The sound of Hiro's voice causes the nervous man to jump slightly. His eyes dash to the man's face, worried that the prince would be upset with him looking over his body. The other man's eyes are covered however and he's able to relax slightly. Coughing, he sits up a bit and rests his back against the side of the large tub, His hair is still trailing in the water a bit though he's now only submerged from his collar down. He takes a moment to consider the assessment of how pleasant the hot bath is after the cold weather, then with a soft smile nods, looking towards his betrothed. “Yes, it is nice. . .” His voice luckily doesn't break despite the nerves, and he even manages to not duck back into the water as Hiro shifts.

He does however, against his will, take on a more bashful expression as the towel falls from Hiro's eyes, splashing softly in the water. He wills himself desperately to not look away, but he can't help but avert his gaze slightly when Hiro pauses mid sentence and stares. His hands fidget beneath the water. [i]'Is it really so shocking to see me like this? Is it bad I let my hair down? Maybe I should have waited, or maybe I was suppose to be wearing something like a towel. I've seen people in the public baths wear towels. I never used one, but I had work in a few of them. . .'[/i] He swallows, looking back up as the prince goes on to finish what he was saying, and sees that at least he doesn't look upset.

Instead, his interest seems to be caught by his partner. Hoko lets out a little noise at Hiro's touch, but doesn't seem bothered by being used a bit like a bath toy. The little nudge is enough to cause Hoko to drift towards his human partner and Akito lets his smile return as he reaches out to rub his belly. “Yes. He's surprisingly buoyant.” He gives Hoko's midsection a few little pushes to show how he just pops back up without having to exert any effort. Hoko lets out a few little squeaky whistles at the treatment, but looks more playful than anything else. The little critter ducks under the water and begins swimming around in the hot water.

Following his progress Akito flushes as his eyes land back on his intended and he has to force himself not to look away again as he trails up to look at Hiro's face. “I, um. . .”He tries to think of something to say. “On the march, almost all the baths we had were either with cloths only, or in rivers, so hot baths were always a rare luxury. . . .” Biting his lip he laughs softly, clearly still nervous despite his efforts. He looks back down at his hands, seemingly trying to strangle one another beneath the surface. “Forgive me. . .” he murmurs softly. “I must seems such a pathetic mess at the moment. . .” He closes his eyes, insides on fire as he tries to reconcile with feeling so alone and vulnerable around the man he's suppose to spend the rest of his life with.