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Qi trudged along the worn path as rain pattered against her body. The ground squished beneath her with each step, making her feet slightly sink into the mud. The trees lining her trail swayed in the wind--embracing the downpour. As she turned her gaze towards them, she wondered how nice that must be.
She had no distaste towards to the precipitation, in fact she loved it and wished it happened more often. However, it did require her to take more caution in her trek back. Not to mention how her roommate would worry--one of the last things she wanted was to disturb her.
Melly already had enough on her plate, she had no right to add onto her worries. She offered to take over for a few of her missions, paperwork, clean-up duty, anything! However, it was to no avail as Melly never complied.
She turned her head from looking up at the dark sky to face forward. Then quickened her pace as she realized she's already almost at the main base. The path transitioned from dirt to gravel as she entered the premises.
The sky rumbled as the raventte made her way to the housing building. Well, she didn't beat the rain but she had beat the storm at least. She fiddled for her key as she walked up to the door of her and Melly's shared dorm. She sighed as she pushed in the key and turned it--opening the door. Since she was drenched, she would have to clean up her messy trail after washing up.
As soon as she stepped inside she slipped off her shoes. She mumbled to herself, "I need to wash these soon.." And before she could take another step, a soft voice caught her attention.
Melly peeped her head from the kitchen area towards the front door. "I was wondering when you'd come back.. Wait there, I'll grab you a towel."
Qi could only hum in response as the other woman went to retrieve a towel from the bathroom. Water trickled down her hair and clothing and onto the small mat in front of the door as she waited for Melly to return.
Melly had been waiting for Qi to come back since she finished her work for the day.
Every day she set off early as if in a race against the sun. While Melly didn't enjoy wasting time either, Qi always returned to their quarters late at night in an overexerted state. Sometimes even battered up. Seeing the woman like this so frequently .. it deeply saddened her.
Once she made it to the bathroom, she decided to prepare a warm bath for Qi. She figured that the woman was planning to shower; however, she felt she deserved something more relaxing. Before making her way back, she grabbed another towel placing it beside the tub and turned the facuet on.
Melly came back with the towel in no time. Qi noticed how her dark hair was down, and she was already in her sleepwear. She wore a longsleeved silk shirt of a light purple hue along with matching flowy pants. It suited her. She had to admit--Melly is a beautiful woman.
The younger woman extended her arm towards Qi, giving her the towel. "Ah, thank you." Qi took it from her gently, wiping off her legs then wrapping herself in it.
"No problem."
"It's awfully late, I thought you would've went to bed by now." Qi walked to the kitchen, grabbed a glass, and poured herself some water.
Melly went up to the counter and rested her arms atop it. She moved a hand up to rest her chin upon it as she watched Qi drink. "Well, I couldn't get myself to fall sleep." She replied after a few seconds.
"I thought you had pills for that. Did you run out?" Qi questioned as she placed her now empty cup beside the sink.
"Oh uh, yeah. I plan to pick up some more tomorrow." Melly lied in response as she simply decided not to take any while waiting for Qi. Also, to be fair, she was planning to get some more anyway. It's fine.
"Are you sure you'll be alright for tonight?" Qi was now facing Melly, looking her in the eyes.
"Yes, it's alright. I promise." Melly recipocated the eye contact and smiled small, trying her best to be reassuring. "Oh, by the way, I ran you a bath. It should be about ready by now."
"You didn't have to. I appreciate it." Qi turned around and quickly headed towards the bathroom, afriad of the water overflowing. As she entered the bathroom, she shut off the faucet and put a hand in the water to test the temperature. The tub was about full, and the water was quite hot.
As she started to close the door, she had an idea. Instead of closing it, she went back to the kitchen. Melly wasn't there, so she then went to their shared room. She pushed open the door, which was ajar, while knocking to inform the other she was there. She stood in the doorway, looking at Melly who working on some paperwork at her desk.
"Is something the matter?" Melly stopped writing tilted her head curiously at the damp-haired woman. Qi awkwardly scratched at her neck and looked to the side before speaking.
"Would you perhaps like to join me? It's okay if not, I won't force you to do anything." She then turned her head to face the other woman, waiting for her answer.
Melly was certainly not expecting that. Qi was one to prefer her personal space to herself; she was rarely physical with others. So, Melly found herself speechless for a moment.
Qi now felt a bit silly for asking. "I just thought that maybe you'd like to relax together. And to be honest, I want some way to show my gratefulness for all that you do. Sorry to interrupt." Qi turned her head away once more in embarrasment.
Melly then stands up from her chair to walk up to Qi. "Of course I would. I rarely get to see you these days, you busy bee." She punctuated her sentence with a soft chuckle.
Qi felt her face flush a bit at the nickname, yet she still turned to look Melly in the eyes. Oh, how her gaze was filled with care. A small smile tugged at her lips as she started to walk towards the bathroom. Melly followed closely behind, wanting to hold Qi's hand but afraid of pushing her limit before they even got into the bath.
Qi entered the bathroom first, and was quick to take off her wet clothes as Melly closed the door with a click. Qi probably would not have done this in front of anyone else. However, she was okay with it if it was Melly. She's gotten used to living with her, and she was the first person she opened up to since coming to this organization--lucky they got to room together. On top of that she has been in these clothes way longer than necessary. Simply put, she was freezing.
She was quick to slip into the water and add soap to the tub. The heat was refreshing on her cold skin. She practically melted and became one with the water as she laid flat, but still keeping her face exposed. She then sat back up to let Melly in.
Melly followed suit after undressing herself and folding her clothes up. She placed her own clothes on the small shelf against the wall and Qi's into a basket where they waited to be washed.
Melly had already showered and was ready for sleep, but taking a bath once more didn't bother her if it meant she got to be with Qi. This also meant that she could help her with washing up to conserve what energy she had left.
The surface of the water was now covered in foamy bubbles. The smell was a delightful mixture of honey and vanilla. Melly was sitting behind Qi, she was planning to wash her back and hair, but this also allowed her more space as she was quite taller than the other. Her legs were on Qi's sides with her knees peeking out of the water.
As she traced a hand along Qi's back Melly asked, "Is this okay?" She wanted nothing except for the woman to feel comfortable. She took note of the few scars scattered around her backside--she'd seen them before but never this close up.
"More than okay. Could you help wash my back?" Qi felt her ears becoming increasingly red, but she was quite relaxed in this situation. She had the urge to lean all the way back against the taller woman's chest, yet refrained from doing so.
"It'd be my pleasure." Melly hummed in response as she grabbed a small rag and dunked it into the soapy water. She started at Qi's nape scrubbing in circular motion all the way down to her lower back. She repeated this several times before moving onto her arms.
"We should do stuff like this more often." Melly stated as she rubbed shampoo between her hands and then combed through Qi's black hair.
"You think so?" Qi replied as she leaned into Melly's touch. She was now gently scrubbing her scalp with her finger tips.
"Yes, especially since you have a habit of overworking yourself. I worry about your wellbeing." Melly was once again combing through Qi's hair, ensuring the shampoo was evenly distributed.
"I've always done it this way. Please don't wory, I'll be okay." Qi took this as an oppourtunity to lean her back onto the other. First because this would rinse out her hair, and second she wanted to be closer.
"No, no you won't be. You're always so tired, which affects your health as well as how you perform. I know your work is important to you, but you need to take care of yourself first." Melly moved her hands to hold Qi's face, pushing stray hairs out of her eyes. She stared into her eyes with a look of concern.
Qi looked up at the ceiling as she pondered for a moment. Melly did have a point--how can one get their work done if they have no energy to do so? She was just so used to the first priority being to get things done as soon as possible, and nothing else. She switched her gaze to Melly's, who was searching for whatever was going on in Qi's mind.
"You're right. I'll try to focus on my health more." She then turned around to face her entire body towards Melly's, and then brought their bodies to an embrace. Melly was a bit surprised, but she accepted it and wrapped her arms around Qi in return. "Thank you, for taking care of me. What would I do without you?" She laughed a bit at the end there, but she seriously didn't know.
"I'd like to hope that someone would notice your overexertion. I'm here though, so that doesn't matter." Melly pressed her lips to Qi's forehead, staying for a few seconds before pulling away.
All Qi could do was smile at Melly. She placed her head on her shoulder and sighed, wishing this moment would last forever. She quietly whispered into Melly's skin, "I think I'm in love with you."
"What was that?"
"I'll tell you later."