[Relationship] The Rosenhof Residence

[Basil Benson]

Colette didn't get a response back from Basil, having been left on read for what was probably an alarmingly long time given how quickly he tended to reply to things.

But eventually, she got something back.

"I Heart you too.

Generally a gentleman reciprocates, but you've caught me at a disadvantage I'm afraid.

You'll have to settle for this-"

Colette was greeted with a shot of what seemed to be an empty void in a tub of seemingly purple bathwater.

Unless you were hoping for some tawdry prose.

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Lucky for me that I enjoy a nice story, and you are an excellent writer."

Still, Colette's imagination did a good job of filling in the blank. Literally.

[Basil Benson]

As you wish....

Colette would wait quite a little while before another response, but every time she happened to check her phone, she'd see a little "..." indicating Basil was still typing something.

After upwards of 45 minutes, Colette would receive a wall of words.

It wasn't so much a story as it was a one sided conversation describing exactly what he intended to do to the subject matter of the photograph he was sent the next time it was displayed in such a fashion before him.

It started innocently enough, but by the end of several paragraphs it was straight up pornographic in nature.

After his filthy monologue he sent another message.

And this is why you shouldn't encourage me.

And one last one.

Goodnight Madame.

[Basil Benson]

While the demonstration went down, Basil Oliver Benson had deliberately made himself scarce and stayed off campus. In his mind, someone had to be left outside the circle when the hammer came down while everyone else 'broke bad'. Mainly, so there was someone available to post bail and call barristers. The idea that it might actually go any worse than that hadn't occurred to him... yet?

He'd flirted with going toe to toe with authority before on campus and it didn't go well. This caused him to come to the assessment that he was better suited to being a silent benefactor to the cause and less a front line advocate. He thought that certain groups called this 'allyship', but he didn't like the concept as it implied that he was somehow a better person for doing the bare minimum.

Today being a day off for him, he plopped his Zune into the cradle which in turn filtered to every room the the flat via the speaker system he'd had installed. Madame wanted him to do things for himself, this was one of them.

Basil was not the best at cooking, but he could make a tuna sandwich at the very least. Opening the can and dumping the fish into a bowl, he grabbed the mayo out of the fridge while bobbing his head to the beat to grab a spoon. Somewhere after spooning the mayo into the bowl he'd broken out into full singing, using the now mayo-soiled spoon as a microphone.

"I'm so in love with you, I'll be forever blue, what religion or reason, could drive a man to forsake his lover?

Don't you tell me no, Don't you tell me no,Don't you tell me no,Don't you tell me no,

Soul, I hear you calling, oh baby please give a little respect toooooo meeeeee~"

By the time he was done with his solo performance, he'd finished mixing the tuna and mayonnaise and tasted it to see if it was acceptable. It was. That's about all it was. He was no Colette, but it wasn't going to make him sick. Cleaning up after himself before he ate his lunch, he noticed the trashcan was full, and pulled the full bag out to take it downstairs and be rid of it. Better not to put off what could be done today.

As he bolted down the stairs in a way only the young and limber can, he stopped at the bottom to notice the door out to the garden was open and paused. Slowly, he walked towards the door, and looked out into the garden.

"Madame Rosenhof?" He called out, but their garden wasn't that large and he didn't see her anywhere. It wasn't really her cuppa either...

Had he left it open at some point? He didn't remember wandering out there but then again, he tended to wander around a lot when he was lonely and drunk, which was definitely last night to a tee.

Before he could think on the matter any further, something jumped out at him and he flinched to try to avoid it, then reeled about to see what had just darted past.

Perched upon the garbage bin's lid was what could only be described as a full metric unit of cat, staring at Basil expectantly. Basil surmised this cat was easily a stone in weight, but the absolute fluff of the thing could be throwing off his judgment. It bore some kind of pointed pattern, but Basil didn't know enough about cats to determine what sort of a cat it might be. It sat in the most polite and dapper of manners with it's little white paws pressed daintily together, but it's slightly cross-eyes worked against being able to think of it as a noble creature. Around it's neck it wore a purple collar with a bell, and a little tag shaped like a knight's shield.

Basil was having a hard time of what to make of this situation. However, one thing was quite clear to him now.

"You are not Madame ." He stated to the cat. In return, the cat began sniffing the air curiously. It sat back on it's haunches and stretched into an upright sitting position trying to determine the source of a scent, and slowly began to lean towards Basil himself, as if he were the source.

Bridging the gap a bit to read it's collar tag and see if it had any identifying information on it so he could perhaps send the cat in the proper direction, Basil ended up close enough to the cat that it leant into his dress shirt and began sniffing at his mouth gingerly.

The tag on the cat read 'Ser Dagonet', and nothing else. Basil let out a single chuckle, and while Basil pondered as to why one would bother putting a tag on a pet if it wasn't going to lead it back to it's owner, Dagonet deigned to start licking Basil's mouth of the trace remnants of fish oil.

"Ew..."

[Basil Benson]

((After the fallout of Lippincott))

Basil had been having a day. He kept helping the med staff until they assured him they could take over, and then collected Colette and took her home. He cleaned out the back of the car of any blood that might have accumulated on the seat (which wasn't as much as he expected, Leo really kept it together).

Afterwards he trudged upstairs in his filthy clothes to go and shed them off and shower.

[Colette Rosenhof]

For her part, Colette wasn't looking much better. She'd already had a rough day before the assault, but not she looked disheveled and exhausted. Why did flesh and blood have to ache so much? It didn't help that she didn't know how to lift and bend properly, so of course she'd managed to pull a muscle or two. She took her time getting up the stairs, each footfall heavy and clunky.

[Basil Benson]

"Let's get you cleaned up Madame, and we can slip into a nice hot tub. That will help with the exhaustion." He commented, noticing her dragging along.

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Is zis what you feel like every day? It is... exhausting."

[Basil Benson]

"Now try it with powers that don't work correctly." He quipped back, leading her upstairs to the bathroom, where he immediately started stripping off his things.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette squinted, her shoes the first thing to come off, just left on the floor as she shuffled forward.

"My skin feels like I just rode on ze tube, all... gross." The woman normally took very good care of her clothing and handled it carefully, lessons learned from a lifetime spent not having much. But today her dress just hit the floor around her ankles, left behind her as she progressed and other articles of clothing joined it.

[Basil Benson]

"Might be normal and you're not used to it I suppose?" Basil replied, checking the temperature on the shower to make sure it wasn't too hot.

"Come on, i'll show you how we do this."

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette hesitated for a moment before stepping in, the shower stall not exactly the safest place for her to be in her old form. This would take some getting used to.

"Oooh! Zis feels... strange."

[Basil Benson]

"Do you think so?" He asked as he shut the glass door behind the pair.

"I like it. I think it feels like rain, but pleasant and inviting because it's warm." The two of then now locked into the one person shower, they were basically on top of each other. Basil loomed ever so slightly above Colette with a cheshire grin on his lips-

Then leant past her and grabbed his body wash. "You're going to have to use my things for now. I'd not exactly planned for this eventuality." He replied, squeezing a little bit of the product out onto his scrubber.

[Colette Rosenhof]

"It feels strange not... going in." Colette mused, watching the water run down her arms and off of her fingers. She leaned back into Basil and let out a little sigh, looking forward to the pampering. She was too sore to feel guilty.

[Basil Benson]

Basil of course lathered her up, trying to be gentle as to not freak her out by overstimulating her skin. The water itself seemed to be disturbing her. The slightly abrasive sensation of 'scrubby' wasn't something he himself had overly positive feelings about, so he wasn't entirely certain how she would react.

[Colette Rosenhof]

It took some time, but eventually Colette stopped twitching or reacting and just relaxed, letting Basil scrub and move her as he saw fit. She had her eyes closed, brown hair matted to her, skin getting a rosey pinkness to it from the heat of the water. She could get used to this, in time.

[Basil Benson]

Basil finished with her, then washed himself thoroughly but much quicker than Colette. He was used to it.

"I'll wash your hair if you like... this is the good bit." He reassured.

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Oh, is it?" Colette asked with genuine curiosity.

[Basil Benson]

"Mmmmhm..." Basil replied while grabbing for the shampoo, some fancy oil complex designed for curly hair.

"You'll want to turn around and tilt your head back so we can avoid getting the soap in your eyes."

[Colette Rosenhof]

Yes, Colette getting soap in her eyes was a drama that was best avoided. She'd had trouble already with breathing and eating, and dealing with cuts - soapy eyes would be another crying fit to deal with. She did as she was told, letting the water drench her wavy brown hair.

[Basil Benson]

Basil lathered up his hands, and Colette would feel his fingers in her scalp going to work. He was massaging her scalp not unlike a hair stylist might, working in the shampoo deep but also, relieving tension she was carrying in her face.

By the way his hands found their way onto her neck and shoulders before he stopped, odds are it was practiced.

And Basil even managed not to get a single drop of shampoo into her eyes. Good job no longer invisible boyfriend.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette melted into Basil’s touch, the young woman not making any attempts to hide her enjoyment of the experience. If anything, it was the kind of stimulation and closeness that if she were in her other form would have brought her to a... “satisfactory conclusion”. Something that an observant Basil would have found difficult to miss.

“Mmm, zat was wonderful matou. You really are amazing wiz your hands.”

[Basil Benson]

"Go start the bath, I'll wash my own hair and join you." He replied, neither accepting nor rejecting the compliment.

"Rip the paper packet next to the tub and dump the contents in the bottom before you fill it. I'll be there soon."

When Colette got to that point, she'd notice three different things in packets. One labeled 'violet milk bath', one labeled 'lavender epsom salts' and the last labeled 'vanilla lavender bubble bath'.

There was also a hard, round glittery purple ball sealed in plastic.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette gave Basil’s cheek a gentle kiss before she stepped out of the shower and rudely dripped water over the bathroom floor - not that she didn’t normally leave wet footprints in there anyway. While many of the options were enticing, she one through osmosis and her father’s work habits that Epsom sales were supposed to be good for sore muscles, so it was that lavender packet that she tore open and dumped the contents of into the tub before turning on the hot water. There would be time for those other treats when they weren’t so sore and could better appreciate them.

[Basil Benson]

Basil had turned off the shower once Colette started running the tub, and shook his head at the mess she made. Drying it up with a towel, he tossed that into a laundry basket and slipped into the tub before her, then turned off the water and made grabby motions like a child to get her to come in with him.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette stopped very carefully into the tub. In truth she hasn’t actually tried it out yet, so it was yet another new experience for her that day. As she sank down into the warm water and rested herself back in Basil’s embrace she let out a long, low groan, letting herself sink deeper into the water. Now this, this was dangerously good.

[Basil Benson]

Once they were both at rest, Basil fell quiet. The sort of quiet he got when he was thinking about something, but without the tension in the air Colette was used to. If Colette were to check on him, he'd have his neck rested against the edge of the tub and a satisfied smile on his face, his eyelids heavy as he looked at nothing in particular.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette was tempted to ask Basil what he was thinking about, but in truth she was just happy to see him so contented. It wasn't often she saw him deep in thought that he didn't look pensive or sad. Just being together, that made for a wonderful moment.

[Basil Benson]

"Can we just live here?" He asked as if in a dream.

[Colette Rosenhof]

"We can certainly try." Colette responded after a pause, in no rush to leave the tub. She'd yet to experience how pruny she could become.

[Basil Benson]

Now, Basil realized something.

"They'll come eventually won't they? To try to put it back in me?"

[Colette Rosenhof]

"I cannot see why zey would. Zey certainly could not force you."

[Basil Benson]

"What would you think if I didn't take it?" He asked, still seemingly calm. At the moment at least.

[Colette Rosenhof]

"I... would stand by you in your decision. If you feel zat you would be happier." There are other things she might think, but she didn't want to ruin them by bringing them up, the thought that without his invisibility he might become highly sought after again, and she would become less and less appealing to him.

"And what if I decided to choose ze same. What would you zink of me?"

[Basil Benson]

"Nothing would change." He reassured her, seemingly already aware of what was on her mind.

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Even if ze reality is not everyzing you would have imagined?"

[Basil Benson]

"When I was a child, all I ever imagined was to be loved.

As a grown up, all I imagine is to serve.

Your vessel doesn't change either of these." He replied confidently with a vague smile.

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Zen I would be quite content to live a boring life wiz you." Colette joked, the word "normal" not really seeming appropriate when describing non-mutant folks. "Even if zis body will take some getting used to."

[Basil Benson]

"It will all become second nature eventually, I promise." He leant in to kiss her on her forehead.

[Colette Rosenhof]

"It had better. I had no idea zat so much was always... moving, inside of someone, even when zey are still. I am not looking forward to my first attempt at shaving." Still, she sounded contented and reassured. After all, they'd gotten their happy ending.