slicings | (no subject)

[ I always want to kiss you, Ren says, and Dan Heng blinks. It's true that her roommate often says silly, playfully flirtatious things, but an addendum like always is a little different, isn't it?

It makes her wonder, and wondering is dangerous.

What's worse though is that she's usually good at hiding her own embarrassment and attraction in moments like this, but between the exhaustion and the pain, there's no helping the way her teeth worry at her lower lip, eyes avoidant as a pink flush comes to her cheeks. ]

I—

[ Damnit. She would kiss Ren in a heartbeat, but— ]

You're still under the influence of the drug, Ren. [ That's all. That's all this is. ] Why don't you drink some water, take a shower... try to feel better?

[ oh, now that's a bit of a shame. dan heng used to get flustered in the beginning, when they first met, and ren flirted openly with her, but dan heng soon grew accustomed to her behavior, and stopped reacting. a shame. she's so very cute when she blushes like that.

but now, she's blushing again, all soft pinks, biting her lip and glancing away with a demureness that makes ren's heartrate spike. ]

I feel better just knowing you were there for me.

[ she says simply, her thumb smoothing over the soft, tempting bow of dan heng's lips, her voice pitched a little lower. but she meant it - she's a mess right now, her makeup smudged from sleeping on it, her hair and skin smelling of stale alcohol. she'd rather flirt with dan heng at her best. although.. ]

Wanna grab a shower with me?

[ Despite all her best efforts, a shudder runs down Dan Heng's spine. Between the insistence in the other's words, the affection so clear in her voice as her thumb smooths over Dan Heng's lips, it's so tempting to—

Fingers tighten in the fabric of her slacks. She can't let herself get swept away in this, not right now...

And then, Ren asks if she'll shower with her.

Dan Heng sucks in a breath.

The answer has to be no, right? And yet... her friend is a mess, still. Last night she couldn't even walk, and Dan Heng doesn't know how long it takes the drug to leave the system, so... ]

Okay. Let's take a shower. I don't want you getting hurt.

[ ren doesn't expect dan heng to accept, so when she does, her brows lift high - but then she grins, and takes dan heng by one hand, allowing her other to be free to continue holding the ice. ]

C'mon.

[ her knees still feel a little wobbly, but ren doesn't have trouble walking, really, aside from some weakness. she doesn't think she needs the supervision. but she also won't cast aside the opportunity to shower with the girl she's head over heels for.

it only takes a moment for ren to snag some towels and their shared shower caddy before she's sliding into her slippers and tugging dan heng out the door into the corridor. she's not wearing any pants, but her oversized tee is enough to cover her panties, and that's good enough for her. she's hardly afraid of flashing some leg. ]

[ Well, Dan Heng can't deny that it's nice to see Ren smiling, especially after the night she had. She's quick to step into her slippers as well, allowing the other to lead her out into the corridor even as her free hand keeps the ice held against her face. Her own sleeping clothes are somewhat more demure than Ren's, so that's one less thing to worry about, too, given she's wearing not only a sleeping shirt, but pants as well.

At this early hour, the shared bathrooms are, thankfully, quiet. Stopping in front of one of the cubicles, Dan Heng lowers the ice from her face for long enough to reach for her towel, unthreading her fingers from the other woman's. ]

Is this good? I'll be right here if you start to feel dizzy again...

[ into the showers they go, where ren sets down their shower caddy on the bench in the cubicle, then hangs her towel on the hook outside of it, before she begins to undress. it doesn't exactly take much. sweeping her shirt over her head, she drapes it over her towel on the hook, then looks toward dan heng, puzzled. ]

What do you mean?

[ of course she'll be right here. they're showering together.

hooking her thumbs into her black lace panties, ren rugs them down over her thighs and down her calves, leaving her entirely nude, as well as entirely comfortable with it, all of her curves on easy display. reaching into the cubicle, ren starts the water, testing it with her fingers. ]

I mean—

[ But. Oh. Ren has clearly decided that the cubicle is meant for both of them, not just one, if the way she steps in and starts to strip is any indication. Dan Heng's lips part, color flaring on her cheeks as she looks away, because... gods, she's not sure where to look right now. Her own fingers still on the hem of her shirt, all of her stilled actually as she desperately seeks a response in her own mind. ]

You... meant together, together.

[ Aeons help her, she sounds ridiculous. ]

Unless you'd prefer me to go into the next cubicle.

[ There are plenty of them, right? They don't need to share the space... ]

[ oh, look at her, she's so cute and awkward. ren smiles. ]

Come here.

[ reaching forward, she snags dan heng and tugs her in closer, though not beneath the water, not while she's still clothed. her hands then drop, toying with the hem of dan heng's shirt, beginning to pull it upward, though only a little. if she's really uncomfortable, ren won't force it, of course - she's seen dan heng in different states of undress, but never entirely nude, after all, even if dan heng has seen ren naked likely hundreds of times. scars and all. ]

I'll wash your hair for you, if you want.

[ she says around a smile, her eyes fixed on dan heng's. ]

[ She blinks—and for a moment, balks. She really isn't expecting Ren to suddenly reach for the hem of her clothing. Underneath, she has panties and that's all, and... well, it's true she's seen Ren naked a lot, even though she tries desperately not to look. But she... she's always managed to stay at least partially clothed around the other, so...

(And yet, as tired and in pain as she is, the idea of her friend and roommate washing her hair for her, soothing the tiredness away with firm yet gentle motions...)

This time, the motion she makes in silence, alone, is a swallow. ]

I... okay.

[ She's still hesitant when it comes her to her clothes, though, still kind of just standing in place as she bites her lip, hands lifting to her waistband. ]

[ poor dan heng, always so abashed, and ren just shamelessly steamrolls over her.. she feels a little guilty, but dan heng does agree in the end, and ren knows that if she were really uncomfortable, she would decline. she's shy, sure, and a bit demure, but she's very capable of setting her boundaries as well - as last night surely exemplified. ]

Hey, I don't bite, you know.

[ she says softly, her smile gentling a little around the edges even if her eyes are still sharp, her tone still flirty.

tugging further at the hem of dan heng's sleeping shirt, ren pulls it entirely upward now, helping dan heng to remove it, careful of her delicate horns. once off, it gets tossed aside with her own clothing heaped in the basket beside the cubicle. ]

I know—

[ But she's still flushed, still embarrassed as she lets Ren removed her shirt, reaches to strip herself of her pants in turn. Her panties folllow too, and before long she's naked too, her clothes heaped up with the other's. ]

...Sorry, I just wasn't expecting... I thought we'd have our own cubicles.

[ And perhaps that's where the rub lies—she does know how to set boundaries, and she would, if there were any part of her that truly, truly despised this. But as embarrassed as she is, her heart is pounding in her breast with excitement. To be so close to Ren like this... ]

[ ren chuckles, then steps back beneath the spray of the water, pulling dan heng along with her, and reaching to close the curtain. shameless though she might be with her own body, she knows that dan heng is not the same, and besides, she doesn't necessarily want anyone else laying eyes on her beautiful crush, anyway. not only that, but the closed curtain makes this space feel a little more intimate. ]

Well, you can go to your own if you want.

[ she says, her gaze flickering down dan heng's body briefly, then back up again. she's just as beautiful as ren had expected she would be. skinner, less thickly curvaceous than ren, but no less lovely, her skin soft, her breasts perky perfect handfuls, her legs miles long.

releasing dan heng's hands at last, ren lifts her own to push them back through her hair to wet it. ]

But then I can't wash your hair.

[ "you can go to your own" Ren says, and there's no hesitation, no disappointment in her voice—but her eyes do take their time to skim down Dan Heng's body, a brief flicker that would perhaps be missed if the shorter of the two weren't so sensitive to.. well, everything right now. The red on her cheeks only creeps higher, and now that she's pulled under the water, she distracts herself by wetting her hair too, trying not to think about what went through Ren's mind when she glanced over her.

Did she find her attractive? Dan Heng's body is nothing compared to Ren's, but...

She tries not to think about it, offers the other a smile that feels more helpless than anything else, and shakes her head. ]

It seems like you really want to do that, so I won't take it away from you.

[ Terrible reasoning, but perhaps the best she has right now. ]

[ attractive? dan heng is gorgeous. they have different body types, sure, but that doesn't make dan heng any less beautiful from head to toe, just as ren knew that she would be. of course, she might be viewing her through crush-goggles, but even still, dan heng is objectively lovely, she would argue. anyone would think so.

chuckling, ren watches her through hooded eyes as the water sloughs down their bodies, warm and wet. ]

You're so cute when you're shy.

[ she says softly, before leaning to pluck dan heng's shampoo up from the shower caddy, squeezing a generous amount into her palm. ]

You don't have to be. It's just me. I won't let anyone else look at you.

[ She blinks at that, at the borderline possessiveness in Ren's words, and a soft laugh comes to her lips, something half disbelieving and... admittedly, half pleased. She offers a shake of her head even as she looks up at her, and her teeth press into her lower lip once more.

She doesn't even know what to say to that, and yet...

A huff of breath over her lips. ]

I'm not.. it's not that I'm shy.

[ ...Yeah, that wasn't what she was looking for. Is she always going to be so abjectly terrible at this? ]

[ with her hands well lathered, ren steps in closer to dan heng, close enough that their bodies nearly touch when she reaches to begin gently working the shampoo through dan heng's beautiful silky hair. ]

.. no?

[ ren's smile softens a little, though there's still something a little playfully predatory in her eyes. ]

Not shy.. nervous, then?

[ her thumbs rub slow circles around the bases of dan heng's horns, careful and delicate where they branch from beneath her hair. ren's head dips, and her hands slide through dan heng's hair, pushing the shampoo through it, down her back. ]

Nervous around me?

[ Nervous. Perhaps that's a good way to put it, as loath as Dan Heng is to admit it. People tend to make her nervous in general sometimes, not to mention people like Ren who are so calm and confident and effortlessly beautiful in everyhing she does... Ren, whose fingers are in her hair, circling the base of her horns in a way that makes Dan Heng's head tilt back, visceral shivers coursing down her spine.

How would those fingers feel on her body? Brushing over her skin, tantalizing each nerve? ]

Yeah—

[ she starts, a quiet admission—though she cuts herself off abruptly when Ren continues, asks if she's nervous around her, and...

Aeons help her, that's even more truthful, but... ]

You're being mean, [ she complains after a moment. ] Talking like that. I'm sure there aren't many people you don't make nervous.

[ at that, ren laughs. ]

I'm the mean one here?

[ she teases, while she finishes working the shampoo through the ends of dan heng's long hair, making sure she's thoroughly lathered. how does she look cute even like this, with her hair all full of shampoo? ]

You're mean to me every day, looking as cute as you are, but resisting me every time I flirt with you. You're cruel, Danbao..

[ she pouts, sticking out her lower lip. ]

You are—

[ But she cuts herself off when Ren pouts in response, argues that Dan Heng is cute but resisting her, calls her...

calls her cruel

calls her Danbao—

Dan Heng's cheeks darken still more. ]

Ren. You... you have plenty of other people to flirt with. You know that.

[ ugh, she's so cute.. she's cute when she's being sassy, she's cute when she's resisting, she's cute when she's blushing.. she's always cute. ren smiles. ]

Doesn't everybody? There are plenty of people in the world. I could flirt with them all, if I wanted to.

[ with dan heng's hair now thoroughly washes, ren steps back so that she will be able to rinse off, while she begins to lather up her own hair. ]

I'll stop, if that's what you want.

[ Dan Heng turns, her head tilting as she watches Ren lather up her own hair—and then silently reaching forward to take over. It's not easy, with the other woman being so much taller than her, but she wants to try, after Ren did it for her.

(It gives her something to focus on, too, instead of the long, curvy, naked body right in front of her.)

Her teeth worry at her lower lip. The truth is, she... ]

It's just... If you're flirting with me, you might be... you might miss out on flirting with the people you really want to flirt with. Right?

[ ren's smile softens. ]

That's a pretty flimsy argument.

[ she chuckles, lowering her head a little bit to help dan heng work, while closing her eyes to better enjoy the attention. it's a shame that she doesn't remember the night before. did dan heng tuck her in sweetly? did she mop the sweat from her brow?

her insides twist. she's trying very hard not to think about last night, about what happened, and what almost happened as a result. her eyes flutter open again, and she touches their brows together. ]

Or is it that you would rather only be flirted with someone willing to take you on a date?

[ Her brows raise. ]

Is it? It makes perfect logical sense to me.

[ What if there's someone Ren really likes, but they see her flirting with Dan Heng? Or one of the other people with whom she tends to flirt? Wouldn't they assume that her interest lay elsewhere? Or at least wasn't as strong as they would like? Or...

What does all this have to do with dates?!

She sighs and keeps working the lather through her roommate's hair, although her fingers pause as their foreheads come to rest together, blinking. ]

But... if you're putting it that way, then... I guess so? I mean... I suppose sometimes it's hard for me to read the intentions of people who flirt a lot.

Hmm..

[ ren is thoughtful for a moment, humming as dan heng's fingers work through her hair so gently, but soon enough the lathering is done, and ren pulls back to rinse her head beneath the raining water.

finally, it's time to address her messy face. squeezing some scrub into her palm, she massages it onto her face, cleaning away all of that smudged makeup at last. ]

I think that's fair. I'll keep it in mind.

[ ah, but how dan heng has clearly not noticed that ren flirts with her more than anyone else, by a large margin. ]

[ She smiles at that, allowing herself to take a step back while Ren starts to scrub at her makeup. Dan Heng should probably remove her make up too, but the bruises...

With a small sigh, she picks up the ice pack and presses it to the side of her face. It's melting fast, but she should still be able to get a little benefit out of it... she can worry about the remnants of her own previous night's make up a little later.

That's where her brain is until Ren mentions that she'll "keep it in mind", and her brows raise.

What does that even mean?

She sighs. ]

Ren...