It was the third time Tifa had accidentally walked in on Ethan and 2B in an intimate moment.
The first two times had been more awkward than anything just a glance, a shared look with 2B before quietly backing out. But this time had been different. They had talked while continuing, and not just small talk either.
That scene had been... vivid.
All day long, Tifa couldn't shake the memory. Ethan had tried to comfort her afterward, telling her that living on a ship meant things like this were bound to happen that it was nothing to be embarrassed about. But it wasn't embarrassment that haunted her.
It was curiosity.
She and Ethan were lovers now, at least emotionally. What she'd seen today wasn't that a glimpse of what might one day happen between them?
That thought sent her mind spinning. How could someone like 2B, always so cold and composed, wear that kind of expression? One of bliss, abandon... even joy?
Later that evening, while soaking in the bath, Tifa found her thoughts drifting again. She looked down at the two soft curves rising through the water, strands of hair floating lazily across the surface.
She raised her hand, touched herself the way Ethan had at noon. But it wasn't the same. It was... mechanical. Absent.
His touch had been different confident, grounding. Charged with something she couldn't replicate on her own.
Her breath caught as she traced a finger lower, trembling slightly. If it were him... would it feel entirely different?
She was just beginning to lose herself in those thoughts when the bathroom door creaked open.
"Who's there?!" she gasped, covering herself instinctively.
"It's me," came Ethan's familiar voice, along with the sound of approaching footsteps.
The washroom was split into two sections: a dry zone for laundry, grooming, and the toilet, and a wet area where the bath and shower stood, separated only by a simple sliding door.
And that door, as it turned out, didn't lock.
Tifa's heart pounded as she pressed herself deeper into the water, trying to conceal as much of her body as possible. "I'm still bathing! What are you doing in here?!"
"Taking a shower. Aren't we dating now?" Ethan said, sliding open the door and walking in casually, eyes sweeping over her figure half-hidden beneath the rippling surface. He sounded amused but not lewd just... familiar.
Tifa turned her head, cheeks flushing. "We just started dating. This is way too fast."
Ethan stepped beneath the shower and turned it on, letting the warm spray soak his hair and shoulders. "So in your hometown... when do couples start bathing together?"
"After they get married," she replied instinctively. "Before that, maybe just holding hands…"
"Just holding hands?" Ethan chuckled. "But we've already kissed. And not just a little peck either."
"That's... different. People in the city are more open about these things, I guess," she muttered, flustered.
"In my hometown, it's normal to go from first glance to hand-holding, kissing, hugging sometimes even more all in a single day."
Tifa blinked. "That's so... fast."
"Times change. Places too."
"Oh."
There was a beat of silence, then Ethan called out again. "Tifa?"
"Yeah?"
"Would you mind helping me scrub my back? It's a bit hard to reach."
Tifa hesitated, staring at the water. "Only if... you don't turn around."
"Alright," he agreed without hesitation.
She carefully climbed out of the tub, wrapping herself in a towel before kneeling behind him. He handed her a bath cloth from his shoulder, and she folded it into a square before gently scrubbing across his shoulders.
"You've got such defined muscles," she said, unable to hide the admiration in her voice. "Did you train for this?"
"A bit of pull-ups and resistance work. There's a gym in the ship's lower deck you can use it too, if you're interested."
Tifa nodded. "I might."
She continued to scrub, her strokes more confident now. There was something soothing about the rhythmic motion, the firm feel of his back beneath her fingers.
"Don't just focus on the back," Ethan murmured after a while. He reached for her hand and slowly guided it to his front. "I could use help here too."
Tifa swallowed nervously.
Her hand now rested against his abdomen, warm and solid beneath her fingers. He didn't move further, just let her feel the beat of his breath.
Then slowly, gently, her fingers slid lower only for her to stop herself just short of going too far.
But in that moment of hesitation, her body answered for her.
A breath caught. A spark lit.
She didn't pull away.
Ethan turned, cupped her chin, and kissed her again deeply, warmly. His hands explored her waist, then slid higher to her shoulders, before tugging at the edge of her towel.
Tifa gasped softly, caught between uncertainty and surrender.
"Not all the way," she whispered, her breath hitching. "We can't... go all the way."
"I know," Ethan said gently. "But... maybe a little closer?"
Tifa didn't answer.
She just nodded once and leaned into his arms.
What followed was less a crossing of lines and more a dance along them. An exploration. Her hands trembled. His breath deepened. There was softness, there was fire. There was hesitation, and then a quiet letting go.
Later, neither would say how far things had gone.
But they both knew something had changed.
They had stepped into a deeper, more vulnerable part of their bond. Not through conquest, but through trust.
And that was enough for now.
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