bath, they made their way into the boy's side of the bathrooms. Noelle set the items down by the door (save for a few) so they'd stay dry, then turned to Asta to carefully undo the rest of the bandages left on his arms.
Asta winced slightly as the warm steam from the bath suddenly clung to his sore, scarred arms. Noelle frowned, but he turned and grinned reassuringly at her. "Don't worry! The temperature change just surprised me a little! It doesn't hurt that bad, I promise!"
Her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized his face, before accepting that he was telling the truth and huffing. "Well, it had better not! If it does start hurting worse, especially when you get in, please tell me?" It hadn't meant to be a question, but she couldn't help her voice from lilting upwards towards the end.
Asta nodded as they made their way towards the steps into the bath. "I promise I will!" He reached the edge and descended the few stairs, slowing down when his arms got close to the water. After a moment of hesitation, he bent his knees to sink into the bath, but unable to stop the yelp of pain that escaped him when the hot water touched the sensitive skin between the mottled injuries all over his arms.
Noelle, alarmed, moved swiftly to help pull him out, but stopped as her bondmate sharply clicked his teeth together in a universal sign that meant "no" or "back off". She paused to let him take a few breaths and gather his composure before he spoke.
"It's ..... fine." He gritted out, choking back a growl. "I just, need a second. To get used to it. It's okay." Noelle just nodded and sat on the ledge near where he was standing, patiently waiting for him to give her the okay to move closer again.
Asta gradually moved deeper into the water, pausing to let himself get used to the temperature change every few inches. It took about five minutes before he was able to sit with his arms fully submerged, perching himself on one of the lower steps so just the tops of his shoulders and up were above the water. After just another moment, he gave a quiet click-trill that told Noelle she could come close.
"You okay?" She murmured quietly, scooting to sit just a little off to the side behind him. He nodded in reply, before shaking his head to try and knock some of the stress off.
"I'm okay," he affirmed a moment later. "You can start whenever you want, I think I'm good. I'll tell you if something doesn't feel right." Or you'll be able to read my body language went unspoken, since they were both fairly in-tune with one another's nonvebal cues.
"Okay, I'm going to wash your hair first alright? Lean your head back," Noelle said, already filling the cup she'd brought with them with some of the water to wet his hair. He complied, and she cupped one hand in front of his bangs to protect his face while she gently poured the water over his head. Once it was thoroughly soaked, she poured a bit of the shampoo she'd brought with them into her hands and began to lather his hair with it.
Asta couldn't help but close his eyes and purr as her nimble fingers scratched over his scalp, leaning back into her touch. She giggled at him, leaning over him briefly just to press a chaste kiss to his forehead. He cracked his eyes open a little and smiled, the last bits of tension finally leaving his body.
When his hair was thoroughly soapy, Noelle got him to lean back again by placing one hand under his chin and tipping his head towards her again. She repeated the process of rinsing his hair until it was free of shampoo, then moved onto lathering up a soft washcloth for the rest of his body.
Asta was beginning to squirm restlessly, so she didn't spend too long finishing up. The most time she spent was going over his arms, being extremely gentle so as to cause as little pain as possible. After rinsing the cloth a few times and going over his face briefly but carefully, she wrung out the fabric and set it off to the side again.
"All done!" She chirped, smiling at him. He grinned back, a little tired, but happy. She scooted back from the ledge and stood up, waiting patiently for Asta to exit the bath as well, adjusting to the temperature change once again. She motioned for him to come and stand by the door where the floor was dry before draping one of the dry towels over his shoulders.
She grabbed the other one and threw it over his head, laughing when he yelped in surprise as she quickly ruffled his hair with the towel to dispel some of the moisture still clinging to it. Noelle went back to grab the items she'd left, before they both exited to return to their rooms.
Once again in Asta's room, Noelle helped to dry him off further and to change into a pair of clean pajamas. Asta climbed into his nest on the upper corner of his bed, and Noelle sat criss-cross in front of him just at the edge of his nest with the items to redo his bandages.
Her eyes flicked up to his, wordlessly asking for permission to proceed, and he nodded in return. With that, Noelle uncapped the ointment given to them by Owen that was supposed to help with some of the superficial pain caused by the injuries. It wouldn't help to heal him, but it would make things more manageable.
Asta hissed when she applied it to his arms, but made no motion to pull away from her. She finished that part as swiftly as she could before wiping her hands on one of the discarded towels and moving to begin re-wrapping his arms with fresh bandages.
Asta yawned while she finished up, ending the process by replacing the slings to keep his arms elevated and steady. After tying the knot at the back of his neck, she scooted back.
She beamed, placing her hands on her hips. "That wasn't so bad now, was it?" Her voice carried a teasing tone to it, and Asta scrunched his nose and stuck out his tongue playfully. "I'm gonna go change into pajamas myself and then come back, so just stay right here. I'll get Captain Yami's pets to sit on you if you try wandering off, so don't even try anything!" Her glare was icy.
"I won't, I won't! Jeez..." He grumbled good-naturedly. "You sure can be scary when you want to be." This time Noelle scrunched her nose at him, before leaving to change momentarily.
She returned not even five minutes later, twin pigtails traded for a single loose braid trailing down past her shoulders. She climbed back onto the bed, motioning for him to scoot over so that she could fit into his nest as well. He obliged, laying back against the far edge so he could comfortably rest on his back without disturbing his injuries.
Noelle laid next to him, sliding one arm underneath him. He turned his head to tuck his face into the crook of her neck, a warm purr sparking in both of their chests as they laid together quietly. Asta's woodsy sweet citrus-pine-rain scent comforted Noelle as her own ocean-lavender-vanilla mixed with his.
She stretched out her arm to the table beside the bed to grab the candle resting atop, bringing it close to blow it out before setting the holder back down. She took a deep breath and nestled closer to her bondmate, as they both drifted into a comfortable sleep together.