Morning with Lily

Waking up in the morning was much less violent for John. The sound of wood scraping against metal and the hissing sizzle of a frying pan met his ears, and the light streaming in from outside was bright, but not too harsh. Sitting up slowly, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, shook his head, and rose to follow the sound of cooking.

Lily was oblivious to his rising, standing over her stove with a pan and a wooden spatula. John didn’t get a great look at what she was cooking, but he could smell peppers, oil, and herbs, and it smelled fantastic. “Good morning,” He said, his voice slightly scratchy.

Lily jumped a little, but avoided splashing any hot oil on herself. She turned her head slightly towards John, smiling pleasantly. “Good morning! I trust you found better rest on your second attempt?”

John chuckled, “I did. My midnight wandering didn’t upset your own rest too much?”

She shook her head, turning her attention back to her pan. “No, you’re fine. I didn’t mind.”

John certainly didn’t mind, either. His eyes traced Lily’s body, now covered by a dress, and he had to turn away from her to hide the growing sign of his arousal. “Well, I won’t distract you too much. Where should I put the bedding I used last night?”

Lily added a handful of green dust to the pan, stirring it in as she did. “Just toss them on my bed. Oh! And gather all your dirty clothes and articles by the downstairs door! I’ll take them down and wash them after breakfast.”

John nodded, walking out to the living room once more and taking deep breaths to calm himself. A morning erection wasn’t uncommon for him, of course, but he had a suspicion that this issue wasn’t going to keep popping up around Lily. She was beautiful, kind, and he had seen her naked. And she’d seen him naked! The realization hadn’t dawned on him before, but it made him blush afresh, even now.

Depositing the spare blankets back on Lily’s bed, John spent a moment to examine her small nook of a bedroom. Like the rest of the house, it was simply decorated. Aside from the bed and a wardrobe, there was a small chest, and a few hanging decorations on the wall that seemed to be made from woven vines or branches. Not wanting to pry for too long, John returned to the living room, and set to work on the other task Lily had given him.

By the time he had gathered, sorted and laid out his clothing, sleeping mat, and old tattered blanket by the trapdoor, Lily appeared from the kitchen with two plates. “I don’t know what you normally eat for breakfast,” She said, “But I like eggs and vegetables, so hopefully that works for you.”

John nodded, collecting his plate. “It smells great, thanks.” He had secretly been hoping for some kind of meat, but the dish smelled divine, and eggs were close enough, for now. The two sat down on the now cleared-off couch, and ate in relative silence. John, of course, made sure to give the dish and his hostess plenty of compliments, but aside from that, they were both content to simply eat.

Lily finished her plate first, disappearing into the kitchen to wash up. John finished soon after, and joined her. The two made short work of the breakfast mess, and soon Lily was dragging John back into the living room by the wrist.

“Come on! Laundry time,” She declared, piling John’s clothes into his arms. “Take those down to the bath, and I’ll join you in a moment.”

John looked at the pile of clothes in his arm, shrugged, and made his way down to the warm cellar. He laid them in a heap by the edge of the bath, reached down to dip his hand in the warm, peaceful water, then waited for Lily to arrive.

When she did arrive, she was carrying a bundle of her own dirty clothes, including the dress she was wearing yesterday. She dropped the clothes on top of the pile already there, then walked across the room, returning with a couple scrub brushes and a small box of powder. She placed the box between them and handed a brush to John.

“The soap isn’t very harsh, so don’t worry about skin contact,” She advised, dragging the first article from the pile of clothes to and dipping it in the water, “Just be careful with some of the more delicate fabric.”

John nodded, and set to work. Washing clothes wasn’t the sort of work he had envisioned when he decided that he’d like to help, but now that he was here, he couldn’t leave the task entirely to Lily. The powdery soap bubbled softly as it met the water, and after an armful was washed, Lily took them up to hang outside while John continued scrubbing.

This pattern continued as the pile of clothes dwindled. John noticed that Lily owned almost exclusively dresses, or at least, those are what she had worn recently. A couple skirts and blouses were also present, but notably missing from the pile was any form of undergarment.

Eventually the pile of clothes had been reduced to nothing, but as John stood up to step away, Lily stopped him with a gesture. “Those too, John.”

She was pointing directly at him, and John looked down to the clothes he was currently wearing. “I mean, I guess they need to be washed too, but-”

“We may as well get everything done while we’re here,” She insisted, standing up and approaching him, “It’s a warm day, and you can stay out of the sun in here.”

“I don’t think-” He started, but Lily, unfazed, began to pull at his shirt. John, in protest, reached up to grasp her wrists, and opened his eyes wide as instinct took over in the moment’s panic.

“Stop.”

The single word, laced with an ounce of the hypnotic **** and gaze that he had first used yesterday, was enough to completely freeze Lily in place. Her hands remained at his shirt, but she was utterly still, her blank gaze fixed on John. He realized immediately what he had done, and was about to release her, when something occurred to him.

“Can you hear me, Lily?” He asked, making sure not to make any movements that might pull her out of her daze.

“Yes.” Her answer was short and emotionless, but quick.

He considered his words before speaking, “Why do you want to wash the clothes I’m wearing?”

“They’re dirty,” She stated.

John was amused with the simplicity and honesty of the statement, but that wasn’t what he wanted to know, “You don’t see an issue with the fact that this would leave me naked?”

“No.”

He thought on that for a while, holding her gaze with his unblinking, transfixing stare as he ruminated. Details started to piece themselves together, and it dawned on him. “You don’t find nudity to be offensive or inappropriate, do you?”

“No, except in formal settings.”

John nodded. In human lands, of course, the only people you expected to see you in the nude were your lovers, or sometimes a surgeon. That Lily didn’t see it that way was fascinating. A few more quick questions revealed that this attitude wasn’t uncommon in Elmhame, especially among the fairies. Public nudity wasn’t exactly common, but it certainly wasn’t a crime, and within an individual’s home, the primary purpose of clothing seemed to be fashion or comfort.

The two had already seen each other naked, of course, so after some deliberation, John decided that he would allow her to strip him once she regained her wits. Before that, though, he wanted to test something else.

“Lily?”

“Yes?”

“I know you won’t remember this conversation,” He said, “But after you get me undressed, I think you should take off your dress, too.”

“I will,” She said. There was no hesitation or resistance, and she needed no explanation. Satisfied, and somewhat nervous about keeping her under for much longer, John blinked slowly, deactivating his extranormal gaze.

Lily blinked, shook her head, and continued to undress him. “I just don’t want to have to take these back down here later,” She explained, picking up where she had left off before being hypnotised.

“I understand,” John said, his heart beating faster as her nimble hands brushed against his bare torso in short, innocent touches that came part and parcel with the act of removing his shirt, “I can just get dressed again once things have started to dry.”

Lily nodded, and while her eyes traced over John as more of his skin was uncovered, her gaze wasn’t judgmental or leering. She simply acknowledged his body with mild curiosity, and then moved to remove his pants, as well. John made no move to oppose her, having already established that, for her, this was all comparatively normal. Once out of his pants, the underwear came next, which he slid down his legs himself.

This did catch Lily’s attention, briefly. She couldn’t help but study his cock, and the look on her face suggested that perhaps it had been a long time since she had seen one. She didn’t linger long, though, turning her attention towards the clothes in hand, which she laid next to the water, kneeling down and reaching for her scrub brush.

Her hand hovered above the brush, and she furrowed her brow in thought. “You know,” She said, standing up again and reaching for the hem of her dress, “I know I washed this fairly recently,” She lifted the fabric, revealing her bare thighs, “But I’m going to go ahead and do this dress, as well.”

“That seems sensible,” John intoned, watching as she pulled the dress further up, revealing her lack of underwear or pubic hair. He felt both elated and guilty with the fact that the suggestion he had given her seemed to have worked. He had been thinking of her beautiful, naked body ever since he had seen it last night, and now that she had finished pulling the dress over her head and letting it fall to the floor, he was able to see it once again, in much more detail. She made no attempts to hide her nudity from him, and he made no attempts to avert his gaze. Ideas of what else he might be able to convince her to do in the future formed in his mind, and he was both horrified and excited.

Naked and equipped with her brush, Lily flashed John a carefree smile and knelt to begin cleaning. Without the cover of her dress, the vigorous scrubbing motions caused her breasts to sway to and fro constantly, and as he knelt down to help with the last of the laundry, John felt his erection begin to stir.