Work Text:
You dipped your hands into the warm water, letting it gently drain between your fingers onto Prompto's lathered hair. Your hands wove themselves into his golden tresses to chase out any remaining shampoo. Prompto's eyes fluttered shut at the gentle massage, a sigh leaving his lips.
You couldn't stand seeing him in his state in Zegnautus Keep. Your heart felt heavy seeing the grime on his skin, the deliberate cuts and bruises across his face and arms and Six knows where else. This was the best way you could think of to help him heal not only physically, but also emotionally. He said nothing about his time in Zegnautus, but his injuries and demeanor told everything.
Prompto was very nervous about the idea at first, like you predicted. You may have become very close over this crazy road trip, but letting someone else bathe him was such an insanely intimate concept to him. Especially someone as close to him as you are.
But he crumbled at the level of care you offered him, as foreign as it seemed. He could tell you had no ulterior motives, and he'd be lying if he said that he never craved something like this. Zegnautus drained so much from him. His usual guard couldn't bring itself to come up again, not in the face of your pleading eyes and soft voice.
Prompto leaned back in the tub, his head dipping further into your hands. He focused on your fingers, feeling them nimbly brush away every last strand of hair covering his face. You were so careful with him, he couldn't understand why.
He remembered now, the other reason why he accepted your offer. The two of you were finally alone and it was the only chance you both would get for awhile. Prompto needed to hear you say what happened when he fell off the train.
The others filled him in on after he fell up until they found him again. But one part of their story stuck with him. He could barely believe it, hearing it from the guys.
"Hey," Prompto mumbled, turning his head towards your position behind him.
You peered over to look at him, humming in response. Your hands dipped into the water again. Prompto turned around, needing to look you in the face as he got his question off his chest.
"... Did you really try jumping off the train after me?"
You freeze, the water in your hands rapidly spilling back into the tub as you tried to put together an answer for Prompto.
"Well uh..." you could barely meet his eyes again, feeling sheepish recalling how you reacted during that moment. "I did. I heard you shout and when I saw you falling I…didn't think of anything else, just... you."
It was Prompto's turn to freeze. He vividly remembered the rest of the ordeal the others described. The sobbing, the screaming…
You hurriedly continued, trying to add a little levity, "Noctis had to pin me to the roof to keep me from going through with it. I put up quite a fight to get out of his grip, wriggling around as hard as I could, but he's a lot tougher than Gladio gives him credit for!"
You followed your answer up with nervous laughter, trying to keep the conversation away from becoming too dark. This wasn't a good time to talk about this, you were just trying to help Prompto relax and feel better after his... situation in Zegnautus.
Besides, you felt embarrassed enough acting the way you did. Throwing yourself off the train with Prompto wouldn't have helped anyone. The others were able to keep it together much better and there you were getting caught up in your panic. What would Prompto even think? That you were some sort of crazy person letting their feelings run away with them? That you'd-
Your racing thoughts were put on hold when you heard a splash and felt a pair of wet arms wrap around you in a tight hug. You didn't even notice your clothes getting soaked, all you could register was the fierceness of his embrace and the tiny droplets of water rolling down your neck.
“… Thank you,” Prompto whispered, his voice strained, “Thank you… so much.”
You almost tried joking again. Him thanking you for jumping off of a moving train? But you dismissed the idea as soon as you thought of it. You knew what he meant.
You wordlessly returned his hug, keeping him as close to you as the tub would physically allow. You rubbed your hands up and down his back, trying to convey everything you felt about him in that moment in your touch.