Tiny Troubles

Part 7

Previously on Tiny Troubles...

Cole smiled and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head...only to cringe as he felt the dried mud in his hair. "Er, I should probably shower and get all of this mud off," he said. Suddenly, his stomach let out a low rumble that made Zane laugh and Cole blush. "And maybe eat something..." the black ninja muttered.

Zane shook his head in amusement. "There are some sandwiches in the kitchen," he said, gesturing for Cole to follow him. "Come, I will help you get lunch."

Cole grinned at the prospect of getting food in his empty stomach. "Sounds like a plan," he cheered, walking after Zane.

~~~~

Part 7

Despite what some people may think, Cole was not obsessed with food. 

He could, however, appreciate how much better he felt when his stomach was full.

Cole sighed contently as he leaned back a little in his chair. Two halves of a PB&J sandwich, one cup of juice, and some apple slices were enough to satisfy his hunger. All I need now is a hot shower and I'll be golden, he thought.

At that moment, Zane walked into the dining hall. After helping make Cole some lunch and explaining that the others had gone out on a grocery run before Cole had gotten back home, the white ninja had left the room. What he was doing, Cole had no idea. He was a little too preoccupied with filling his empty stomach to ask.

"Where'd you go?" he decided to ask now.

"I drew a bath for you while you were eating," Zane explained, smiling at his now-much-younger-than-normal leader.

Cole felt his cheeks heat up in a light blush. "You didn't have to do that," he said, getting out of his chair. "I could have just taken a shower..."

"I figured that, considering your shorter stature, it would be much easier for you if you were to bathe in the tub than stand up and take a shower," Zane replied. "Plus, I read that it is advisable to wait until a child is at least eight years old before allowing them to bathe alone."

Cole blushed even further. "ZANE! Nuh uh! Not happening! Just because I'm five years old physically does not mean that I need someone watching me while I bath. That's--that's just so creepy!" he protested, shuddering at the thought.

Zane's brow furrowed slightly in worry. "But if something were to happen to you?" he asked.

"What could happen to me? I'm just taking a bath!"

"You could slip underneath the water and drown; you could slip and hit your head and seriously hurt yourself; you could slip and hit your head and drown; you could--!"

"Okay, okay!" Cole quickly interjected, seeing that Zane was getting more and more worked up the further he listed the dangers of him bathing without supervision. "A lot of things could happen." The little ninja bit his lip as he tried to think of a solution. "How about...you wait outside the door while I take a bath? That way, if something happens--not saying that anything would, just being hypothetical here--if something were to happen, you would be really close by and you can hear if something is wrong. That sound good?"

Zane frowned but nodded his head. "Very well," he said.

Cole breathed a sigh of relief. "Great, glad we worked that out," he replied, walking towards the bathroom. "Come on, let's go."

~~~~

When Cole stepped into the bathroom, he was stunned by the amount of effort Zane put into making sure that he had a proper bath.