ON: The Miharu's public bath
Tom winced as Yukari worked through the kinks in his back. "I work hard because it is required of me, is it not? It is what I am here for and what I have trained to do. Nyton, although he may be a larger person than me, does not have the technical expertise to perform the duties I can, nor do I have the abilities to do his job. Ack." Yukari had popped a rather large muscle in his back. Tom winced as his back jolted a little.
Yukari's hands were slowly trailing downward, the minor spasm from Tom a necessary evil if she was to put his muscles back in some order. "He should be cross-trained," she said quietly, finding another particularly bad knot. "And you should have been allowed to rest some. Ichigo-san and Nimura-san can do the work." Her hands were very firm with him.
"Nngh, you know that's unreasonable, ma'am," Tom said between grunts. "Let our strategist make the life-and-death decisions without having to worry about fixing an electrical board or rerouting a circuit. Ichigo and Nimura are capable sprites, but they're still young. They need someone to direct them... just as you give direction to the entire crew."
"I do not do that," Yukari said matter-of-factly, the noises coming from Tom making her lose her focus some. "I direct the Miharu; the Taii directs the crew." She took just a few seconds more to work out another knot ... then sighed a little. Tom's backside was now massaged and soapy. Yukari took her cloth and soaped it again, then filled a bucket full of cold water. She poured it slowly over Tom's back to get all of the soap off, then pressed her body into it, warmer flesh against cold, and washed his front from behind. She was blushing, but she was serious about it.
"Oh, come on, have a little more faith in yourself," Tom cheerfully replied. "Ma'am, we all know we can rely on you in a time of need. Give yourself some cre-daahhH!" (c)
The cold water made him jump a bit in his seat, his golden yellow hair slapping his back and spraying bits of cold water everywhere. But then the coldness was replaced with the warmth of Yukari's body, which made him purr a bit. "Am I wrong to think that I find this strangely arousing?" He grinned stupidly.
"Be quiet," she replied in Japanese, tone empty of any sternness. "You are too tall for me to do this very well, and I do not want you to be cold." It did not help, of course, that Yukari's fumbling with the rag from behind Tom was much less efficient than, say, being in front of him. But her skin was warm. Her mind felt betrayed by her body, which was unfortunately reacting to the treatment she was giving him. She dragged the soapy rag over his chest, scrubbing here and there.
Tom relaxed his body into Yukari, sliding down the stool until his head rested on her left shoulder and he could catch a glimpse of Yukari's cheek. "Does this help you, ma'am?"
His hair meshed into the Neko's body, the thin strands at the bottom gently tickling her.
Yukari had been doing well enough. Now she was doing much worse, Tom's long curtain of hair sending little jolts of feeling through her belly. "T-thank you," she said, trying hard not to look down into Tom's eyes, focusing on the rag as best she could. She quickly finished with his chest, then said, "I must wash your lower half."
Tom could feel her body quivering, just a little.
"Lower... half?" Tom quickly read into those words, as well as the shiver of Yukari's body. "Are you ok with this?"
"I... I don't want you to feel like you're obligated to do anything that makes you... uncomfortable."
"It would be uncomfortable for me to bathe with a man as dirty as you," she said, again with no sting at all. Yukari was trying so hard to be ... something! She did not even understand. Modest? Proper? Professional? Those words meant nothing. She pushed him back more straightly onto the stool, cleaned the cloth and soaped it again ... then began to wash his legs. Slowly. The cloth dragging over every hair on them, Yukari's eyes firmly planted on it and nothing else. She had started on his right leg first.
Tom smirked at the retort. "You have a charming way with words, you know?" He tried his best to be professional as well, as he took an extra bar of soap in his right hand and began scrubbing at the oil on his arms. A small inky pool was forming on the floor. "But you are definitely right."
"I know I am." The same voice, trying so hard not to be honest. When she got to his feet, Yukari sighed at how dirty they were, and really wiped them down. The other leg was done shortly, and then ... then she was in trouble. Her face visibly did not change, but many parts of her brain were seeing the limit of their abilities as she gently took him into her cloth-protected hands and soaped that portion of him as well. It was only right, after all.
"Y-Yukari!" Tom gasped at her forwardness, wriggling backwards a bit from her touch, but not enough to actually pull away from her. The soap fell to the floor. "I-I don't know if I n-need help there, too!"
"You were washing your arms, which are soiled with oil and blood! It would ruin the cloth." She was a bit hurt, and it showed, but she did not try to start again.
Tom saw the hurt in Yukari's eyes, which tore his insides. "I-I'm sorry," Tom muttered apologetically. "I'm just a little wired right now." He stood up and offered his hand to her, smiling warmly. "Please, let's enjoy a bath... together."
Yukari looked at that hand ... then looked up at him. "Yes ... but, I must, ah ... one moment." She took his hand to stand up, but then went to the bucket again. She tried not to think about what had just happened as she filled it. But she had instead to think about what she was going to do. "This will be cold," she said soberly, as she took the bucket full again of cold water and went to face him. "I will be swift," she said calmly, floating enough off the ground to get the bucket to the top of his chest. "Be still," she said, and then the cold water came down slowly over his body, washing the soap off.
"Eeeek!" The girliest voice that would ever come out of Tom Freeman just erupted from him. The squeak soon melted away into hearty laughter. "I've been away from Ralt too long!'
Yukari's entire mood seemed to change on the squeek. Her face broke apart into a silly, amused grin, then she laughed a little, coming down to the ground. Freshly washed ... his body was ... was ... Yukari wanted to push the thought away, but couldn't. She instead took his hand. "Come. We should warm you." She dragged him toward the bath.
"Ok then!" Tom didn't offer any resistance to Yukari, quickly dipping into the bath beside her. As his hair floated on the water behind him, he looked a little more feminine. "It feels like FOREVER since I had one of these."
Yukari normally liked to keep her hair up in a bath, but this time she was in too much of a hurry to be warm, and be near Tom. Her wavy locks trailed her. "Mmm." The warmth of the water was just perfect, but she was impressed by Tom's ability to go from cold to hot so fast. Ralt has made him an impressive man. she thought cheerily. "The Taii knew what we needed."
It didn't take long for Tom to wrap his arm around Yukari's shoulder and give her a little squeeze. "She sure did... thanks for everything." He stared ahead and sighed contentedly.
Yukari blushed, but let her head nuzzle Tom's neck some as the pair sat near the edge of the bath. "I enjoyed it," she said timidly. "But your back feels better?"
"Oh yes it does, ma'am," Tom replied as he tilted his head to rest on hers. He enjoyed the feeling of her breath on his body and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "You've made me feel like a new man."
The silly, terribly pleased grin returned to Yukari's face. He was happy with her, and that was a good feeling at a time when no one seemed to have the time to be happy at all. And he was close, and warm, and strong. She could feel the muscles of his side and his legs against hers. "I did not do that," she said. "I cleaned you. It was the proper thing to do. Your back benefitted."
"Oh, I meant it in more than one way," Tom mused playfully. "I do remember confessing my love to you a few days ago as well. That's more invigorating than a thousand back rubs." He ran the fingers of his left hand gently up and down her arm.
Yukari blushed furiously, her hand rubbing his leg by instinct, not by choice. "I did not forget ... I -- love you too, Tom." The words barely came any easier than when she had first said them. But they felt just as good.
"You're cute when you're shy ... " Tom whispered back as his fingers ventured down the side of her frame. "And I like it when you blush."
There was nothing to focus her eyes on. It was not helpful as she felt his fingers tease the side of her frame under the water. "That is not a thing to say to an older woman," she giggled, a little nervous. This was not what she had expected -- it was what she'd hoped for.
"If you're old, then I must be ancient," Tom replied. "But, for an older woman, you've taken good care of yourself." He emphasized that last point with a quick squeeze of Yukari's thigh.
Yukari did not believe she actually uttered a little moan at her thigh being touched. It was quiet, nearly under her breath, but it was easy to hear in the echoing bath. "Mmph!" was the sound she made. A two-second silence followed. "You are making fun of me," she said, trying to chide him and utterly failing.
"So? It's easy!" Tom's hand wandered further until it found its way on Yukari's perfectly-smooth stomach. His fingers tapped her flesh in a circular motion, teasing and tickling at the same time. "Don't say you don't like it."
"That is not fair," she pouted, the touching of her stomach not helping her focus her indignation at all. "I am easily aroused -- " Yukari's lips clamped shut at the realization of what she said. "Ah -- I meant -- " Hopelessness ensued.
"This goes in the same vein as wanting to have my intercourse, right?" His mouth was always making jokes, but his hand spoke a much more seductive volume, as the fingers on his hand began to slide up the pathway between Yukari's breasts...
Yukari's eyes became half-lidded, her breath momentarily unsteady on Tom's partially exposed chest. "You are terrible," she pouted, hand tightening on his leg. "Always -- ah! -- terrible!" She could barely get her voice to rise above a few decibels.
"I guess I have a knack for it..." were the last words out of Tom's mouth before he took Yukari's lips to his own and pressed deeply.
Words were quickly drowned. Yukari's body was locked into the kiss and made even slower by all the warm, warm water around her. She hesitantly kissed back, but fell deeper into it within seconds, her other arm wrapping around his body. His lips were always so soft; it was deceivingly good each time, yet her body knew it was so much better than her brain immediately allowed her to think. She pressed herself more into his side, turning herself on further and continuing the cycle downward.
