Chapter Text
Max knocked on Ariel's bedroom door. When it opened, Max took a deep breath.
"Um, Ari...?"
"Yeah?"
"I uh... smell bad."
"Have you taken a shower yet?"
"That's a requirement? I thought you just did it cause you could."
Ariel laughed and shook their head. "Um, nope. That'd definitely be why you stink. Bodies just make smelly stuff over time, so you've gotta wash it off."
"Ah, gotcha." Max nodded along with what Ariel had said but made no effort to move.
They stared at each other for a moment before Ariel sighed. "...You're gonna need my help, aren't you?"
"Yeah kinda..."
They gathered some spare clothes for Max and walked into the bathroom. "How're you at standing and multi-tasking?" They asked.
"Not very, I'm just not good at standing like...at all."
They nodded and pulled open the shower curtain. They got the water warming up and stepped aside to the side. "We'll take a bath, then. You'll be sitting most of the time."
Max nodded and followed their lead, taking its clothes off as well.
"You should feel the water temperature before I fill up the bath, I'd hate for you to be too hot."
It walked over and felt the temperature. Tolerable. It gave Ariel a nod and they plugged the bath.
"So, do you remember the order of business?"
"Hair, body, then face?"
"Good, let me know if you need help with any of it."
Max stepped into the bath and nearly slipped, but managed to get himself in. He dunked his head under and reached for the Shampoo. Upon pouring what was likely too much, he looked at Ariel.
Ariel met his gaze and glanced down at the handful of shampoo. "Too much, you only need like- half a tablespoon."
"You know I'm bad with things in reference! Unless you want to bring me a half-tablespoon to measure it out with, you're gonna have to be more specific."
He sighed and knelt beside the bath. He grabbed the shampoo out of Max's hand, proceeding to pour a more reasonable amount onto his hand. He rubbed them together to get them lathered and reached out to Max.
"Well? I can't wash your hair if I have to reach over half of the bath."
"Oh- sorry." They scooted over and leaned their head toward Ariel.
"There you go." He worked his fingers through Max's hair, kneading for roughly a minute before lightly tapping their head. "Rinse."
Max did as was asked of them and rinsed their hair.
"Alright, you're going to have to stand up for this one."
Max stood up a little too fast and splashed Ariel. "Oh my god, sorry-"
Instead of even the softest of reprimands, Ariel laughed. "It's okay, I'm just glad you're cooperating." They reached for the loofah and poured some soap into it. Best not to let Max try to do it themselves for a while, given he tried to waste an insane amount of shampoo. They handed it to Max and shot him a skeptical look. "Can you do this part yourself?"
"Probably, but I might need help on my back."
They nodded. "That's alright, let me know."
Ariel turned around to give Max a semblance of privacy, though they were sure he didn't need it. Max never understood privacy in other scenarios, but it's respectful to give him some occasionally.
After a suspiciously long amount of time, Max cleared their throat. "I'm ready, I got what I could, but you can see where I didn't reach."
Ariel turned back around and took the loofah from Max. "All good, you'll have to turn around, though," he teased. Max listened with a soft laugh. They jolted slightly when he finally reached up to scrub them but didn't complain.
A moment of scrubbing later, Ariel dropped the loofah into the water to rinse it. "Done."
"Now, face, right?"
"Mhm, but don't use my good stuff, your skin is fine right now. Use..." He stepped away to look in the cabinet and pulled out an old face wash. "This one. Just rub a little on your face and use the washcloth to scrub it in."
Shockingly, Max understood this step and didn't need any further instruction. When he'd finished, he bent down and rinsed his face and washcloth. He shook his head off and looked at Ariel.
"Towel?"
They nodded and handed him a towel. "I'm proud of you, you may have needed help, but you did well."
Max dried himself off and left the towel wrapped around his shoulders. He yawned dramatically and pawed for the clothes beside Ariel. They helped him into them with a soft chuckle.
"Tired?" They asked gently.
Max nodded and hugged Ariel, nuzzling his head into their neck. "Tired. You're so warm..."
"Says the one who just got out of a hot bath. God, you're like a child. I'll help you to my room for a nap."
"I'd like that."