Mirai

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Dad had food ready for us when we returned. Soup again, but not tomato soup this time, instead it was an onion soup with some potato bits in it. They were so boiled there was no need to chew them, but still the most solid food Tamah had eaten.

I worried throughout the meal that she would puke again. But to my relief, she didn't. She ate happily while Dad asked me about what we had done on the beach.

Once the food was over, I brought her upstairs and to the shower. Both of us had dragged a lot of sand into the house and there was still more stuck on our bodies. She also hadn't gotten a chance to clean herself yet, though I had cleaned her with magic. But a proper shower would probably do her good, a chance for her to clean herself of maybe more than dirt.

The bathroom was rather big, but not ridiculously big. There was space enough for both a shower and a tub, but it wasn't overly spacious. And, like the rest of the house, it was white with a wooden cabinet over the sink and a wooden chair. The towels light blue.

I turned to Tamah and saw her taking it all in with wide-open eyes. I felt rather stupid for not having considered that, but she wouldn't have seen anything as modern as this before.

"This is a bathroom," I told her. "And you use it for like cleaning and stuff."

I then proceeded to explain how the different things worked. She was most fascinated by the toilet and pressed the flush button several times in a row. To my own surprise, the water flow didn't ever run out like it would in a normal toilet. I guessed that was another part of the magicalness of the world.

I showed her the bathtub quickly, that one she seemed to understand very easily. Apart from that the water came from a faucet, a bathtub was a bathtub after all. But the shower was different. Her eyes were glued on the water falling from overhead as I turned it on and off and demonstrated how she could adjust the temperature. Then I also showed her the different soaps and such that I was certain hadn't been there when we had entered, but that had appeared at some point.

"You got it?" I asked and she nodded. Then, without any further ado, she stepped into it and turned the water on. She looked up at the stream as it fell on her face, soaked her hair and her clothes.

I immediately took a few steps back and averted my eyes. The completely white dress became see-through with the water and it also clung to her body. Just the tiny glimpse I had gotten before looking away had my cheeks heating up.

"I'll... I'll be outside, alright?" I told her and moved to leave. "Take your time."

I had gotten a few steps away from her when she moved out of the shower and to me, leaving wet footprints on the floor. She grabbed my hand and I forced myself to meet her gaze. Forced my eyes to not travel further down.

There was a wrinkle between her eyes and her bottom lip shook a little.

"I'll just be on the other side of the door," I told her and stroked her cheek. "I'm not going far and you'll be safe in here. No one will come and disturb you."

She shook her head and squeezed my hand tighter.

I swallowed and, for a second, my eyes traveled down. The dress hadn't had time to get properly wet yet, but I could make out the smoothness of her dark skin underneath. Since she was so skinny, she barely had any breasts, but the shape of her nipples was distinguishable.

I pulled my eyes up to meet hers again, but they stopped at her lips. They still trembled slightly, but they also looked so full and soft. I wondered what she tasted like.

I forced my eyes up. Her eyes were laced with worry, but I felt unable to stay while she showered.

"I don't think it's a good idea that I stay," I continued and tried, without any success, to get out of her hold.

She stepped closer instead. Wrapped her arms around me. Pressed her eyes against my shoulder. I let out a sigh and hugged her back. Her body shivered slightly.

"I'll stay, okay," I relented, my own embarrassment over it mattered very little to me as I felt her body tremble from anxiety. "But I'll have my back to you when you shower. Is that alright?"

She held onto me a bit longer before ending the hug. As she did, as she had taken a step away from me, her eyes fell down my body. Since the top I wore was white as well, I assumed the water, that had gotten on me during the hug, had a similar effect on my top as it had on her dress.

My cheeks began to heat up.

But she didn't seem bothered by it. Instead, she bent her head to take in herself more before looking up and cocking her head to the side as if asking me if that was the reason for my behavior.

My cheeks heated up even more and I turned around.

"Shower now. I'll shower after you," I said while I wanted to fall through the floor because of my embarrassment that was emphasized by her lack of it.

I was ready to hear her return to the shower, but instead, I felt her lips gently press against my shoulder. Though I couldn't properly know what the action meant, I got the distinct feeling of that she meant to say that I was acting cute.

It made my cheeks heat up even further, and I probably was the shade of a tomato. Thankfully, she couldn't see that. If she had, she probably would have just found me even more cute and also managed to tease me about it somehow.