the tub was large enough to comfortably accommodate both of them, the bathroom was dimly lit with purple lights, and the water was warm. jim sighed as he lowered himself into the bath, leaning back against adrianus.

"oh, look at that," they murmured. "you're already melting..."

it was true. it made sense, though. he was already prepared to relax, the atmosphere was nice, and on top of that, it was very easy for him to slip into trance with them to begin with.

maybe it was still notable how quickly he sank, but he was already too relaxed to care.

"that's nice," they whispered, running their hands along his skin. "it feels nice, feeling you release all of that tension..."

his mind felt fuzzy and soft, his body warm, relaxed, blushing.

"tilt your head back for me," they said, "and close your eyes..."

he did so easily and automatically, as they gently poured the water over his hair.

"tilt it a bit more..." they guided his chin with their hand. he offered no resistance at all. warm water ran down his head, his neck, his back.

"there you go," they said softly. "i'll just get the shampoo."

he had noticed earlier that all of the soaps were lavender scented, all saying things like relax, sleep, and soothe on them.

the thought was barely enough to get him to speak. "am i still going to smell like lavender after this?"

"to be completely honest," they said, lathering their hands, "it probably won't be very noticeable to you, by the time i've dried you off." their fingers ran through his hair, pressing into his scalp, sending tingles through his body. "but it's alright if you still smell it, later," they continued. "how nice would it be, to stay in a trance for the rest of the night? you don't really need to wake up..."

their fingertips massaged his head. his breathing was slow and deep. "that would be nice," he said quietly. "you're right."

"that's right..."

the scent of the lavender sent him deeper. there was something about the idea of having that scent rubbed into him. as if it would soak through his scalp, to his brain. a literal sort of brainwashing, scrubbing and cleaning with fingers, soap, and warm water.

they began washing away the shampoo, carefully running more water through his hair.

"tell me if any soap gets into your eyes."

"it hasn't."

"that's good. you've been doing very good, jim."

he knew that he hadn't really been doing anything in particular, but the praise was still nice.

"you can tilt your head forward again, if you'd like. you can open your eyes, as well, unless you want to keep them closed."

he opened them, though only a bit.

they were massaging the body wash into his skin now, starting with his shoulders and back. "that's right," they cooed, as their fingers pressed into his skin and muscles. "just relax. you're in such a nice, pleasant trance, aren't you? feeling so comfortably sleepy..." their hands moved down his back. "the smell, the lights, the water... the very room you're in is telling you to relax."

he didn't think it was possible for him to feel any better than he already had, but their murmurs combined with the massaging motions were irresistible.

"it's always easy for you to relax around me, isn't it?" their hands wandered, rubbing his arms, his stomach, his chest. "it feels good to relax. to let go. to melt..."

even as they touched more intimate places, he was only focused on relaxing. he was only thinking of the trance he was in. their voice and touches hadn't indicated that he should be feeling anything else.

"just let yourself be completely scrubbed clean..."

they didn't need to tell him. he was already allowing it.

"all of your thoughts are being rubbed away... washed off..."

both their voice and movements were slow and drawn out.

"you feel clean, don't you?"

"i feel clean," he repeated.

"you feel relaxed."

"i feel relaxed..."

"when we're done with our bath, i'll help dry you off, put on some lotion, and help you into a nice, soft robe... and you can enjoy this feeling for the next few hours... unable to wake up. you'll feel the soap in your skin... you'll smell the lavender... you'll feel how clean and soft your body is. how clean and soft your mind is. and you'll want to keep it that way. you won't want to ruin it."

normally, it was difficult for him to stay in trance for extended periods of time, especially without someone actively giving him suggestions throughout it.

still, right now, he had a feeling it would be a while before he would come back up. they were right. he didn't want to ruin it. he wanted to feel his clean body against the clean sheets when he went to bed that night. to feel his clean mind against their suggestions of sleep. softness rubbing against softness. no friction. no resistance. he only wanted to relax.