Kill Me Slowly || Tartaglia/Childe

Chapter 19

By the time Teucer had fallen asleep, it was almost twelve in the evening. Childe appears from Teucer's room, gently closing the door behind him.

"Sorry," Childe speaks in a whisper, "I took quite some time coaxing him to sleep. Let me make it up to you by preparing a hot bath. Sounds good, yeah?"

You nod, following beside him. Taking a few more steps, you stop by a door to which Childe holds open, letting you enter first. You mutter a 'thank you' and once you've stepped in, you were quite amazed by Childe's room. It was a huge contrast to what he was staying in back in the camp.

"I know," Childe begins, "My mom's always decorating here and there. The place's probably full of the things I brought over."

"It's nice." You compliment, hands glossing over the flower decoration hanging on his wall.

"For a moment." Childe disappears into the bathroom, probably to prepare the hot bath he mentioned earlier. There you stood in the middle of the room, not knowing what you should do.

Slowly, you approach the bed, plopping yourself on the soft mattress. You inhale, taking a deep breath before exhaling. "The bed smells just like Childe..." You pull on the blankets, pretending as if it was Childe beside you. Suddenly, the bed dips and you shriek in surprise.

"Shh." Childe places a finger over your lips, "It's just me... now what were you doing, Princess?" He takes a strand of your hair, pressing a kiss onto it.

"N-Nothing!" You stutter, a blush prominently evident on your cheeks.

"Why would you go for the blankets..." His thumb glides over your bottom lip, "when you could have the real thing."

Childe has a playful smirk on and you could see the teasing glint in his eyes. He inches closer, lips merely centimeters apart and once he sees you close your eyes, he presses a quick kiss not on your lips but on his thumb that was separating the both of you. "You're so cute."

Flustered, you push Childe off of you and he tumbles onto the edge of the bed. "I-I'm going to take a bath!"

You scurry towards the bathroom and slide the door shut. You could feel the rapid thumping of your heart as you place a hand over your chest. Childe, indeed, is a charmer. You couldn't get his stupid smirk off of your mind. Perhaps a bath could do.

You strip off all of your clothing, the cold air making the ends of your hair stand. You quickly hop into the circular bathtub, the warmth of the bathwater spreading throughout your body. As you were enjoying your bath, you gasp, suddenly remembering you hadn't brought any of your clothing inside.

You remove yourself from the bath, grabbing a towel before wrapping it securely around your body. Slowly and quietly, you slid the door open, taking a peek. Childe was by the window, basking under the light of the full moon.

"Childe." You call in a soft voice, taking into mind that his family was already asleep. Childe doesn't turn his head, probably didn't hear your voice so you repeat, this time a little louder. He whips his head in your direction and blushes. "W-What—"

"M-My clothes... I forgot."

"A-Ah... hold on, I'll get them from your luggage."

Childe heads towards the corner of the room where your luggage was situated, he opens it and searches for a nightgown. Once he's got it, he hands it to you, though he doesn't let go of it. "C-Childe? I'm shivering... can I please have my clothes?"

"I-If..." He stutters, "If you haven't washed your hair yet, would you allow me?"

"I-I—"

"N-No pressure at all. You don't need to—"