Work Text:
A familiar, rhythmic knocking sounded on the door early in the morning. Sun was only barely above the horizon. Soon, the doorknob was pushed down and the door opened. Julia walked into the room. She had made a habit of coming to see Benjamin in the morning when everything was still quiet. Both of them were looking forward to some one-on-one time to start their days with.
"Hyvää huomenta, Jouni Joutsen! Rise and shine! Are you ready for another day of mascot duty?"
Her voice was nice and upbeat.
"No I'm not.. Nyt ei ole hyvä huomen,"
Benjamin groaned. He was sitting on the edge of his bunk, slightly leaning forward with closed eyes. His hair was resting freely on his shoulders. Julia still got a little surprised every time she saw him like that, which really only happened in the morning. Most of the time he always kept his hair tied up and she understood why that was. Somehow it was even longer than hers, even if only by a little bit, and would be getting in the way and constantly caught in something.
"I'm afraid you have no choice than to head out there.. As you know, we don't have a replacement for you. But, maybe we can fix you up before it's go time. What's wrong?"
Benjamin really liked the way she said we.
Julia then approached Benjamin even more, bending her knees and tilting her head as she attempted to catch even a glimpse of his face.
"Benjamin..?"
"Did you see how those little monsters were dragging me around yesterday? The way some of them insisted on climbing on my back, even two at a time? They did so the moment you looked elsewhere for just a second. I think I fell on both my face and back so many times that I lost count. And then that one brat, I'm sorry, kid, the worst one of them all, wrapped his arms around Svante's neck so tight that I thought he'd cut off my airways. All I could do was wobble around after him as he dragged me left and right. Thankfully that was when you stepped in. But.."
He winced as he attempted to massage his shoulders.
"My head and neck have never hurt worse than they do now."
Julia gave him a sympathetic smile.
"Hold on for a while longer, okay? You can have one of my painkillers. I'll go fetch it and a bottle of water."
Benjamin gave her the tiniest nod and closed his eyes again as she closed the door to his cabin.
He still hadn't moved from his position by the time she returned.
"Here,"
she gave him the painkiller and a bottle of water to wash it down with.
"Thank you,"
Benjamin mumbled, voice filled with exhausted gratitude.
"I didn't sleep at all last night, I only kept tossing and turning,"
he sighed after he'd swallowed the pill and taken a few long sips of water. Another wave of sympathy washed over Julia's face.
"Oh, you poor thing.. I really wish I could give you a day off."
She frowned but then continued:
"Here's an idea. It will hopefully at least be better than nothing. How about I give you a massage?"
Benjamin looked up at her and nodded.
"Great! Here, you go ahead and sit on the floor, I'll take your place,"
Julia then instructed. He repositioned himself on the floor, doing his best to avoid any too sudden movements that would cause further discomfort. She sat down on the bed and found her eyes lost in his hair for a few seconds.
"Do you have a hair tie here somewhere?"
She then wondered. Benjamin gave her another barely noticeable nod.
"Right here,"
he croaked and made a valiant attempt at lifting up his arm.
"I always keep it around my wrist when I don't need it."
He then flinched violently as he lifted his arm just a little too much. His entire body protested right away as a million volts ran through it, all the way from the top of the head to his toes.
"Hold on.. I can get it from here,"
Julia said in a gentle tone and touched his wrist, carefully removing the hair tie.
"The usual man bun, is it?"
"Yes, please.."
Benjamin's voice was now nothing more than a whisper.
He closed his eyes as she ran her fingers through his hair, gathering it all together and then skillfully tying it up the same way he always did. He loved her touch. She then placed her hands on his shoulders. She heard him inhale sharply as she first started massaging him.
"Benjamin.. You're so tense,"
she noticed as her fingers caressed his upper body through his t-shirt. Starting from the base of his neck and then meticulously moving outwards. He said nothing, only leaned his head down. His eyes remained shut. As she kept undoing the tight knots in his shoulders, his body almost went limp. Some tiny shivers ran through his body as Julia's fingers moved across the sore spots.
"Does this hurt?"
She asked him, wanting to make sure she wasn't too rough on him. Because the last thing she wanted was making things even worse for her poor Benjamin. He shook his head and breathed out a quiet whine.
Minutes passed by slowly. And as they did, he stopped responding to her. It didn't take too long for Julia to understand why that was. Benjamin's slow, even breathing filled the quiet space, growing only clearer as time went on. His exhaustion and Julia taking care of him had led to him falling asleep right there, sitting up on the floor. He truly did feel safe around her and trusted her completely. She wouldn't let anything bad happen to him. That was the first clear sign to just how deep and real Benjamin's trust truly was. The first time Julia ever saw it. And it was something she would always cherish. She leaned in closer and planted a gentle kiss on the back of his neck. She understood yet again just how fond of him she really was.