Chapter Text
When any trace of the sun had vanished from the horizon, when the star dazzled the sky like a coat of perfect dust. When the gauntlet runner had grown quiet, and the rest of the crew drifted away to sleep, that was the time Hulkenberg could finally relax.
Glancing sideways out the study’s door, she could see that nearly everyone was asleep; Strohl was snoring quietly, His Majesty, the Prince and Gallica utterly comatose. Basilio was murmuring something aggressive in his sleep, and Heismay was certainly already away in his little tent on the top of the runner. Only Eupha was still awake, a tiny light still lit in her sleeping compartment, likely reading some text about Euchronian culture - or even more likely, she’d pilfered one of Junah’s sizable tomes about courtship. Hulkenberg had never been the most emotionally attuned person - sans towards His Majesty - but she silently uttered ‘good luck’ to the Mustari lass. Attempting to court His Majesty, well, if it’d been anyone else, Hulkenberg was against it; but the late King Hytholdaeus had sired the Prince with an eldar woman - who was she to say her charge shouldn’t be with Eupha?
Shaking the thoughts of young romance from her mind, Hulkenberg gathered her things and moved quietly through the runner, making sure not to disturb Neuras, who was blackout drunk, slumped over the navigation table. As she climbed the ladder to the deck of the runner, Hulkenberg once again savoured the quiet night that always soothed the consistent madness of their strange little party. Night was the time Hulkenberg could relax…
And Idlesday night, specifically for Hulkenberg, was bath night.
Hulkenberg was a modest woman, and for the most part, didn’t quite understand the hangups regarding casual states of undress, though she supposed that came from so much time spent working in the close-knit environment of the Royal Guard. They w But at the same time, everyone, even the aloof Hulkenberg, needed some alone time. His Majesty would go for walks, Strohol would train with the blade. Heismay would meditate in his tent, Junah would go out shopping. Eupha would be studying or reading, and Basillio would be doing all manner of odd jobs around the runner. For Hulkenberg, besides her occasional secret culinary excursions, she didn’t demand much alone time. Except on Idlesday night - for that was bath night.
As Hulkenberg stepped out into the night air, she exhaled as cool - but not cold - air met her skin. They were out near one of the major forests, south of the great desert that stood at the base of the capital. A sea of stars stretched out across the sky, lighting the darkness of the wilderness with a gentle glow that made the landscape seem almost safe . Even now, Hulkenberg’s superior eyesight could pick out a creature here and there, eyeing the gauntlet runner with no small amount of hostility, but the chance of attack was essentially nil. Hulkenberg understood better than most just how dangerous the night could be, but she couldn’t help but admire its deceptively peaceful facade - and bathing upon the gauntlet runner was a relaxing thrill few other vices could give her.
Of course, Hulkenberg was so entrenched in her Idlesday ritual, she’d sauntered up beside the large metal bath, eyes to the sky in gentle wonder without realising that the bath was already drawn, and steaming hot. In later days, she’d wondered how she’d dumped her bath gear and change of nightclothes and began to undress, before realising someone was already in the aforementioned bath.
And she’d look back in horror as she’d stood there, in genuine shock, topless and exposed, and she looked eyes with Junah Cygnus, her friend, her idol, and the woman she’d at some point irrevocably, unimaginably, had fallen in love with at some point in the last month.
There was a long moment of silence between the two women; Junah in the bath, knees tucked up to her chest, her nakedness mostly covered by an array of large, soft-looking bubbles; and Hulkenberg, stripped to the waist, top held tightly in one hand, very aware of the chilly wind and the fact that Junah’s gaze had slipped from her face, down to her small, modest chest. And then the moment shattered, and Junah started giggling .
Hulkenberg let out a gasp of genuine surprise mixed with horror, recoiling as if Junah had thrown a haymaker in her face. Why was Junah in the bath!? Junah
knew
that Idlesday night was Hulkenberg’s bath night. Junah knew that it was the
sole
time Hulkenberg wished for herself. It wasn’t that Hulkenberg was
mad
to find Junah there, radiant as ever, in the
raw
; it was just the
why
. Why was she here, and
why were they both just staring at each other that way!?
Hulkenerg tried to say something, anything, but nothing could break through her genuine shock. Not even, as a more grounded woman would, put her top back on.
In the end, it was Junah who managed to somehow say something,
anything
.
“Oh, goodness, H-Hulkenberg, I’m…” She tried to cover her mouth to stifle the giggles, but it was too late. Hulkenberg felt a scarlet blush creep across her face (and the rest of her torso, for that matter), and she covered her exposed chest with her top, arms otherwise wrapped around her front for modesty. “I’m sorry, is… is today Idlesday? I thought it was… isn’t it Flamesday?” Hulkenberg heard the words, but her eyes were unfocussed, unable to tear her gaze front he sight beside her.
“J-Junah, what.. I, I mean, how are…” Her normal calm, collected speech and vocabulary had been shattered, and even basic sentences began to escape her. “It is , Idlesday, yes.” Well, at least she’d said something coherent.
“Blast!” Junah swore, looking genuinely apologetic. “I swear it was Flamesday! I even thought it as I came up to get in! ‘You’re sure it’s Flameday, Junah? You sure!’ But of course, I didn’t take the minute it would take to go check the calendar, and well…” The songstress performed the complex feat of stretching out arms to underline her point, whilst still remaining submerged in the foggy bathwater. “Here I am. In the bath. On, um, your bath night.”
“Y-Yes, i-indeed you are, Junah.” Hulkenberg replied dumbly.
Hulkenberg, now that her eyes had adjusted better to the half-light of the lamp by the tub, became very aware of the swell of Junah’s chest emerging somewhat from the layer of bubbles coating the water. It took all her well-defined will to tear her gaze from the exposed cleavage, but she was pretty sure Junah hadn’t noticed. Despite that, Junah adjusted her position in the bath, her golden-blond hair - already soaked at this point- wrapping around her front to hide her emerging cleavage. Either way, shame burned its way through Hulkenberg’s lanky form, shame ill-suited to the otherwise honourable warrior. She shouldn't be standing here in Junah's presence - it was wrong, and shameful to her friend’s modesty.
‘So much for being relaxed in the presence of nakedness.’
Hulkenberg’s brain noted with some (unintended) humour.
‘I saw my fellow comrades nakedness a hundred times, and never once had it phased me
.’ On the other hand, Hulkenberg hadn’t fallen in love with any of them. All the more reasons for her to get
away
from this situation, lest she lose control of her good sense in the presence of such beauty.
Junah was still watching her, red-faced, trying to hold in further laughter, and Hulkenberg realized she was both staring, and not explaining.
‘Talk, you thrice-damned harlot!’
Hulkenberg screamed internally, and finally, she found her voice.
“I’m sorry, Junah, t-truly, I apologize for intruding upon you like this, I-I-I-” She couldn’t get any more words out, and she turned away, reaching down to grab her belongings.
“Hulkenberg!” Junah called out, freezing the roussiante in her tracks. Hulkenberg didn’t quite know why she stopped; this situation was already growing untenable, and she would’ve been best to make a hasty retreat. And yet, still half-naked, she crouched there, waiting to hear Junah out.
“Y-Yes?” She managed to say.
“I’ll be honest - I forgot what day it was, nothing more! We’ve been on the road so much, we’ve been so busy chasing up this bounty or that, and I totally lost track of time!” Junah giggled again, somewhat deprecatingly. “Silly me, forgetting such a dear friend’s schedule, not like myself at all!” Hulkenberg let out a long sigh, standing back up properly, before turning to face her submerged friend. Somehow, she actually managed to keep her gaze on Junah’s face. “I am really sorry, I don’t want to make your uncomfortable…”
“Tis truly no bother, Junah.” Hulkenberg murmured, visibly relaxing. “I was simply so lost in thought, that seeing you there, in all your…” She swallowed, deciding to skip picking a word. “...That I simply lost my composure for a moment. Again, though.” Hulkenberg gave a stiff bow - making sure to hold her top still tighter against her chest - eliciting another, much calmer, giggle from her friend and idol.
“You don’t have to… but if you insist.” Junah said. She settled into the water a little more, the steam giving the songstress an almost ethereal look. There were another solid few moments of silence, one in which Hulkenberg wasn’t quite sure what to do next. Was that her sign to leave? Was Junah going to depart momentarily from the bath, considering it was Hulkenberg’s chosen night for bathing? Junah just continued to smile her dazzling smile, giving Hulkenberg another reason to be rooted to the spot. Hulkenberg was a woman of honour, after all, but she did find it hard to pull her gaze from Junah’s bright, upbeat features… and everything else emerging from below, too, much to her shame.
Finally, after what was probably a couple of minutes, Hulkenberg decided that no one was going to say anything, and she should really get to work on that hasty retreat.
“I… I suppose I should be getting back. Likely another early start, and all that, no?” She reached down to grasp her belongings again - again, ready to remove herself from this dreamlike scenario - but fate wouldn’t let go that easily.
“Oh, you shouldn't have to go!” Junah cried out, and Hulkenberg felt a mild stab of annoyance.
‘Then why didn’t you say such during all that silence!?’
She mentally groaned. Thankfully, she kept control of her otherwise sharp features.
“I-I’m sorry, Junah, but it is ‘tis true that one could catch quite the chill up here, and as much as I’m grateful, it’s ungainful for one such as me to be simply waiting around for you to finish your bath, and-” Hulkenberg run-on sentence was interrupted by another one of Junah’s pitch-perfect giggles.
“You’re quite the silly one sometimes, Hulkenberg!” She laughed. “I’m not going to make you wait around for me!” Hulkenberg cocked her head. What
was it
about this songstress where she never quite got the heart of matters.
And
why
hadn’t she put her shirt back on!? Hulkenberg let out a little groa of frustration, which Junah seemingly, and thankfully, didn’t hear.
“I’m sorry, Junah, but please, speak plainly, for I simply don’t seem to understand.” Junah rolled her eyes in that breathtakingly
alluring
way, the way she’d buttered up pretty much every performance attendant she’d ever had. “I came up for my bath, but if it shall remained occupied, I’ll simply postpone it for another day.”
Junah just flashed another dazzling smile - which somehow annoyed Hulkenberg further - before clearly choosing her next choice of words
very
carefully.
“Simply put: Now that you’re up here, there’s no point wasting your trip, or have you sitting around waiting for little old me.” Junah said, nodding to the water. “Come on, you’ll fit.” Hulkenberg frowned, blinking a few times as she tried to make sense of this dreamlike - or was it nightmarish? - situation.
“Pray, Junah, could you say that again?” Hulkenberg asked, needing clarification, lest her mind was playing tricks on her.
“I said, silly girl, to stop standing in the cold and get in! It’ll be a little bit of a squeeze, but I think there’ll be plenty of room for the both of us once you’re in, and you won’t have to stand there freezing your…” Junah’s face reddened, but Hulkenberg couldn’t be sure if it was from embarrassment or another oncoming fit of the giggles. Either way, she had bigger problems.
“You wish to… bathe together?” Hulkenberg murmured. Junah nodded with perhaps a tad too much intensity.
“I feel we’ve been lacking a certain amount of rapport in recent weeks.” Junah told her. “I’ve found sharing a slightly more, well, intimate setting, for lack of a better term.” Hulkenberg’s heart fluttered a little bit, but she couldn’t possibly accept such a proposal. For one, bath night was her night, but that was the least of her issues. She wasn’t even sure if they’d both fit, and there was the most… intrinsic, more base issue. Hulkenberg, as a matter of honour, should just walk away.
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
Because, when Hulkenberg thought about it, it really wasn’t that bad, now was it? She’d bathed with both men and women before and during her time in the Royal Guard; compared to them, Junah was a dear, dear friend, her closest, in fact, apart from Strohl and His Highness. Certainly there was the matter of Hulkenberg’s inevitable attraction to the songstress, but… despite those rapidly deepening feelings, Hulkenberg was a woman of honour. She’d never push past the vow of trust and friendship she’d forged with the songstress she’d admired. Women bathed together all the time! It was a perfectly normal practice between comrades. And so, even if hesitance still beat in her heart, Hulkenberg gave an almost imperceptible nod. She relaxed, even if she still clutched her shirt tightly to her breast.
“V-Very well, if it’s a matter of rapport, I’d be happy to accept.”
“Splendid!” Junah exclaimed, clapping her hands together in excitement. “It’s rare we get to spend a bit of quality time together, so this’ll be the perfect opportunity to catch up on all the latest gossip!”
“G-Gossip, you say?” Hulkenberg mumbled.
“Gossip, of the most stupendous, most important manner!” Junah said empathetically, which was somehow the most terrifying thing Hulkenberg had ever heard.