Chapter Text
In a small cottage in the countryside, lived a young girl by the name of Iris. Once she had lived there with her mother, but her mother tragically passed two years ago when infectious disease raged the country. Since then, there had only been the fifteen-year-old Iris living at home.
Thanks to the concern and kindness from the nearby village, Iris managed quite well on her own. She had a few farm animals, and a small plot of land where she grew the crops she needed. It wasn’t so strange for a girl of fifteen to be living alone in this day and age. A lot of families had suffered from disease, and a lot of the village men had either perished fighting, or were currently out fighting some war in a faraway country.
Growing up doing farm work had made the young girl strong, and the teenage hormones left her with quite an appetite. As a result, Iris was quite chubby and well-developed for her age. The fact that she was an early bloomer, and came from a stocky family hadn’t helped either, and people who didn’t know her would sometimes mistake her for being older. But if you got to know Iris it would soon come apparent that the girl had the typical naivete of youth.
It was on a regular autumn day a stranger came knocking on the door of the isolated cottage. Iris was making jams and cordial for the winter when she was surprised by the sound. Brushing her hands quickly on the apron, she opened the heavy wooden door to the porch.
Outside stood a boy, younger than herself by the looks of it, with gaunt cheeks and dirty clothes. She didn’t recognize him from the village. “Hello?” she asked cautiously.
“Hi Miss,” the boy looked up at her through a dirty blonde fringe, his eyes sullen blue. He was a little bit shorter than her – about the height of her nose. “Do you have any food to spare?”
For a moment, Iris was confused. The village hadn’t been on hard times since the last outbreak of disease two years ago. Where did this boy come from?
“Sure,” she replied. “Come in. I’ll make you something to eat. May I have your name?” Iris steps aside, letting the young boy in.
He smiles gratefully, and does his best to wipe his raggedy shoes before he stepped inside. “It’s Robert. I come from the village of Leira.”
The village of Leira… It was a village located many miles from here, up in the harsh, wild mountains. The people there lived primarily from hunting and trade. Iris and her mother had bought pelts from their travelling merchants while they were still operating. But Iris had thought the village vanished after the plague outbreak.
“I didn’t know there were anyone left up there?” Iris pondered as she walked over to the counter to make Robert some bread.
“There aren’t anymore. My dad and I were the last two left. He died three months ago. I tried my best to continue living up there, but-.” Robert paused for a long moment. “It’s too hard. I’m not as strong as he was. He could carry a deer over his shoulder. Even if I managed to shoot them with my bow, I’m not strong enough to carry the animal away – leaving it to attract wolves…”
Iris could see how the end of that story would go. Even if he parted the animal into parts before carrying it, it would require both time, strength and a bit of luck for a boy his age. Time, strength and luck he might not have.
“I lost my mother too. But that was two years ago. I’m sorry for your loss.” Iris says softly as she cuts thick slices of fresh bread. She butters them generously, before adding slices of cured ham. She hands them to Robert, who’s eyeing them hungrily. “How old are you, Robert?”
The boy devours one of the slices within seconds, but pauses to breathe and speak before he attacks the second. Even though Iris had never seen it before, she instinctively understood that his appetite was a result of starvation. “I’m twelf.” Robert replied with food still in his mouth.
Iris walked across the kitchen, back to tending her jams and cordial. “Do you have any relatives living?”
“No.”
“So what do you plan to do ?”
“I don’t know.”
Iris picked up a fragility in Robert’s voice at the last reply. It will probably be fine if he stays here. I should have enough food for us both. And if not, the village will help us, I’m sure of it. Besides, it would be nice to not be alone. Iris resonated optimistically in her young mind.
“You can sleep here tonight if you wish. No one should have to be alone in their despair. That’s what mum said when she was alive. Eat up and rest a bit, and after that we need to clean both you and your clothes. Do you have lice?” Iris looks over her shoulder, giving the boy a glance.
“I do not!” He replied adamantly. “My father was very particular about combing and washing.”
“That’s more than just road dust.” Iris teases a bit, nodding towards the boy’s filthy clothes and appearance. To that he had nothing to say. He finished his last slice of bread with a sigh.
“May I have more?” He asked with a small voice.
“Yes, but not now. If you’re too hungry and eat too much at once, you’ll get sick. You can have more later tonight.” Irish promised. “But if you’re finished you can start boiling water for your wash. There’s a stream behind the house.”
For the next hour or so, the two kids worked the house as two miniature adults; as kids often will do when given adult responsibilities too early. Their first reminder of the fact that they were kids came when it was time for Robert to bathe.
The tub was an all-purpose one; used for bathing, cleaning clothes and washing hair. It wasn’t terribly big, but could fit a person. The cottage only had two rooms – the bedroom and the combined kitchen and living room. The latter was the more sizeable of the two, and the only one that would fit the tub properly. Iris and Robert looked hesitantly at each other from each side of the now filled and gently steaming tub. Robert was self-conscious about the fact that he needed to get naked for this, and Iris felt embarrassed about the fact that she was embarrassed about this. He’s younger than me, why am I feeling embarrassed?
“Go on.” She pretended to not be embarrassed. “It’s no worse than if I were a big sister. You need to get in, and you need to get cleaned properly. Not to mention, you need to get those clothes off, so we can wash them. Don’t worry, I won’t pinch or bite.” Iris offered a smile.
Robert blushed, before reluctantly starting to undress. “Okay.”
The boy was skinny, even for his age. His ribs weren’t protruding per se, but he didn’t really have much body fat on him at all. Although Iris knew scarcely little about boys’ development, she knew that he was a little too thin for comfort. But when Robert pulled down his trousers, it was her turn to blush. She had never in her life seen a penis before, and for a moment she couldn’t help but to stare. He didn’t have much in terms of hairs – the little he had was downy. And nestled on top of the downy hairs, it hanged; a flaccid penis, dangling a little as the boy moved to step into the tub. Iris could understand why the grown-ups sometimes called the penis a ‘sausage’, because the shape reminded of one. She didn’t know what size they were supposed to be, but on the skinny boy it looked quite big. It was longer than her middle finger, and much thicker. Iris hurried to look away, but she could undoubtedly feel a stirring inside of her.
“I saw you looking at my pee-pee.” Robert commented, before he lowered himself into the tub.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stare. I just haven’t seen one before.” Iris’ blush was fierce now.
“You haven’t?” Robert asks in genuine curiosity. He was lowered in the soapy water now, obscuring the view of his manhood.
“No. I’ve only ever lived with me any my mum. Father died when I was young, and I’ve had no siblings.” She explains.
“I’ve seen a woman’s butt once.” Robert countered.
“I think butts look the same on both men and women.” Irish reasoned. “It’s the front that’s different.”
“Women’s butts are bigger.” Robert countered again.
“Well, I’m sure I’ve seen men with bigger butts than women.” Irish protested. Then she laughed; resulting in Robert laughed along with her. It was a silly topic, butts, but it felt so nice to laugh again. She grabbed the piece of soap, and started scrubbing the boy.
“You can wear my night shift after you’re done washing. Your clothes has to be washed, and I don’t have any men’s clothing for you to wear, so it will have to make do.” Iris pointed to the said fabric lying on a chair.
Robert nodded, busy not getting soap in his eyes. Soon, the water was murky, but the boy was finally clean. Who would’ve thought his hair was a regular blonde? Iris could see that the food and wash had done wonders to the boy’s mood. He smiled at him as he put on her night shift – it looked rather cute on him.
“Ok, get busy washing your clothes. I need to continue on my cordial.” Iris announced. She expected him to protest – she had heard men expected women to do most chores for them, but Robert didn’t. He picked up his dirty clothes and got to work. Then she remembered that Robert had lived with his father. With only men in the house, the chores would of course fall to them both. They both worked with vigour until it was time for a last meal, then bed. Iris was dead on her feet. Getting a new guest and doing the jams and cordials made her exhausted. Luckily, it was rewarding work.
There was only one big marital bed in the bedroom. Iris pointed Robert to the right side, while she took the left. Robert climbed in easily under the covers. It was when Iris stood with her back against the bed, ready to undress she realized she didn’t have a night shift. Robert was using it. She looked over her shoulder, meeting Robert’s gaze. He was already comfortable and snug in bed, looking curiously up at her. “I’m going to change.” She announced.
“Ok,” Robert said carefreely, still looking up at her.
“Can you look away?” She asked, feeling embarrassed. Robert didn’t turn away, but he closed his eyes shut. Iris turned back, and started undressing. She felt terribly self-conscious as she finally stood there, stark naked, with her back towards the bed. Her young, but large breasts hang heavy on her front, and she felt awkward that Robert might see them, or her vulva. With an awkward motion she tried scooting into bed without Robert seeing her bits – lifting the covers up before getting into bed, and using them to “hide” as she got in. When she finally settled safely under the covers, she could see Robert staring at her. “Did you see anything?”
“A little.” He admitted with a sheepish grin. “…Can I have a look at you?” He asked curiously making a motion to lift the covers.
“No!” Iris protested, holding down the covers with her hands.
“…But you saw me naked, it’s not fair!” Robert protests.
He was right. It wasn’t fair. “Okay…” Iris relented. “You can look.”
Robert gently pushed the covers away, revealing Iris’ breasts. The cool air made her nipples perk. Robert’s gaze was on them in an instant.
Irish blushed profusely – again feeling the strange stirring between her legs. Robert carefully reached out a hand, and brushed gently against the soft flesh.
“It’s really soft.” He remarks as he gently cups one of Iris’ generous breasts. “But the nipple is kind of stiff. Does it get stiff when you think about boys?” He ponders.
Iris is both puzzled and embarrassed by the question. “...I don’t know? I don’t think so. But they do get harder when they get cold.”
“Huh.” Robert covers the nipple with his flat hand. “Poor breast. Are you cold? Is this better?” He smiles. “My pee-pee gets hard when I think about girls, but smaller when it’s really cold.” He shares carefreely.
Iris rubbed her thighs together subconsciously. She got a restless feeling in her chest, but she didn’t understand what it was. She was itching for something, but the inexperienced and ignorant young girl had no idea what this meant. “It’s enough looking now. Put the cover back down.”
“Wait, but I haven’t seen your pee-pee! Just one quick look!” Robert demands.
She relents with a nod, hoping that this embarrassing business will soon be over. She closes her eyes in shyness as Robert pulls the covers further aside to admire her womanhood.
“Spread your legs – I can’t see.” Robert demands enthusiastically.
Iris does as she’s told, hoping this is the last of it. She wasn’t particularly hairy, but more than Robert. Her womanhood was covered in short, brown hairs. She lies there like this for many long, silent seconds, still with her eyes closed. After a while the silence makes her uncomfortable, and she opens her eyes, only to see Robert staring vacantly at her slit. “Enough now.” She states, and Robert snaps out of it.
“I’m sorry. I was just curious.” Robert quickly apologized, pulling the covers back over them both and settling back in bed.
Iris noticed he shifted around in bed a bit more awkwardly, but she paid it no mind. “Good night, Robert.”
“Good night Iris.”