(no subject)

[amicably_absent]

Glitch had swum for hours, chasing fish and insects and bubbles and sunbeams. Eventually, worn out and tired, he had swum to shore and curled up on the bank on the sun warmed pebbles, grumbling about his lack of coat until he fell asleep.

He woke up with Rennie shaking him, a scolding voice telling him he had to come in, he was all wet and dirty and needed a bath and clean clothes, and was she going to have to strap him in the chair.

Glitch reacted predictably.

He screamed at her, judo flipped her while sitting down, dove into the water, swam to a far edge and took off.

Rennie asked Cain to go find Glitch and bring him in before he froze or hurt himself.

Glitch had retreated to the rotunda, sitting on the seat and swinging himself back and forth, watching the sun setting on the lake. He was soaking wet again, but his trembling didn't seem to worry him at all.

Comments

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And it stops right before it can go too far, which is a blessing and a curse intertwined into one. He sighs, moving with Glitch as if to somehow make it last longer, but then he sways back.

It still doesn't feel wrong. "How..." He clears his throat. He has no idea what he wanted to ask.

His hands opt for more shampoo, then move closer to the zipper. The hair needs cleaning up there as well, and he likes to finish what he starts.

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Glitch looks up when he speaks, but decides it probably didn't matter if Cain doesn't push any further and he instead relaxes back down again with a contented smile.

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As he moves closer, his focus sharpens and his touch grows lighter. He wouldn't want to poke anything tender or sore, but he needs to make sure everything is healing properly, and that it's clean.

"I'm going to check your stitches, Glitch. Try to stay still. I'm just looking."

Surreality makes way for the real world all but too quickly, sometimes.

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Most importantly, he has stitches just to hold the zip firmly done up, stitched through the actual zip itself at the back of his head. But he stays still and quiet, apparently aware that Cain's no danger to his safety.

"I think I'm going to keep it."

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He nods, scrutinizing the stitches for any sign of swelling. Maybe it's a small area to fuss over, but if any sort of complications were to come from Glitch forgetting to keep them clean, Cain wouldn't know what to do with himself. Satisfied that it looks good enough, his hands slide down to rest on top of Glitch's shoulders.

"It's a reminder. For all of us."

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It's healing, despite Glitch's best efforts by running all over the countryside and beaning himself over the head earlier.

He looks up and back as Cain's hands slide to his bare shoulders, lifting one hand to cross his body and close on Cain's. "I'm used to it. It's part of me."

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His hands squeeze firm on slick wet skin, and he nods. He doesn't think he needs to acknowledge Glitch's decision any other way. Well... Maybe just one more way.

"Ready to rinse and repeat, Sweetheart?"

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Glitch nods and takes a deep breath, closing his eyes, pinching his nose and sliding under water. He shakes his head under the water to dislodge the suds.

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And Cain helps by running his hands down the lengths, then nudges him to come up.

"Better?"

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He gasps breath, rubbing his eyes and shaking off again. "Yeah. Warm and clean."

His curls are actually curling, rather than their usual sticking out. That might change with drying.

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And this time, Cain moves away before the spray can hit him; he's smiling this time around too. He comes back with one of the thick towels, ready for wrapping it around his...special friend.

His heart feels lighter for it. "You sure you're clean enough, I'm not going to argue."

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Of course, Glitch hasn't washed his body at all but he's already forgotten about filthy, sore feet and a day swimming in a lake and sleeping on the shore.

"Uh huh. Hair all clean." He runs his fingers through his curls.

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They can deal with filthy feet later, and besides, Cain's sure most of the dirt will come off with the towel. He spent over a decade in an iron suit collecting dust, and he's fine.

"Well? Are you gonna sit there all night?"

A beat. "I promise I won't peek if that's why you're dawdling."

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"Promise?" But he doesn't wait for the confirmation, pushing out of the bath with a shiver and into the waiting towel. "My feet hurt."

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Just time enough for him to turn his eyes skyward, arms and towel going around Glitch's shoulders. Only then does he look, and boy, what a view. Not so much a sopping wet cat anymore, he reckons, but no less adorable.

"They should," he notes, very seriously.

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"Why should they hurt?" He looked down at them, toes and nails still dirty despite the bath. He snuggles into the towel more, tugging it around him.

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"Because you spent all day barefoot and outdoors." He starts rubbing Glitch's back, more than happy to assist with drying up. At least initially. Then he remembers that such things are most usually dealt with in private.

"Clean your feet, don't forget, and I'll go find you something to put on."

But not before pressing close for a hug. A real one, even if Glitch can't really return it at this point in time.

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"Oh. That." Minor, unimportant details.

He snuggles in, but then he realises he's going to be left alone to do this. And that's always just that little bit scary, because he tends to forget things. "Clean feet. Right."

He snuggles in, arms around himself holding the towel and then stepping back to eye off his feet. "Right. Clean."

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"I'll be back before you know it."

He feels odd, dimly, as if something is sparkling or bubbling inside. "I'll even leave the door open so you can hear me rummaging, okay?"

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"Okay. And you can hear if I hurt myself." He sits down on the tiled floor and starts rubbing at his feet, pouting when it hurts but keeping on anyway.

"Wyatt...?"

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"Yeah, Glitch?"

He turns around at the door.

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He pauses and the thought leaves again.

He huffs. "Can't remember."

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"It's okay." Cain smiles bravely, struck by the chilling thought that Glitch may not remember what happened in here beyond this very moment.

What if he won't--

"You know what I do when something slips away?"

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"What?" He looks up to Cain in the doorway, wrapped in the towel and rubbing at his feet.

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"I try to think of something completely unrelated, and it pops right back. Nothing to it."

He smiles before stepping outside. "I'll be right back."