Title: bathing together
Rating: T
Fandom: Flowers
Relationship: Takasaki Chidori/Yaegaki Erika
Wordcount: 1100
Short summary: Erika and Chidori enjoy a ryokan’s onsen together, alone, for the first time in a while.
“Erika! It’s time to take a bath together!”
The first thing Erika does upon hearing Chidori’s call is look up from her book at a clock. 4 PM exact. She chuckles. “You’re so eager. It’s not like this is the first time we’re bathing together at an onsen.”
Chidori pouts. “But it’s been months!”
“Yeah.” Erika could probably give the exact number of days since the last time, if prompted, being basically their vacation manager. “Be less busy and we could do this more often.”
It’s not a denial of Chidori’s excitement, and of course Chidori knows Erika well enough by now to pick up on this. She clicks her tongue. “I know you were looking forward to this too.”
“I am looking forward to the food. Not enough to be dragged away from the middle of my book.” Erika merely makes a token protest; she’s already placing a bookmark to mark where she left off in the book for later reference.
“Erika…”
Chidori is impatient. Erika sighs. “I know. We need to beat the crowds.”
Booking a ryokan in the offseason is nice since they don’t have to fight for space or time in the onsen. But any additional person in the onsen can make things awkward, once they realize Erika is disabled and needs to be carried everywhere inside by Chidori. Some people just…stare. Some people try so hard not to stare. Really the bigger concern should be Chidori being a minor celebrity, but so far no one has come up to them asking…
Erika manages to place her book gently onto the table before she is lifted into her wheelchair. Chidori has already packed their basket containing their yukata and obi; she puts that basket on Erika lap before wheeling Erika out of the room. It’s two floors up to the onsen area, and the empty elevator is promising.
“I can’t wait to soak,” Chidori remarks as they enter the designated changing area. She stops Erika’s wheelchair in front of a pair of empty cubbies close to the end and then steps aside to stretch her arms out to the side and back. Erika watches as her muscles flex. “It’ll do wonders for my back muscles.”
“Yeah, the ones that hold up your boobs.” The words leave Erika’s mouth before she realizes what she says.
“Erika!” Chidori looks a mix of happy and offended.
Erika looks away, down at her lap. “They are wasted on you, generally,” she mutters quietly. As a dancer, having breasts that are too large is a physical hindrance, and Chidori often has to wear a compression bra for performances. So Chidori’s comments are legit, but it still doesn’t make them sound any less than complaining about diamond shoes. Especially when they look good…
“Generally?” Chidori, of course, doesn’t let that last bit slip past. “What do you mean by that, Erika?”
Erika starts unbuttoning her blouse, refusing to answer that. “Let’s get inside the bath already,” she says in a fluster. She pointedly does not look up at Chidori or at Chidori’s breasts, even if it is obvious from her actions what she feels about said breasts.
The moments of silence that pass while they both strip out of their clothes are a relief, but only temporary. Once they are both naked and Erika lifted into Chidori’s arms to be carried to the washing area, Chidori decides to continue the conversation. “Aww, Erika, you can always touch them if you want.”
“Shut up, Chidori.” It’s hard for Erika to say that forcefully when she’s still being carried in Chidori’s arms.
Chidori laughs. “It’s just fair since I touch yours all the time.”
“Chidori…”
Erika sighs as Chidori finally places Erika down on one of the stools. Erika grabs the handheld showerhead and starts rinsing her body. She’s relieved when Chidori just plops down on the stool to the right and starts cleaning her own body, instead of following up her words by touching Erika’s breasts. If they were in their apartment, on those days when Chidori really wants to dote on Erika, such shenanigans would occur even though there isn’t quite enough space with their handicap bathtub. But if they take too long in the washing area, they might not get prime spots in the onsen.
And that’s the mission. They don’t tarry in rinsing their bodies and quickly move on to the next part, the part where they soak their bodies in hot bath water, while facing out looking at the mountain view. Of course Erika gets set down first and settled in, with Chidori sliding in next to her a moment later.
“Ah…”
Erika snorts although she really can’t begrudge Chidori’s loud exhale of bliss. The water is hot but not too hot; perhaps the other bath to the left is set at an even hotter temperature. This one is maybe 38C? Which is good enough for now especially compared to the otherwise lukewarm air temperature.
“Even better when it’s just the two of us.” Chidori looks over at Erika. “First in the bath, and I get you all to myself.” Her left hand reaches out and grabs Erika’s right. “I can never get tired of this.”
Erika doesn’t mind a little sentimentality. “Yeah, you’ve been enjoying this for like—”
“10 years!”
Erika blinks in surprise. That isn’t the number Erika expects to hear. She had been trying to count back to the first time they took a trip as a couple to a ryokan, not the first time they ever bathed together. “Are you seriously counting from our academy days?”
“Those were really important for us!” Chidori pouts. “How was I supposed to get closer to you otherwise?”
Erika laughs. It is funny to think back upon that…upon Erika’s resistance to having Chidori bathe with her. On only wanting it to be Dahlia…on wanting to keep her distance from Chidori, from many others at the academy. But growing closer to Chidori was life-changing, and Erika has not a single regret about that.
“Well, we’re here now.” Enough time being sentimental. “Can we just enjoy the view?”
“And relax our muscles!”
“Yeah…”
Erika gives Chidori a smile before looking up at the sky, at the mountains, at the roofs of the buildings on the other side of the street. She doesn’t need to look at Chidori, because they are still holding hands, and even if they weren’t… Chidori is here, as her partner, as her only one…and that is definitely, even if Erika will never say this out loud, the best part of bathing together here at this onsen.