Hey there!

So, I know that I said that this series was finished, but then I realized that I hadn't closed it yet and since an idea - partially related to a few mixed prompts that you guys have given me - came up, well... I've decided to post this here instead of making a separate one-shot.

It's mostly domestic fluff, kind of, and if I had to give it a summary it would be something like "Alex has never indulged in a hot bath before, and Piper makes her discover how enjoyable it can be" since a few have asked about some Vauseman action under the shower, I came up with this instead. It's set very early in their relationship, you know, when they are probably still discovering things about each other.

Anyway, it's still rated M for that action part ;) But it's very light though, and not too explicit, however, I'll leave you to it to find out the rest :D

Enjoy

Alex is just like you when it comes down to water, whether it is for fun or to simply get clean.

She particularly adores showers, enjoys swimming, although more in the sea than lakes and pools, obviously. But what is absurdly odd, to say the very least, is that when the suggestion about getting her into a hot, steamy, bubble bath with you comes up, for some reason, the whole thing turns out to be even harder than trying to top her in bed, which would be quite the accomplishment.

It's startling unexpected.

Alex loves to do anything with you, especially if you are both naked.

But there is something so strangely endearing about that reluctance actually - just as it is infuriating - because it's just another one of those little traits that you have started to carefully put together about her character, and that makes her resemble more and more to that feline-like creature you find yourself comparing her with - unconsciously - from time to time.

"I don't know, Pipes." She hesitates, eyeing with more than a hint of suspicion the hot bath filled with bubbles that you have prepared.

"What do you mean?" You ask her with a curious little chuckle that you can't quite suppress, a drop of amusement that eventually shows up too, stretching into a soft smile when you see her folding her arms across her chest before taking a step back from the harmless, invitingly steaming bathtub, as if it had started growling threateningly at her.

"I know you love getting wet as much as I do." You quip shamelessly.

Alex merely rolls her eyes, but there is also a smile twitching at the corner of her mouth that she tries to hide by licking at her lips before answering.

"Yeah, but... That's warm water." She points out, features creasing uncertainly as her gaze shifts once more to the inoffensive tub. "It's like a wet sauna. And staying in there to just soak will leave me super pruney, too. Like a wrinkled, steamed dumpling."

There is no way you would ever be able to suppress the laugh that bubbles up in your chest after hearing her make that comparison, but it's the look on her face when she says it, the way she wrinkles her nose when she grimaces so adorably what makes you crack with another chuckle.

"You mean a super sexy and hot steamed dumpling." You correct her, flashing her one of your most charming grins as you step closer to her and wrap your arms around her shoulders.

Alex groans and rolls her eyes again, but her hands don't hesitate to come up and rest on your hips, pulling you a little - almost instinctively - closer, and you still catch with ease the unmistakable - although subtle - signs of amusement on her gorgeous face.

"Come on," You encourage her, kindly, patiently, curious about why she is so strangely hesitant about something so plain and simple and ordinary, but refraining from asking her the reasons why just yet.

You just smile a little more softly and take her hand in yours, soothingly stroking her knuckles with your thumb. "Five minutes." You offer her at last. "If you don't like it, you can get out, and I will, too."

"Pipes-"

"But you won't," You promptly interrupt her when she sighs your name, no doubt ready to reassure you that you could, of course, stay, something you are not interested in doing without her, even though you absolutely love soaking into a long hot bath. "Because I'm going to rock your world with this."

The awkward, uncoordinated wink that you throw at her to accompany that confident assurance does its job at best and earns you the most beautiful, deep, sweetly husky laugh in response.

"All right, fine." Alex assents in between chuckles, and there is no stopping the grin that stretches on your face and digs twin dimples on your cheeks, or the way your heart swells with elation.

You even lean in to kiss her. Just a quick but excited peck that shows all of your enthusiasm before you pull back and start undressing.

You weren't going to keep insisting if she really didn't want to get in, of course not. You would never get her to do anything she is uncomfortable with, but the idea of not sharing this, one of the most simple, yet delightful things that you have always enjoyed like very few, with Alex, with the woman you love... it seems like an inconceivable thought.

You deliberately take a little more time than usual in stripping off your clothes, sliding the bra' straps off your shoulders, letting them fall down your arms, and then bending exaggeratedly forward when you take off your pants and underwear at once, feeling so very empowered by the look that Alex gives you, by the way you can feel her gaze rake and burn so sweetly on every newly reveled inch of bare skin, by the light that you see shimmering in the surface of those darkened green eyes and the pleased little smile that you see twitching at the corner of her mouth before her tongue peeks out to wet her lips when you glance back at her over your shoulder.

Getting such effect on her with so little is extremely thrilling. You would have never thought that simply being watched with such an open, honest appreciation would feel so wonderful. But that's just one of the many incredible things that Alex has made you discover and that you would have never thought you could be into.

And you are aware that this game that you have started, for how enjoyable, is also a double edged blade. Which is going to make things all the more interesting, and, hopefully, encourage Alex enough that she'll push aside the rest of her hesitation - which origin is still a mystery you absolutely must figure out soon - and enjoy this simple hot bath with you.

You get in first, playing as the very tempting bait for Alex, who - much to your approval - gets out of her own comfy sweats much more impatiently than you did while you get comfortable, leaning back into the curve of the tub and moaning, with honest pleasure, but deliberately more loudly than usual at the feeling of slick, warm water that is just the perfect temperature; hot, but not so much to scald your skin, just enough to make you melt and hum in contentment. But it's the sight of Alex getting undressed, seeing her flawless alabaster skin and soft curves being revealed along with that hint of muscle rippling underneath - and that never fails in making your mouth water a little - what makes that warmth surrounding you seep deep inside you, curling so delightfully in your lower belly.

When she tests the water, once naked, it's in the most adorably tentative way possible. She dips the tip of her big toe in, and then, satisfied with the temperature, she immerses her foot, and then the other, stepping inside like a little cub going for its first swim would do.

You rock forward, the quiet, gently lulling sound of the water rippling accompanies the movement as you sit on your knees and take her hand before leaning in to plant a kiss between her hip and lower belly, just an inch above the juncture of her thigh and the corner of the neat patch of trimmed dark hair above her sex.

You nuzzle that sweet spot with your nose until you feel long, slender fingers card through your hair, and that's when you tilt your head up to look at Alex, finding no trace of the odd hesitation of before creasing her features, but just a tender smile gracing her lips and making her eyes glimmer so beautifully as she looks down at you with that familiar mix of amusement and adoration.

"Come here." You invite her, lightly tugging at her hand to pull her down. Alex glances at the space you have settled into with that look of longing, but you shake your head, because, "Nuh uh. I am gonna be the big spoon for once, and you, are going to be the steamed dumpling, or, you know, the soaking legume."

She laughs, but doesn't protest, well, not too much about being temporarily dethroned as she takes her seat between your legs. "Seriously Pipes? Of all things a legume?"

"A very sexy, juicy, delicious, nutritious legume." You punctuate each adjective with a kiss on the back of her shoulder, feeling the muscles there slowly starting to melt as you urge her gently to lay back against your front.

You might end up holding her a little too close, but Alex doesn't seem to mind, even though she still squirms a bit, water splashing around you with each movement she makes to find the most comfortable position on how to sit. Eventually, she chooses to bend one leg at the knee and stretch the other in front of her for all the length of the tub.

"Is the water okay baby?" You ask her softly once she's properly settled and looking comfortable enough.

She nods. "Yeah, it is. I'm just..." And then she pauses, and you are worried, from that tilt in her tone, that she might be not so sure about this. "How can something so familiar and ordinary feel so... weird?"

You wonder, confused, how she can feel that way, too.

During these first few months you have been together you have taken baths in pools, in the ocean, along with a countless amount of showers, but contrary to those, in all the other occasions you were always somewhere surrounded by other people, where the concept of intimacy and privacy was stripped.

Now it is just you and her, naked, sharing a moment of connection like you have never done before, different from those showers because of the further closeness and relaxed stillness. It strikes you all at once, along with a sinking feeling that is about to make your stomach drop with disappointment, but that is thankfully taken away when, after a beat, Alex - maybe sensing your own uneasiness - adds a much more convincing and surprised, "It's a good weird though, if that makes any sense."

You breathe out a chuckle, because it doesn't, and it does all at once, in a way. Still, your chest expands with a welcoming, refreshing wave of relief and the acknowledgment that yes, there is something new and particularly pleasant about this.

Eventually, curiosity is what pushes you to ask her.

"You never took baths when you were a kid?"

Alex shakes her head.

"No, I..." She pauses, and even though you can't see her face, you can suddenly sense where this is going, you should have expected it, and can hear her swallow a bit thickly, nervously, before she speaks again and continues.

"My mom worked very hard, and there were things- even simple things, we couldn't afford. She always struggled with the bills, regardless of how much she made. And something like taking a bath instead of a shower would have been... Well. Not the kind of spoiling that would have helped keeping us afloat." She even quips and you would snort too if it wasn't for that heartbreaking note of sadness that seeps into her quiet, humorless chuckle and that cracks your heart a bit more open at that revelation. "Also, we didn't have a bathtub where we lived, so... You know."

She shrugs, trying so hard to appear nonchalant, and you watch from over her shoulder as she plays absently with the water and the thick layer of foam covering it, making it crease under her palm, immersing it and making it drip from her cupped hand surrounded by fluttering strands of heat.

Something in your chest clenches painfully tightly as you wonder if her reluctance about this might have something to do with that reason, with the difficult childhood that she had.

Your instinct tells you that it can't be just that; there must be something else. But in order to pull Alex back from those old, hard memories that have managed to suck her into that time when she was just a little kid, even if for just a minute, you decide to divert the conversation towards a lighter and more humorous route that will hopefully be enough to get her back.

"Well, you are a big shot now," You tease her, already earning a chuckle that succeeds in cleansing the air from that thick, suffocating haze of the past and unclench your heart from that tight, strangling grip that was holding it hostage. "So you definitely should get a bit spoiled." She absolutely does, she spoils you all the time with gifts and travels and nights out. "So what if I'd start by... I don't know, washing your hair?" You suggest very casually, running a hand through that marvelous, proud dark mane of hers before leaning in to sniff it exaggeratedly. "It kind of smells."

"What?" Alex whips her head around, turning to look at you with disbelief and something not far from indignation in her wide green eyes.

Try not to laugh, or even just smile, requires an enormous effort, but you manage, nodding and humming in confirmation to your previous statement.

"Mh mh, like stale airplane air, microwaved food and... salt."

They don't smell too bad, and you definitely don't mind that undertone of salt; that precious reminder of where you have been lately.

That's the other reason why you wanted to get into a hot bath, because the quick shower that you took when you got back did its job, but you didn't indulge, you were way too exhausted from the endless travel to properly take your time.

Not to mention that a soak in warm water can be very therapeutic, especially to loosen up the tension gathered on the back and shoulders by a long-ass flight, and even more, if you happen to return to New York in winter after having spent the last couple of months in a paradisiacal tropical island.

So no, Alex's hair doesn't smell so bad, but she is looking so adorably indignant, eyes narrowed and flashing, that you can't do anything else but return her scowl with a dimpled grin and ask her to reach for the two in one shampoo and conditioner sitting on the opposite edge of the tub.

She mumbles something under her breath but passes you the bottle anyway, and after you have taken off her glasses, folded them neatly and placed them safely on the sink cabinet, she slides forward and dips her head into the water at your request without much protests.

When she comes up a few seconds later her, hair wet and shiny, cascading down the center of her back in a neat sheet, she huffs, blowing upwards at the body wash bubbles sitting on her nose, looking even more grumpy, like a cat that got dropped into a basin of cold water.

Still, with a conciliatory kiss on the back of her tattooed shoulder, you promise to make it up to her, pouring a generous amount of shampoo in your hand before starting to rub it on her head, gently, but also scratching a little, carding your fingers through the whole length of her hair and massaging her scalp with the tips, and Alex can pretend to be annoyed at you all she wants, but it doesn't take long before you hear the first, quiet, and yet deep groan rumbling in her chest.

It's actually more like a purr.

And it's perfectly appropriate given the circumstances.

She stretches further, shoulders relaxing, arms coming up to brace herself on the two sides of the tub, like a queen getting bathed by her maid would do, and your grin widens, even more, when you scratch behind her ears and she tries to chase your touch, growling her disapproval when you move away only to pay attention to another extremely pleasant spot.

You are already delighted by such reactions, but you still ask her if it feels good, and it's only when Alex answers and comments on your ministration that you understand exactly how much she is enjoying this.

"I know that I probably shouldn't feed that monster that is your ego, but... I think I might actually come from this, Pipes."

Of course, the way she says it, and the delicious, husky moan that follows, shapes an even huger, deeply satisfied smile on your face, swell your chest with pride, and it only makes you so much more determined in increasing your efforts, making the whole motion so much more sensual and... tantalizing.

"We can get to that too," You tell her, breathing hotly in her ear and relishing in the shiver that you feel travel through her entire body at the veiled promise held your tone and in the movement of your fingertips on her scalp. "But first..."

You finish to massage and thoroughly rub her hair before reaching for the shower head and turning the water to the right temperature.

"Tilt your head back for me baby." You ask Alex, she does just that and you proceed in rinsing the foam of the shampoo from her hair, running your free hand through the now clean, impossibly light and soft, citrus-scented strands, careful to not let the foam get in her eyes, and brushing away the one that finds refuge from the shower spray in the shell of her ears.

"That feels amazing." Alex hums in contentment and you are starting to think that the grin on your face might be permanent.

"Yeah?"

She nods and purrs approvingly some more. "It feels... very intimate." And then, the realization, coming through a chuckle that sounds anything but light. "You know, I don't think I have ever done anything as remotely intimate as this with anyone else before."

You have slept together, got adventurous and creative in and outside the bedroom, she made you discover things that you have never tried with anyone else before her and never thought would enjoy so viscerally. But this level of connection, met with something as essential as getting clean, is... Suddenly you get it. Because this, for how simple, is new to you as well. You haven't realized until now how different it feels, how much more complete it is with her here with you.

Neither you have ever shared anything like this with any of your previous excuse of relationships.

Apparently, the realization strikes her as well, as soon as she utters that truth out loud.

For a second she visibly stiffens, as if she actually didn't mean to say it, to be so open, but under the soft soothing touch of your hand down her back, she seems to slowly melt and relax, until she exhales a shuddering breath.

"You okay?" You ask her, softly, trying to hide the concern that is audibly there, creeping in your voice despite your best efforts.

You hear Alex swallow. "Yeah, sure. It's just... different," And then, she turns around to look at you, and... she is smiling, softly, and so sincerely, with that layer of not-quite-shyness that has her divert her gaze for a second, like you have witnessed her doing just once before, when she first confessed that she loved you. "But it's very good."

She says good, but her eyes, that piercing emerald gaze locked so tenderly with yours, seems to hold the word right.

The honesty in there, reflected in that hinted, tentative smile has you grin back at her, delighted beyond words, with an additional glint of mischief shimmering in your eyes and that you know Alex catches immediately as your hand sneaks stealthily, but with purpose, to her front, carrying all the promises you have made to her just a few minutes ago as you pull her closer to you.

"I can try to make it perfect if you want me to." You tell her, low and sultry, suddenly feeling the need of that further closeness between you two to properly knit this precious moment together.

Alex chuckles, smirks, and then cranes her neck back and you lean in for the rest of the way, not needing to add anything else, meeting her in a kiss that is soft, and warm and everything that reflects all that she has confessed to you till now, all the affection that you share, all of that concept of deep intimacy that you have found together and fit in so flawlessly without even realizing it.

Alex pries your lips open with the tip of her tongue and you grant her immediate access, allowing the kiss to grow more heated and demanding, deeper and needier, and - inevitably - hotter, until the only direction it points you to, it's the one you both clearly have in mind.

She grabs your hand, having had enough of your fingers teasing the sensitive skin at the juncture of her thigh, and you grin into the kiss when she brings it, so uncharacteristically impatient, right to her center.

A direct invitation that you accept with enthusiasm as Alex melts even further against your front, head tilted back and resting on your shoulder, eyes closed and lids fluttering as she hums and purrs, looking so impossibly, sinfully beautiful.

With a blush tinging your cheeks into a soft pink, you tell her just that, and even though she doesn't answer, not verbally at least - she does turn her head to plant a kiss on that sweetly sensitive spot just underneath your jaw, and you can feel the pleased smirk on her lips before she plants a string of kisses that divert your attention, which starts to sway dangerously when Alex decides to use some teeth and start nibbling on that weak spot behind your ear, but not enough to make you forget about your priority.

You press your fingers a little more firmly on her clit, rubbing it in gentle but precise and full circles, listening in delight to Alex's groans as she voices all of her approval with that deep guttural sound rumbling so exquisitely in her chest, and then, it's your turn to smirk in satisfaction.

For how much you would like (and are immensely tempted) to go a bit lower and slip inside of her, stretch her tight opening and slide into the delightful clingy warmth of her, you don't. Water can be a little tricky like this, but that doesn't mean that you don't feel the, thicker, slicker result of her arousal - that kind of wetness that is unmistakable, and that is currently surrounding all of her sex, and that you can also can feel coating your own as that tendril of warmth nestled in your belly begins to stir.

You are very familiar with that feeling, as much as you are with the one of Alex starting to rock her hips forward in that demanding way that tells you how much closer she is getting to that edge you are steadily urging her closer to.

Encouraged, fueled by that knowledge, you give her what she needs, but besides running faster circles over that swollen bud of nerves, you don't have to increase your efforts too much. The steadiness and gentle firmness of your circling fingers is more than enough to get her there within minutes, and when she reaches that point, you can tell - from the way she arches into your touch, from the way the moan rumbles in her chest and tumbles past her lips with that exquisite, husky, breathy quality in it - how much gentle and sweet and intense, all at once, her release washes over her.

Only Alex makes coming look so elegant, so composed in its wild consuming nature.

It's the exact opposite of your desperate thrashing and writhing, but definitely not less glorious to witness.

The pleasure unfurling deep down in her core and coursing through her veins doesn't overwhelm her, it doesn't crash into her with the devastating force of a tidal wave, but she absorbs it in its fullness, makes it part of her own wild nature. Its impressive duration surely manage to steal her breath away, and the sight of her like this, head tilted back, body arching and gently quivering, takes yours away as well besides making your heart stutter in your chest, and feel as that tendril of heat pooled deep down in your lower belly begins to curl on itself, tightening in that unmistakable aching knot of desire.

But for now, for how difficult it is to ignore that throbbing need swelling between your legs, it's still something you can manage to put in the background in front of the sight of Alex riding through her orgasm for a short eternity before coming down from that high, always accompanied by your touch, that grows more gentle and lighter, to grant her the best, smoothest descent possible.

You know that you succeed when she leans back against your front instead of slumping bonelessly, head resting onto your shoulder as she catches her breath. She is a bit flustered, cheeks and neck so prettily flushed with the combination of heat from the bath and the result of her blood pumping harder and faster with the now subsiding cocktail of adrenaline and endorphins.

The water splashes so placidly around you, a relaxing, rhythmic, almost hypnotic slosh as Alex settles more comfortably against you, humming and sighing, looking so blissfully satisfied - for now at least - and there is that soothing calm enveloping the moment that only makes it so much more precious and reinforces its intimacy.

When you know that Alex has nothing left to give, you slow down the movement of your hand, bringing it to a gentle halt, noticing immediately the smirk tugging lazily at the corner of her mouth when you cup her sex protectively, just like she often does with you after a particularly intense orgasm, when you are too sensitive to take any more of the delightful, circling pressure of her fingers but still deeply enjoy the feather-light touch and presence of her there.

"So..." Eventually, you are the first one to speak, softly, keeping your voice as gentle as the water rippling around you, so to not disrupt the quietness of the moment but needing to know... "Did you change your mind about hot baths?" You ask her, somehow managing to shape the overly pleased grin that wants to take over your face into a much softer smile, even though Alex's eyes are still closed.

Alex hums, voice sounding so much deeper and huskier with the echo of her orgasm still buzzing through her body when she answers.

"I must say, you are presenting some very persuasive arguments, kid." She admits, and then, mustering the kind of strength that you - naively - didn't think she had already regained and that you would never possess right after such an intense and particularly long, draining release - she pulls herself up and turns around, facing you with dark, lustful eyes and an even more devious smile gracing her lips. "And just so you know," She continues, and then you feel it, her hand on your leg underwater, slowly trailing up the toned inside of your thigh and squeezing, lightly but with a promising touch that already has your breath stumble in your chest. "I might feel compelled to make a few points of my own."

All you wanted when you first got a strangely reluctant Alex into the tub was to make the experience as much pleasurable for her as possible, because there is nothing better than combining one of the things that you enjoy most, with the woman you love. But it seems like not only you have succeeded in making her feel comfortable, but that thanks to your little... push... she has gotten all of her confidence back, and is more than ready to return your loving attentions and reclaim her role even here, where her initial tentativeness had you delude yourself you had control over for like five minutes.

There is no need to ask for confirmation, the mischievous, promising smile that shapes her lips and shows a flash of bright sharp teeth - not to mention the hand that is hiking up and aiming for that very specific, obvious destination - is proof enough to show what her intentions are.

It only encourages you to keep playing.

"Maybe you should show me what you have been specifically thinking about." You suggest with a lip bite, parting your legs a bit further to welcome her better.

The whole point of this was sharing a moment of deeply intimate connection, and you are doing that, and maybe, even if the other point in this was getting clean, perhaps you can get.. a little bit dirtier first, in the most rewarding and wonderful way that will only make this all the more meaningful.

Her answer comes with a bright grin before you cup the back of her head and pull her towards you, claiming her smiling lips in a searing kiss. Water splashes all around you as Alex fights to reclaim her dominance in between laughters and shrieks, and even though you end up on top of her, with your arms laced around her neck, and her mouth, so hot and hungry switching between your breasts, as always, she is the one who sets the pace.

Thanks for reading everyone :)