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AN: This chapter is extremely long, I would not recommend reading it in one sitting!
ʚ 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 ɞ
Megumi sighed as she walked into the open hot springs; the warmth and steam rising from the misty waters were a brilliant contrast to the cold march air. The sun had begun to set just before she and Tohru made their way to the baths, and now the sky was littered with stars. Being so far out from town, the stars were much more apparent than they were at Shigure's. Megumi even thought she could make out some constellations, which she certainly couldn't do at home.
Hanging over the bath were fairy lights, reaching from one wooden beam to another and creating a warm ambient light over the water. Bushes and flower beds surrounded the pool, carefully divided by pretty masonry and rocks. Hints of yellow and pink flowers were in the flower beds, and a rare blue one every once in a while. Half of the springs was covered by a wooden overlay roof, presumably to allow people in the springs for the benefits even when it rained.
For just a minute, Megumi stood on the lukewarm tile that led to the pool of water and allowed herself to take it all in. The hot steam that was making condensation along her body felt wonderful–it almost made her forget she was in nothing but a towel. She tied up what she could of her hair, realizing that it had been a while since she last got it cut. Where it used to barely reach her shoulder in some places, it now comfortably rested against her nape and reached further in others.
While she was busy tying up her hair, Tohru had stepped out from the glass doors that led to the shower room that was connected to the springs. She, much like Megumi, was also in nothing but a white fluffy towel and had already tied her long hair up into a bun before stepping out into the cold air.
Tohru excitedly speed-walked to where Megumi was beside the bath. "This is my first open-air bath!" She cheered, "I can imagine Momiji-kun swimming around in it."
A soft chuckle left Megumi's lips as she nervously rubbed her bare arm. "Yeah, h-he probably is." She said, internally questioning how Tohru didn't seem the least bit embarrassed about her dressing situation and getting flashbacks to the first night she stayed with them. Just like then, Tohru seemed comfortable to undress–or in this case, being fully nude except for a towel–around her, claiming it to be normal for girls their age. Out of curiosity, Megumi asked her about it. "H-How are you n-not embarrassed, though?"
"Hm?" She tilted her head, her bun bobbing funnily behind her. "Why would I be embarrassed? We're both girls–plus we've changed in front of each other before, so it'd be silly of me to care now. If it makes you feel better, I can turn around when you get in and sit away from you till you're comfortable?" She asked gently, and Megumi couldn't help but think motherly as well.
