Room 4, Rin's Travel Agency, Macalania
The shower ended up lukewarm. It had to be; too much hot water was scalding to Auron, too much cold made Raine's teeth chatter.
"I'll get out," Auron said and started to pull back the bleach-white shower curtain, propping a foot on the edge of the tub. The hair on his legs looked like inky streaks.
She tugged his elbow. "No, please."
Wet hair lying flat on his forehead, Auron arched an eyebrow. "I'm ruining your shower."
"Just let me turn up the hot a little." She turned and leaned over to fiddle with the faucet controls, the bite of cool spray on her lower back fading to a bearable tepid. Over her shoulder, she asked, "How's that?"
The rhythm of water beating on porcelain changed as he approached her. His hand pressed gently on her back, fingers splayed, his other hand slid around her hip. Then there was the velvety poke between her thighs.
"May I?" he rasped, kissing her back.
She grinned. "Again?"
Chuckling, Auron rubbed his scratchy stubble on her shoulder blades. "Can't keep up with an old man?"
Her jaw dropped playfully over her shoulder, resenting the implication her stamina was below average, even though she was feeling a little tender between her legs. Mostly the soreness felt good, but it was still an ache, suggesting some superficial vaginal tearing and chafing from their rough undertakings. But she wasn't about to be shown up and nudged backward against him.
"Hold onto something," Auron warned.
Shower over, Raine wrapped herself in a towel and secured it in place with a strategic tuck, noticing with a faint smile how red and raw her neck and breasts were from Auron's whiskers. Auron stood naked in front of the sink, running his towel under his arms and his amber eye met hers in the mirror, creasing when he smiled. As she walked by, gingerly on account of the recent ramming she'd received, Auron snatched her from behind and nestled his face in the crook of her shoulder. His curling body language suggested a fourth round.
"You're insatiable," she laughed.
"Would you like me to get you a potion?"
"What for?"
"What do you think?"
Raine slowly smiled in vague wonder. "...Really? I thought those were just for fiend injuries."
She could feel him smile on her neck as he murmured, "Potions cure all types of battle wounds."
She giggled. "I think I can handle it. Besides, my body knows how to heal itself."
"Not fast enough," he said and peppered the side of her throat with kisses.
She could get used to this Auron. But before she did, there were other matters pressing on her conscience, ever since Auron mentioned the promiscuities from his early life. She couldn't respect herself if she didn't at least bring it up. "I've been meaning to ask you something."
"I'll consider answering," he said, nuzzling behind her ear.
"Consider seriously if you expect to see what's under this towel again."
He chuckled. "What is it?"
She took in a big breath to brace herself. "I might be a little late on this, but...are you safe?"
Auron pulled back.
Oops. Too serious
.
Raine craned her neck back to see his expression, to get a sense of what he was thinking, but she could only see the underside of his jaw. Carefully, she said, "I've never lapsed on my yearly physicals. Have you?"
Behind her, he laughed. Hard. Her whole body shook with his deep chortle and she grinned uncertainly, unsure if he was laughing with or at her. His elbow came up to her throat as if to choke her, but the embrace was loose and affectionate. As he began to control his amusement, she felt the smack of a firm kiss on the back of her head. "I'm safe."
Realizing she had stiffened her posture, she relaxed against him. She was not looking forward to a follow up conversation had he answered anything different.
His whiskers prickled her cheek as he rested his face on hers. "From everything."
Before she could interpret that last part, Auron reached down and patted the towel where her belly was. She smiled dryly at her stomach. She hadn't even thought of that. Anxious to start her family, she had let her birth control run out shortly before her wedding at the Drake's house.
"That's a relief," she said, but it was perfunctory and sounded dreadfully hollow. She couldn't decide if it was because Auron was infertile or because she would be leaving the world childless. It was hardly fair to start new life when hers would be ending soon.
Auron's face shifted to look at her, no doubt sensing a change in her, and Raine rushed to change the subject.
"Did you happen to pack me anything slightly less suffocating to sleep in?"
"Nope," he said and sounded smug in spite of himself. "Go ahead and take the bed tonight."
Raine spun around. "You're not sleeping with me?"
"I'll be fine in the chair. You need your rest and I can't guarantee you'll get it if I'm in bed with you."
"We shared a bed once before and just slept," Raine reminded.
Auron started to slant his head in question, but the recollection of it hit him first and his lips quirked. "
You
slept," he said. "I was in my own private hell."
Little more than a year before her ocean-side wedding, Uncle Cetan died of a stroke. For the first time ever, Raine had to ask Colton from work to cover post-game interviews so she could be with her aunt at the hospital. Although Aunt Naya knew it was possible, she wasn't prepared to outlive her husband and took Uncle Cetan's death with difficulty. Raine was afraid to leave her alone until after the funeral. Raine spent so much time taking care of her aunt in those few days—the least she could do after Aunt Naya had taken her in—that she had little time to grieve by herself.
The first night back in the houseboat, Raine was prepared to cry herself to sleep, but even after she was cried out, sleep wouldn't come. She was physically and mentally exhausted from the last few days of funeral arrangements and meeting her uncle's family for the first time. It was a great relief to be home and she looked forward to going back to work and jumping back into her normal routine, but she couldn't seem to stop staring at the clock on her bedside table. Eventually she got up to make herself some tea, but found herself bypassing the kitchen and heading into Auron's room.
It had not been easy to get Auron to accept the room and she had to give most of the credit to the unusually severe monsoon season, but the room had formally become his only after they discussed the parameters of their living arrangement. On his first official night at the houseboat, Raine was going to make his bed for him, but Auron had assured her if his 21 years at the monastery had taught him anything, it was how to make a bed. Since then, Raine had only been inside the room a few times to collect his sheets for washing.
Auron was a private man, but he always left his door wide open. Better to detect noises, she guessed. Like the rest of the rooms at the time, the hard pink insulation and studs were exposed, but the brace remained for his sword and there was a hook on the back of the door for his cloak and she knew he kept the sword sharpening kit under the bed, but Auron was accustomed to living austerely and had few personal items. On the unfinished floor was a narrow slant of artificial light, which came in through the gaps in the privacy curtains. Although she had tried to be quiet, Auron rolled over in his bed when she came in. He was lying on top of the covers and still had on his leather cuirass, but his glasses were on the nightstand. It was too dark to see his expression.
She had no real idea why she was there. Probably, she would have asked Auron if he wanted tea because she was going to make some anyway, if he hadn't already grabbed the edge of the blankets and lifted them as a silent invite.
Jory had made an appearance at the funeral, held her hand during the service, but there was more to death than just the funeral. It was Auron who stood with her at the hospital, helped her select a tasteful coffin, and stayed within reach during the repast meal after the funeral. Of course, it was his job to watch her, this was not lost on Raine, but when he offered his bed to her, she knew he would have been there even if he didn't have to be.
As she crawled into his tiny bed, he scooted over to give her room and wrapped the blankets around her. His bed was warm and so was he as his comfortable weight behind her put her at ease. If she hadn't been so tired, she might have spent half the night fretting about her next move, but she was tired and fell asleep almost instantly. He remained above the covers through the night and was still there in the afternoon when she finally woke up. However, he hadn't been there the entire time. He had left briefly to call the network and inform her boss she was taking one more day off and then went to buy fresh bagels for breakfast. He had managed to sneak back into the bed without her waking, which couldn't have been easy since his side was against the wall.
"I have a faint memory of waking before it was light," Raine said, situating the towel around her body. "Were you stroking my hair, or did I dream that?"
"To be honest," Auron said, gravelly and serious, "I thought that whole night had been a dream."
Raine's laugh was nervous, sounding more like a maniacal cackle as she tried to downplay what was probably the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to her. In a million years she never thought Auron would say something like that and she distrusted its authenticity. "You finish up in here. I'm going to see what I can find to sleep in."
"Wait," he said and picked up the garter still sitting next to the sink. He slipped it into her hand. "Put this on."
She ran a hand through her wet hair to gather it for a ponytail.
"Not there," he smiled. "Put it on where it's supposed to go."
"Why?"
He darkened. "You'll see."
Raine turned to leave but was stopped in her tracks by a loud
crack!
as Auron swatted her ass. Smiling incredulously over her shoulder, Raine was speechless as Auron grinned at her, triumphant, and went to the sink to turn on the faucet. She definitely liked this Auron.
Dropping her towel by the dresser, Raine sifted through the top drawer, which was full of socks and underwear. Raine realized most of it was clearly meant for her, since of course Auron didn't wear underwear, and even if the brief style was practical and lacked frills, they were new and came in a multitude of colors. Coming across a bra, Raine held it up for inspection, noting it was just as plain as the other articles, but had an underwire and was curiously just her size. Raine suspected Auron had gone through her drawers back at the houseboat while she was at work. The second drawer was filled with more hastily folded pants and tunics, an abundance of wardrobe options.
"We're not taking all these clothes with us, are we?"
"We'll take only what we need. In Besaid, after you've completed your first trial, you'll be fitted for Summoner's habiliments," Auron called from the bathroom.
