Smiling crookedly, Heine nipped lightly at the other man’s lower lip. “I didn’t think you would. Now let go. So I can shower.”
He was aware of how callous he could sound. He knew well enough that he could border on abusive with his partner. But he also knew that, if they started anything now, the second Badou found a wound that wasn’t quite healed yet, or blood that wasn’t quite dry yet, the ginger would run the risk of another tailspin. He could only get away with shit like that when they were working together, not after an absence like this one.
Getting clean, then, and making himself something akin to presentable, had to be the first priority. Then he could get to the part of this arrangement that they both needed more than they could admit to.
Badou nodded, letting go of Heine’s wrist and just flopping back against the couch cushions with his eye closed, finishing the cigarette the albino had given him and tamping the butt out in his already overflowing ashtray before he reached for another. He licked his lips a bit and held his hand out for his lighter, opening his eye after a long moment and ignoring the tremor that was making his arm wobble.
“I’ll be…right here when you get out.”
He huffed softly, swallowing thickly and resisting the urge to take a light hold on the fabric of Heine’s pants.
“…Don’t take too long…”
Heine deposited the lighter into Badou’s hand, watching the other man for a long moment. That was key to these things. Watching. Gauging just how bad the other’s panic attack had gotten. He frowned slightly and shook his head. This one was one of the worse ones he’d seen in a long time. Still…he needed to shower.
“I won’t. I’ll just wash off the stench of death.” He shook his head and turned to head off into the bathroom, knowing that lingering would only get them so far with him in the condition he was.
Regardless of that, he left the bathroom door open, peeling out of his clothes and cranking the taps open, ignoring the subtle but familiar creak of the pipes shaking to life. He wouldn’t waste much time here. He just needed to clean up the blood…
