Amnesty 2005 - The Water Challenge by xenocrate
Title: Bathing Habits
Pairing: SK/RK and SK/RV
Rating: PG-13 (I think)
Size: About 500 words
Note: First time flashfic, not beta'd, sorry if anything's weird
Stella’s little vice is her baths. She likes them long, luxurious and sensual. She will make sure there is enough time to linger for an hour or more, filling her senses with the essential oils her girlfriends give her for birthdays and Christmas.
Stella plans her baths like a military operation. She never allows herself to run out of products. She bathes if she is due to go out for the evening. She will try always to have one a day. If necessary, sleep will be sacrificed. There is an almost ritualistic list of things she needs to do for her bath to be satisfying, from preparing the room to checking the water temperature to cleansing and moisturizing. The requirements have been added to over the years. Most recently, after some time spent at a spa in the aftermath of her divorce, Stella has added body brushing to her routine.
Her mother tells her that this is no way for a grown, professional woman to spend her time. Stella can’t count the number of times she’s heard the phrase "wallowing in your own dirt", often on her answer machine when she hasn’t picked up the telephone because she’s in the bath.
Ray Kowalski had been amused by Stella’s bathing habits. Ray had teased her and irritated her, had needled her into allowing him into her private domain to wash her back, running his fingers lazily through the scented water and over her skin.
Ray only ever took showers.
He liked to make his trips into her bathroom memorable. Sensual. Stella remembers that one time when he got in with her and persuaded her up to sit on the side of the tub, her legs wide spread as he shaved her, his hand steady, his eyes narrowed to blue slits in concentration. His warm, moist tongue soothing her shockingly bare flesh afterwards is one of Stella’s preferred memories of their marriage.
Since the divorce, Stella bathes alone. She knows that one of the reasons Ray valued his rare involvement in her ritual was the intimacy of it, a part of her that no-one else could see or enjoy. She doesn’t intend to share those times with anyone else. It won’t matter to Ray, up in Chicago or Canada, wherever he is and whoever he’s with, but she’s staying faithful.
Besides, her new Ray prefers her when she’s finished, when she comes out of the bathroom moisturized and perfumed and wrapped in a soft, silky robe. He likes to kiss her damp hair and to ease her robe down over her shoulders to find himself some skin to stroke before she sits to put on her makeup. He thinks it’s womanly to spend a long time getting ready, and he doesn’t feel the need to spend every waking moment with her.
Sometimes, Stella feels lonely, sitting in her bath thinking about Ray, and about Ray. Then she reminds herself that time to be private and alone is one of the things she wanted most in her adult life, and she runs a little more hot water and sinks lower into the tub.
Pairing: SK/RK and SK/RV
Rating: PG-13 (I think)
Size: About 500 words
Note: First time flashfic, not beta'd, sorry if anything's weird
Stella’s little vice is her baths. She likes them long, luxurious and sensual. She will make sure there is enough time to linger for an hour or more, filling her senses with the essential oils her girlfriends give her for birthdays and Christmas.
Stella plans her baths like a military operation. She never allows herself to run out of products. She bathes if she is due to go out for the evening. She will try always to have one a day. If necessary, sleep will be sacrificed. There is an almost ritualistic list of things she needs to do for her bath to be satisfying, from preparing the room to checking the water temperature to cleansing and moisturizing. The requirements have been added to over the years. Most recently, after some time spent at a spa in the aftermath of her divorce, Stella has added body brushing to her routine.
Her mother tells her that this is no way for a grown, professional woman to spend her time. Stella can’t count the number of times she’s heard the phrase "wallowing in your own dirt", often on her answer machine when she hasn’t picked up the telephone because she’s in the bath.
Ray Kowalski had been amused by Stella’s bathing habits. Ray had teased her and irritated her, had needled her into allowing him into her private domain to wash her back, running his fingers lazily through the scented water and over her skin.
Ray only ever took showers.
He liked to make his trips into her bathroom memorable. Sensual. Stella remembers that one time when he got in with her and persuaded her up to sit on the side of the tub, her legs wide spread as he shaved her, his hand steady, his eyes narrowed to blue slits in concentration. His warm, moist tongue soothing her shockingly bare flesh afterwards is one of Stella’s preferred memories of their marriage.
Since the divorce, Stella bathes alone. She knows that one of the reasons Ray valued his rare involvement in her ritual was the intimacy of it, a part of her that no-one else could see or enjoy. She doesn’t intend to share those times with anyone else. It won’t matter to Ray, up in Chicago or Canada, wherever he is and whoever he’s with, but she’s staying faithful.
Besides, her new Ray prefers her when she’s finished, when she comes out of the bathroom moisturized and perfumed and wrapped in a soft, silky robe. He likes to kiss her damp hair and to ease her robe down over her shoulders to find himself some skin to stroke before she sits to put on her makeup. He thinks it’s womanly to spend a long time getting ready, and he doesn’t feel the need to spend every waking moment with her.
Sometimes, Stella feels lonely, sitting in her bath thinking about Ray, and about Ray. Then she reminds herself that time to be private and alone is one of the things she wanted most in her adult life, and she runs a little more hot water and sinks lower into the tub.