echo from outside, followed by Zenith yelling, "Idiot! That's what you call 'handling it?!'"
Dinner was a tense affair, with Paul on the receiving end of hostile looks from all three of the women of the house. I ate in silence as I watched, carefully hiding the fact that I enjoyed his suffering. Teach you to be a dick.
Eventually, food was finished and I decided to bring up the original reason for the trip to the village. "So, I've got an idea. I'm tired of bucket baths. Between Roxy and I, we have enough magic to build most of what we need to make a real tub and a hot water tank, along with something better than a box over a hole in the ground to crap in…"
I went on to explain what I wanted, with some help from Roxy and occasionally using earth magic to make some low detail scale models. Convincing Paul and Zenith to part with the money, especially since we'd have to pay up front to cover the cost of having that much bronze carted into town from the city, was actually kind of difficult until I finally broke down and spelled it out for them that nightly baths meant better sex. Also, higher likelihood of conception. Well, more along the lines that I asked Roxy to pass that detail along the next day. Zenith had Paul convinced by that night. I was pretty sure, by the look in Lilia's eyes, she was getting ideas herself.
Our routine changed a little over the following year. Sylphie was included in our little group and began learning magic. I started learning more advanced lessons from Roxy while, after practicing with her at night, I began teaching her what I could remember of science. Roxy was brilliant as ever and picked things up at an amazing pace. Her only stumbling block was still silent casting. It was only a small sore point for her when Sylphie managed to get silent casting within a few hours of me explaining the same visualization process I'd used with Roxy, but the little mage decided to put it down to my theory on those without prior experience having an easier time learning it.
The order of pipes came in eventually and finally, after four miserable years of 'whore baths' as they had been called in my previous life, I had my first real shower and bath. I'd like to say it was amazing and everything I'd hoped for…
But coincidentally, I also had my first cold shower after someone ran out all the hot water fucking in the tub. Magic meant I could sterilize the tub with fire, cut off the cold shower, run a tub full of cold water, then heat that for a hot bath without having to walk outside, climb the tower, and refill and heat the hot water tank. But my shower was ruined and I had to make do with a bath. Well, at least it was big enough to completely submerge myself in.
Needless to say, the whole 'running hot water' thing was an immediate success. Following that, the flush toilet with (warm water) bidet was also a huge hit. Sure, water pressure wasn't great, and it was not something I had ever used myself on Earth (I had pretty much reverse engineered from the idea of the thing and not having seen one, but a basic valve, pipe, and spigot pointed up weren't hard to make), but it was better than straw or cloth strips.
The biggest hurdle to getting a bath put in was space. The house wasn't exactly huge. It was large for what it was, but every room was in use. The toilet went downstairs and replaced the shit-box, but the tub was too big to fit and even after I sank the shit underground and turned the soil with earth magic there was a lingering stench. So, I had to do some fast talking when it was time to actually set everything up.
I would sacrifice my bedroom to turn it into a communal bathroom. Roxy agreed to allow my bed to be moved into her room. She offered to sleep with Lilia, but I managed to talk her out of it privately—mostly by reminding her of my promise not to spill her secret, so she could continue her nightly self-exploration without Lilia potentially saying something. She apparently decided it was better to risk the devil (dirty old man in a child's body) she knew than the devil she didn't.
Speaking of that, I was actually surprised when Roxy's willpower finally broke.
One night, in the middle of winter.
Roxy and I had just finished up the last of our lessons for the night. Coincidentally, this was not long after Paul and Zenith had finished their nightly performance. As I'd suspected, being clean just lead to those two wanting to get each other dirty again.
"Good night, Rudy," Roxy called quietly from across the room, where her bed sat under the window.
My own bed was against the wall, across from the desk, situated on the same side of the room as the head of her bed. If I looked up I could see the bedroom door, while if I looked down I had a decent view of Roxy's bed when it was bright enough to see. "Sleep well, Roxy."
Every night since we had started cohabitating and Roxy had grown bold enough or frustrated enough to ignore my presence in the room, I laid there and pretended not to hear while Roxy quietly worked herself over, relieving her pent up frustrations at having to hear my parents going at it like rabbits. I was polite enough not to say anything about it, if only because I didn't want to push too hard. Roxy hadn't mentioned my 'open door' policy since that night I caught her in the hall and I would rather not scare her off, so I hadn't brought it up. I was perfectly willing to play the long game here, considering the prize was worth it.
As I slowly drifted off listening to my future wife pleasuring herself, something changed. I frowned, my mind a bit slow as I tried to work out what it was. It took a while, but I finally managed. She stopped, but didn't finish.
I was just about to roll over and try to get back to sleep when a quiet noise of cloth on cloth from nearby caught my attention. I placed it as the blankets moving about the time I heard her foot hit the hardwood floor. It wasn't at all unusual for her to get up in the middle of the night and go to the restroom, especially if she was on her period and felt the need to see to that, so I ignored it. Right up until the corner of my blanket lifted and a blast of cold air from the room hit my pajama-clad form. "Scoot over."
Blinking my eyes open sleepily, I scooted towards the wall and made room. If she wanted to climb into my bed, I wasn't going to complain. "Too cold by the window?"
Roxy's arms wrapped around my middle, pulling me flush against her soft warmth, before her legs twined with mine as she pretty much curled herself around me given our size difference. Roxy was small, but I was smaller still by comparison—for the time being, anyway. She smelled amazing—the scent of her hair, her skin, and her arousal all mixing together into a heady aroma I didn't think I'd ever get tired of.
"A little," she admitted softly. Roxy's forehead pressed against my own and I closed my eyes, putting my arms around her and simply enjoying the sensation of holding a woman again after so long without. When she spoke again, I nearly flinched as I'd almost drifted off again with her warmth and smell surrounding me. "You win, Rudy. I would like to explore."
"Hm?" I hummed, not quite sure what she was talking about given how fuzzy my head was at the moment.
"Can, can you," she hesitated, "would you hold me while I…?"
Her words finally managed to penetrate the fog. I shook my head rapidly, forcing myself back to wakefulness. "Wait. Just so we're on the same page here. You want me to hold you while you touch yourself?" I felt the girl nod against me. "Just holding, or…?"
Her response came out as a whisper. "You can touch. A little."
"Okay," I agreed. I squeezed her a little tighter, but otherwise didn't move. I decided to see where she would go with this and follow her lead for now.
In the faint moonlight coming in through her window, I could just make out Roxy's piercing blue gaze from inches away as she studied my face. Biting her lower lip, she released me and repositioned her hands. She shifted and shimmied around to get her night gown up over her hips before her hands went under the gown—one heading to her breasts, the other to the juncture of her legs. She watched me watch her as she began, a quiet gasping breath slipping from her lips as her eyes went half-lidded.
I allowed my hands to move, shifting down and resting against the bare flesh of her hips. I smiled as she jerked at the slightest of touches, her breathing speeding up already. Apparently, she really enjoyed being watched and touched. My hands trailed up her sides, gliding from her hips, over her ribs to her arms. I followed her arms back down, feeling them working frantically under my hands, before transitioning back to her hips and traveling down her thighs as far as I could reach before coming back up and moving around to her bare back. I stayed out of the obvious 'danger zones,' but even just the little bit of petting I was doing was apparently more than enough.
Roxy shuddered as she came, her hands going still as her whole body tensed, her eyes going wide as she clenched her mouth shut around a whine. It was a sound that had become very familiar to me since I'd started sharing a room with her. Roxy always tried her best to be quiet, but she couldn't hide everything and I had good ears.
She took in a gasping breath and I caught tears in her eyes as she tried to blink them clear. The hand at her chest came away and she put it around me and pulled me closer, clutching me to her as little tremors continued to wrack her body. I shifted around a bit, bringing my lips to her ear, partially laying my head on top of hers—Roxy shifting to nuzzle her cheek against mine. "It feels nice, doesn't it, Roxy? Being held by someone who cares for you while you come."
I felt her nod against me. "Y-yes, Rudy."
Her hand slowed and she sighed, seemingly finished. I raised an eyebrow at that. Nope. Let's see how many I can wring out of you without any lewd touching. You've already come this far, Roxy. You might as well see how deep the rabbit hole goes.
Leaning forward just a bit, my lips brushed her ear as I asked, "Done already? You can keep going, you know." Then, I took her ear lobe between my lips, flicking it slowly with my tongue.
The effect was immediate. Roxy's little body went taut, the hand she had around me practically crushing me to her as she took in a ragged breath. I bit down gently for effect and she moaned. We both stilled at that, eyes going wide as we turned our attention to the door and the hall. We listened in silence for what felt like minutes before the tension eased out of our bodies and we relaxed. Roxy breathed out a quiet laugh, which she had to stifle when it became something more lewd as I attacked her ear again briefly, silently insisting that I wasn't letting her get away that easily now that I had her here.
Just to be on the safe side though, I decided to give her an out. "Tell me to stop and I will, Roxy. If you don't, I'm going to keep doing things like this just to see how many times we can make you come."
"Don't," Roxy whispered.
"Don't?"
The hand that had gone around my back found my right hand, before pulling it under her night gown and pressing it against her left breast. The nipple was hard and hot against my palm as she held it there. "Don't stop," her answer was a little louder. "We can't… we can't have sex, but this, this is okay. Just touch me, Rudy. Please?"
My answer was more exploration of her body and to move my attention from her ear to the skin of her neck just beneath it. All the while, I whispered dirty talk to her.
"I'm glad you're enjoying this, 'master.'" I knew how much she hated the title, but the little sound she made when I called her by it was great. Maybe she had a student/teacher fetish. Something to explore.
I allowed my fingers to roam over her chest and stomach, occasionally brushing around her nipples but very rarely giving them direct attention. I listened for her breathing to cue me in on when to do so. Instead, I mostly focused my attention on lavishing her skin with kisses, licks, suckles, and the occasional nip—making sure I didn't do it too hard and leave any marks that would be visible come tomorrow. Sure, healing magic would probably remove them, but I'd rather not risk it right now. "I'm going to make sure it's me you think of when you touch yourself from now on, Roxy. No other man will ever do."
The girl whimpered at that, coming again in my arms. I took the opportunity to kiss her lips. Shock was visible in her expression as I pressed the attack, teasing her tongue with my own. The little mage melted against me as she shuddered, her eyes slipping closed as her forehead pressed into mine. She eventually grew still, her hands stopping their work on herself. She broke the kiss, panting softly. One eye slit open, barely enough for me to tell she was studying me. "You have to take responsibility."
"Gladly," I murmured in answer, pecking her lips. "When you feel you've taught me all you can, go out and do your adventuring. Practice, learn, and get strong. But come back to me in eight years."
"Seven," the girl sighed quietly. "Tired now."
I watched her eyes slip closed and chuckled quietly. I'd counted about four there, but honestly I'd take anything over zero as a win. Reaching down, I gently took the hand she had used to play with herself and pulled it out from between her legs. Roxy let out a quiet, inquisitive hum as her eyes opened partly again to see what I was doing. I brought her hand up, outside the covers, and brought it to my mouth. Locking eyes with her, I smirked before sucking her fingers into my mouth one at a time and licking them clean.
"Delicious," I praised her, earning a blush as she shut her eyes and squirmed. I wasn't even lying, either. Maybe it was alien biology or something, but she didn't smell or taste awful. A bit salty, a bit sweet, but she mostly tasted like she smelled—which was, itself, hard to describe. Far from unpleasant, anyway.
Her hand squeezed mine when I finished and pulled it back under the covers, refusing to let go.
And then, she passed out, leaving me high and dry. Thought it was supposed to be the man that goes off early and leaves the woman in the lurch. Gonna have to work on her stamina. And educate her on the finer points of the male anatomy. Namely, what happens if she just taps out after one round without returning the favor. Not cool.
Can confirm, blue balls sucks at any age.