Sunny was still sitting where he was, lost in his thoughts, his mind going to where it really shouldn't, his body all hot, not because of the hot springs and his face all red.
When suddenly he felt two really soft and warm- really squishy- things on his back, along with arms wrapped around him.
He froze.
Sunny's brain short-circuited.Every thought he had was replaced with one singular, blaring alarm: soft… soft… warm… squishy… help.
Arms tightened around him from behind, pressing him further into the sensation, and a warm breath ghosted right against his ear.
"Why is your heart beating so fast?"
Juliet's voice was a syrupy mix of mischief and teasing.
Sunny did what any sane, dignified man would do in this situation.
He jumped.
And screamed.
"WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!"
He squirmed, twisted, and struggled like a fish out of water, desperate to escape, but her arms only locked tighter. Forgetting about the slowly increasing pain in his mind, his entire focus was on the danger at his back — not claws, not fangs, but two very dangerous, very distracting, and very soft things pressing into him.
"B-because of… them," Sunny blurted through gritted teeth, still fully conscious of the fact that the "danger" wasn't letting go.
Juliet laughed. Not a small chuckle — a full, delighted laugh that seemed to vibrate right through him.
"Oh, them, huh?" she said, voice dripping with amusement.
Sunny kept squirming, trying to break free, but compared to the mischievous, devilish, and far too strong Ascended, his strength was like a child's. She was enjoying every second of his flustered panic.
Eventually, she released him — but not without another squeeze before letting go.
As he stumbled a step forward, she called out sweetly, "Why because of them, hmm?"
Sunny grit his teeth, refusing to turn around immediately. Instead, he walked a little farther ahead, trying to cool his head, before finally glancing back.
…And that's when his brain stopped working altogether.
Juliet was standing there in a black one-piece swimsuit. It started high at her neck but plunged into a deep, daring cleavage that demanded attention. It curved inward along her waist, then split at the middle, showing her pale, toned stomach before extending back down to cover her hips. The design accentuated her curves in a way that should've been illegal.
For several seconds, Sunny couldn't speak. Couldn't even blink.
He was just staring.
And then—She was suddenly right in front of him, bending down so her face was close to his… and giving him a perfect, unavoidable view straight down her cleavage.
"Do you like what you see?" she asked, all cocky smirk and playful challenge.
Sunny's face turned crimson, his heart pounding so hard he was sure she could hear it. Gritting his teeth, he forced out, "Y-yeah… I like it."
It was the answer to both her earlier question and this one.
After forcing himself to get out of his stupor, he finally tore his eyes away from her chest and looked up at her, glancing up to her face, expecting the same cocky grin — but instead, he saw something else.
Sunny's eyes flicked up, expecting to find Juliet's usual cocky smirk, but what he got instead was… different.
Her cheeks were flushed a vivid pink, her lips pressed together ever so slightly, her gaze flickering for just a second before steadying on him again. The bravado was still there — but it was cracked, thin, like glass with a hairline fracture.
She was embarrassed.
…And Sunny realized something.
This might be the first time anyone had ever seen her like this. Juliet — feared, untouchable, untamed Juliet — had no one to go to a place like this with. No one to share a moment like this. Until now.
He smirked faintly and, deciding to take a risk, tilted his head.
"Ah, yes… you look really beautiful in it. I'd like to see you in this every day."
It came out light and teasing, but halfway through, a cold reminder of his Flaw screamed in his mind. If she realized it, she might smack him halfway across the hot spring.
He shuddered at the thought and quickly turned his head toward Nephis, Cassie, and Avi.
What he didn't notice…Was Juliet's face going even redder, her fingers curling slightly at her sides, and her lips pressing together as if she didn't quite know how to respond.
As soon as he turned his head he froze again.
Nephis was wearing a snow-white one-piece. The straps sat perfectly over her shoulders, the cut modest but somehow making it even worse — or better — with the way it hugged her lean, taut frame. The way her fair skin contrasted against the white fabric almost made it hard to tell where one ended and the other began. Her head was lowered, avoiding his gaze, but her faintly flushed cheeks betrayed her.
Cassie, on the other hand, wore a soft blue two-piece, the shade making her light skin look even smoother, softer… almost glowing. She looked the kind of soft that made you think "pillows" without meaning to. She, too, had her head lowered, but she could feel his gaze just as much as Nephis could — and both were unmistakably red.
Sunny found his eyes going back and forth between them, stuck somewhere between awe and guilt, but… unable to tear away.
And then his brain, as it often did, betrayed him again.
Why… do they look… bigger than when they're wearing clothes?
His eyes flicked down-at their chest- for just a heartbeat — Juliet's when she'd bent over, Cassie's soft frame, even Nephis's taut build —
…Physics? Magic?
The thought left as quickly as it came, but it didn't stop the flush from burning hotter on his cheeks.
Avi, meanwhile, had been watching all of this, her gaze bouncing from him to them. She glanced down at her own chest, then back at Sunny's clearly flustered face, and then at Juliet's still, faintly embarrassed stance. Her eyes lingered particularly long on Juliet's figure-especially her chest-before she sighed.
"…When am I gonna get big like you, Big Sis…" she muttered under her breath, almost pouting.
Sunny, finally breaking from his trance, glanced at Avi in her light-pink swimsuit and — for once — managed to speak without imploding.
"You… look cute," he said casually.
It wasn't teasing, and it wasn't flirty — just a simple truth. But Avi still blinked at him, lips parting for a second before she quickly looked away, muttering something about him being annoying.
Juliet, still silent, was watching him from the corner of her eye, and if he had looked back just then, he might have seen her fingers curl slightly again.
Cassie and Nephis, meanwhile, both found themselves pouting inwardly.
They didn't know why. Maybe it was because Avi got a direct compliment while they didn't. Or maybe it was because, even if Sunny hadn't said anything… they could feel it.
If they could see — or in Cassie's case, sense — the way his gaze kept drifting, pausing, and then darting away again, they'd know well enough.
Words weren't necessary when his eyes gave away everything.
And right now, in their swimsuits, they had his full, guilty, entirely unspoken appreciation.
Not that it made Nephis any less embarrassed. She still couldn't look up, her head tilted slightly away as if that could hide the redness in her cheeks.
Cassie… was Cassie. Calm, collected, the faintest of smiles playing at her lips — but even that had a hint of shyness underneath.
Sunny, blissfully unaware of the war of emotions going on just a few feet away, was still doing his best to think "pure thoughts."
And failing miserably.
Sunny could practically feel the tension in the air. It wasn't loud. No one was speaking. But there was this quiet, heavy… something that hung between him, Nephis, and Cassie.
Every now and then, he'd catch Nephis shifting in the corner of his eye, her head still down but her shoulders ever so slightly angled toward him. Cassie, though she kept her usual calm expression, had this tiny, unreadable smile that made him more nervous than if she'd been openly glaring.
He swallowed. The silence was starting to feel dangerous.
"A-ah…" he finally blurted, scratching the back of his neck. "You both… look beautiful."
It wasn't much — just a simple compliment. But it was enough to make Nephis' ears turn a shade darker and Cassie's faint smile turn just a little more real.And now he felt awkward, like he'd just stepped into a trap without realizing it.
Juliet, however, had recovered from her earlier embarrassment and decided she'd had enough of whatever weird atmosphere was forming.
She clapped her hands once. "Alright, you lovesick ducks, time to play volleyball!"
Sunny turned to protest — "Wait, lovesi—" — but before he could finish, Juliet had already dragged out a ball from somewhere and tossed it into the air.
He didn't notice the way Nephis suddenly stepped closer to him as they moved toward the water's edge. Close enough that her shoulder almost brushed his arm. Close enough that, for a brief moment, her gaze lingered not on his face but on his neck… and his collarbone.
He also didn't notice Cassie, who had chosen to sit this one out with Avi, leaning ever so slightly in his direction earlier when going past him, as if catching his scent. Not that she'd admit it.
"Me and Sunny against you," Nephis said simply, standing beside him like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Juliet smirked, spinning the ball in her hands. "Perfect. Let's see if the two of you can keep up."
Avi and Cassie took seats on the warm rocks, watching from the side — Avi kicking her feet idly, Cassie sitting with perfect posture, listening intently.
Sunny adjusted his stance, trying to focus on the game…But with Nephis this close, her faint fragrance carried by the breeze, and Juliet across from them smiling like she knew everything…He had a feeling this volleyball match was going to be way more complicated than it needed to be.