Zeven caught Gunter in the kitchen area, he tiredly leaned on the counter placing his swollen cheek to the cold marble.
"This is turning out to be a lot harder than I anticipated." Gunter ran a dish towel under the cold water, wringing it out before he passed it to Zeven. "I tried to warn you, didn't I. She isn't used to being treated like a woman. Your usual Charms won't be enough to sway her." Zeven grabbed the towel and ran it over his face trying to scrub off the dirt and sweat that had accumulated. Gunter continued to speak, "I do, however see what you like in her. She is very different." "Differently is putting it kindly, I don't think it would be such a big problem if she wasn't so… so…" Gunter tried to fill the silence Zeven had left, "Beautiful?" "Frustrating." Zeven laughed out loud, dryly at first, but then found real humor in it.
"Zeven, I know who you see when you look at her, but you have to know that it is not her. Christopher and that woman are two very different people, it doesn't have to end the same way it did." Zeven looked into Gunter's eyes, "You're damn right. Because I won't let it happen twice." His coy smile returned as he shoved all his feelings back into the corner of his mind. "By the way, can I borrow your clothes?"
****
Chris had finished bathing and once again found that her old clothes had been removed and new ones had been placed by the door. It still unnerved her how quietly Zeven could enter a room and leave without her ever noticing. Her hands still burned and having to use them in any fashion made them even more painful. She slipped on the clothes without touching them more than she had to. This time they were soft pants and a creamy shirt, they were definitely smaller than Zeven's clothes had been, fitting her body more closely.
Being careful of her hands she gently grabbed the door knob to let herself out. Chris took a breath and opened the door right in time to come face to face with Zeven. He was still in his clothes from earlier but looked a bit better than he had. In his hands was a medium sized box.
Being caught in the doorway neither of them could get through to the other side without touching the other person. Chris, remembering the frightening way his face looked stepped back first. Zeven walked in and Chris tried to walk out. "Stop." Zeven used the tone he did when commanding his army, although he reserved the volume. This was a voice that said he was not to be questioned or refused in any way. "Come here." Zeven sighed seeing how tense her body had gone.
Chris walked back towards him, not even daring to breathe. She kept her hands curled into her chest and tried to stay as far away from Zeven as his command would allow. Zeven reached his hand toward Chris, who flinched and drew back. Wordlessly he dropped his hand back to his side. "Sit." he tilted his head in the direction of the rim of the bathtub.
He had never been so quiet and Chris found herself almost wishing he would say something or do something so this waiting game would be over. Zeven, still holding the box, smiled softly at her before looking away again. It was so much worse than when he would stare right into her soul, it felt now that he knew her deepest innermost being and no longer had any reason to look because there was nothing he would find that he didn't already know.
Very slowly Zeven dropped to one knee in front of Chris, he sat the box to the side. She wondered what horrific thing would be inside. Her imagination began to run wild and she tensed her body again. Zeven brought something up out of the box, making sure Chris had seen it and taking time to ensure that his movements were not threatening, he reached his empty hand toward Chris turning his palm up. She knew what he wanted and wanted this moment to pass as quickly as possible, so she carefully placed one of her hands in his.
Drawing her hand closer, he was met with resistance. But the cool look he gave her through his long black eyelashes made her relax her arm so he could pull it closer to his face. He looked over the palm of her hand eyes tracing the red burns all the way up to parts of her fingers. The object he had gotten out of the box was a tube of sorts. Having only one hand to maneuver it with, Zeven placed the cap between his teeth and then turned the tube's body to open it, reaching up and grabbing the cap from his own mouth he placed it on the floor. Slowly, he moved the tube closer to Chris's hand. He squeezed out a dime sized portion directly into the palm of her hand. She drew a sharp breath as it burned her damaged skin, Zeven tightened his grip on her wrist to keep her from squirming. The hand that had held the tube was empty and now reaching towards her hand. Gently he drug the medicine to the far reaches of her skin, rubbing and massaging it into the delicate tissue. Everywhere his fingers traced felt like fire, burning through her skin.
Zeven stayed quiet as he worked. Carefully covering her entire hand with the cream. The burning sensation wouldn't let up and Zeven could feel Chris's hand begin to shake. He lowered his head closer to her hand and began to blow on its surface. She tried to pull her hand back, but he held on firmly. Once again looking up at her face through his long lashes.
When he returned to looking down, Chris was freely able to watch Zeven. She took in what she could, when he relaxed he looked so much younger, she could see his eyebrows knit together in concentration. Watch his chest breathe deeply as he blew on her hand. From this angle she even had a good view of his check that she had hit.
It was slightly swollen and angry looking, she hadn't broken skin, but that didn't mean it wasn't hurting. Chris almost felt bad, here he was tending to her hands while she wished she could have hit him a second time. She kept looking at his face searching for something more sinister in his gentle movements.
He looked up and caught her eye, giving a slight smile he looked away again. Using one of his hands to go pilfering through the box again. He grabbed the gauze and showed her before releasing the hand that was holding hers. Chris kept it in place, not taking this opportunity to snatch it back to her chest like she wanted to. It was already beginning to feel better. The medicine had a numbing effect she hadn't noticed before. Zeven wrapped a bandage around her hand, taking care not to pull too tightly.
He sat down the gauze when he was finished before shooting Chris a cocky smile as he picked up the tube of medicine, before stretching his hand out to take care of her other hand.