It has taken him months to get to this point...to feel this comfortable and open....and not feel broken....ruined...Reinhardt really has no idea what he has done...he can't because he's not Alexei. He does know about the nightmares and the...complications...but he wasn't there and Stukov is only now feeling...safe enough to talk about it....even a little. Thanks to the Crusader, he feels like he is finally allowed to slowly heal. He doesn't leave the bed if he wakes up, drenched in sweat from a nightmare. He stays and latches onto his knight with his extra limbs and lets himself be grounded in the feel and the scent of the man. Reinhardt has the patience of a saint to put up with him.
There's a surge of pink on his left side. He can't help it. There's literally nothing between them anymore and he's still a little apprehensive. It flickers and fades at that finger on him and the glow warms back to its usual yellow-orange and there's a small smile on Alexei's face at the compliment. He still has trouble understanding how anything about him is beautiful...but he's not going to argue at this point. Reinhardt truly believes it and because he believes it so much...it is slowly getting Alexei to notice things that he'd previously despised in a new light.
"Thank You. You know...new carapace is...iridescent for a few days before it hardens. It...sparkles in the light. Once all this schlough is off, you'll be able to see it."
He nods at that, it sounds like a divine plan.
Bit by bit, he eases into the tub, giving a hiss that starts human but turns into something else when the hot water hits raw flesh. It is a Zerg sound-almost reptilian-he hasn't ever made it in front of Reinhardt before and he quickly bites his lip to silence it. Still, Stukov knows it is for the best and inch by inch, lowers himself into the hot, waiting water. His sounds return to very a very human series of "tch tch tchhhhsss." The nerves on his left side scream for a few seconds, but they quiet once they get used to it and it starts to feel soothing. The heat and the moisture do him good, the soft bubbles...hundreds of them, softly scented with lavender oil. He's mostly quiet, then, but he makes a pleased sigh as he started to get comfortable.
Alexei slips under the water momentarily then comes back up. He's been meaning to get a haircut, but only when it is wet is it actually noticeable.
He keeps most of himself under water, but his right elbow is leaned against the side of the tub to keep his head up.
He feels cleaner...better already, despite the occasional cry from a sore spot.
"Oh, Moy Rytsar. This was such a wonderful idea....thank you for suggesting it."
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There's a surge of pink on his left side. He can't help it. There's literally nothing between them anymore and he's still a little apprehensive. It flickers and fades at that finger on him and the glow warms back to its usual yellow-orange and there's a small smile on Alexei's face at the compliment. He still has trouble understanding how anything about him is beautiful...but he's not going to argue at this point. Reinhardt truly believes it and because he believes it so much...it is slowly getting Alexei to notice things that he'd previously despised in a new light.
"Thank You. You know...new carapace is...iridescent for a few days before it hardens. It...sparkles in the light. Once all this schlough is off, you'll be able to see it."
He nods at that, it sounds like a divine plan.
Bit by bit, he eases into the tub, giving a hiss that starts human but turns into something else when the hot water hits raw flesh. It is a Zerg sound-almost reptilian-he hasn't ever made it in front of Reinhardt before and he quickly bites his lip to silence it. Still, Stukov knows it is for the best and inch by inch, lowers himself into the hot, waiting water. His sounds return to very a very human series of "tch tch tchhhhsss." The nerves on his left side scream for a few seconds, but they quiet once they get used to it and it starts to feel soothing. The heat and the moisture do him good, the soft bubbles...hundreds of them, softly scented with lavender oil. He's mostly quiet, then, but he makes a pleased sigh as he started to get comfortable.
Alexei slips under the water momentarily then comes back up. He's been meaning to get a haircut, but only when it is wet is it actually noticeable.
He keeps most of himself under water, but his right elbow is leaned against the side of the tub to keep his head up.
He feels cleaner...better already, despite the occasional cry from a sore spot.
"Oh, Moy Rytsar. This was such a wonderful idea....thank you for suggesting it."