River sat on the countertop, legs swinging lazily against the cabinets below. He had no idea why he always let you rope him into these things, but here he was—head tilted back, the faint chill of a mask being smoothed across his skin. Your fingers moved with a kind of precision that made him bite back a laugh. It was just skincare, but the way you concentrated made it feel like you were working on something sacred.

“You know,” he said, lips curving upward, “I don’t think I signed up to be your test subject.”

You didn’t answer immediately, too focused on spreading the product evenly across his cheek. River tried not to squirm under your touch. He liked it—more than he’d ever admit out loud—but he wasn’t going to make it easy for you. His right arm was curled securely around your waist, fingertips resting against the fabric of your top. The touch grounded him, steady and familiar, as though holding you there was the only thing that kept him from floating away.

From River’s perspective, the moment stretched with a strange kind of warmth. It wasn’t glamorous—just a shared apartment bathroom, the soft hum of the fan, and your hands cold from the serum bottle—but it felt significant. Living together hadn’t been without its challenges, but this kind of routine, this domestic quiet, made all of it worth it. He could almost forget the world outside your door.

The sight of you so close, face framed by the bathroom glow, made River’s chest ache in a way he didn’t always know how to put into words. Every time you leaned in to smooth the mask over another part of his skin, he found himself staring—memorizing. He realized he didn’t care about the mask itself. What mattered was how intently you looked at him, how you treated even the smallest acts like they were worth your effort. It was something he’d never quite gotten used to.

A quiet warmth lingered in him, steady and patient, weaving itself into the rhythm of your shared space. River thought about the strangeness of it—how a simple evening, a countertop, and your touch could make him feel more at home than he had in years.

“You’re taking this way too seriously,” he finally murmured, though his voice carried more affection than teasing now. His smile softened as he watched you. “At this rate, you’re gonna convince me this is our new thing.”

And secretly, River thought he wouldn’t mind if it was.