Chapter Text
A hot bath was definitely what he needed. Well, with his expensive taste and absolutely luxurious bathroom, It was more like an actual jacuzzi. He sat and hummed, brushing out his fur on his face in front of the mirror while the tub filled with the hottest water a man could handle. Hot baths worked wonders on his overworked and tired body. It always helped him relax and change his mood for the better; He always left the bathroom feeling refreshed and happy.
He stood up from his stool once he noticed the water was at the right level. He walked over to the tap to turn it off, dropping the towel that was around his waist in the process. With a simple press of a button, jets started blowing out hot water and creating bubbles on the surface. He sat on the ledge of the tub and chuckled to himself. God, it always felt so nice when he spoiled himself like this, he almost felt silly. Like a kid on christmas, or like a king with a feast.
He gently dipped his toes into the water, slowly but surely submerging his body until he was relaxed completely against the marble wall. He of course was hesitant at first. Being the poster child of a feline he didn't much care for water, especially bodies of the stuff. There are of course other reasons for his not so irrational fear, ones that would be too painful to think about right now. Thinking of bad memories with water while sitting in water wasn't the best idea, so over the years he has taught himself to rid himself of those thoughts.
One, two, three pumps of shampoo into his hand was all he needed to get his fur feeling soft and fluffy. He softly rubbed the soap onto his arm. Getting used to doing things with a metal robotic arm was difficult, but it was the least of his worries these days. He quickly washed one side of his body so he could use his good arm to finish the rest. If he was to be honest, being clean wasn't his main concern right now, currently it was to simply lay in the bath and do absolutely nothing but relax.
Bubbles started to fill up the tub as he rinsed all of the soap out of his fur. He already felt much better than before. Leaning back against the tub he allowed himself to enjoy the hot water encompassing his entire body. All you could see from above the water was his nose and eyes, which were shut oh so delicately as he focused on his sense of touch. The warm water hugging him like a gentle blanket made him forget his troubles and feel safe and secure.
It was so comforting, in fact, that he soon found himself drifting off. The water stilled as his body completely relaxed. He fell into a calming sleep as all of his muscles relaxed. A dream very quickly appeared in his head; What felt like a thousand arms hugging him all at once, making him feel loved and safe. They roamed his body like the water did, and he laid limp in their grasp. But suddenly he felt himself sink. The soft hugging arms turning into violent hands, gripping his skin so hard it burned and pulling him farther and farther down.
The aggressive yet familiar hands pushed him forward, and suddenly his head was submerged in a giant bowl of water. He felt like he couldn't breathe, no matter how hard he tried. He couldn't move because the hands held him so tightly in place, he felt paralyzed and panicked. He couldn't even scream if he wanted to. Out of desperation he tried to suck any amount of air in, and a stinging pain all too real shot through his head and his body jolted awake.
He was entirely submerged under the tub water. He opened his eyes and everything was blurry. For a second he didn't recognize where he was, and that made him think that his dream was actually real. He still couldn't breathe, but this time he could scream. He scrambled to get out of the tub, crawling his way out and landing on the bathroom floor with a thud while screaming at the top of his lungs. He could breathe now at least, but his body wasn't allowed to feel such relief as his nose and throat still burned from inhaling the water.
He was wet and cold and his chest constricted as he hyperventilated. He still felt trapped as if he was under water. That's exactly where he thought he was, even though now he was entirely safe. He screamed and screamed for help, for the hands to stop, until his voice cracked and broke completely. So all he could do was sob. The outside world was drowned out to the point where he couldn't hear anything but the sound of his own heartbeat ringing through his ears. What had even happened? Were there still hands on, him holding him down? He felt like he couldn't move, so he assumed so. Even the banging on the door didn't phase him as he was too trapped in his mind to notice.