| [Dec. 26th, 2009|04:58 pm] |
"Tease!" Ryouma shouted after her. She laughed. Grumbling, he pushed himself off the bench again. The room tilted a little before it steadied itself. If he wasn't going to get laid, bath and bed was sounding like a very good idea.
Bath first. He stripped down there at the bench, grabbed a towel, a washcloth, and a bar of soap, and staggered behind another partition to find a shower-stall. Scrubbing clean took a little longer than usual, as he worked not to open the cut on his hip or ruin Katsuko's neat bandaging job. But eventually he was clean of grime and sweat and crusted blood, and he turned the water off and caught his balance again against the wall.
Bath now.
The towel went around his hips without a pause to dry off. He padded dripping to the door that led outside, eased it open, and stood for a moment in the chill wind and billowing steam. The hot spring was pleasantly laid out with tumbled boulders and shading trees; a wide ledge ran halfway around the bath, and a few stone steps led down into the water for those who wished to ease their way in. Ryouma shucked his towel and took the steps, hobbling like an old man. He hissed when the water hit his hip, but at least he was tall enough that his shoulder was in no danger.
And damn that felt good, as the hot water began to seep into aching muscles and soak away the strain. Ryouma collapsed onto the ledge, tipped his head back against the side of the bath, and started making plans to spend the rest of his life right there. |
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