Bath

~*~*~*~*~

Kino awoke again, but this time there was a chill beside her instead of what she expected. She frowned slightly, burrowing into the pillows and curling up, then scowled deeper when she heard water running. What was he doing, taking a shower? Odd thing to do at midnight…

She blinked her eyes wide open at a touch to her shoulder, a gentle little motion pushing a strand of hair back from her face. She turned to look behind her, Tanji settled there on the edge of the bed smiling softly, wearing slightly loose black shorts, almost like boxers. They were just barely short enough when he was sitting there for her to see the tattoo on his left thigh. Kino turned over and curled up, laying her head against his leg.

“Going to shower?” she asked softly.

“Nope,” there was a smile in his voice, but not upon his lips as she lifted her head to look at him. And there in his eyes, that amusement he could never hide even during his most guarded times.

“I heard water… what…” she blinked as his hand slipped beneath the blanket and found the end of the shirt, slipping it all too easily over her head.

“You’re going to take a bath,” finally the smile upon his lips, changing his features entirely, making him actually look his age.

“I am n… Tanji!” she squeaked as he lifted her up from the bed.

“Shhh, you’ll wake the punk,” Tanji strode into the hallway, glancing to the living room before ducking into the bathroom, shutting the door behind them with his foot.

The small room was stiflingly hot, and Kino could see precisely why as she clung to Tanji unnecessarily – he could easily carry her. The bathtub was full of bubbly steaming water.

“Tanji…” she started to scold as he knelt beside the tub, trying to put her down.

“Let go, angel,” he was still smiling, waiting until she relinquished her grip around his shoulders to ease her down into the water.

Kino couldn’t help but release a pleased little gasp, the heat of the water melting away all nervousness as he laid her back. She let her head fall back, closing her eyes. Ooh this was so nice, the bubbles, the heat of the water, and some gentle and sweet smell. She opened her eyes slightly, questioning him.

“Lavender oil,” he answered softly without looking up, occupied with something beyond her vision, and she was too comfortable to sit up to see what.

“This is nice,” Kino admitted, closing her eyes again with a happy sigh.

She reclined there, not very long, when something odd touched the bare skin of her shoulder. It was one of those frilly sponges, made to feel like silk by something, ahh the lavender oil, definitely, and with a luxurious amount of soap lather. Tanji lifted her arm just barely from the water with his hand cupped under her wrist, running the sponge along her skin with exacting slowness. He turned her arm over and repeated the motion upwards back to her shoulder.

Kino watched him, a little tense even with the water. Tanji was entirely focused on what he was doing, lowering her arm back into the liquid heat to wash away the soap. Then he slipped up onto the side of the tub to lean over her, repeating the attention to her other arm. By the time he’d finished with that she was overcome with the pleasure of the sensations, laying her head back once more and gazing up dreamily, sighing when that arm fell into the water. She listened vaguely to him moving, realizing he was humming something quietly to himself. Kino couldn’t place the melody, but it was lovely.

She blinked when she felt his hand lifting her ankle, but slipped easily back into her reverie, just enjoying it. Tanji washed her legs up to her hips, slipping to her inner thighs, then his touch left her again.

Hanging by a Moment, that was what Tanji was humming. Kino smiled to herself, he seemed to really like that song, it meant so much to him. His touch returned, wet hand slipping to the back of her neck, the exotic smelling sponge sliding across the skin at the base of her neck, outwards over one side, then the other. Tanji’s hand slipped down from her neck, between her breasts, slipping his arm under the water to curl around her slender waist. He lifted her just slightly, arcing her back as the sponge followed the trail of sensations left from his touch to slide across her belly, her hips, along her sides, then finally up to her breasts.

Kino squeezed her eyes shut, moaning softly as he cleansed her chest, seemingly distant from his own actions, entirely attending to the cleaning. She caught a whimper before it could voice itself as all the sensations faded away, Tanji tripping the water to drain away. Then she found herself wrapped securely in a very large and comfortable towel and his arms, being carried back into the bedroom without a word.

Tanji laid her down gently, slipping under the comforter beside her, smiling softly as he dabbed at water beads with a loose end of the towel. Kino laid there, head resting in the crook of his arm, enjoying the warmth of the two of them and the feel of the cloth. She hardly noticed it when he parted the towel to pat at the moisture on her chest, shivered a little when he grazed the rough towel over her nipple. He may have seemed distant and removed through that entire episode in the bath, but it was obvious he truly hadn’t been.

“That was wonderful,” she reached a delicate hand from the towel to caress his face, stretching a little bit for a sweet kiss, very aware that the motion grazed her chest against his. “But why?” Kino ran her fingers back through his hair, nudging the hair tie completely loose and hearing it thud to the floor.

“Hmmm,” Tanji purred, capturing her lower lip alone in a kiss. “Cuz I love you,” he slipped one hand into the towel to her grasp waist and pull her closer.

“I think you tortured yourself more than you did me,” she whispered.

“Mebbe,” there was no maybe about it.

Kino smiled playfully, laying a finger on his lips and pushing herself away with a firm hand to his chest, turning herself onto her other side with the towel still tangled around her. She heard Tanji growl softly, scooting along the bed to sidle up against her back, pushing away her hair to kiss her neck.

“Why can’t you just go to sleep?” she couldn’t help smiling, was glad he couldn’t see it. Torturing him was so fun.

“Will if ya want me to,” he whispered in answer, nibbling.

Kino bit her lip to keep from giggling, that tickled, but she was determined not to respond to his attentions, “I don’t think you could if you tried.”

“Try for you if you say so,” he crept around to nibble at her ear, arm hooked around her and pressing against her belly.

“It’s your own fault, you started it,” she pouted quietly, there was a guilty creeping feeling, even if she was enjoying herself.

“Nuh uh… you started it,” Tanji argued without strength, seeking desperately for some kind of response.

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

“Did not,” Kino was weakening.

“Hn,” he surrendered the battle, managing to turn her onto her back partly, slipping a cradling arm behind her neck and bending to kiss her.

Damn, why did he have to kiss so well!? She tried to gather every last reserve of strength she had to put up a fight against that attack, but that failed quickly. Kino found herself kissing him back, arms tightly around him, making muffled little noises as his tongue curled around hers. Her heart was racing and her cheeks hotly flushed when he pulled away.

“You really thought I was going to just going to make you go to sleep?”

“I was gettin worried,” Tanji admitted, half-grinning. “I don’t mind a playful amount of torture,” he lightly kissed the tip of her nose, “but sometimes I worry bout pushin you too much.”

“You don’t need to,” Kino reached up to brush at his bangs.

“Hmm, just in public.”

Kino blushed in reflex and gave his chest a playful little smack. He giggled and bent to kiss that center hollow at the base of her neck, tongue making little pleasurable motions that made her whimper despite herself. Her hands kneaded at his shoulders, constantly amazed by the strength of those muscles. So strong and yet he was so small, seemingly frail… but the only thing frail about him was his heart, carefully hidden and protected little heart that he’d offered to her now, in exchange for hers – and probably just as delicate itself.

She turned her head slightly, kissing the palm of his hand as it slipped from its caress of her face. Callused hands that seemed too old, scarred arms of a time so dark, tense and toned body trained for fighting, angry eyes that told tales of pain beyond his own lifetime, seven marks each with their own story to tell, all concealed within a thick shield of black hatred to keep everyone away. How had she ever pierced through that to find that heart? It didn’t matter, all of it was him, and she loved every part.

Tanji slipped his hand down her side, across her hip and down to nudge away the towel and caress her thigh, so very slow and careful in everything he did. His mouth sought out the supple flesh of her breast, kissing nearly every inch before finally giving attention to the nipple, tongue slipping to caress it with exacting slowness.

Kino’s back arched just slightly, the true desire suppressed, obviously a control attempt on her part. His hand slipped upward from her thigh, finding the very center of her pleasure and touching carefully, rubbing with a gentle pressure. This time there was no control, her entire body going taut with shudders as she turned her head to the side to keep quiet against the pillow, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. A torturously slow circular motion of his fingers drove her completely into ecstasy. With her responding as she was, his own need was a blinding and fiery ache pressed hard against her thigh.

He paused and took a deep breath, causing the skin of her breast to quiver as he exhaled, gaining enough control of himself as he removed his massaging hand and slipped himself there. It was impossible for him to forget he had to be gentle, as painful as his need was. He grasped her waist with one strong hand, shoulder with the other as he arched up, sliding within at the same time. Tanji gazed down at her as she clutched at the pillow, having to bite his lip to keep himself quiet.

Kino looked so perfectly angelic, ethereal there in the moonlight, fire of her hair made that much brighter by the velvet contrast beneath. Her tension dissolved, that first resistance to him melting away and allowing him to slip deeper within her, finding that place that really made her tremble.

He closed his eyes and let his head fall back, just feeling. Her fire ki was pouring off her, blazing hot and engulfing him. And for that moment, reality consisted of nothing but the two of them, together, joined forever.

~*~*~*~*~

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