Augusnippets Day 2 - Tumblr Posts

Augusnippets Day 2: Plotnic Bathing

Fandom: Percy Jackson

Summary: After Thalia's death, Luke had to help Annabeth with everything. In hopes of lifting her spirits and finally getting her cleaned off, Luke decided it was time to get her to take a bath.

"Annabeth come on." It had been a few days since Annabeth, Luke, Grover and Thalia arrived at camp. It had been a few days since they had lost Thaila. "You need to get up."

"No." Annabeth whispered. "I don't want to."

Luke sighed. "Please. You need to get out of the bed." He walked over to her with heavy, regretful footsteps. "I miss her too but you have to get up."

"No." The girl pulled her blanket up further. "I can't."

Sitting beside her bed, Luke sighed. "I know it hurts but we have to try. How about we start with a bath?" stretching his arm out to his little sister, he tried to get her to take his hand.

A little hand grabbed his hand softly. "Okay."

With a soft smile, Luke picked some clothes for her and went to meet her. He helped her put her shoes on and waited for her to stand up. "Annabeth? Are you okay?" He asked gently.

The girl started to cry. "I miss her."

"I know. I do too. Here let's try this." Grabbing his bag, Luke put her clothes in it. Then he slowly picked her up. "Is this okay?" The girl nodded and snuggled into the boys chest. "Okay."

The walk to the big house wasn't a long one. Knocking, Luke waited for Chiron to open the door. When he did, Luke informed him that they would be using his bath. Chiron nodded and led them to the bathroom and grabbed a towel. "Let me know if you need anything."

"We will, thank you."

Once in the bathroom, Luke put Annabeth down and locked the door. Then he stopped up the tub. He let the water run warm and put some soap in the water. The boy hoped that a bubble bath might help Annabeth start to feel better. "Okay." He started, still looking at the tub. "You ready?"

When he turned around he realized the girl hadn't moved since he put her down.

It was like she was frozen. Annabeth might not have been physically hurt but her mind was so damaged it paralyzed her. Luke knew he needed to help her, no matter what. It didn't matter how people could see it or how uncomfortable he might be, Annabeth needed him. She couldn't do anything on her own right now. Luke knew Annabeth needed help. He had been making sure she ate, drank, and got up to use the bathroom. As her older brother, it was his job to be there for her.

"Okay. Do you need any help? I can help you." Once more Luke offered her his hand. This time she just looked at him for a moment. Then she slowly nodded. Carefully he removed her shoes and clothes before picking her up and placing her in the warm water. "How's that?"

Annabeth nodded. Shutting the water off, Luke let his sister soak in the water for a moment. It had been so long since they had gotten a chance to bathe. Sure they had gotten to shower but there was always something about letting the water seep into your skin and bones. The hotter the water, the better. However for Annabeth, the water was lukewarm.

Trying to see if Annabeth would wash herself, Luke looked around the bathroom. He hadn't been there before. The walls were mostly just white with some gold trim. After a while Luke asked "You doing okay?"

Annabeth stared at him. Sighing, the boy grabbed the sponge and put some soap on it. "I've got you." Taking show shampoo in his hand, Luke started to massage it into her hair. She seemed to relax as he washed it out. Then he grabbed the conditioner and repeated the process. Gently, Luke took the sponge to her skin. The soap had a fresh, earthy smell to it.

After cleaning her off, Luke drained the tub. Picking her up, he put her on the bath mate. He grabbed the blue towel and wrapped Annabeth in it. "It's your favorite color." Luke smiled. Annabeth tried to.

Looking on the counter, Luke found the hair dryer and plugged it in. "Let's get your hair dry." It took a while before Luke got her blonde hair dry but when he did it was soft. Brading it made it easier to maintain so he did. Brushing her long hair would take energy that Annabeth wouldn't have for a while.

Luke helped his sister get dressed before tying her shoes. "Do you want to go anywhere?"

"Your cabin" Annabeth whispered.

Slightly chucking, Luke smiled. "Okay." He stood and offered his hand to her, trying to get her to walk. With a lot more force than she had used before, Annabeth took his hand and stood up. A wave of relief washed over Luke as they walked to his cabin. Maybe a clean start was what she needed.

@augusnippets day 2

Platonic bathing / hair care / makeup

Demihuman whumpee, drowning mention

Whumpee stepped into the bathroom, Caretaker's hand resting on his back. He paused just before he got to the bathtub, sucking in a breath and turning into Caretaker's warm chest. He buried himself in the warmth, too scared to turn back to the water.

"Whumpee," Caretaker soothed, rubbing the demihuman's back, "you don't need to be afraid. I'm right here." He reached up to rub behind Whumpee's fluffy ears. "You aren't gonna drown on my watch, alright?"

Whumpee seemed to relax at this, if only by a little, and let go of Caretaker. Whumpee was still as the human gently removed the scarce clothing he was wearing. Once undressed, Whumpee turned to the water again. His mind flashed with not-so-distant memories— memories of being held under the water of a tub not too different from this one, of sucking in the liquid by mistake, of the burning his lungs and nose felt afterwards.

Caretaker's hand was on the small of his back, leading him into the porcelain bath. Carefully, with shaking legs, Whumpee took a step in.

For a moment, he panicked and froze, shutting his eyes, only soothed by Caretaker's gentle coo, "shh, shh, it's okay Whumpee. It's nice and warm, isn't it?"

It was. Whumpee forced his eyes back open, seeing the water below him. It only came up to his calf, and the inviting warmth seeped into his leg.

With help from Caretaker, Whumpee got his other leg in and eased into a resting position in the tub. Caretaker made sure that Whumpee's chin didn't meet the water, but otherwise he was submerged.

God, he missed this. It had been years since he'd had a proper bath— probably since he were eight or nine. He pretty much zoned out as Caretaker scrubbed his body with a soapy sponge, wiping away so much grime and grit that Whumpee barely recognized his skin.

When it came to Whumpee's hair, Caretaker had him sit up, back facing him. Whumpee sighed pleasantly as water ran down his head (tilted back, of course, so no water got on Whumpee's face). Caretaker's fingers massaged Whumpee's scalp, almost making him fall asleep.

As his hair was rinsed for the final time, Whumpee spoke up.

"Can I have another one tomorrow?"

"Whumpee, are you sure—?"

"I'm sure."

Strands

Augusnippets Day 2: platonic bathing | hair care | makeup

Word count: 500

Trigger warnings: none

——————(0)——————

"Are you done yet?"

A nearly-inaudible, long sigh came from behind Brier, before Karmic said, “Say that again, and I’ll cut your throat instead of cutting your hair.”

“Young lady, do not make me turn this car around!” Brier said, dropping her voice low, then giggled. “That’s what you sound like right now.”

“Young lady, do not make me stab your carotid with these scissors,” Karmic immediately deadpanned back. Said scissors made a snick-snick noise, slicing through more of Brier’s hair.

“Ha, see—? Oh no, shh, shh, I’m sorry, Sor, sorry, sorry, rest your tired eyes,” Brier sang, fingers running over Sor’s fur. The touch of magic in her words made the cat settle down again, his eyes sliding closed. Brier hummed a few aimless notes, slowly stroking down the length of Sor’s spine, before she reached out from under her protective cape for the half-made straw sandal she’d abandoned to placate Sor.

“You—” A yawn interrupted Karmic’s sentence—it was silent, but Brier could hear his jaw creak, could picture the one eye Karmic always kept open when he yawned. “You’ve done that … three times now? You’re putting me to sleep, dirthead. You’ll end up lopsided and laughed at because you enforced naptime on your hairstylist.”

“I can’t help it!” Brier whispered, starting to weave a careful distance from where Sor was dozing across her lap. “Don’t move while a cat is on your lap or you’re the worst human in the world, that’s the rule. You know that, that’s why you put him there to begin with.”

“It’s for your own good,” Karmic said, unrepentant. “Every time I thought about your sheer amount of split ends, I fantasized about freezing you into a giant block of ice except for your head and giving you a haircut. You got off easy.”

“I guess I did,” Brier sighed. “Honestly, who can blame me? He’s trapped me, but he’s the cutest trap in the world.”

“Correct answer.” The tug of the clips in her hair released, and a comb glided over her scalp without meeting any resistance. “Okay, now I’m done.”

“Yaaay!” Brier quietly cheered, now having the freedom to turn her head. Karmic was leaning back a little to inspect his work—his face was as severe as ever, but there was a softness to the corners of his eyes, and a jaunty, almost triumphant trill had risen out of the quiet, mellow tune his emotions had become.

“Thank you!” she continued. She tilted her head, and said, “Is there something you want help with for your hair?”

A beat, as Karmic went still, both in body and emotions. Then he huffed, the meditative tune coming back, and as he turned in the direction of their broom closet, he said, “I think Sor’s got you occupied at the moment.”

As he walked away, Brier smiled, eyes catching on the tufts of hair on the floor. After all, she’d learned how to listen for the ‘later’ implied, how he’d never said no.