Author's Notes: Originally published on January 11, 2020 at Archive of Our Own

The prompt for this drabble: "all I'm saying is the sexual tension of one character cleaning another's wounds when they have mutual feelings for each other but havent acknowledged them yet"

It was just a minor wound. He'd always gotten them whenever he accomplish his missions. A slash on his shoulder, adding up to the scars that healed overtime. Usually, he just wash it off and bandage it himself. He'd been alone on this world, the only person he could rely on was himself.

Groh didn't know how to tell her off.

He watched Trine work on his injury, she was careful on dabbing the damp cloth against his forearm. She was done tending on it and was now cleaning up her mess. Her smile never left on her lips, it only grew wider when she blurted a one-liner that would make him laugh.

Everytime she did that, he couldn't help but chuckle.

Trine tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, then placed the cloth on the table. She grabbed the bandage and threw him a playful wink.

"Don't worry, I won't tie it into a ribbon to scare your cool vibe away."

He shook his head, giving her an amused smirk.

"You really do not have to do this, Trine."

She started to wrap the bandage around his forearm. She was careful in her work, making sure she wouldn't add too much pressure to inflict unnecessary pain on him. Trine didn't look back at him, but her voice showed the cheekiness that never went away.

"And you didn't have to sit your ass down and let me do it for you."

Groh scoffed. She always had more firepower on defeating him on this silly arguments like this. Always teasing him whenever she had the chance, it was why he enjoyed Trine's company so much.

"Done!"

Trine clasped her hands together as she admired her handiwork. Glancing at him, she flashed him a wide grin.

He narrowed his eyes.

"Aww, no thanks for your healer?"

Groh shook his head. "I am not going to permit you to take a blow for me in return."

An amused giggle escaped her lips. "True, but I can do this."

Trine blew a kiss on his direction.

Groh didn't know how to react. He felt his cheeks heat up as he froze from his seat.

"That's a 'you're welcome' from me." She winked. "I won't be surprised if you ended up pining for me in the future."

It took him a few moments before he cleared his throat, composing himself. "I will not do such a thing. It is only in your imagination, woman." He felt his cheeks flushed red after speaking those words.

This was their usual banter, with Trine always teasing him and occasionally flirt with him. There should be nothing special between them, as they were just two close allies, nothing more. But the heart that skipped a beat and the funny feelings in his stomach betrayed him.

Was this the effect of letting someone you care for tend to your injury?

When he looked back at her, she was ready to leave. Trine gave him another bright smile. "You know where to find me, big man. Let yourself take a break for the time being."

Groh usually rebuts her orders, no matter how she said it with jest, but right now, he didn't feel like arguing.

"I will see you later, Trine."

Her eyes went wide upon hearing those words, but she quickly regained her composure, her smile widening. "Gee, I wonder if I'm being a bad influence on you. Curtis may get jealous if he finds out." Trine gave him another playful wink before she left.

Curtis getting jealous… Unless his best friend was being serious instead of riding with her quips, he was right. He'd become more soft thanks to her.

A simple man, as they say.

A/N: Decided to repost this to give some slight bad news if you're following Unbroken Promise, And A Place to Return To, my computer took a dive and I have to delete all of my files, which means the pre-recorded gameplay of where I base my novel on is gone, so that means I can't update the next chapter once I'm done with my other project. I'm still on the process of trying to recover them somehow, so here's hoping I get the videos back, if not, well I'll just start all over again in Libra of Souls, no biggie.