Arden’s eyes widened.
Beckett gave him a little push. A gentle nudge of his hip.Come on, Arden.
“N-no,” Arden said, and shook his head. “I don’t want to.”
“Good boy.” Beckett gave him a kiss for it.
“Ugh.” Arden pretended to be irritated. He was buzzing with delight, and fooled no one.
Broke Beckett’s heart, it did, that he’d had to teach Arden to say no.
He was getting better, though.
“I’ll turn my back while you get in, then,” Beckett said.
“And keep it turned while I’m in,” Arden said.
Beckett dropped his head back with a groan. “I want to see you.”
“Well, you can’t.” Arden waited with raised brows until Beckett turned around and stared across the room at the door he’d just come in.
Arden’s robe hit the floor with a soft thump. Water lapped the sides of the tub.
“I won’t be long,” he said, as the splashing commenced.
“You take your time.” Beckett lowered himself to the floor and arranged himself with his back to the tub. He stretched his arms out the length of the rim, and his legs out in front of him. “I ain’t going nowhere. Also, that’s a good ten buckets of water been heated up for Your Grace. If you’re in and out in under half an hour, I’ll be taking it personally on behalf of the servants.”
Arden sloshed about. A wet, squelching noise made Beckett stiffen.
“What are you doing in there?” he demanded.
“What?”
“What’s that noise?”
“What noise? This?” The quick, wet slapping sound came again and Beckett’s eyes widened as he stared ahead, forcing himself not to turn. “It’s the soap. I’m lathering the soap.” Arden paused, then gasped in outrage. He flicked foam over the side of the tub to land on the boards beside Beckett’s legs. “It’s soap.”
“Oh.” Beckett exaggerated his disappointment. “Thought it was you having a quick toss.“
“In thebath?” He was still outraged. His voice was high enough to be called shrill.
Beckett laughed. “Yeah? Why not?”
“Then I’d be bathing in…no. No.” He paused. “Do you…? In the bath?”
“Exactly when is it you think I have the time to fit in a bath and a wank, Your Grace?”
Another pause. “I suppose you don’t. I apologise.” He tugged lightly at the back of Beckett’s hair the way he liked to tug on Beckett’s shirt or his sleeve to get his attention, or to underline a point he was making as he chattered up at Beckett. He went back to his splashing. “It’s funny you should mention not having the time for leisurely baths, actually,” he said, trying very hard to sound casual about it. “Because I only wanted a quick one and I’m done already. Before you take it personally, I was thinking that maybe you’d like to have a bath, too.”
Beckett very slowly tipped his head back. “With you?” he said to the ceiling. His fingers on the rim of the tub tightened.
“Oh,” Arden said in a small voice. “I meant…I meant for you to…”
“Ah,” Beckett said, pushing down his disappointment. “Your Grace, if you want me to get naked for you, even if you won’t get naked for me, you only have to order it.”
Gods, there he went again. Another outraged gasp. Beckett’s shoulders shook as he choked back the laughter. Arden swatted his shoulder with a wet hand anyway.
“I would never order you to get naked!” he said.
