Work Text:
Hot water needles Alex’s back, loosens his muscles. Steam rises, awakening the stink of chemicals and old rubber from the gas mask. He grips the grab bar, ducks his head under the spray, watches the water turn brown.
The door opens, closes.
“You good in there?” Michael asks.
“It’d be better with you.”
Cloth rustles. Michael brings cool air with him into the shower.
“Sit.” Michael lathers Alex’s hair and body until the water runs clear and Alex is clean, like how Michael’s handprint had mended the radiation burns. It will shimmer on Alex’s chest until time washes it away.