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You hadn’t been doing your best lately mentally. Your boyfriend, Hank, could see this. He knew you like the back of his hand, so he immediately noticed when something was wrong with you.
Before you could go to the bathroom to take a long-needed bath, Hank gently grabbed your wrist. “Darling? May we speak for a moment?”
You look up into his eyes, only to see his eyebrows knit together, baby blue eyes holding concern.
Just for you.
You feel your shoulders slump down as you feel comfort just from him being near. “Of course, Hank… what’s up?”
Hank gently pulls you close, wrapping an arm around your waist. “Is something wrong, my love? You’ve been acting outlandish lately, and I’m… disconcerted.”
You feel your expression soften ever-so-slightly from not only his bitter-sweet expression, but his saddened tone. You sigh, “It’s… nothing, don’t worry about it,” you speak slowly.
He frowns even more and shakes his head, “I cannot help but worry, as it makes my heart ache whenever you look so woebegone…” he trails off, before speaking once again, with a smooth calming voice, “Plus, I noticed you didn’t eat anything today, and it’s nearing 8 at night. How can I not be concerned?”
You internally wince ever so slightly after realizing this fact, dammit, how could you have forgotten about it? You’ve just been so stressed out that it completely slipped your mind. “I forgot,” you bluntly reply, gently resting your hand on top of his hand that held your waist with a loving grip.
He lets a sigh out through his nose, “You forgot? You’re not lying to me, are you?”
“I’m not, I promise you, Hank.”
He hesitates a moment before softly whispering, “Can I join you in the bathroom while you take your bath? I want you to have my company… I want to take care of you .”
Your heart flutters in response to his tender reaction. God, how did you score such a loving man? “Alright, I guess. I’ll keep the door unlocked for you,” you softly smile.
Hank smiles in response, leaning down to nuzzle his nose against yours. “Thank you, my love, I’ll return with gifts, I promise you. Just give me ten minutes.”
You nod, and he reluctantly lets go of you. With one last kiss on the cheek, he rushes off.
You enter the bathroom, and turn the water on, you need a hot bath. Badly. You wait for it to warm up before pushing the plug into the drain. You walk in front of the mirror to stare at yourself. Your eyes trail over your face before you slowly undress in front of the mirror.
It was just you, the mirror, and… you in the reflection? Is that really you?
You felt your gut twist slightly as your eyes stared at every minor mistake on your body. Every scar from battle, every stretch mark, every singular mark. You felt… strange. Was this truly your body? Why did it feel so wrong?
You shake your head, forcing your eyes away from the mirror for your own good. You felt as if you were to judge one more inch of your body, you would have been driven mad.
You walk over to the bathtub, being satisfied with how filled it was, you turn the water off and slowly step into it.
You wince from the sensation of the hot water surrounding your skin, yet you slowly sink into the water, until you are lying in it, head above the water. You sigh as you close your eyes, just letting the feeling fill you. It was painful, of course, but it was also calming, making you forget about your stress completely.
You just lay there, staring at the wall as time passed.
You didn’t realize how long you’ve been in the water until the door suddenly opened, showing Hank.
He enters the bathroom, holding a bag filled with goodies. He locks the door for privacy.
You sit up in the bathtub, not feeling embarrassed with Hank seeing you nude. It’s not like it was sexual…
“There's my beautiful lady,” his shoulders slump, smiling softly as he sits down next to the bathtub. “How are you feeling, sweet pea?”
You couldn’t help but smile at his warm voice, “I’m feeling a bit better now.”
He nods before opening the bag to pull out your favorite drink, which was cold, and some of your favorite snacks. “I got you some food, even if it is not as healthy as I wish it were, I got your favorites,” he set them aside before grabbing a bath bomb, “I also thought it would be appropriate to get some items to help assist with your self-care routine.”
Your heart swells at this, he was so sweet. “Aw, baby, you didn’t have to…” you look up into his blue eyes, before gently cupping his cheek with a wet hand to kiss him.
He blushes slightly before shyly returning the kiss. Whenever you two pull away, he opens the bath bomb from the wrapper gingerly with his claws before popping it into the tub. You watch it sink and start sizzling, slowly but surely turning the water pink. He then gently pulls you slightly closer to him before pulling out a face mask from the bag. You chuckle, “You really went all out for little ol’ me?” you tease.
He hums, nodding, opening the face mask, “Of course, darling. You worth more to me than anything in this whole damned world. My love for you is stronger than the concept of time and space itself.”
You slowly feel your face heat up. “Wow, romantic much, aren’t ya’?”
“I hope so,” he chuckles, looking at you before gently placing the face mask on you. You softly giggle as you help him out, knowing he was worried about ripping the face mask on accident.
“Well, thank you, honey, this was very considerate of you,” you purr, kissing his cheek.
He feels his cheeks warm up, and he can’t help but feel his smile widen even more. “No problem, my dear.”
You then found yourself being gently washed by Hank, as he was careful to clean you with a rag, mollifyingly rubbing the rag across your skin. You feel your muscles relax as you let yourself be taken care of. Before you could realize it, the words “Do you think I’m beautiful?” slipped out of your lips.
Hank’s hands freeze whenever he hears you. “Why, of course, I find you pulchritudinous, sweetie! Why do you ask?” his eyebrows knit together in slight concern. “Do… do you think you aren’t drop-dead gorgeous?” his hands found their way to your face, the rag forgotten about, floating in the water.
You shake your head, “Never mind, pretend I didn’t say anything.”
Hank hesitates before nodding slowly, “Of course, my darling…” he spoke softly, gingerly rubbing your cheeks. He wouldn’t pretend he never heard it though, he physically couldn’t , the thought of his beautiful partner thinking they aren’t beautiful pained him.
Soon enough, the water began to drain, the snacks were eaten, and he helped you out of the bathtub. He let out a sigh through his nose as he dried you off with a towel. He kept whispering to you compliments on your body, of how gorgeous you were, of how much he loved you, everything. It felt as if your body was being worshipped , and honestly… you loved it. You were a little confused about WHY he was doing this, but you didn’t really care. It felt good to be complimented so much… to feel so loved and admired.
You soon got dressed again, and Hank immediately clung to you, cuddling you and holding you close while planting kisses all over your cheeks. You softly giggle, “What’s going on with you, handsome boy? Clingy all of a sudden?” you lightly tease Hank.
He lightly blushes, “Perchance. Hard not to when I have a beautiful partner that deserves all the love in the world,” he whispers between kisses, before settling down and nuzzling his face into your neck.
You blush at his words, but softly chuckle in response. Your hand goes up to idly play with his hair, “God, what did I do to deserve you?”
Hank lets out a content sigh. “Being born.”