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“When’s the last time you washed your hair?”
Viktor turned his head up sharply. He gawked for a moment then huffed, hunching back over the chicken-scratch pile of notes he was reviewing and rewriting.
“I don’t know,” he said after a moment, shrugging . Mel smiled, her fingers twisting at the ends of his hair.
“You know I didn’t mean it like that,” she hummed, kneading at his scalp with the tips of her fingers. His shoulders fell slightly as he sat up straighter and leaned into her touch. “I was just wondering if you’d like to join me in the shower.”
Viktor’s eyebrow raised, “Really? I thought you hated that.”
“I hate when Jayce uses my shampoo and hogs the water,” Mel corrected, continuing her ministrations through Viktor’s soft chestnut hair. She was happy to hear a small laugh escape her boyfriend’s lips.
“I’m sure he’s already in there using seven pumps of your hibiscus set,” Viktor smirked.
“He’s asleep,” she assured him, her hand now brushing out his hair fully, slowing at the slight tangles. Viktor hummed in a questioning tone and she continued. “Passed out on the couch. I had to crawl out from under him.” Then, in a whisper, “he’s so sweaty.”
Viktor laughed then turned to face Mel. He pursed his lips. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
He nodded, standing up with a grunt. Mel smiled at him softly, her hand on his back as the two of them walked to the bathroom, passing through the living room on tipped toes as to not disturb Jayce’s snores. Their apartment wasn’t small by any means yet it paled in comparison to the Medarda estate and intricate halls of the academy the three of them worked at. The short hallway consisted of three bedrooms and a bathroom at the end.
Instead of heading there the two took a turn to Mel’s room on the right. She had been given the main bedroom simply because she had so much stuff. It was a nice cream color with accents of gold and red. A large painting hung above her bed, with smaller, less rendered pieces hanging over her dresser across the room.
Despite having separate rooms Viktor could spot some pairs of his pants on the floor, one of Jayce’s many watches tossed on the dresser, and his notebook tucked under Jayce’s mug on the bedside table. Each of them left a piece of themselves around each others spaces. It was nice to see.
The main bath had a walk-in shower and a vanity with two sinks, large enough for the three of them to get ready together (she refused to let them shave there, though). Viktor watched her as she began the shower. She tapped some sort of essential oil onto the shower floor as the steam began to fill the room, filling his nose with the crisp smell of eucalyptus.
As he leaned his cane against the wall and began undoing the buttons of his undershirt Mel slid her top off, standing near him and using the mirror to guide her hands as she undid her bra. Viktor caught her eye in the mirror, the two sharing a smile before continuing to undress.
Using the counter for stabilization Viktor moved to the toilet to take off his leg brace next. With a few clicks and a pull it slid off. Mel reached out and set it over by his cane.
Once they were undressed Mel took their clothes and moved them to the laundry bin just outside the bathroom door before walking back in. As Viktor got into the shower she secured her shower cap, tucking any strands under the tight seal before following him in.
This was the part Viktor knew Mel hated, sharing the water. The rainfall shower head helped, but both of them occasionally bumped back into the wall, the cool tile sending an unwelcome shiver down their backs. She didn’t complain though, reaching up and disconnecting the shower head.
“Close your eyes,” she said. She waited just a moment before bringing the water over Viktor’s head, holding it close and running circles along his scalp.
“I forgot to grab my stuff,” Viktor said, spitting water out. Mel tilted her head.
“Hm? What stuff?” She asked, placing the shower head back.
“My stuff, uh, shampoo… conditioner,” Viktor motioned toward the small shelf of Mel’s toiletries. She waved her hand.
“I’ll live if you use some of my shampoo, dear,” Mel smiled. She reached over and grabbed her shampoo, putting two pumps in her hand and foaming it before massaging it into Viktor’s scalp. He leaned against her as she did this, the two of them leaning against the shower wall for support as well.
He sighed softly as she reached his temple, spending a few more moments there, messaging circles into his tense head.
“Unclench your jaw,” Mel spoke suddenly, causing Viktor to jump a bit.
“How did you…?”
“I know you,” she replied. He did.
She ran her fingers through his hair one more time for good measure before rinsing it out.
“I see why Jayce hogs it,” Viktor mumbled. “Smells good.”
“This is a new one,” Mel stated, squinting at the bottle,“uh… warm cider cinnamon. I think I got it from Kino for Christmas.”
“Does it work well?” Viktor asked.
She shrugged. “I haven’t tried it yet.”
“Lucky me.”
Mel laughed.
“My conditioner though, you know it works,” Mel said and Viktor nodded. It was the fact Mel always set his hair with leave-in conditioner and some oils after their showers that left his hair softer and thicker, but he’d let her think it was the ridiculously expensive custom conditioner.
As Mel tapped the bottle on the shelf the bathroom door cracked open. The two of them turned their heads at the same time, watching the steam clear the air out before Jayce’s head popped from behind the door frame.
“Hey,” Jayce said, “nobody told me we were showering.”
“You were sleeping,” Viktor reassured him as he entered the bathroom. Jayce shrugged and pulled off his old tee and threw it on the floor. He paused for a moment as he began to slide his own knee brace off and looked up at the two of them.
“I can join, right?”
Mel and Viktor smiled.
“Get in here,” Mel said. Jayce beamed as he slipped out of his sweats and socks, sliding the glass door open and shuffling in, scooting to the other side of Viktor.
“It’s so hot in here,” Jayce groaned as he pressed as much of himself as he could against the cool tile, his back uncomfortably digging into the shower knobs.
“If you can turn around to turn it down, do so,” Viktor shrugged. Jayce tried reaching behind himself first before awkwardly stretching and turning, his whole body pressed against Viktor who in turn had to press into Mel.
“You are a brick of a man, Talis,” Viktor groaned, his hands on Jayce’s slippery back.
“One moment! Almost got it!” Jayce said, and with a final reach he moved the dial down a bit, the water now at a more lukewarm than scalding.
“It’s going to be freezing in here,” Mel frowned then reached behind herself to hand Jayce her shampoo. “Two pumps.” She paused before giving it to him and pursed her lips. “One and a half.”
Jayce nodded, bringing it to his nose. “Mmm smells good,” he smiled.
They watched as Jayce scrubbed his head like he had an incurable case of lice, no regard for the flinging pieces of soap hitting his two lovers. He leaned forward, grabbing the shower head and rinsing his hair off. Mel tutted.
“It’s so cold now, I knew it,” she said, pressing closer to Viktor for warmth. A fruitless task, considering his horrible body heat retention. She reached for her conditioner once Jayce’s head was clear again, reaching past Viktor (who was now properly sandwiched between the two) and grabbed Jayce’s palm.
Wordlessly she put a quarter sized amount into Jayce’s hand, smiling as his big hazel eyes found hers.
“That’s more than enough,” she said, sensing his question. He shrugged and ran his hand through his hair once.
“How is that supposed to cover all of it?” He asked.
“All of it? What locks are you hiding from us?” Viktor teased.
“Go grab your Suave if you’re so desperate to ruin your hair’s volume,” Mel shrugged. Viktor turned his head and both he and Jayce asked,
“What’s wrong with Suave?”
Mel bit back a laugh and shook her head. “Nothing. Nothing,” she sighed. She reached over and set the conditioner down, grabbing a body scrub.
“I got this new one, it’s coffee,” Mel said, noting how Viktor’s eyes lit up. She opened it, trying to avoid the stream of water as she scooped some from the jar and gave them each a handful. Jayce rubbed some over his chest as Viktor worked it into his arms, Mel leaning down and to the side the best she could to reach her legs.
“Smells good,” Jayce said, “Kinda like my order from that one place near campus.” Viktor nodded.
“Their coffee is too expensive for its quality. You could get that same order from the gas station,” he said, smelling his own arm.
“Probably,” Jayce shrugged. “But there’s something about that home brewed coffee…”
“We have an espresso machine,” Mel said, massaging some of the scrub into her arms. Viktor nods.
“But doing that every morning…” Jayce began, “plus I can’t have coffee before the gym.” Viktor raised an eyebrow. “Just can’t”
“Okay,” Mel hummed, rubbing some excess scrub from her own self onto each of them, “any particular reason?”
“It takes like 10 minutes to brew and I’m always in a crunch,” he said, his voice muffled as he put the exfoliating body scrub on his face.
“I just think you like spending six dollars a day on a shot of espresso,” Viktor shrugged.
“Like you’re any better, caramel drizzle frappe,” Jayce smiled, his grin only growing as Viktor turned to Mel with faux offense, “besides, it’s my daily sweet treat.”
“Daily sweet treat?” Mel asked, reaching over Viktor to grab the shower head, trying her best to avoid hitting his conditioner filled hair with water.
“It’s a thing- Caitlyn says it all the time. Like a daily treat yourself,” Jayce said with his eyes scrunched together. He was beginning to think rubbing coffee grounds over his eye sockets wasn’t the best idea.
“That’s cute,” Mel finished rinsing herself off, tapping Jayce with the shower head. He grabbed it, waterboarding himself and setting it to jet temporarily to spray himself off. Viktor then set it back, rinsing himself off.
She grabbed two body washes, holding them up.
“Do you two want to smell like warm cashmere or cinnamon sugar?”
“Cinnamon sugar.”
“Warm cashmere.”
Jayce and Viktor looked at each other before Viktor smirked. “Rock paper scissors?”
Viktor won. The three of them were going to smell like cinnamon sugar for the night.
After they each got a wash towel and began cleaning themselves they passed along the shower head, getting all the soap off their body. Once they finished Mel took control of it once more, telling Viktor to shut his eyes as she washed away the conditioner. This time, her fingers ran through his hair without any kinks.
Viktor then took the shower head and ran it over Jayce’s hair, his hands rubbing soft circles into his boyfriend’s dark locks. He couldn’t help but smile softly when Jayce relaxed under his touch.
Once everyone was washed and rinsed Mel opened the shower door, grabbing a soft towel and wrapping it around herself before stepping out. With the space Jayce turned around and shut the shower off.
Mel handed them their towels. They patted themselves dry while Mel grabbed some leave in conditioner and her favorite scalp oil. She massaged some into both of her hands before reaching and running her fingers through both of their heads. With the conditioner applied she put a few drops of oil in, scratching that one in a bit more.
Once everyone was mostly dry they moisturized with some of Mel’s favorite lotion.
“You always smell so good,” Jayce complimented her absentmindedly as he paid extra care to rub more lotion into his elbows. Mel smiled.
“Want some of my perfume too?” She asked; Jayce and Viktor nodded. She reached out and tried to find one that matched the cinnamon body wash. She sprayed some on her wrists and neck before handing it to Viktor. He copied her and then handed it to Jayce who did three big sprays against his chest.
“Now we all smell good,” Mel said, leaning in close to Viktor and inhaling. She kissed his chin softly, leaning back and smiling when he turned to face her, her hand resting on his chest.
Viktor’s grin grew as Jayce leaned down and planted a kiss on the top of his head.
They stayed put there for a moment before the mirror began to clear. Then, Mel started her skincare routine, offering them a bit of every product she used. Once she was finished she pulled out three matching face masks.
“These have to be on for 15 minutes,” Mel said, setting the timer on her phone.
Jayce nodded and pursed his lips. “Okay. 15 minute nap?” Viktor and Mel nodded and followed him to the bed. It didn’t take long for Jayce to find a comfortable spot in the middle and extend his arms for his two loves.