Legal Disclaimer: I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

Warning: This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

Author's Note (Headcanons & Things): This fill uses the headcanon that the Potters are Desi (of Indian descent) and that the Zabinis have creature blood (in this case, Erinyes aka Fury). This fill also expands out the autistic traits that Harry Potter displayed in canon to full acknowledgement. The Dursleys' abuse is also acknowledged.

Author's Note: So this fic could have really gone into the raunchy territory, but instead you get a rather fluffy comfort fic about Blaise washing Harry's hair.

Submitting Info:
Stacked with: Houses Competition (Term 4); The Nautical Ship Challenge; Hogwarts (Term 10); MC4A
Individual Challenges: In a Flash (N); Yellow Ribbon (Y); Yellow Ribbon Redux (N); Gryffindor MC (N); Slytherin MC (N); Ethnic & Present (N); Sett to Destroy (N); Neurodivergent (N); Quiet Time (Y); Creature People (N);
House: Hufflepuff
Role: Player (7th Year)
Category: Drabble
Prompt: Shampoo Bottle (object); Blaise Zabini (character)
Assignment No.: Term 10 – Assignment 6
Subject (Task No.): Biosciences: Zoology (Task 13: Write a fic which features a humanoid with wings)
Other Hogwarts Challenges: Smut (Or Not, As It Were) [4: Moan]; 365 Words [66: Bedroom]; Insane Prompt Challenge [675: No Het Pairings]
Space Address (Prompt): 3E (Copper)
Representation(s): Autistic Harry Potter; Greek Myth
Bonus Challenges: Odd Feathers; Wabi Sabi; Demo (Machismo; Unicorn)
Tertiary Bonus Challenges: T3 (Terse; Tether)
Word Count: 853

(^^)
Comfort in Bottles
(^^)

Blaise looked up from his book as the door opened. From his position in his armchair, he had an unobstructed view of Harry slipping into their apartment. The petite man clearly believed himself to be alone, given that he took a moment after closing the door to lean exhaustedly against it. Even after all their years together, Harry still tried to appear unbothered by things. It always ended up leaking through the cracks eventually, but he still tried, nonetheless.

If it didn't always end up with Harry not being able to eat, sleep, or both, Blaise would have called the habit endearing. He frowned as Harry continued to linger against the door. Harry's head was tipped back, revealing the dark tan of his throat. Something darkly possessive curled in Blaise's chest at the vulnerable sight, at the understanding that his mate felt safe enough to show it.

That feeling only grew when Harry reached up to absentmindedly open the top buttons of his shirt and revealed the bright flash of the copper torque that marked him as Blaise's.

Blaise was across the room before he was aware of moving, his wings out in full presentation as he pressed his body against the smaller man. He ran his nose up Harry's neck, taking in the rich scent that belonged to only his mate. Harry's hands skimmed over Blaise's chest before sliding around to brush against the sensitive base of his wings. Blaise responded with a nip to the corner of Harry's jaw that made him groan.

"You look like you need some pampering," Blaise whispered in Harry's ear. He got a hum in acknowledgement. "Let me pamper you?"

Harry's nod was all that Blaise needed from his stressed mate. He wasn't like some people who would have pressed for a more verbal answer. That would just have added to whatever pressure or issue had Harry looking like he wanted to crawl into the smallest space he could find in their flat. That was a holdover from his childhood, Blaise knew, but the knowing did little cool the fiery rage that accompanied the understanding of how Harry had ended up with such a quirk.

Sometimes being descended from an Erinyes was less than useful.

Then there were moments like this, where it gave him the instincts to know exactly how to care for those closest to him. Those same instincts had him striping Harry of everything except for the torque that both told the world whose protection the petite man was under and carried said protection when Blaise couldn't be with him. Then he lowered his mate into the bath which had begun filling when they had entered the bathroom.

With gentle hands, he washed Harry's body, massaging over tense muscles and scars that stood out vividly against his tan skin. Only when Harry was completely relaxed did Blaise turn his attention to unravelling the bun that held Harry's long, dark hair. Wetting the thick curls that were so different than his own curls was always a bit of a trial. Yet another thing to stir the fires in Blaise's soul, as the effort came from an intense fear of being drowned that made the task slower than it should have been.

Sometimes, Harry's compassionate nature frustrated Blaise, even if he wouldn't have his mate be anything other than himself.

Only then did Blaise reach for the specialty shampoo that was just for these times when Harry allowed Blaise to pamper him like this. Even the bottle was specially made, slim with ridges curling around the outside in an intricate woven pattern. The copper-green of the glass perfectly matched Harry's eyes and the patchouli and mint scent of the shampoo within complemented Harry's natural scent without masking it. After Blaise had the amount of shampoo from it that he needed, he passed the bottle to Harry. He enjoyed running his fingers over the ridges of it as a means of soothing the unease that this task aroused.

Harry let out a low moan of appreciation as Blaise massaged the thin lather of the shampoo into his scalp. His eyes slid shut. Even his strokes of the shampoo bottle slowed as the last bit of tension left him. The sight of Harry's pliancy made something settle within Blaise as well.

Even more carefully now, Blaise rinsed the shampoo from Harry's hair. By the time he was finished, Harry was nearly falling asleep where he sat. He gave only a mild noise of discontent when Blaise gently pried the shampoo bottle from his hands and another when Blaise lifted him into his arms. Not bothering with a towel, Blaise used his own magic to dry the two of them before carrying his mate to their bedroom.

Settling on the large bed was a challenge as wings weren't conducive to many comfortable positions and the damnable things weren't inclined to retreat at the moment. Still, Blaise managed without jostling Harry overly much. He did end up using the wings as blankets for them.

But there were worse costs for the comfort of a sleeping mate in his arms.