Laundry Day

For Fox McCloud, Laundry Day was at the end of the week, a ritual as comforting as it was necessary. It was comforting for its regularity, something that always signaled the end of a week and the start of a new one, and it was all the more comforting if he could do it in his own home instead of the Great Fox. Such was the case this morning.

Clad in a robe Fox brought down his basket of clothes, placed them in the washing machine and poured in his detergents and softeners, and walked to the kitchen to start his cup of coffee as the machine came to life. The sun was rising, and the birds were chirping, and the whirring of the machine added a calming domestic note to the natural tranquility.

Then he heard pawsteps coming down the stairs. His smile widened.

"Fox?" said Krystal.

"Hm?" said Fox, still looking outside.

"Good morning, first of all," she said, "and, you wouldn't happen to have any clothesline, would you? And a wash tub for clothes?"

"Oh, I have a washing machine and drier," he said, calling back over his shoulder.

"Oh really?" said Krystal. "I knew some folks who had them back home, but my mom and auntie always insisted on doing it the old-fashioned way. Said it brought the family together more and we could spend more time outside. So I never learned how to use one." She giggled. "Wouldn't mind teaching a vixen, Fox?"

"Of course," said Fox. He turned around and saw Krystal standing on the steps with her own bundle of clothes in her arms, and naked as the day she was born.

It was a credit to Fox's self-control that he did not drop his coffee mug. Instead his brain took a moment to reboot and process that, yes, Krystal was very much giving him an eyeful in profile. A blush appeared on his cheeks and he turned away. But he remembered the curves of her body. All of that view reinforced his opinion that she was the most gorgeous vixen he'd ever seen.

Krystal giggled. "Seems I've given you a fright, Foxy?"

Fox blushed more. "Just a surprise," said Fox. He was trying to find the view outside his window interesting, and failing.

Another soft giggle. "You can look, you know."

Fox's ears stood on end. Slowly he turned around, and Krystal was still there with a look on her face that was becoming a trademark. It was a gentle smile with kind eyes, with a bit playfulness tucked away for good measure. It never failed to make Fox bashful, weak in the knees, or warm and fuzzy inside. Right now, he was feeling the last sensation.

He tried to focus on this look, more than anything else.

"So, I'm guessing I missed something?" she said.

"Why are you naked?" said Fox.

"Well, typically, aren't you supposed to go through all your clothing first before you do laundry?" she asked.

"I usually have some stuff left over so I have something to wear, like this robe," said Fox.

"Must be a Cornerian thing," said Krystal, shrugging. Fox couldn't help but notice the bounce that motion brought, and he wondered if Krystal did that just for the bounce.

"I guess so," said Fox. "Here, let me get you one of my spare robes, then I can teach you about my washer and drier."


Once Krystal was dressed—though he could see his robe was in a losing battle to contain Krystal's figure in places—he showed her his washer and drier, two machines neatly placed together. Then he got to the explaining.

"This is where detergent and softener go, and this is where you decide what kind of cycle you want—"

"Cycle?" said Krystal.

"Basically, the main setting for the wash depending on what kind of stuff you are washing. There's a setting for bedsheets, towels, clothes, whites, and delicates."

"Delicates would mean underwear and other related clothing then, yes?"

"Yeah, exactly."

He could see Krystal mentally connecting the dots in her head. This still went on as he explained the drier, and she asked all her questions clearly. Something he admired in the vixen was how chipper she was in trying and learning new things. She was never daunted by new tech, and she would have it all figured out eventually.

"It all seems easy enough," said Krystal. "I'll start my clothes in the washer once yours are finished, okay?"

"Sure," said Fox.

"I suppose I'm stuck in this robe till then," she said, giving Fox a sly look. "You know, I cinched this robe as loose as I could, and it's still having trouble holding up."

"I can see that," said Fox, chuckling.

"So you have been looking, then?"

Fox froze a bit, and sighed. He took a sip of his coffee, and his tail was wagging.

"This vixen is trying to kill me," he said.

"Oh hush," said Krystal, hands on her hips and looking at him with playful admonishment. "I'm here to loosen you up, if nothing else."

"Oh, you're doing a fine job of it," he said, smiling.

"Don't I know it," she said, a proud look on her face.