Ever dipped their head into the water, closing their eyes and listening to the sound of the running water. They wanted nothing more than to stay there and let the world fall away, to forget everything that was happening. To forget that they had somehow ended up transported into a completely different world. 

Ever was content to lay in the water until they pruned, but an incessant nudging at their side urged them to sit up. 

Ever looked up at Tesla who had a handful of liquid soap and, after rubbing her hands together, spoke. “I’mma wash your hair now. So if you could–” Ever moved their body so that their back was against the side of the tub, closing their eyes as Tesla ran her hands through their hair and began massaging the soap into their scalp. 

“You're really good at this.” Ever moaned slightly as they leaned into the touch and Tesla began to scratch at their skull. She pulled her fingers through their hair until she reached the end, rubbing the tips. 

“Is that so?” There was a hint of laughter in her reply as she moved their hair to the top of their head, pulling her hands away. A brief silence filled the room; the only sound was that of clinking glass and of Tesla rubbing more soap into their hair. 

“Yeah. Do you have any younger siblings?” It felt like the logical conclusion to jump too. How else would someone get so good at washing another person? Ever leaned into the touch once again as they waited for a response, wondering briefly if it would ever come. Or if they had overstepped. 

“Somethin’ like that, I guess. I were one of the oldest kids in the orphanage I grew up in, so I got lotsa practice.” 

Tesla scratched at their skull as Ever muttered. “You’re an orphan?” 

“Yeah…” Tesla rubbed her hands through their hair once more as she spoke, sounding almost wistful. “It’s not all that uncommon where I’m from. I need’ta rinse your hair now, so scoot forward and tilt yer head back.” Ever did as they were told and tilted their head back. The sound of splashing was heard before Tesla placed a hand on Ever’s forehead and dumped water over their head. The rinsing process was repeated a few times, with Tesla running their fingers through their hair while doing so. “What about you?” Tesla spoke suddenly, and Ever opened their eyes just as another wave of water was poured over their head. 

Reaching up to wipe their eyes, they spoke. “What do you mean, what about me?”

“I mean, what about your family? You got one, don’t ya?” Ever turned around in the tub so that their back was on the other side, and they were facing Tesla. Ever watched as she stepped out of the tub and kneeled in front of the sink. She opened it, pulling out two towels followed by a washcloth. She turned to Ever and spoke. “Well, do ya?”

Ever looked down at the water, which was now murky with soap and grime, as they muttered. “Yeah. I do.” They ran their fingers over the stump on their right leg, then pulled their arm out of the water, looking at the scars that went up and down it. 

“Well, do ya miss 'em?” Ever looked up as Tesla stepped back into the tub now holding a rag. She wet the rag before adding soap to it and gesturing for Ever to turn back around. They did as instructed, and Tesla began to rub the washrag over their back in gentle motions. 

Ever thought about Tesla’s question as she ran the rag over their back, eventually coming to the conclusion that. “No. I don’t. Do you miss your family?” Ever asked, turning to look at Tesla as she rinsed their back and proceeded to move their arm up so that she could wash it. 

Tesla ran the rag over their arm as she spoke. “Yeah, only really knew my ma ‘til I was about three or four, but yeah, I miss her all the time. Isn’t that normal?” 

Ever looked down into the water, furrowing their brows. “Yeah, I guess it is.” 

Tesla turned their arm over and was about to run the soapy cloth over their arm when she paused, confusion evident in her words. “What are these?” Ever looked up as Tesla pulled their arm to inspect it closer. 

“They’re nothing!” Ever panicked, trying to jerk their arm from Tesla’s grip, but she refused to let go. 

Tesla ran the rag over their arm and murmured. “They look like scars.” Ever avoided eye contact as Tesla let go of their arm and asked. “Are they?” The embarrassed drifter couldn’t bring themselves to verbalize their response, simply nodding in response. Tesla released their arm. “How did you get ‘em? There are a lot of ‘em, and they’re in a weird pla...” She trailed off, letting out a quiet. “Oh.” Followed by a tentative. “Did ya do this ta yourself?” 

Ever clenched their fist and nodded, forcing out a hesitant. “Yeah.” A heavy silence filled the room as Tesla finished washing the rest of Ever’s body before rinsing. She reached into the water, pulling the plug and Ever watched as she rinsed the rag before grabbing one of the towels, placing it on the toilet seat. 

Tesla fiddled with the other towel, avoiding eye contact as the water finished draining. She leaned down, wrapping the towel around Ever, and pulled them to their foot. They stepped over the side of the tub and let Tesla drag them to the toilet. 

Ever sat down and just as the silence was becoming unbearable, Tesla spoke. “Ya know you can trust me, okay?” 

Ever looked at Tesla and, unconvinced of the validity of the statement, they muttered. “Really?” 

Tesla crouched down in front of the sink, opening the doors. “Yeah, really. I know how hard it can be to deal with stuff, ‘specially when there's no one who you feel you can trust enough to talk.”

Ever quirked an eyebrow at the pilot. “You sound like you speak from experience.” Tesla flinched, pausing as she was pulling out another towel from beneath the sink. 

“I…” She stood up, clutching the towel to her chest. “...had a friend back at the orphanage who was older than me, he had scars like that. I didn’t really understand what was goin’ on at the time, but I’m willin’ to try now.” Ever watched as she sat down on the side of the tub, she looked down at the towel in her hands. “So, why do you do it?” She looked at Ever, who pulled the towel around them. 

They looked away and gripped the edge of the towel as they spoke through gritted teeth. “I don’t know. It makes me…feel” 

Their hair dripped onto the floor as Tesla straightened up and locked eyes with them and said. “Feel what?” 

Ever avoided eye contact as they mumbled. “Just feel.” They pulled the towel around them as much as possible, trying to disappear into it, as they said, perhaps a little too harshly, “Can you just drop the subject?” 

Tesla looked down at her hands before shrugging and saying. “Fine. Just remember that you can talk to me if you ever need to.” 

Tesla stood up, pulling off her shirt, causing Ever to flinch and cover their eyes. “What the hell are you doing?!” 

Tesla turned to look at them, shirt halfway down their arms. “I’m gonna take a shower. Since I’m already here, so if ya could just hang in there for a bit, I promise to be right quick.” She turned back around, pulling her pants off, and Ever had to force themselves to look away from the scene unfolding before them. 

Ever listened as the water was turned back on as they began to dry their body as best they could. They ran the towel over their body before pulling it up over their head, ruffling their hair. Only to look out of the corner of their eyes to see Tesla in full view. Water slid over her body as she washed her hair and Ever turned their head away, blush creeping across their face.

‘Keep it in your pants, Ever.’ Ever thought to themselves before looking down and remembering that they didn’t have any pants on. They reached for the clothes that Tesla had set on the counter, grabbing the shirt and shook it open, pulling it over their head. The fabric brushed against their legs as they put their arm through the sleeve. The water stopped just as Ever pulled the pants from the counter. They watched as Tesla rubbed the towel over her body, their mouth slightly ajar, the pants hanging loosely in their hand.

The sound of laughter broke whatever trance had taken hold of them and was followed by Tesla saying. “Like what ya see?” Ever shook their head and reaffirmed their grip on the pants. They leaned down and began to struggle to put their pants on when a pair of breasts came into their view. 

Ever stared at them as Tesla slid the pants over their legs, and they muttered. “I’m so gay.” 

Tesla’s head shot up, brows knitted together. “Did ya say somethin’?” She asked as she looked at them.

Ever’s felt their face flush, cheeks a deep red, and they shook their head, sputtering. “No, I mean, yeah. I said I’m so good. Like really good. Like the goodest I’ve ever been.” They forced out a laugh and Tesla nodded, obviously unconvinced as she continued to pull up the pants. Ever pushed herself up, allowing Tesla to slip the pants over their ass. 

Ever stared down at the ground as Tesla got dressed and spoke. “I’m gonna have to clean up the kitchen, but I’ll take ya back upstairs first.” Tesla walked over to Ever, placing a hand on their shoulder, “‘kay?” They gave a short nod as Tesla moved to grab her coveralls before moving back to the toilet. 

Ever’s eyes followed her as she turned around and crouched down in front of them. “What are you doing?” Tesla glanced over her shoulder. “I’m gonna carry you on my back. Easier that way.” Ever wrapped their arm around Tesla’s neck as tightly as they could manage, as she stood up, looping her arms around their legs. She let out a ‘hup’ as she hiked them up onto their back. 

The pair slowly moved out of the bathroom and made a beeline for the stairs. The walk up the stairs was spent in silence, with Ever trying to get a better grip on Tesla to keep from falling backward. 

Ever’s ride came to a stop when the door to a room opened and Jaxson walked out. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “It’s all set up in there. You can go ahead and set her down in there.” Ever clenched their fist and ground their teeth together, unable to bring themselves to say anything. Was it from a lifetime of being told that what they felt wasn’t real, or was it that they were simply done correcting people on something that they’d never bother trying to get right? 

Ever closed their eyes when Tesla spoke up. “Them.”

“Huh?” Jaxson spoke, looking somewhat confused.

“They're a them not a her.” Ever opened their eyes and watched as Jaxson scratched the back of his head. 

    Jaxson let his hand fall to his side and muttered off to the side. “Sorry. It’s all ready for them.” He enunciated the last word as he pushed past the pair. 

Tesla moved forward, glancing at Ever as she spoke. “Sorry 'bout that. Jax can be a real jerk sometimes.” She came to a stop in front of her door and continued. “My nickname for him is actually Jerkson. Haha, get it. Like Jaxson, but with a Jerk instead of a Jax.” She laughed a little too hard at her own terrible joke as she opened the door, and Ever couldn’t help but smile. Her energy was infectious in a way. Ever noticed the was a small-worn cot on the floor with a flat pillow placed near the top. Tesla turned around, placing Ever onto the cot, which creaked under their weight. 

“Is this…” Ever placed their hand on the cloth part of the cot and bounced slightly, causing it to squeak. “...safe?” Tesla walked back inside the room now carrying some blankets. 

Tesla set them on the cot, looking thoughtful before shrugging. “Probably. If ya want, you can sleep in my bed.” Straightening up, she placed her hands on her hips, “Would be comfier, fer sure.” Ever already felt like they were imposing and taking Tesla’s bed from her just seemed to be too much. Tesla tilted her head to the side, “Well?” 

Ever shook their head. “I’ll take the cot. You can keep your bed.” 

Tesla shrugged and walked toward the doorway; grabbing the door by the handle. “Sleep tight.” The door closed, leaving Ever alone in the room sitting on a creaky cot, unable to leave, even if they wanted to.

Letting out a sigh, Ever pulled the blanket over their legs and up to their shoulders as they laid down. The pillow was flat and the cot uncomfortable, but they closed their eyes anyway. Lying there, they felt the beginnings of sleep creep into their mind as they thought sluggishly. ‘I could get used to–’ 

The rest of the thought was lost as Ever’s mind was claimed by sleep.