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John's sweet, crooked little smile is the last thing Martin sees before he lets his eyes fall shut, and he smiles himself, continuing to think of that expression like a particularly pleasant afterimage. Then John gets to work, and Martin sighs softly once before falling into an utterly contented silence. John takes his time, as thorough as he is gentle, and it's about the most perfect feeling Martin can imagine, the soft scrub of his fingertips, the luxuriant care of the task. Christ, it's exquisite. Perhaps it goes without saying that no one's ever pampered him like this, but it's not even the novelty that strikes him. It's how unsurprising it really is. Over time, as they relax deeper and deeper into the shape of their life together, this sort of thing has just started to feel natural. Like something John would do.

When John pauses and makes his wry remark, drawing a hand away, Martin is slow to look. John's done a good job keeping any suds from his eyes, but it still goes against instinct to open his eyes mid-wash, and when he finally does blink them open it's a bit tentative.

The sight of all those suds, and the follow-up comment, startles another giggle out of him, and he dips his head down sheepishly.

"Mmm," he says, making a show of consideration, as facetious as he can manage while this worn out. He lifts a hand to rub at his slightly fuzzy chin — he often has a bit of scruff showing, but he prefers to keep clean-shaven where possible. He's not really capable of growing a properly full beard, so much the better as far as he's concerned. "Dunno if I'm feeling that adventurous," he concludes with a wry smile. "Dunno if you want to see me with a beard, either. It'd be like... a crime against nature, or... something."

His witty retort game is already on rather shaky ground compared to John, and now he's even more prone to just babbling nonsense than usual. He laughs, soft and sheepish. "Honestly, I've seen pictures of my granddad and I think I lucked out not getting those genes. I'd have looked an awful mess."