It had been a long day. You sat in the bathtub letting the stress melt away from your muscles. You glanced over to your right arm which was propped up on the edge of the tub and let out a sigh. Earlier in the day you had decided to take a ride on your bicycle to enjoy the warmer weather, but it seemed the universe had other plans. You weren't paying attention when you rode over an overgrown tree root sticking out of the sidewalk. With a loud shout, a trip to the emergency room, and a few X-rays later, you were now the not-so-proud owner of a cast.

Youngjae had rushed to the emergency room after you called him, almost knocking over a nurse in his hurry to find you. After finding you sitting on a bed, a pout on your lips and tears falling down your cheeks, he quickly strode over to your side and gently wiped your tears away with his thumb. He had to make sure nothing else was broken, his hands flitting lightly over you, before helping you up and leading you to the car.

You glared at the white plaster that would be your new friend for the coming weeks as you pulled the plug in the tub and stood to dry off. Getting dressed took twice as long as normal because not only did your wrist hurt but so did your entire right arm. You were muttering a string of curses under your breath when there was a light knock on the door.

“Hey, is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine,” you said as you reached to open the door.

Youngjae stood there with a worried look on his face. “Do you need help with anything?” he asked softly.

You were about to say no when you realized that you needed to wash your hair. You cringed at the thought of trying the task with only one good arm.

“Actually, yeah. I can’t wash my hair with one arm unless I want to be here all night.”

Youngjae perked up at your confession, “I can do that.”

He disappeared for a moment before returning with a few extra towels in his arms. He set one on the floor next to the bathtub, another he folded and placed on the edge of the tub. He then pushed his sleeves up, leaned over the edge, and turned the water on. For a moment he fiddled with the knobs to get the right temperature. You walked over and sat on the towel on the floor and waited while Youngjae pulled the shampoo and conditioner bottles closer to him. Checking the water one more time, Youngjae turned to you with a smile.

“Ready? Lean back.”

He reached his hands out to you, guiding you back to rest your head on the towel. You wiggled slightly to get in a comfortable position, then settled in and closed your eyes. You could hear Youngjae grab the removable shower head and bring it closer to your hair. Wetting your hair thoroughly, he then popped open the shampoo bottle and squeezed a bit onto his palm. A pleased sigh left your lips as Youngjae began massaging the shampoo gently into your strands, the scent of mint and rosemary swimming around you.

“Is that okay?” he asked, worried that he might be pulling your hair.

“It feels great, Jae,” you replied, opening your eyes and giving him a reassuring smile.

He smiled in return, continuing to work the suds into a lather. You could feel your body relax at the touch of his hands even more than it had when you were in the bath. A few moments passed in silence before Youngjae started to sing quietly as he reached for the water to rinse out the shampoo.

“Hey, Jae?”

“Hm, what is it? Is the water too cold?”

“No, it’s fine. I wanted to ask you how your day was.”

Youngjae paused briefly before rubbing the conditioner through your hair.

“Well,” he began, “it was going alright until I got a call from the hospital. Honestly, who falls off their bike because of a tree root?”

You could tell he was covering up his worry with teasing.

“To be fair, there was a really cute puppy walking by,” you teased back.

“Oh, my god, you broke your wrist because of a dog,” he said, shaking his head. “I should have known.”

You both laughed before falling silent. Guilt was starting to gnaw at your chest.

“I’m really sorry I worried you,” you spoke quietly.

Youngjae stopped to look at you. Wiping a hand on a towel, he cupped your face and searched your eyes with his.

“It’s okay,” he admitted, smoothing his thumb over your cheek, ”I’m just relieved that you’re alright. But please, focus on the road ahead of you next time, and not nearby fluffy animals.”

You nodded your head in agreement. “Wait, what if there is a whole pack of cute animals?” you asked seriously.

“Alright, you can finish up yourself,” Youngjae said, moving to stand up.

You let out a shout as you reached up to tug him back down. “I promise!” you laughed.

Youngjae let out an exasperated sigh before leaning you back against the tub. A few minutes later he rinsed out the conditioner and began squeezing the excess water from your hair. You waited as he stood up to grab a towel, returning to kneel down next to you. He pulled you up to a sitting position and draped the towel over your head. Very carefully he began to squeeze any leftover water out with the towel, asking every now and then if he was being too rough.

Once he was satisfied that the excess water was gone, he threw the now damp towel to the side and stared thoughtfully at you.

“What?” you asked.

Without answering, he leaned in and planted a soft kiss on your forehead.

“Nothing, I just am really glad that you’re okay,” Youngjae said, a soft blush beginning to heat his cheeks. “Now, let’s get your hair combed out and dried.” He stood, pulling you up along with him.

With his hand securely holding onto yours, he grabbed a comb from the sink counter and led you to the living room.