Page 86 of A Soul to Touch

Her quiet voice broke him out of the trance that had begun to pull him under, and he turned his head to her. She was no longer laughing but rather had a thoughtful frown to her expression.

Get in the water,he told himself.Don’t let her know you are... She won’t think you can protect her if you cannot do something as simple as sit in this.

Faunus didn’t want Mayumi to think he was weak in any sense.It’s not even that deep,he reassured himself.

Or was it lying? Was it actually endless?

He jumped up and placed his left leg in. He had to calm his body of the repulsive shudder it gave before he threw the other in. He slipped inside and instantly a horrible shiver coursed down his spine, which caused his fur to stand on end.

The only solace he felt was that the water was warm, which helped to ease some of the tension in his muscles.

There were multiple places in which one could sit on rock, and he chose the one he thought would be best for himself as it wouldn’t submerge him. He held on tightly to the edges to ensure he didn’t somehow slip in any deeper than the bottom of his sternum.

His body was dense, wanting to sink rather than float.

He didn’t even know Mayumi had stripped until she was gliding herself inside the water. It came up to well past her breasts to sit around the top of her chest.

Seeing her take a seat in front of him gave him something other than the water to focus on, but it was hard to ignore it wrapped around him. It felt crushing, like it was squeezing his torso rather than just gently lapping at his flesh.

He wished his orbs would stop being white. No matter how much he tried to control his emotions, nothing aided him. He wanted out. He couldn’t believe he’d gotten in tobegin with. His claws gouged at the rock on the outside of the bath.

The only reason he knew he was shaking was because Mayumi came over and settled him by cupping his snout.

“There we go. Now we can get all nice and clean,” she cooed.

He didn’t know if she was aware of his unease, but she made no comment about it. She helped to centre him when she turned and sat on one of his thighs while still holding his snout, directing his face to keep his gaze on hers.

He thought he may have sensed a hint of concern in her features with the way her brows twitched. After a small while, he felt his distress lessening.

She is sitting on me.He placed his arms around her so he could hold her.

He didn’t like it when she began cupping water in her hands and pouring it down the front of his body, but he chose to ignore it. Faunus didn’t take his sight off her, and he tried to feel nothing else but her body on his.

There was no weight since the water kept her buoyant, so he let the side of his torso and his arms take in the touch of her instead.

Her kindness and comfort were what he needed, and he felt his heart flap lightly in his chest.She is trying to calm me.He hated that he needed it, that he’d been so obvious, but he was still thankful for it.

Faunus lifted his hand, which dripped heavily with water, and cupped the side of her face.

“Why are you doing this with me?” he asked, feeling a strange coil of emotion within.

Even though she’d been unobtainable until now, Faunus had... undeniably cared for Mayumi. That was deepening, whether he wanted it to or not.

“Having a bath?” Her brows drew together. “Isn’t it obvious? Or do you mean why am I sitting on your lap? If you are, I am just because I can.”

Faunus shook his head. “Why are you allowing me to touch you, Mayumi? I am a Duskwalker. I never expected you to feel any kind of desire or affection towards me.”

“Oh.”Her features fell before she looked away from him to stare out in the forest that backed the house. Then she gave a sharp short giggle. “Others would think it’s weird, but sometimes some people just want to fuck the monsters under the bed.”

Faunus gave a quizzical head tilt with his orbs growing a dark yellow, finally fading away from white. “But... I do not fit under your bed.”

“Pfft! I didn’t mean literally! It’s a saying, Faunus. It means that some people are just, uh, kind of attracted to things that aren’t normal or human? I hate Demons, but I’ve found some attractive. Sometimes spooky things turn me on, like monsters and the idea of the boogieman.” She gave him a large grin, onethat was so prominent that it made the underside of her eyes puffy. “And you’re the biggest, baddest, and scariest of them all. From the moment I saw you in the clearing that night, I wanted to jump your bones.”

The way his heart turned cold suddenly made him lose the hot sensation of the bathwater around him. He darkened his orbs to black when he knew they were going to turn blue, hiding from her any sadness or hurt he felt from her words.

When he took a steady breath, he opened his sight and was relieved they were their usual yellow.

Then he forced a chuckle from himself and glided his claws up the side of her body.

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