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Every Saturday night ended the same way. We’d go to fight club, we’d return home limping, leaving a trail of blood behind us.
And of course, tonight wasn’t any different; we had busted lips, bloodied knuckles, and, to no one’s surprise, we were covered in blood.
Dried blood, to be specific. Neither of us knew whether the blood was simply ours, or if it had mixed with the other men from fight club. It didn’t matter.
“You okay?” Tyler asks me from across the bathroom, dabbing a wet wipe over the cut on his cheek. “Quieter than usual tonight.”
I was sitting down on the toilet lid, staring down at all the wounds on my hands. All I wanted after this Saturday night was a nice, warm shower.
“I’m waiting for you to get out,” I said under my breath.
“Get out?” He scoffed. “Both of us need to clean up.” He stepped closer to me, dabbing the same wet wipe he previously used to wash away the blood still trickling from my lip.
I closed my eyes, taking in his gentle touch. It wasn’t uncommon for him to take care of my wounds, at least not anymore. It had become some sort of late-night ritual for us to quietly take care of each other after fight club. We never questioned it.
I couldn’t complain about it. It was fairly interesting to see a man who’s so driven to violence be so gentle with his ‘best friend’.
“You still with me?” I heard him whisper tenderly.
I opened my eyes, nodding slowly. My entire face was swollen. Even talking was painful at a time like this.
He walked towards the bathtub, slowly turning on the faucet. “Wanna bathe with me?”
His question caught me completely off guard. My eyes shot open despite how swollen and irritated they were.
“It’s not the first time we’ve seen each other naked,” he said as he sat on the side of the bathtub, starting to peel off his red jacket “So, what do you say?”
I sighed and looked away. “Fine.”
The thought of sharing a bathtub with Tyler had crossed my mind multiple times before, and I couldn’t deny how much I wanted to be in that situation.
“Come here, honey.” He gestured to me.
I limped towards him shyly. He stepped up from the side of the bathtub and started carefully unbuttoning my shirt, making sure not to press down on any bruises that were in the way.
All I did was watch. Watch how Tyler’s hands slowly traveled down and exposed more of my body. By the time my mind stopped overflowing with every sort of thought, I was already naked and standing awkwardly in front of him.
He looked at me up and down a few times, scanning all the bruises I had. They were everywhere; on my ribs, my arms, even my shins.
It didn’t take long for him to toss his clothes aside too, leaving his taut body completely nude. It’s embarrassing to admit, but I’ve always wished to share a warm bath with Tyler. Wished to see his body under the water. Wished to see how he would look in the bathtub as he washed away his blood.
I kept wondering how it would be.
“Are you gonna keep staring all night?” he said as he grabbed my forearm gently, tugging at me to get inside the bath.
I started slowly getting in, shivering when the warm water touched my skin.
“Sorry…”
He chuckled. “Don’t worry.”
Now, we were both in the bathtub. Sitting on opposite sides. The water quickly turned a shade of crimson as our blood diluted in it.
We sat silently for a couple of seconds, just enjoying the warmth. I tilted my head to the side, resting it against the wall as I let out a long sigh of relief.
“Feeling better?” Tyler asked softly as he moved towards me.
I nodded slowly.
He leaned over me, placing a hand on my cheek, brushing under my eye with his thumb carefully.
His hands worked their way gently over my wounds, carefully cleaning the blood off of them, soothing every bruise, every cut.
It almost even felt emotionally soothing.
When his hands trailed down to my ribs, he stopped.
“What?” I opened my eyes and turned my head towards him.
He smirked. “You look very comfortable.”
I lowered my head slowly, but he caught my jaw with his free hand.
“There’s nothing wrong with that.” His warm breath hit my cold face. “I like seeing you like this.”
“Tyler…” I whined when he placed his hand over a bruise on my side.
I always thought an ice pack was the answer to these sorts of things, but maybe his warm hands were better than a simple, lifeless cold bag.
“Hurts?” He whispered.
I nodded.
“I know.” He leaned closer to me, pressing a small kiss against my shoulder. “Don’t worry.”
Another kiss, closer to my neck this time. “I’ve got you.”
I tilted my head, leaving more space for his in the crook of my neck.
He would sometimes do this. I chose not to question it. I chose not to stop him.
His lips left a trail of warm kisses. First my collarbone, my Adam’s apple, the side of my neck, my jawline…
Everything while he washed away the blood on me.
I remained silent, as much as I could, occasionally moaning when he touched a particularly tender bruise.
And when he finished, he backed away.
Not for long.
He took my hands in his, studying the wounds and calluses on my knuckles. One at a time, he kissed the back of my hands softly.
I closed my eyes again, feeling how he submerged my hands under the warm water, washing all the dirt away.
It’s like tonight, he barely took care of his wounds. He didn’t have many either way. He usually won the fights.
Then there was me.
I barely won. But I still kept trying.
And maybe the best reward wasn’t winning, it was earning Tyler’s care, his soft touches, having him by my side.
After he finished cleaning my battered knuckles, neither of us got out immediately. Tyler simply leaned back to the opposite side of the bathtub, resting his head against it.
“Your cheek,” I pointed out.
Tyler glanced at me. “What about it?”
“You didn’t clean it,” I said as I straightened my back.
“I’m fine,” he answered, mindlessly splashing some water over the cut.
I reached for a cloth he’d left beside the tub. “You always say that.”
I managed to take care of the blood somehow, despite my eyes having turned a shade of purple by now. My vision was blurry, my eyes were teary.
But I also wanted to make him feel good.
I leaned forward, trying my best to press a kiss on his cheek as he usually does. But I was shaking, and I barely placed it down. “How sweet of you.”
He pressed his hand on my back.
“Sorry…” I said as I felt my arms giving up on me slightly. I wasn’t anything like him. I wasn’t confident, cocky, or certain of myself in any of the ways he was.
He pulled me on top of him, and I let my body collapse onto his. The side of my face was pressed against his chest.
“Quit apologizing.” His hand slowly rubbed my back all around.
I couldn’t believe how gentle he could treat me sometimes. And I didn’t want him to ever stop treating me like this.
I wanted Tyler, every side of him, but this one I wanted all for myself.
“I love you,” I whispered, almost inaudible.
I felt him smile against the crown of my head. “I love you too, snugglebug.”