Anon Prompt: Hot Tubbing

>Invisible knives lash at your skin, tossed at you by howling ghosts that dance and flail through the air in front of you. Ice hangs in the half-frozen air, sharpened, glittering like dozens of teeth of a jagged beast ready to snap at you. The endless black night is dotted with twinkling eyes that seemed to weep frozen white drops in gossamer-like sheets, as if to mourn the world and the loss of the warmth and comfort nature had so lovingly crafted for it. A funeral dirge of howls and ice to blanket the world once more.
>Basically, in other words, it was cold as all hell out.
>New Meridian was in the midst of a deep freeze, the weather says. It ain’t even 8 pm and the temperature’s dropped to below -20 degrees.
>Coupled with the arrival of an impending snowstorm, it’s going to be a long cold winter.
>You don’t see anyone out in the street- and if you do, they’re either in cars or buses or riding trains, or generally bundled up in heavy coats that resemble gas mask-wearing generals then a pedestrian trying to get some milk at the corner store.
>And what were you, our intrepid hero currently trying to kick his way through about 3 inches of snow getting in his boots, doing out in the streets this bitter cold night? You should be home in bed, watching illegally downloaded movies or arguing on a Dagonian drywall repair board about the quality of this story, eating a hot fried dinner or doing some weightlifting to keep warm.
>The answer was simple: Hallow
>Yes, your girlfriend Hallow- not her real name, but hey it sounds cool- works at the Last Hope Free Clinic just down by your house, and had called you up asking you for help with something.
>Now, you have no idea what sort of thing she needs help with. You aren’t a doctor, and she has like 4 other of those weirdly hot nurses who help her out. And she didn’t sound upset, like she was in pain, but she sounded really excited, as if wanting to really show you something
>And, because you’re a good boyfriend, this is why you’re slogging through the artic winds and polar ice of New Meridian streets to see your nurse girlfriend
>Just as you’re thinking about either pissing in the alley to see if it’ll freeze, or considering just turning around and heading back home, you see the familiar pink-red cross of the clinic flickering in the wind.
>You stumble hurriedly through the snow and push into the clinic doors, relieved as the blast of warm air rushes over you from the ceiling fan.
>The lobby’s empty, the sound of chintzy waiting room music mixes with the hum of fluorescent lights. The smell of disinfectant half-washed on the clinic’s tiled floor burns your nose, alongside the more welcoming scent of a scented candle- Christmas tree pine to mask the scent of medical work. Magazines lay neatly stacked, from copies of Meridian Medical journals to yesterday’s issue of Canopy Secrets, that cheesy gossip magazine that’s more paged through than the rest. At the curved front desk, lies that horned gigan girl in the pink uniform-Patty- sits at the computer, scrolling through both a take-out menu for a place in Little Innsmouth.
>Not interested in reading about a medical study of a young woman survived being frozen for 6 hours, or about Nancy Renior’s secret love affairs, you stroll up to the desk, where the gigan looks up with a smile.
>”Oh, hey, Anon! There ya are! Hallow’s been waitin’ all night for ya!”
>” Yeah, what’s up, Patty? Is everything okay?”
>”Everythin’s fine, laddie! She’s got a surprise waitin’ for ya. I think you’ll like it. I’ve already been in it three times now! She’s waiting for ya, down in the back room”
> “Okay, thanks, Patty. If I need anything, I’ll call ya”
>Waving a friendly wave to Patty as you walk off down the hall to where Hallow’s dorm was, you wondered what she could have possibly meant by “being in it” already.
>With Hallow, everything was a surprise. Once Patty told you about she once injected her with something that would, in theory, multiply her strength and allow her to access full gigan genetics that may have been suppressed over time.
>In reality, it actually gave her a horrible case of the runs but who’s to judge?
>As you open the door, you swear you smell the aroma of…bubbling foam? And the sound of an engine running, like a pump being run at full speed.
>And, through a burst of steam, you finally see what she wanted you to see.
>A hot tub.
>A giant room-sized hot tub.
>Filled with bubbling, steaming water, a rubber duck, and Hallow, who is currently lounging herself out on the rail of the tub like a gaunt scarecrow, half limp in the water.
>Once she sees you, the nurse raises an arm to you and waves, her mask stained with foam and soaked with water.
>”Hey, Anon! Up here!”
>”H..Hallow, how did you get a hot tub?”
“The clinic ordered one as part of a therapy program” Hallow explains, swimming a lazy lap over to you, draping her arms down over the side. “Usually it’s off-limits, but since it’s incredibly cold out, we decided to use it to keep warm. Frostbite is one of the biggest hazards of the winter season” She teased, flicking some water at you, talking in that know-it-all-nurse way.
>Now, after walking a good distance in bitter cold wind, and getting so much snow in your shoes you were pretty sure your left foot was dead from the ankle down, the idea of getting into a tub of hot water and taking a load off sounded amazing
>But, still, you should have been upset that you walked a good distance in bitter cold wind and possibly lost your foot to just see something you could have went to the gym any time you wanted.
>Again, though- hot tub.
>”So, do you want to join, Anon? The water’s fine! And I think after being outside in the snow all that time, you would love to warm up!”
>”Was getting me half-frozen a part of your plan?”
>”Of course.”
>”Well, congratulations. You got me to freeze my nuts off. What’s the next step in your master plan?”
>”Getting you in this tub. Without your wet clothes”
>”Alright, alright, move over, I’ll come in. Now, uh, you have anything like extra clothes here or something, a smock or whatever you give people?”
>Hallow snickered beneath her mask, brushing some long black hair from her face.
>”No, I’m afraid we don’t. You’re going to have to just swim in your briefs.”
>”Oh come on, Hallow! I don’t want to get naked in a hospital hot tub! At least, not if I need to”
>It wasn’t that being naked was a problem for you- believe you me you had nothing to be ashamed of, but the idea of being alone half-naked in a hot tub with Hallow, while sounding pretty good any time else, didn’t sound so hot with everyone else here.
>”I didn’t say get naked, Anon. Just sit in your briefs. I’m a nurse, I’ve seen plenty of worse things. Just yesterday Christm…I mean, Christine and I had to help a guy with cysts on his groin and they were…
“Alright, I get it! Jeez, just…move over”
>Slipping off your winter weather, then your normal clothes, you find yourself standing in only your boxers. And despite whatever disgusting piece of medical trivia Hallow would have indulged you in, you still didn’t feel comfortable.
>Hallow, on the other hand, was enjoying this. Maybe she liked the view. Maybe she liked watching you get all nervous- she did mention she studied emotional trauma or something.
>Giving a wolf whistle that seemed cartoonish and outright obscene coming from her, she waved you in towards the water.
>”Ooh, my, my, working on a beach body already, Anon? I’m surprised Patty hasn’t leapt on you yet~!”
“Sh..shut up!” You say, surprised how you’re acting- a beautiful woman is looking you over and you’re standing there like a schoolgirl being watched at a swimsuit contest.
>”Oh, pssh. Come on in, Anon. You’ll feel less moody once you relax”
>You sigh and climb up the little plastic steps into the water, instantly letting the hot steam engulf you before, after letting yourself adjust to the heat, dunk your body into the water.
“Aahhh….man, this feels nice! Feels better than freezing to death outside”
“See? I told you you’d feel better! Now, do you want something to drink? I have…let’s see…Canopy Cola, Dr. Spice, Clearwater, Spiced Cocoa…”
>”Spiced cocoa? Yeah, I’ll take that. It’s something warm at least”
>Hallow leaned over, revealing her long black one-piece swimsuit, one that quite nicely showed off her skinny, yet curvy body, and her pale skin shimmering under the waves of hot bubbling water. She grabbed a little cooler from the side of the hot tub, pulled out two mugs and a thermos, and poured you and herself a nice cup of frothy hot chocolate.
>You then take a nice slow sip of the hot chocolate- letting the rich warm flavor of creamy chocolate and half-melted marshmallows dance across your lips. You also taste something else in the cocoa- like a strong burning taste at the bottom of the mug
>But, burning is expected in hot chocolate after all, chucklenuts, so you decide to ignore it and just relax with Hallow, enjoying the warmth of the hot tub and just being able to see her.
>”How’s the cocoa, Anon?” Hallow asked, sipping through a slit in her mask with a coffee stirrer. You never saw her without her mask, but the idea that she has lips behind them at least comforts you
>”Oh, it’s great! Although….there’s something I can’t put my finger on in here…”
>”Well, Easter made it just an hour ago! And Valentine and I, well, we added a few special ingredients.”
>To hear “special ingredients” from Hallow was like hearing you got a surprise from your weird aunt who you see once every Christmas- it might be something kind of cool, but has a big chance of possibly hurting you in ways emotionally and physically.
>”In..ingredients? What do you mean?”
>”Nothing much. Dark chocolate shavings, cinnamon, a bit of this eastern pepper extract to bring the chocolate flavor out…”
>”Oh thank Goddess. For a moment there, I thought you put in something like a crazy chemical…”
>”And a bit of Formula 56.7-13.C”
>Oh Goddess
>”Hallow…uh, what is that?”
>Hallow gave a playful giggle and her eyes lowered half-lidded, batting up and down seductively. Despite the fact you could not see her lips-if she had any lips at all- you could tell they were curled into a smirk. Swimming over to you, you felt her delicate fingers rub at your chin, and her giggle drip into your ear like medicine from an IV bag.
>”Oh Anon, you got me! You see, I didn’t invite you over here just to try this hot tub with me~….”
>Oh Goddess
>”The other girls and I…well, we just feel so lonely all cramped up in this lonely little clinic, treating gangsters and surrogate mothers, that we needed a big strong man to come and…keep us company~”
>Oh Goddess.
>”So, we thought we could invite you down for a bit of a…pool party~? You know, a bunch of lonely nurses in soaking wet bikinis, a big strong man whose body is now racing with pure adrenaline, nothing but snow and ice to keep us inside~….”
>Oh sweet merciful Goddess.
>Hallow giggles again, playing with your hair. Despite her creepy exterior of someone who lurks in alleys trying to shoot random passerby with insane needles, she really is kind of nice to cuddle with. Holding her when you lay in bed together she feels like a cozy body pillow, her touch is always delicate and careful, giving you a back massage if you slept on it wrong. She really is a sweetie, under that leather and metal mask she wears.
>”Mhm, I bet Easter would love to get to play with you~…you’d be her little love muffin~?”
>Before you could say anything else, maybe scream at the idea of a foreign chemical running through your body, or maybe pass out from the idea of having five hot nurses tending to you in a hot tub, you feel your face get all red, and your skin become damp with sweat and steam- and not just from the hot water around you…
>And then…then Hallow bursts into laughter.
>What.
>”L..love muffin! Oh, that’s a good one! Look at your face!” Hallow giggled hysterically, smacking the surface of the water in delight.
>”Uuh…waitaminute, what?”
>”You…you actually thought we were gonna…ooh, boy, I owe Val 5 bones now…whew!” Hallow wiped a tear from her eye and looked at you, still seeing your face red- both in surprise, shock- and maybe a bit of excitement.
>”Hallow, what the hell are you talking about?”
>”Oh, anon, Valentine made a bet that I can’t get you all worked up. So, I put some of Patty’s rum in the hot chocolate and made you think we were gonna rush in here and strip you like a patient at a psych ward.  And, now I owe 5 bones- wait, no, 10 if I could make you get aroused. You’re not aroused, are you? If you are, please tell me, I can’t lose another bet to Valentine”
>Now, you felt like you should have been mad. Hallow had just gotten you all worked up about making you swallow a chemical and that you would be leading a hot tub sexy party. But, to be honest, you weren’t as mad as you were just a tad ticked. This wasn’t anything to leave about, it was Hallow you were talking about, and the number of tricks and gags she pulled on everyone probably could count from here to the top of Medici Tower.
>Upon seeing your flustered red face, Hallow reached into the cooler and handed you a Hershel’s Chocolate Bar, the one with the peppermints in it for the Christmas season
>”Aww, I’m sorry, Anon. Here, take this. It’s your favorite!”
>Hallow was right- Hershel’s bars were your favorite candy. And the look on her face, the look of playful joking that meant nothing malicious. So, you really couldn’t stay mad at her for long.
>Besides, considering how cold it was outside, you’d be happy to stay inside and be a little pissy than be heading home almost wet to freeze to death.
>”Aw…well, apology accepted, Hallow. Just…don’t scare me like that. I don’t want to go to the doctor for another stomach pump!”
>”And I told you before, we’d do it happily for free here!” Hallow smiled softly under her mask and broke open the silver wrapper of the candy bar, breaking off a piece of chocolate and handing it to you, which you popped into your mouth to let the taste of milk chocolate and cool peppermint wash over your lips once more. “You know…that’s another thing I want to talk to you about”
>”About what?”
>”Well…we…I kind of wanted to ask you…have you ever thought about switching over to the clinic here?”
>Hallow did have a point. It wasn’t everyday you were girlfriends with a nurse who operated a joint free clinic. The amount of money you would save would be phenomenal alone, and it wasn’t like the clinic wasn’t unpopular. Sure, they were poor families and gangsters and other walks of life, but if it wasn’t popular they wouldn’t keep coming back, right?
>Besides, you were pretty sure that male nurse with your other guy had a crush on you, and the last time you went he called you a “big boy” and that alone made you feel naughty.
>”Well…I dunno...I mean, just a few minutes ago you were trying to get a rise out of me….”
>”It was just a joke, Anon! Besides, if I would have given you something, you would have felt the sexy side-effects by now”
>Deciding to not focus on what exactly sexy side-effects meant, you kept on, playing yourself as unsure and upset. Even looking up at the ceiling as you stirred the water- like one of those pompous CEOs they showed on those soap operas when they were trying to make a deal.
>”See? How would I know that I’m in good hands? If I had say, cancer, and you joked about that, I wouldn’t be quite the happy camper. And how do I even know if I’m in good hands?”
>Hallow snorted, rolling her beautifully grey pale eyes. You had to admit, she did look so cute when she got like that.
>”Oh please! We’re rated Number 1 in the Meridian Medical Journal’s reports on free health clinics and research centers…er, for the University of course! And, may I remind you of that piece the news did last week, after we helped deliver those 4 kids when the power went out?”
>”Hmm, well, I’m not sure…maybe if I do come here, I’d want a nurse that attends to my even care and need….like, say, Valentine?”
>”Valentine? Please, sure she’s a good friend and all, but her bedside manner is lacking! When children come into the clinic, we have to make her wear one of Easter’s old coats so we don’t get hit with a sexual assault case!”
>”Fine. Then maybe Christine.”
>”Unless you like reading chicken scratch and getting lectures, then be my guest”
>”Patty sounds nice. A young nurse probably would be more than eager to help”
“Last month Patty tried to flirt with a high school football player who came in looking to heal his leg and we almost caught him bench pressing her on the bed”
>”Easter”
>”Easter…well, okay, I got nothing for Easter”
>You smirk again. Despite all of it, the nurses seemed to be like a real family. Sure they had dislikes of what the other did, but they had their own likes. You remember when Hallow told you about how every Christmas- everyone including Christine herself- got together and bought Valentine a trip to the Dagonian Kingdom so she could spend a week off. And how on Easter, Easter always brought in baskets for everyone full of her delicious homemade candies.
>Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad transferring here. You’d get to see Hallow a lot more than usual, and you’d get to combine your health with someone you love.
>The only downside was breaking up with her and getting the risk of being horribly poisoned.
>But, in all honesty, you didn’t see yourself breaking up with this spooky girl any time soon.
>With a soft chuckle, you moved over and gave her mask a gentle kiss, Sure, the leather felt cold on your lips, but you could feel the warmth of her lips behind them. And the sight of her pale cheeks bursting all red was enough to make you chuckle as well.
>”Well….why not? After all, I’d see you more, and besides, I wouldn’t want anyone else taking care of me~….”
>Lowering your voice you whisper playfully into her ear.
“Isn’t that right, Nurse Hallow~? Am I your favorite patient~?”
>Hallow’s face went as red as could be and her only response was to pull you in extra tight, and pressing those lips…er, mask onto your lips as deeply as she could.
>”Mhm, you are my favorite patient, Anon~. Just don’t go telling anyone else that~. They’d want to get in the hot tub with me too~”
>You and Hallow snuggle up close together, letting the hot water bubble and splash around you two, soaking you both in the soothing heat. Right now, the idea of getting out and stepping into the cold air sounded like a death sentence, and the only place either of you wanted to be was inside each other’s warm arms, drinking the delicious cocoa and letting the sound of the cheesy lounge music pour in from the lounge outside.
>As you hold the scarecrow-esque nurse in yours arms, Hallow’s fingers gingerly glide over your muscled arms, purring teasingly as she cuddles into your chest, her black hair draped over you like a warm wet scarf.
>”Mhm, my, anon~….seems like you’ve been following my exercise regime advice very well~. You’re becoming quite the big guy~”
>And, with a blush as hot as the water around you, and a voice as cool as the frigid air outside, you kiss her cheek back and whisper to her.
“For you”