Despite Kitty's scolding, London still grinned - albeit beneath the water. She watched the older maid fuss at them, only her eyes and the bridge of her nose above the surface. Feeling silly - Marten's playful tendencies were contagious - London couldn't help but feel like an alligator navigating the bathwater. But, really, it wasn't a true bath without bubbles. To remedy the situation, London hovered by the edge, reading the bottle labels. Eventually grabbed some sweet smelling soap and poured enough in the bath to bubble up around her, Marten and Ana. She couldn't play the role of alligator anymore, lest bubbles rush up her nose, but the thickness of the bubbles provided excellent cover while she washed her hair with shampoo and conditioner.
"This stuff smells really good," she commented quietly, bringing the conglomerate of shampoo and bubble bath suds to her nose. Gave a small sniff. Went to say something else but froze as the door opened. She looked over her shoulder, alarm bells going off.
Hans? Shit!
With a splash London plunged underwater. Forgot the soap had already been used - she couldn't open her eyes without feeling the wrath of stinging soapy water - and quickly came back up. A cloud of fluffy bubbles sat atop her head as she wiped her eyes. Spotting Marten just a few steps away, she maneuvered behind her as quickly but nonchalantly as she could. Refused to meet Hans' eyes; rather, pretended to be busy inspecting the bubbles. The hot water did not help the furious blush she wore, spreading from her chest to the very tips of her ears.
She was suddenly very thankful she'd decided to pour in some bubble bath.
Ana had spent most of her walk back sulking to herself and wandering into the bath with the girls. She easily stripped her clothes off, sliding down into the tub with a large splash. She spent the majority of her time in the bath scrubbing off each inch of dirt that appeared. She was not about to have another mud bath before the last. Finally, Ana brought herself out of the trance and glanced at the two other girls.
"Well then. She has a sharp tongue." Ana grinned, looking at Kitty before leaning back. That was when Hans graced the room with his presence again. He brought in rack after rack of clothing, causing London to sink down in the bath. Ana, however, had no shame, and casually wandered up to the edge.
"Ooo, a massage sounds great to me." She grinned, looking up at the man with long shaggy hair. She couldn't deny she had a thing for long hair. Ana grinned over at London, who was now hiding behind Martin.
"Oh come on London. You obviously think he's cute." She grinned, taking her arm and tugging. When that didn't work Ana sighed and swam back a bit. With a few seconds push Ana leapt out of the water and jumped on top of London, hoping to sink her down into the bathtub.
"Ana! What are- you're cra-mmnnf!" With a splash London went under the surface. Returned a few heartbeats later several times redder than before and sputtering protests that she did, in fact, not think Hans was cute.
"I do n-not! I mean, uh, he's not unattractive, but- I mean- it's just-... dios mio…"
London was a horrible liar.
Marten enjoyed teasing her dark haired friend, but her skin was starting to get that tingle that let her know it was almost time to get out lest she start taking on water like a stricken battleship. Wading over to the edge, she was just beginning to navigate the large selection of bathing items when Hans made a reappearance. The lightest of pinks spread over her nose and the apples of her cheeks and she was thankful that most of her chest remained under the bubbling surface. It was one thing to be prepared to see a cute guy and another entirely to be caught unawares.
She swiftly grabbed something mildly scented and mostly organic in nature before scooting herself back into the thicker bubbles with her girlfriends. She had the shortest of moments to block her eyes from the splash, catching the tail end and laughing at London's expense good naturedly. Shooting Ana a wink as she popped open the hibiscus and huckleberry scented wash, she started rubbing her skin and multitasked,
"Awww, you're kidding, look at those eyes? They'd melt a yuki-onna and you know it. A bunyip might even make an exception for him?"
Snickering under her breath, she vaguely looked at the indications on the bottle before shrugging and working some of the solution into her hair as well. The stuff was basically edible, so what harm was it gonna do really? It wasn't like her locks weren't already dyed within an inch of recognition.
Humming, as she closed her eyes to avoid stings, she continued her easy banter,
"And if not McHotty over there-- and yes, I do want that massage, Hans," she cut her gaze to the dashing brunet momentarily, conveying bedroom eyes before refocusing on Ana and London-- She did so love to flirt!
"There must be someone… We're surrounded by cuties all the time! Matt or Ethan or Jace or even Joseff assuming you want to be a spinster and keep animals instead of dealing with overly complicated humans… Which I understand!" Of course she purposefully left out Milton for… reasons, but what better time than a communal bath to talk about a girl's favorite subject-- Boys! Or girls depending on which way a person's door swang…
Nowadays those things don't even have hinges! Oh l'amour! The rotating doors of romance!
"I- There is nobody- I don't like anyone," London said quickly. She went back underwater, resurfacing some ways away with freshly rinsed hair and pursed lips. Marten seemed to have hit a nerve.
Oho, they thought he was cute, huh? They were a little young, Hans was guessing they were still in college… freshmen maybe? They still had that enthusiastic, head-over-heels in love with life attitude that people tended to lose as they got older. It was refreshing and he was thoroughly amused by how blushy they were getting in his presence.
"N'aw, I'm glad you gals think I'm cute," he crooned.
"You three are pretty easy on the eyes too, you know." He intentionally winked at the shy girl, the one the others called London. The girl glanced at him briefly before stubbornly averting eye contact.
"Cute isn't the word I would use." Ana grinned, leaning up on the edge of the tub. Leaning over, Ana grabbed the hair wash from Marten, spreading some in her hair.
"You might want to give me some of this stuff though. It smells amazing." She grinned, dumping a bit in her hair.
Marten huffed at the quick swipe, sticking a tongue out at Ana playfully,
"Aww, I wanted to smell it some more… That should be a candle or something." Her blush darkened from Hans' comments, but she was determined to stay cool under the pressure of his stare. His eyes were so freaking pretty!
Look sexy, damn it. You are the siren! You are woman, RAWR! Uh… be mysterious or something?!
Kitty was rolling her eyes at him and the girls, but Hans ignored the woman, and was now focusing on the bolder pair - Marten and Ana. God, they were going with his massage joke? He could work with that. He definitely could work with that.
"Actions speak louder than words, gals. If you want a massage you're going to have to get up here." He did a come-hither gesture with his index finger.
"They don't call me Magic Hands Hans for no reason." He was messing with the kids, of course, but if they did come up for a massage, he wouldn't deny them one either.
Ana grinned as she looked at London.
"You all are so easily embarrassed." She mumbled, grinning widely. After rinsing out her hair in the soapy water Ana hopped out of the tub with little fear. She grabbed a dry towel and started working on getting dry while grabbing bath robes and towels for the other girls.
"Now then Hans, you might want to turn for the shy ones. They're easily embarrassed." She grinned, sliding on her robe and wrapping her towel around her neck. Her hair was sticking up in all directions from her scrubbing it hard, trying to get out the water. Laying down on the bench Ana let the robe come off her back.
"Work your magic Hans. My back has been sore ever since Jace decided it was a great idea to jump in the river, followed by Milton." She sighed, closing her eyes and letting her body relax.
She sighed under her breath relieved that Ana had taken the initiative. She wanted that massage! But she was more than happy to wait her turn and of course collect her inner self which was somewhere between spouting semi-erotic gibberish and spasming like a newly pubescent woman-child unsure if her body was blossoming or dying systematically. Extremely unbecoming to say the least, but thankfully, it was inner Marten with the problem. Visible Marten was enjoying the girly scents diffusing into the room and the slow, methodical massaging of the suds in her hair.
By the time she dipped and rinsed herself, she felt much calmer, deciding to enjoy one last swim in the deep, warm depths before lifting herself from the water at the edge closest to the bathrobes. She slipped into one with easy, almost-graceful motions and made her over to the racks of costumes, beginning to shop for one.
Content to let her surprisingly thick mane of hair drip dry as it curled slightly around her, she absently fingered fabric textures, tossing a smile over her shoulders,
"Don't tire yourself out Hans, I'm next for sure!"
The second Ana offered her a bathrobe and towel, London scrambled out of the pool like a wet cat. Threw the robe on and hurried over to the costume rack without a word, wringing the water from her hair with the fluffy towel. It likely wouldn't dry for a long while without a blow-dryer, but London never had patience for that kind of thing; as such, she didn't ask for one. Instead, simply took the hair tie she'd used to hold her hair back and used it to pile all the dark locks above her head in a damp, messy bun.
It'd dry. Eventually.
Perusing the rack, she took extra effort to choose only from the side that would conceal her from the massage tables. On some deeper level London knew she was overreacting - she often did, when flustered - but really all she wanted to do was change and haul ass out of there. Spending time with the girls had been fun and all, but boy talk? Specifically regarding who she might fancy? Oh no, that would not happen. It was bad enough Kelsey hounded her whenever a certain friend of theirs found his way into a topic of conversation. London didn't need Ana and Marten getting suspicious and prying, either.
So, she grabbed the most comfortable yet least revealing costume she could find; a black and red ninja ensemble, mask and cowl included. It wasn't Wonder Woman but at least it kept her warm and matched her wooden katana. Plus, London doubted anyone would notice what she was using the accessories for, exactly: a surefire way to hide her expression and any possible red-tinted cheeks throughout the night. Because, honestly, with someone as cute as Hans around-
Nope. Not going there.
Peering over the racks to make sure the others - Marten, Ana, Kitty and Hans - couldn't see her, she quickly changed and pulled up the hood. Waved to the others as she stepped out, headed for the door.
"I, uh-... I'm gonna go. Before dinner gets, uh, cold. Too cold. Yeah, uh, bye."
Without waiting for a response, London slipped out of the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Took a breath, turned around, and headed down the hallway in the direction of the way they came.
Marten barely got a word in before London was out the door. She hadn't even gotten a good look at her outfit, which made the grunette pout a bit. Had they teased her too much maybe? Sighing she glanced back down to the green and black number she had picked out. It'd compliment her hair, so why not?
Hans could only grin when London pretty much hauled ass out of the spa room. Cute. The lot of them were cute.
"Hey, watch your step when you're making your way down the stairs, okay?"
Meanwhile, the girl who'd approached him - Ana - was London's complete opposite. She was bold and she knew what she wanted. In fact, she was asking him for a massage. Hah, he would have happily obliged, but Kitty's death glare stopped him in his tracks.
"Hans. Dinner. Cold. Get out."
"Ah… right, Mrs. Putts will have my head if you guys miss dinner." He withdrew his hands away from Ana and gave both her and Marten an apologetic glance.
"Sorry, maybe next time."
Kitty's ice cold stare told everyone there wouldn't be a next time, not if she could help it.
"Girls, please pick your clothes and head down to dinner before the food gets cold." Her words were polite but there was no mistaking the venom in her tone.
Well I know when I'm not wanted. Marten rolled her eyes a bit thankful that she didn't have to live with Miss Kitty and her claws. She was probably a nice lady on the inside, but what she had shown thus far had left much to be desired. Smiling genuinely at poor Hans, she nodded,
"Yea, next time." Then she was shuffling behind a random rack and changing into her new costume, marveling at just how high stockings could go. She was surprised the outfit didn't come with a garter belt to hold the long, thick socks ups. They seemed to have a bit of extra grip at the top though, so that was helpful. She wouldn't have to worry about them falling down.
Next came the skirt and ¾ sleeved top and she was left to button, clasp, adjust, and tweak until the belts, buttons, and ties looked correct. Lastly she was pulling on combat styled boots and using black hair ribbons to tie back her still damp tresses into twin tails. Some finger combing later and she was Hatsune Miku ready to belt a tune. She struck a peace signed pose for the room, winking and flashing a saucy smirk,
"Kawaii, ne?"
Ana sighed as Hans looked at Kitty and gave up on the massage.
"Well boo then. I guess you don't have any sense of adventure." She said, raising her eyebrows as the man left.
"Whatever, I can just make one of the guys do it. Maybe Milton." She said with a grin, wandering towards the clothing racks.
"Hmm, so I assume we're going for costumes?" She questioned her fellow lady before perusing the racks.
"I don't really want to wear a dress." She mumbled, looking at Marten.
"Nice there Miku." Ana grinned, tugging something leather off the rack. She grinned.
"I am gonna go biker chick." She grinned, starting to tug on the outfit. Ana ended up in a tight grey shirt with a skull on it, her magnificent belly exposed. She had some ripped black jeans and some combat boots. She tugged on a leather jacket over her shirt and a leather choker that came with it. She looked studded and spiked, and like a badass biker chick.
"At the least it matches the whip." She grinned, wandering towards the door.
"Let's go!"