The Cardinal Bird (1 of Cardinal Series)

Chapter 39

A/N: News of my death have been greatly exaggerated ;-)  also, just managing to post this within my weekly update parameters!! My phone has been glitchy even after deleting and downloading the app to my phone again.  It's working now, so I can give my fast responses to comments again!! Also, shout out to @SincerelyAQueen for the super sweet call out in her story! 

"Sang," Gabriel nodded his head as if mentally sounding it out. He was probably oblivious of my reaction to the way his deep voice said my name, drawing it out until it sounded foreign and exotic. "I like it. Alright Sang," he put his hands on his hips. "They've done a good job with your sponge baths, but they can't really wash the hair that way, so we're going to do that first."

I tried not to focus on the fact that this man was talking about baths with me. It might make my head explode. "Um...but Agent Grinley said--"

"That motherfucker can certainly try to get past that door," he pointed back to said door. "But I can guaran-fucking-TEE that he won't make it."

I pushed my lip in. I really didn't want to be caught in a state of undress and marched out the hospital that way. Agent Grinley had seemed deadly serious at the threat. Besides, it didn't matter how I looked if what Karl had said was true. I was going to be interrogated. It wasn't like I would care about my appearance then. "B-but--"

"No buts," he said. "I don't know if you know but you've got at least twenty Academy people out there. And not just out there because this is the Academy hospital, but out there watching over your door. Every fucking person that went over there to get you or helped out with the mission is smitten with you, and you don't even know it."

More about this illustrious Academy. I was trying to piece together an idea about it in my mind.

"Somehow, you've got them wrapped around your petite fingers. The hardass Henley team, who as far as I know only really knew you while you were unconscious, Axel's team, my team, of course...even the Princesses are out there just because they were debriefed on the mission to go get you. They've never even seen you. But just the same...and why the hell not? You're fucking adorable."

My eyes got big at the compliment. I tried to deflect. "Princesses?"

He took my hand in his, tying something around it that I instantly recognized: Kaz's bracelet. I didn't even notice it was missing. Too much had happened. I had to wonder if Gabriel truly recognized the weight of the action because he did it with such nonchalance as he continued to talk casually. "Yeah, they're one of our international teams. Call them Cardinal Birds, not sure why cardinals, but I know it's because they speak a lot of fucking languages. Anyway, everyone calls them the princesses because they all look like Disney characters."

So, not actual princesses. I fingered the rough twine, staring at it thoughtfully. All of the information that Gabriel was unwittingly sharing with me about the Academy was somewhat of an overload. There wasn't anything that couldn't be on the table at this point, including team members being real-life princesses.

"But look at me, spilling my guts out."

I let out a tick of disapproval, accusation, and amusement. "You just want to try Agent Grinley's patience."

He grinned unrepentantly. "Have to have patience in the first place to be able to test it. Come on, let's get you in the bathroom."

He helped me sit up. It hurt to move again, but once I got moving, it was a lot easier to manage. My feet padded across the cold, polished tiles into the bathroom. Gabriel gave me some privacy to use the restroom but warned me to knock when I finished so that he could do my hair himself.

That was an unexpected request, but I didn't argue with him. He was a force to be reckoned with. He had told Agent Grinley to his face that he didn't like him.

I knocked after I'd finished in the shower and donned the gown once more, and Gabriel pushed his way in, just barely giving me enough time to move away from the door. I was getting the feeling he didn't do anything by halves.

"Sorry! I'm such an idiot. I keep forgetting you're in the hospital for a reason. I should've been more fucking care-"

"It's okay," I said, shuffling back and forth. I felt incredibly vulnerable in nothing but the gown while he was fully dressed. In the room with everyone else, the only person he had been taller than was Grinley, but shut in this small space with him, it was painfully obvious that he was still very tall and muscular, especially compared to me.

"Well, alright. Sink," he said. It was a lot less loquacious than I was used to hearing from him. He sounded like he was having a hard time stringing together his normally creative sentences.

I went to the sink and leaned over it. After a moment, he moved up to join me, placing a coarse hospital towel on my shoulders that scratched at my skin. It smelled heavily of commercial-grade laundry detergent, but just over the top of that I could smell something...delicious. It was a mixture of pine and spices. It had to be Gabriel.

He fiddled with the taps until he was completely satisfied and then pushed on my upper back a bit to get me under the spray. The warm water trickled through my hair, cleaning away the grime with it's path. It felt heavenly. I actually groaned when Gabriel added a scentless shampoo to his hands and started massaging it into my scalp.

Gabriel paused his ministrations, pulling an involuntary whimper right from my throat. Instantly he started back in with his light scratching, lathering, and pulling. I groaned in satisfaction, entirely pleased that he had started back up.

Gabriel coughed and shifted next to me.

I paused. "Are you uncomfortable? Does it hurt to hunch over me like that? I could stand up while you're--"

"No!"

I jumped, but stayed where I was.

"Fuck. Sorry, sorry. But, no. Stay where you are. If it's not hurting you, it's not uncomfortable for me." He mumbled something under his breath.

"Really, it's no problem." I went to stand up again, but he pushed me back down with his forearm since his hands were sudsy.

"Sang, I promise you. I'm not in any physical pain from reaching down like this. Just stay still," his voice sounded strained.

I didn't really believe him--the pain was clear in his voice, but what could I do?

He maneuvered my head back under the water, running his nails across my scalp to rinse it.

He coughed again. "I have a leave-in conditioner with me that should help with these knots. It's not scented or anything, but it'll have to do."

"Thank you," I said. The last time someone had washed my hair had been when I was little...when my mother still loved me.

He helped me up to pat out some of the water with the towel before he coated my hair in the conditioner from a small, unlabelled bottle. He noticed me eyeing it, so he shrugged. "I make my own hair products. Usually, I add scents in, but I keep an unscented one in my bag for emergencies."

"That's..."

He gave a laugh that sounded derisive. "Weird? Obsessive? ...gay?"

I met his eyes in the mirror, studying him as he avoided my eyes for once. "Impressive."

His jaw dropped, his hands froze, and he studied the back of my head before his eyes flicked to mine in the mirror. "Impressive?"

I looked down, nodding. "Maybe you haven't read the back of a shampoo bottle lately, what with your fancy homemade soaps, but there are a lot of ingredients in there. It can't be easy chemistry to get the mixtures just right. And the scents? You add those too?" At his nod, I smiled a big smile at him. "Impressive."

His breath caught in his throat. "Trouble," he said, staring at my face still.

"Excuse me?"

"You're trouble," he said.