[fic] Pale (HaruToki4)
It feels like forever since I've been able to write something...
Title: Pale
Fandom: Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 4
Pairing: Asvin/Chihiro
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Owned by Mizuno-sensei, Koei, and Ruby Party.
Warnings: NSFW, vague spoilers for Ashu's ending.
Notes: Third in Ashu's trilogy orz I can't believe I wrote him three of these, following Scarlet and Blush.
Pale
One look at the room prepared with a large, stone tub of steaming water had Chihiro convinced that Asvin had planned even this part of the evening. A kettle sat on the stone floor next to the fire. Candles on tall stands around the room gave it a warm glow but were placed far enough away from the center to give it a comfortable dimness. A pile of perfectly folded white cloths for washing and drying off sat on a rug next to the bath.
Asvin strode over to toward the hearth, and a soft laugh rose in Chihiro's throat as she watched him try to keep his distance while setting the pot over the flames. He turned toward her afterward and raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to stand there shivering, or will you hurry up and get in the bath?" He cocked his hip to one side and placed his hand on the other side, apparently no longer concerned about his own nakedness.
Chihiro turned her eyes upward briefly with a sigh and refrained from scolding him. By this time in their relationship she knew he usually chose his actions when they were alone for the express purpose of getting reactions out of her. Without a word in response she stepped over the thick stone edge of the tub into the wonderfully warm water. A deeper sigh, one of relaxed contentment, rolled her shoulders back as she sat down and stretched her legs. The oval shape of the tub was actually bigger than it looked and she could have laid down in it if she wanted.
A second later Asvin knelt next to the bath with a cloth in one hand and a lump of soap in the other. "I'll happily wash you off," he told her with a grin. The white square had plunged beneath the water's surface before Chihiro could stumble through a reply.
"I- I can do it myself, Asvin..." The words sounded weak even to her, but she felt it was his fault for brushing the smooth fabric across her thigh. His rich laugh rumbled through her chest and rippled the water. Chihiro thought he might say something else but his mirth quieted into a smile as he worked the cloth down her leg.
The soft brush against the bottom of her foot made her squirm and giggle. Asvin's eyes peered through his unruly bangs at her with adoration bright in them, but again he did not speak. Instead, he changed to the other foot and moved around to the other side of the tub to thoroughly wash that leg.
Chihiro relaxed and gradually grew used to the sometimes fleeting sometimes firm feeling of the cloth against her skin. Bubbles started to gather around the edge of the tub. Rather than move to her abdomen and work upward that way, when Asvin reached her hip he gently grasped her hand and began to clean first her fingers and then her wrist. As he rubbed the soapy cloth over her forearm Chihiro reflected that no one had treated her with such singularly devoted care since she had been quite small. A soft smile curved her lips. Times like this, when she thought she really could not love him any more than she already did, really brought the truth of their marriage to her heart and mind.
Asvin's face, closer now than when he had been at the far end of the tub, had a faint glow around it from a candle that burned somewhere behind him. An almost embarrassed-looking smile crossed his face before he touched a kiss to her shoulder and moved behind her to wash her back. He had to stop briefly when the kettle over the fire began to whistle, but once it sat on the floor a short distance away Asvin returned to the wash cloth and her shoulder blades. Chihiro let her eyes fall closed and leaned back into his touch. Soon he was at her side again, the cloth soaping and then rinsing off her other arm.
A pause in the gentle washing brought Chihiro's gaze up to his. Asvin locked gazes with her and then ran the cloth over her collarbone, his wine-colored eyes not wavering even as his hand moved over her chest and then to her abdomen. A blush stole over Chihiro's cheeks when his hands parted her knees and the cloth trailed between them. While he cleaned away the evidence of their earlier lovemaking he continued to look down at her with a love in his eyes that Chihiro could plainly see even in the dim light.
Once he finished Asvin knelt back against his heels. He wrung out the wash cloth and laid it over the edge of the tub, then trailed a finger against the water's surface. Chihiro tilted her head at him questioningly since he seemed to have something to say.
The awkward expression returned to his face, and he looked away for a second before his eyes began to follow the random patterns made by the ripples in the water. "It's amazing how your skin has managed to stay so pale. After everything you've been through here, the bloodshed and fighting, the black sun..." Asvin raised his hand and ran the back of his first finger up and down her arm slowly, mouth twisted into a bitter smile before it faded into something more chagrined. "Even after all the time we've spent together you've remained so pure. Sometimes it feels like dream that I'll wake up from and realize the war hasn't ended after all."
Chihiro caught his hand in both of hers and leaned toward him until he would look her in the eye again. "It is over," she insisted with a determined frown. "Your country and mine, they're at peace. We won't let something like that happen again. If my skin really bothers you, I suppose I can try to go out more during the day and get a tan..."
Asvin's laugh echoed off the stone walls and shook him with such force that he sat down heavily on the rug. "Ah, my lovely bride, you're one in a million. No, one in a hundred million, definitely."
The frown returned, as Chihiro had meant her words seriously. If something so simple would help put Asvin at ease then she would gladly do it. She opened her mouth to say so, but he shook his head. "Your feelings alone are enough. I'm happy just to hear you offer, but actually..." His fingers dipped beneath the water again and brushed against the side of her hip. "I rather like the idea of every time we make love being like the first time."
"Asvin!" Heat suffused her face, and Chihiro knew the blush spread further than just her cheeks.
He continued as if she had not spoken, and leaned closer. "It also means that any marks I make sucking on your skin will stand out that much more."
Whether or not he actually intended to do so right then, Chihiro scrambled further down the tub away from him to keep him from being able to do it. His soft chuckle chased her as she got out of the tub and pointed at it. "It's your turn in the bath, isn't it?"
Asvin reached for a larger cloth and shook his head again. "No, it's time to dry you off so you don't catch a cold." The soft material wrapped around her and soaked up the stray beads of water on her skin. With gentle motions similar to those he had used to wash her Asvin dried her limbs and torso before he took up another cloth and covered her shoulders as if it were a blanket. The endearing and almost shy look returned when he cupped her chin for a few moments, but then he turned to pour the hot water into the tub to reheat it.
As she knelt down at the side of the bath like Asvin had done for her Chihiro picked up the washing cloth and soaped it up. She looked up at him expectantly, but he stood there next to the tub with a peculiar look on his face. "Now who's the one who'll catch a cold?" she asked, prompting him to hurry and get in the tub.
It may have been the heat of the water as he settled into the bath that brought some color into his cheeks, but somehow Chihiro doubted it. She could feel Asvin's eyes on her as she washed him in the same order he had used. A childish urge made her want to tickle at the bottom of his foot when she reached it, but she resisted and moved on. It felt strange to wash him since his body felt so different from her own, but it was not unpleasant at all. She knew his physical form to some extent from the nights they had spent together since their wedding, but somehow the touching they had done at those times was not the same.
Chihiro made sure she washed him down as thoroughly as she could. The rhythm of the movements soon grew familiar. His skin first felt smoother with the slickness of the soap then sleek again once the bubbles were washed away. She fell into a pattern of washing and rinsing that cleared her mind and let herself simply enjoy the time she spent being there with her husband. His presence enveloped her like something comfortable but at the same time made her heart beat faster. She wondered as she moved around to his back if he had felt the same way.
A murmur met her ears just above the soft sound of splashing. Chihiro scooted around to the side of the tub. "Did you say something?" One hand raised his arm while the other washed it.
Silence answered her, and she raised her eyes to his face curiously. The gentle smile on his face made her guess at what he might have said, but he did not repeat himself. Chihiro gave him a bright smile in return and raised the cloth to his chest, her hand tentatively moving it lower in widening circles. Rather than watch her actions she kept her gaze on Asvin's and cleaned him by touch. By the time she reached his abdomen her fingers had already brushed a few times against his half-hardened erection. Her blush returned as she gently ran the cloth along it to finish washing him.
Asvin raised a hand from the water and brushed his fingertips against her cheek. "You did better than I thought you would."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Chihiro asked, brow furrowed into a small frown. She got up and grabbed another large cloth as he stood in the tub.
The aggravatingly familiar smirk returned. "I figured you would be too shy when it came to washing certain parts," he answered, then held his arms out as she began to dry him off. If he thought that she rubbed a bit too roughly with the cloth in her consternation at him he did not complain.
Chihiro finished after saving his torso for last, which earned her another chuckle from Asvin, then placed one last cloth around his shoulders like he had done for her. "There we go, all done."
Asvin lifted a hand and placed it on her head gently. "Then shall we go to bed, Chihiro?"
She could not help the slight shiver that ran down her spine at the use of her name. Even after their marriage he rarely called her by it. A spark lit in his eyes as if he knew. "Yes," she answered, hurriedly sidestepped him, and headed back into the bedchamber.
Behind her she heard a soft laugh and something that sounded suspiciously like, "I promised you a reward, after all."
Title: Pale
Fandom: Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 4
Pairing: Asvin/Chihiro
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Owned by Mizuno-sensei, Koei, and Ruby Party.
Warnings: NSFW, vague spoilers for Ashu's ending.
Notes: Third in Ashu's trilogy orz I can't believe I wrote him three of these, following Scarlet and Blush.
Pale
One look at the room prepared with a large, stone tub of steaming water had Chihiro convinced that Asvin had planned even this part of the evening. A kettle sat on the stone floor next to the fire. Candles on tall stands around the room gave it a warm glow but were placed far enough away from the center to give it a comfortable dimness. A pile of perfectly folded white cloths for washing and drying off sat on a rug next to the bath.
Asvin strode over to toward the hearth, and a soft laugh rose in Chihiro's throat as she watched him try to keep his distance while setting the pot over the flames. He turned toward her afterward and raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to stand there shivering, or will you hurry up and get in the bath?" He cocked his hip to one side and placed his hand on the other side, apparently no longer concerned about his own nakedness.
Chihiro turned her eyes upward briefly with a sigh and refrained from scolding him. By this time in their relationship she knew he usually chose his actions when they were alone for the express purpose of getting reactions out of her. Without a word in response she stepped over the thick stone edge of the tub into the wonderfully warm water. A deeper sigh, one of relaxed contentment, rolled her shoulders back as she sat down and stretched her legs. The oval shape of the tub was actually bigger than it looked and she could have laid down in it if she wanted.
A second later Asvin knelt next to the bath with a cloth in one hand and a lump of soap in the other. "I'll happily wash you off," he told her with a grin. The white square had plunged beneath the water's surface before Chihiro could stumble through a reply.
"I- I can do it myself, Asvin..." The words sounded weak even to her, but she felt it was his fault for brushing the smooth fabric across her thigh. His rich laugh rumbled through her chest and rippled the water. Chihiro thought he might say something else but his mirth quieted into a smile as he worked the cloth down her leg.
The soft brush against the bottom of her foot made her squirm and giggle. Asvin's eyes peered through his unruly bangs at her with adoration bright in them, but again he did not speak. Instead, he changed to the other foot and moved around to the other side of the tub to thoroughly wash that leg.
Chihiro relaxed and gradually grew used to the sometimes fleeting sometimes firm feeling of the cloth against her skin. Bubbles started to gather around the edge of the tub. Rather than move to her abdomen and work upward that way, when Asvin reached her hip he gently grasped her hand and began to clean first her fingers and then her wrist. As he rubbed the soapy cloth over her forearm Chihiro reflected that no one had treated her with such singularly devoted care since she had been quite small. A soft smile curved her lips. Times like this, when she thought she really could not love him any more than she already did, really brought the truth of their marriage to her heart and mind.
Asvin's face, closer now than when he had been at the far end of the tub, had a faint glow around it from a candle that burned somewhere behind him. An almost embarrassed-looking smile crossed his face before he touched a kiss to her shoulder and moved behind her to wash her back. He had to stop briefly when the kettle over the fire began to whistle, but once it sat on the floor a short distance away Asvin returned to the wash cloth and her shoulder blades. Chihiro let her eyes fall closed and leaned back into his touch. Soon he was at her side again, the cloth soaping and then rinsing off her other arm.
A pause in the gentle washing brought Chihiro's gaze up to his. Asvin locked gazes with her and then ran the cloth over her collarbone, his wine-colored eyes not wavering even as his hand moved over her chest and then to her abdomen. A blush stole over Chihiro's cheeks when his hands parted her knees and the cloth trailed between them. While he cleaned away the evidence of their earlier lovemaking he continued to look down at her with a love in his eyes that Chihiro could plainly see even in the dim light.
Once he finished Asvin knelt back against his heels. He wrung out the wash cloth and laid it over the edge of the tub, then trailed a finger against the water's surface. Chihiro tilted her head at him questioningly since he seemed to have something to say.
The awkward expression returned to his face, and he looked away for a second before his eyes began to follow the random patterns made by the ripples in the water. "It's amazing how your skin has managed to stay so pale. After everything you've been through here, the bloodshed and fighting, the black sun..." Asvin raised his hand and ran the back of his first finger up and down her arm slowly, mouth twisted into a bitter smile before it faded into something more chagrined. "Even after all the time we've spent together you've remained so pure. Sometimes it feels like dream that I'll wake up from and realize the war hasn't ended after all."
Chihiro caught his hand in both of hers and leaned toward him until he would look her in the eye again. "It is over," she insisted with a determined frown. "Your country and mine, they're at peace. We won't let something like that happen again. If my skin really bothers you, I suppose I can try to go out more during the day and get a tan..."
Asvin's laugh echoed off the stone walls and shook him with such force that he sat down heavily on the rug. "Ah, my lovely bride, you're one in a million. No, one in a hundred million, definitely."
The frown returned, as Chihiro had meant her words seriously. If something so simple would help put Asvin at ease then she would gladly do it. She opened her mouth to say so, but he shook his head. "Your feelings alone are enough. I'm happy just to hear you offer, but actually..." His fingers dipped beneath the water again and brushed against the side of her hip. "I rather like the idea of every time we make love being like the first time."
"Asvin!" Heat suffused her face, and Chihiro knew the blush spread further than just her cheeks.
He continued as if she had not spoken, and leaned closer. "It also means that any marks I make sucking on your skin will stand out that much more."
Whether or not he actually intended to do so right then, Chihiro scrambled further down the tub away from him to keep him from being able to do it. His soft chuckle chased her as she got out of the tub and pointed at it. "It's your turn in the bath, isn't it?"
Asvin reached for a larger cloth and shook his head again. "No, it's time to dry you off so you don't catch a cold." The soft material wrapped around her and soaked up the stray beads of water on her skin. With gentle motions similar to those he had used to wash her Asvin dried her limbs and torso before he took up another cloth and covered her shoulders as if it were a blanket. The endearing and almost shy look returned when he cupped her chin for a few moments, but then he turned to pour the hot water into the tub to reheat it.
As she knelt down at the side of the bath like Asvin had done for her Chihiro picked up the washing cloth and soaped it up. She looked up at him expectantly, but he stood there next to the tub with a peculiar look on his face. "Now who's the one who'll catch a cold?" she asked, prompting him to hurry and get in the tub.
It may have been the heat of the water as he settled into the bath that brought some color into his cheeks, but somehow Chihiro doubted it. She could feel Asvin's eyes on her as she washed him in the same order he had used. A childish urge made her want to tickle at the bottom of his foot when she reached it, but she resisted and moved on. It felt strange to wash him since his body felt so different from her own, but it was not unpleasant at all. She knew his physical form to some extent from the nights they had spent together since their wedding, but somehow the touching they had done at those times was not the same.
Chihiro made sure she washed him down as thoroughly as she could. The rhythm of the movements soon grew familiar. His skin first felt smoother with the slickness of the soap then sleek again once the bubbles were washed away. She fell into a pattern of washing and rinsing that cleared her mind and let herself simply enjoy the time she spent being there with her husband. His presence enveloped her like something comfortable but at the same time made her heart beat faster. She wondered as she moved around to his back if he had felt the same way.
A murmur met her ears just above the soft sound of splashing. Chihiro scooted around to the side of the tub. "Did you say something?" One hand raised his arm while the other washed it.
Silence answered her, and she raised her eyes to his face curiously. The gentle smile on his face made her guess at what he might have said, but he did not repeat himself. Chihiro gave him a bright smile in return and raised the cloth to his chest, her hand tentatively moving it lower in widening circles. Rather than watch her actions she kept her gaze on Asvin's and cleaned him by touch. By the time she reached his abdomen her fingers had already brushed a few times against his half-hardened erection. Her blush returned as she gently ran the cloth along it to finish washing him.
Asvin raised a hand from the water and brushed his fingertips against her cheek. "You did better than I thought you would."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Chihiro asked, brow furrowed into a small frown. She got up and grabbed another large cloth as he stood in the tub.
The aggravatingly familiar smirk returned. "I figured you would be too shy when it came to washing certain parts," he answered, then held his arms out as she began to dry him off. If he thought that she rubbed a bit too roughly with the cloth in her consternation at him he did not complain.
Chihiro finished after saving his torso for last, which earned her another chuckle from Asvin, then placed one last cloth around his shoulders like he had done for her. "There we go, all done."
Asvin lifted a hand and placed it on her head gently. "Then shall we go to bed, Chihiro?"
She could not help the slight shiver that ran down her spine at the use of her name. Even after their marriage he rarely called her by it. A spark lit in his eyes as if he knew. "Yes," she answered, hurriedly sidestepped him, and headed back into the bedchamber.
Behind her she heard a soft laugh and something that sounded suspiciously like, "I promised you a reward, after all."