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Post by Nance Sikes on Apr 12, 2009 22:18:36 GMT -5
Nance glanced down at her filthy frock and suddenly flushed with shame.
Of course he found her repellant...with such grime and the smoke of the streets reeking from her person and the stench so ingrained in her clothes.
"Y-yes," she said quietly. "...a-alright. Th-thank you."
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Donavan
- Ingenious Pilot -
The eyes are the windows to the soul.
Posts: 229
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Post by Donavan on Apr 12, 2009 22:24:21 GMT -5
*Donavan smiled hesitantly. That was a start. He blinked, shifting his weight slightly.*
"Um..." *Something tugged at him, ever unsure when it came to Nance.*
"You know, if you don't want to do this...you don't have to." *He said softer.*
"I just want...if you would like to." *He winced, frustrated at his babbling.*
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Post by Nance Sikes on Apr 12, 2009 22:33:32 GMT -5
"I will!" said Nance insistently. "I mean...I...want to," she added, gnawing on her lower lip. At least she was a passable liar, and she was not so wholly set against the idea when it occurred to her that it might make Donovan happy.
Happier.
She unlatched the door and opened it a crack, peering out and meeting Donovan's gaze.
"I want to," she repeated.
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Donavan
- Ingenious Pilot -
The eyes are the windows to the soul.
Posts: 229
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Post by Donavan on Apr 12, 2009 22:41:48 GMT -5
*Donavan blushed as their eyes met. He honestly hadn't figured on seeing her again and stood dumbly for a moment before dropping them to the floor.*
"I...would you like me to...I could run it for you. Uh, set it up for you. Then I could...go back outside."
*He blinked nervously, eyes fixed on the ground between them.*
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Post by Nance Sikes on Apr 12, 2009 22:44:52 GMT -5
There was the briefest of pauses.
"Alright."
She whisked back into the bedroom, shutting the door once more between them with a soft click, strangely feeling as if she'd said too much or...something. She'd felt a shift...a step too far.
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Donavan
- Ingenious Pilot -
The eyes are the windows to the soul.
Posts: 229
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Post by Donavan on Apr 12, 2009 22:55:19 GMT -5
*Donavan blinked, unsure of what he'd expected. Well, unsure of many things at the moment. But he managed to pull himself away, to open the closet and started filling the tub, careful to make sure the water was warm without being too hot. He really wanted it to be a nice experience for her. He set out the soap and the towel, but he realized that the spare set of clothes was in his room with her. Returning to the door, he knocked softly.*
"Uh, the other clothes are...in the dresser." *His gaze shifted nervously, even with wood between them.* "When you're done, you can just leave your clothes by the tub and...I'll see to them when I get back. But please, take your time. Alright?"
*He paused, hanging on her answer.*
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Post by Nance Sikes on Apr 12, 2009 23:03:48 GMT -5
"...alright!" she called out, hesitantly approaching the dresser and finding...trousers. And a man's shirt.
Well of course he doesn't have an extra skirt around...
Nance bit her lip, but reasoned that clothing was clothing and she wouldn't be in trousers forever. She held the bundled clothes in her hands, turning them over. They seemed like they might be comfortable, even.
Holding the clean clothes, she went to the door and opened it once more, looking about cautiously.
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Donavan
- Ingenious Pilot -
The eyes are the windows to the soul.
Posts: 229
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Post by Donavan on Apr 12, 2009 23:13:17 GMT -5
*Donavan stood at the door to the apartment, wanting to see if there was anything else she needed. But seeing her in his clothes, he figured she didn't want to see him.*
"Enjoy." *He mumbled nervously and slipped out into the hall, locking the door behind him. She needed time. Now he just needed a distraction.*
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Post by Nance Sikes on Apr 12, 2009 23:34:29 GMT -5
Nance waited several minutes until she was certain he was gone, and then she approached the steaming tub with great trepidation.
How...?
She sighed.
"No way through it but through it," she reasoned to herself, unbuttoning her ragged, dirty dress, then gritting her teeth as she began to unlace her corset. She'd slept in her undergarments as long as she could remember, only replacing each individual piece when it got worn to rags or a bit of fortune meant something new. New to her, at least, though it had probably passed through several hands before it found hers. Her shoes and stockings were easiest to get rid of, and so they went first. Bare feet weren't too bad. She'd gone barefoot in the summer and winter often enough back in London as a child, when it couldn't be helped. She knew well chilblains and sores that came with such living.
She shed her few petticoats individually, and slid off her corset, already shivering at the unusually light feeling of a single layer against her skin. Her chemise and final petticoat went quickly, almost defiantly, as she had made up her mind to get it over with. Bloomers she'd never bothered with, finding they interfered with her line of work.
Hugging herself, she unsteadily raised one foot and set it in the tub, squirming at the strange sensation of so much water--warm water, too. She shivered, still, but she didn't feel so cold, anymore. Her other foot followed, and she stood calf-deep in the tub.
Gripping the sides, she lowered herself into the water and gasped loudly. She'd never been so cozily warm in her life. Layers of wool, a summer's day...they had their imperfections, but this--the rush of hot water claiming every inch of her skin and leaving no part of her chilled--it was sheer bliss.
As long minutes went by, she found the aches and pains in her back, in her ribs, beginning to fade in the luxurious heat. It was the most amazing thing in the world.
Suddenly she could believe that people did this, and often. Donovan did, surely.
Heat suffused her cheeks as she quickly brushed off the thought of Donovan stretching out in the same tub in the same manner. He wouldn't have room to stretch, in any case, as he was taller than she.
Putting it from her mind, she took the soap in her hand and considered it.
Was there a way people did it? Was it like washing clothes? How could it be different?
Resolved, she simply set to scrubbing every inch of her skin with the soap and hot water, amazed at how slick grime and oil seemed to life from her skin, leaving it strangely soft, tingling and refreshed.
After seeing to her person, and even giving her face a once-over, she pondered her hair for a moment before ducking it in the water, her scalp crinkling pleasantly in the warm water for a moment before she began rubbing the soap into her long, dark hair, which had hung in limp, dank straggles for so long, defying comb and brush and merely being held out of the way by a filthy bit of ribbon she'd found in the gutter.
That done, Nance lolled about in the water until it became quite cool. She considered that she COULD catch her death if she stayed in the tub much longer, and so she got out, streaming water everywhere, though she tried her best to dry it with the towel Donovan had left, hastily rubbing herself dry and pulling on the trousers and shirt, squeezing the water out of her hair with the towel to catch the drips.
She frowned at the water, which was quite nearly black, and rather opaque. She was a disgusting, filthy slut, she knew, but to have it so clearly laid out before her was something quite new.
She slid to the floor, sitting beside the tub, brushing her hand over the pile of dirty clothes, suddenly able to smell the stench coming from them...part of which must be her own, and what had been left by untold numbers of men heaving and sweating and slobbering against her.
Resting her damp head on her drawn-up knees, she wept quietly for shame of what she was.
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Donavan
- Ingenious Pilot -
The eyes are the windows to the soul.
Posts: 229
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Post by Donavan on Apr 12, 2009 23:46:45 GMT -5
*Donavan tried to wait. He wanted to give her as much time as he could muster. He made up errands, places he could go. But he wondered how long the water would stay warm. How long she'd want to stay after. And 45 minutes passed and he found himself on the doorstep. Suddenly unsure, he rocked slightly, then lifted his hand and knocked.*
"Nance? Are you doing alright?" *He swallowed.*
"Do you need longer?" *His ears strained to hear her answer.*
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Post by Nance Sikes on Apr 12, 2009 23:53:58 GMT -5
Nance hastily drew her--Donovan's--shirtsleeve across her red, wet eyes.
"N-no," she called out hoarsely. "I'm finished."
She glanced helplessly at her clothes, the dirty water. She wanted to get rid of them, she wanted to burn the clothes and just...dump the water out the window; but it was impossible. Donovan wasn't stupid...and he probably already knew. Hadn't he persuaded her to bathe? To have her clothes washed?
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Donavan
- Ingenious Pilot -
The eyes are the windows to the soul.
Posts: 229
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Post by Donavan on Apr 12, 2009 23:57:31 GMT -5
*Donavan swallow before fitting the key to the lock.*
"Al--alright. I'm coming in then."
*He wanted to give her a second to hide herself if that was her wish. He waited a breath, then slipped inside, shut the door quickly behind him.*
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Post by Nance Sikes on Apr 13, 2009 0:12:14 GMT -5
Nance sat very still, utterly silent, her head bent over her knees as she refused to show her face.
What could she possibly say?
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Donavan
- Ingenious Pilot -
The eyes are the windows to the soul.
Posts: 229
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Post by Donavan on Apr 13, 2009 7:52:50 GMT -5
*Donavan slowly turned, but seeing her crumpled next to the tub, panic washed over him. Had she slipped? Did he leave her here in pain? He rushed to her side, but once there his conscience caught the better of him. She hadn't wanted him there and now his hands were poised above her and he looked rather helpless about the whole thing. There was a moment of silence before he managed to whisper.*
"Are you all right?" *Genuine concern read in his voice and face. He didn't see the grime left behind, only the girl in need.*
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Post by Nance Sikes on Apr 13, 2009 8:53:47 GMT -5
"I'm sorry..." she sobbed softly. "I...I just...I'm sorry...for everything."
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