Wasted Tears

Dimitri slowly opened his eyes as Charlotte was bending over him slapping him repeatedly to make him wake.
Upon seeing Dimitri's failed attempts at opening his eyes all the way she realized he was awake.
"Dimitri!" she cried. "Dimitri, can you hear me? Please talk to me, please!"
She cried her eyes out as she put the open waterbottle to his mouth and made him drink small sips of it at a time.

Dimitri barely opened his eyes, but could recognise he was with Charlotte. He considered this extremely lucky of him- he was well aware that if he was roomed with some of the people in here he would be as good as dead.
He tried to make some signal to her that he could understand, happily drinking the water she offered. He coughed, trying to make out words with his mouth but he couldn't seem to form any sound that made sense. Instead he gestured for the food that they would have been given.

He woke a bit more as she poured the water down his dry throat.
"Scratch that," she said softly and smiled, though it looked more like a bitter sarcastic smile.
"Don't talk."
She could see that he was aware, and that was good enough for her. As long as he was conscious. Talking might even have ended up hurting his throat even more.
She stretched out to grab the bread. She knew there was no way he would be able to eat it like that, so she carefully ripped off tiny bites of the soft insides of the bread. She still considered it and descided to soak the bread in the water to make it easier for him to swallow. Then she placed the tiny bite of food in his open mouth.
She continued to do this for a while, but stopped. She might not be practical, but she'd watched enough TV to know that it was a bad idea to feed starved people too fast. Their stomach needed time to adjust.
She would feed him more of the bread later that day.
It was far past noon, but she had not eaten at all. She wouldn't. Seeing Dimitri, she knew he needed the bread far more than she did. One day of starving was nothing compared to what he must have gone through. And she had always cared more for Dimitri than for herself. It was an easy choice.

[OOC: Sorry Dimmy, Nilay's been here all day ^^'' When you come back I'll reply faster ^^]

[OOC: Don't worry, I'm feeling ill today anyways so ive been in bed mostly x3]

He ate the bread slowly, appreciating her help. At first he found difficulty swallowing, and after no food for days his stomach started to turn at the feeling of food inside it. But he knew he needed to eat now more than anything.
Eventually Charlotte stopped feeding him and he looked back at her gratefully.

Charlotte had cradled Dimitri's head in her lap, gently stroking his hair without stopping.
The arch of her eyebrows turned upwards in a frown while, despite Charlotte's attempts at blinking her eyes dry, the tears kept forming and falling down her cheeks.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered with a broken voice. What she was sorry for she didn't even know, but she would not have wished this upon anyone, and especially not her beloved Dimitri, who had never done any harm to anyone. She held him like a baby, tight and close, but still soft.
She let her thumb stroke his cheeks, his forehead, under his eyes, everywhere.
She was enjoying the feel of his skin, but that was not the reason why she was caressing him this way. He not only looked unhealthy and bony, he felt like it too. And it scared her. What had happened to him?
As a couple of her tears fell onto his forehead, she quickly bent down to kiss them away.
Dimitri might not even have liked this kind of close attitude towards him, but for now she did not care. All she cared about was his well-being, and nothing else struck her mind. Nothing else was important at that moment.
"Dimitri, I... if I could've.."
If I could've done something...
Anything...
I would.

Dimitri shook his head ever so slightly, knowing that was probably as much as he could manage right now.
'It'll be ok...' he silently said in his head.
There was nothing any of them could have done- he had got himself into his own mess and therefore he was the only one responsible for what had happened to him. Still he could only imagine what he looked like right now, and that it must be horrible for anyone to see him like this.
He closed his eyes, knowing Charlotte would watch out for him if he slept. He had slept away most of his time in that room but it had been different- his body literally fading away rather than now where sleep was his only means of recovery.

She knew he needed the sleep and rest, yet a horrifying feeling came over her when she thought about the possibility that he might not wake up again. Losing the one you truly love, was there anything worse in this life?
She cradled his head in her lap, trying to make him as comfortable as possible, and though the hard stone floor was extremely uncomfortable to sit on in the same position for longer periods of time, she was determined to sit like this, holding him, until he woke up. Only then would she shift her position, and only to give him bread and more water. He needed it.
As his eyes grew shut and his breathing became heavier she was positive he was sleeping.
Carefully watching his pulse, horrified of the thought that at any point it might start to slow down, she wiped away her own tears and looked down on his peaceful face.
"I love you... please don't leave me..." she begged whispering.

Dimitri turned and mumbled in his sleep, remember the dead faces and the darkness of that room. He tried to think of something else to get them out of his mind, but it was as if the images were on repeat. He muttered some words out loud but nothing that Charlotte would be able to make sense of. Instead she would only notice Dimitri become visibly more destressed in his sleep.
He began to feel his stomach convulse from the small amount of food he had ate. The little he had consumed meant his body recognised how empty his stomach was, and he began to feel more hungry. He stirred- the combination of hunger and nightmares waking him up, and he looked around forgetting where he was again.

Charlotte had almost fallen asleep herself as there was nothing to do in the room but look at him sleep. But she was quick to snap herself out of it when she realized Dimitri was stirring. It was obvious he was having nightmares.
She pulled him in closer, holding him like a mother would hold an infant to protect it from harm.
As he opened his eyes he looked confused and desperate somewhat, and it was hard for Charlotte to find the words that would make any of it just the slightest bit better.
"Shh, it's ok," she whispered softly to him.
"It was just a nightmare, I'm here."
She laid her hand on his cheek and smiled reassuringly.
"Do you want more bread?" she asked softly, thinking he might be hungry.

Dimitri tried to sit up, focusing on moving himself to shake away the images in his head. He was still being supported by Charlotte, but now he was sitting more upright.
He did his best to smile at Charlotte reassuringly, knowing she was doing her best to help. Nodding, he accepted the food and water. Clearing his throat he muttered a thanks.. his voice was rough and the words croaky but it was understandable at least.

Charlotte stopped crying at once and bursted into a huge grin as she saw how much better he had gotten with just a little bit of rest, food and water.
"Glad to see you're feeling better," she said softly and decided to leave it at that. Dimitri had never been the type of person to talk about his problems. Whenever she had found him after a drunk night in some alley he had always refused to talk about what had happened. By the looks of his bad condision she would not second guess the fact that he would definitively not want to talk about this.
However, she felt it was important he knew she was there if he ever wanted to.
She stopped smiling and handed him a few, small pieces of soaked bread as well as the water bottle and looked at him as a caring mother.
"I'm here for you. You know that right?" she asked softly with tears in her eyes.
She did not know why she was about to cry. She was not overly depressed, and not exactly overjoyed either. She was just... emotional. Looking at Dimitri always gave her this feeling she did not exactly know. She could never pinpoint exactly what it was. Not butterflies or weak knees, but something deeper.
She wished she knew.

He took the bread and water, happily accepting them. It wasn't much obviously but it was better than nothing, and he slowly ate the bread tiny mouthfuls at a time. He noticed Charlotte wasn't eating- he highly doubted she had while he slept, but he was so hungry that he knew in order to recover he had to eat something.
He nodded when she spoke. He did feel slightly better, although he was far from well and they both knew it. At least in her eyes she could see an improvement, even if he didn't feel much better than the last time he remembered. Food and sleep wouldn't go far to solve his problems, but Dimitri was always the sort of person to do it alone- he had carried emotional baggage much greater than this for most of his life.
He paused from eating, sitting in silence, knowing it was better to pace himself rather than use all the food in one. 'I know' he murmered weakly. He wondered how long he had been down there, away from the rest of the rooms. Whereas before he had some vague idea of what date it was now he was clueless. It could have easily stretched between days and weeks.. All he knew was it was still October when the calenders were in their rooms- and that was only a few days before hand. He didn't dare ask Charlotte though- knowing that if he was in there any longer than he imagined it would only scare her.
He gestured to the water- if he was eating all the bread she would have to at least have something to drink in the day.

She looked over at the water bottle he was nodding at, and made a slight grimace thinking about how thirsty she was. Still, she couldn't make herself drink it. Not when Dimitri needed it so much more.
"I'm fine," she said softly and smiled. She had to speak softly now, due to her mouth being so dry if she spoke up like a normal person her voice would most definitively break.
"You have it," she said and handed him the bottle.

He shook his head, determined, pushing the bottle towards her. 'A sip won't do me any harm...'
In all honesty he wasn't particularly thirsty. The water was only needed to help him swallow the bread and he was getting more used to it by now. Looking at Charlotte with a face of insistence he gestured towards the water. 'If the worst comes to the worst I can drink from the tap in the bathroom' he said faintly.

It was true. Still she was reluctant to drink anything and in doing so, taking it away from Dimitri.
She gently took the water bottle and held it to her mouth before taking a sip. It wasn't much, but it was as much as she dared to drink.
"Thank you," she said and smiled at him before putting the water and bread away.
He was so close to her, sitting there, with his body rested against hers.
She was sure he could feel her heartbeat as fast as her heart was beating.
She getnly laid her hand over his.
"How are you feeling now?"

'I'm ok..' he said, his voice still faint. 'Just tired...'
He leant back against her, noticing her reaction and remembering what he knew. However he decided that he didn't really have much choice right now. He was sure it wouldn't do much harm and it didn't excatly make him feel uncomfortable- it was reassuring having contact with something alive after where he had been.
Realising this was probably difficult for her, especially with no warning or explanation, he asked back 'you?'
The conversation wasn't particularly in depth but it was a start.

"Me too," she said and smiled at him.
It felt weird that he would ask her when he was the one in the state he was in.
She put her arms around her to support him even more and pulled him in close. Yes, she loved him, more than anything, but that was not exactly what she had in mind when she pulled him in.
She had an instinct to always do what she felt was best for him, and in his position she felt he needed, not only comfort and human contact, but the support as well. He looked as if he had been starved and dehydrated. Combining that with the fact that he had only recently woken up she was sure he was dizzy.
"How is your head?" she asked, wondering if it was as painful and dizzy as she thought it was or if it was only her overreacting and worrying too much.

'I don't think my heads the worst of my problems... always hurts with the gas...'
In reality it hurt alot more than he let on. But it was more that he was dehydrated so the lack of water was giving him a headache than anything serious.
'Its ok' he smiled, noticing her worry.

She didn't know what more to say to him, so all she did was smile reassuringly and brush away a sweaty strand of hair from his face.
She looked around the room and her smile quickly disappeared when she realized how helpless she really was. Before when Dimitri had been hurt she had always had everything she needed to help. Warm soup, bandages, creams, snacks to make him feel better. In reality she admitted, she treated him as a kid when he was sick, but spoiling him was never of her concern. She always wanted him to have the best. To be as comfortable and happy as he could get. She knew then as well as she knew now that she couldn't buy his love. Giving him all this stuff was never going to make him love her. Still, she wanted him to have it.
Now, there was nothing she could do, and nothing she could give.
She was useless.

He imagined the state he was in- pale, skinny, and his clothes probably smelt like the room had. He doubted even after a wash he would be able to get rid of that smell- his clothes were bettter off burnt, and he would happily do that if he didn't have anything else to wear.
Thinking back to the room he now knew existed every game in this place would have a different context- he knew where he would end up, so it was only a matter of time before he was back there again. But Charlotte didn't and he wanted her to at least have the hope of being 'free' in death rather than still trapped in this place forever.
He didn't know what to say- his condition meant he had an excuse, but the silence seemed so hostile now. Being alone for so long in a small confined space.. he felt like he needed the reassurance someone was there. And although Charlotte was clearly happy to do anything to help, he felt he needed to speak even if it was about the most mundane things, just to keep himself distracted.
'So... How has it been since..?' He trailed off not really sure what he was asking for, or how to phrase it.

"Lonely," she replied honestly, but smiled. After all, she was just happy she was with Dimitri again.
She wasn't going to ask about him. She already knew he had been to hell and back just by looking at him.
"Are you strong enough to take a bath, or do you want to rest a little bit more?" she asked concerned.
He desperatly needed a bath, but she really didn't want to push him.

He nodded, thinking a bath would be best. They had already gone way beyond the stage where it would be awkward- she would have to help him but he wasn't entirely useless.

She wasn't the strongest of the girls. In all honesty, she was probably the weakest. She was the type of girl who would ruin her palms just by opening a bottle cap. Still, when Dimitri needed support, she was ready to give him all she had.
She stood to her feet and yanked Dimitri up so that he could hold around her shoulders.
She practically had to drag him into the bathroom. It was painful and slow. Painfully slow. But they got there.
She helped him down into the bathtub with his clothes on and stood there for a while wondering what to do.
He needed her help, that part was obvious. But did he want it?
"Do you want me to... ehmm... do you want me to... help?" she asked a bit nervous.

He appreciated the help but he couldn't help but feel pathetic in the process. As much as he attempted to do so he needed her support though, and when they reached the bathroom it had felt like a feat in itself.
He smiled at her awkwardness. 'Just a bit' he said, trying not to sound completely reliant. It wasn't the unbuttoning, more the stretching and twsitng that was required to get his trousers off that was the problem. But he didn't want this to be anymore awkard than it was for her so he tried to make the process as quick as possible.

She quickly bent over as to help him, but hesitated a while before daring to touch him.
As the palm of her hands carefully touched the bare skin at the edge of his trousers goosebumps and butterflies invaded her in a second. Her heart beat fast, specially thinking about what they had done last time she had dared to undress Dimitri.
Her fingers slid under the lining of the pants and slowly started to drag them down while her face grew more red by the second. She dared a peek up at Dimitri's face who was now looking at her. She knew he'd look at him, what else was there to look at? But still, the self-consciousness of what she was doing was tripled at once and she looked away quickly, back down to him pants.
Her fingers tracing his bare waist.. his bare tighs...
She had to do it to get his pants off but, she was honestly enjoying this as well.
In all honesty, she might have taken a bit longer getting the pants off than necessary.
Now an even more awkward task stood before them.
Did she really have to remove his underwear too...?

He slowly waited whilst she helped, although he could sense her growing anxiety. He tried to look reassuringly at her, to let her know he didn't mind. But still he could see she was nervous, and probably embarassed.
Her touch was gentle, and the contact made his heart skip a beat even if it was entirely inappropriate after everything that had happened. He was only human after all. However then it came down to his underwear, and the awkwardness in the room became even more apparent. Charlotte became flustered as she realised what she would have to do.
'If you want.. I can um try and do that myself' he said, although if he had struggled with his trousers the likelihood was he would struggle with this too.

She quickly turned her head towards him, looking at his face for a second before deciding that was a bad idea and looked away again.
"No, it's... i-it's ok.. I guess.." she smiled reassuringly, though the dead laughter that escaped her lips revealed how truely nervous she was around him, and specially in a situation like this.
Her soft fingers found their way to his waist and the lining of his underwear, before they slid under it.
She could feel his bodywarmth, she could feel his bare skin, and she could feel her own heart beating unsteadily and hard under her own chest.
As she pulled the underwear off slowly, she did her best not to look at him naked, though it was really hard not to do in her position, and a slight glance once in a while couldn't be helped.
As she pulled the underwear off gently, careful not to touch his private parts, she could feel slight goosebumps under her fingers. Was he as nervous as she was? That did not make the situation better.
She shook her head and told herself it was just paranoia and illusions. After all, that was probably what it was anyway.

The tension in the room was unbelievable, it was almost ridiculous- especially since this was by no means new for either of them. Still it was as if there was something more, the weight of Charlotte's feelings changing the context of her actions. Or at least that is what he told himself when he could feel his heartbeat quicken.
'Thanks..' he said, when she was finally done. He had been looking at her, and his words made Charlotte look up so their eyes met briefly. Dimitri turned quickly towards the taps. 'I can probably take it from here' he said, trying to show some signs of independence. He reached forwards and twisted the taps so the water came out fast. It was cold, but he wasn't expecting hot water in here, and he waited paitently as it filled the bath.

She turned her back on him flustered and bent down to grab a towel from under the sink.
She grabbed the first one she could see and put it on the toilet seat for when he was finished.
There was no way she would help him wash himself. Just the thought of it made her heart beat like a collibri as well as her cheeks turn tomato-red. She couldn't do that. Not to a guy. Not to a naked guy. Just the thought of it was ridiculous.
"Ehmm... you can, you know.. call me when you're done," she said and smiled weakly and awkward before walking towards the bathroom door.

He finished filling the bath and turned to watch Charlotte leave. She was still wearing her Halloween costume- his had been lost in whatever room they were in last, but she had still been wearing hers when they were moved- and it didn't cover alot, so when she leant over he saw alot more than she probably realised. Feeling his heartbeat even faster he was glad she left in a hurry.
Focusing he starting to scrub at his skin, desprately trying to wash away any reminder of the room. The water made him clean, but he knew it wouldn't be able to get rid of the memories. Nevertheless he tried his hardest to wash what he could away.
When he was done he realised he would need help getting out again. He sighed. 'I'm done..' he called out.

Charlotte stood there, lost in her own thoughts.
How tempting and alluring Dimitri's soft skin had been under her fingertips. She could still feel it. Her heart was beating like a collibri, despite the fact that she had stood there for 5 minutes trying to calm down already.
She slowly walked back into the bathroom when he called for her.
"Calm down Charlotte," she muttered to herself as she opened the bathroom and was forced to look at him once again.
It wasn't the first time she had seen him naked, but this was different.
She drained the bathwater and turned to get the towel. She didn't turn around right away, just stood there facing the wall with the towel in her hands. Why did this have to be so hard? She was only trying to help him, right? Not even she could convince herself that was what she really thought about while touching him. To help him.
She turned around once she thought the bathwater must be drained and carefully walked over to the edge of the bathtub.
As slow as she dared, she softly laid the towel over him, starting with his feet, she started to rub them in with the towel.
Slowly, she had to move up to dry the rest of his body, and by the time she had gotten to his shoulders, her face was so red it looked as if she was about to die from choking on something.
She was so close to him at that moment. So intimate.
Her face only inches away from his as she rubbed his shoulders, his cheeks, and eventually his hair.
So close...

He took a deep breath as she entered the room again, knowing that he would have to help dry him.
She came into the room flustered, and quickly took the towel. At least that made this slightly easier...
Carefully and cautiously she started to dry him down, her touch lingering a little bit longer than prehaps she realised as she worked her way upwards. There was something comforting about her being there, and prehaps it was just a lack of human contact but he could feel his breathe quickening as she did so.
Her face was getting redder and redder: it was funny, making him smile for the first time in a while. She always blushed, much to her dismay. Probably more often than she realised. It gave her away.
As she dried his shoulders and hair he just stared at her. She was so close, and it was all he could think about. He must look ridiculous gawking at her, but he couldn't help it, and she was purposely avoiding his gaze as she busied herself with the towel so he could get away with it.

As she started drying his hair she couldn't help but glance at his face.
It was so close, too close. She looked at his lips, so soft and perfect. Oh, how she was dying to kiss them. But she wouldn't.
Her gaze wandered up to his eyes which were staring right back at hers.
Her first instinct was to look away, but the intensity in his eyes kept her lingering, staring into his for what felt like an eternity.
Her heart was now beating so fast and hard it physically hurt, and at this distance she was sure he could feel it as well.
If not, there was no way he could have missed the blushing, trembling lip of hers, or even the goosebumps that was starting to make their way onto her arms.
"I-" she stuttered, but her trembling lip wouldn't let her say more.
She coughed to clear her mind and stood up quickly, creating more distance between them.
"I-I think you're.. done.." she said and looked down.
She realized how inappropriate it had been to stare at him for that long.
She felt stupid. So stupid. And Dimitri had caught her staring, he had looked right back at her.
Gawd, she was so stupid.

[[OOC Why aren't you on chat, Ylva? <.< ]]

She had to look his way, her eyes meeting with his. Of course she would notice...
He knew right about know he should probably look away but instead he kept on staring, until eventually she was forced to look away. He nodded in agreement, letting the moment slip. He was sure it was nothing more than a combination of his current state and the awkwardness of the situation.
'Yeah..' he said. 'Thanks again.' Slowly, leaning against the wall, he stood up out of the bath, making sure the towel was wrapped around him. He reached out for Charlotte, taking her arm to help him step out of the bath.
'I might.. um.. wash these' he said, gesturing to his trousers. They still smelt of the room, and the water would help get rid of that even a little bit.

"I'll wash them for you," she smiled.
She had never washed anything in her life, and she was dead scared if she tried his trousers would end up ruined. Still, there was no way he could wash anything in his condition, and as there was no buttons or washing machines or soap she was sure she would manage. It was just to soak the clothes in water and rub them clean right..? Any moron could do that...
"I'll help you to the other room. You can relax on the carpet while I finish up."
She smiled gently at him. Finally she was good for something. Finally she had the chance to be helpful and not just be a complete waste of space. It wasn't just to help him anymore, she actually wanted to do this.

'Really?' he said, trying not to sound suprised. He doubt Charlotte had ever washed anything in her life, but he appreciated the help and in all honesty he was feeling tired already so the task of cleaning hadn't seemed that appealing.
'Well.. thanks I guess' he smiled. 'I don't think it needs much more than a rinse.. theres not really much else you can do with it. But you can leave them to dry somewhere after...'
He grabbed his underwear, which he decided he would put on in the other room while she was washing in here. He hoped that would avoid the awkardness of beforehand.

She nodded and smiled, trying not to let on how badly she wanted to ask what exactly she should do with it. She had no idea.
"Do you want help to get to the other room..?" she asked looking at his unsteady figure barely managing to stand up on the floor.

[OOC: Dim Dim, you left Chat a minute after I logged on to it <.< Get your butt back on <.<]

[OOC: Correction, my internet crashed 1 minute after you logged in x3 Its being soooo annoying these past few days >.> I think its to do with me being on facebook- videos and pictures are making my whole internet die.. soo i had to reboot it, and i went to eat.. You better be on now! <3]

He shook his head. 'No, no, i'll be fine' he smiled reassuringly, making an unsteady step out of the door. He closed the door behind and sat down, keeping the towel and underwear on him so he could change quickly.

She looked worried at him once he walked away and closed the door, but he seemed to be ok for now.
She looked down at the clothes, wondering what she was going to do. She started filling the bathtub with water. It took her a while to decide on hot water instead of cold. Wasn't there something about clothing shrinking in cold water? She didn't want that to happen. Warm water is was.
She consistently burned her fragile hands rubbing the dirtiest parts of his trousers, trying to get them clean. Once her hands were both red and she decided she couldn't do this anymore, she hang them over the edge of the bathtub and drained the water.
"I hope I did that right..." she mumbled and walked back to Dimitri.
"They're drying now," she said and smiled looking at him lying on the carpet in the room.
"How are you feeling?"

While he could hear the water run he quickly changed into his underwear. It was more difficult than it would usually be, but not impossible, and he had just managed to struggle into them when Charlotte came into the room again.
'I'm sure you did fine..' he smiled. 'First time I presume?' he said, although he knew this before. 'You know maybe this place will be good for you after all... teach you some life skills' he teased playfully.
'I'm as good as I'll be' he said. The bath had made him feel a hundred times better than before, and now it was only a matter of time. As long as he didn't stretch himself he was sure he would be back to whatever was healthy in here in no time.

Even though she knew he was joking, she still felt a little sting in her chest from his words. She knew she was helpless and useless, she just wished so badly that she wasn't.
Though her blush and her quick glance down may have given her true feelings away she was quick to smile and reply.
"Yeah, maybe."
She sat down right next to him, ready to catch him if he was to fall or anything.
His bodywarmth was so close she could feel it, making it almost impossible not to touch him. She was so tempted. Just one hand on his bare chest...
She shook her head quickly when she realized she'd started blushing way more than usual.
"You look better," she said and hoped he hadn't noticed her short moment of desperation and pathetic behavior.

He noticed her face fall momentarily at his words, and he felt guilty for a second. He was just always used to teasing Charlotte about her pampered lifestyle he assumed she was used to it, and realised it didn't mean anything. At least that was what he had assumed.. it occured to him that now maybe she hadn't really meant it when she had joined in laughing at herself. She was trying her hardest to help, he could see that, and that was all he should have focused on.
She sat down by his side, and her face promptly went beetroot red again. He couldn't help but laugh, but he tried to hide the fact that he was laughing at her knowing if she realised she would only stay embarassed for even longer. 'I feel it' he said, 'thanks to you for looking after me again.'
She always did. In reality if she looked at her self more positively she would realise she wasn't half as useless as she made herself out to be. Even if she didn't notice, she always had helped him some way or another.

Her face lit up with a huge grin thinking she had been helpful to him.
"Glad to help," she said softly and smiled at him softly.
She had stared at him only a second too long before she looked away and blushed again, but that one second was enough for him to realize. It was still a bit awkward.
He was sitting right there next to him. His skin bare, revealed, so close to hers it was torture to sit next to him.
She wondered if he could feel the tension in her body and the racing of her heart as well as she could feel it.

She lit up, her face changing suddenly at only the slightest comment from him. And then she blushed again. It was turning into a cycle and he smiled again at how red she had turned once more.
For a moment he sat in silence, not sure what to do. Looking down he noticed Charlotte was nervously playing with her palms. 'Your hands hurt?' he said, looking at them. 'Washing can do that...'
He had no idea what else to say.. this was the first thing that came to mind. However knowing her background her palms would be soft and blister from even the slightest work. Cleaning his clothes was no doubt going to have hurt a little bit.

"It was mostly just the warm water.." she mumbled while smiling.
She looked down on her palms, opening them to show Dimitri how red the water had turned them.
"See? I guess I'm not much of a worker girl," she laughed.

'No you aren't' he said smiling, picking up her hand to take a closer look.
'See! Already blistered!' he joked, turning her palm to show her.
Once the joke had ended there was another moment of awkward silence, apart from this time he was still holding her hand. They were very close again... something he was now acutely aware of. 'You have very soft hands..' he said softly. 'Probably all that lack of hard work..' He was teasing her again, but this time he had turned to face her so they were sitting only closely apart.

She didn't know what to say, or whether to take it as a compliment or not. Therefore she decided just to stay quiet and blush. She looked at him, at his eyes. Normally, she would be way too shy and scared to look him in the eye, but the way he looked at her recently made it impossible to look away. It was as if his eyes were pulling her to him.
She smiled at him gently and twisted her fingers in with his, caressing the back of his hand with her thumb, while still looking at him. She didn't know what she should do, or what anyone else would do in a similar situation, so all she did was look at him.
And blush.
And caress the back of his hand.

He looked at her, their eyes watching one another unsure what to do. He felt her fingers intwined with his. He responded by caressing her hand back, and they sat like this for a few minutes in silence.
Eventually he felt like he had stared at her for hours in silence, although in reality it had only been a few minutes. As time passed it felt more and more like the most natural thing to do was to lean in.
Hesistating slightly he waited only a breath away from her lips, before moving in and kissing her, slowly and gently at first. He continued to hold hands with her as he did, waiting for her to respond. Even he was suprised by his actions, and he wasn't sure whether or not he was going to regret this or not. Naturally she would feel the same.

As he leaned in she could not help but gasp. She hadn't expected it, not at all. She hadn't even expected him to hold her hand. Was this just him pitying her? Trying to make her happy? She didn't know, and at that moment, she didn't care either.
She kissed him back softly. It was as if he would disappear if she kissed him too violently. She was scared he would change his mind, and scared this wasn't for the right reasons. But most of all she was scared he would disappear. That when she closed her eyes to enjoy the kiss, he wouldn't be there when she opened them again.
She broke the kiss slightly just to look at him. Just to make sure he was still there.
Then she kissed him again, still as soft as a feather, but with more confidence.
This was what she wanted after all, right?