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"Ugh! My project just got moved up by two days! What kind of class moves up their due dates? Isn't it usually pushing it back?!" Saya grumpily sat on the couch with Jun beside her, reading a book.
"Is this the one you've been complaining about all month?" Jun threw her a glance, her gaze just barely seen above the pages of her book.
"Yes… I've been dreading this so much. It's just too confusing! 'Cause what do you mean I have to make a whole 10-minute 'short' film about 'the existence of life'? I'm not a philosophy major!!" Saya cried out, and crumbled dramatically onto Jun's lap. She seemed to be wallowing in her sorrows, so Jun ignored her for a few moments, but then caught a glimpse of Saya's pleading eyes looking up at her.
Sigh… I can't ignore her...
Jun put her book down on the table and pats Saya's forehead as she scrunches her nose.
"….. I have an idea. How 'bout we go on a small break? Just a night out. Maybe it'll help you relieve some stress and maybe also give you some inspo." Jun rubbed Saya's ears, Saya nuzzling her cheeks into the soft palm of Jun's hand.
"Hmmmm sure…. I could always use an excuse to procrastinate! Where do you want to go though?"
"I was thinking… maybe a trip to the hot springs?"
"Wooow, Jun, you're becoming so adventurous! Is this my awesome influence rubbing off on you?" Saya playfully smirked at her. Jun didn't want to admit that being around Saya indeed made her a bit more daring, so she looked away and covered Saya's face.
"No comment- Ack!" A warm slimy sensation bloomed on her hand, and Jun immediately took her hand off Saya's face, revealing Saya's sneaky tongue and her smug grin wide on her face. Jun blushed a little too hard from the embarrassment, and hid her reddening face behind her other hand.
"Hah! You liked that! You weirdo…!"
"Y-you're the one who's weird….."
"And youuuu love me for that-!"
With a swift movement, Jun leaned down and hovered over her face, Saya's eyes widening and her speech abruptly ending. She was dumbfounded. Jun's light brown eyes were just a few inches away from her own. Saya's heartbeat raced faster as Jun drew out their tension a little longer before she felt Jun's warm hands wrap around her face. The other girl whispered, "……Mm, I guess I do," and pressed their lips together in a melting upside-down kiss.
~~~
The hot spring inn was hidden in a small town around the mountains. They hadn't visited this town before, but it was close enough for them to travel there by bus. The inn itself was cozy, the wooden beams creating an inviting atmosphere. Scenic ink paintings were scattered around the walls, and colorful lanterns decorated the ceiling. The receptionist sitting behind the desk was dressed nicely, her hair tied back in a tight bun.
"Welcome! How can I help you today?"
Jun answered, "Just one room for one night, please."
"Alright, give me a few minutes while I check you in." While the receptionist was typing away on the small computer, Saya side-eyed Jun and leaned closer to whisper in her ear.
"One room, huh?" Saya had a mischievous look in her eyes.
"I-it's cheaper that way."
"Riiiight. I know all about you and your cunning schemes."
"… We live in the same apartment."
"Whatever you say. I'll be watching out for your advances with one eye open-"
"Advances?!"
"I know who you are too well, Jun; don't even try to play dumb with me! Because just so you know, I have a whole list and kept track of all the times you-"
"Ahem."
The receptionist coughed lightly. Her eyes looked slightly annoyed, and her smile seemed forced. Both girls jumped at the sudden sound; they hadn't realized that the receptionist had finished checking them in.
"My apologies!" Jun hastily bowed her head. She quickly took the key cards laid out on the desk, stuffed them into her pocket, grabbed their luggage, and shuffled Saya into the hallway to find their rooms as she yelled a hurried "Thank you!" back at the receptionist. Sweat drops rolled down her forehead as she searched for their room number.
"Sooooo impatient, Jun. I know you wanna get it on already~" Saya teased as she lagged behind the black-haired girl.
"Just help me find our room…"
"Heheh, okay!"
As much as Jun enjoyed playing around with Saya when they were alone, she still felt so anxious when Saya was flirting with her in public. It wasn't like she was ashamed of their relationship, but she was overly conscious of what people could potentially hear, and wanted to keep all of Saya to herself. Saya, on the other hand, always got a kick out of teasing Jun. She loved poking at all her different sides; flustered and confused when they were outside, then confident and bolder when they were in private spaces.
When they finally found their room, they first unpacked their bags, and then they quickly showered. About twenty minutes had passed, and they felt fresh again.
"Wanna hop in the hot spring now that we're clean? We can eat dinner afterwards, unless you're hungry right now?" Jun suggested.
"Nah, I'm good. I just wanna see you naked already."
The room was dead silent as Jun stared back in lieu of a response. Instead of thinking of something to say, her imagination was spurred on by Saya's comment, and Jun's ears grew red.
"Come on! Don't tell me you weren't thinking the same thing." Saya teased.
"N-no, I wasn't! Besides, we see each other naked all the time!"
"Well, I want to see you naked in this context!"
"We— no. You. You are not going to do anything suspicious while we're in the hot springs."
"Hey, targeting me specifically? Let's not forget who the real perpetrator here is…"
"I thought this vacation was supposed to be inspiration for your project?"
"Don't switch the topic! B-but anyways, I get inspiration when I'm horny!"
"Right…" Jun chuckled sarcastically and tossed the bathrobe to Saya. "Let's head down already, you freakster."
~~~
They both made their way to the women's bath in their robes. Beyond the two small curtains was the hot springs, filled with hot women. Just a few minutes ago, Jun was fully confident about entering the hot spring naked, but as they stepped closer, her composure slowly dropped. By the time they located their lockers to put their shoes in, Jun was mentally freaking out.
Hhhhh should I just go in with my robe? That's not weird at all, right? But didn't I already just assure her that I was going in naked?
She glanced over at Saya, who was waiting for Jun to make a move first.
"Are you going in with your robe?" Saya quietly asked.
"… Umm… I'm still thinking about it…"
"It's okay if you're uncomfortable. But," Saya peeked through the curtains to where the hot springs were, "most women in there are not wearing anything. Don't worry though, I'll do what you do, 'cause I don't want you to feel awkward."
Ahh, Saya's making an effort to appeal to my insecurities. I know that it's not weird to be naked, but I'm still anxious about…
"I-I'll wear… my r-robes in…" Jun nervously stuttered.
"Why so tense? There's nothing wrong with that." Saya looked down and held Jun's hand. Her gentle warmth spread where their fingers met and made her feel a bit more secure and at ease.
"I-I just," she sighs, "I was the one who suggested this idea… and now I'm too much of a coward to even go in without my clothes… knowing that it was the whole point of this trip…"
Although a big part of why Jun wanted to keep her robes on was because of her insecurity with her body, she also didn't want to admit that she disliked when other people stared at Saya's body. Saya was an athlete, so naturally every part of her was toned and sculpted. She could always see side glances of people looking at her arms, her legs, and her abs… It may have been a little selfish of her, but she wanted to be the only one who could see her fully.
"Hey, stop bullying my girlfriend! Besides, who said stripping was the whole point of the trip? You were the one who reminded me that the whole point was for me to find inspiration." Saya tugged on Jun's hand and walked towards the curtains. "Let's go in already!"
Led along by Saya, they both made it past the curtains and into the hot spring area. It was foggy enough from all the steam that they couldn't even see anybody naked unless they really tried. "See? It's honestly not that bad," Saya reassured, her head turned away from Jun as she looked around for an open spot in the hot spring. "Let's sit there!" And she dragged Jun over to the empty spot she found.
"Ooh, she's warm! You ready?" Saya said as she dipped her toes in.
"…Yeah."
Saya lowered herself into the hot spring first, her fingers still interlocked with Jun's.
"Heheh, it feels really nice here!"
Jun took a few steps into the water, the heat quickly rising up through her body. "…Yeah, huh."
The heat was a bit uncomfortable at first. Jun found the temperature to be too hot, so she stood in the shallow for a few minutes until she adapted to its warmth.
Once they were both about waist deep into the water, they sat down on the small ledge along the hot spring. The ends of their robes were floating in the water and trapping the heat, making it much hotter than it actually was.
"Wooo, it's uncomfortably hot. I just sat down and I'm already sweating, haha!" Saya laughed. Jun looked at Saya, who was already sweating buckets. Although Saya was laughing, it felt a little disingenuous.
"Aren't you accustomed to sweating from all the exercise you do?"
"Are you calling me stinky?" Saya playfully asked.
"No..!"
"Hehe, I know! I'm just playin'."
A few minutes passed by while Jun glanced around the pool. Although there were some people, they were mostly just huddled together in small groups scattered about in the water. She didn't want to be too rude, but Jun skimmed her eyes around the women in the hot spring and felt a little more comfortable in her skin knowing that these people came in all shapes and sizes, and that they were pretty much fully focused on their own conversations. No one paid much attention to Jun and Saya, even though they were the only ones wearing robes.
Jun was getting really hot, and despite all her previous thoughts about wanting to keep her robes on, it was starting to feel like none of it really mattered anymore. It felt as if the robes were weighing her down. Although she got what she initially wanted, she couldn't help but feel like she had manipulated her way through it. And a part of her was still scared that she was the robe that was holding Saya down. Preventing her from feeling free.
So Jun tugged Saya's robe and said, "I'm fine with taking off my robes now."
"…" Saya looked back at Jun with confusion on her face. "It's okay if you don't feel comfortable-"
"It's fine. Really. I'm okay with it. It's getting too hot anyway."
"Ya sure? I don't want you to feel like you're being peer pressured into taking them off or anything like that."
"Yeah, don't worry, that's not the reason…"
"Well, I don't want to keep pressing you then, yahoo!" And Saya quickly ripped the robes off her body and tossed them on dry land. The wet robe plopped right behind her. "Wooo, now this feels good!" Her skin glowed softly in the light, but her smile shined even brighter than the setting sun on the horizon. Her cheeriness was so contagious that nearby groups were laughing along with her, shouting encouraging comments and hyping her up.
Despite the fact that Jun was indeed happy when Saya agreed not to take off her robes, she felt much more content seeing Saya enjoy herself. She saw the immediate change in attitude when Saya entered the hot spring wearing the robes versus taking them off. She seemed so much more genuine now compared to before, and Jun knew she had made the right decision. Granted, she still did not want people to perceive Saya's body all that much, but she realized that the water was decent enough at obscuring most of her.
Jun slowly slid the robe off her shoulders after the pool got a little quieter, and caught Saya eyeing her.
"Hey sexy~" Her finger tapped Jun's shoulder. "You doing okay?"
"Yeah, I'm good. I feel a bit cooler now, even though we're still in boiling water, heh." Jun put her wet robe on land and slid a little closer to Saya. "But you're the one who's really sexy here~"
Jun let her eyes wander around Saya's body. She was right about wanting to see her naked in this specific context. She is too pretty not to look at. Jun played around with Saya's hair— its hazel hue radiant in the sunlight— twisting it around her finger, then letting her hands linger and slide down to Saya's thighs… but she was immediately stopped by Saya slapping her hand above hers. Saya looked at the black-haired girl incredulously.
"Hello?? Who was it who accused me of doing 'suspicious' things in the pool? And who did I say was the real perpetrator?" Saya grabbed Jun's hand and raised it up towards the sky. "Ma'am, it's this one right here."
Jun giggled and said, "My bad, my bad, I'm sorry. I guess you should just arrest me now," and lifted her other arm up.
Saya sighed. "You give up too easily…" She interlocked their hands again under the water. "Well, it's okay now because you apologized," Saya then took her other hand and pushed their foreheads together, smirking, "but I'm keeping my eye on you."
"Heheh, okay." Jun leaned her head on Saya's shoulder and gazed at the changing colors of the sky. The sun had just set a few moments before, and now the sky was transitioning into a darker shade of blue. She was so concerned about other people and her robes that she didn't take in how beautiful the nature surrounding them was. The light fluttering sound of the birds flying by, the rush of the water making its way down the rocks, and the heat of the spring enveloping their bodies were immensely relaxing. And maybe it was because she also felt that a burden had been lifted off her heart, she felt safe enough to close her eyes, and take a short nap beside Saya…
~~~
When Jun awoke, she gazed at Saya and realized that she had also fallen asleep, her head leaning back against the ledge of the spring. Judging from the sky and the amount of people in the hot spring, it actually wasn't really that long of a snooze. Maybe ten minutes maximum. But it was getting really hot, and Jun was starting to feel thirsty. She turned to look at Saya and slapped her hands on Saya's puffy cheeks to wake her up.
"Ack- I'm awake!"
"Good morning, Awake! Wanna go back inside? It's getting really hot."
Saya spent a few seconds staring dumbly at Jun; her mind was still waking up from her five-minute slumber.
"Mmm, yeah. I'm hungry too…"
"Okay, let's get out then."
Jun helped Saya get up and out of the pool, and she realized that their robes were still on the ground and still soaking wet. The water in the spring was hot, but the cold breeze flowing through the air quickly cooled them. Realizing that they were also still unclothed, Jun rushed to the stall that handed out towels, grabbed two, and hurried to drape one of the towels over Saya first.
"Wow, you're so fast! My legs are kinda numb from all the sitting."
"I just… don't want you to be cold."
Jun was well aware of the additional reason behind her own actions. Saya, not noticing Jun's thoughts, grabbed the extra towel hanging on Jun's arm and wrapped it around her shoulders.
"Now, we're both warm! Let's order room service once we get back to our room; I don't really wanna go out after this."
"Mhm."
This time, Jun held out her hand to Saya as they got their stuff from the lockers and leisurely walked back.
~~~
"So, was that hot spring inspirational enough?" Jun asked as she dried her hair after getting out of the shower. They were both dressed in new, clean robes. Saya showered first, and she is currently sitting on the edge of the bed with her phone in hand.
"Well, I have a few ideas floating around in my head! 'The existence of life means to enjoy every moment,' 'the existence of life means to go with the flow,' or maybe even 'the existence of life was the friends we made along the way!'" Her hand movements really animated her words.
"Wow, what beautiful morals of the story." Jun clapped sarcastically.
"Yeah, to be honest they're a bit cheesey for my liking…"
A few seconds passed, and Saya looked like she had an epiphany. A devious one. "But ya know what would really inspire me?" Saya tossed her phone aside and languidly walked up to Jun, who was still drying her hair beside the bathroom. She maintained constant eye contact as she hooked her finger around the waist tie of Jun's robe and lightly pulled the other girl to the bed. Jun felt hypnotized by the sway of her hips, letting her hair towel drop to the floor as she followed Saya. She stopped when her back touched the edge of the sheets and leaned into Jun's ear to whisper, "…Why don't you finish what you started in the hot springs?" Her frisky fingers began undoing the ribbon around her waist and reaching behind Jun, pulling her even closer and tracing the back of her spine with large strokes. Jun shivered at her touch and placed her own hands around Saya's face, eager to-
Dingggg dongggg
"….. Ah," Jun chuckled, "food's here."
Saya looked at Jun with a displeased look, yet her stomach grumbled loudly. She didn't want to stop, but she might die of hunger if she didn't.
Saya sighed and lightly pecked Jun's lips. "I'll get the door."
As Saya went to get the food, Jun sat down on the bed and let her undone robe fall off her shoulders. Thinking about earlier in the evening— even though wearing robes in the hot spring was really no big deal, she was glad that she ended up ditching her worries and overthinking. Because she got something much more valuable than fulfilling her own pride and ego, which was experiencing Saya's unbridled joy. This was what she loved most about her. Seeing Saya happy, in her element, and expressing herself energetically made her fall in love all over again. Her thoughts were halted by Saya's passionate voice.
"Hey, Jun, let's eat! The food looks soooo delicious!!"
Jun quickly pulled her robe back over her shoulder, letting it hang casually, and walked behind Saya to give her a hug. She let her head rest in the curve of Saya's neck.
"Mmn, don't you want to eat?" Saya asked.
"… Actually, could I just eat you for dinner?"
Bonk! Saya turned her head and lightly striked the top of Jun's head.
"If you're patient, you can have me for dessert!"