38

The rest of the elevator ride passed by in silence as Alex closed his eyes and rested his head back comfortably. He didn't want to think about his shitty morals right now and just wanted to enjoy his time with his beautiful and slutty scientist.

Sadly for him, that dream was going to stay a dream. With Alter Gwen being the one who was out, she kept flinching every time he so much as moved a muscle. She was still sitting beside him, despite her legs being recovered by now. Having lost the will to stand for hours and exerting herself for no real reason.

A few hours passed with Alex sitting in that position with his eyes closed before he heard Gwen speak to him, "Alex?" She shook his shoulder, "Are you up?"

"Mhm," He nodded without moving.

"What's wrong?" Gwen asked, grabbing his arm and pulling it around her neck. She leaned close to him and rested her head on him while pulling his hand on her shoulder.

"Nothing much," Alex said, lightly rubbing Gwen's shoulder as he felt her familiar warm and loving aura.

"Something's wrong," Gwen said, "Did Alter me say something? Or did the calibration process tire you out too much?" She asked him and grabbed his face, pulling him to meet her eyes.

"I'm not particularly thinking about anything, Gwen," Alex said with a smile.

"Fine then, don't tell me," She made an annoyed face and moved away from him.

"Don't be like that," Alex smiled, not minding coaxing her a little. He pulled her closer and asked her, "Where do you think that this Earth's Infinity Stones could be?"

"How am I supposed to know?" She asked with a frown, "You are the one familiar with this whole universal authority business."

"I know," Alex said, "But you work better with the technical stuff. You examined my Time Authority to make it compatible with the Dyson Core, it should've given you some kind of idea."

"You're going to put me to work making a detector for your Infinity Stones, aren't you?" She asked, dread creeping into her features.

"You are so understanding," Alex pretended that he did not notice her expression and showed his happiness with a tight hug, "I love you."

"No, Alex motherfucking Hunt," Gwen snapped, "I will not be worked to death by you. No way in hell!" She shook her head in denial, "You already have me working on your Cosmic Energy generator, I am not doing anything more! Do you have any idea how difficult it is to extract something as obscure as Cosmic Energy?" She continued her rant, "It's pretty much impossible with the current technology that we have. How the hell am I supposed to extract some kind of formless energy that is apparently generated from the goddamn prosperity of life? What the hell does the prosperity of life even entail? We have seven billion people on Earth. Do I need to double the number to generate a speck of Cosmic Energy? Do half of them need to die for that? Can it be a natural death? What if they die because of some sort of calamity? Argh!" She grabbed her hair in frustration as Alex smiled wryly at her endless ranting.

"Come here," He said with a wry expression, grabbing her and pulling her into his lap before wrapping an arm around her waist, "Shh …" Two tendrils wrapped around her arms and extended up to her hands, forcing her to free her hair as Alex held her head and gently caressed her hair, fixing it.

"I'm just …" Gwen mumbled, "So frustrated." She leaned into Alex's embrace, feeling comforted by his light caress.

"Sorry …" Alex smiled wryly, "I didn't think it was that big of a deal."

"You can work tirelessly like the immortal slime that you are, but I'm just a human. I still get tired, okay?" She said.

"I get it," Alex said still rubbing her head.

"No, you don't get it," She said, "You keep working, and that makes me feel guilty that I'm not helping you. You are just doing so goddamn much, while on the other hand, I'm whining about this when I'm barely working on one project."

"You don't have to match me in the effort department," Alex said, "As you said, I'm an immortal slime. You don't need to match my pace."

"You're the one who thinks that," Gwen said, "I can feel you working every fucking moment. Your mind is always busy and occupied. No matter what we're doing, even if I'm comfortably cuddled with you in bed, I can feel your mind working in so many directions that I cannot even fathom. It's- It's so hard for me to not feel like shit about being frustrated about one project when you are doing all that."

Alex gently kept rubbing her head and allowed her to let out all her emotions. By the end, Gwen was clutching his shirt while continuing her ranting with a breaking voice. He finally asked her, "Do you feel it now?"

"What?" She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes.

"Do you feel me working now?" He asked.

"Don't play with me, asshole," She snapped at him, "You just closed our connection. I feel even worse right now. I feel like someone has my heart in a fist and is clenching it."

Alex coughed awkwardly before releasing the block on the empathetic connection that he had with Gwen, "All right, my bad. But I have to be working, honey. I have to manage two planets, a multitude of hosts and so much more."

"But …" Gwen needed a whole lot more coaxing after bursting out like that. So much, in fact, that the rest of the elevator ride passed by with Alex lightly rubbing Gwen's head and back and comforting her as she kept spiraling down into a pit of meaningless self-loathing.

By the time the doors opened, Gwen was fast asleep in Alex's arms as he thought to himself, 'I thought I'd be getting sex, but then this shit comes up,' He shook his head tiredly as he got up from the couch with Gwen in his arms. He walked forward as a portal formed in front of him that he passed through, appearing inside Gwen's dorm room. He'd already left a clone of himself and one of Gwen to take care of the after-party and celebration for the scientists and engineers that were going to come up any time soon.

'She needs a break,' Alex decided, 'I've been overworking her for the longest time. Within the span of a month or so, we've made the Dyson Core and Planetary Shield, and even modified it to work with Time Authority, not to mention all the other smaller stuff that I had her work on …'

Now that they had the luxury of time, Alex could take some of it to finally relax with Gwen.

…

The next morning, Gwen woke up due to the sun shining on her eyes but just flipped to the other side while pulling the blanket and curling up.

"Morning, honey," Alex said from her side, having been deprived of the blanket completely.

"Sleep more," Gwen mumbled, not even bothering to open her eyes.

"As my lady wishes," Alex smiled before turning and spooning Gwen, wrapping one arm around her waist and slipping the other under her head, letting her use it as a pillow.

Gwen leaned back and accepted Alex's comfortable position, "You're pulling my hair ..." She mumbled uncomfortably before feeling her hair being bunched up and slid to the side without even having to move, "Thanks," She mumbled before humming comfortably in Alex's warm arms.

As the minutes passed, Gwen felt herself unable to go to sleep, "I'm tired," She mumbled.

"I know. You desperately need a break," Alex said, "That's why I'm enforcing a month-long no-work policy for you. You are not going to enter that shitty lab for at least a month."

"That's not what I meant," Gwen chuckled helplessly, "I meant that I didn't want to get out of bed …"

"Well, it's already decided," Alex said nonchalantly, "And I'm not going back on my word. If you dare to even think about work, I have more than enough ways to make your mind go blank."

"No no no no …" Gwen shook her head as she turned around while still using Alex's arm as her pillow and looked at him, "I have so much to do. If I don't finish the cosmic energy scanner by the end of the week, the whole project will be delayed by at least a few months," She said hurriedly.

"Then let it," Alex said, "We have all the time in the world. You are taking a break, end of story. Now, I have an extremely important question for you," Alex took up a serious expression that made Gwen look at him attentively.

"Go on …" She raised her brow as if encouraging him to speak.

"Do you want to stay in bed for some late-morning sex, or go get brunch?" He asked her with the most serious expression he could muster.

Gwen scowled at his words and raised her fist to punch him, "I have to work, Alex," She said as a tentacle shot out of nowhere and grabbed her wrist mid-swing.

"I guess morning sex it is," Alex sighed before turning and getting on top of Gwen. Before she processed the situation, her hands were grasped by Alex's hands as he held them at her sides before using his knees to spread her legs apart.

"Alex, no …" Gwen resisted half-heartedly even though she was already feeling a sense of arousal rushing through her heart and spreading to her entire body.

"I did say that I have many ways to make your mind go blank. All of those ways are sexual in nature," Alex clarified with a chuckle as she pouted at him.

.

***

.

Alex and Gwen both spent the rest of the day in bed. Alex brought Gwen food in bed before they spent some time enjoying each other's company intimately. Then they ate again before repeating the process. It was a Saturday, so Gwen didn't have any classes either, which allowed her and Alex to peacefully spend their day lazing around.

By the time the next day rolled around, Gwen was feeling very refreshed and calm as she was able to peacefully spend time with her man without anything on her mind. It's not like she wasn't thinking about work, but Alex made well on his promise to make her forget about work whenever she spiraled down that hole.

"So, what are we going to do today?" Gwen asked Alex as she curled up beside him in the bed and looked into his eyes.

"We are going to go on a date in the mountains of Japan," Alex said with a light kiss on her lips.

"Why Japan?" She asked with a curious expression.

"I found a very nice hot spring resort there, something of a hidden gem with little popularity and amazing landscapes," Alex told her, "I'm sure that we'll have a lot of fun there."

"Hot springs, huh?" Gwen said with an interested expression, "I went to a couple of those when I traveled to the West Coast with my family. I remember one in Colorado was extremely crowded, not fun at all."

"Do you want to talk to your mom or brothers?" Alex asked casually, "It's been months since you came here from the US." He acted as if there was no eerie underlying problem with Gwen not having contacted her widowed mother or brothers for months.

"Maybe later," Gwen said before leaning forward and kissing Alex, "What hot spring do you have planned?"

"I think the city is called Beppu," Alex said, "It has the best hot springs in the country. One of my contacts from the Japanese diplomats recommended a secluded resort there."

"That sounds interesting," She said, "When do we leave?"

"Whenever you want," Alex said, "We just need to portal there. The resort doesn't have a lot of demand due to its prices, so we can just walk in and get a room for the night."

"No, we aren't portalling there," Gwen shook her head, "If you want to go there on a break, we are going there by plane, spending ten hours or however long it takes on a flight. If I'm going on a vacation, I want the full experience of a vacation."

"I don't mind," Alex said, "Do you want to fly economy or go full-on private jet?"

"Can't we do something in between? Like first class?" She asked, "A private jet just sounds so extra while economy class is … well not very comfortable."

"Entitled much?" Alex joked with a little laugh.

"You're one to talk, Mr. Private Jet," Gwen said.

"We'll do first class then." Alex laughed and kissed her nose, "There's a flight to Japan in a couple of hours, but it's going to depart from one of the further London airports, a two-hour drive."

"Well, then we should get ready," Gwen said without moving from the bed.

"You need to get out of bed for that," Alex chuckled.

"Just dress me up like usual," She said.

"I thought that you wanted to wear normal clothes for a while," Alex said before bringing his hand close to her face and pushing back a stray lock of her hair.

"I don't want to wear clothes by myself," She said as a cheeky smile appeared on her face, "If you would be so kind as to dress up your beloved girl, then I would be really happy."

"So that's what you were playing at, huh?" Alex understood, "All right, since you don't want me to use any special powers during our trip, we should get ready. Getting through customs will also take some time." He got out of bed and pulled off the blanket, revealing Gwen's naked body that was previously cuddled up with him.

"Dress me~" She extended her arms toward Alex, calling out to him.

"Once on vacation, she abruptly turns into a baby," Alex grumbled before grabbing both her hands and pulling her so that she could sit up.

"Yes~" She nodded vigorously, shaking her hair all around and prompting a chuckle out of Alex.

"How about a sundress?" Alex asked, "It should be comfortable enough for a plane," He pulled out a nice yellow-patterned sundress out of Gwen's closet.

"Sounds like a plan," Gwen agreed, "Plus, you just need to raise it up when we have sex and won't have to tear it off."

Alex looked at Gwen blankly before his gaze naturally drifted down to her chest which had been somewhat covered by Gwen's hair that fell down her shoulders and covered part of her breasts and nipples, making Alex think that a sexy angel was gracing him with her presence.

"Alex …" Gwen said with a flat tone.

"Yeah?" He focused back on her face.

"Footwear …" She looked at him with an amused smile and pointed to the other side of her closet that was filled with her footwear collection.

"Right," He nodded and started looking through her wide collection of boots. Moments later, he was in a dilemma, "Don't you have some strappy heels or something? I don't see any of these boots going well with a sundress."

"Nonsense," Gwen said, "I bought two pairs of boots that specifically go amazingly with sundresses. Get aside, let me see."

Alex shrugged and put Gwen's underwear and dress beside her on the bed as she looked through her shoes.

"That's one of them," She pointed at a pair of boots, "Those mid-length beige ones, they go very well with this dress."

Alex had doubts about her choice, but complied nonetheless, "You're going on a twelve-hour journey on a plane, are you sure that you want heels?" He asked as he pulled out the two boots that would barely go up to Gwen's calves.

"I can take them off," She said, "We're going in first class, right?"

"Fair enough," Alex nodded, "Now stand up, "I have to dress up my girlfriend like a doll."

"Start with this," She handed him her bra before smiling mischievously, "And I remember you being very much into latex. You sure you aren't having any thoughts of putting me inside a suitcase to save up on a ticket?"

"Maybe I could fulfill your fantasy on our next trip," He gave her a side-eyed look.

"Don't act like I'm the weird one here," She snapped at him, "You would totally do something like that."

"That wasn't even my suggestion," Alex raised his hands in defeat before grabbing the bra from her and pulling it through her arms before making it rest on her chest, "Fix the placement and the underwire," He said as he stood at her side and hooked the back.

"For how much of my clothes you make, you are awfully bad at actually helping me dress up," Gwen commented as she fixed the position of the bra.

"Working with a material that you have absolute control over is much easier than working with an actual bra. You should be happy I didn't end up squishing your chest," Alex said jokingly, making Gwen smile wryly.

A while later, "This took much more time than it would've if you had just done all this by yourself," Alex told Gwen as she looked into a mirror and fixed her dress.

"And miss out on you giving me an impromptu foot massage before helping me put on my boots? Not a chance." She said.

"Is the cab here?" Gwen asked.

"Why would we take a cab?" Alex asked her, "I'm going to be driving."

"But then the car …" Gwen trailed off questioningly.

"I can just leave it in the airport's parking lot, we'll barely be gone for three days," He told her, "Going as a foreign diplomat has certain benefits."

Gwen had metaphorical question marks floating above her head, "Did I miss something?" She asked him.

"Remember how I told you that a Japanese diplomat suggested the resort to me?" Alex asked. When Gwen nodded in agreement, he continued, "I'm going through him for all of this."

"Whatever you say," She said, "I won't think too deeply into this."

"And you don't need to," Alex said, "I can deal with the intricacies of these things. You just need to enjoy yourself."

Soon enough, Alex and Gwen came out of the building and found a Maybach parked in the lot. Gwen couldn't help but whistle when she noticed Alex walking toward that car, "You're playing all fancy, now."

"It's a company car," Alex said jokingly, "Our research center has very generous donors." He unlocked the car before opening the door for Gwen. She gave him a beautiful smile before entering the car and sitting in it.

As Alex moved to his side, he saw Gwen lean over to the driver's side and open the door from the inside for him. It brought a subtle smile to his face as he sat down before closing the door.

Alex pulled the car out of the parking lot and onto the road as Gwen made herself comfortable, slightly adjusting the seat to her preferences. She then asked him, "How long to the airport?"

"Around two hours," Alex said, "I could get us there in one, but since you said no superpowers, then no superpowers."

"Stop acting like a helpless baby," Gwen said playfully, "The kind of money that you've amassed with your superpowers is nothing short of another superpower."

.

***

.

Soon enough, Alex and Gwen were at the airport. Alex pulled out two empty backpacks from his <Inventory > and handed one to Gwen. He hung the other on his shoulder as they made their way to the First Class check-in. They showed their tickets and passports before moving to customs. Since they both had diplomatic Passports, they didn't need to apply for a visa for a tourist stay.

An hour or so later, they were both boarding through the first-class gate with two empty backpacks.

"I am never going to be fond of going through customs," Gwen complained.

"That's why we should use private jets," Alex said as they made their way through the tunnel.

"We would still have to go through customs," She said.

"Yeah, but the channels for private jet holders are much more lax and faster. Instead of taking us an hour, we would've been out in like five minutes." He told her.

"Well, my vote is going to us returning via private plane," She said, "This was more trouble than it should've been."

"You know what would be more convenient than that?" Alex said.

"I said no portals and no magic and I am going to stand my ground." Gwen gave him a fierce look.

"All right, hold back a bit, tigress," Alex patted her head.

Soon, they walked into the cabin as the hostess greeted them, to which Gwen responded with a polite nod before moving further into the cabin. "Now this is first class," Gwen took off her coat and hung it on the hanger behind her seat. She was left wearing just her sundress and her beige boots as she took a seat on the comfortable recliner.

"I've seen better," Alex said, "We didn't have a lot of time to book the flight, otherwise, I would've gotten us an entire cabin with two couches, even a shower."

"You just want to have shower sex on a plane, don't you?" Gwen saw through Alex's thoughts.

"On the return flight then," He said, "I'm going to make sure that the plane I arrange has everything we could ever need."

"Hold back a bit, tiger," Gwen suppressed a laugh and patted Alex's head, throwing his words back at him, "We don't need to live on that plane."

"I know," Alex said, "But nothing stops us from being on that plane for the rest of your vacation."

Gwen looked at him blankly, "I have three classes with professors who are stringent with their attendance requirements. I have to attend their classes."

"They won't even know that you aren't in class," Alex tried to convince her.

"Alex ..." Gwen gave him a pointed look, "I'm on leave from work, I don't mind going to university."

"I know," Alex said with a smile, "I do not wish to see you completely isolated from your university either. When we return on Tuesday, you can resume classes as if you never disappeared."

"Thanks," Gwen smiled gently before leaning back on her seat as Alex sat on the seat beside her.

Seeing him lean back comfortably as he reclined the couch, Gwen had an urge. She fulfilled that urge by getting up from her seat and plopping down on Alex's lap, destroying his comfort, "You can't stay still, can you?" He asked her.

She giggled while wrapping her arms around his neck, "I want to cuddle with my boyfriend." Alex wrapped his arm around her waist and rested his palm on her thigh, right on the seam of her dress. He placed it such that half of his palm was resting on her bare skin and the other half on the dress.

As Alex stroked her thigh, Gwen told him, "I've been thinking..." She trailed off.

"Go on," Alex urged her, "I won't bite. Unless you're thinking of leaving me for another man. Then I'm going to definitely leave sexy marks all over your body before tying you up in my basement."

His words prompted a laugh out of Gwen, "You know that's not possible," She said, "I can feel you, Alex," She touched the side of his face, "The connection we have. The pleasure... It's impossible for anything else to even remotely compare."

"Yeah?" Alex asked, "I think I can one-up that too..." With his words, he slipped his hand under her sundress, directly stroking her thigh.

"Please," Gwen gasped as she put her hand over his, "Maybe once I get used to this level without getting overwhelmed."

Responding with a chuckle, Alex asked her, "What were you going to ask me?"

"Yeah..." Gwen recalled her previous words, "I was thinking that I should take up some kind of a hobby. My parents sent me to a lot of classes when I was a kid, but nothing stuck."

"You could take up dancing," Alex suggested.

"You just want to see me strip for you like a professional," Gwen called him out, "Next."

Alex was speechless, "I don't know. How about hiking?"

"So you can play out a lost in the woods fantasy with me and do weird things with me in the middle of nowhere?" Gwen snapped, "Next."

"I'm not playing this if you keep finding ulterior motives in all my suggestions," Alex said, "Now if I suggest painting, you'll assume that I want you to paint my nudes."

"I was thinking more along the lines of forcing me to paint my own nudes, but that's a very real possibility too," Gwen said with an entitled tone.

"I think you need some kind of a learning experience that helps you change your attitude ..." Alex said with narrow eyes.

"Come on~" Gwen shook his arm while acting cute, "Suggest me more," She said with a pleading look.

"I don't know," Alex said, "Some kind of a sport?"

"No, dummy," Gwen said, "Try again."

"You clearly have something in mind, so why don't you just tell me about it instead of keeping me guessing?" Alex asked, "It's getting tiresome."

"No~" She whined, "Just keep suggesting things to me." Alex thought about reading her mind and being done with it, "And no peeking into my mind," Gwen said, as if already aware of his thoughts, "Or else, I'm going to be very mad."

"Fine, what about -"

"Madam, please take your seat and tie the seat belt, we are about to take off," The hostess approached Gwen and Alex and reminded them.

"Oh, I'm so sorry..." Gwen was embarrassed and quickly shuffled out of Alex's lap before burying herself in her seat as far as she could.

Looking at Gwen's embarrassed state, Alex chuckled, "Thanks for letting us know," Alex told the hostess as he clipped his belt.

"Allow me, sir," The woman moved even faster than Alex to grab the two belts and leaned forward, almost smothering Alex with her chest as she tied his belt. Alex raised his brow at the hostess's blatant flirting as the woman pulled back from him and gave him a flirty smile, "I hope that you have a pleasant flight."

[This skank!] Alex heard Gwen's voice in his head and barely suppressed his laugh as the woman turned around. He gave a brief glance at her tight yet supple-looking ass as she walked away from him while swaying her hips.

Alex then turned to Gwen, who was looking at him accusatorily, and said to her, "Someone's jealous of a random air hostess."

"It's definitely not me," Gwen said sarcastically, "Not even a little bit. And that random skank definitely didn't give me a look as she walked away."

Alex laughed at Gwen's words and extended his hand to her armrest, "Give me your hand." He said but Gwen pulled her arm away and tucked it within the seat. "Is that supposed to stop me?" Alex asked with a scoff before his arm elongated and he grabbed Gwen's hand, pulling it up.

"You cheated ..." She whispered furiously to not let anyone hear her outrage.

"Yeah?" Alex asked, "What will you do about it?"

Gwen responded to his provocation with an annoyed glare as he started caressing her knuckles with his thumb, "I'm ignoring you," She said before turning her face away from Alex with a humph.

"Hey..." Alex said in a coaxing tone, "What's wrong? I can't stop people from hitting on me every once in a while."

"No one ever hits on me anymore..." Gwen mumbled with a pouty tone.

"Is that what you're mad about?" Alex asked with a surprised expression.

"Yeah, bite me," Gwen got aggressively defensive.

"I'm not making fun of you for it," Alex smiled, "I get it, everyone wants attention once in a while."

"Well, I'm not getting it, and it's lowering my self-esteem..." She said to him.

"Is my attention not enough?" Alex asked her with a laugh, "Why do you want random men to leer at you and clumsily flirt with you."

"Your flirting is also very clumsy," Gwen pointed at him.

"It's part of my charm," Alex waved her words off, "And have you ever thought that you're just intimidatingly beautiful and guys are just scared to talk to you?"

"W-what?" She was surprised and denied it, "No. I'm too girl-next- door type of beautiful, not the sexy intimidating kind."

"And how is that a bad thing?" Alex asked her, "And man would be lucky to have a girl-next-door type of significant other such as yourself."

"I know," Gwen nodded, "I'm awesome and all, but there's a sense of vanity that I'm missing from my life. I want to mercilessly reject guys to their faces every once in a while too."

"I'll take you to a bar, okay?" Alex said lazily, "Sit alone with a drink in your hand for an hour or so, you'll naturally run back to me after being annoyed by the fifteen guys that you need to reject."

"You wouldn't care?" She asked.

"Of course, I would," Alex said, "I would deliberately control those fifteen guys to act as dumb as possible so that they have zero chances with you. Or better yet, I would just transform into fifteen different guys and hit on you until you get annoyed."

"You..." Gwen faked an expression of outrage but Alex could tell that she was pleased with his words. Still, she had to maintain a mask of anger and leaned on her seat, reclining it backward, "Do this one too..." She brought his other arm to his hand too and asked him to rub that hand's knuckles too, leaving Alex speechless.

.

***

.

The ride to Japan was far from an uneventful experience. Once the plane had stabilized and the seatbelt sign had turned off, the first thing Alex did was unbuckle his seatbelt. He then grabbed Gwen who could barely yelp as she found herself being pulled toward the first-class cabin's restroom. A big chunk of their flight passed with the two of them spending time in that relatively spacious restroom, inconveniencing many people.

By the time the flight landed in Japan, Gwen had a beautiful glow on her face that overshadowed everything else.

The two of them got into a cab before giving the driver the address to their resort.

"When did you learn Japanese?" Gwen asked Alex as she leaned back on the seat.

"A while," Alex said, "It was around the time I started gathering resources for our research center."

"You ate someone to get their memories, didn't you?" She asked flatly, making Alex cough.

"We don't talk about that stuff here," Alex said with a choking voice, "I remember that you were talking about getting a hobby when we got on the plane, what was that about?" He asked her, forcefully changing the topic.

His hurried words got a light laugh out of Gwen, "I was talking about gaming, you dummy," She told him, "I remember back in high school, Flash had a hoard of different consoles and games to match. Now that I have so much free time, I thought I should try it out."

"I thought your hobby would be shopping and collecting shoes," Alex said.

"I don't have that many shoes..." Gwen blushed.

"Gwen, you have a dedicated closet just for shoes," Alex said, "Shoe collection is your hobby."

"Yeah, well I'm not into buying expensive shoes anymore," She snapped defensively, "I want to get a new hobby."

"I think you went shopping for shoes last week if I remember correctly," Alex said with a reminiscing tone, "It was just after I sprung that Time Authority project on you. You were stressed and decided to treat -" Alex's following words were muffled due to Gwen putting her hands on his face.

"A girl can have two hobbies, okay?" She said, "Stop shaming me for buying shoes."

"I'm not," Alex chuckled, "I'm just stating a fact."

"Yeah, but you're saying it in a way that makes me feel bad," Gwen said, "Don't do it."

"As my lady wishes," Alex said, "How about we stop by a shopping center -"

Gwen interrupted Alex, "Don't patronize me," She said with an annoyed expression.

Alex laughed, "It's fun to see you riled up like this," He said as Gwen looked away from him with a pout, "Take a dip in the hot spring, you are going to melt in that comfortable water."

"Can we go get a console after that?" She asked, "I'm not that familiar with games, but I think getting a console would be ideal since it requires the least amount of setup work."

"We can go browse stuff, I'm sure there are some places that will let us try it out for a while before we have to buy it," Alex said.

"You seem indecisive about buying a console..." Gwen observed, "Do you not like that I want to try gaming as a hobby?"

"It's not that," Alex said, "I just think that it would be better if we bought it when we get back to Oxford."

"Why?" She asked, "If we're getting a private plane as you say, there shouldn't be any problems. Even if we travel by a commercial flight, they should allow us to take it in our handbags."

"Think of it as waiting for a surprise until we get back home," Alex said.

"Ohh~" Gwen was excited, "I love surprises."

The cab ride would be a while, so Gwen just leaned on Alex's shoulder and hugged his arm, napping as Alex just looked out of the window, looking at the completely different architecture of the city than what he was used to seeing.

***

Soon enough, they reached their destination and got out of the cab. Alex paid the driver and offered him a hefty tip before being rudely rejected, much to Gwen's amusement.

She was still laughing as they got out of the car.

"How am I supposed to know that he would take offense to me telling him to keep the change..." Alex said with a dark expression.

"Japan doesn't have a tipping culture, Alex," Gwen said while wheezing due to having laughed so hard, "And you offered him like half the fare as a tip. He was obviously offended."

"I think you're swapping the word flattered with the word offended," Alex said, "I liked his service and decided to give him a bonus. Why chew me out for that?"

"All right, my big baby boo," Gwen squeezed Alex's cheeks, "Stop being so butthurt about this, and let's go in. I want to see what the deal with this special resort of yours is." She grabbed his hand and pulled him through the entrance gate that had a sign on top.

"The name roughly translates to Pear Tree," Alex told Gwen.

"So we're going to live in a pear tree?" She asked with a clueless tone. Alex gave her a derisive side-eye and let go of her hand. "Hey!" Gwen quickly grabbed his hand tightly, "What's wrong? It was just a bad attempt at a joke."

"I was just seeing if you were actually interested in staying here with me, or just pretending," Alex acted entitled.

"So that's how you want to play, huh?" Gwen decided to be extra petty and wrapped both arms around Alex's shoulders, stopping him in his tracks. She then forcefully climbed up on his back and wrapped her legs around his torso and her arms around his neck, "Giddy up, horsey!"

Alex helplessly held her thighs and said with a dark tone, "Never say that again,"

"What?" Gwen asked, "You don't like being called, horsey?"

"Just ..." Alex cringed, "Can you not?"

"Why not?" Gwen asked, "After all, it's so much fun riling you up."

Her words made Alex sigh, "Touché."

Passing the main entrance, they walked through a cobblestone path that was surrounded by beautifully cut and well-maintained bushes. The first building they encountered was the reception. Alex walked up the three stairs and entered the traditional Japanese wooden architecture room before walking up to the reception desk, "Hi there ..."

As Alex engaged the receptionist in checking into their room, Gwen's mind drifted off in a different direction as she rested her chin on Alex's shoulder and sighed. She looked around the room and felt the cozy atmosphere of the resort and felt a sense of appreciation toward the ambiance.

"Would you like some tea, sir, madam?" A server approached Alex and Gwen with a tray that had two cups of steaming hot tea in them. She spoke in accented English, but Gwen could tell that she was a practiced English speaker.

"Thank you," Gwen freed one of her arms from Alex's neck and grabbed the cup as Alex did the same and set his cup on the desk.

"Gwen, could you grab our IDs from the backpack?" Alex asked Gwen.

"Sure," She handed him her cup and moved her hand behind her back to grab the cards.

"Do you need to get off?" Alex offered.

"I got it," Gwen tightened her legs and the one arm that was wrapped around Alex's neck, telling him that she had no plans to move away from him. It took her a bit of effort, but she was able to grab both cards from the backpack's front pocket. She handed them to Alex before taking back her cup of tea.

A few minutes later, Alex was out of the reception and was walking along the cobblestone path toward their room while being guided by one of the staff members of the hotel.

"This place is beautiful," Gwen said as she looked around at all the natural yet maintained foliage all around. With her current position on Alex's back, she was able to see much better and had a very nice view of everything. Even though there were buildings like restaurants and relaxation areas, they didn't stand out. Multiple trees even seemed to have grown into those buildings, giving them a very natural look, as if they were a part of the natural flora.

Alex and Gwen had to walk for a while before they reached a row of cabins that were all at a significant distance from each other. "Which one's ours?" Gwen asked him as Alex turned to the path of the cabins.

"It should have a Japanese character on it followed by the number 4," Alex said, "There it is," He pointed at the fourth cabin.

Alex unlocked the room with the keycard before entering it, "Finally willing to get off of me?" Alex asked Gwen, "Or is this going to be our entire trip?"

Gwen sighed before hugging Alex, "I would love to stay on your back for the whole trip ..." She mumbled while leaning her head on his shoulder, "But doing that would ruin the fun of the trip." Gwen decided to get down and had Alex let go of her legs as she stood on the ground behind him and let go of his neck.

She then took off her coat and hung it on the hanger at the side before slumping down sideways on the bed. Her dress got messed up a little and was pulled higher, revealing more of her thighs as she put one hand behind her head for support.

As Alex looked at her with amusement on his features, Gwen groaned while extending her hand toward her feet, "Alex~" She whined, full of anguish, "I can't reach my feet."

"I'll take off your damn boots..." Alex told her before taking a seat beside her on the bed. He pulled one of her feet to his lap and started loosening the laces of the boot.

"You're the best," Gwen smiled cheekily as she felt Alex loosening her boots. She got on her side and looked at him happily.

"I know, I know," Alex said, "Let's rest for a few minutes. Then we'll go to the hot spring. We only have tonight and tomorrow night here. We leave Tuesday morning."

"Done!" She nodded happily.

.

-x-X-x-

.

An hour or so later, after changing into two provided bathrobes, Alex and Gwen left their cabin and continued walking down the path, crossing cabins five through eight before seeing a different structure with bamboo architecture.

"This is the place," Alex said as he and Gwen entered through the door.

"Ahh," Gwen took a breath, "Sulpher and eggs. That's the smell of romance," She said with a light chuckle.

Alex coughed out a laugh, "Come on," He took off his robe, prompting Gwen to do the same. She also tied her flowing hair in a bun, making sure that it wouldn't dip in the hot water when she sat in the pool.

"Where are the showers?" Gwen looked around, but she only saw the single pool with rising steam.

"It's fine, we just showered in our rooms," Alex said, "This isn't a public bathhouse. It's shared between just the eight premium cabins."

"So we just take a dip?" She asked.

"Pretty much," Alex held her hand and led her to the naturally formed stairs into the pool.

Just as Gwen dipped her toe in the water, she hummed in comfort, "I think I can spend a while in here."

"Just don't let it get to your head," Alex said, "There are many things that I can do to your unconscious body."

"Honey, you can do those things to my conscious body too~" She whispered in his ear before stepping into the pool alongside him.

"So you wouldn't mind if I do a photo shoot of you dressed as a sexy clown?" Alex asked, making her frown.

"That's the best you can come up with?" She turned to look at him and saw a teasing grin on his face, "Whatever," She abruptly turned away, hitting Alex's face with her hair.

He laughed cheekily before catching up to her. They both found a comfortable corner. Alex naturally held Gwen's hand and helped her sit without having to grab the rocks at the sides.

"Thank you," She smiled as he sat beside her and then gave him a kiss on the cheek, "That's the most I can do in this sweaty and sulphery environment without feeling irked out."

"Hot springs are not intimate places," Alex said, "Unless, of course, you are nothing but a horny teenager."

"You aren't a horny teen?" Gwen acted surprised.

"All right, smartass," Alex gave her a side-eyed look before leaning back on the rock formation. He naturally spread his arms on the sides, resting one behind Gwen.

She let out a breath and leaned back, using Alex's arm as a pillow for her neck, "Your arm is sweaty," She said.

"Want me to move it away?" Alex asked.

"No ..." She said, "Just wanted to complain."

Alex was left speechless at her words. He just shook his head and decided to relax for the next couple of minutes.

By the time twenty minutes had passed, Gwen grabbed his arm and stood up.

"What?" He asked, "Did someone come in?"

"No, she shook her head as she pulled Alex to his feet, "We should get out for a couple of minutes."

"I'm a slime, Gwen," Alex said, "And you have enough strength to

shatter this entire spring, all the way down to the geyser's source. I

don't think hyperthermia is something that either of us needs to be

worried about."

Gwen gave him a look that made him surrender, "No powers, didn't I say that?" She asked.

"Fine, I give up," He said, "There are some showers at the back. I was just gaslighting you before."

"I noticed," She nodded, "It is nice to have the pool right at the entrance for aesthetics. It's an interesting design considering they tell us to shower before coming here."

They both made their way to the shower area before getting into one of the stalls, "Why are you in my stall?" Gwen asked him with a pointed look.

"This is my stall," Alex said, "I was here first."

"Were you now?" Gwen raised a brow as her hand made its way to Alex's naked cock.

"Maybe," He said as he brought his hand down to Gwen's slit, pushing two fingers in as they entered without any resistance.

"I was here first, Alex," Gwen said pointedly as she started stroking his shaft.

"I don't believe you," He said as he started moving his fingers and brought his other hand up to her chest, lightly kneading her breasts.

Gwen's expression got a little aroused, "I'll make you believe me!" She said aggressively as her stroking got faster and her other hand made its way down to his sack.

"Well see about that," Alex brought his face forward and captured Gwen's lips in a kiss as they continued pleasuring each other. When Alex tried to push his tongue into her mouth, he was met with fierce resistance as she attempted to do the same.

As they continued their playfully erotic moment, Alex let go of her chest and wrapped his arm around her waist before pulling her around, making her stand in front of the door while still facing him. He then turned the shower on while making sure that her hair didn't get wet. They were planning on going back into the spring and it wouldn't be very convenient for her to have a pound of water weight on her head.

As the warm water hit Alex's back and splashed onto Gwen, their actions got even more aggressive before eventually, Alex pulled away from Gwen's lips, "You give terrible handjobs," He said before grabbing her hand and pulling it away, "Your pussy is much better at making me cum."

"I did not need to be attacked like that..." Gwen pouted, but Alex wasn't listening. He turned her around and pushed her against the wall of the stall. Keeping one hand on her back, he brought the other hand between her legs and shoved his wet fingers into her ass.

"Ahn~" Gwen wiggled lightly under Alex's suppression as he forced her to push out her ass before removing his digits. Moments later, she felt his dick pressing against her pussy, "So rough~" She moaned out when she felt him lightly rub his shaft along her slit.

"Do you want it?" Alex asked while lightly teasing her, "Tell me," He got closer to her and started sucking her shoulder.

"Stop teasing me~" She wiggled and tried to push his cock inside her pussy by herself.

"Such a rude woman," Alex said, "You're lucky that I love you." He said before pushing himself inside, making Gwen moan with a pleasurable edge.

"Keep going~" She gasped out as she felt Alex's cock filling her up.

"I'll keep going, all right..." Alex grunted before bringing his hand to her ass and giving her a painful spank followed by a violent thrust.

"Yeah~" She let out a high-pitched squeal as she felt him going even harder. It was followed by a shudder when Alex invaded her ass at the same time, "Fuck~" With his cock stretching her pussy, a single finger in her ass felt like another cock to Gwen. When he added another, she almost lost control over herself.

"Don't hold back, honey..." Alex whispered in her ear before continuing to suck her neck, "We have more than enough time ..." As Alex curled up his fingers within her ass, rubbing a rather sensitive spot, she lost control, reaching a climax as Alex continued thrusting inside her.

Instead of the shower lasting for a couple of minutes, it lasted for more than twenty. At that point, they returned to the hot spring to enjoy their time.

"You always take it one step too far," Gwen said while stretching her back as she leaned against the back of the rock formation, using Alex's arm as a pillow.

"You're barely a little sore. This spring will clear that all out," He said.

"So that you can go another round?" She asked.

"And do you not want to go for another round?" He asked.

"I didn't say that," Gwen looked away, blushing.

....

They spent the next four hours in the hot spring, taking momentary breaks that ended up lasting a tiny bit longer than planned. After that was done, they ended up lazing around in their hotel room for the rest of the day.

"I don't wanna go~" Gwen whined while wrapped up in the blanket and cuddled up against Alex, "Just order room service."

"I already booked the buffet, honey," Alex said while running his fingers through Gwen's hair, "We'll get to try so many different things if we go to the buffet. Ordering room service would be boring."

"I don't want to get out of bed..." She looked at Alex with pleading eyes, "We can go to the buffet tomorrow."

"You're like a child, you know that?" Alex shook his head, "Fine, we can stay in. But you are coming with me tomorrow."

"I always try to cum with you," She said, deliberately misinterpreting his words, "It's just that you take too long and make me cum multiple times before we share a climax."

"I was talking about coming with me to sightsee, but good to know your thoughts on that matter," Alex said dryly, eliciting a laugh out of Gwen as she snuggled even closer to him.

"Can we order?" She asked after a few seconds, "I'm hungry."

"Here's the menu," Alex grabbed the menu from the side table and handed it to her.

"What will you have?" Gwen asked him.

"No clue. You decide on your dish, then I'll see what I want." He told her.

***