Why are you naked?
There had to be a wizarding law against indecent exposure, just like there were for muggles, right? There was no way it was legal for Malfoy to strut around as naked as the day he was born from the showers to the sauna to the pools.
Forget the fact that the other witches and wizards were also naked, or that they were in Japan on a diplomatic trip, or that Hermione was clutching her towel around herself as if parting with it meant death.
Draco Malfoy was naked, and he was painfully, gloriously, beautiful.
Think white marble, a pensieve David, all toned muscle, broad shoulders, and narrow hips. The v at his waist pointed straight towards a treasure she absolutely refused to consider. All the gold in the Malfoy vaults and this man, her coworker, carried around the most priceless inheritance of them all in his pants.
“Hermione, aren’t you going to soak?” Emily Richards’ voice startled her from her panic. The older woman’s expression was equal parts concerned and amused.
“I…yes. I was just…absorbing.” Good Godric.
“It’s quite different from home, isn’t it?”
Taking a deep breath and steeling herself, Hermione nodded with far more confidence than she felt. “That’s why we’re here—bridging cultures, opening lines of communication.”
Emily moved towards the closest pool, towel held modestly flat against her front, leaving her backside completely bare. If she could do it, why couldn’t Hermione?
Each step forward felt like a walk to the gallows, one with distinctly white-blonde hair whose magnetic gaze zeroed in on her and maintained eye contact. She stood at the edge, false bravado bleeding away as she gripped the terry cloth even tighter than before, and he raised a single brow.
The prat was goading her.
Two could play that game. She let the towel fall, stepping gingerly into the scalding water. Her curls were twisted up into a bun so they wouldn’t touch the water. Hermione might not feel comfortable walking naked around others, but she wasn’t ashamed of her body. Despite her long work hours and propensity towards sedentary hobbies, she maintained a daily regime of diet and exercise.
The diet wasn’t anything dissatisfying, but rather a balancing of nutrients and flavors to maximize her pleasure for foods of all cultures. She was an unabashed foodie with a natural curiosity for the unknown. This appetite required a partner in physical activity. Hermione chose once more to indulge in a variety of options, including running, yoga, and bouldering.
She was strong and fit and now Draco Malfoy knew it if the way his eyes widened was any indication.
In the short moment it took her to fold her towel neatly, place it on the ledge behind her, and settle in next to Emily, she felt the first inklings of a brush against her consciousness. Hermione recognized the magical signature at once and relaxed her barrier.
“Why are you naked, Granger?”
“For the same reason that you’re naked, Malfoy. This is a co-ed public bathhouse, is it not?”
“Can you at least try to stay submerged?”
That earned him a snorting laugh, and his brow furrowed even more when she disregarded his request and stood to wave over an attendant.
“Bloody, hell, Granger, at least—”
“We’d like some sake to share between the two of us, and would you please also send a bottle to the gentlemen with my coworker over there?” The young woman taking her order startled at the sight of Draco’s reddening face. She bowed and hurried off.
“Did you know this is one of the few remaining bathhouses of its kind in all of Japan? They’ve been phasing out these co-ed style baths ever since WWII,” Emily said, as she sunk down to her chin in the water.
“I can’t imagine why they’d bring us here, then.” Despite the distance, Hermione knew Malfoy was listening in on their conversation.
“You know Draco—he always wants to experience what most others cannot. Once he heard about this place, he insisted they include it in the itinerary.”
“Is that so?” Now he definitely wasn’t looking at her, eyes glued on the, no doubt, fascinating conversation next to him.
“You have no one but yourself to blame, so thank you for this rare opportunity.”
Only a tightening around his mouth betrayed her legilimency hit the mark. The longer she soaked in the heat of the onsen, the more relaxed and confident Hermione felt. These baths were brilliant. Maybe she’d insist on finding some back home to go to with the girls.
“Do you think Pansy and Blaise might be willing to share their hot tub?”
She had to stifle a laugh at the horrified look he turned on her.
“Don’t you even think about it, Granger. If you even dare—”
“Dare to bare my very naked arse and boobies?”
“Granger!”
“What do you do to stay fit, Malfoy?”
Hermione let her eyes roam his bare chest. Would it turn as red as his face currently was? Her giggle caught Emily’s attention, and the woman cocked her head at her.
“Everything alright, dear?”
“I’m just remembering the red-arse monkeys that they told us like to use the northern pools in the winter.”
“Ah, the snow monkeys.”
Red arses, white fur. Maybe Malfoy was a monkey, not a ferret like everyone liked to joke.
The sake arrived, floating on a basket between the two ladies, and Hermione nodded over at the men who cheered at her gift. Her first sip of the clear beverage was clean and sharp, a delightful burn in her throat.
“Why don’t you meet with me tonight and find out?”
She choked on her second sip at Malfoy’s words.
“Hermione! Are you okay?”
Hermione’s eyes flickered over to him as she assured Emily that she had just gulped too quickly, and her throat seized at the way his lips curled behind the rim of his glass. A pulse between her legs reminded her that it had been far too long since mutual satisfaction. They were two consulting adults. Coworkers, yes, but there wasn’t any rule against that. Once she felt calm enough to continue to another glass she reached out once more.
“Dress code?”
“Nothing more or less than what you’ve got on right now.”