Broken Fists, Staunch Defense (Elyss/Hanako)

"Yeah, you do that." Hanako said, her voice soft and warm.
"But see that you don't forget to take care of the rest as well, okay?"

Was it now her turn to give advice? The woman that not so long ago could only function as a soldier but barely as an individual? What irony!

The thought made Hanako chuckle, much as she had chuckled when Elyss had made her doggy paddle joke. Both thoughts were equally hilarious, although Hanako did give the image of Elyss doing a doggy paddle here in the pool the advantage. The other thought was more of a sad joke

For a few moments Hanako's eyes rested on Elyss, mainly on her face, as she sat back with closed eyes.

'Maybe we are all a little bit broken.' she thought. Then she too sat back and closed her eyes.

Again it was the picture of the two women, relaxing side by side in the warm water of the bath, eyes closed, no words spoken. Each of them caught in their own thoughts, but still enjoying the silent company of the other.

When Hanako’s thoughts began to wander this time, they left the past untouched, thankfully. Instead she realised that it didn’t bother her any longer that she and Elyss were naked, she wasn’t embarrassed anymore. In this short time she somewhat became used to the feeling of being exposed in front of another.
After all, she thought, we’re both women. From a certain standpoint one could say that they looked virtually the same, except for some minor details: Two legs, two arms (more or less in this case), one torso, one head, both had breasts and no unnecessary weight between the legs. There wasn’t a body part on Elyss that Hanako hadn’t seen on herself and probably vice versa. So why the hell had she been embarrassed like a little girl before? Of course she had tried to hide it, with limited success, but the temptation to cover herself had been there. Now, finally, the realisation had come that she had nothing to hide. Especially not in front of another woman.

The thought brought comfort along with it. She felt nor more at rest, more confident. It was only a small step, maybe insignificant to others. Hanako, however, felt more normal, thanks to it. Going to the bath, connecting with others, it was something almost everyone did, and most people didn’t give a second thought to being nude in the bath or going only at quiet times. Hana felt a bit silly, in hindsight.

Although, she probably would keep up the habit of seeking out quiet hours and empty baths. There may be a reason that she was only this comfortable with Elyss, now that the redhead had seen almost everything there was to see, but it was only a small doubt. The main reason was that Hanako simply couldn’t imagine that visiting a bath full of people would be as relaxing as an empty one. Having the faucets and the water to herself brought quite the luxurious feeling along with itself. Even Hana, who normally couldn’t care less about luxury, had to admit that she’d rather not give that up, if possible. However, having a companion, who understood this and liked to enjoy the water in silence as well, like Elyss, would be more than welcome.

As her thoughts began to circle more and more about more and more trivial matters, a small portion of her consciousness realised she was about to doze off. With a start she sat up and splashed a little water around.

“Oh, sorry.” she said. “That wasn’t on purpose. I think I was about to doze off. Never happened to me before in a bath.”