Spa Day

Robin was sparring in the courtyard with Aji when QJ and Lotte arrived. The orange-haired Songbird smiled apologetically toward her partner. "Gotta cut this short, Aji."

Aji wiped her brow with the back of one hand. "It's fine; Jacob is coming over for dinner." 

QJ heard the exchange. "Jake has a weakness for sweet things but can't handle spicy food." 

"That is good to know."  Aji flashed him a thankful smile. "I laid out your clothes for the banquet." 

"I hope you didn't make me tails again. Tonight is casual attire." QJ faked a scowl. "Know what a penguin is?"

Aji nodded. "I do; they are adorable." 

Robin claimed his hand, pulling him toward the main house. "What's the plan?"

"Quick shower, then we can talk in the spa."  QJ walked into his Briar Rose home and headed up the stairs. The Grand Master Room had an entire spa attached to it. He paused long enough to catch Lotte's attention. "You've been there before, right?"

Lotte raised an eyebrow at the pair. "You're inviting me?" 

Robin smiled over her shoulder at the slinger. "Sure looks that way, hun."

The hot tub had two separate entrances; Robin escorted a surprised Lotte down the opposite hall QJ had gone through. The Songbird undressed and dropped her clothes in a basket before grabbing a towel. 

She wrapped it around herself before looking back again. 

Lotte wrapped the towel around herself; for once, she regretted including the scars on her avatar. 

"Come on, hun. Why so worried about a few scars?"  She held up a bottle of wine and took a long drink before grabbing her hand. 

Lotte let herself get pulled into the spa room by the orange-haired Songbird. It was a circular bath with a small bar island in the middle. 

Robin sat the bottle on the island and tossed off her towel before sinking into the hot water. 

Lotte took a deep breath and then removed her towel. She knelt down until her breasts were in the water. The scars on her neck and shoulders were as bad as it gets. Multiple skin grafts did little to mask the melting that had taken place. It was still hard for Lotte to look at in the mirror. "Sometimes I still cry if I look at them too long in the mirror." 

Robin clucked her tongue at the scars and touched them lightly with her fingertips. "They are pretty bad, but we both know that QJ doesn't mind them." 

Lotte felt her face slowly heating up. "I'm not really into girls. Not that I think you are hitting on me or anything; it's just not my thing." 

Robin's smile widened, "I prefer QJ to everyone else, but I am hitting on you."

Lotte returned her smile, "I'm flattered, of course. You are very beautiful." 

"So are you... I'll make you a deal, hun. One kiss, and I'll share QJ with you, maybe forever." 

QJ had been about to enter the bath when  Ringo contacted him on his hud. The conversation took a few minutes, but finally, he wrapped himself in a towel and entered the spa. 

The steam made it difficult to see; the water was comfortable, but it would heat up when people entered. The soft sounds of kissing made QJ's heart pound in his chest. He tossed the towel and sunk down into the water. 

Robin had Lotte pushed up against the island and was kissing her. The Songbird was more aggressive than usual; one hand was caressing a pale, perfect breast while the other was trying to reach between Lotte's legs. She changed tactics suddenly and dipped her head downward; her lips captured one hard nipple in her mouth, causing Lotte to moan loudly. Robin smiled sexily, teasing the hardened tip with her tongue. 

Unable to watch any longer, QJ moved closer and gently nudged Robin to one side. 

Lotte was breathing hard. "That's more than a kiss!"  She froze when she noticed QJ. For a long moment, she stared at him, time slowing down so she could cherish every sweet second. Unexpectedly, he bent closer and brushed his lips against hers. 

Robin moved away, leaning back against the center island, one hand caressing herself. 

Their first kiss led to a second and then a third. Lotte moaned against his mouth, clinging tightly in an effort to have every part of her touch him. Without waiting, she wrapped her legs around his waist and pushed herself onto him. 

"Knew it," Robin whispered while reaching for the wine bottle she discarded earlier. "Those scars hide a tigress." After taking a long drink, she replaced it on the bar and closed the distance between herself and Lotte. 

The Songbird pushed Lotte's long hair to one side before kissing her neck. Reaching around her, she cupped Lotte's breasts, encouraging QJ to tease them with his mouth. 

"We don't have the time to make this an all-nighter," Robin eased one hand forward until it enclosed around QJ's manhood. With a deft movement, she rubbed the tip against Lotte. 

Lotte lunged forward, perhaps a bit rougher than she meant to, biting his shoulder to keep from screaming when he entered her. 

They moved together, slowly at first, as Lotte worked her hips against his, her cries of pleasure filling the room. 

Afterward, the lovers clung to each other, kissing and caressing. Here, Robin pulled QJ away, putting Lotte in a spectator role as Robin and QJ moved easily together. The slinger hid her embarrassed smile behind one hand. QJ was way more experienced than her, and his Songbird girlfriend was as wild as she was beautiful. 

*********

A short while later, QJ logged into his parent's VRP space wearing tan khaki shorts, a buttoned green floral shirt, and green canvas deck shoes. He hadn't been impressed when Aji presented it, but he liked how it felt and fit once he put it on. Robin and Lotte would escort Ra, who returned to Basara for a few trunks of clothes. 

"QJ!" Tal immediately spotted him when he appeared on the front landing near the bottom of the stairs. She embraced him before shooing him toward the backyard door. 

"Is everyone attending virtually?" QJ noticed that both his parents used their 'significantly younger' avatars.' 

"All but two," Tal replied. "Breeze and Sato." 

QJ exited his family home, stopping momentarily to take it all in. The fence between the two houses had long since been removed so the families could share a larger outdoor space. Two long tables with bench seating were separated by three smaller tables stacked with food. Two servers waited nearby, along with an additional one that held the drink tray. 

"Worried about seating?" Quinn approached his son, throwing an arm around the younger man's shoulders. "Don't worry, I made sure to put you with your friends." He took a quick glance over his shoulder. "We don't want Sierra to feel overwhelmed by seating her with the sharks... I mean your mothers." 

QJ grinned but didn't disagree; they might be a little much for someone who just met them. "That's why you lead the family."

Quinn smiled at the obvious. "Of course. I'm in charge."

"In charge of what?" Leah smiled sweetly, kissing her husband on the cheek before doing the same to QJ. 

"The drinks," Quinn replied. "Leave them to me." 

A short while later, all of the guests had arrived. QJ found himself at the head of one of the tables, bordered by Ra on one side and Robin on the other. Belle sat on the other side of the Songbird with Sato next to Ra. 

Belle's shadow fiend sat on the grass next to QJ's chair. 

Quinn stood up at the behest of Tal, the group immediately falling silent. "Thank you for coming tonight. We wanted to present a casual gathering to welcome Ra into our family. There is plenty of food and drink; help yourselves and enjoy the evening." 

QJ was listening to Belle's recollection of the first time she was able to see the world. Of course, he hadn't been born yet, but he'd heard the story before. 

Robin sipped wine from her glass, occasionally picking at the plate she filled with assorted fruit and vegetables. "One of the first people you saw was Leah Fintree.  Imagine that? Did you think everyone looked like her?" 

  "Just for a while," Belle laughed. 

"QJ!" The pink-haired gnome hugged him before treating the group to a mega-watt smile. "We're still studying the artifact used on Barti, but I figured out what those red flakes are."

"Not rubies," QJ guessed.

Remmy shook her head. "It's called Dragon Blood, not real dragon blood; of course, there aren't any of those in GnG." 

QJ managed to scoop up a few flakes from the lake bottom near Baron Shrae's damn. "What's their use?"

"Changes the density of metal," Remmy replied. "Sharper swords, stronger armor, and so forth."  She held up a single vial filled with red fluid. "You have to dilute it with a 100 to 1 ratio of heavy water." 

QJ accepted the vial, holding it to the light before pocketing it. "Is heavy water available in GnG?"

Remmy nodded. "Anna did some checking. There are a few sources, but not many." 

"What the heck is heavy water?" Sato was sitting next to Breeze; both of them were regularly partaking from the drink tray. 

"The standard hydrogen atom has been replaced with deuterium isotopes in heavy water. The average person has about 5 grams of it in their body." QJ considered the red flakes while Sato continued to look confused. Did Baron Schrae find some way to mine it? 

[OP: QJ] Let's snoop around the lake near the dam.

[OP: Ringo] Sure, but the dam still needs to be built on the Phoenix server. 

[OP: QJ] I know. Why is Schrae richer than everyone else in Maelstrom?

[OP: Ringo] You think he's sitting on something valuable.

[OP: QJ] Maybe. And maybe he hasn't found it yet on our server.

[OP: Breeze] Let's swoop in and take it!