they let out a hiss as she dabs at the cuts on their face, making particular care to avoid eye contact with bell. “i told you, i’m /fine/.” cillian grumbles, fiddling with the rings on their hand. she was the one who insisted on patching them up after all.
yeah, as if she’s going to buy that. she’s got eyes, cillian. bell frowns, worry creasing her brow as she presses the already bloodied washcloth against their cheek, her touch as gentle as she can manage. despite her attempt, the sound still escapes from them ( even though she can tell they’re trying to suppress it ) as it makes contact, and she winces as the same time as they do.
realistically, she knows that cleaning wounds makes them sting, and this is absolutely going to make it better in the long run, but that doesn’t mean she has to like it.
❛ if you’re just gonna keep protesting, it’s not worth it. ❜ her voice is firm but threaded through with concern as she ducks her head away to reach for a bandage. bell reaches for their face, gentle fingers softly cupping their cheek as she tilts cillian’s face to the side for a better view of their injuries. ❛ there’s no way i’m leaving you like this, so it’s not gonna do anything to complain. ❜
almost unconsciously, her fingers brush a strand of hair out of the way, tracing the pad of her finger gently against their cheekbone before she tucks the wayward curl behind their ear. warmth grows in her cheeks when she sees their expression flicker at the touch, and she looks down, suddenly finding unwrapping the bandage in her hand incredibly fascinating.
❛ there, ❜ she says, reaching up to smooth the bandage across the worst of the cuts on their face. this time she remembers to move her hand away once she’s done, though there’s an itch in her fingers to return to their place against their skin. she ignores it. ❛ i’m not gonna make you sit while i fix up everything, but at least the worst is over. ❜