GHOST CABIN ☆ EARTHMIX AU

Part nine: lake time

With Earth beside him.

"I didn't get the chance to ask this yesterday but, do you perhaps know where can I take a shower?" Mix asked, sipping on the last remains of coffee in his hands.

"Shower doesn't work here."

Mix furrowed his brows, putting the empty mug back on the table, "how come? The toilet here downstairs does."

"The toilet is connected to different water pipes, which you should be thankful that it even is connected because this is a really remote area. But trust me, you don't want to shower with that water," Earth explained.

"But then how can I shower?" Mix asked, pouting.

And it was a sight to remember! Earth couldn't help but smile. Mix looked so adorable. There was a certain affection for the younger that was forming in Earth. It felt nice, something he didn't felt for years.

"Well, you can't shower, but you can take a bath."

Mix stood up, letting the blanket fall to the floor, "where?" he asked.

A wicked smile appeared on Earth's face, for once it was a good thing that Mix couldn't see him. This boy didn't even check the bathroom upstairs. "Outside," Earth said, glancing at the lake.

"Where?" Mix repeated his question, really hoping he heard wrong.

"Outside...in the lake," Earth said, loving Mix's face when the realization hit him.

"In the lake?" Mix repeated, "you are not as funny as you think you are, Earth."

"I'm serious. If you want to stay clean you have to bathe in the lake. Or don't and end up dirty and smelly after a few days. I can't smell you anyway—you'll be the only one to suffer." Earth needed to persuade Mix to take a bath in the lake, just once, like a real man in the wilderness. He almost laughed out loud at his thoughts.

"You mean to tell me that my grandmother was all those years bathing in the lake? Yeah, Earth, I totally believe you." Mix said in a mocking voice, showing Earth exactly how much he was buying his words.

"Praewa was a strong woman—bathing in the lake was nothing to her," Earth said with the most serious voice he could manage in that situation.

And it clearly worked. Mix sighed, biting his lip he tilted his head on one side, closing his eyes and opening them again, "there really isn't any other option?"

"You think I wouldn't tell you if there was?"

"Umm, forgive me for saying this but we don't know each other for that long, so my trust in you isn't exactly high," Mix said, rocking back and forth on his tippytoes.

"And here we have another reason why, you can only hear me, the lack of trust is the problem in today's modern society," Earth said, jokingly.

"No one would trust someone who they met only yesterday," Mix retorted.

"I died for someone I knew for five minutes."

Mix opened his mouth but closed it again, not knowing what to say. He stopped rocking back and forth, he looked out of the window at the lake sparkling under the sun the same way it did when he arrived.

"So, the lake, huh? Fine...hmm...is the water cold?" Mix asked, deciding to ignore Earth's previous words.

"It's...colder, but nothing crazy. That's what Praewa told me," Earth said, regretting a little bit, that he mentioned his death again. Earth had to keep in his mind that Mix wasn't like him. Mix wasn't comfortable with topics like that.

Mix nodded his head, "good, so...I will go take the bath...in the lake. You don't need to follow me."

Earth watched Mix with an amused expression, "don't worry, I have no desire to."

Mix rolled his eyes, turned on his heels and ran upstairs. He opened his bag, taking out everything he needed; a towel, clean clothes, a shampoo...and made his way reluctantly to the lake.

Outside wasn't actually as cold as he had expected. The sunshine was lightly tickling his skin, the wind was only gently playing with leaves on the trees and looking at the sky, Mix couldn't see any cloud lurking around. Perfect—Mix had to remind himself—still summer morning.

He walked to the lake, standing on the edge he sat down, diving his tippy toes under the sparkling surface. And then taking them out immediately after, hissing. "What the—" Earth calls this 'nothing crazy'?

Correction: his grandma called it 'nothing crazy'?

Mix shook his head, standing up, he started to take off his clothes, one piece after the other, his eyes keep switching to the cabin. He laughed at himself, he isn't watching you, Mix, stop being paranoid.

His naked body touched the waters of the lake, disturbing the peacefulness of the scene. For a few seconds, it felt like Mix was being cut into pieces by at least a hundred knives. He bit his lips hard, to not let out any embarrassing noises, breathing slowly he got used to the cold water.

When the water engulfed his whole body he had realized that it wasn't actually that bad. It felt warm, he could feel the blood rushing through his veins;  one of many signs of him being alive. His eyes shifted once again towards the cabin...maybe one day Earth will be able to feel the coldness of this lake too.

.....

Earth watched from the window as Mix approached the lake and sat down. To Earth, at that moment Mix looked like he belonged there, to that lake, to the Ghost Cabin to that whole place. Like he was always supposed to be there. The shadows from the trees were creating a mosaic masterpiece on his caramel skin, blessing Earth with that sight.

Mix's shirt fell on the ground when Earth finally realized what was Mix doing. Earth's eyes lingered on Mix's naked back for a little bit longer than they should, he shook his head, looking away. "What am I doing?"

Closing the window, he disappeared.

To be continued...

P.S. Wish you all a happy weekend. I hope you can rest at least a bit and recharge your energy for the next week. 💫🤎