A warm rosy scent filled the baths.
The walls and tiles were made out of polished obsidian, as about everything else in the palace, but here it seemed especially smooth.
Jisung had filled one of the smaller pools with steaming hot water.
They were just pouring in more scented supplements.
Minho's cramped muscles relaxed from the warmth and herby smell alone.
'Thank you', he said to Jisung.
He then carefully eased Felix's unconscious body into the warm water.
'Can I do something?' the skeleton asked while watching his every move.
'I'll take care of him' Minho assured. 'You shouldn't, because of the water. I don't want to risk you turning into dust'
Jisung let out an agreeing hum.
'I'll see if I can find some fresh towels'
'Thank you' Minho said again.
The skeleton hushed away, leaving him alone with Felix.
He swept another strand of hair out of his face.
Felix's skin was still freezing cold.
He was breathing normally, though.
Minho could just hope that the bath's warmth would soak through Felix's body and wake him up again.
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'Hey there, hello', a voice said as gently as possible as Felix's senses began dripping back in.
He blinked.
Everything felt warm and cozy and smelled nicely. He was dizzy.
'Where.. am I?'
A hand stroke mildly through his hair.
'Still in netherworld'
His memories crashed back in.
The kidnap, the curse, the river.
'No'
No, no, no, no.
'I'm sorry'
Felix pressed his eyes closed. He could feel hot tears running over his cheeks.
It was Minho's voice.
Minho was here, next to him, fondling him.
He didn't know how he should feel about that. He also didn't have the strength left to think further about it.
Tears kept falling from his eyes. Felix took a shaky breath.
Minho's hand was at the back of his head.
'Hey', he said again in that gentle voice Felix had never heard before, 'Hey, you're alive.'
'I'm immortal'
'That does not necessarily make a difference down here'
His hand started moving.
'Let me wash your hair, okay? It's still freezing cold'
As Felix didn't resist, he began pouring warm water over it and started to message scented soap and oil into the wet strands of hair.
Felix kept his eyes closed.
He didn't want to waste his energy on trying to comprehend what was going on.
Minho was weirdly caressing.
The sudden warmth made Felix shiver.
'Why are you washing me?', he whispered.
Minho's movements stopped.
'I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Felix, I know you don't want me to touch you, but skeletons can't touch the water of Styx and you are practically soaked in it, and.. and you were so cold and someone needed to warm you up, so I just, I just did it.. I can stop now that you're awake again-'
'No' Felix said, mainly to stop the rambling that strained his brain way too much. 'No, it's... it's okay'
For a while, no one said anything.
Felix contemplated wether to say something else. He stared straight ahead, silently letting Minho's hands work though his hair.
Then, eventually, in a quiet voice: 'The water is warm'
He could practically feel Minho's tiny smile. 'It is.'
Felix briefly closed his eyes.
'Why am I still wearing my dress?'
'I... I didn't want to undress you while you were unconscious'
Felix didn't answer. The only sound was water splashing as Minho started washing the soap out of his hair.
Felix looked down at his hands, trying to relax into the warmth spreading over his head. He was tired.
'Thank you', he finally said, barely audible.
Minho nodded and stood up.
'I'll see where Jisung is with your towels. And maybe I can find something for you to wear'
Felix's tired gaze dropped on him, examining his state. He frowned.
'Your shirt is soaked. And your hair is wet'
'Well, someone had to pull you out of that river'
The younger god searched his face.
'Why? Your life would be easier if you'd just left me there.'
'Even though you don't believe me... I'm not a complete dickhead'
That was met by silence.
Minho huffed and turned to go.
'Could you please... A dress? I don't want to wear such a hideous ruffle shirt like you do'
Minho spun right back around to Felix.
'Excuse me? Did you just insult my clothing style?'
'Out of all the insults I threw at your head throughout this day, that's the one that gets to you? Are you serious?'
'I really like my ruffle shirts, Felix', Minho scoffed.
'Please?'
The god of netherworld sighed, very deep.
'I'll see if I can rustle up something'
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a/n:
do you also sometimes feel like the world is ending soon anyways and then you start contemplating REALLY seriously wether to learn for your next exam or not-
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