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Bdubs was so, so sore.
Not completely unusual after a day of constant building, but it just felt… worse than usual. His ankles and knees especially ached and he just wanted to go to his bed, the sun slowly setting and leaving behind a sky of mixed pinks and purples. He could see faint stars if he squinted hard enough.
But he stunk. Sweat, dirt, grass… and multiple marks from various blocks on his clothes. He would not bring that into his bedroom, no way.
A shower was in order, but he didn't know if he could muster the energy to wash himself. Standing under a shower made his joints hurt even more just thinking about it.
He hobbled over to the dining table, pulling out a chair a bit more roughly than he intended to, and collapsed into it, staring up at the ceiling as his body went slack.
"Bad day?" he heard Etho say. He craned his neck to the side to see him across the room, walking closer.
"Bdubs is gonna turn to dust if he moves an inch ," he whined, turning his head back up to the ceiling and closing his eyes.
"Looks like it. I can help you to bed if you want."
"Nuh-uh. Need to shower."
"I love you Bdubs, but I don't think that's happening," Etho mumbled from somewhere above him. He could hear the grin in his voice and would've complained about it had he not felt Etho's hands come down to cup his face.
"Well, I stink ! I'm not disgracing my bed like that. No way ."
Etho hummed briefly, rubbing his thumbs over Bdubs' cheeks before saying, "I can run you a bath. Wash you, if you'd like."
"You would?" Bdubs asked, opening his eyes to see Etho looking down at him.
"Yeah. I'll go run it, grab a pillow, and help you over?"
"What a gentleman! Sure, sure ." Bdubs smiled. Etho let go of Bdubs' face, walking over to the couch, and grabbing a particularly thick pillow before running off to the bathroom.
When he came back, he helped him stand out of his chair, letting Bdubs lean his weight on him and lead them to the bathroom.
○○○
Etho tucked the pillow under his knees, positioning himself comfortably and peeling off his gloves then rolling up his sleeves.
"Good temperature?"
"Perfect!" Bdubs beams, closing his eyes and sliding down in the bath, letting the water cover him up to his chin. Etho reaches over him and grabs the sponge and bottle of body wash sitting on the other edge of the tub, glancing at the bottle before squeezing some onto the sponge.
"Coconut?"
"Hm?" Bdubs mumbled, opening his eyes to Etho showing him the soap bottle, "Oh, I ran out of my other ones… sorry, I know your nose is sensitive."
"I'll be fine, Bdubs," Etho assures, dropping the sponge into the water to mix the soap into it.
"Of course, of course…" Bdubs grumbles, waving his hand through the bubbles gently floating atop the water.
"Okay, up-up. I'll get your back first." Etho spoke, wetting his other hand in the water as well. Of course, all the bubbles stick to Bdubs’ back as he sits up, and he turns slightly without complaint to give Etho easier access to clean.
He squeezes the wet sponge above Bdubs' back, letting the soapy water run down it before pressing it gently to his skin and rubbing it in circles to rid of the dirt and hopefully ease his muscles a bit. Etho can guarantee Bdubs spent the whole day building without breaks to rest, and despite not being as hardcore of a builder as Bdubs was, Etho knew it was harsh on the muscles.
"Why is bubble bath advertised as different colours, if the bubbles are just white after they're all frothed up?"
"Bubbles are clear, you'd need a lot of dye in your soap bottles to change that, I think - but then that'd just dye you as well, though," Etho answered, moving down Bdubs' back to get the last of the dirt off.
"Is the rainbow stuff in the bubbles because of the small amounts of dye?"
"Bubbles are kind of… prisms," he lifts the sponge from his back and gently pulls Bdubs' shoulder back, getting him to turn to a normal position in the tub. He lifts the man's arm and rubs the sponge into his bicep, "Prisms break apart colours because of the way the light bends. Therefore it kind of looks like a rainbow."
"Ah yeah, yeah, of course you'd know that. Smart as ever."
"Sounds like you're making fun of me." Etho drags the sponge down his forearm and into Bdubs' hand scrubbing a bit more diligently than before.
"I would never !" Bdubs grins at him, and Etho feels a smile tug at his lips.
The two of them seem to share more and more domestic moments like this these days, he's realized. Though he can't find a reason to complain.
Telling Bdubs silly facts, taking care of him, and seeing his bright smile after some light teasing. It feels like a soft yet ever-present reminder that he's at a comfortable, happy, and safe point in his life, because Bdubs is oh-so-wonderful and caring, and Etho doesn't think there's anything better that he could be doing with his time.
Maybe he should start letting Bdubs bathe him back, just for little moments like this where he feels truly at peace .
Scratch that. Baths are dreadful, and not even Bdubs could bathe him without being bitten once or twice.
"I can hear you thinking."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Mmm… just thinking of how awful this soap smells." Etho half lies, because the smell is awful, hiding a grin under his mask and Bdubs shoots him a glare and raises his other fist into the air,
"Who's the dirty little fox here? Not me! It's not my fault you can't handle some scented cleanliness!" he huffs, crossing his arms when Etho stops cleaning his hand.
"Calling me little, at your height? Oh, Bdubs !"
"Shut up!!" Bdubs yells, and Etho can't help the chuckle he lets out. He grabs his other hand and cleans that first, moving up the arm instead of downwards this time.
He finishes cleaning the arm and moves on to cleaning his legs, massaging the sponge into Bdubs' knees and ankles, knowing from his own experience that it offers at least a little relief from the pain. So of course, Etho wants to offer that.
The happy hum from Bdubs is reassuring.
It won't do that much, Etho knows that. Though, that's how it's always been, doing the smallest things for Bdubs and yet he's thankful. The man takes so little and gives so much that it's admirable.
The smell of coconut is bearable, if it's for him.
"...No, I was just thinking of how much I love you."
"You were??"
"Mhm."
He finishes with Bdubs' legs and re-adjusts how he's sitting, pain creeping its way into Etho's legs, and washes Bdubs’ chest last.
“How much do you love me?” Bdubs asks, staring at Etho.
“My thoughts cost diamonds,” he remarks and brings the sponge under the water to wash the soap out, giving it a squeeze above the water and setting it down on the edge of the tub.
“Goodness sakes… ear scritches, take it or leave it.”
“Yeah, okay, that's probably about the same value.”
“Surely,” he says, and Etho huffs a laugh.
“Lean down,” he says and puts a hand at the back of Bdubs’ neck, “Your hair needs to be washed too.” Bdubs slowly slides down with Etho’s hand guiding him, eventually stopping just above the water with Etho keeping his head held above it.
He grabbed the mug left on the edge of the tub from the last time they did this and filled it up with water. He brought his head down to Bdubs’, giving him a small, light kiss on the head through his mask.
“You’re… perfect,” Etho confesses and pours the water from the mug into Bdubs' hair, wetting it.
Bdubs looks at him like a cat looking at a Christmas tree. He looks stunned, and Etho can't help but think it's cute. He repeats the motion of filling the mug and wetting Bdubs' hair until he deems it good enough, and reaches over for the shampoo.
"You teasin' me?" Bdubs asked, staring right up at him through furrowed brows.
"No, never," he mumbled, trying to open the bottle cap with one hand, and failing miserably.
"Of course, of course. For the record, I think I'm pretty perfect too. With all of my prowess." Bdubs snickered and brought his own hands up to take the bottle from Etho, opening it easily before handing it back.
He takes the bottle and lets out a small laugh, squeezing the shampoo into Bdubs' hair and massaging it in, "The most perfect."
"...You're never usually this sappy. I'm not used to it."
"I guess you just bring out a sweeter side of me sometimes, hm?" he opines, shaking his hand under the water once he was done and grabbing the mug, filling it again.
Bdubs hummed, a smile on his face that had Etho mirroring it unconsciously. Not that he minded, of course not. He poured the water into his hair, washing away all of the soap.
"I would condition your hair but I can't sit like this any longer." he apologised, putting the mug back.
"Oh! It's okay. Thank you, Etho."
"You can finish up, do the last things you need. Call me when you want to get out, I'll help."
"Okay!"
○○○
Etho wasn't awake for too long before Bdubs got home, to be honest. He was getting tired again already. Not something that regularly happens to him… Etho blames it on the warmth from the water of Bdubs’ bath. Usually, right now he's out in the cold, building or doing redstone projects under the moon.
He’s sitting behind Bdubs on the edge of his bed, gently drying his hair with a towel. It was probably about dry enough, but Etho would do it for a little longer, just to be sure. Bdubs hated getting his pillow wet.
Speaking of Bdubs, he looked like he could fall asleep at any second, even with Etho rubbing a towel into his head. Must've had a long day , he assumes.
"Okay. I think we're done," he muttered, trying not to be too loud.
"Thank goodness… I'm going to sleep." Bdubs groaned, trying to stand, yet Etho hummed in disagreement and snaked his hands around his waist, resting his chin on Bdubs' shoulder.
"Etho, you can hug me once I'm in bed," he complained, trying to turn his head to look at him, but failing miserably, "If you don't let go I'm going to fall back and crush you!"
Etho just snickered, leaning down to pull himself and Bdubs onto their sides before holding him tighter and rolling over, leaving Bdubs comfortably in the middle of his bed. He could hear Etho's tail wagging, thumping off the mattress.
"There you go. You don't cater to my needs at all."
"Very freakin' funny Etho, I need to get my blankets!"
"Mm… am I not good enough, Bdubs?"
"No, no! You are, It's just so cold, I need-"
"Goodnight." Etho rested his face in Bdubs' hair, going silent.
"Goodness sakes! Etho!"
Etho's tail stopped wagging, opting to curl around both of their legs instead. Bdubs let out a loud huff but got no response.
Just his luck isn't it? Not very gentlemanly now. When Bdubs wakes up he better be wrapped up in blankets, or else Etho can go sleep at his own cold base tomorrow.
He supposes his soft tail will do for now, though.