shimmerandsing | Follow the sound of my heartbeat.

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Follow the sound of my heartbeat.

Before Longshot, Robbie and Miyuki had left for camp, Alison had politely, but firmly asked Robbie and Miyuki to find fun diversions in camp. Lengthy ones. She wanted her husband all to herself at least until sunset.

It took about an hour to organize, but when Alison finally retired upstairs, the lights were out and the shades drawn on all the floors. The only illumination came from tiny, floating candles in shallow water dishes placed on every other step on the stairs. One the landing of each floor, she had placed an item for him to find.

On the first floor, at the bottom of the stairs, a CD copy of his favorite French singer's newest album was tied with a gold ribbon. A tag attached to the ribbon read, Follow the lights.

On the second floor, a package wrapped in shiny red paper and silk ribbon. The tag read, Don't open this yet.

On the third floor landing, a second package was wrapped in white, shiny paper and ribbon. The tag read, Not yet. Keep moving.

On the fourth, two long-stemmed wine glasses waited for him.

The candles continued up the stairs to their bedroom. Inside, dozens of red candles of every size were lit in containers all over the bedroom. Spread out in front of the balcony doors was a soft fleece blanket. Several covered dishes were set out on it and two bottles chilled in a bucket of ice.

The tiny, floating candles created a path from the door to the bathroom where rose scented steam rolled out from under the door. Inside, Alison was sitting on the edge of the filled bathtub in a red silk robe. She drew small circles on the tile at her feet with her toe and waited for her husband to arrive. Hopefully, it would be before the food or the water got cold.

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"TA...daima?" Longshot came into the castle with a big bag slung over his shoulder. He had apparently been required to go into camp to get lots and lots of chocolate. They were all cute little pieces, too. Except Momoko made him some desserts instead since he was a gaijin and all.

He scratched his head. The castle wasn't usually this dim. He set the bag down and took off his boots. He hefted the bag with a small grunt. He had never been fully aware of how many women cycled through the camp until today. He set the bag safely into a corner of the living room. Because he had to go explore why there were little fires all the way up the stairs.

He eyed the floating candles before noticing the CD at the bottom of the stairs. He smiled at exactly who it was. A little excitement raced up his spine as he read the tag. He licked his lips a little and carefully made his way up the steps.

He almost tore into the package on the second floor landing before he noticed the tag. He grimaced and looked around to make sure nobody saw him. Safely unobserved, he tucked the package under his arm and followed the next set of guiding candles.

He almost ripped open the package he got from the second floor and the one he just found on the third floor landing before he saw the tag on the new present. He pouted a little. Then he shrugged and was over it. He quickly jogged up to the next landing.

He grinned at the wine glasses. He shifted the packages to under the same arm. He put the CD in that hand, too. Then he picked the wine glasses up by their stems between his fingers. He saw no note to tell him to not open his packages, but his arms were a bit too full to pull off that maneuver.

He made it into their bedroom with only one small clinking of the glasses. He looked around and raised an eyebrow. Somebody sure had been busy. Even though the rebel in him wanted to jump the path and go rolling in the blanket, he resisted. Alison was obviously not in that direction.

Longshot stopped in the doorway of the bathroom and let out a low whistle. He considered how much trouble he would get in for dropping the presents and just unwrapping his wife. The packages could wait. Except she had gone to all this trouble for him.

He couldn't stop grinning at her, however. "Hi."

Alison looked up and smiled when Longshot entered. "Hi there."

She stood up and gently divested him of his packages and the glasses, setting them aside carefully. She leaned up on tip toes to kiss him very briefly and then casually un-tucked his shirt and started to tug it up over his head.

"Have a nice time in camp?"

He blinked and leaned over a little to help her get his shirt off a little quicker. His hair was slightly ruffled when he straightened up.

"Yep! Got a lot of chocolate. I think I'll have to share. Too much for just me." He looked around with a smile.

"All this for us?"

"Your camp must adore you. Did Robbie get a bunch, too?" She tossed his shirt aside and worked at the buckle on his belt.

"Nope!" She chirped and grinned, not looking up from her work. "All this for you. I was informed that in Japan, Valentines Day was a day for a woman to show her love for the man in her life."

She looked up at him and winked. "And, since we're in Japan and all..." She trailed off and waved a hand at the bath and the candle lit bedroom.

Longshot nodded. "Uh-huh! He might have trouble getting it from the horse to the castle."

He was having absolutely no problem with his wife undressing him. Though he did blush a little that all this was just for him. "It is, huh?"

He looked around at the bath and candles again. "Boy, you gotta love me lots," he said with a smirk.

He knew that, but it was always fun to say.

"Miyuki can help him." That was either a tease about the crush Robbie had on Miyuki or an indication that Longshot would be too busy to help Robbie himself. Maybe both.

"Mmm-hmm. All for you." She unfastened his jeans and pushed them down over his hips, letting them slide down his legs to the floor. She hooked her thumbs into the waistband of his underwear and slid them down as well.

"I love you way, way more than this, but I wasn't sure how much time I had to surprise you. It would take days to arrange enough surprises to encompass how much I love you."

She smiled and pulled him toward the bath. The water was not quite as hot as the Japanese baths were wont to be, but it was warm enough to relax muscles and that was good enough. A faint shimmer of oil sparkles on the surface of the water, giving off the warm scent of roses.

"In you go."

"I think the two of them are strong enough." He missed the teasing about Robbie but was fully paying attention to the implication that he would be busy to help.

He looked down. Well, now he was buck naked. He fingered her silk robe absently as she spoke. She definitely had him surprised. He hadn't expected anything like this when he got the holiday vaguely explained to him. That'll teach him to not ask Miyuki. "I was thinking more along the lines of weeks. You know, with the way your heart beats faster every time I touch you."

Longshot looked at the bath and then at Alison. He moved to get in, but he didn't let go of one of her hands. "You not comin' in with me? Awful bit tub to splishing by myself..."

They'd better be. Or the chocolate would have to wait.

"I already had my bath. Smell the roses?" She grinned and leaned close, exposing her neck for examination.

"This one's for you." She murmured against his ear. "You get to soak and relax while I set up the last of your surprises."

Longshot stepped back over to his wife and leaned over to sniff at her neck. Yes, she smelled like flowers, but she sure didn't taste like one. That one he proved with a small lick of her skin. "Mm. Good."

More surprises?!? YAY! He nodded and let go of her hand. He restrained himself to only hopping into the tub. The splashing was much less than what he originally wanted to do. However, dousing all these candles would probably not go over well.

He slowly settled into the bath and put his arms along the edge. He grinned at Alison.

She giggled softly at the lick and nudged him back gently. If he started that, she'd lose focus. And while that wouldn't be bad at all, some of his surprises would be ruined.

When he was settled in the bath, she knelt behind him at the foot of the tub and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, kissing his temple softly.

"Comfy?"

He hadn't stopped smiling, but it did soften a little affectionately. He nodded. "Uh-huh."

He wiggled his toes in the water. They didn't need to relax.

"Good." She rubbed her cheek against his and hugged him lightly from behind. "You relax and soak a few minutes. I have to move some stuff around."

She stood up and collected his gifts. "These'll be in the bedroom."

She moved into the bedroom and after a few moments, the sound of Longshot's new CD could be heard playing on the CD player.

He managed to sit still for exactly one minute flat. Then he started wiggling to a tune in his head. He was almost tempted to stand up and start dancing in the middle of the tub because he felt so good.

He had shifted one leg to get it under him when he heard music he hadn't heard before float into the bathroom. He settled back down to listen. He loved that voice. Almost as much as he loved Alison's.

Alison took a moment to listen to the music as she stood by the CD player. She liked this singer a lot.

She was humming along as she moved away to set the gift packages by the picnic blanket. The food was still warm when she checked and the wine was cold. Both good signs.

She poured two glasses of the wine and wandered back into the bathroom. She smiled at how relaxed he looked.

"How's the bath?" She perched on the edge of the tub and handed a glass to him.

"Nice and splashy," he answered with a grin. To emphasize the point, he brought toes up to splash a little as he took the offered glass.

She was still in her robe, too. Hmmm. He hoped he got to unwrap her sometime!

To distract himself from wife-unwrapping thoughts, he sniffed at the wine a little.

"All the wine labels were in Japanese and I'm still iffy on the reading of the language. I hope I got a good one. If not, there's champagne, too. It's hard to ruin champagne."

She smiled and took a sip of hers.

"You've rubbed against me often enough, you probably got some luck," he commented with a wink before he took a sip. Hmm. Fruity. No hint of chocolate. Woodsy aroma in his nostrils after swallowing. Or maybe he was making all this up mentally to sound smart.

As he took another sip, he reached out his other hand to trace a small circle on the back of one of hers. He swallowed before speaking. There was the thought that dribbling wine into the carefully prepared bath might have been a breach of etiquette somehow. He didn't care about etiquette, but he knew his wife did a little. "So, when do I get to unwrap my presents?"

"As soon as you're done here and after you've seen your surprise in the bedroom."

She smiled and caught his hand, holding it gently for a moment.

"Your call, sweetheart. Whenever you want."

"Mm." He shifted a little. She did go to all the trouble of getting the bath ready for him. He might want to do something outside of just sit and splash he toes in it.

"How about after you help scrub me down? I wanna smell good for my surprises." He grinned.

"That sounds like a good plan to me."

She grinned and set her wine glass on the sink as she moved around to kneel behind him again. She took a washcloth and soaked it in the scented water and lathered it from a bar of sweet smelling soap.

The cloth moved over his skin softly, starting just under his chin and scrubbing down his neck and chest. She kissed his cheek softly as she leaned over from behind him.

He would have helped her, but he had a wine glass in his hand. And she was doing a fantastic job anyway. As she scrubbed down his chest and after she kissed his cheek, he leaned back a little more. It gave her a better view down the front of his body and got him into a better position. Then he shifted up just slightly.

She was making it about him today, so he didn't feel too bad about softly nibbling on her neck. She still tasted great since last time. These quality checks were important. Even if she had never failed one yet.

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Follow the sound of my heartbeat.

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