“Up you get, sir!”

Lady Rachel’s voice clanged around inside the Prince’s head, like broken trumpets at a greeting ceremony. Kurt shoved a pillow over his head as his nursemaid yanked open the curtains around his bed. He burrowed deeper under his bedcovers.

“Now, now, none of that,” Rachel clucked in admonishment. “It’s a beautiful day outside and you’re to breakfast on the terrace with your father this morning. He remembers what you said last week, I’ll have you know. And it’s the first time you’ve been well enough all week to walk down without aid and I know how much you enjoy that.”

“But it’s early,” Kurt whined.

But Rachel was having none of it. She snatched the pillow out of his clutches and tossed it at the end of the bed.

“Might I remind you that I am the Prince of Vaerithea and you cannot simply-”

“Oh, hush your fussing. Blaine is pouring your bath water as we speak.”

Kurt groaned, pulling himself up to sit. She was right, in fact. Kurt felt much better than he had all week. Perhaps he could dress himself today. He was barely out of bed by the time Rachel was stripping his bed of its sheets and she was too chipper by half to be up so early.

When he stumbled sleepily into his adjacent bathing chambers, Blaine was already pouring the last of the heated water in his bath tub. While it was true that Blaine was in no way a true servant to the Prince, he insisted on performing various tasks in thanks for Kurt taking the time to educate him on the ways of Vaerithean life. They took meals together every day when Kurt was too ill to leave his chambers, otherwise Blaine ate alone to keep up the appearance of his servitude. He liked to dust, for some bizarre reason, and Kurt often found him organizing and reorganizing Kurt’s bookshelves and his wardrobe.

Today, however, was the first day Blaine had poured his bath.

Rachel had been Kurt’s servant for many months now, and she usually attended to all of Kurt’s needs, even dressing him, save for this one. A male servant often took this task in hand.

“I hope it’s warm enough, sir,” Blaine said, turning away to fetch a cloth in a cupboard.

Kurt closed the door behind him and began undressing, unable to stop his shivering when the cool air kissed his skin. Blaine, thankfully, had enough decorum to keep his back turned while Kurt climbed into the tub. It shouldn’t matter of course, he was a boy as well and they had become fast friends in the last week.

But there was something in the thought of Blaine seeing him bare that made him blush.

“Would you like oil of rose or oil of lavender in your bath this morning?” Blaine asked when Kurt’s body was submerged beneath the water, save for his head that lulled on the rim of his tub.

“Rose,” Kurt answered. “I like to use the lavender if I bathe at night. It helps me sleep.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Blaine said, emptying a small bottle of rose oil into the water.

“Mmm, I love the smell of rose,” Kurt sighed happily, allowing his eyes to fall shut.

“As do I,” Blaine said. “I’m – I’m afraid I don’t know all of what to do. Lady Rachel only mentioned the warm water and that you should be sure to clean behind your ears.”

Kurt cracked one eye open. “Did she, now? That little twit.”

“I’m sure she means well,” Blaine replied, smothering a bit of laughter.

“She always does. Use a cloth and a bar of soap,” Kurt instructed, lifting his head. “But I think I’m strong enough to bathe myself today.”

“I should like to help,” Blaine said. “Perhaps it will save you a bit of strength to use later in the day. And I should probably learn what I can now, in case you need my help in future.”

Swallowing down his nerves, Kurt gave Blaine a shaky nod of assent. He didn’t know why his stomach was coiling with unease. He’s been bathed by servants plenty of times before and hadn’t been shy at all. It was simply another task, another duty. Of course, Blaine wasn’t just any other servant and he hadn’t been looking after Kurt for that long.

But Kurt couldn’t bring himself to think any of that to be the problem.

Blaine settled himself down on a stool behind the Prince’s head. Kurt could feel the warmth of Blaine’s legs around his ears and watched as the boy dipped the cloth into the water in order to wet it. His wrist grazed Kurt’s shoulder when he pulled it out.

When Blaine finally began rubbing the soapy cloth into Kurt’s skin, Kurt could do nothing but close his eyes and rest his head on the edge of the tub again. The rough sensation of the cloth paired with the softness of Blaine’s hand kept him just on the edge of bliss. The sandalwood scent of the soap blended well with the rose oil and Kurt found himself content to languish in the bath with Blaine’s hands on him for the rest of the morning. Blaine lifted Kurt’s lazy wrist and scrubbed gently along his arm, dipping under his shoulder to scrub at his arm pit.

Kurt giggled.

“Ticklish, are we?” Blaine observed in amusement. “I think I’ll have to keep that in mind as well.”

“Am not,” Kurt argued, too calm to put up any type of real fight.

“I’ll be sure to keep this knowledge from Lady Rachel.”

“You’d better,” Kurt said as one corner of his lips lifted into a half smile

At that moment, Blaine’s hand dipped below the water to scrub in soothing circles down Kurt’s chest and across his belly. Something wild fluttered around in Kurt’s stomach at the sensation. He couldn’t stop a gasp from escaping between his lips.

Blaine’s hand paused.

“Shall I wash your back now?” he asked softly.

“That – that would be nice,” Kurt stuttered, easing himself up and away from the edge.

He heard Blaine shift behind him, probably moving closer in order to reach, and the cloth and his hand returned once more to Kurt’s pale skin. He hummed his enjoyment when Blaine began to wash along his shoulder blades and the back of his neck.

“Does it feel nice?” Blaine asked curiously. “I can’t think I’ve ever had anyone wash my back before.”

“It’s my favorite part,” Kurt admitted. “My back often aches from sitting in bed for so long.”

“I see.”

“Maybe…one day I’ll wash your back,” Kurt offered. “Just so you can see how good it feels. Mind you, I’ve never washed anyone else’s back before so I might not do as well.”

“One day, then,” Blaine agreed softly, rubbing the cloth down Kurt’s spine.

A tiny gasp of breath slipped out of Kurt’s mouth when Blaine’s hand reached his lower back, and he could feel Blaine’s fingers working the cloth in the twin dimples framing the base of Kurt’s spine.

“I – I think I can do the rest myself,” Kurt stated. “Thank you.”

“As you wish,” Blaine said, his hand retreating.

Kurt sat back and Blaine’s arms encircled his shoulders, soap in one hand and the cloth in the other. Kurt accepted the items graciously. He heard the stool scratch along the stone floor as Blaine stood.

“It amuses me,” Blaine said offhandedly.

“What, exactly?” Kurt asked, scrubbing along his calf.

“How perfectly peculiar humans are about their own bodies,” Blaine clarified.

“I – I’m not sure what you mean,” Kurt said, sure to focus on the task at hand.

“You’re all so…protective of certain areas,” Blaine said. “I’ve seen such behavior for so many years and it’s truly baffling.”

“I suppose those areas are simply – simply personal.”

Blaine crossed around to the front of the tub, reaching in another cupboard and withdrawing a fresh drying cloth. When he turned, he had a wide smile on his face.

“I should think they’re all personal,” he said, “as they’re all parts of you. I don’t see what makes them any more personal than, say, a hand or a leg.”

Kurt blushed in response, color spreading down his neck and his chest. “It’s the way things are, I assume.”

“I expect it’s only strange to me,” Blaine added, “seeing as I lived through a short time when clothing was not exactly…required. It only really came about when winter truly became winter and humans needed to keep warm. Not to mention I’ve had this same body for quite a while now. I suppose I’ve simply become accustomed to it, or rather…comfortable.”

“Yes, not all of us have thousands of years to accept our bodies,” Kurt said, laying the cloth on the edge of the tub. He scooped up the water from the bath and rubbed at his face before dipping under and wetting his hair. When he was above the surface once more, he continued speaking. “And your body is most likely flawless, as is the case of your face. We mere mortals do not have such luxuries.”

Blaine held up the drying cloth as Kurt clambered out of the tub. He wrapped it around Kurt’s wet body and pulled the stool over, urging Kurt to sit. While Kurt remained snug and warm in the drying cloth, Blaine retrieved a comb from the cupboard containing the soap and oils and returned to tug the comb through Kurt’s wet locks.

“That’s the beauty of you, though,” Blaine said softly. “You’re all so very unique, so very lovely in your differing skin. Some are pale, some are dark, and some have scars. You, for instance, have this string of freckles along the bridge of your nose.”

“I hate them,” Kurt grumbled, though his words held no bite because he was too busy enjoying having his hair brushed.

“Whatever for?” Blaine asked. “I’m quite enamored with them.”

Kurt clutched the drying cloth tighter to his chest and tilted his head up, gazing up into Blaine’s sparkling eyes.

“…Enamored?” Kurt asked breathlessly.

“Just so,” Blaine replied with what could only be called a loving smile. “To be perfectly honest, I find myself wanting to kiss them more often than not.”

“O-oh,” Kurt replied, completely flustered at the thought. “I’ve only ever thought they made me look ugly.”

“What an absurd notion,” Blaine said. “I won’t allow you to think such things about yourself.”

With that, Blaine lowered his head and Kurt could feel his eyes widen and his heart race. Blaine pressed his lips to Kurt’s nose, bestowing a soft, warm kiss to his freckles. It was the first time anyone had ever really kissed him, beyond that of greeting faraway, allied queens and the rare occasions when his father kissed his forehead.

But this kiss affected him in an entirely different manner. It wasn’t even a proper kiss, not like those shared between suitors or lovers, but it left him aching for one. Kurt could not remember ever wanting to kiss anyone at all, regardless of their rank or their gender.

He’d been too focused on his illness to bring himself to think about such things.

When Blaine pulled away, his eyes were sparkling and not in a metaphorical sense. No, they were literally shimmering, green hues glittering with gold and if Kurt had thought Blaine’s eyes were lovely before, they were simply gorgeous now.

Kurt could not find his voice. At the lack of Kurt’s response, the sparkle faded and Blaine turned away.

“I apologize, sir,” Blaine said in a low, pained voice. “I should not have done such a thing.”

“It – it’s alright,” Kurt croaked out, unable to speak further.

“I won’t do it again, I assure you. I merely forgot my place.”

“I-”

“I’ll retrieve your clothes, sir.”

Walking quickly to the door, Blaine departed and left Kurt alone in the bathing room. Kurt sighed, breathing in the clean scent of rose and sandalwood while too many thoughts began racing through his mind all at once.