Akira had booked their weekend at the hot springs for right after Christmas itself, the first weekend since it was a weekend deal, two whole days damn cheap for a couple having a small holiday, and it made him shiver in an entirely good way when he thought about that – he was part of a couple, one half of something more, something he belonged to, someone he belonged with.

Ashi was going to meet him at his house and they were going to take a cab from there, and Akira was up and ready way before time, going out to sit on the front steps and wait for her, feeling nervous butterflies fluttering in his stomach for some stupid reason, both thrilled and anxious. What if something went wrong? What if it ended up being horrible and awkward? It could go so wrong.

He wanted some time alone with Ashi, just them away from the world, with an intensity that shocked him, as he’d been in the habit the last few years of not wanting things, because more often than not he just couldn’t have them. But he wanted her, and most incredibly she wanted him, had even suggested this little getaway, and if it didn’t go too badly it sounded like a little piece of heaven.

Still, he fretted and worried as he waited, twirling his cane between his fingers and studying the cracks in the pavement in between scanning the street to look for her, feeling tense and anxious and hopeful and yearning all at once.

Ashi sighed when she turned the corner and saw him waiting on the steps, pulling up and jumping out, already wringing her hands as she hurried up the path to greet him.

“Sorry I’m late!” It was only five minutes, which was not as late as she had feared but still. “I was trying to pack and Sada wouldn’t stop whining, and I had to get Rien to come and take her because she wouldn’t let up and then Mum couldn’t find Kaeda and was throwing a tantrum about it and I realised Kaeda had packed himself into my bag because it was really heavy, and then he started balling his eyes out when I took him out of my suitcase because he wanted to come, I stupidly told him about it last night and he wouldn’t shut up until Shinji arrived and took him off with Yuni, and then I still had to repack my bags and…were you waiting long?” She leaned in to kiss him quickly, looking at him pleadingly, wanting him to not be mad at her.

Akira took her hands and just looked at her for a minute, feeling suddenly warm inside, a slow, pleased smile starting across his face. Somehow when she was there he just felt…content, in a way that he hadn’t for a very long time.

“Nah, not long,” he answered absently, not having even realised yet that she was late. He’d actually been waiting for quite some time, but he’d known he was early and hadn’t worried about that, at least. “You’re so pretty,” he told her a bit wonderingly, tugging her down to kiss her again.

“All ready to go?” he asked, patting the step beside him for her to take a seat. “The cab should be here soon.”

“What? Oh…oh yeah,” Ashi grinned at him, a little dazed after the kiss, but she moved back to the car. “Just a sec…” She got her bags from the boot and put them beside his by the steps before sitting down beside him and taking one of his hands in both of hers, nursing it in her lap and just staring at him.

“Mmm…you’re in a good mood.”

“Well, yeah,” he agreed, blushing a little as he grinned at her sideways.  “We’re going away for a whole weekend, just us away from everyone else…sounds good, yeah?” It sounded better than good, really, it sounded amazing and almost unbelievable, that he would have her all to himself for so long, that nothing had happened to prevent it or make it impossible and they really were leaving in just a few minutes to go on a romantic holiday, as a couple. In spite of his worries, he couldn’t help feeling incredible about that.

“Yeah,” Ashi agreed, her own excited grin showing straight white teeth. She still couldn’t believe he’d agreed to it, but it was like a dream come true for her. Even last night at the club she had gotten jealous when Shinji arrived, stealing even that tiny part of Akira’s attention. To finally, after so many years, get to have Akira all to herself, as her boyfriend on a romantic getaway…that was more than a dream.

The cab pulled up and Ashi excitedly snatched up their bags and tossed them in the back, letting Akira get the door for her so he wouldn’t feel as bad about not carrying everything, and climbing in, watching him expectantly as he climbed in beside her, then snatching his hand up again.

“This is so amazing!”

Akira looked over at her and grinned a bit apprehensively, because yeah it was exciting, but it was a bit scary, too. All by themselves away from everyone else, Ashi would have nothing to take up any of her attention but Akira, and maybe if she looked that closely, she wouldn’t like what she saw as much. He wasn’t that worried about it, but it was a small niggling anxiety in the back of his mind.

“Yeah,” he agreed softly, relaxing a little as he met her eyes, feeling warmed and… at peace, as if he had oddly, somehow, finally a place where he belonged. “Yeah it does.”

That didn’t quite make sense, but Ashi understood. It wasn’t just that it was amazing, but it felt amazing; going away with him. She knew what he was afraid of, her seeing too much of him and growing bored or some such thing but his fears were groundless and she knew it, which was what mattered. She squeezed his hand and lifted it to kiss the knuckles, ignoring the subtle cough from the driver, handing him the directions and sitting back to enjoy the ride.

“Did your mum fuss overly? I swear I thought Dad was going to take Kaeda out of my suitcase and then pack himself instead.”

Akira laughed wryly, well able to imagine Ibu-san in that kind of state. “Mmm not too bad, I think she’s kind of relieved, actually, about you and me in general, and stuff.” He shrugged a little, giving her a rueful look. “She’s being a little too helpful, if you know what I mean.” It was funny, really, but it was also a bit mortifying, and he kind of wished she would be a bit less enthusiastic.

Ashi grinned at that and excitedly grabbed his one piece of hand luggage, pulling open the zip and looking inside, crowing in triumph when she pulled out a biscuit tin with fresh baked macadamia nut biscuits inside.

“I knew it! Your mum would never send you off without sweets! Especially if she was trying to be helpful!” She grinned at him and bit into one before offering it to him.

Akira chuckled a little, knowing it was true – his mother was a bit obsessive about feeding people. He leaned forward to take a bite of the treat in her hand, rather than taking it for himself, feeling rather giddy and daring in a way that made butterflies explode afresh in his stomach as his lips touched her fingers.

“S’good,” he agreed, chewing and swallowing quickly and grinning at her again, blushing but thrilled all the same.

“It is,” Ashi agreed, quickly eating what was left and putting the rest away for later. She loved those cookies, and it never ceased to amaze her that they were for her now, before they were for Shinji. She used to have to beg him for one…now Akira’s mother gave them to her by the tin full and Akira shared them with her.

“I feel like I must be dreaming, but every time I blink, you’re still here.”

Akira’s laugh was slightly unsteady, but he knew the feeling, and reached for her hand to link their fingers, squeezing it reassuringly. It was rather like a dream, really, the two of them on their way to something like this by themselves – almost like they were setting out together on a journey of the rest of their lives. It was the first step beyond merely dating and hanging out together, something big and important, or so it seemed to him. Not quite like getting married, but the first significant step toward separating out from their families and moving forward together, as a couple. It was scary enough to make him shiver a little, and surreal enough that he almost didn’t quite believe it.

“I’ll be here for as long as you want me,” he promised softly, unwilling to say any of the rest of what he was feeling when they were in the cab, with the driver right up front.

That was going to be a damn long time, but Ashi didn’t bother pointing that out, just snuggled in against his side, pulling her legs up on the seat beside her and settling in to watch the streets roll by as they drove to their destination. When they arrived, the driver was out of the car and unloading their bags for them before Ashi could think to move and she blinked at him before grinning in thanks and handing over the fare. Then she hauled their bags excitedly to the front desk and let them be whisked away, talking quickly to the check in person and smirking as she was handed the key, tossing it happily to Akira and practically skipping back to his side.

“Out the back door, down the corridor and it’s the last door on the right. Apparently it backs right onto our own private spring!”

Akira turned the key over in his hand, feeling a bit stunned now that they were here and this was really happening.  It was nice they didn’t have to try to carry their own bags, as he would have had some trouble managing his and the cane as well. He grimaced a little as he thought about that, finding his handicap rather a tarnish on the romance of the situation, but he wasn’t going to mention it if she didn’t.

“Well, shall we go then?” he suggested, blushing but stuffing the key in his pocket so he had a hand free to hold out for her to take.

“Hell yes!” Ashi laughed at him, taking his hand and letting him lead the way at his own pace, happy to just walk beside him and stare around at everything as they wandered through the little resort. It was extremely pretty, clean and neutral but with beautiful exotic plants in strategic places. The whole effect was calming, but it only made Ashi more excited. She intended to take a thousand photos to show Sada when she got home. And Shinji, since that ass had completely forgotten to take photos on his honeymoon, despite the fact he apparently stayed at some heavenly kingdom in the mountains.

“You aren’t upset about missing Christmas Lunch are you? I told Shinji we’d come over later, maybe after new years instead.”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Akira assured her, actually a tiny bit relieved to be missing it. It sounded like too many people and probably too much noise, and dealing with Kippei on a more than casual basis like that was hard enough without an audience.

“We’ll go some other time,” he assured her, because Shinji would kill him if they didn’t – and he wanted to see their little girl again too, she was terribly cute and he was rather intrigued to see her with them, see how she was fitting into their odd little family.

“Mmm yeah, I’m kinda disappointed to not get to see Yuni’s first Christmas, I bet she’ll be so cute, but they’ll spoil her rotten and if I give her my present later she might actually remember who gave it to her instead of Shinji getting all the credit,” she laughed softly. “I gave Kaeda this hilarious red raincoat; he wanted to sleep in it last night. Mum just about had a fit!”

Akira shook his head, wryly amused at the strange dynamics of her family. “Don’t reckon it’d hurt him none,” he pointed out, but he wasn’t surprised to hear that Ashara had freaked out about it. He had a feeling the issues there were deeper and more complex than any of Shinji’s neuroses, similar as they seemed, and he didn’t envy those who had to live with her.

“I’m so glad the only sane person in your family decided to hook up with me,” he teased her gently as they came to their door, reluctantly dropping her hand to fish out the key and unlock it.

Ashi laughed at that, leaning in to kiss his cheek and watching avidly as he slid the key in and unlocked the door. Their bags were already there, waiting for them and she laughed softly because that was some damn fast bag manouvering. Not that she was complaining, not at all! She strode in and squealed in pure delight at the massive double bed, and the spa ensuite visible through a side door, the whole back wall made of glass and sure enough, there was their own little hot spring, steaming away.

“Oh my god, this is awesome!”

It was, and Akira stared and marveled at it as he followed her in, making his way over to a comfortable chair and dropping into it with a relieved sigh, setting aside his cane for the moment.

“It’s amazing,” he agreed wonderingly, looking around at the rather richly furnished room, with deep plush carpeting and the huge, soft-looking bed, the spa and the view of the springs out back. “Are you sure we aren’t dreaming?” he asked in wry amusement, thinking that would be nearly as cool, if they were somehow in the same dream together.

Laughing softly at him, Ashi made her way over and plonked herself down in his lap, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and just staring at the room with him, amazed. They’d gotten a damn good deal and she had not expected it to be anywhere near as nice as this for that price.

“This is the best Christmas present ever,” she marvelled softly, leaning her head on his shoulder and taking a few deep breaths. “So…what do you want to do first. I’m thinking I might sit in the spring a while?”

“Sounds good to me,” Akira agreed, having been to the hot springs only a few times before, but remembering well the way the heat soaked into muscles and bones, knowing it would provide a welcome relief for his messed up leg.

He was also, he admitted to himself, looking forward to seeing Ashi in her swimmers, not that he was going to say as much out loud. He blushed just thinking about it, unable to imagine her reaction if he did.

She was already smirking, having expected him to be thinking of just that and she skipped off to the bathroom to change, happily pulling on her new bikini. She’d never worn anything but a one piece, mostly because she liked doing swimming training, but the two piece was growing on her and she made sure everything was just so in the mirror, letting her hair down before skipping back out and smiling brightly at him.

“I’ll meet you in there?”

Akira had tugged one of his bags over to the chair to dig out his swim trunks, and he stopped and simply stared as she walked back in, stunned by how incredibly good she looked. Good enough to make him feel hot all over, with the odd, unfamiliar tingling of arousal burning in his veins. It made him think of things he’d hardly dared to dream of, making him want with a sharp, sudden ache.

He wanted to touch her everywhere, kiss her, make love to her in every possible way. Mouth dry, he just nodded dumbly in agreement, unable to speak or look away.

“Sure,” he managed finally. “Sure, yeah.” He barely knew what he was saying, felt like he was babbling nonsense, his brain short-circuited by heat and lust.

Ashi let him go, her attention drawn to the steam coming off the water and she knelt down to run her hand through it, sighing in pleasure at the heat that rose to kiss her skin. Taking a deep breath, she slowly stepped in and sank down into it, moaning in pure delight, deliberately loud so Akira would hear her. Only when she was shoulder deep in the hot water did she sit on the ledge and look in at Akira, whistling loudly in appreciation as he appeared in his trunks.

“You coming in, Kira?”

“Yeah, yeah, give me a minute,” he grumbled, feeling stupid in his trunks next to his sexy girlfriend. He’d left his cane behind both because it was a short walk and it made him feel even more like an idiot, but he was blushing like hell knowing she was looking at him like this, all of his scars on display and probably looking like a twisted gnome or something.

He made his way gingerly over to the water and sat down on the edge, slipping in with a grateful sigh. Damn, but that felt good.

Ashi didn’t give him a lot of time to contemplate it, going under the water, getting the heat through her hair to her scalp before surfacing like a creature from the black lagoon, black hair floating on the surface all around her as she emerged and slid over to him, reaching out to push his knees apart and sliding in between them, smiling brightly at him.

“Hey.”

Startled, Akira just blinked at her for a moment, and then smiled back, rather goofily. “Hey,” he answered, tentatively reaching up to push her wet hair back, feeling rather stunned because she was even sexier up close, and didn’t seem to mind that he looked like a freak.

“You look good,” he told her, knowing it was an inane thing to say but his brain wasn’t really functioning yet.

“So do you,” she noted softly, knowing he didn’t believe it but not caring. What he thought didn’t matter; she thought he was sexy and she was the one that needed to be attracted to him, which she was. Very much so. She hardly even noticed the scars, they were just part of him and she loved him. She threaded her fingers into his long red hair and leaned in close for a light kiss, feeling heavily intoxicated by the steam.

“My oh my…Kamio Akira all to myself at a hot spring. What will I do…” She smirked and knew it looked more than a little devious.

A little bit dazed by the kiss and further by the smirk, Akira looked at her rather helplessly, blushing furiously and wondering if he should be scared by the devious look on her face.

“Kiss me again,” he demanded, sliding his hand up her bare arm to cradle the back of her neck, pulling her in for more kisses, not such light teasing ones this time.

“With pleasure,” Ashi purred, doing just that, letting her tongue slide in against his this time, tasting and rubbing gently, trying to stroke him to life under her touch. She sighed into it, melting against him and letting her full weight fall against him, satisfied she couldn’t hurt him in the water, weighing less than usual. Her arms wrapped around him, pulling him in close and holding him there.

“I think you like my kisses,” she observed teasingly, kissing him again.

Duh, Akira thought, but he was busy kissing back and didn’t bother saying it out loud. Like was a major understatement, anyway. It was his new favorite pastime, kissing Ashi, and while it still blew his mind that she wanted him to, it wasn’t like he wasn’t going to take full advantage of it. She just tasted damn good, more addictive than drugs he was sure.

“I like everything about you,” he pointed out breathlessly when he had to come up for air, grinning like an idiot because she liked kissing him too, or she wouldn’t do it so often.

It was a double edged sword for Ashi, those words, because she did love everything about Akira, now, but she had loved everything about him before as well. She saw the injuries, and she knew they changed things, but they didn’t change that she loved him. She just wasn’t sure Akira would ever believe her if she said as much, so she just smiled and hugged him harder, moving to straddle his lap where she could kiss him more easily.

Akira hadn’t been this close to a girl in years – okay, ever, but especially now it was a little overwhelming. His fingers brushed the bare skin of her back with a tremble of awe, and he kissed her back with a fervent adoration that was bordering on worship. He had no idea what she saw in him, how she could overlook the flaws not just in his body but in his soul now. He wasn’t the same person he’d been before the accident, in any way, and he would have been stunned and bewildered if she had told him that she loved him the same as before.

He wrapped his arms around her carefully, holding her and touching her gently as if she were a priceless treasure, drowning in the intoxicating kisses until he felt barely able to remember his own name.

The hot water and Akira’s kisses combined to light a fire under Ashi’s skin and she found herself struggling to breathe, desperate to get more but also sure it would kill her. Eventually she pulled back, taking deep breaths and very carefully moving to sit on the edge with just her feet dangling in the water, stroking her foot up and down Akira’s spine, smiling softly.

“Does the water feel good?” She was grateful that not only was it a great romantic getaway, but one that would help Akira relax and feel less pain for a while.

“Yeah,” he agreed, relaxing in it and smiling faintly at the sort of massage her foot was giving him, taking the same time to catch his breath and realise exactly what was going on here. It was amazing, and he didn’t want to get so caught up in it that he lost the wonder of it.

“Yeah, it was a good idea,” he told her, looking over his shoulder and smiling warmly, remembering that it had been hers to begin with.

“Of course it was a good idea,” Ashi snorted softly, amused. “It was mine!” She was definitely the one in the family with the good ideas; Shinji’s ideas were never good and Sada’s were downright absurd.  But it pleased her, to hear Akira say it was good; to have him agree with her about something she had suggested. She moved and placed one leg on either side of him, cradling him between her knees and gently running her hands into his hair, lightly massaging his head and neck, getting to know the contours and smiling faintly.

“Mmmm…” Akira moaned and let his head fall forward onto his chest, giving her more room to work, and damn but she had amazing hands. He’d known that already, but this was an entirely different kind of magic.

“You’re the best,” he told her gratefully, feeling things inside him relax that had been tense for long and long and long, under the influence of heat and those beautiful, capable hands. “That… feels amazing,” he mumbled, hardly knowing what he was saying, he was in such a place of bliss.

Pleased with herself beyond words, Ashi just kept working, letting the world fade away until there was only Akira and the fact she was doing something nice for him and he was enjoying it. But after a while her hands got sore and she circled them around his shoulders and hugged him tight from behind, resting her head on his shoulder and watching his profile through half closed eyes.

“Love you.”

Akira was fairly completely melted by the time she was finished, floating in a mindless sea of relief and awesome comforting easing. He relaxed against her and hummed contentedly in his chest, resting his head against hers and sighing deeply.

“I’m glad we came,” he murmured finally, feeling almost completely happy and at peace. “I’m glad you wanted to.” Among so many other things. So glad that she even existed, for him, wanted him like this. “I love you too.”

Smirking, Ashi just held him for a while longer, before she felt her skin starting to prune and then she forced herself to let go and climb out, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her hips before going to the refrigerator and taking out a large fruit platter, carrying it in to the low table and putting it out before fetching two glasses and the complimentary bottle of champagne. Then she found Akira’s ipod and plugged it in, putting it on one of his softer playlists and lounging on a cushion.

“Come lie down with me?”

Akira groaned a little at the thought of the effort of getting out, but he couldn’t really resist that invitation, at all. It was everything he wanted and loved all together, everything tempting he could think of and she had hit every button he had. He climbed out readily enough, pausing only to take a towel and dry himself off somewhat before he joined her.

He sighed again with relief when he settled in beside her, smiling lazily at her enticing and still rather devious look. “I can never figure you out,” he murmured idly, amused, but it didn’t bother him the way it once had.

“Hmm?” Ashi wasn’t sure what that was supposed to mean but she didn’t think it was a bad thing, just an observation and she thought she might like that. Still, she was curious. Akira took effort to figure out but she could usually manage it, even if his head was so screwed up that she ended up with a headache just trying to think the way he did.

“What’s so hard to figure?”

Akira shrugged, his mouth quirking wryly, not quite blushing. “Anything… everything. What all’s going on in that pretty head of yours,” he noted ruefully. Which, really, was probably why he’d never managed to paint her to his satisfaction. Maybe he should stop trying to paint her, what he thought she might be, and just… paint the mystery. He thought about that for a minute, envisioning the sweeps and swirls of different colors he would use, what he would need and how he would arrange it, lost for a moment in the concentration of an artist as he considered this new angle.

“Hmmm,” he murmured finally, deciding to get to work on that as soon as he got home again. If nothing else, it would be interesting to try.

“You’re thinking about painting me again,” she accused with a soft laugh, recognising the faraway look on his face, but not at all displeased. “I love it when you paint me,” she confessed softly. He often painted music, or his impressions of music; it was nice to know he put her on that same level in his thoughts and heart. She sucked on a piece of melon as she contemplated him, just watching and holding out her glass for a toast.

“To us, and our beautiful little vacation.”

He put the painting aside to think about later, and smiled warmly at her, lifting his own glass to toast it. That was definitely something he could drink to.

“To us,” he agreed. To them and to, hopefully, a future that he hadn’t believed might be his.  She was making everything possible again.

Ashi grinned and downed her champagne before pouring herself another, reaching out to arrange Akira how she wanted him on the cushions before curling up against him, stroking the inside of his leg with her foot and relaxing into the warmth of his body with a contented sigh. She couldn’t imagine anywhere she would rather be, or anyone she would rather be with and maybe that was selfish but she didn’t care. Faster than she liked to admit, this was becoming home.