David inhaled shakily as he turned on the shower, feeling tears prick in the corners ofohis eyes; it had been so long since he'd felt clean, warm, running water.
It was a weird feeling.
"What are you doing?"
The redhead turned around to face Max in surprise, glad that he had hadn't started undressing yet. "I haven't used sanitary, decent water in so long, Max. I'm just enjoying it."
"That's fair…" He mused. "We, uh… We're not gonna stay here long, are we…?" He chewed his lip uncomfortably.
David narrowed his brows in confusion. "What do you mean? Why would you want to go? It's clean, it's warm, and we've got food!"
"Y-Yeah, but still. He might not like us."
The elder pursed his lips into an assuring smile as he ruffled the boy's hair. "I'm sure he likes us, Max. That's nothing to worry about. Now, you need to go and find a spare bathroom to use–"
"Edward's gone looking for one."
"Well there you go, then! I'm going to get in now, so if I were you I'd try and find Eddie, okay?" He smiled brightly.
Max nodded. "Yeah… sure."
Edward patted himself down one final time before reaching for his watch and clasping it around his wrist. He managed to find an almost identical outfit to his own, which he gladly put on. Seemed to be a pretty good fit as well. He looked at himself in the mirror for a moment or two, checking himself over, before perching himself on the edge of the queen-sized bad comfortably.
It was quiet.
He could hear a bit of movement and cluttering from the kitchen downstairs, but that was to be expected. Gwen and David had separated into different rooms for obvious reasons, and Max yet to come find him.
"Max? Ugh, about time!" He watched as the younger ignored him and headed straight into the bathroom, new clothes in hand, locking the door soon after.
Max had never ignored him before.
Had David said something? Why was he suddenly sour?
It was strange.
Deciding not to bother his friend, he made his way out the bedroom and down the hall in search of either Gwen or David. Preferably David, but he didn't want to look like a loner so he would be happy with Gwen if it came down to that.
"Knock knock–" He knocked his knuckles against the next bedroom along the hall.
"Occupied!"
"God dammit." Why did David have to be so concerned about his privacy? It wasn't helpful at all. "Ugh… here I come, Gwen…" He muttered, trudging to the nearest room with a locked door.
His hand tapped more gently this time, and almost instantly got a reply.
"David? Listen, I know we're not on speaking terms, but could you come here? The doors unlocked!"
Edward sucked in a deep breath as he pushed open the door, wincing as he expected to get smacked.
But he wasn't.
The brunette had back to him, blissfully unaware as lowered her head in order to tie her hair into a high ponytail. She was sporting a fresh pair of shorts and thigh high stockings, most likely for additional protection to her legs, and there was an oversized, green button up shirt folded neatly on the edge of the bed.
The redhead was very aware that his face had heated up, the fact that he was witnessing a topless female in only her bra, taking him off guard immensely. He locked his lips and let out a shuddered breath.
"Wow…"
Gwen offered a short laugh, finishing typing up her hair and stretching her freshly shaved arms above her head. "Very funny, D–" She stared at the teen with wide eyes, arms instantly folding over her chest. "W-What are you doing?"
"I didn't want to be lonely, so I was looking for people–"
"Max." She quickly grabbed her shirt and slipped her arms into the sleeves. "You can see Max."
"He's in… the shower." His eyes followed her fingers as they hurriedly buttoned up the shirt, not even trying to avert his state.
Gwen exhaled nervously. "Stop staring at me, Edward. I can break you. You know that."
"I'm not going to hurt you, Gwen." He took a step forwards, causing the elder to take a step back. "Listen, I'm a teenage boy, I can't really help it–"
"You shut your trap. You're fucking piece of shit, Edward. Go and baby Max or something, I don't wanna see you." She snapped her fingers in the direction of the door. "Beat it, fucktard."
He nodded simply and turned to leave, before pausing. "David is right, you know. You really aren't very kind."
"How are you doing in there, Max?" David pushed his ear up against the door, hand bracing the door handle.
The boy didn't reply.
His grip tightened around the handle as he carefully opened the door. "Max?" His concerned stare softened upon flickering over him, tutting teasingly. "Do need some help cleaning yourself?" The redhead grabbed a small towel off the edge of the bath tub. "You can go an wait on the bed, okay? It's too stuffy in here." Max stared at the man and licked his lips nervously. David raised a brow, slightly weirded out. "Well go on then!" He grinned, give the child a light push out the bathroom.
He laughed to himself as he damped the towel.
It wasn't long before he turned off the water and rung out the towel so it wasn't too wet, and made his way out and over to the bed. The redhead perched himself on the edge of the bed, patting the duvet to beckon the raven over. Max shook his head. "We-We can do it here…"
David took note of how he was now shaking…maybe he was cold? "Sure." He scooted closer to the headboard and more into the centre of the bed, making sure both he and the boy were comfortable. "We'll do your arms last because they're a bit beaten up aren't they?" He laughed half-heartedly, hoping to earn some kind reaction from him. "Okay then… C'mon! Gimme a leg."
He then began gently rubbing the cloth over his legs, happy to see that there was little to no wounds to be found. Max remained silent, nothing new, but did flinch as the cloth made its way past his knees and onto his thighs. "You okay? Did I hurt you?"
"Y-Yeah… can you stop…"
The elder nodded, growing worried. "Y-Yeah, sure. Your new clothes are in the bathroom if you want to get them."
"Okay." Max closed his eyes with somewhat relief as he began to crawl off the large bed, still shaking.
"Hang on." He felt David place a firm hand on his shoulder. "I'll get them, you can dry off a bit."
The boy nodded obediently and waited patiently for his clothes, calming down slightly. "Gosh, Max, you're still shaken up from earlier? I guess using warm water may have been a poor decision… I'll keep that in mind for next time." David assured cheerfully, carefully helping the boy into a comfortable pair of shorts and a loose black t-shirt. "Smart choice with chosing shorts. Don't wanna get overheated again do we?"
"Yeah, I guess so…–"
"Knock knock~" Edward poked his head round the door. "Uh, Cameron said food's ready. Gwen's already down there helping, so I reckon we should go too. It smells great, though!"
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