Ashwyn awoke with a smile on her face. Once more she found herself alone in bed, a frown replacing her smile as this knowledge came upon her. Perking her ears, she looked over towards the door to the bathroom. Standing up, she made her way over to the door. She couldn’t hear anything, so cautiously, she opened the door.
It was as she had assumed. The Alpha was taking a bath again. He was reclined in the water, his eyes closed and hands behind his head, though a single eye opened as he heard the door open.
Once again, she was faced with a naked Alpha, and once again, her cheeks flushed. Thankfully he remained seated within the tub, so she didn’t get the full experience again. Leaning forward, the Alpha rested an elbow on the edge, while his head was supported by his fist.
“You’re not gonna get awkward about this again, are you?” He asked with a raised brow. Her cheeks grew hotter at that, and she quickly shook her head. She was about to simply close the door on the situation, but something stopped her. Namely the frown on the Alpha’s face.
Did he want her to join him? Did he desire…? No. He said his people bathed together. So this was nothing so intimate for him. If that was so, then why did he seem to want her to join him, though? Perhaps it was because it was intimate for her that it became more desirable?
She couldn’t tell. Especially from his face. She had spent so long with the Alpha, and yet in all that time, he had not gotten any easier to read. Sure, there were some expressions that were common enough to be read, but she couldn’t tell what he was thinking behind the faces he would make. The best clues she would have were his mouth, but they couldn’t express as much as the eyes, and they were difficult to read on a good day. Let alone when he’s on the other side of the room.
All she knew was that he was seemingly disappointed by her decision to remove herself from the situation. She didn’t like disappointing him. She wanted to make him happy. Like he had done for her. Glancing back at the Alpha, he had his brow raised. She had paused in the middle of closing the door. She probably looked a little strange for doing that.
Swallowing her embarrassment, she opened the door and entered the bathroom. This act predictably made that brow raise higher than before, even as she stepped closer to the tub. Thankfully he didn’t comment on her change of heart, but she took notice that his frown was gone.
Once she was close enough, she was able to fully see his form, and the Alpha, being the way that he was, made no attempts to cover himself. She had to prevent herself from looking down multiple times as she hesitantly lifted a paw to the edge of the tub. It was at this point that he decided to speak.
“You look like your about to face off with a dragon.” The suddenness of his voice was enough to make her jump, as her full focus was on not looking anywhere untoward. The voice was clearly amused, and as she turned to glare at the elf, she saw the smirk on his face. She didn’t say anything, not trusting her voice to be steady in the scenario. “You know you don’t have to do this, right?” This time his frown returned. “This is supposed to be an intimate thing, right?”
“Is… intimate. Yes, but…” She said slowly, a frown of her own plastered onto her face. A hand gently cupped her cheek, and she was compelled to look the Alpha in the eyes.
“You don’t have to do anything. If you’re uncomfortable with this, then don’t do it.” He told her flatly. Her ears flattened as she looked away. That was the issue though. She wanted to, but she wasn’t sure she was comfortable being that intimate with him yet. She truly wanted to be, though.
She trusted the Alpha a great deal. She had exposed herself to him both mentally and emotionally before, but never physically. Not like this. Of course, she knew that he wouldn’t even think about doing anything with her aside from bathing, but that was the issue.
She obviously didn’t want to go that far yet. It was way too soon, but at the same time, the knowledge that it wouldn’t even come up as a possibility to him made her sad.
It didn’t take a genius to realize that the Alpha was uncomfortable with their relationship on some level. She couldn’t read him easily, and he was good at hiding his emotions, but he couldn’t hide the hesitation in his actions. The traces of uncertainty on his face, nor the brief moment of disgust in his eyes after their kiss, before he hid it away with a flippant smirk. He didn’t like being with a pony, and yet he was trying.
A fact that made her love him even more.
She wanted to let him know how comfortable she was around him. How much she trusted him. She wanted to be able to help him overcome the issues preventing him from approaching her the way he wanted to.
“Is… okay.” She said after she returned from her thoughts. Once more she placed a paw on the edge of the tub. This time it wasn’t as hesitant as before. After fully thinking through her feelings on the matter, she felt more confident in what she was going to do. Within a moment, she entered the tub.
Her face was beet red as she sat down in the water, her gaze firmly placed on the wall ahead to prevent her from looking anywhere else. Despite that, a sense of pride welled up within her. She had joined the Alpha in the bath.
Now she just had to get past her own embarrassment.
~-~
If she was to be completely honest, the bath was really nice. In hindsight, of course. During the entirety of it, she had to make a constant effort to not look down and to sit far enough away that she didn’t feel anything against her. Despite that, the Alpha had helped her wash, and though it was incredibly embarrassing for her, she would be lying if she said it wasn’t effective. In fact, she hadn’t felt so clean in years.
Perhaps she should join him more often? If only to be so clean everyday.
She was cleaner than ever, and it certainly showed. At least, it seemed to show, as the customers for the day had decided to say she looked nice that day. A fact that surprised her.
Sure, the regulars had become accustomed to her, and addressed her directly a couple times with pleasantries, but never once was she complimented. She was surprised to find that she enjoyed it, and she made an attempt to remember each of those ponies faces. She would be sure to be nicer to them in return.
The effect this change made was clear to her, as before she knew it, the last pony had left the building and they were officially closed.
~-~
Aurick sat down at the table, placing his own plate of food in front of him as he did so. Ashwyn had already started to dig into hers as he did so. Looking at her, a small frown crossed his face. One that was swiftly changed to a neutral expression.
He once more felt his part in their relationship was inadequate. Ashwyn had decided to face her face her trepidation and succeeded. Despite wearing a heavy blush that covered her face throughout the experience, she was capable of weathering the storm of her own emotions. A feat that he couldn’t do.
Despite initiating a kiss, he wasn’t able to hold to it for as long as he desired. The sheer wrongness of it making him back off before he could accomplish what he set out to do. He was able to play it off, smirking and claiming to have to teach her how to kiss. A claim he regretted saying afterwards. He had faced the issue, and yet it persisted. It was as strong as ever, and he knew he would have to battle himself again if he wanted to make another attempt.
Ashwyn, on the other hand did what she set out to accomplish. Not to mention how she acted afterwards. She was smiling all day. She practically glowed with how happy she seemed to be. Even the customers had taken notice and had approached her readily. He mildly expected her to turn around and snap at them, as he knew she disliked ponies. Yet, she didn’t do that. She simply smiled and talked back to them.
Scratching at his beard, he forked a piece of meat into his mouth and glanced up to Ashwyn again.
He needed to get over this issue if he wanted to get anywhere with her. He would need to hold true to his claim. This wouldn’t change overnight, but he was certain that if he kept it up that it would work. Little by little, the problem would dissolve until he was clear of it.
Then, hopefully, he could truly return the love she so readily shared with him.