His body leaned heavily against the wall, his breaths coming out in short, shaky pants. Fraser had been sitting under the running water for hours - maybe even a day now, he wasn’t sure anymore. The water that had once been warm and welcoming had turned cold as ice long ago. It froze him to the core. And he was tired. So tired.
All he could remember was the stern voice of his captor; “Stay here, don’t even think of moving until i come back, is that understood?”
Of course it wasn’t a question, it was a demand - an order.
So he stayed, and he tried not to fall asleep until Brooke had returned. Just like he was told. But he was so tired, he couldn’t help it when he fell asleep for… well, he didn’t know how long. The light hadn’t changed and the water was just as cold as before - maybe less, he couldn’t tell.
Fraser waited, and waited, and waited until finally - finally - the door opened with a metal groan. Fraser wanted to move, he wanted to sleep, he wanted to get out of here, but he kept himself from reaching out as the footfalls neared - the horribly familiar thud-click, thud-click of Brooke’s heavy boots that he’d experienced the weight of on more than one occasion.
When that deep, scratchy voice was heard over the running water, Fraser almost felt happy.
“Well now, i’m surprised, pet. I’d assumed you would have gotten out by now.”
When Fraser didn’t respond, the villain felt a hand tangle itself into his soaked hair and give a sharp tug. However, the only response Fraser was able to give was a weak whimper.
“So you are awake,” Brooke hummed, pulling the villain closer to him,  “Interesting. What’s wrong, dear? Did you finally lose your fight, hm?”
Fraser didn’t have to be fully conscious to know how smug the supervillain was as he let himself be dragged to the edge of the bathtub. He vaguely noticed that the water had stopped.
“Oh my, you’re so precious when you’re like this, my dear.” Brooke said, pressing a warm hand to Fraser’s face. Fraser wanted to flinch away, to show that he was still defiant, but the heat made him stop. It felt wonderful and he had to force himself not to move closer.
The next minutes passing in a blur for Fraser, his head was numbed and it felt like it was only half-functioning. He remembered Brooke saying something, talking idly as Fraser remained silent, his face blank and weary.
Brooke had told him that he did a good job staying put, and that he deserved a reward for listening so well. Brooke had brushed his hair and dressed him in something much nicer than he’d been in before. It was a deep plum color, almost looking black at times, and it was soft and light on his shoulders.
When Brooke stood him up, letting him lean against his captor for support, Fraser blinked and looked over at the supervillain. “Were we goin’?” he managed to ask, his mind was still not entirely there.
“It’s a surprise,” Brooke said, guiding Fraser out of the room alongside him. “Do you really think i’d let you sleep in that cold, dark basement when you’ve been so good?”
Fraser shook his head slowly. It felt like a trap, but he didn’t want to go back down there, he didn’t want to go back there again.
Many turns and doorways later, Fraser was led into a small room. It was smaller than the basement, but it was much nicer.
There was a small bed and an equally small dresser next to it. It wasn’t much, but it was better than being strapped to a chair for the next god knows how long.
Fraser was led over to the bed and he looked over at Brooke nervously. Brooke only smirked and gestured towards the bed, to which Fraser cautiously let himself sit on the bed. The springs didn’t creak as his full weight was put on it. He ran a hand over the sheets. They weren’t that soft, but it was better than the hard wooden chair he’d been sleeping on before.
“What is th-this?” Fraser asked quietly.
“This will be your room now,” Brooke responded, raising a hand to run his fingers through Fraser’s hair, watching his eyes widen. “Now, you need to get some sleep, you’ve been awake for quite a long time now.”
Fraser nodded. He was tired, and confused, but mostly tired.
It took only moments for Brooke to leave the room, a quiet click of a lock sounding soon after, and then silence. Fraser looked around the room for a while. He noticed that there was no light switch, it was always on, and the ceilings were higher than in the basement.
He was sure that he would pass out as soon as he laid down, but he was wrong. Guilt suddenly began to crawl into his mind, the thought of Tanner down in the basement, alone, waiting for him to not come back. Did he think he was killed? Did he think that he’d betrayed him?
It was going to be another sleepless night for the villain as more thoughts invaded his bleary mind and the constant light made it hard to fall asleep as well.
