#okay but she totally gave claire a sponge bath right?

[sunflowerscottie]

Sponge bath, Claire is Verbal edition (which is uhhh edited but still less edited than the Claire is Nonverbal edition, which can be found here) under the cut. Enjoy!

(Please note that this isn’t smut. There is no smut. If you go in expecting anything to go anywhere, you will be disappointed! There is swearing because this is Resident Evil, but there is only a lot of pining and repressing desires because I’m a lesbian and that’s all I know how to write, apparently. Once again the Claire is Nonverbal edition, which is closer to canon, is here. It is also Not Smut! Thanks!)

The attack had left Alice winded. She was still getting used to that, the perceived weakness that came from being totally and fully human again. The attacker lay on the ground before her now. They weren’t undead, that much was for sure. The attack had been, well, not coordinated, but too coordinated for that. Alice nudged them over, careful not to get too close in case they were playing dead. Then her jaw dropped, lips parting in a soft gasp.

Claire?

***

Alice watched Claire warily from other other side of the fire. Night had fallen and it cast flickering shadows over everything, including the other woman’s face, which matched Alice for wariness. It had hurt, Alice had to admit, when Claire hadn’t recognized her. A lot more than she had expected it to hurt, too. She grimaced and shifted her weight, muscles twinging where Claire had gotten some good hits in despite the clumsiness of her attack. If Claire had been fully cognizant her attack—well, she probably wouldn’t have attacked Alice to begin with, unless it was out of frustration at Alice having been gone so long—would have been a lot more effective. Alice probably wouldn’t have made it out relatively unscathed.

“Hey,” Claire’s low voice came from across the fire. She still sounded wary.

Alice looked at her and arched an eyebrow. “Hey,” she replied.

“Any way I could convince you to untie me so I can clean up a bit?” she asked and tugged on the rope that anchored her to the defunct airplane Alice had made camp beside. “My skin is crawling.”

Alice tilted her head to the side, considering. Claire was filthy, there really was no other way to put it. Dirt coated every inch of her. It was caked onto her clothing—which had held up surprisingly well considering she’d been out there for only God knew how long—and into her hair. And there was the smell, which Alice was decidedly not going to mention, but which, if Claire’s wrinkled nose was any indication, Claire had clearly noticed. Then Alice evaluated Claire’s expression, which at first glance looked gently pleading but upon further inspection had an air of calculation to it.

“No,” Alice responded.

“Seriously?” Claire exclaimed, yanking harder on the ropes.

Alice arched her eyebrow and nodded her head in the direction of Claire’s efforts. “See?”

Claire huffed out a hard breath and cast her eyes to the night sky as she stopped tugging on the ropes. She inhaled and her chest expanded with the effort. “Okay. I’m calm.”

Alice snorted out a laugh. “Yeah, real calm.”

The glare Claire shot her could have killed a man. Thankfully, Alice wasn’t a man. “I’ll tell you what. We’ll compromise,” Alice said, pushing herself to her feet. She really did feel bad about leaving Claire in her current state.

“Wait, where are you going?!” Claire shouted after her, tugging desperately at the ropes again. Alice winced and tried not to think about the state of the other woman’s wrists from all of the pulling. “Are you seriously going to leave me like this?!” And then, after Alice’s continued silence, a slightly softer “Fuck!”

Truthfully, Alice did not want to leave Claire alone like that, but if there were any undead in the area, they would have shown up by then, and Alice wasn’t going to be gone very long anyway. She’d picked up the metal bucket from beside the fire, and there was a stream leading to the ocean, she’d seen it on her initial walk to the shore. She walked there at a quick clip and filled the bucket with fresh water before hurrying back to the campsite, where Claire had subsided into a sulk.

Claire immediately tensed when Alice entered the campsite, scrambling to push herself upright against the plane again. Alice stopped at the edge of the ring of firelight and peered at her with concern. “You didn’t forget me again, did you?”

“Ha ha,” Claire said, watching Alice’s every move.

Alice shrugged as she set the bucket up over the fire to let the water warm. She sat back down to wait. “It was a genuine question,” she said. “And clearly the answer is no.”

“What’s that?” Claire asked, nodding her head to the bucket.

“Water,” Alice replied, biting off a piece of jerky. “You said you wanted to get cleaned up, so.” Alice waved a rag in front of her.

Claire jerked her chin up at her wrists. “And how, exactly, do you expect me to get clean while tied up like this?” she asked.

“Well, if you let me, I can get you at least partially there,” Alice said. “It might not be as clean as you like, but it’s better than nothing.”

Claire froze, eyes flicking from the rag to Alice. “Are you joking?”

“No.”

“Like, a sponge bath?” Claire asked incredulously.

“Well, a rag bath, but sure.”

“No.”

Alice shrugged. “Okay, then stay dirty, what do I care.” Which was a bluff. She hated seeing Claire like this, uncomfortable and afraid. She could remedy one of those things, but she also couldn’t risk untying Claire and having her run off again. Not when Alice had just found her and especially not in Claire’s current state.

Claire’s chest rose and fell as her breathing quickened and Alice remembered why it had been so hard to let the convoy go on without her. Alice shook her head just slightly to clear it.

“Okay fine,” Claire said, shaking Alice back to the present.

“What?” Alice asked, surprised and suddenly nervous.

“I said okay,” Claire said, rolling her shoulders and shuddering. “I feel inhuman, so just, sure. Okay?”

Alice blinked. She honestly hadn’t expected Claire to agree to what she offered. “Okay,” Alice said, clearing her throat. “The water’s probably getting warm enough by now anyway.”

Claire nodded. “Right, sure.” Alice couldn’t be sure but she thought she saw a blush start to creep across Claire’s freckled cheeks.

The water was just on the warmer side of cool, so Alice went ahead and dipped the rag into it but left the bucket hanging over the fire so that the rest would continue to warm. Claire hissed a little when the rag met her skin, but Alice was gentle as she wiped the dirt from Claire’s face. At first it only smeared, and Alice was forced to wring some of the water from the rag so that it could actually scrape away the layers.

“This would be better with a scrub brush,” Alice murmured as she cleared the grime from Claire’s hairline and gently wiped over her eyebrows and around her eyes.

“Or you could just let me do it myself,” Claire said pointedly, her eyes fluttering shut when the rag got close. They opened again just as quickly, as if she was afraid to let Alice out of her sight.

Alice couldn’t blame her really. If their positions had been switched, Alice wasn’t sure she would let Claire get so close to her. For a brief moment, Alice wondered if she should have secured Claire’s legs before attempting this, but then she decided it would have worked against building Claire’s trust. It worked both ways after all, and hopefully Claire realized that the less she fought, the more likely it was that Alice would release her. Alice wiped along the edge of Claire’s jawline and down the side of her neck. Claire shuddered, and Alice pulled away quickly. Now it was Alice’s turn to blush, which she hid by turning back to the fire and dipping the rag into the increasingly warm but also increasingly dirty water.

“What about my clothes?” Claire bit out, as Alice resumed cleaning her neck, lifting her heavy red hair out of the way. Alice had been considering Claire’s matted, dirty hair when Claire spoke and froze, mind sputtering to a halt at the other woman’s question.

“What about your clothes?” Alice asked, dropping Claire’s hair and grimacing at the dirt that fell from it when she did.

“They’re disgusting,” Claire said. “What’s the point of getting me clean if you’re just going to leave me in them?”

Alice pressed her eyes shut, Claire couldn’t see her, so there was no need to hide the expression. “I’ll see what I can find,” she said.

“Are you going to dress me, too?”

It was Claire’s taunting tone that did it. Alice stepped around and then dropped so that she was crouched in front of Claire. “Do you want me to?” she asked.

Claire’s lips parted in surprise and she kicked out so that she was pressed back against the plane. Guilt and regret flashed through Alice at her intimidation tactic, but then she caught sight of something else in Claire’s eyes. Some expression that wasn’t fear. It was closer to excitement. Alice kept her face carefully neutral.

“I could just dump this water on you and let it do all the work on both you and your clothes,” Alice pointed out, amusement creeping into her naturally rough voice. She raised her eyebrows at Claire’s affronted expression.

“I’d freeze,” Claire snapped. And she had a point, outside the range of the fire, and honestly within it as well, the Alaskan night had well and truly set in.

“Then maybe we should leave it until the sun’s up,” Alice suggested, stepping away again.

Claire looked like she was going to protest, but then she shivered. Alice waited patiently for Claire to make a decision. Then, finally, Claire exhaled. “When the sun’s up,” she agreed, much to Alice’s surprise.

“Okay then,” Alice said, and she took the bucket off of the fire.

Claire’s position tied up to the wing of the plane couldn’t have been comfortable, not with her arms raised above her head the way they were. Alice considered the other woman, then, before Claire had a chance to react, Alice untied the part of the rope holding Claire’s wrists to the plane. Alice held it and looked at Claire, blue eyes meeting hazel.

“If I leave you untied from the plane,” Alice began, her eyes still searching Claire’s, “are you going to run in the middle of the night?”

Claire’s eyes narrowed just enough that Alice sighed and sat back. “Right, okay then,” Alice said, tying the rope to the plane’s landing gear. “At least you’ll be able to lie down now.”

There was a grunt when Alice turned away as Claire tested the new knots only to find them just as strong. A loud exhalation came from behind her and then Claire’s low voice called out, “Seriously? I didn’t even answer you!”

Alice laughed and turned back to Claire as she settled down on the other side of the dimming fire. “And what would your answer have been?” Alice asked, raising her eyebrows as she lay down on her side. As Claire opened her mouth, Alice spoke again. “Your honest answer.”

Claire closed her mouth again, fuming.

“Right. See you in the morning then,” Alice said, rolling onto her back.

There was an inaudible grumble and then, finally, silence.

***

Alice and Claire faced each other from opposite sides of the fire that Alice had revived soon after sunrise. Alice was staring at Claire with neutral blue eyes while Claire’s hazel eyes burned with frustration. “I don’t trust you not to run off,” Alice repeated. Between them, the bucket sat above the fire, water beginning to steam.

The muscle in Claire’s jaw was bunched. Her clean jaw, Alice felt like pointing out but didn’t. The redhead shook a dirty length of hair away from her face.

“Look, it’s cold, but we’re blocked here from the wind and I found clothes in one of the planes that should fit you,” Alice said. “I’ll untie you for long enough for you to get undressed, but that’s it. I can untie you again when we’re done so that you can put on the clean clothes.”

“This is ridiculous,” Claire bit out. Which wasn’t a no, Alice considered. “Fine.” Claire pulled at her wrists. “Let’s get this over with. For what it’s worth,” Claire said suddenly, something unreadable flashing in her eyes as she became very focused on Alice, “I won’t try to run.”

Alice blinked in surprise, but then she held Claire’s eyes and, after a moment, nodded. “Okay,” she said and saw Claire’s eyes widen ever so slightly.

The knot securing Claire to the plane came undone quickly under Alice’s deft fingers and the knot holding Claire’s wrists together met the same fate. Freed, Claire rubbed her hands over her raw wrists, wincing when her fingers brushed over broken skin. A hand clamped down on hers, and Claire looked up, startled to find Alice standing close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from the other woman.

“Stop, don’t. You’ll get the wounds dirty.”

Claire dropped her hands to her sides, feeling exposed. “Sorry.”

Alice shook her head. “Don’t apologize, we’ll clean them,” she said. Then she placed the bucket of water, now properly warm, beside Claire along with the rag. For a moment, Alice considered the rope, then she tucked it through one of her belt loops, leaving Claire free. “Strip. I won’t look.”

“Then how will you know if I run?” Claire asked. There was a teasing edge to her voice, but it was hiding her surprise.

“I won’t,” Alice replied, and she turned away leaving Claire feeling unmoored.

Alice’s heart was pounding, but somehow she didn’t think Claire could run. Besides, even if she did, Alice could catch her again. The lanky woman was quicker than the stocky redhead. Not by a lot, but by enough. The sound of clothes rustling and hitting the ground followed by a sharp gasp brought Alice back to the present.

“What?” Alice asked, half-turning before she could stop herself. She hadn’t made it far enough to see anything, just enough to let Claire know that she was paying attention.

“It’s fucking cold, that’s what,” came the response, and Alice chuckled before fully turning away again.

“It’s Alaska,” Alice replied. “The water’s hot.”

The aforementioned water splashed and there was the wet sound of scrubbing. Alice shifted her weight awkwardly, her back still turned. The longer she stood there, heat licking her cheeks, the more she thought that maybe she should’ve tied one of Claire’s hands to the plane again. All she had was Claire’s word, after all, and while that had meant a lot to the Claire that Alice used to know, there was no telling if that was the same Claire currently standing behind her with a hefty metal bucket within easy reach and no memory of their…their what?

It had been a friendship, Alice was fairly sure. The fast-developing friendship that came about in stressful life-or-death situations, but a friendship nonetheless. The heat in Alice’s cheeks grew. A friendship that, if Alice had read their interactions correctly, might have developed into something else if given a little more time and air to breath.

“Hey.”

Alice shook herself and half-turned again. “Yeah?”

There was a soft shuffling and then Claire cleared her throat. “I can’t reach my back,” she muttered so quickly that Alice almost missed it.

“I-what?”

A pause. “I can’t reach my back,” Claire said, enunciating each word so crisply that it sounded physically painful for her to say.

All of the breath whooshed out of Alice’s chest in a quiet exhalation. “Okay?” she said uncertainly, resisting the urge to turn around entirely to see what Claire wanted. As it was, she looked to the side, just a little over her shoulder.

“Will you help me?” Claire asked, each word carefully formed. “Please,” she added as a begrudging afterthought.

Alice’s skin warmed from her chest to the tips of her ears, and a long stream of curse words started up in her mind because she knew that she was pale enough for the flush to show. “Of course.”

“Thank you.” Claire’s low voice sounded grateful, but Alice didn’t know what her expression said because she was keeping her gaze resolutely downward.

The rag dripped water onto the ground as it hung limply in Claire’s hand. It was dirty. Alice took it and wrung it out over the ground before dunking it into the bucket of water. Dirt swirled over the surface, and the water had cooled so that it felt tepid against Alice’s skin. She watched her hand as it held the rag below the murky water. Then, mechanically, Alice lifted the rag and wrung it out again to get rid of the excess water.

Claire stood in front of her, every muscle in her back tense and waiting. The woman’s pale skin was bruised and caked with dirt, a lighter layer where her clothing had protect her from the worst of the elements. It was all bare now though. Alice swallowed and began to clean the dirt from Claire’s shoulder blades in light strokes.

When the rag touched Claire’s skin, she stiffened, hands fisting at her sides, but as Alice continued to clean her off, the redhead began to relax little by little. Every time a breeze snuck into their corner, Claire would tense again, a shiver wracking her body as the cold air came into contact with her damp skin. Alice shifted them—Claire yelping quietly in surprise and protest—so that they were farther from the plane and closer to the fire and the warmth it provided. Claire shuddered, melting a little in the warmer air.

The muscles in Claire’s back were knotted and tense and after only a moment’s hesitation, Alice kneaded into them, pressing as she continued to wipe away the grime. A low groan escaped from Claire and Alice felt it in the lower part of her abdomen, coiling there. Alice clenched her jaw but continued, hands shaking slightly as each press of the massage drew forth another sound from Claire’s lips. The redhead arched her back toward Alice like a cat, though whether or not she was conscious of it, Alice couldn’t say.

Once Claire’s back was clean, Alice let her hands drift down Claire’s sides to her waist under the pretense of cleaning what little dirt remained there. There was hardly any left though. The only way Claire was getting any cleaner was with a bar of soap while fully submerged, and that wasn’t currently an option. Alice swiped the rag over the lower part of Claire’s back, tracing the divots in her back just above her ass. The redhead shivered, and there was a quiet crushing sound as Claire’s toes curled into the dirt. Alice dunked the rag again, but there really wasn’t anything more to do. She brushed the rag along the tops of Claire’s shoulders and right up along the back of her neck to her hairline.

“Thank you,” Claire said after they’d been quiet for a while.

Alice blinked. She’d been so focused on only looking at Claire respectfully. “For?” Alice asked, dunking the rag and then stroking it down Claire’s spine in little brushing touches, watching the water run down her back in rivulets.

Claire shifted her weight from foot to foot. “Helping me?” Claire suggested.

“With the bath?” Alice asked wryly, trying to pretend that she was completely fine with Claire Redfield standing naked in front of her.

Claire snorted. “That, too.” Then Claire’s voice grew pained. “I don’t remember what happened. I wish I could remember.”

Alice hesitated, then she placed a hand on Claire’s shoulder, and the other woman stiffened. Alice kept her hand there though, like a weight to anchor Claire. “Don’t push it,” she said, husky voice softening to a whisper. “It’ll come back. The important things. They’ll come back.”

“Know this from experience do you?” Claire asked with a humorless laugh.

Alice exhaled sharply. She was standing so close to Claire that she saw her breath shift Claire’s hair. “Something like that,” Alice said, refusing to prod at the void where the memories that hadn’t come back should have been.

“They’ll come back?” Claire asked, voice cracking in an uncharacteristic moment of vulnerability.

“Yes,” Alice said firmly.

“What were w–”

“What do you want to do about your hair?” Alice asked, taking it in her hands. She’d pushed it to the front of Claire’s shoulders to give her access to Claire’s back, but now it was the only part of her body that was still as dirty as it had been when Alice found her.

Claire glanced back at her, a flash of confusion and suspicion crossing her expression at Alice’s interruption, but then it was replaced by an expression of determination. “This,” she said simply.

Then Claire Redfield bent over, shoving her hips backward toward Alice, and dunked her entire head into the bucket. She reached forward and scrubbed her fingers through her hair, dislodging dirt and leaves built up from what had to have been months of feral living.

When Claire moved, Alice froze and then took a startled step backward as Claire’s ass moved dangerously close to her groin. Heat flashed through her, smothered with a self-reprimanding thought. Then it reduced to a smolder, a warmth that settled into the space between her legs. Which was, of course, exactly what she needed right then. Alice shifted, pressing her thighs together to try to get herself under control. C’mon, Abernathy.

There was a gasp as Claire finally came up for air, flipping her hair up out of the bucket. Alice flinched as droplets of water splattered across her, almost as effective as a cold shower. Then she reached over and grabbed a blanket, opening it to hold out to Claire. “Here,” Alice said, looking now that Claire’s body was blocked out by the blanket. “Don’t get dressed yet. Not until you’re dry. The last thing I need is you getting sick.”

“The things I would do for a hairbrush,” Claire muttered, wrapping the blanket around herself like a towel and running her fingers through her hair.

Alice raised an eyebrow and walked around the fire to reach into her bag. As Claire watched, Alice rummaged around and then whirled around, holding up her find. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Red,” Alice said, holding up a slightly battered hairbrush.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Claire said, reaching out eagerly.

Alice held it back, just out of reach, and Claire frowned. “I need to restrain you again,” Alice said apologetically. “Believe me, in your hands, this is a potential weapon.” Then, under her breath, “In your hands anything is a potential weapon.”

“I have a feeling the same can be said for you,” Claire said, raising her eyebrows. She held out her wrists, letting her elbows hold the blanket tight to her chest. Alice swallowed.

The skin on Claire’s wrists was still broken and raw, though clean, and Alice didn’t want to make that situation worse, so before she tied the rope around Claire’s wrists, she padded each one with strips that she tore off one of the thinner rescue blankets she found in one of the abandoned aircraft. Claire stood quietly and allowed it to happen, watching Alice’s face as Alice knotted the rope tightly, securing Claire’s wrists in front of her body.

“I’m surprised you let me do that,” Alice admitted, stepping back once she was done.

Claire tugged experimentally at the rope. “Well,” she replied, “I figure that you’re my best bet for surviving whatever I’ve gotten myself into. Plus, if you’re telling the truth, you know me. Also…” Claire trailed off, eyes searching Alice’s face with a slightly softer expression. “I don’t know. There’s just something…I think I trust you. Trusted you. Before this.” Claire cleared her throat and sat down on the ground close to the fire, shivering despite her blanket. “Goddamn, wet hair is cold,” she muttered. “You have the right idea.” She gestured to Alice’s dark brown jaw-length hair.

Alice reached up to touch the blunt ends of her own hair, no longer blonde from the desert sun. Then she picked up the brush and sat down behind Claire. Again, Alice felt the woman tense the moment Alice was out of her sight. Clearly, despite what she said, Claire didn’t trust Alice fully. That was probably a good thing. Alice would have been more worried if Claire had trusted her.

Claire hissed and yelped when the hairbrush almost immediately hit a snag and yanked at her scalp. There were so many knots. Ideally, Alice would have gone through with the end of a comb or something first, but as it was, she was lucky to have the brush, so she went through as carefully as she could in short strokes, working her way up from the ends of Claire’s hair and wincing when Claire made sounds of discomfort. The bucket of water, though now definitely dirty, helped. Alice dunked the brush when Claire’s hair started to get too dry to untangle, letting the water do some of the work. She wished she had conditioner or oil or something, but those were luxuries they hadn’t had in years.

Night was starting to fall by the time the brush was moving smoothly through Claire’s red hair. The parts of her scalp that Alice could see in the dimming light were angry and red from the brush’s abuse, but at least she wasn’t in danger of having to cut it all off. That would’ve been a shame. Thoughtlessly, Alice ran her fingers through the ends of Claire’s hair before she blushed, pulling her hand back as though she’d been burned. She cleared her throat and pushed herself to her feet. Claire half-twisted to watch her.

“We should get some sleep,” Alice said. Then she jerked her head at the plane’s landing gear. “C’mon. Let’s get you secured.”

Claire frowned, her eyebrows pushing together. “Are you kidding?” she asked, low voice rising in pitch and volume.

Alice raised an eyebrow. “As fond as I am of getting stabbed in my sleep,” she said, trailing off.

Claire let out a low sound that wasn’t quite a growl but got most of the way there. It was the only fight she put up as she let Alice tie her to the plane again. Alice loathed to move Claire, damp and naked as she was save for the blankets, further from the fire, so she let out a length of the rope. Claire blinked, surprised that she wouldn’t have to move, then she settled deeper into her blankets, closing her eyes. Then her eyes flew open again as Alice pulled the blanket partially over her head.

Alice jumped back, hands in the air. “Sorry,” she said, slowly lowering her hands again and taking another step away. “You just–Your hair is still wet. I don’t want you to get cold.” Her cheeks warmed and her blue eyes flicked away to find safety in the shadows around them.

Silence fell and Alice felt the weight of Claire’s gaze, looking back only when it didn’t let up. Claire was watching her, hazel eyes careful and considering. “Thank you,” Claire said only after Alice met her gaze.

Alice’s breath hitched in her chest and, like when she’d first met Claire, she found herself incapable of speech. Like then, she nodded without a word. They hadn’t slept together in the Nevada desert, merely side by side in the trucks, passed out in the front seats. Sometimes Alice wished they had, and that feeling translated to the odd emptiness she felt beside her as she curled into her blankets across the fire from Claire. However, now was not the time or the place. Not with Claire’s memory loss, and not when there wasn’t even a history there behind them. Alice wondered if it would be easier or harder if they had been together in the desert. She flexed her hands around the edge of her blanket and pressed her legs together, eyes slamming shut. A deep, ragged breath raced into her lungs.

“You okay?”

Alice’s eyes shot open again. “Hm?”

“I-” There was a pause. “Never mind.”

“Are you?” Alice asked, pushing herself up onto her elbows.

There was a shift in the pile of blankets as Claire shrugged. “Still a little cold. It’s my hair, I think. I’m fine.”

“You know,” Alice said after a moment, heart racing. “You never did say what you’d do for the hairbrush.”

Claire’s pile of blankets shifted again and the redhead’s pale face appeared in the flickering firelight. She held up her bound wrists. “Can’t do much like this,” she replied, raising her eyebrows. Alice sputtered and Claire laughed at her. Which felt…refreshingly normal. Almost like they were back in Nevada. Almost like Alice had never left.

Claire was going to be so angry when her memory came back.