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Phat doesn't relax at all until the door is closed and firmly locked behind them. Actually, it's hard to call what happens after the audible click of the lock sliding into place 'relaxing' because Phat doesn't feel relaxed at all. At most it’s a temporary relief and Phat knows that. He can still feel the walls closing in on them.
"Kaye? Kaye, we made it. You're safe." That's...well it's not really true. But Phat needs to get through to Kaye somehow. Kaye is absolutely covered in blood. Phat is too, now, from holding him up and dragging him home. They can't touch anything like this.
The fact that they made it home without getting seen by anyone is a miracle. Sorry, auntie who works at the convenience store pay no attention to the two tall guys splattered with blood going into the building across the street. What a mess.
Phat sighs and leads Kaye to the bathroom.
"It's okay." he says trying to reassure Kaye who is still unresponsive "I'm just going to -"
He lowers Kaye gently so that he's sitting on the toilet seat. He needs to get new clothes for the both of them. He needs towels. Though at least those are closer in one of the decorative storage baskets Praew had bought for him. He lets go of Kaye and tries to leave him - just for a second - only to be stopped when Kaye reaches for him.
"Kaye?"
But Kaye still can't or won't respond. He's staring at the ground. But he's holding Phat's arm tightly like he's afraid. Of course Kaye's afraid. Someone just tried to get him caught by the cops and framed for serial murder. They did a pretty good job, too. If Phat hadn't been there at the right time - if Phat hadn't known better, deep down somewhere within him - to make the split second decision then Kaye would be behind bars right now.
Maybe it was investigator's intuition, maybe Phat just...knew Kaye. But it had felt Wrong. The whole thing had stunk. Phat hadn't even hesitated.
"OK. I won't leave you. I'm going to turn on the shower. I'm not leaving." Phat says.
Slowly, Kaye lets go.
Phat turns the water on and while it warms, Phat turns back to the issue at hand. Phat frowns.
"You need to undress." Phat says.
Kaye finally looks at him, the words must have shocked him into it. But he's still not what Phat would consider 'all there'.
"Can you take your clothes off for me?" Phat's not sure what he's going to do with them after Kaye's body but those clothes cannot be allowed to be found by anyone so he'll have to do something.
Kaye blinks up at him and slowly, clumsily, reaches or his shirt. And promptly manages to get tangled in it.
"Ah, let me -" Phat helps him get free of the shirt. But now they have the problem of pants which Phat doesn't think Kaye is going to be able to navigate. Phat gets Kaye standing again. "Normally I'd at least buy you a coffee first, but."
He keeps his voice light to try to keep the mood from getting any more oppressive, but it falls flat. Kaye doesn't react to the joke or when Phat reaches for the button and zipper on Kaye's jeans.
"Sorry." Phat says, awkward.
He moves Kaye out of the clothes and kicks them away into a bloody pile Somewhere Else on the bathroom floor. He thinks he's got a plan for what dumpster he's going to dispose of these clothes in, if he can get away later. It shouldn’t take too long. Hopefully, Kaye isn't too attached to them. Phat adds his own button down to the pile. The blood on the sleeves would be too incriminating. It’ll have to go as well.
Kaye's attention has been caught by the mirror. He's staring at it unmoving but Phat can't tell if he's actually seeing anything except that suddenly Kaye gives a full body flinch and covers his ears. There's steam coming out of the shower now, which means the water is good enough. Phat stands between Kaye and the mirror and moves him towards the shower.
"We've got to get you cleaned up." Phat says.
Kaye stumbles, not able to keep up with his shaky control of his long legs. He grabs blindly at Phat even though Phat is already righting him. Phat ends up half following him into the shower, his arms and face getting soaked. Which. Okay, Phat had kind of been thinking this was going to happen. And it's not like Phat wasn't going to have to decontaminate himself after Kaye finished anyway, which it's looking more and more like Kaye's not going to be able to handle it on his own. so. Fuck it.
Phat makes sure that Kaye is steady on his feet and strips out of his own clothes. He grabs a wash cloth from next to the towels and joins Kaye under the water. The shower is cramped, not really meant for two people, but honestly Phat’s a little grateful for that because it means neither of them is entirely left in the cold.
“Will you let me?” Phat asks, lathering up soap, but they’re well past that point.
Kaye does let him, though, still shell-shocked enough or just trusting enough of Phat to let him clean the blood away. Phat tries to be gentle, wiping away more blood with each pass of the cloth.
“Close your eyes.” Phat says, and Kaye does, and Phat cleans his face, careful not to get soap in Kaye’s eyes. Kaye lets Phat turn his face, lift his arms, like a doll for Phat to pose however he needs him. Kaye’s skin is hot and slick from the water everywhere Phat touches. Theoretically, it might be appealing. Some other day Phat might have enjoyed it. Right now it just makes Phat’s heart clench with worry.
Even when Phat gets to more awkward, more intimate areas, Kaye doesn’t so much as flinch over it. Phat knows what Kaye’s dick looks like now, soft and heavy between his legs and Phat had really been hoping he might find that out under better circumstances than this. Dinner and a movie would have been nice.
Kaye starts to shiver when Phat maneuvers him slightly away from the stream so that Phat can shampoo his hair. Dramas never show this part of sharing a shower, Phat thinks.
“Ok, tip your head back just a little.” Phat urges, and Kaye does, letting the hot water run through it. Phat scrubs his scalp even once the suds are gone, giving him a little massage, hoping that the touch provides some comfort.
This situation is so fucked. Who wants Kaye to take the fall for this so badly that they’d go this far? Why? Phat’s got a sinking feeling in his stomach about it.
Kaye leans into Phat’s fingers.
“Kaye? You with me?” Phat asks.
Kaye shudders. “Phat? I –“
He sounds lost. More like the awkward, scared Kaye he’d been at the start of the investigation.
Phat turns him around so that they’re facing each other again. Kaye is trembling, despite how high Phat has the water temperature.
“I didn’t – I don’t know –“ Kaye says, and he looks terrified.
“I know you didn’t do it.” Phat says firmly. Kaye makes a confused, wounded sort of noise, but doesn’t object. “You’re safe. I’m going to find out what happened. Please trust me.”
Kaye crumbles.
He starts crying, and with his face all twisted up and the water from the shower mixing with the tears he looks so pathetic and sad that Phat just wants to comfort him. He wants desperately to see Kaye smile again the smile that had caught Phat’s interest the first time they’d met. He pulls Kaye into a hug, ignoring their naked bodies, and lets Kaye bury his face in Phat’s shoulder to hide his tears. Even as skinny as he is it’s hard for a guy as tall as Kaye to seem small, but he’s definitely achieved it here, with his little broken noises as he clings desperately. Phat holds him while he cries it out and presses a kiss to Kaye’s temple.
“I’m going to figure this out.” He says, and hopes he isn’t lying.