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Sinking down lower into the water, Aoba watches his own blue hair float on the surface. He blows a few air bubbles into the water and closes his eyes. The water was starting to cool to a lukewarm and he figures he should probably get out soon, but the feeling of being in the water is soothing on his skin. He didn’t want to get out yet. He wriggles his toes a bit and drifts off slightly, inhaling through his nose and exhaling more bubbles into the water.
A couple of sharp knocks on the bathroom door snaps him out of his reverie. He sits up slightly, lifting his face out of the water as Mink enters their small bathroom.
“You’ve been in there for an hour already,” Mink grunts and dips a couple of fingers into the water, testing its temperature.
“Oh, I have?” Aoba lifts his right hand and looks at it; the skin has gone pruney long ago. “Oh,” he breathes.
Mink turns around and grabs Aoba’s towel for him as Aoba stands up, water dripping from his body and hair. He pinches a strand of hair and runs his hand down, squeezing the water out. Mink wraps the towel around his shoulders and begins drying him off.
“Idiot. You could catch a cold like this.”
Aoba whines as Mink moves to dry his hair in short rough strokes.
“I’m not that fragile, Mink.” Yet he shivers a bit, feeling the water evaporating from his skin where the towel hadn’t reached. He fully steps out of the tub and onto the small rug in front of it, grabbing the towel from Mink and wrapping it around his body.
Sigh. “Suit yourself.”
Aoba slowly dries himself off with extra focus on his long hair as Mink drains the tub and runs fresh hot water into it for his own bath. He watches unabashedly as Mink begins to strip off his own clothing. Aoba hums and traces the contours of Mink’s body with his eyes, too distracted now to continue drying himself off. The hour-long bath made him feel very lethargic and sluggish and not nearly warm enough.
After testing the temperature and adding some bath salts into the water, Mink sinks down into the water with a sigh and relaxes. Only then did he notice Aoba, still rooted in the same spot, and raises an eyebrow. “You’re still not dressed?”
Snapping his head up, Aoba lets the towel fall at his feet and strides, one, two, to the bathtub. Before Mink could protest, he settles in, splashing the water and overflowing the small tub. Water floods the floor, soaking the rug and Aoba’s towel. Aoba leans against Mink with a sigh. Now he feels sufficiently warm.
Too exasperated to even scold his husband, Mink huffs and cradles his head. He cups his free hand, scoops some of the remaining water and drizzles the liquid down Aoba’s back. As much as they both would have liked to bathe together, the size of the tub did not allow for it, as Aoba had just demonstrated.
“Oi.”
“Hm?”
“This is the first and last time I’m letting you do this.”
“Mmmn…”