Chapter 41 - Shower

Under the bright light of the bathroom, Misha's puffy eyes appeared even redder, swollen as if he had cried for days. His pursed lips, furrowed brows, and watery eyes gave the impression that he had been deeply wronged, making Gabriel's heart ache a little. The slight pain in his c.h.e.s.t was not only due to the child's pitiful appearance but also because he knew the kid was already thinking of how to get back at him, even though this situation wasn't exactly his fault.

"My eyes hurt so much, and I smell disgusting. Right now, I'm sure trash smell better than me. And it's all because of you! Everything, absolutely everything is your fault!" grunted the child for the umpteenth time, rubbing his teary eyes while sniffling. "Why did you have to startle a skunk!? Who's foolish enough to do that!? You're an idiot! A real big idiot!"

Misha glared at the teenager with half-closed eyes, feeling very aggrieved. He had just popped his head out of the tent to keep an eye on Gabriel when he was suddenly doused in skunk musk. To make matters worse, the secretion was sprayed near his eyes, and now they stung like hell. It was as if they were on fire, making the child unable to hold back the tears. Eyes were s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e, and even if Misha didn't want to cry before Gabriel, he couldn't help himself. Tears just kept on streaming down his cheeks, which left the child feeling quite humiliated.

Although the teenager took the brunt of the skunk's attack, he had the reflex of hiding his face in the crook of his arm, saving his eyes from the stinging pain. Hence, he was better off than Misha, who only thought of closing his mouth.

Soon after the incident, Masha woke up because of the terrible odor and laughed her head off when she learned what happened. Of course, before that, she made sure her brother was alright; luckily, the musk didn't enter his eyes, or else they might have had to go to the hospital. Then, the teenage girl woke up her mother, who was sound asleep in the other tent.

After Masha briefly told her the situation, Mrs. Brown rapidly jumped on her feet and rummaged through the cooler to retrieve two big bottles of clamato juice. Because it had only been two days since their arrival, they were almost full; they only had the time to drink two glasses or so.

With the bottles in her hands, Mrs. Brown glanced at her son, her heart clenching at the sight of his sorry state. Just keeping his eyes open seemed particularly painful, and tears glistered at the corner of his eyes, threatening to fall at any moment. Upon seeing this, Mrs. Brown told her baby boy that it was better to keep his eyes close for now. If it hurt too much, he didn't have to force himself to open his eyelids.

In the corner of her mind, she realized that he would need some help to shower; he was currently more or less blind, after all. And since Gabriel also needed to shower with clamato juice, she decided to entrust the task to the teenager. Otherwise, knowing her boy, he would cut corners, carelessly splashing the clamato juice on his body without rubbing at all. Yet, his hair had to be washed with extra care, or else his trip to the shower would turn out to be utterly useless.

With a bit of awkwardness, Mrs. Brown handed over the bottles to Gabriel and asked if he could help her son with the clamato juice shower. The acidic content in the tomato juice could help reduce the smell, if not get rid of it. For now, it was better than nothing.

Of course, Gabriel accepted without making a fuss, contrary to Misha, who blanked for a second before throwing a tantrum. When he complained, his mother proposed to do it herself if the idea of the teenager seeing him n.a.k.e.d made him uncomfortable. Immediately after her words fell, the child had a change of heart. Without a word, he grabbed Gabriel's wrist and clumsily dragged him to the bathroom with bright red ears.

Although Misha was in the body of a nine-year-old kid, he was still an a.d.u.l.t, and the simple idea of his mother helping him shower was embarrassing enough to make him want to crawl into a hole. He thought that he might as well trouble Gabriel. Anyway, it was all his fault; therefore, he should take his responsibilities.

Thus, it resulted in the present situation, where the child kept on blaming Gabriel while the teenager prepared the shower cabin, putting their change of clothes on the bench, just beside the towels. At this hour, the public bathroom was empty, and only Misha's angry voice resonated within the room, a bit like a broken disk.

"Yes, yes, I know. It's all my fault. Do you need help to undress?" asked the teenager, blatantly ignoring the child's blaming. He had long discovered that agreeing to everything Misha said instead of trying to reason with him made his life much easier.

"No!" roared Misha after a short while. It was as if it took the child a moment before his brain processed the teenager's words. His small face flushed, and even his neck turned into a scarlet red. "Even with my eyes closed, I can take my clothes off without your help, thank you!"

Upon seeing his tomato-like face, Gabriel couldn't help but tease him a little, "Are you shy?"

"Of course not!"

"Well, for someone not shy, your cheeks sure are red, you know? Don't worry, it's not like I'm a girl, so there's no need to be shy."

"I'm telling you I'm not!" yelled Misha, his face becoming redder under the anger.

To prove his words, the child directly stripped before furiously throwing the top of his pajama in the teenager's face – well, he at least tried, but it was no easy feat with his blurred vision. Startled, Gabriel managed to catch it just before it fell onto the wet floor, blinking a few times as he sighed in his heart, 'This kid sure has anger issues.'

Afterward, Misha resolutely turned his back, taking off his pants while muttering something unintelligible. Gabriel felt like he was whispering a deadly curse, making him despair a little. What did he do to make him hate him so much? If possible, the teenager would very much like to know.

With the two of them standing in a cabin, it was a bit cramped, but it didn't hinder their movement too much, although it trapped the bad odor into a small space, making it all the more horrible for the nose. Thus, Gabriel hurried and undressed rapidly, telling Misha to go inside the shower first. Before joining him and closing the door curtain, he put a coin into the shower timer.

Just as the teenager turned around to reach for the handle of the showerhead, he realized that Misha was quite obstinate and had decided to open his eyes again, not caring about the pain. However, he was squinting, unable to open his eyelids completely. With a pensive look, the child was staring at a specific part of his body that was below the belt, making the teenage boy feel a little self-conscious. Then he heard him say:

"It's small."

"…" Gabriel felt like crying, but he had no tears.

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Author's note:

MC: Haha! Mine's bigger!

Author: Not right now, though. You gotta wait a few years for that.

MC: Shut up! He doesn't need to know that!

ML: You know, I can also see it right now…

MC: Don't look, you freaking perv'!

ML: You're the one who looked first, though…

Author: Also, just to make things clear, Gabriel is not and won't be interested in a kid's body; he will never find it s.e.x.u.a.lly attractive, even if he were to know that the soul inside the child is the one of an a.d.u.l.t. So yeah, it's gonna take a long time for their relationship to evolve into a romantic one. Sorry! >.<