7 pt.2
738 Words
It's humid. Nico's back burns with the scorching water, droplet after droplet cascading down his back to drip onto the tile and roll down the drain. His head tilts towards the shower head, vision blurry as he rubs at his stomach and neck. He's clean, but the warm heat is addictive and it coerces him to stay under longer.
The sudden creaking door has him pausing, head tilting to the side. The thin curtain provides little coverage, but he's more interested in who's here so early rather than his modesty.
He doesn't turn when his curtain's pulled opened. The cool air hits him first, seeping through the small slit Juda made in the makeshift door. "You're here early," he greets, just as naked as Nico. His hand grips the shower wall, only showing half his body. "I was looking for you."
"Went for a run." Nico continues his shower, tipping his head under the running water and giving a final rinse. "What did you need, though?"
Juda watches him longer than he means. His eyes stray towards Nico's bare body in particular, but no traces of last night linger. He's almost disappointed. "Last night," he starts, "we kind of just went to sleep after, but was it okay? I mean- it was your first time."
Nico nods, as casual as ever. "Yeah, it was good. Messier than I thought, but it was.. fun." He settles on. He's as truthful as he can be without saying he's looking forward to next time. Nico almost expected there to be a shift in their friendship when he woke up, but they were the same as ever. Little to no awkwardness hung between them. "I was kind of sore this morning but I expected that."
Juda watches the water run down his neck.
Nico's head tilts, eyes meeting Juda's over his shoulder. "Did you like it?"
Like is an understatement, Juda doesn't say. There's an itch in his hands, like he needs to touch him again to settle it. He doesn't, of course, but he thinks about it.
It's the same itch he gets with baseball.
"Yeah," he assures. "Just wanted to make sure you were okay."
Nico smiles a bit. He turns back around and holds up an okay sign. "I'm good." He drawls as the water turns his skin red. A scorching trail of heat taints his body, but he likes it, likes it a lot in fact. But as addicting as it is, he's only wasting water.
Eventually, he turns and takes careful steps towards Juda, eyes flicking up as he reaches behind the curtain for his towel. Juda doesn't move, and he definitely doesn't make it any easier for Nico to grab it, but Nico didn't expect him to. "All yours," he says, chin nodding towards the running water.
Their eye contact's broken when Nico pushes the curtain open and steps out. His gaze lingers on Juda for a moment before he's stepping away.
And Juda watches him go, eyes following his every move. His steps are slow, Juda notices, and then faintly remembers Nico saying he was sore. He tries to feel bad, but it's hard. "Thanks."
Nico throws a hand over his shoulder, lazily waving bye before he's opening the door. "Later~" He's gone the next moment, and Juda's left alone with the quiet, running water.
That's.. His hand rubs his neck, wondering why his gaze lingers on the closed door. He doesn't think about it long, shaking his head and focusing on the shower he came to take. That's nothing.
He's just about to close the curtain when the door's opening again. It squeaks loudly, quickly gaining Juda's attention. Jax looks surprised to see him but seems happy from the sudden company. "What?" he asks, shutting the door. "Expecting someone? You look disappointed to see me, dickhead."
Juda rolls his eyes and closes the curtain. "Just when I thought I could get one shower in without having to listen to Bruno Mars the whole time."
Jax scoffs and takes the shower stall next to him. Juda hears the water start, spurting gently before a large stream waters the tile. "He's a gem. A gem, Juda." He's already setting his speaker up. "Was that Nico who left? Or Carmen?"
"Why would it be either of them?"
Jax can't help but laugh. "Of course it was one of them."
And yeah, Juda can't really refute.
- Writer
