Imagine: You were absolutely sure the communal showers were empty.
For one thing, it was late. For another, most of the Cleaners had already scattered after the mission, disappearing into their rooms, the kitchen, or wherever else they usually went to collapse after a long day. And, most importantly, you had listened before stepping inside. No footsteps. No voices. No familiar heavy stomp of boots.
So, with a perfectly clear conscience, you shut the door behind you, set your things down on the bench, and finally allowed yourself to breathe.
The hot water hit your shoulders, washing away dust, exhaustion, and the last stubborn traces of your terrible mood. You closed your eyes, tilted your head back, and almost decided that maybe the day hadn’t been so bad after all.
Almost. Because the very next second, the door to the shower room swung open.
“Damn, finally,” came a familiar voice. “I thought nobody was in here...”
Enjin froze in the doorway. You froze too.
For a moment, neither of you moved. The silence between you was so thick that even the sound of running water suddenly seemed suspiciously loud.
Enjin stood there with a towel slung over one shoulder, already out of his outer clothes, though thankfully not yet fully committed to walking into the showers like he owned the place. His amber eyes widened. Then he blinked. Once. Twice.
Then, very slowly, he lifted his gaze to the ceiling.
“You could even say I was born blind.”
You grabbed the nearest bottle of shampoo and hurled it at him without thinking. Enjin dodged it far too smoothly for someone who had just claimed not to have seen anything.
“Aha!” you snapped, peeking at him through the steam while covering yourself with your arms. “So you can see well enough!”
“Reflexes,” he said calmly, still staring very hard at the wall. “My life is full of danger.”
“Your life is about to end if you don’t get out.”
He took one step back. And, of course, that was the exact moment his foot slipped on the wet floor.
You barely managed to squeak:
Enjin flailed, reached for the doorframe, missed it completely, spun in the least graceful way imaginable, and somehow managed to catch himself at the very last second. The towel on his shoulder, however, gave up on him entirely and slid solemnly to the floor. Both of you stared at it.
Then Enjin said, with complete seriousness:
“It sacrificed itself for my dignity.”
You clapped a hand over your mouth, but the laugh slipped out anyway. At first it was quiet and muffled, then bright, helpless, and impossible to stop.
Enjin glanced at you, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
“Glad my humiliation improved your evening.”
“Don’t worry,” you said, still laughing. “It was a very respectable performance.”
“I’d bow, but I’m afraid you’d misunderstand.”
He bent down to grab the towel, but you instantly hissed:
“I’m looking at the floor.”
“That’s because the floor is the only one not accusing me of anything.”
You snorted. Towel in hand, Enjin began backing toward the door again. This time with extreme caution. Almost majestically, if not for the fact that he was moving sideways like the world’s most suspicious crab. And it might have ended there. It really might have.
“You know, for someone who asks me for a light all the time, you lose your composure surprisingly fast.”
He stopped. Slowly, he turned his head, though his eyes remained very honorably fixed somewhere on the wall beside you.
“Because you’re clearly in the winning position here.”
“I’m naked in a shower, armed with shampoo.”
“Exactly. Absolute advantage.”
You narrowed your eyes, though he could barely see it through the steam.
“Are you flirting with me right now?”
“Me?” Enjin pressed a hand to his chest, looking so deeply offended that anyone else might have believed him. “In the middle of such a serious crisis?”
You gave him a silent, knowing look.
“Yes. I’m flirting,” he finally admitted.
You laughed again. This time, it came out a little more bashful than you intended. He smiled too, but not with his usual smugness. This one was softer. Warmer. The kind of smile that made your chest tighten in a way his teasing never quite did. And somehow, that felt much more dangerous.
“All right,” he said at last, stepping back behind the door. “I’ll leave. I’ll stand guard and protect your sacred right to personal hygiene.”
“I’m a very noble man, actually.”
“You barged into the showers.”
“Accidentally barged into the showers. Very important difference.”
“It fell heroically in battle.”
You shook your head, but your smile refused to go away. Enjin had almost closed the door when he paused again.
He still wasn’t looking inside. He stood just beyond the doorway, one hand holding the door, his voice a little quieter now.
“When you’re done… I can walk you back to your room. Just in case there’s more dangerous wet floor on the way.”
The hot water suddenly wasn’t the only reason your cheeks felt warm.
You were quiet for a couple of seconds, then turned your face away, as if that could hide the smile in your voice.
There was a brief silence from behind the door. Then Enjin gave a pleased little hum.
“What, are you planning to sing in there?”
And, to his credit, he really did go silent. For about two minutes. Then his voice came through the door again.
“Hey… was that my shampoo you threw at me, or someone else’s?”
You covered your face with one hand.
“I told you to be quiet.”
And despite the embarrassment, despite the ridiculousness of it all, you laughed again. Because no matter how hard you tried to stay mad at him, with Enjin, it almost never lasted long.
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