with bona seated on the edge of the tub, danbi kneels instead with a damp washcloth, letting water run over the worst of the scrapes and gently cleaning away what she can. she gets some of the dirt and gravel off the older girl before bona stands again, making a choice she’d been half-expecting, from old habits she still knows. “ it’s gonna sting, ” she warns, letting go of the other’s arm when she stands, closing the first aid kit back for now. bona avoids her gaze and she averts her eyes too; a once-familiar scene is strangely clinical and detached now, efficient and gratefully over in a few seconds when bona sinks into the tub, bubbles hiding her from view.
does she want to look? she wants to know, in some form of self-sabotaging curiosity, what’s new about bona, even though she feels as if she’s got no right to it and will only be hurt by whatever she finds. so she doesn’t, turns to put the first aid kit on the cover of the toilet seat, about to stand and leave it to bona when a hand reaches out to hold onto her wrist. she has no excuses for choosing to perch herself on the edge of the tub, even though part of the rim is wet and slowly soaking through thin cotton sleepwear.
“ i told you, ” danbi sighs, lips quirking up in a smile too familiar and fond. “ it’s nice, huh? ” she repeats, teasing, and pushes the wet hair out of the other’s face. leaning down, she cups a handful of water to bona’s neck and lets it pour over, her thumb gentle as she rubs the streaks of grime off her clavicle. she lapses into silence, unsure of what to say, focusing on washing away the dirt smudged on bona until she doesn’t have excuses to touch her skin anymore. her fingers are starting to wrinkle up. danbi inhales, a shaky thing, hands curling away from the other’s shoulder. “ scoot up, ” she says, finally, tapping the base of bona’s neck, “ i’ll help you with your back too. ”
somehow just being close to the other without knowing much about the situation in general stung more. her eyes had been glued on danbi’s face, wondering. she had always thought such a pretty girl like her must have moved on quickly, specially being far away from home. bona let the situation sink in, wondering again; why was the other here? next to her tub, on her knees, a washcloth in hand. “ah– danbi-”, the words slipped out, a slightly worried expression on her own face. did she feel embarrassed? maybe slightly. just something wasn’t right; maybe things felt so familiar and so wrong at the same time that bona had trouble with comprehending what was happening.
where fingertips met her skin, bona could feel the heat seep through, similar to the sting she had felt whenever the cloth had met her scratches. if she hadn’t been surrounded by hot water, she would have gotten goosebumps. the other was close, maybe too close, and with how easy bona could just reach out and pull her in, it took her all of her will to not just do that. she had kept her fingers lightly wrapped around danbi’s wrist, biting her lower lip as she tried to suppress any thought or feeling. why was she being this nice? what for? did she have a motive?
even while surrounded by water, her throat felt dry as the other pushed a strand of her hair back, and bona could tell that she must have a nervous appearance. “come on, my back is fine – besides just always hurting, but what’s new?”, bona said with a soft chuckle escaping her throat, but still doing as the other had told her. sitting up a little, she tilted her head just slightly to gaze at danbi; now even closer. god. she just knew that she wouldn’t be able to shut her mouth. “why don’t you join me then?”, bona asked as she picked up some bubbles in the palm of her hand, blowing them a little to let them float towards the other.
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