The truth at last comment quieted Levi for a brief moment. He was considered very well off in his country, and he often bathed alone when Mordecai or his brother weren’t available. “I bathe with close friends and family of course. But, yes, I have heard the royal family does bathe alone. Yet another similarity between our countries.”
Fiori outright laughed. "Leviticus, I'm not… I'm not like my uncle. I enjoy being with the people, the staff, so I bathe with them. Here." He gestured to the rest of the bath with a shrug. "My uncle has his own chambers and baths upstairs, same as my mother did, but… I enjoy it down here. It's less lonely."
“I wasn’t implying you bathed alone, I only meant it’s not unheard of for the well-off to bathe alone in both of our countries,” he clarified. He looked at the rest of the bath Fiori was gesturing to. “I can see why you like it down here.”
Fiori nodded, looking a bit bashful. "Of course, Leviticus, I apologize. And it's really so much better when it's full. everyone's laughing and talking and the young ones are playing games." He smiled, all warm and goopey with affection. "You really feel connected to everyone, it's… beautiful."
Levi smiled at the thought. “That is beautiful… a beautiful concept. It seems like it would be very emotionally intimate, or at least a bonding experience with so many people. Although, it sounds very draining to me,” he chuckled lightly.
"I can be, at times, but it is… nice. People are kinder when they are comfortable, and nowhere is more comfortable than here." He smiled at Levi. "Take you for example. We're having a lovely discussion here right now because we have time to unwind and simply talk about what we wish."
Levi smiled back. “This is very nice,” he agreed. For the first time in several hours, his muscles were completely relaxed. “It may be wishful thinking, and probably unlikely, but I can at least hope everyday I’m here will be like today.
Fiori's smile flickered a bit but he didn't let it drop. "Believe me Leviticus, I will do everything in my power to make it so. Better, even, so long as I have time to talk with Dion and his… associates."
“Thank you…” His smile softened more at the promise. “I never saw the associates’ faces, but I would recognize their voices very well. If you need help identifying them.”
"That would be much appreciated," Fiori said, pausing for a moment afterwards to think about his next request "Before I go rounding up any suspects for the case, could you tell me what happened? I don't mind if you're not comfortable or don't want to share right now, but knowing the specifics might help me figure out who did it and what they can be charged with."
Levi’d demeanor gradually sank the more memories flooded back to the front of his mind. His mouth teased a frown while he chewed on his inner lip. “Well, now’s as good of a time as ever, isn’t it?” He finally replied. “While…most of the details are still fresh in my mind.”
"Hey!" Fiori reached forward to take his hands, squeezing comfortingly. "I don't want you to do it if it's going to be too painful, okay? The last thing you should do is upset yourself over those gobdawi." His voice was still reassuring and light as he spat out the insult in his own language, too busy making his point to find a good equivalent.
He took this into consideration, looking down at their hands. It did make him feel better. “It’s fine. I don’t think I can talk about it, though. I would prefer to write it, so then I can find the right words.”
"I can do that. Do you want me to be with you while you write, or would you prefer it if I ran some errands and left you alone?" Fiori was watching him carefully, wanting to ensure that Levi was as comfortable as possible.
“I prefer thinking in solitude so… I would prefer to be left alone.” He requested. His expressions shifted ever so slightly with his thoughts, which ranged from diluted pain, to contemplation, but still generally relaxed.
"Alright. I'll walk you to my rooms, and then I'll go see if I can help Cadmus down in the kitchens." Fiori spoke carefully, waiting every few seconds to see Levi's reaction and make sure his suggestions went down well. "How long do you expect it to take?"
Levi nodded along to every suggestion. He had no qualms with any of them. In fact, the plan sounded quite agreeable. “No more than an hour,” he guessed, “Probably less, actually, but give me an hour.”
"Good." Fi smiled and let go of Levi's hands, pushing himself up out of the water and then shaking off like a dog when his hair started dripping water down the back of his nack. "Do you want me to bring you something up from the kitchens?"
Levi followed Fiori out of the water very shortly after, reaching his hand up to his hair to make sure the majority of the braids stayed in place. “Nothing more than a snack, I’m not very hungry. Oh! Those chocolate covered coffee beans.”
Fiori laughed, grabbing them both towels and having one over to Levi once he was out of the water. "Sombody has a sweet tooth. We have other chocolates, if you'd like something a little less bitter."
He wrapped the towel around himself, clasping the ends in front of his chest “I don’t mind the bitter of the coffee beans. But surprise me anyway. I won’t complain.”
Fiori laughed. "I know you won't. You're one of the most agreeable people I've ever met." He gathered up his clothes, not bothering to get dressed while his underthings still dripped water down his thighs. "Fresh clothes will be in the room to the left, yours will be wrapped in a black scarf with silver roses along the edges. I can wait out here for you to change."
“Oh, wonderful,” Ge looked over to the left. “I’ll be right back out, then.” He offered Fiori a grateful smile and began walking over to the room. He pulled the towel tighter around himself as the air seemed to get colder while he walked.
Fi quickly stripped out of his wet clothes when Levi left, wrapping the towel around his waist and making sure it wouldn't fall right of the second he started moving around. After a couple minutes of waiting, he figured Levi would be dressed enough for him to at least grab his clothes, even if he had to change in the baths.
Levi located his clothes rather quickly, and after patting himself dry with the towel, he pulled on the fresh outfit. He fixed the area around his shoulders where the clothes stuck to the places that were still damp. He was dressed within a few minutes, and went to meet Fiori out in the baths.