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Rudo was sitting in his dorm’s bathtub, hugging his knees. It was cold. Moreover, it was awkward. Now he wasn’t sure if the idea of calling Tamsy to help him was worth it.
Rudo wasn’t a total cripple, after all. If it wasn’t for this goddamned increased pain in his hands, he could wash his hair all by by himself. Even back when everything was fine Rudo would rarely ask Regto for help.
“Are you okay?” Tamsy asked quietly. “I’m trying not to pull too much.”
Rudo nodded. To be honest, physically it felt...good. Even relaxing. He used to wash his hair rapidly and usually didn’t even lather it up properly.
Tamsy’s touches were nothing like that.
Caines was carefully massaging Rudo’s scalp and humming an unknown melody quietly. He gently combed ashy strands with his fingers, making sure there were no tangles left. Rudo couldn't imagine that hair washing could feel this good. He felt sleepier than ever because of this hypnosis.
“Dear,” Tamsy called, and Rudo lifted his head up.
“What?” He hoped that he hadn’t flushed.
After a moment of thinking, Tamsy smeared soap foam on Rudo’s nose. Oh, now he definitely would.
“I wonder why you’ve chosen me,” Caines murmured with a soft smile.
To Rudo’s surprise, Tamsy wasn’t mocking him at all.
He was teasing.
The boy bit his lower lip, averting his eyes in embarrassment. Probably, he should’ve been prepared for this question.
“It’s just… your hair.”
“My hair?” echoed Tamsy, rinsing warm water on Rudo’s head.
“Yeah… I thought you had skills. I don’t know; it seems like it’s hard to maintain such length in good condition.”
“It is,” chuckled Tamsy. “Nice to hear I’m doing well.”
“You’re doing great,” breathed Rudo sincerely. Tamsy was great in general; Rudo truly believed that. All gentle and dainty. There was literally no way he was bad at something.
“Oh, what a little heartthrob you are,” Tamsy muttered. He wrapped Rudo’s hair in a soft towel; it looked like the boy had a snail’s shell on his head.
And if Rudo were a snail, he’d surely hide inside it. The difference is, all of this wasn’t awkward anymore.
It was flattering.