⌚ New Experiences

29. The Other Way to Eat

Eventually, the milk was all gone. Spanky didn't stop sucking, but after a few moments he realised that there was no reason to keep sitting like that. His eyes flickered open, to see how Dawn was reacting. He could already hear her contented breathing, as his head was resting against her chest, but it was good to see that she seemed as embarrassed as he was. She slowly stretched, a wide grin on her face, like the happiest kitten he'd ever seen. Spanky found himself stretching and purring just the same. It wasn't that he couldn't help himself this time, but that he couldn't think of anything better to do. He felt better than he ever had before, and he was sure that Dawn was feeling just the same.

"Aren't they adorable?" Paper smiled, "My two little babies."

"I'm not a baby," Spanky replied automatically, but his heart really wasn't in it. He was a little embarrassed that he'd done something so babyish, but he felt so good that it was hard to care. He'd happily be a baby again if it meant he could feel so safe, so content, and not have to worry about anything.

"Of course you're not. Would you like to show us what a big girl you are?" Lulu came up to where Paper and the cubs were snuggled in the middle of the bed, and offered the pizza box again. Spanky knew he should take a slice, to prove that he was a big girl now, but compared to the meal he'd just finished it was hard to be excited about anything else.

Dawn stretched forward though, managing to grab a slice in both paws. She struggled to hold it without dropping it, and a lot went on her face before she did find her mouth and smiled with satisfaction. Well, Spanky wasn't going to be beaten. He had to prove he was just as big as his little sister. So he reached out for the pizza too, and fumbled a piece towards his mouth. He was sure it was normally easier, but he managed to eat most of it. The tangy tomatoes, and the sweetness of some of the toppings, reminded him right away why he'd been so excited when Mommy said they were having pizza delivered.

Then the race was on. There was only one pizza, with six slices remaining, and if Dawn ate faster than him Spanky knew he would end up having less of this treat. Dawn seemed to have thought the same thing, because she was already scrabbling to grab a slice out of the box. Spanky took the piece next to it, and held it by the end with the stiff crust on so it didn't bend so much. He was super proud that he'd managed to think of something so clever, but straight away his glow of pride turned into annoyance as Dawn gave up on her slice and took Spanky's right out of his paws.

"Hey!" he glared, but he couldn't hit someone so cute, even if she was the annoying sister he'd been competing with all his life. He grabbed another slice instead, and stuffed as much as he could into his mouth before treating Dawn to a sauce-coated paw on the top of her head. If he couldn't eat faster, then he was sure some kind of distraction would slow her down, and he was just using the first thing that came to hand. It was so easy, so obvious, he wondered why he'd never thought of it before. Because he hadn't been clever enough, he decided. He was finally turning into a grown-up now, and that meant he could think of smarter ways to solve his problems.

Dawn took a deep breath, and for a second Spanky froze, expecting her to cry. He knew that would be bad, because Mommy would always blame him when Dawn was upset. It was like if she was upset over something it always had to be his fault, and he really didn't want to be in trouble now when he hadn't even done anything wrong.

But she didn't cry. She swallowed the food that was in her mouth, stuck out her tongue, and blew a raspberry at Spanky, daring him to do his worst. He was going to, but he wasn't expecting the next handful of cheese to land right between his eyes. He blinked to clear them, struggling to see, and noticed Dawn was already biting into the piece of pizza he'd had his eye on next. Then the battle was started properly, with cheese and pizza sauce flying in all directions. Spanky even forgot that they were supposed to be eating, and instead focused on getting as much of the sticky stuff as possible onto his sister's fur. He knew she'd hate that, even though she was managing to coat herself with food pretty well on her own.

("You owe me for this," Paper's lips shaped the words as she gave her Mistress a stern glare. "Getting covered in sauce isn't my idea of fun." Spanky and Dawn were too preoccupied with their own battle to see the words, or to realise that they were having a food fight while still sitting in Mommy's lap. Lulu just grinned, and continued holding a single finger up in the air. One finger, without a single touch, that had the power to stop the much stronger tiger from disciplining her cubs. It wasn't so much a power, but a promise of what could happen later.)

"Now," Lulu smiled when the pizza was all gone, "I think someone needs to be cleaned up again. Is it bath time for these little kittens?"

"Don't need a bath!" Dawn pouted, before Spanky could find the words. "Spanky showed me how to wash before, I bet we can get clean without a bath."

"No, I think you need to be washed properly," Paper answered, "And so do I. You've made a bit of a mess here."

"Sorry, Mommy," Spanky lowered his head, "I didn't mean to get you all saucey."

"Pleeeease," Dawn tilted her head to one side and gave Paper the cutest expression she could manage, her eyes seeming to grow three sizes as she blinked slowly. "Can Spanky try to get me clean and prove we can?"

"Well..." Lulu mumbled, "If you really want to. I guess you two can try to get each other clean, and I'll lick Paper clean, and then anybody who's still dirty can have a proper bath and not argue."

"Okay!" Dawn perked up, the sadness in her pose evaporating in an instant.

"Okay," Paper nodded, "While it's you, Dawnie. You seem to be the responsible one today. You think you can get washed by yourself?"

"Yes. We can do it. No peeking. We're gonna show you how good we can be!"

Spanky looked back and forth between the two of them while they talked. He didn't know what was going on now, he was pretty sure that they were both too messy to be cleaned up with just water and towels. They needed a proper bath, as much as he didn't want to have one.

As they got to the bathroom door, Spanky looked back. His room looked like a bomb had gone off. A pizza-sauce bomb, maybe, smearing food all over Paper, and all over the towel she'd spread out on the bed as well. Lulu was probably the only clean thing in the room, and she looked questioningly at Paper before the two were out of sight.

"You really think they can get clean?" Lulu asked.

"No," she said, and then waited for the door to close before continuing. Spanky didn't need to hear why they'd been given this chance: "But Dawn wants some time without adults in the room. I think she's aiming to misbehave again, and I felt I should give her the chance."

"You think we'll have to bath and change them afterwards?"

"I'm sure of it. But right now, I believe you said something about helping to get this sauce out of my fur."