The Bennetts in: Family Bath
Another pleasant day had nearly found its end in the Bennett household.
The sun was slowly setting outside the family’s house, long, gentle shadows stretching over the lawns, the traffic on the street getting calmer.
Inside, the distinct tapping of Charlotte’s cloven hooves was audible as they quickly ascended the wooden stairs. Cheerful as ever, she hummed on her way up, her long, golden-blonde hair swaying gently with every step, her short curled tail giving the occasional happy twitch.
“Hey, sweetie?” The voice that made her stop in her tracks came from her father Daniel. It was rumbling and strong, but at the same time filled with a warmth that made one immediately feel relaxed around him. “You still wanna take a bath today?”
Charlotte’s floppy ears perked up gently and she pondered with one hand on her chin.
“Mhhh, regular bath or family bath?”
“Whatever you’d prefer.” Daniel’s voice echoed back calmly.
“Family bath!” Charlotte exclaimed in a cheerful voice. “Give me ten minutes.”
While Charlotte quickly made her way up to her room, her father smiled gently on the lower floor. He hadn't originally planned to take a bath today, but he would never miss out on the occasional ritual that was their family baths, where they just talked and relaxed together, the same way it had been for years.
Just about the promised ten minutes later, Charlotte, already naked and ready for the relaxing warmth, stormed in through the main bathroom’s door.
Her parents were already both inside of the room, fully undressed as well and already wet from a quick rinse-off in the shower.
“Welcome, dear, the tub’s nearly ready.” It was her mother who greeted her first. Her voice was soft and calm, fitting her gentle features. Her slender build contrasted with Daniel’s broader frame, while her golden-blonde hair and blue eyes mirrored those of her daughter. Her softer, slightly drooping pig ears shifted gently as she smiled.
Charlotte’s father looked up from the tub’s faucet, greeting his daughter with a friendly smile.
“Alright! I’ll quickly hop under the shower as well!” She stepped past her mother, gently running the fingers of one hand along her mother’s moist shoulder blades.
Charlotte turned on the shower, carefully felt the water temperature, and stepped under the warm yet refreshing stream. Daniel turned off the faucet and, allowing Clara to go first, they stepped into the tub. The warm water quickly surrounded Clara’s body, filling it with a pleasant wave of warm relaxation.
Daniel followed quickly. His broad body and belly, a soft image of fullness, slowly displaced the water, the near-black freckles scattered across his shoulders standing out against his pink skin. The tub filled up higher as he lowered himself down.
He let out a relaxed sigh.
“It’s nice you two have time to join!” Charlotte spoke in a voice raised just enough to carry over the sound of the running water.
“Aww, dear, thanks for having us!” Her father chuckled and smiled.
All three of them smiled happily and Charlotte turned off the shower.
With quick steps she moved in front of the tub, droplets of water running down her body and onto the tiled floor, she got ready to get in with her parents.
She carefully put one leg after another into the warm water, pleasantly welcomed by the temperature.
As Charlotte slowly lowered herself down, her father tried to give her more leg room.
“Wait up, dear, this big, chubby man needs a moment to give you more room.” Her father’s grin was happy. He certainly didn’t mind his little excess weight.
“Heh, daad! You mean ‘cuddly’!” She lunged forward and gave her father a tight hug, her cheek brushing against his copper-brown chest bristles that extended to his arms, legs and belly.
Daniel was pleasantly surprised by her warm hug and answered it with some gentle strokes along her back.
“Here, let me switch to give Charlotte a bit more space.” Clara lifted her body barely out of the water and turned around, warmly settling her back against her husband’s chest and her behind cozily between his legs. Her wet golden-blonde hair was lying dark and straight against her shoulders.
Daniel chuckled as he felt her warm, slippery body press back against his.
“Whoa, dear, watch the pork roll!” His gentle laughter caused wild ripples on the water’s surface.
“Oh, don’t fuss.” Clara’s answer came quick and dry. “Pork rolls end up between buns all the time.”
“Hahaha!” Daniel laughed heartily at her spontaneous reply, and Charlotte, too, couldn’t hold back as she got the clear reference.
“Hihi, goo~ds, mom! Haha, THAT was unexpected!”
“Yes, dear.” Daniel put one hand on Clara’s shoulder. “I am very proud of you.” He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.
Despite the happy distraction, the three finally managed to move enough to allow Charlotte to stretch her legs a bit more, and Daniel placed his on both sides of Clara.
Clara had a gentle smile on her face. She certainly appreciated the well-earned approval.
“But...food jokes aside. Let’s relax, now that everyone is cozy.”
Daniel leaned back against the smooth wall of the tub, his expression relaxing as his right hand found its way to Clara’s belly under the surface, slowly and lovingly running his fingers along the soft skin.
“Mhh, cozy is good.”
Charlotte’s expression was more happily excited than calm, but she certainly enjoyed the warmth and closeness as well.
She shifted a little in the warm water, her slightly chubby frame relaxing as she leaned back against the tub.
A moment of silence settled between them. Just relaxed breathing, the gentle sound of the moving bathwater, and gentle warmth filling the room.
Clara gently brushed her leg against Charlotte’s, a small affectionate touch as she spoke.
“How has your day been, dear? Anything new or exciting you want to talk about?”
Charlotte smiled happily at the question and pondered for just a second.
“Mhh, well, we talked more about Ancient Egypt! I really enjoy that topic. I’ve gotta show you tomorrow, I’m trying to add some hieroglyphs to my notebook! It’s really impressive what stuff they did without all of our technology.”
Daniel smiled at his daughter’s enthusiasm.
“Hehe, that’s true. Although I assume they also had much less paperwork.”
Charlotte’s bright blue eyes lit up, the little dark freckles across her face framing her excited expression.
“Well, they DID have attendance records for workers! They even wrote down why some didn’t come to work.”
Clara chuckled. “She’s got you there.”
Daniel smiled and joined in with a deep chuckle.
He reached out for Charlotte and gave her hair an affectionate ruffle with his wet hand.
“You’re getting too smart, sweetie.”
“Hehe.” She grinned joyfully, tilting her head lightly so that her father gave a warm stroke over her big, soft ears.
“But well, mhh, that aside… Jenny has some cool new sparkling pens. She even let me scribble some stuff into my notebook with them. The sparkles are really nice. Maybe I can also get some at your store, mom?”
“Mhh.” Clara nodded. One of her hands found her husband’s thigh and brushed it gently with her knuckles. “Yes, we have some. But we also got some shimmering ink. You wanted to use your fountain pen more, if I remember right?”
“That’s true.” Charlotte nodded. “Mhh, so I can use that one with my pen?”
“You could. But...mhh, I would get a separate one. Those inks can be a bit harder to clean out. Or…” Clara pondered, checking her store’s inventory in her head. “...you could also use a dip pen. I could order one of those. But of course they’re not as easy to take with you, needing an ink bottle and all…”
“Hehe.” Daniel smiled and nuzzled his snout against the back of Clara’s neck.
“Listen to you, all in your element.” His voice was warm. He adored her dedication to her work and hobbies.
“Well, it’s an important topic!” Clara’s voice was serious, but her smile showed her appreciation for her husband’s words.
“It is!” Charlotte added. “I really love the purple ink you gave me. And, mhh...golden shimmer would look great with hieroglyphs…”
Clara smiled, a gentle expression of pride. Her hand went where Daniel’s had been before on Charlotte, giving the back of her head approving rubs.
“We can check it out when you drop by at the shop next time.”
“Thanks, mom!” With a smile, Charlotte leaned into her mother’s touch for a moment. She would make sure to drop by at the store soon.
“What about you, dear?” Daniel asked Clara, pressing his lips onto his wife’s head, feeling the gentle softness of her hair.
“Everything fine at the store?”
“Mhmh, yes.” Clara nodded. “New shipments arrived, but it was the usual sorting work. We found a cheaper provider for card payment. Boring business stuff.”
“Naww, don’t say that!” Daniel objected. “I love how much love you put into the store, and I’m happy to hear about it.”
“My silly boar.” She looked back at him with a loving expression. “Thank you. But that aside, things are good. It’s calm, but nice. We were able to recommend journals to someone getting into Charlotte’s hobby of keeping them very thoroughly.”
Charlotte smiled happily.
“But well. Still quite a few months until all the back-to-school stuff becomes relevant again.”
“Mh, yeah.” Daniel nodded. “Remind me again in advance. I can drop by after work and help you get stuff onto the shelves and all, if you want.”
“I can help, too!” Charlotte exclaimed.
“Yes, store-shelving-pajama-party-night!” Daniel added in a joking tone, raising his free left hand, his right one still holding his wife’s belly gently.
Clara chuckled. The situation was silly, but her chest felt pleasantly warm, knowing she always had her family’s support.
“I appreciate it. We will see. It’s just a stationery store, dear, not a full warehouse.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow. “Well, of course it’s a stationary store. Shopping would be really annoying in one that was moving constantly.”
“Hihihi.” Charlotte giggled happily.
Clara rested one hand against her forehead and sighed, one of her soft, drooping ears giving a tiny twitch.
“How often have you made that joke by now, Daniel?”
“Mhh...several times, I guess. OH! But I haven’t told it to the Linden family yet! Another chance! Charlotte? You haven’t made that one to Lukas, have you?”
Another chuckle from Charlotte.
“No, dad. I told him your joke about corn cobs, but not the store one.”
“Hah, great!” His hand dropped into the water with a little splash.
“You are really the silliest man I know.” Clara had turned her head back toward Daniel again.
“You knew when you married me! But, you are not mad at your silly husband, are you?”
“Heh. Never. I’ll always love my silly, cuddly man.”
The two exchanged a quick kiss, just a tiny wet sound, but their chests felt lovingly warm under it.
“Hihi” Charlotte chuckled lightly. She didn’t mind her parents’ displays of affection. She liked it, actually. It reminded her of the peaceful atmosphere their family had.
Charlotte leaned back again and spoke with closed eyes.
“Mhh. I really like this. It’s always fun with you, mom and dad.”
Instead of answering, the two parents exchanged a smile that was full of love and happiness.
They knew that this might not last forever. At some point Charlotte might not want their shared baths anymore. She would need more time for herself. And that’s just the natural way it goes.
But right now, every one of them loved this. And Charlotte’s parents couldn’t be happier than this.
Charlotte had opened her eyes at the continued silence and looked at them curiously.
“Why are you looking at each other like that?”
“We are plotting,” Daniel exclaimed quickly.
“We are NOT plotting.”
“That’s exactly what someone involved in a plot would say!”
Charlotte chuckled again. Her father’s silly comment had successfully smoothed over the short silence.
“But what about you, dad? Any news from you?”
“Mhh, I don’t...Oh! Yes! I wanted to tell you!”
His eyes widened and his upright ears perked. He was happy he had remembered the news.
“We actually made progress at work for the extension of the bike path!”
“Oh? Where they wanted to connect the two sections into one continuous route?” Clara asked.
“Yes! If everything goes ahead as planned, they won’t just get connected, but actually be extended at both ends. Details still remain, but, well, I’m a bit optimistic about it!”
“That’s great, dad!” Charlotte exclaimed. “Lukas will be very happy, too! He’s fine with the current path, but he always said he’d love if the city extended it a bit farther, so he’d have to use fewer main streets.”
Daniel nodded. “I hope it’ll all be settled soon! I’d love to have had a hand in something that makes the city nicer for everyone.”
“Hehe, you’re great, dad!”
Daniel’s heart skipped a happy beat, his sturdy curled tail giving an unconscious little twitch beneath the water, and Clara gave his hand a supportive squeeze.
Their bath continued for a while longer.
Clara lifted one leg after the other, allowing Daniel to gently give her thighs a quick, improvised massage.
Charlotte turned around, allowing her mother to give her back a good rub with the soft washing mitt.
And for some time, everyone just sat and relaxed, slowly feeling the tiredness of the evening creeping into their relaxed muscles.
After that, the three of them decided to call it a night. They got out of the tub one after another.
Daniel handed towels to everyone, and all of them dried themselves with some affectionate help, assisting each other with their backs.
“Mhh.” Charlotte yawned. “I think I’ll go to bed now.”
She leaned in to her mother and gave her a warm hug and a kiss.
She did the same with her father..
“Sleep well, you two. I love you!”
“Love you, too, dear.” Clara answered.
“Love you, sweetie. Have sweet dreams.”
Charlotte quickly made her way to her room, while her parents walked slowly through the wooden doorframe next to each other, feeling the first touch of fresh hallway air against their naked skin.
They watched Charlotte disappear up the stairs, the familiar tapping of her cloven hooves fading toward the upper floor. For a moment, Clara thought she heard a gentle sniff from Daniel.
She looked up at him, but only saw him wiping his face with the back of his hand.
He smiled at her. “Gods...we really got lucky, didn’t we?”
Clara gently leaned against her husband. “Yes. We really did.”
Almost automatically, they reached for each other’s hands and walked toward the stairs.
“Dear? You know how much I love the two of you?” Daniel said with a warm smile.
Clara looked back at him, her eyes soft and gentle.
“I do.” She gently kissed his upper arm. “And I love you both just as much.”
Hand in hand, they began making their way up, looking forward to another night spent cuddled up together.
