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Eloise was used to the strain of fencing practice. Fencing was not an easy sport, after all.
But even the Ultimate Fencer could get exhausted, especially since fencing tournaments were coming up in a week. She had been training much more for them recently.
However, extra training came at the cost of much more of her stamina, and by the time she was finished, she wanted nothing more than to return to her dorm room.
So when she finally returned, she flopped face first onto the bed and practically sunk into the mattress.
After about what felt like a couple minutes of silence, the sound of her bedroom door opening came to the fencer’s ears. Curious, she turned her head slightly to the door.
The person who entered through the door was none other than Eloise’s(somewhat strange)roommate, Eva.
Eva looked as stoic as she always did, but upon noticing Eloise, her eyebrows raised, a common tell that she was surprised.
“You really wanna do your best at the tournament, don’t you?” Eva asked, having known about the event.
“Mhm…” Eloise hummed, not exactly possessing the energy to talk.
The fencer then tried to get herself into a comfortable position, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.
“If you’re stiff, I can help,” Eva said, staring down at Eloise. “Damon once told me about a massage technique he uses on Kai whenever he’s stressed.”
“Damon knows how to massage…?” Eloise questioned with a raised eyebrow.
“Apparently,” Eva replied tersely. “Anyway, he taught me how to do it. If you want, I can massage you.”
On one hand, Eloise was hesitant. She felt…odd about the thought of Eva massaging her.
But on the other hand… she was tempted.
“Okay…” Eloise said, slightly nervous.
The fencer then began to prop her head up with her arms while Eva climbed onto the bed. Eloise could feel the mathematician move behind her before straddling her from behind.
Eloise stayed completely still as Eva began to knead her shoulders with her thumbs. She could already feel some of the tension leave her body.
After about a minute, she felt Eva’s hands move lower before kneading again.
As Eva continued her massaging, a faint blush dusted Eloise’s cheeks. She wasn’t used to this kind of physical contact.
Yet she found that she didn’t hate it, either.
Eva continued her kneading of Eloise’s back for about 5 minutes before stopping and backing away slightly.
In response, Eloise slowly got up into a sitting position as she rubbed her back.
The tension that was there before was completely gone.
“Huh. That helped a lot. Thanks, Eva,” Eloise said with a small smile.
Eva remained stoic, but nodded. “No problem.”
“Though, I’m curious. Why did you offer to massage me to begin with?” the fencer asked.
Eva went silent for a moment, twiddling a strand of hair between her fingers.
“I’m not sure. I just saw you enter the dorm exhausted, and I just felt compelled to help you, so I followed you to your room,” Eva replied.
Although Eloise was still confused, she didn’t exactly want to question Eva’s choices.
“Um… okay?”
A moment of silence passed, and then Eva got up from the bed.
“I’m going back to my room. I’ll be there if you need me,” she said.
And with that, Eva left without another word.
…
Eloise sometimes had difficulty understanding Eva. The mathlete was certainly strange at times.
But in a bizarre way, it was endearing.