Sun & Moon

To the Hot Springs

Aizawa POV

The past couple of months with the nekos have been great. They have made a lot of progress in learning to trust Zashi and I as well as becoming more confident in themselves. Izuku is still hesitant to ask for things and make mistakes, but Shoto is coming out of his shell a little bit as he goes to get food and do stuff around the apartment without asking either of us.

We haven't taken them out for any public outings or experiences, but we know we can't rush them, especially on that fact. While we know we have to integrate them into typical society at some point, we agreed to go slowly. This is why today we are going to the hot springs. It can be private but still give the sense of being out in the world. Also, it was a relaxing place that had a low chance of testing the neko's nerves.

Zashi was packing a couple of bags with clothes and snacks and I was getting the boys dressed for the day. Neither was overly excited to be going out but they had to agree that the days were starting to get uncomfortably repetitive. We were about to head out to the packed car when Izuku went wide-eyed and rushed back to his room. I was almost worried that he had gotten scared of the thought of going out but then he reappeared. This time though he was clutching his Shoto plushy. He hadn't let go of it since his birthday and I was starting to suspect that the real-life Shoto was starting to get a little jealous.

The ride to the hot springs was a bit long but there were no complaints as the nekos watched the scenery and Hizashi sang to the radio music. Parking the car was easy since it was one of the less busy days to go to the hot springs. I went to check us in as Zashi helped Izuku and Shoto out of the car and grab the bags. We got to our private scheduled day-spring and bathroom and were finally troubled with a problem.

Hizashi and I had changed into our swim trunks but neither of the nekos wanted to. "What's the matter little listeners?" Zashi asked, crouching to their level. They shook their heads, looking at their feet and messing with the hems of their shirts. "Do we have to change?" Shoto asked meekly. "Well it's recommended but you don't necessarily have to. Can you tell us why you don't want to?" This time Izuku was the one to respond. "Scars."

I looked at Zashi as he looked up at me worriedly. We had seen their scars when they had taken a bath. It was definitely not a pretty site but we had been reminding them that we would never judge their bodies. They had gotten good and being undressed while taking a bath; however, it seemed like the hot springs being a more public space, even in a private pool, had it's limits.

I turned to face the nekos and crouched next to Zashi, and took a hand from each of the nekos. "If you feel uncomfortable taking off your clothes then you can keep them on, we brought extra sets of clothes. But remember that we don't care about your scars. You two are perfect no matter what covers your body." They nodded and we led them over to the hot pool. We got in first and then helped them make their way into the hot water. They seemed to relax more as they submerged up to their necks.

We left them to play in the water together as we moved across the pool to a small waterfall. We sat slightly under it so that it would wet our heads and flow across our chests without getting in our faces. "I'm glad we could do this," Zashi sighed, relaxing further into the water. "Yeah, I think this was a good place to take them and begin to introduce them to society." Zashi hummed, "Well yeah that, but also I think this is a good place for them to relax and wash away all of the stress that they've been through. It's peaceful and I think they should have some peace after all of the stress."

I looked over at the nekos, silently agreeing with my blonde husband. When we finished with the waterfall we made our way back over to the nekos and relaxed, with Shoto laying against my chest and Izuku against Zashi's chest. Zashi reached for a small head towel, soaking it lightly and placing it on Izuku's head, right between his ears. Izuku closed his eyes and began to purr loudly. Adorable. I did the same to Shoto, who copied Izuku and purred as well. While Izuku's purr was light and somewhat breathy, Shoto's was deeper and sounded closer to a growl.

30 minutes later both nekos had fallen asleep due to the warmth of the water and the lack of tension they were feeling. Zashi and I had decided to stay in the water a little longer before picking up the nekos and getting out of the water. We dried ourselves and the nekos, as well as changed our clothes. Packing the bags we situated ourselves and carried the nekos out to the car after checking out and paying. The nekos were asleep the whole ride home and only woke up a little to eat a little something for dinner before going back to bed.

-----------

(Decided to give you guys a short and fluffy chapter before we get into drama)