A/N: This was at one point a Shizuru/Mai prompt, but then things changed, word count grew, and it has now grown into a one-shot.
Wash Away
Anything is possible, although, that particular lesson doesn't come easily for everyone…
If someone had told them that they were fated to be together, they'd easily think the fortuneteller insane. It was a pretty ludicrous accusation, really. They couldn't be together, that was just outright strange, or so they thought. It would be damn near impossible, and pigs would fly before they ever admitted that they loved each other.
Yet, stranger things had happened in the past, that went without question.
Fast-forward a small handful of years ahead, and those stranger things become part of the past. In retrospect, the impossible once again became possible. Even better than that, it became inevitable. Perspective, if it must be given a name, gave them resolution. The simple moments meant the world to them, carrying the weight of their love for each other.
In some ways, neither of them fully got their heads around how their hearts felt. It was a soulful thing, devoid of logic. Then again, love didn't need to be rational, it just needed to exist...to continue to be kindled between them.
Mai considered that thought absently while enjoying a quiet evening in. Even if it was as normal and routine as the sponge pressing into her back, and the gentle hand of the woman guiding it. There was nothing greater in the world. Something so profoundly innocent by nature, spoke well of heady desire. They weren't casual lovers. They were entirely devoted, in rare cases perhaps blindly, to each other. It needed to be that way, because truth be told, Shizuru, she was no saint.
A devilish woman maybe, her past taken into account…but an angel? Not in the slightest.
"Is this adequate?" Shizuru asked the question. It was moot by nature, cutting the peaceful silence with her concern.
"You should know it is." Mai laughed, feeling the soft press of lips upon her shoulder. It was a welcome little addition to the feel of suds slipping down her spine. It was heavenly, and with a contented sighed, Mai let her eyes slip closed. "Better than adequate…it's amazing." Mai murmured quietly.
"I'm glad." And it was the God's honest truth. "I always wonder about how you feel about my touch, I'm honestly surprised that you're not repulsed by it."
"Why would I be?" It was true their relationship was still in its early stages, truer still, that they still hadn't spoken deeply on the past that so defined them, their focus better suited towards the future. Still, Mai detected more than a hint of truthful loathing in the statement.
Anger perhaps, that had long ago fizzled out, leaving nothing but tired resolve behind.
"It's nothing…" Shizuru said, forcing herself to stand and having already completed her own scrub down before, sunk deeply into the warm water of the bath. "It was a mere idle thought, nothing more."
"I don't believe that, and I think deep down, neither do you." And with one last pour of water over her head, she followed Shizuru's example. "Scoot back a little." It was a soft request. Tender and passionate. Shizuru abided the request. Mai sunk into the bath just in front of Shizuru, feeling the body of the woman behind her. It was a snig fit, but Mai preferred that. "I've never minded your touch, Shizuru. It's a comfort to me, especially times like now."
"It's just hard to believe, that's all." And with that admission, Shizuru wrapped her arms around Mai. "I trust you though, when you say you love me."
The carrot top leaned back, her head resting upon Shizuru's shoulder. "If that's the hardest thing you ever have to fathom ever again, I'd consider you pretty lucky."
A smile tugged at Shizuru's lips. "Is that so?"
They shared a kiss; soft and sweet. The angle an awkward one that made Mai completely at Shizuru's mercy. It was slow, steady, and full of the desire that they shared for each other. Deep enough to leave no doubt in Mai's mind, gentle enough to let Mai have the lead, if she wanted too…their passion was a strange mix of give and take, so unlike the usual fire.
They parted, crimson and violet eyes meeting briefly before sharing another kiss. This one quicker, not as deep, but no less meaningful. Nose brushed against nose, lips against lips, sighs mingling, eyes closing. Even the warm water rippled around them, sloshing and sliding against their skin in subtle ways. The wet heat lapping at their already sensitive flesh.
"Yeah...I'd certainly say so." Mai said then, so very sure of herself. "At least, I'm very lucky, I know that to be a fact."