#and whumpee having no idea how to react to that because?? its gotta be a trick right????

[lumpsbumpsandwhumps]

Even with their growing collection of wounds that throb in various degrees of pain, Whumpee does their best to feign sleep. It's hard to keep a lax expression and limp muscles when every fiber in their being was experiencing some sort of discomfort. Still, they tried. They didn't clench their fists until their whole arms trembled, they didn't squeeze their eyes shut, they didn't quicken their breathing...

So why won't Whumper hurry up and go away!?

Whumpee didn't need to open their eyes to know Whumper was still standing over where they had curled up on the floor, their menacing presence making itself known. Giving up the ruse now would only invite some type of punishment for outright ignoring Whumper, or perhaps they would 'awaken' to a teasing smirk that showed Whumper knew they were faking the entire time. Poor Whumpee couldn't even shudder at the thought lest their captor assumed they were coming out of slumber, ready to start the torment anew.

No, instead they heard the shuffle of fabric as Whumper dropped down to crouch on their haunches, a little closer in height to Whumpee's fetal position. Were they examining for a closer look, trying to determine if this was genuine sleep or unconsciousness, plotting their devious idea of how to bring Whumpee's nightmare into reality? The gnawing anxiety in Whumpee's throat that begged to be released in a whimper was almost too much to bear. Perhaps they should drop the act, get whatever Whumper wanted over w-

A warm hand carded through Whumpee's hair. Not roughly, not ripped through the knots or gripping the base of their scalp to yank their neck to the side. The fingers merely glided through, tucking a few strands out of Whumpee's face and smoothing the frizzier sections down with a couple pets. The same hand moved further down to cup their cheek, Whumper's thumb rubbing against the skin to wipe away the remaining grime that hadn't been washed off by tears.

God, Whumpee was just about ready to combust. There was no way Whumper couldn't feel the tension in their jaw from how tightly they were biting down. As much as they were trying to school their facial muscles into neutrality, the unpleasantness of this entire interaction had to be plain as day on their face. It was tempting to snap their eyes open and give Whumper a good shove backwards just to get them the hell away.

What kind of sick game was this anyhow? Who did Whumper think they were fooling with these sweet gestures? Whumpee knew what those hands currently caressing them were capable of. They had experienced far more pain than gentleness, the latter being nonexistent during their captivity. It was unlikely Whumper had a sudden change of heart, yet whatever taunting they were trying to bait Whumpee with was going on for quite a while without a punchline. There was no sudden pinch or verbal admission they knew Whumpee was awake, no thumb digging into their eye socket, no fistful of their hair being yanked up and slammed back down on the floor.

In fact, just a moment of soft touching later, Whumper withdrew their hand and...left. Footsteps faded back and out of the room, punctuated by the sound of the door quietly being shut behind them and a couple locks clicking in place to ensure Whumpee remained inside. It took another full minute of stillness before Whumpee had the courage to open their eyes and confirm they were indeed alone, no more marred than they had been earlier prior to their attempted nap.

How the fuck were they doing to get any rest after that?