The meal tasted great after such a long day of skiing and falling, in my case.
Liz, our self-appointed itinerary director, spoke up, "Alright, I'm sure we can all agree that seven is much to early to go to sleep so I have one last activity planned for us today" she announced.
I clapped, humouring her.
"To the hot springs!" she cried a little bit too loudly.
Several heads turned in our direction, a few laughing.
"Pipe down, Liz" I scolded her jokingly.
She waved at me dismissively, "So who's up for it?".
All five hands shot up in the air. I guess everyone needed some time unwinding their muscles after all that action today.
"Alright! So it's decided then!" Liz chirped happily.
Not too long later, we were in line to the reception desk in the hot springs wing of the resort. As we were finally able talk to a receptionist, Liz and I went up, showing the lady all of our passes.
"That's great! I'll have your bracelets printed in a second" she said as she hit the enter button on her keyboard, "So, how are you guys enjoying your stay so far?" she asked kindly.
"So far so good" Liz said, sincerely happy, "It's just about to get a lot better though" she said, smirking.
The lady laughed, unsure of what else to do, "Well, here are your bracelets" she said as she helped strap each one onto our wrists, "The number on the bracelet is the number to your individual hot spring stall. The barcode on your bracelet will unlock your door when you hold it close to the lock" she said before indicating to the entrance, "Please enjoy your time here".
We followed her indications and walked into the entrance. Then we walked down a long hallway until we each found our stalls. My stall number was thirty-six and I had to walk a bit before finding it to my left. I did as the lady at the front desk had instructed and the door clicked open obediently. I pushed the door in to see a luxurious facility. I stepped inside, eyes straying.
"Wow, they really mean business" I whispered aloud.
The door slid slowly closed behind me and I fanned myself, immediately feeling the incredible humidity in the air. I took off my clothing but was wondering whether or not I should just go in with my scarf on.
I laughed at myself, "Who does that?".
I quickly grabbed a towel and headed for the springs. Steam was curling up from the still waters, just looking at it made me feel extremely relaxed. I dipped a shy toe into the water, feeling the temperature. It was hot, hotter than comfortable but it was probably because I had been out in the snow too long. I gently slid into the water, sighing as I went. I pulled my hair to one side and sank into the water up to the bridge of my nose. I could almost feel every single pore on my body clean itself out. It was amazing...and it seemed to loosen my tense muscles too. I rose back up out of the water up to my collarbone before sitting down and spreading my arms out along the rim of the pool of water. The rocks seemed real too. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. It was the most relaxed I'd been in days, months even.
"You won't believe how vulnerable you look right now" a low voice declared.
I opened my mouth to scream but a hand clamped down tightly on my lips. I threw my arms over my chest and turned to look at my to-be-rapist and nearly fainted.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Liz?!" I snarled angrily as I threw her hands off of me angrily, "I could've had a heart attack!" I hissed.
Liz started to guffaw, "Best prank ever!" she managed to say between two laughing fits.
"Ha, ha, ha" I said in a monotone and yanked her head first into the pool, "Look who's laughing now" I growled.
She came up, choking on water but still laughing. Boy, she sure was stubborn. She was soaked from head to toe now. At least all she had with her was a towel. I angrily turned away from her, an excuse to hide the hickeys that were placed in plain sight on my neck.
She stopped laughing, "Aw, come on, Vira! It was just a joke! Don't be angry" she pleaded, putting her hands on my shoulders and giving me a tight hug.
I turned slightly red. It's not as if I hadn't seen my diaper buddy naked plenty of times before but she was really showing off her jugs right now. I couldn't help but wonder whether or not she's used this trick on Gaara before.
"How the hell did you get in anyways?" I asked, with my back still to her.
She giggled mischievously, "I followed you then waited until you were inside before slipping the edge of my sweater between the door. It normally locks automatically when you close it so you can't get in from the outside but I left enough of a space to open it again when I was sure you were in the water" she said all this as if it were a very great achievement.
In my opinion, if used in the wrong hands, it was quite a lecherous act.
"Who are you? Alexis Rider?" I chuckled at my own little joke, even though it wasn't all that funny.
Hey, it was one of my favourite series.
Liz sighed, "Was that the best you could do?".
I shrugged, "It's not a competition".
"That doesn't change the fact that you're a horrible comedian" she said contemptuously.
"Whatever" I said, tuning out of the conversation and resting my head on my arms.
"Are you really that mad? Why won't you turn and face me? It was just a little joke...I made sure to close the door this time..." she whined.
"I'm comfortable like this" I said through gritted teeth.
From the sound of Liz's sigh, I could tell that she was pouting. It came out high and whistle-y.
She's definitely not a quitter though,"Are you just ashamed of the size of your b-"
"Liz!" I cried, "Really?".
"Hmph" she grunted, spirits slightly dampened, "Fine, stay like that" she grumbled, "Grumpy" she added under her breath.
I sighed and tried to rest again but was jerked awake by a piercing scream.
"What the hell Sasuke! Stop peeking, you pervert!" Liz screeched.
I spun around, my arms already censoring myself. My eyes flitted around, looking for the culprit. Oh, he was gonna get beat so bad, he would...
"Oh. My. God" Liz's astonished gasp sounded.
Oh, no. I just realized that I had turned around and Liz's eyes had quickly noticed the out of place hickeys on my neck.
The absolute shock on her face turned to absolute excitement, "When did this happen?!" she demanded at once.
"Ugh, Liz! What the hell!" I cried, exasperated, but I no longer tried to hide what she had clearly seen.
She chuckled, "I was pretty smart, wasn't I? Sasuke peeking is much easier to believe than Gaara" she pointed out with a grin, "While on the other hand, you weren't acting very smart. The only entrance is through the door that I closed for sure, genius".
I face palmed, "Why do enjoy tormenting me so much?" I asked bleakly.
She shrugged, "Maybe it's 'cause you're such an easy target?" she offered.
I sighed, "Dear god, why did I just happen to be your best friend?".
She giggled and snuggled up to me, "Now why don't you stop being such a sore loser and tell me when this happened!" she insisted urgently.
I turned bright red and sunk lower into the water until it as covering my chin, "Please, have mercy on me" I begged quietly with puppy eyes.
But it wasn't working on Liz this time. She tapped her fingers on the side of the pool, waiting impatiently for an explanation.
I sighed, giving in, "Last night" I said so low that she almost didn't hear me.
Keyword: almost.
"What?! Is that why you were acting all weird this morning?" she asked eagerly.
I fiddled with a piece of my hair, unable to stop the blush from creeping into my cheeks, "Maybe...".
Liz smacked her hand with her fist, "Of course!" she cried suddenly, "That's why you were wearing that scarf indoors too...you never do that" she smirked, proud that she knew me so well.
"Happy now?" I asked tiredly.
"No" Liz said flatly, "A full recount please" she requested...more like ordered.
I blushed even harder and wished that I could just drown myself right there. I shyly retold all of the goings on since the moment Sasuke challenged me to retake my key. Liz nodded the whole time, seeming to be thinking about something deeply. Once I finished, I sunk into the water just up to my nose and looked up at Liz, wondering how she would react.
She turned her gaze on me, a serious expression on her face, "You...know what this means...don't you?" she asked uncertainly.
"What?" I asked in a small voice.
Liz's face broke into the widest smile I've ever seen on her, "You voluntarily snuck into Sasuke's room and therefore, you were asking for it! You wanted him to do that!" she declared a bit too loud.
"What?!" I shrieked, rising up out of the water to loom over her, "Are you kidding me?! How could you think that?! I told you already! He stole my key so I had to steal it back!" I roared, frustrated.
Liz frowned, "Wow, no need to shout" she scolded, blowing me a raspberry while she was at it, "Besides, do you really expect Sasuke to be able to restrain himself when your so inviting all the time?" she wiggled her eyebrows at my exposed chest, "I'm surprised you're still a virgin" she forced a laugh.
"Ha, ha, very funny" I grumbled, sitting back down in the water, "It's not as if I walked into his room naked" I said, rolling my eyes.
Liz narrowed her eyes at me.
"No, Liz!" I growled, "That was not sarcasm!".
"Just making sure" she said, stung.
There was a period of tense silence between us, both unsure whether or not to try and break it. I sighed and tried once again to loosen up my muscles, not to mention my injured ankle. I twisted it around in circles and was delighted to find that it didn't hurt anymore. I guess some rest, a big dinner and a relaxing dip in the hot springs was all it took to get me back to normal.
"Better?" Liz dared to ask, shattering the silence.
"Yeah" I said, rubbing my ankle and continuing to exercise it.
"You know...in complete honesty...if it weren't for Sasuke today, you'd probably be looking pretty banged up...if you survived at all" I heard her add quickly under her breath.
I considered it for a moment, "Yeah, I guess...".
"He looked sincerely worried to me even if I saw you guys for just about two seconds on the way in" she said cautiously, moving closer to sit beside me.
I laughed lightly, "You should've seen him when we were still in the nurse's office! He even tried to put my sock and boot on for me".
Liz giggled, "It's pretty obvious he really cares about you...don't you think?" she suggested.
I furrowed my brow, "So? You really care about me too, as well as Gaara and Karin" I added sharply.
She nodded, agreeing, "Yes, but...don't you think he deserves a thank you...at the very least?".
I went silent for a bit, "I'll...think about it" I offered but I could see that Liz was already smiling.
"That's good enough for me...and him too, I think" she whispered, winking.
"Ah...that felt good, didn't it?" Liz said, relaxing against me.
I let my muscles loosen slightly. I was still a bit tense after the interrogation in the springs with Liz.
"I guess" I said weakly.
We were sitting in the public tea room, still steaming from the hot springs. I didn't usually drink tea but drinking it now made me feel incredibly relaxed.
"Hey, Karin! Finally done doing your hair?" Liz teased as Karin finally walked out of the hot springs.
She smiled and joined us, "That was the most I'd relaxed ever!" she sighed as she accepted the cup of tea that I had poured and handed to her.
"Yeah, no doubt about that" I agreed contentedly.
"Sounds like you girls had a good time in the hot springs too" Gaara chimed in as he and Sasuke joined us at our table.
"We did" Liz confirmed for them.
The group slowly settled into a quiet chat about this and that, not really anything. I tuned out most of the time until someone asked if my ankle felt any better which I had assured them was completely recovered. The rest of the time, I leaned back and drank my tea, feeling drowsy. It had been a long day and I was sure as hell ready to get some sleep.
Liz yawned, "I don't think I can hold on for much longer guys" she stood up, "Let's get to bed before the sun rises" she chuckled.
Everyone laughed lightly too and followed suit, standing up and stretching out their numb legs. I saw Sasuke cast me a neutral glance out of the corner of his eye. I just turned slightly and pretended not to notice it but apparently, I wasn't the only one who had noticed that little motion.
"Remember what we talked about" Liz whispered as she passed me.
We were all heading to the elevator to get up to our rooms. The ride up was uncomfortably silent. So silent, in fact, that I could hear each of them swallow. It was a funny situation but no one was inclined to laugh. When the telltale ding of the elevator arriving at our floor sounded, we seemed to all release our pent up breaths. One by one, we stepped out and immediately headed for our rooms. I lingered outside of my door, waiting for everyone to enter their own rooms and close the door before going to knock on Sasuke's.
He opened the door, surprise on his face, "Vira?".
"Yeah, come out for a sec" I said, backing up.
He obeyed and closed the door behind him, "What's up?".
I crossed my arms in front of my chest angrily, "First things first, never are you to do that to me again" I hissed.
"Do what?" he asked stupidly.
I blushed and grimaced, "You know...that" I mumbled incoherently.
His lips lifted in a small smile, "You mean...save you?".
I scowled at him, "No, dummy, this!" I said angrily, pulling back the edge of my scarf.
He turned slightly red too, "Only if you don't provoke me again" he answered.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked, tilting my head menacingly.
"I mean..." he started slowly, "You shouldn't come into my hotel room in the middle of the night and get on my bed" he said bluntly.
"I didn't get on your-"
Sasuke raised his eyebrow at me.
"Okay, fine. Maybe I did...but that was because my key was hanging around your neck!" I protested.
He shrugged, "Up to you".
I rolled my eyes, "Whatever".
"So, is that all you wanted to say? That you want to get a restraining order?" he asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"Nope, I'm not done yet" I said, glaring at him.
"What else have you got down your sleeve?" he queried, shoulders slumping.
"Payback" I said stiffly and cracked my knuckles on my right hand, "Close your eyes, it'll be easier to brace yourself this way" I offered.
He did as he was told, albeit reluctantly. I sauntered up to him and grabbed his shirt with my left hand. My right hand was too busy flying for his face. I smiled slightly and wrapped my right arm around his neck, pulling him lower so that I could plant my lips on his cheek. His eyes snapped open in shock.
"Wha-" he started to ask but I stopped him by putting a finger to his lips.
"I still hate you for doing what you did...but that was just a thank you for saving me...and not acting like a total jerk today" I said, releasing him, "So...thank you" I said at last before darting into my room, leaving Sasuke breathless behind me.
I giggled as I shut the door behind me and plopped down onto my bed.
And he thought I was going to punch him, I chuckled.
I sighed and settled myself into my bed properly. I felt at ease now, I felt like I had done things right this time. I was finally going to sleep peacefully tonight.
Finally, I thought tiredly as my eyes slid closed.
I jolted awake again not a second later and jumped out of the bed.
"Forgot to double lock the door" I said aloud to no one in particular before snapping both locks on the door into its locked position.
From there, I walked back to my bed, so tired that I didn't even remember my head hitting the pillow.