You went to the small stream nearby and filled the bucket. Every now and then, you'd spot the kitten dashing through the thick of the bushes nearby, hunting for mice. Luckily the water seemed mostly clean, but you'd have to boil it either way. Back at the cottage, you transferred the water into a large kettle, setting it to heat up over the fire. Every now and then, you shot a glance at Adam. He was deeply focused on one of the books, reading it carefully. His finger traced along the words and sometimes, you'd see his lips move quietly, as if he was uttering each word to himself. His deep immersion into the book allowed you to clean the bathtub without any disturbances. While handling the water and running back and forth was surely tiresome and exhausting, it felt nice to get some things clean - and while you were at it, you cleaned the rest of the washroom as well. You noticed that the tub had a built-in drainage system, which consisted of a pipe leading to a small canal on the outside. Upon further inspection, you saw that the pipe was intact. Whoever had made this home, they put effort in it. Which made you wonder even more about why it had been abandoned in the first place.

You spent a good amount of time cleaning the tub and testing the pipe system, making sure everything was ready to use. At this point, you'd been dying for a bath, especially since cleaning everything had made you sweat quite a bit. When you finished everything, you went to check on Adam.

He was laying on the floor on his belly, absentmindedly kicking his feet while still absolutely absorbed in the book he had chosen from your collection. You smiled warmly, and decided to leave him be while preparing everything for his first proper bath.

The Creature had lost all sense for time while reading. He had chosen a book seemingly at random, simply because he felt drawn to it, and started reading. It was unlike any book he had read before. It was a story about two people who met and from that point on, their fates were irreversibly intertwined. They ran into each other constantly, through coincidence it seemed at first, but soon they understood that it was something greater than that. And on one instance, during an unexpected heavy rain, when they shared a little space underneath a roof to seek shelter, something peculiar happened. They looked at each other and their hearts connected. It was described as a spark, a flame that was ignited within them. A warm feeling spreading through their chest and bodies, a gleam within each other's eyes. Their story stirred something within Adam. It captivated him. The way they described the way they felt whenever they would meet or see each other - or even but thought about one another. He felt like he knew it somehow, it fascinated him. They called it love. Adam knew that love could take many forms - though unfortunately, he had barely known it.

He decided to pause reading for now. Looking up from his book, he realized that the day had progressed immensely. Judging by the sun's position, evening was approaching already.

He quickly grabbed a leaf to put in between the pages, closed the book and set it aside.  Following the splashing noises, he quickly found you in the washing room.

Wiping some sweat off of your forehead, you huffed, satisfied. The bath was almost ready. You had already added some soap from your luggage, adding to a pleasant smell. Your fuzzy feline companion decided to stop by and inspect your work, but quickly decided that it was not too fond of the water, quickly taking off when a few drops of water splashed onto them. Then, heavy footsteps approached from behind.

“What… are you doing?”, a raspy voice asked.

You turned around and saw Adam standing awkwardly in the doorframe.

“Oh, there you are. Have you finished reading for today?”, you asked with a smile, “I'm preparing a bath.”

“A… bath? It smells nice…”, he remarked, tilting his head to the side, observing the bathtub with curious eyes.

“I sure hope it does! And also, we should smell nice afterwards, too”, you added with a chuckle. You retrieved the towels from your luggage. His questioning eyes followed you with every step.

“Towels” you said, “For drying our bodies afterwards.”

Adam nodded slowly, brushing his fingertips over the towels’ fabric, “Soft. It feels nice.”

Finally, everything was set up. With your hands placed on your hips, you proudly admired your work.

“All set up! Now you can finally have your first proper bath”, you exclaimed cheerfully.

Adams eyes darted from the bathtub to you and back, before he hesitantly nodded and started to remove his clothes. You averted your gaze and headed for the door to leave him some privacy.

“I will be leaving you alone for your bath. If you need anything, call for me”, you said.

His confused eyes followed you and his hand reached out for you, getting a hold of your wrist last second.

Your startled gaze travelled from your wrist up to his face, where you were met by big eyes. He gave you some serious puppy eyes, if you would have to describe it.

“I thought… we would bathe together”, he stammered, a small hopeful smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

The feeling of your cheeks heating up burned through your face relentlessly. You must have been as red as a strawberry in a matter of seconds.

“Uhm… I… well…”, you stammered, unsure of how to react. His eyes spoke of innocence, complete oblivion. There was no malice, no lustful intention. You sighed, “Alright, alright. I will join you.”

Awkwardly you stood there, as Adam continued to undress. You had turned around instinctively, trying to keep at least some decency.You were a doctor, there was no reason seeing someone in the nude should be a problem to you in any shape, way or form. Shooting a short glance back at him, you froze. His back was turned towards you, as he was looking at the bathtub. His physique was nothing short of breathtaking. Meticulous work had gone into creating him, that was for sure. You tried your very best not to stare, while slowly unbuttoning your own gown. You saw him lift one foot and set it into the large tub, flinching at the sensation at first, then easing into the feeling.

“It is warm”, he remarked, “It does not hurt like the cold water.”

You chuckled, “Yes, exactly. Feel free to sit down already and relax.”

Your fingers were a little bit shaky as you undid the buttons. You felt so nervous. Why did you feel so nervous? There was nothing bad about this. Nothing suggestive. Simply, a bath. You took a deep breath when you had finally unbuttoned everything. The fabric slid off of your shoulders and onto the floor. 

In the meantime, the Creature had fully sat down into the warm water. It felt like a hug, soothing, relaxing. And it smelled nice - was this soap? A wide smile grew across his face, he couldn’t help it.

“This feels wonderful. Come”, he huffed, his eyes briefly darting in your direction. He had to double take as something was different from before - your clothes were fully gone. Now that he thought about it, he had never seen you without clothing. Curious about places of your skin he had never seen before, he watched you.

You felt eyes on you. Your back was still turned towards him, but you knew that you would have to turn around eventually. Out of instinct, you hugged yourself, wrapping your arms around your torso as if you were trying to hide. Adam merely watched but then, he remembered: nudity, especially for women, was considered improper and it was fairly common to feel ashamed and exposed without clothing. He did not feel this way himself exactly. But that did not mean you didn’t. 

“Would you… like me to look away or close my eyes briefly?”, he asked.

“Yes, please”, you laughed nervously.

He slowly turned to the side, and covered his eyes with his hands. Taking a deep breath, you walked closer and finally stepped into the tub, lowering your body until you finally sat down. The cozy feeling of the warm water quickly helped you relax.

“You are right. It really does feel wonderful”, you breathed.

Adam stirred a bit, still covering his eyes. He did not dare to look at you without your permission. Humming in agreement, he smiled a little. 

The dim light and soapy water covered a lot, however, you were still greatly humbled by his physique. The tub was large enough for the two of you but somehow, he still appeared a bit too large for it.

“You shouldn’t have to cover your eyes the entire time, you know”, you remarked, “I think it's alright to uncover them by now.”

He lowered his hands and arms, hesitantly still, and sheepishly moved his gaze to your face. There was a slight blush on your cheeks and you smiled at him. He had never seen this much skin of you - or any other woman. As much as his curiosity plagued him, he did not dare move his eyes any lower than your shoulders. If he came close to breaking, he would avert his gaze entirely.

You noticed his struggle. There was a curious gleam in his eyes but he was fighting it.

“Are you feeling alright?”, you asked, gingerly reaching forward to touch his arm.

“I am afraid of looking somewhere inappropriate. I do not wish to… disrespect you”, he mumbled.

“That is very kind of you. I appreciate it”, you assured him, “You have never been in a situation like this, I believe? Curiosity is only natural. If your eyes should wander, I will not hold it against you.”

He nodded shortly, acknowledging your words. His head slowly turned towards you and his eyes met yours.

“There are still… so many things in this world… that are new to me”, he explained, “And sometimes it feels good to learn new things. But sometimes I feel like I am slow, or behind. I never even had a bath before…”

“But you learn quickly. And you have an understanding for what is right and wrong. Of course there is still a lot for you to discover, as you are still so new to this world”, you cooed, giving him reassurance, “We can figure it out together.”

He smiled with a hopeful gleam in his eyes.

“Now, let me help you get cleaned up properly”, you said. He hesitantly nodded after you motioned him to turn around, and he followed. Gently, you washed his body with a piece of cloth, and made sure to wash his hair as well. Afterwards, you gently rinsed his hair by scooping water up in a cup, and letting it run over his head.

His eyes darted from side to side nervously every now and then, but every time the touch that followed was gentle, he instantly relaxed. A satisfied hum escaped his throat sometimes, hinting that he was enjoying the attention.

“There we go”, you said, “All finished. I will get myself cleaned up now. We should get out of the bath before the water runs too cold.”

Adam's mouth twitched and it almost seemed like it was attempting a pout, but quickly relaxed. He nodded slowly.

You quickly scrubbed yourself and washed your hair, making use of the last bit of remaining warmth in the water. 

After you finished, you wrung out your hair and got up to grab the towels. Swiftly wrapping one towel around your body, you then unfolded the second one and held it open. Adam looked at you with visible confusion.

“Come on now, get up. We gotta dry you off!”, you smiled. 

Gingerly, he rose up, his height slowly towering over you. For a short moment, you feared the towel may be too small for him, but as he stepped out of the tub and towards you, it seemed to do just fine. Adam gave you a small nod in response to your eyes quietly asking ‘may I?’ and you started gently rubbing and dabbing his skin with the towel, making sure to dry him well.

You wrapped the towel around his waist and tucked the end in at the side, so it would stay in place.

“There you go”, you hummed.

“So this is… how taking a bath usually works?”, he asked.

“I believe everyone does it a little bit differently depending on their preferences, but yes. It’s not exactly usual for men and women to bathe together, though…”, you explained, slightly trailing off near the end. A hint of red crept up on your cheeks. “Oh?”, he breathed in a low voice.

“Not that there would be anything bad with it”, you stammered.

“A deep chuckle escaped his throat. “Do not worry, I understand… I believe”, he said, slowly turning towards you. He took a few slow steps towards you, extending his arms to the side slightly. Before you could protest, he pulled you against his broad chest and wrapped his arms around you. He took a deep breath as he held you tight. “Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”

You were somewhat startled by this, “For what?”

“For aiding me with my first proper bath”, he stated, “I will never forget this.”

—--------

After you had gotten dressed, you drained the tub and tossed some more firewood into the hearth. Your kitten had relaxed at the sound and sight of the water disappearing and brushed against your - now dry - legs in appreciation.

During your bath you had caught the little fuzzy creature watching from afar, eyes wide in sheer terror, unsure whether the two of you had been close to drowning or not. Shooting him an affirming gaze every now and then had only soothed him momentarily. 

You returned to the large room, where Adam was already waiting in front of the hearth. The orange glow of the flames were illuminating the carefully sculpted curves of his face in a mysterious, yet very flattering way. Drops of water still dripped from the tips of his locks as he stood there in nothing but his shirt and some underwear. With a warm smile, you grabbed his towel from a chair nearby and gently started drying the ends of his hair.

“What are you doing?”, he asked curiously. 

“Your hair is still soaking wet. I'd like to dry it off at least a little bit, so you won't leave puddles wherever you go”, you explained with a chuckle.

He nodded slightly with an understanding huff.

A few moments later, the two of you were sitting by the hearth again. You were working on crafting another basket, quietly weaving. You felt at peace. The bath had really helped you calm down. It washed off the smell of smoke and burned wood, the streaks of soot that had marked your skin.

Adam had stumbled up to grab the book he had started reading earlier. He chose to sit down on the floor and not his chair, finding it more flexible to change positions this way. From the corner of your eye, you caught glimpses of him every now and then. He seemed to be completely engulfed in the book he had chosen. It truly moved you to see him absorbed in this activity without a care in the world, his only focus in that moment being the book and nothing else.

Your kitten was laying by your feet, purring contently, enjoying the warmth of the fire.

Adams eyes were glued to his book. The story of the two people whose fates were intertwined still captivated him. It made him feel warm on the inside, like his heart was threatening to flutter out of his chest like a nervous butterfly. 

The pages near the back of the book were growing fewer and fewer as he was nearing the climax and the end of the story. When the two lovers were undoubtedly in love with one another, the time of confession came around and it was more exciting than he could ever have expected it to be. They embraced and held each other tight, and then they kissed. He had only ever read about it or seen it here and there, but the moment felt electric, even though the pages of the book. Their lips touched as a demonstration of deep connection, adoration and desire. A testament of love.

As he finished reading the story, Adam felt a mixture out of fulfillment and a mild sadness. He adored the story, but mourned the fact that it had to end. He closed the book and the sudden noise startled you a little, making you look at him.

The Creature sat up in a cross-legged position, gingerly hugging the book close to his chest. His eyes were filled with deep thought and a happy gleam.

“Oh, have you finished reading already? Did you like it?”, you asked with a gentle smile.

“...yes. I- I liked it. Very much so”, Adam stammered. You could tell that he was still processing what he had read, somehow, even though you weren’t sure which book he had picked.

Then, he got up, still clinging onto the book, and headed for the door.

“Where are you going?”, you asked.

“I would like to walk outside for a bit. Sit on the roof, perhaps. Do not worry, I will stay nearby. You will still be safe”, he explained, reassuring you.

“Oh, that's alright. Just be careful, and don’t stay out too long. It’s getting late”, you hummed. You were still a little confused about his sudden desire to head out for a stroll, but you figured it was a rather healthy thing to do after remaining sedentary while reading for so long.