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Finnick exhales a quiet, breathy laugh at that. It hurts less to laugh now.
"Well, now you're just rubbing it in," he mutters jokingly in response. He sits on the toilet and watches Levi closely, staring up into his gray eyes unblinkingly as the older man begins to clean his face. The look in his eyes portrays a complete trust in Levi, and a sort of reverence.
The way he touches Finnick seems to encapsulate Levi. He's meticulous, he's neurotic about cleanliness, he's utterly caring and kind and protective, and all of that translates through his movements. Even with a blank face, his touch communicates that Finnick is something precious to him, and Finnick actually feels that way. He rarely, if ever, has been sent the message that his body is worth caring for, for its own sake. Even the Capitol fixing his wounds and erasing his scars and bathing him and putting him in makeup and beautiful clothing was only so he would be appealing and palatable to the rich, since they can't swallow anything unsightly or disabled by the abuses they've suffered. It was not done out of care for him. It was done to make him a product, an expensive one, to be consumed and used over and over and over. Levi cleans him simply so that he doesn't have to feel dirty, so that he doesn't have to see his own blood again, so that he can feel more comfortable, so that his wounds don't get infected. He's not attentive to the task as though Finnick is a thing to be cleaned, the way the Capitol stylists would pluck out hairs without a word of warning, wax you while talking to their coworker about their vacation like you're not even there. Levi puts effort into making sure he doesn't hurt Finnick, so that it can feel nice as well as serve a practical purpose.
In this moment, a small part of Finnick is healed by a warm cloth and gentle hands, and a small part of him wants to cry a thousand tears until his body aches and shakes and collapses from exhaustion, because it's perhaps only now when he's being treated the way a person should that it truly hits him just how dehumanized he felt before.
Levi tells him he has nice hands, and Finnick thinks, I love you. He doesn't say it. Not yet.
He just says, "Do I? I mean, of course I do. I know that." With a wry little smile. Of course, every part of Finnick's body is perfect and beautiful and he's never thought or felt any other way about it. He's never loathed his own beauty or scrubbed his skin raw in the shower.
His arm and hand are still quite stiff, and he grimaces slightly as he tries to move it, tries to clench and unclench his fist. Too sore, and it barely has half his range of motion, so he just moves it as much as is needed to clean it properly. Levi isn't hurting him.
"Well, now you're just rubbing it in," he mutters jokingly in response. He sits on the toilet and watches Levi closely, staring up into his gray eyes unblinkingly as the older man begins to clean his face. The look in his eyes portrays a complete trust in Levi, and a sort of reverence.
The way he touches Finnick seems to encapsulate Levi. He's meticulous, he's neurotic about cleanliness, he's utterly caring and kind and protective, and all of that translates through his movements. Even with a blank face, his touch communicates that Finnick is something precious to him, and Finnick actually feels that way. He rarely, if ever, has been sent the message that his body is worth caring for, for its own sake. Even the Capitol fixing his wounds and erasing his scars and bathing him and putting him in makeup and beautiful clothing was only so he would be appealing and palatable to the rich, since they can't swallow anything unsightly or disabled by the abuses they've suffered. It was not done out of care for him. It was done to make him a product, an expensive one, to be consumed and used over and over and over. Levi cleans him simply so that he doesn't have to feel dirty, so that he doesn't have to see his own blood again, so that he can feel more comfortable, so that his wounds don't get infected. He's not attentive to the task as though Finnick is a thing to be cleaned, the way the Capitol stylists would pluck out hairs without a word of warning, wax you while talking to their coworker about their vacation like you're not even there. Levi puts effort into making sure he doesn't hurt Finnick, so that it can feel nice as well as serve a practical purpose.
In this moment, a small part of Finnick is healed by a warm cloth and gentle hands, and a small part of him wants to cry a thousand tears until his body aches and shakes and collapses from exhaustion, because it's perhaps only now when he's being treated the way a person should that it truly hits him just how dehumanized he felt before.
Levi tells him he has nice hands, and Finnick thinks, I love you. He doesn't say it. Not yet.
He just says, "Do I? I mean, of course I do. I know that." With a wry little smile. Of course, every part of Finnick's body is perfect and beautiful and he's never thought or felt any other way about it. He's never loathed his own beauty or scrubbed his skin raw in the shower.
His arm and hand are still quite stiff, and he grimaces slightly as he tries to move it, tries to clench and unclench his fist. Too sore, and it barely has half his range of motion, so he just moves it as much as is needed to clean it properly. Levi isn't hurting him.
Levi is a pillar holding Finnick up, especially as his knees weaken from the pleasure. His other arm wraps around Levi's shoulders, metal hand gripping there, and he leans his head into the crook of the older man's neck. Absently, he sucks and presses small kisses to the wet skin there, between his increasingly breathy moans.
The hand in his hair is exciting as always, but also feels like a gesture of care, as though Levi's reassuring him. Finnick feels securely held even as the other begins to experiment with different areas and types of touch. The water they're in makes it all the more interesting; it's warm and makes the touches feel smoother and softer and sort of strange, in an intoxicating way. As Levi's fingertips brush the underside of his cock where it meets fleshy bits, Finnick cries out slightly, and then Levi's voice is short-circuiting his brain again. You like that, huh? It's a question Finnick has heard many times, and many times the answer to it is actually no, not really, but he has to cry out yes! like the whore he is. But not now. Levi actually gives a shit enough to get to know what he likes, and asks the question only based on Finnick's genuine reactions, adjusting his behaviour accordingly. It should be bare minimum stuff, but one might be surprised how often people don't bother, especially men.
He almost can't speak, his head in the stratosphere by now, but he forces himself to anyway.
"Yes," he whimpers against Levi's neck. "I'm getting close..."
The hand in his hair is exciting as always, but also feels like a gesture of care, as though Levi's reassuring him. Finnick feels securely held even as the other begins to experiment with different areas and types of touch. The water they're in makes it all the more interesting; it's warm and makes the touches feel smoother and softer and sort of strange, in an intoxicating way. As Levi's fingertips brush the underside of his cock where it meets fleshy bits, Finnick cries out slightly, and then Levi's voice is short-circuiting his brain again. You like that, huh? It's a question Finnick has heard many times, and many times the answer to it is actually no, not really, but he has to cry out yes! like the whore he is. But not now. Levi actually gives a shit enough to get to know what he likes, and asks the question only based on Finnick's genuine reactions, adjusting his behaviour accordingly. It should be bare minimum stuff, but one might be surprised how often people don't bother, especially men.
He almost can't speak, his head in the stratosphere by now, but he forces himself to anyway.
"Yes," he whimpers against Levi's neck. "I'm getting close..."
Finnick is precious to him, in a way hadn't expected to experience so easily, so quickly. In spite of the way he'd been abused, there's still an incredible air of confidence about him, a warmth and brightness and a passion that Levi feels drawn to. It doesn't hurt that he's nice to look at, but that sort of thing he's never really noticed in most people, except for after the fact. If it was maybe a less grim of a situation, he might be noticing it more, now.
Cleanliness is not just a matter of trauma and neuroses for Levi. It's also about dignity, and scraping back what has been taken away in whatever way you can. Everyone in the underground had been condemned to live in filth, but he refused. Finnick has had his body used for the base pleasure of others, suffered pain and injury and even death to claw for the survival of people he loved. The very least Levi can do, now, is to help him wash the grime and filth away.
It's clear that the arm is stiff, so he goes slow. He flicks a glance to his face at the little quip, the corner of his lips quirking up just a little.
"Of course you do," he echoes back, voice a touch wry with amusement. There's a small pause, and then he presses a very brief kiss to the middle of Finnick's now clean palm.
It's the last thing he does before stepping back to the sink to rinse and wring and rinse and wring the cloth out and then steps back again, closer this time. One hand settles tenderly at the back of Finnick's neck as he passes the cloth back over his shoulders, drawing in large, slow circles over his back. Perhaps without realizing, his thumb traces a small path back and forth over his skin...just holding him close.
I don't want to lose you. A tiny thought lodges in his heart, but Levi doesn't say that, either. It's a silly hope, in the end. It always is.
But he'll hold onto him while he can.
Cleanliness is not just a matter of trauma and neuroses for Levi. It's also about dignity, and scraping back what has been taken away in whatever way you can. Everyone in the underground had been condemned to live in filth, but he refused. Finnick has had his body used for the base pleasure of others, suffered pain and injury and even death to claw for the survival of people he loved. The very least Levi can do, now, is to help him wash the grime and filth away.
It's clear that the arm is stiff, so he goes slow. He flicks a glance to his face at the little quip, the corner of his lips quirking up just a little.
"Of course you do," he echoes back, voice a touch wry with amusement. There's a small pause, and then he presses a very brief kiss to the middle of Finnick's now clean palm.
It's the last thing he does before stepping back to the sink to rinse and wring and rinse and wring the cloth out and then steps back again, closer this time. One hand settles tenderly at the back of Finnick's neck as he passes the cloth back over his shoulders, drawing in large, slow circles over his back. Perhaps without realizing, his thumb traces a small path back and forth over his skin...just holding him close.
I don't want to lose you. A tiny thought lodges in his heart, but Levi doesn't say that, either. It's a silly hope, in the end. It always is.
But he'll hold onto him while he can.
The soft cry of pleasure seems to tingle at the back of his neck. It's gratifying, to feel and hear the way Finnick responds to him, to have evidence that he's doing something right. The physicality of a task doesn't take him long to acclimate to, but he's still fairly inexperienced by many standards, or whatever other arbitrary benchmarks people use to determine whether or not someone knows their way around sex.
His next few touches are careful, exploring around in the area that had made Finnick sound like that, trying not to push him too close to the edge, but trying to recreate his steps, as it were. Satisfied that he knows, Levi gives him another ghosting pull or two before his hand draws away and he eases back with a ghosting kiss at the corner of his lips. But then he's crowding Finnick backward, fingertips to his chest and gazing up at him through dark lashes. Step by step, slowly easing him to the edge of the spring, and when he can go no further, he grips under the taller man's thighs and leverages him upward onto the edge, lifting him out of the water. Apparently, Levi doesn't want Finnick to actually spill himself in the spring.
His gaze sweeps his new lover's arousal appreciatively, confirming what he's already felt with his hand. There's a particularly alluring way water runs over the planes of Finnick's form. Perhaps if Levi had fewer inhibitions about such things, he'd give in to a thought to trace those trails with his tongue. He doesn't, but he does step close again, pushing between those swimmer's thighs to return his hands back to where they'd left off - one wrapped around Finnick's full cock, the other curling into his hair, drawing him back in for a thorough kiss.
His next few touches are careful, exploring around in the area that had made Finnick sound like that, trying not to push him too close to the edge, but trying to recreate his steps, as it were. Satisfied that he knows, Levi gives him another ghosting pull or two before his hand draws away and he eases back with a ghosting kiss at the corner of his lips. But then he's crowding Finnick backward, fingertips to his chest and gazing up at him through dark lashes. Step by step, slowly easing him to the edge of the spring, and when he can go no further, he grips under the taller man's thighs and leverages him upward onto the edge, lifting him out of the water. Apparently, Levi doesn't want Finnick to actually spill himself in the spring.
His gaze sweeps his new lover's arousal appreciatively, confirming what he's already felt with his hand. There's a particularly alluring way water runs over the planes of Finnick's form. Perhaps if Levi had fewer inhibitions about such things, he'd give in to a thought to trace those trails with his tongue. He doesn't, but he does step close again, pushing between those swimmer's thighs to return his hands back to where they'd left off - one wrapped around Finnick's full cock, the other curling into his hair, drawing him back in for a thorough kiss.
He liked cooking, back home, the way simple flavors could take him back to simpler times. Perfecting the skill fell by the wayside in war; it's only here that he's been able to really dig into it. To learn how to balance delicate flavors, to find more joy in cooking for people.
To make something with his hands, a labor of love, instead of hurting anyone.
Perhaps that's why he holds his breath just the tiniest bit when Levi tries the first tart, watching him without trying to stare obviously. He knows apples are a favorite of Levi's; the variety here has been a treat to experiment with. He wanted to capture the sharp taste without overloading it with sugar, and keep it crisp; not bake the slices into mush the way older apples might be used back home.
Jean lets out his breath only when Levi speaks, a small smile on his lips. High praise indeed. The next comment earns another chuckle from him.
"I'll keep that in mind. I can't take much more sugar out of the pastry, but I don't need much in the filling," he comments, still grinning.
To make something with his hands, a labor of love, instead of hurting anyone.
Perhaps that's why he holds his breath just the tiniest bit when Levi tries the first tart, watching him without trying to stare obviously. He knows apples are a favorite of Levi's; the variety here has been a treat to experiment with. He wanted to capture the sharp taste without overloading it with sugar, and keep it crisp; not bake the slices into mush the way older apples might be used back home.
Jean lets out his breath only when Levi speaks, a small smile on his lips. High praise indeed. The next comment earns another chuckle from him.
"I'll keep that in mind. I can't take much more sugar out of the pastry, but I don't need much in the filling," he comments, still grinning.
Edited 2024-12-23 09:41 (UTC)
I’ll be right over.
[ it doesn’t take long. when he arrives, he sheds his shoes. washes his hands. all the little idiosyncrasies that levi cares, dolph pays attention to. until he sits down nervously. works his jaw before speaking. ]
He got me a ring.
[ it doesn’t take long. when he arrives, he sheds his shoes. washes his hands. all the little idiosyncrasies that levi cares, dolph pays attention to. until he sits down nervously. works his jaw before speaking. ]
He got me a ring.
[ Dolph's nervous (but excited?) energy is palpable as soon as he steps in. Levi greets him briefly, appreciative as always that Dolph observes his practices. After a minute or so he finishes preparing the tea and brings it over, setting a cup in front of his friend.
He hasn't even sat down himself yet-
- and immediately reaches to pick up Dolph's hand to examine it. ]
Oh~? How did he do?
He hasn't even sat down himself yet-
- and immediately reaches to pick up Dolph's hand to examine it. ]
Oh~? How did he do?
Finnick feels that sense of dignity, of respect, whether he has the words for it or not. It's something Finnick practices as well; in times when his appearance is under his own control, getting clean and being well-groomed is a point of pride for him, and a way to feel like he owns his body himself.
He smiles as Levi kisses his palm, a small and sheepish smile that's quite different from his usual confident grin, his blue eyes flashing at Levi's for a brief moment. He watches as Levi diligently wrings the cloth, twice or thrice as much as Finnick would think to, and that small smile stays put.
As Levi washes his back with the warm cloth, Finnick's eyes slip shut, his posture slouching forward in relaxation. His metal hand gently grips Levi's thigh to keep himself upright as he otherwise loses himself in the feeling. He hums softly, feeling sleepy. Feeling safe is rare, even with another person- after all, he was always taught he could truly trust no one, as even your closest allies will turn on you in the arena if it means their survival. But Levi is one of the most steadfast and trustworthy people he knows. It isn't hard to feel safe with him, even after a dragon-chomping.
He smiles as Levi kisses his palm, a small and sheepish smile that's quite different from his usual confident grin, his blue eyes flashing at Levi's for a brief moment. He watches as Levi diligently wrings the cloth, twice or thrice as much as Finnick would think to, and that small smile stays put.
As Levi washes his back with the warm cloth, Finnick's eyes slip shut, his posture slouching forward in relaxation. His metal hand gently grips Levi's thigh to keep himself upright as he otherwise loses himself in the feeling. He hums softly, feeling sleepy. Feeling safe is rare, even with another person- after all, he was always taught he could truly trust no one, as even your closest allies will turn on you in the arena if it means their survival. But Levi is one of the most steadfast and trustworthy people he knows. It isn't hard to feel safe with him, even after a dragon-chomping.
One might expect that a partner's experience level is the last thing Finnick cares about. Some people who have loads of sex are still shit partners, and some virgins are amazing in bed, simply because they pay attention to their partners and are responsive to their pleasure. Levi is very much that kind of attentive, and Finnick has to swallow another moan against his neck as he explores the same spot again, as though he's a curious scientist probing for response.
Even if it's simply that Levi doesn't want to endure the thought of Finnick's bodily fluids surrounding him in the spring water, Finnick is none the wiser, because his mind goes blank as soon as Levi starts pushing him backward. It's sort of like when a computer has too many tabs open and freezes completely. Levi lifts him so easily, graceful and decisive, and it leaves him breathless.
"Fuck," he exhales again, starting to sound like a broken record, feeling dizzy. His real hand cards into the hair at the top of Levi's head and grip it gently as he pulls him back in. The kiss Finnick delivers is more open and messy now, his tongue blindly searching for Levi's mouth before it even gets there. Between kisses, a quiet "please" is whimpered.
Even if it's simply that Levi doesn't want to endure the thought of Finnick's bodily fluids surrounding him in the spring water, Finnick is none the wiser, because his mind goes blank as soon as Levi starts pushing him backward. It's sort of like when a computer has too many tabs open and freezes completely. Levi lifts him so easily, graceful and decisive, and it leaves him breathless.
"Fuck," he exhales again, starting to sound like a broken record, feeling dizzy. His real hand cards into the hair at the top of Levi's head and grip it gently as he pulls him back in. The kiss Finnick delivers is more open and messy now, his tongue blindly searching for Levi's mouth before it even gets there. Between kisses, a quiet "please" is whimpered.
[On 12/25, Levi will have a gift delivered. Inside is a small mountain of knit cleaning cloths, but also a scarf with his name embroidered on on the bottom and a card.] Hello Levi, I've been buying cotton yarn as needed for a while since our talk about knitting and finally finished all of these. They should last very well and hold up to cleaning. I hope the scarf keeps you warm. Best Wishes, Eilonwy
It's a little triumph, really. Levi's not always the best at expressing things that make him happy or pleased in a way that most people recognize, but it's not something he has to worry about with Jean. The grin tells him everything, and even makes him feel a little more at ease, despite all his other worries. This is far from an ideal place, or perhaps the world either of them might have wanted. But it makes him happy, to see Jean flourishing as best he can. At least one of them ought to.
He hums thoughtfully around another bite, chewing slowly to hold onto the taste, like there aren't several more yet to be had. After swallowing finally, he continues:
"Should ask Erwin, too. I'm not much for sweet things." A beat. "I'll try to save him a couple."
Assuming he doesn't eat them all himself, which he might be considering.
After finishing that bit, though, Levi sets the pastry down and dusts his fingers off on a napkin before dabbing it almost daintily at his lips. Shifting a bit in his seat, he looks up at Jean a little more seriously. There's a touch of something earnest in his eyes that aches around the edges, and after a moment he reaches over and sets his hand lightly on Jean's wrist.
"Jean...dunno if I ever told you before, in those years that I don't know yet. But for all that time, and for now...you've done well.
I'm proud of you."
He hums thoughtfully around another bite, chewing slowly to hold onto the taste, like there aren't several more yet to be had. After swallowing finally, he continues:
"Should ask Erwin, too. I'm not much for sweet things." A beat. "I'll try to save him a couple."
Assuming he doesn't eat them all himself, which he might be considering.
After finishing that bit, though, Levi sets the pastry down and dusts his fingers off on a napkin before dabbing it almost daintily at his lips. Shifting a bit in his seat, he looks up at Jean a little more seriously. There's a touch of something earnest in his eyes that aches around the edges, and after a moment he reaches over and sets his hand lightly on Jean's wrist.
"Jean...dunno if I ever told you before, in those years that I don't know yet. But for all that time, and for now...you've done well.
I'm proud of you."
[ It's rather impressive how quickly Dolph flushes, which Levi can't help but be quietly bemused by - but no, that isn't what he meant, necessarily. ]
Glad to hear it, though I wouldn't have expected anything less. Meant about what he got you.
[ He's looking at the ring - which seems very much to suit Dolph, but he still wants to hear what he thinks. ]
Glad to hear it, though I wouldn't have expected anything less. Meant about what he got you.
[ He's looking at the ring - which seems very much to suit Dolph, but he still wants to hear what he thinks. ]
It's sweet, to see that more vulnerable side peek out. It tempers Finnick's seemingly easy confidence, and perhaps to a degree Levi is still a little surprised when it shows through so earnestly, after how much he's endured. Yet he recognizes that trust well enough, especially as he feels Finnick grow heavier against him as though he's beginning to doze.
Finishing his back, he scrunches gently at those curls to get his attention, muttering at him to not fall asleep just yet, and over the next few minutes finishes giving him a through sponge bath, washing legs and feet before thoroughly rinsing the cloth again and offering Finnick the task to clean his own genitals (if it was Erwin, he would just do it, but he's hardly going to make the same assumption that Finnick wouldn't mind on something like this. But if left to him, it's a distinctly non-sexual thing, though still handled carefully).
Finally finished, Levi rinses and washes out the cloth again, washes his own hands, and then bustles about finding Finnick some clean clothes and helping him into them. He'll settle him into a more comfortable spot while he likewise strips off the dirty bedsheets and puts new ones in place. Only then does he allow Finnick back into the bed, getting him settled once again. After another couple minutes of tidying, Levi comes back to sit close.
"There. Now you look less like shit."
Finishing his back, he scrunches gently at those curls to get his attention, muttering at him to not fall asleep just yet, and over the next few minutes finishes giving him a through sponge bath, washing legs and feet before thoroughly rinsing the cloth again and offering Finnick the task to clean his own genitals (if it was Erwin, he would just do it, but he's hardly going to make the same assumption that Finnick wouldn't mind on something like this. But if left to him, it's a distinctly non-sexual thing, though still handled carefully).
Finally finished, Levi rinses and washes out the cloth again, washes his own hands, and then bustles about finding Finnick some clean clothes and helping him into them. He'll settle him into a more comfortable spot while he likewise strips off the dirty bedsheets and puts new ones in place. Only then does he allow Finnick back into the bed, getting him settled once again. After another couple minutes of tidying, Levi comes back to sit close.
"There. Now you look less like shit."
The hand in his hair sends a palpable thrill down his spine. Levi finds he doesn't mind the messy kisses, enjoys how much easier it is to tease and bite lightly at Finnick's lower lip. The soft please makes his heart beat a little harder, and he increases the intensity of his hand moving over the younger man's erection. His movements are determined now, racing Finnick to the finish. The anticipation of the moment when he comes undone curling pleasantly low in his own stomach.
"'ve got you," he mumbles back, trying those touches that had made Finnick nearly come undone before. "m'tryin'..."
"'ve got you," he mumbles back, trying those touches that had made Finnick nearly come undone before. "m'tryin'..."
And it doesn't take long at all.
"Ah-!" Finnick gasps as his muscles tense, the hand in Levi's hair gripping tighter, their foreheads pressing together. He shuts his eyes, seeing stars behind them as his orgasm rips through his body.
"Fuck!" He's loud, expressive- both because that's just how Finnick is, and because it's shocking how good this is, the best he's had in a while. Maybe because it feels like it's been building up for weeks, maybe months, his pent-up desire for Levi in particular. No matter how much sex he has otherwise, none of it could quench his thirst for this one man. Only Levi could make a simple handjob something mindblowing.
Panting lightly as he comes down, he takes Levi's face in both hands and kisses him deeply again.
"You're amazing," he murmurs, probably sounding lust-drunk and stupid at the moment, but he can't bring himself to care.
"Ah-!" Finnick gasps as his muscles tense, the hand in Levi's hair gripping tighter, their foreheads pressing together. He shuts his eyes, seeing stars behind them as his orgasm rips through his body.
"Fuck!" He's loud, expressive- both because that's just how Finnick is, and because it's shocking how good this is, the best he's had in a while. Maybe because it feels like it's been building up for weeks, maybe months, his pent-up desire for Levi in particular. No matter how much sex he has otherwise, none of it could quench his thirst for this one man. Only Levi could make a simple handjob something mindblowing.
Panting lightly as he comes down, he takes Levi's face in both hands and kisses him deeply again.
"You're amazing," he murmurs, probably sounding lust-drunk and stupid at the moment, but he can't bring himself to care.
There was a time when Finnick was far more guarded, but in the year leading up to his death in Panem, he was shown the importance of relying on others. Both in the sense that people need to cooperate to achieve a common goal, and in the sense that people need each other to survive, to stay sane. For people like Finnick and Levi, who have been through hell and back, that goes double.
He does begin to doze, but the pull of his hair rouses him somewhat, and he tries his best to stay awake as Levi continues to work. If keeping his eyes open and washing his own dick are the only jobs he has while Levi does everything else, he's not going to complain. Frankly, he feels spoiled.
Finally being clean, and being put into clean clothes and clean bedsheets by careful hands, feels amazing. He starts to doze again in the bed, but then Levi sits by him, and Finnick blinks his eyes open as he speaks. He smiles at those words.
"I feel way less like shit. I feel like a new man. Thank you. I--" love you. "... Thank you, Levi."
He does begin to doze, but the pull of his hair rouses him somewhat, and he tries his best to stay awake as Levi continues to work. If keeping his eyes open and washing his own dick are the only jobs he has while Levi does everything else, he's not going to complain. Frankly, he feels spoiled.
Finally being clean, and being put into clean clothes and clean bedsheets by careful hands, feels amazing. He starts to doze again in the bed, but then Levi sits by him, and Finnick blinks his eyes open as he speaks. He smiles at those words.
"I feel way less like shit. I feel like a new man. Thank you. I--" love you. "... Thank you, Levi."
The ability to understand what Levi says (or doesn't say) took years to cultivate - years that he knows the Captain didn't live yet. Sometimes he thinks he should apologize, because it must be strange to have someone suddenly know your common tells.
On the other hand, he thinks that Levi likes it - not having to worry about Jean understanding him. Case in point, he thinks, as Levi settles down to wipe his fingers off, and Jean finally settles into a chair.
The hand on his wrist stills him from reaching for one of the tarts. He almost thinks Levi's stopping him from taking one, and he'd react with faux outrage, but the tease dies when he sees the earnest, painful look in Levi's eyes.
It's one he's really only seen a few times - and mainly after the rumbling happened. So I'm proud of you is not exactly what he expects to come out of Levi's out.
He can't hide the surprise that crosses his face - not because he doesn't believe it, but because he hasn't heard it verbalized before. The surprise gives way to something softer, proud to be told he's proud.
"You never told me, but you made it clear every day," he tells Levi, assuring him that it wasn't unknown. "Still... I appreciate hearing it. Thank you."
His gaze flickers around at the house, and he offers his own tenderhearted expression. "I'm proud that you've made a home here. I know it would have been easy to get wrapped up in returning home - in a sense of duty. And that we haven't made that easy, either."
On the other hand, he thinks that Levi likes it - not having to worry about Jean understanding him. Case in point, he thinks, as Levi settles down to wipe his fingers off, and Jean finally settles into a chair.
The hand on his wrist stills him from reaching for one of the tarts. He almost thinks Levi's stopping him from taking one, and he'd react with faux outrage, but the tease dies when he sees the earnest, painful look in Levi's eyes.
It's one he's really only seen a few times - and mainly after the rumbling happened. So I'm proud of you is not exactly what he expects to come out of Levi's out.
He can't hide the surprise that crosses his face - not because he doesn't believe it, but because he hasn't heard it verbalized before. The surprise gives way to something softer, proud to be told he's proud.
"You never told me, but you made it clear every day," he tells Levi, assuring him that it wasn't unknown. "Still... I appreciate hearing it. Thank you."
His gaze flickers around at the house, and he offers his own tenderhearted expression. "I'm proud that you've made a home here. I know it would have been easy to get wrapped up in returning home - in a sense of duty. And that we haven't made that easy, either."
[ He hums, a soft noise of approval, and gives Dolph's hand a faint squeeze before letting go. His voice is soft, but fond. ]
...yeah, not bad.
[ Taking a seat then, he leans back, crossing one ankle over a knee. ]
So when's the big day? Or you just gonna elope?
...yeah, not bad.
[ Taking a seat then, he leans back, crossing one ankle over a knee. ]
So when's the big day? Or you just gonna elope?
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