The confirmation, the realization, that they were more alike than Takumi had ever thought they’d be was…disconcerting, and strange, and…and oddly comforting.
“I won’t,” the Hoshidan prince murmured, fingers pulling the cape a little tighter around himself. It was an unexpected gesture, but no less kind, and Takumi felt something loosen in his chest, the tightly wound twists and knots of fear and shame not quite as painful as they had been with the knowledge that, perhaps, there was someone in this place not out to harm him.
( An odd thought, perhaps, considering Leo’s earlier threats that felt almost a lifetime ago, but looking at the prince now, seeing the soft expression on his face, the vulnerability in his eyes, it was difficult not to believe in him. )
For telling him. For helping him. For saving him.
Amber eyes darted back up, swiftly, nervously, at the sound of footsteps hurriedly returning to the cell, a sickening weight settling in his stomach. The large blanket in the other man’s hands did little to disperse the tendrils of terror slithering around his heart and he watched, body frozen, eyes locked on the guard as he stepped further into the cell, hesitated, then dropped the bundle of fabric gently on the floor a few feet away.
Takumi still didn’t move. Not even when the guard stepped back out into the hall and out of sight. Only then did he glance down at the blanket. It looked warm, big, soft and clean and so inviting - but it also reminded Takumi of how filthy he himself was. His hair, his face, his back and legs and body–
“I…I suppose it might be pushing it to ask for a b-bath…” The prince whispered, more of a statement to himself than an actual question. The kindness he had already been shown was more than he ever could have expected, after all.
