I turned, letting the lamplight catch on my still-damp hair. Renji flinched at the sudden attention. He was still in the tub, shoulders drawn in like a cornered animal.
"Honestly, Renji," I said, voice light, almost sing-song. "If you shrink any further, you'll disappear down the drain. That would save me the trouble, but where's the fun in that?"
I crossed the room, deliberate, barefoot steps leaving small, wet prints across the boards. I crouched at the rim of the bath, folding my arms across my knees. From this distance, I could see the tremor in his fingers as he tried to keep them still on the water's surface.
I stretched inside me, amused. Push him a little, I whispered to myself.
"You sit there, sulking, waiting for someone to fix you," I continued, tilting my head.
"Do you even know how easy it would be to pull you out and make you stand? Or leave you here to prune until you're nothing but wrinkles and apologies?"
His gaze darted anywhere but my face.
