After their hasty lunch, Little A literally wolfed down her sandwich, they headed for the beach. Stanford took a few precautions before leaving the boat. He took the cellular phone the twins had insisted his brother and himself should get, in case Stanley needed to call him to quickly come back, and put it in the back pack he was taking with him. He was also bringing some sunscreen, one of his notebooks, you never know what could be washed off shore, and snacks for Little A and himself, some dry fruit b« So you want me to believe that in the last thirty years or so, you've never been sick like this before? » Stanford asked Stan's back from the doorframe of their bathroom aboard the Stan O War II while juggling a young four year old toddler that just wanted to be anywhere but in his arms.
Ford put Little A's coat on, they had gotten her at the retail store, her rain boots and the outdoor hat to hide her ears. Her tail was another issue, but he could always say that it was a costume, that's what Stan had said to the group of parents that had gathered around them the last time they were at the park. Her tail was usually idle, especially in public, so it worked, except when she got excited. They had tried to tuck the tail in her pants, but the little girl had just squirmed and looked deeply uncomfortable by that. Her ears were moving too much to write out as a costume, so they had gotten her a hat. Her adult counterpart was already doing it daily, so the toddler complied to the hat dutifully. They just had to find one big enough that it wouldn't crush them underneath. And the cream outdoor hat fit the purpose perfectly. He still hoped they wouldn't meet too many people down there.
The walk from the marina, where the Stan O War II was decked for the time being, to the beach was about ten minutes long and was still too long to the toddler's taste. As soon as they had exited the boat and started to walk on the pier, Little A had dashed to the other side, not waiting for Stanford. He had to catch up to her quickly before she would escape his line of vision. She was quite the handful and according to Stan, she was mild compared to Mabel and Dipper.
He had hoped she would walk calmly next to him, picking up his energie, but she didn't. She was too excited to go to the beach to calm down. She was dragging him. The old scientist didn't want his back to kill him the next day, so he picked her up and rested her in his arms. This seemed to settle her rebunchus energy for the moment, maybe the proximity helped. She had an eager look on her face and looked everywhere around them.
The weather was a bit chilly, but with both their coats on, they were fine. Lots of clouds covered the sky above them, but none seemed threatening to rain. Not a beautiful day, but a pleasant one nonetheless.
To get to the beach, they had to cut through the small coastal village they were currently docked in and then followed a road next to a small cliff. He tried to keep a low profile while traversing the village, but it didn't work out as well as he'd hoped. Nobody really talked to them, but he was an old man walking with a toddler in his arms and a backpack on. They must've think, he was a grandfather taking his grandkid to the park, or in this case the beach. It earned him endearing looks and whispers from all the bystanders around them. He paid them no mind, but couldn't help his cheek from turning red and not just because of the sea wind blowing up.
After they exited the village, Little A stood still for a moment, Stanford noticed her hat jumping up and down atop her head. Her ears must've been moving underneath. Her nose twitched and she looked expectantly to their left. « We here! We here! » she exclaimed and started to jump in his arms.
Stanford looked and saw the pebbled beached extending on the left. A wooden staircase allowed people to access it from the road. It looked well used and worn down by years of wind and waves crashing into it, but was still holding on. It protested loudly when Ford stepped on the first stair but didn't give way, fortunately.
Stanford looked around for a moment, taking in their surroundings. It might not have been a sandy beach, but it was still better than the glass shard one Stan and him grew up with. The pebbles had all been smoothed with years of erosion by waves and winds. The tide was low and had revealed lots of huge boulders that created tons of tidepools everywhere for at least half a miles. All there for them to explore and observe. Probably filled with little sea creatures trapped there for the time being. The air smelled of sea salt and seaweeds, the latter were scattered everywhere. I mean, even on the deck of the Stan O War, the air smelled of sea salt, but it seemed to be stronger here. The seaweeds must've been a factor in the matter. It still made a smile creep on Ford's face.
When Little A's wiggles started to get too wild in his arms, he released her. Even before he had deposited her on the ground, her feet were already kicking and running. As soon as she was set free, she bolted it, sending pebbles flying everywhere behind her. She ran left and right, not seeming to know where to go. She stopped when she came close to a tidepool and peered inside, making little cooing noises. She turned around to look at him. « Sisser! Wassat? » She pointed at something in the pool.
Stanford strolled to her side and crouched down, taking out his notebook and pen out. He looked inside the pool. The water was clear and he saw a few little wildlife. Shrimps were swimming here and there, going from one hiding place to the other. Some small colorful fishes were there, but they weren't what Little A was pointing at. He followed her gaze and landed on a round bright red spiky ball with purple dots. « Well little one, it seems to be a sea urchin, but I've never seen one colored like this. This is interesting. » He frowned and wrote down a few observations.
Little A frowned, mimicking him a little, and tilted her head. « whassa 'pecial 'bout the color? Looks ill like 'Tan ta me. » She had a puzzled look on her face.
Stanford was reminded that red was one of the colors she didn't really see well. So to her, the sea urchin must've looked quite white if she thought it looked like Stan had this morning. He rested a reassuring hand on the toddler's back and rubbed little circles. « No it doesn't look ill little one, don't worry. It's actually quite red. Not a common color for sea urchin. By the looks of it's spikes, it seems to be in pretty good health. »
Little A nodded, happy with his answer. « Wassa sea wurchin? »
Stanford automatically went into lecture mode and started to recite all the information he remembered about those sea creatures. « Well sea urchin, or Echinoidea, are small spiny round animals like this one! They live in all of the earth's oceans around the world. They live in depth ranging from the tide line to 15,000 feet deep. As you can see, they don't have any legs, so they basically live their whole life on the oceans floor. They are prey items for eels and otters, so their main defense against them is their hard shell and spikes. There are over 950 different species of sea urchins across the world, but I don't remember reading anything about bright red sea urchins. This is fascinating. »
Little A looked back at the sea urchin with bright eyes. « Fascinating... » she whispered. Ford looked at her. This felt great. He had done those types of speech to Mabel and Dipper back in Gravity Falls, but explaining this to a toddler wasn't the same. He wasn't sure she understood everything he had just said to her, but she seemed satisfied with his answer. Her tail was waving happily behind her. « Imma touch it! » She moved one of her hands toward the sea urchin.
Stanford made a strangled noise and stopped her before she could reach it. « No! Most sea urchins have poisonous spines, little one. Please don't touch it. » Ford warned her and gently pulled her wrist away from the sea urchin.
« OK... » She rested her hands on her knees and looked at the pool a little more before moving on.
Ford scribbled down more notes about the sea urchin, while Little A explored the beach. He kept an ear out to track where she was. It wasn't that hard, since they were pretty much the only people down at the moment. The only sounds around him were the wave crashing against boulders in the distance and Little A stepping on pebbles and talking to herself. He heard some seagulls flying overhead in the distance as well.
His thought came back to what Mabel and Dipper must've been when they were little kids. Did they go beachcombing with Shermy or Stan? Or just explore some woods to see all the critters that lived there? Asking whoever they were with questions about everything and nothing. He could always ask them or Stan when they got back to the ship, but he wasn't sure he would like the answer. He felt his shoulder drop a little and the corner of his eyes getting blurry. He rested his pen down and rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand. He took a shuddering breath and steadied himself. No point in dwelling on the past at this point. Stan has assured him that it wasn't a big deal, so he won't make one.
He realized after a moment how everything felt silent around him. He turned his head to see what Little A was up to. He spotted her a few yards away. How did she get this far, this fast? He stood up, tucking his notebook under his arm and started to strode to her, when he stopped to ponder for a moment. She was crouched down, very low to the ground and was trying to sneak on a seagull swarm. He chuckled and pulled his phone out to take a photo. Stan and the kids would love to see that.
He spotted some huge pieces of driftwood off to the side and settled down on one to observe what Little A was about to do. His notebook was already back out and scribbling down the progress of his little friend. Little A wasn't moving much at the moment, probably trying to gage the distance she still had to do to get to the swarm without being seen. When she did move it was only to shuffle little by little. Stanford realized that she would time her movements with the crashing of the waves, probably so that the seagulls couldn't hear her. She had a very good instinct for someone this young. He wasn't sure how good the eyesight of seagulls were, but they didn't seem to see the beige and ginger little form slowly creeping up on them. It was quite interesting to watch.
She managed to hide behind a boulder very close to the swarm and stopped moving. Stanford was still pretty far away, but he could sense that she was tensing up. Little A was crouched on herself, her legs tucked under her and her tail waving from side to side. She was about to jump on the swarm, Ford realized.
Little A stayed still and waited for the perfect moment to strike. After a while, she wiggled her little pelvis and lunged herself up at the swarm. Stanford found himself standing up at the same time she jumped. Almost instantly all the seagulls scattered everywhere and took off. Ford lost sight of the toddler under all the commotion and feathers flying everywhere. The birds were all squawking angrily at the toddler that had just jumped on them. He couldn't see much from his vantage point, but he got the impression that the seagulls were now circling something on the ground.
Stanford walked to the commotion and waved the birds away. « Shoo! Shoo! Get away you winged rats! » He called at the birds. The birds protested wildly, but flew away. He rested his hands on his hips and looked down. Little A was sitting on the ground, her legs sprawled in front of her. Ford reached her and cast a shadow on her. She looked backward at him, not turning her shoulders, and frowned. Her hat fell on the ground showing her ears. They were tucked atop her head. He could see that she was holding something in her hands « What have you got there, little one? » He asked her, raising an eyebrow.
« Feathers. » She answered grumpily, her eyebrow knitted together and lunged backward falling on her back. She kept a frown on her face and raised her hands above her, showing him her catch. Ford could see a couple of feathers trapped in between her fingers. Some of them had a bit of blood. Little A must've yanked them really hard. « Not managed ta catch bird... Too slippewie… Wanted the full bird » She dropped her arms on either side of her small frame and sighed. Opening her hands she let the feathers she was holding fly away.
Stanford took a seat next to her, facing the ocean. « Why did you want to catch a seagull? »
« Wanted for 'Tan. Wanted ta catch meat, ta help feel better... » She sighed loudly. She looked utterly defeated. Stanford snorted despite himself. He wasn't expecting that for an answer. Although it did make sense she would think of the well being of the people around her, but still. Going as far as to try to catch a seagull. He looked down at the toddler wondering if he had heard him. As soon as he saw her frown deepened, he knew she had caught him. He turned back toward the sea, but couldn't stop his shoulders from shaking. « No laughing! »
Ford couldn't help himself and muffed a laugh. He heard Little A moved next to him and glanced at her quickly. She was sitting on her knees and was looking straight at him. Her frown had deepened, her ears were flat, her tail had puffed up and there was a small growl in her voice when she spoke. « NO LAUGHING! Imma Sewious! »
He wasn't laughing at her failed attempt, but more at the expression she wore on her face. « I'm not laughing at you, little one. I even admire your noble intentions » He said raising his hands placantly. Little A had stood up and came close to him, resting her hands on her hips. « It's just… There isn't enough meat on a seagull to feed anyone. Even if you'd managed to catch one. » He explained calmly.
Little A's anger seemed to deflate instaneoulsy and she dropped to the ground. She raised her knees to her chin and sulked a little. « Oh... » She looked sad. « Wanted ta help... »
Stanford reached behind them and retrieved her hat. He dusted off some of the small pebbles that stuck to it before setting it back properly on her head. « I know, little one, I know » He rubbed circles on her back to soothe her. She leaned into the touch and side hugged him. « Don't worry about Stan, he's as strong as an ox. He'll pull through. » He felt her nod against his ribs.
They stayed like that for a few moments. Looking at the sea and listening to the sound of crashing waves. It felt nice and peaceful. His thoughts drifted to the different dimensions he visited in his travels. Despiste visiting some that looked close to this dimension, none seemed to give it justice quite like his home dimension. The way the salty wind would brushed against his face, the sound of the seagulls flying above and the crashing of waves on the shore. Even the smell of drying seaweed was something unique to this place. He sighed in contentment and closed his eyes for a moment.
A gurgling sound brought him back. He opened his eyes and looked at the little bundle sitting next to him. « Imma hungwie. » Little A said while pointing a finger at her mouth.
« Well it's a good thing I packed some snacks then » Stanford shoved the backpack off his shoulders and rummaged through it. He extracted the dried fruit bar and handed it to Little A, carefully removing the package before she sank her teeth in it.
« Thank you! » She said before taking a bite at the bar. She happily hummed to herself, rocking her feet in front of her and enjoying the snacks. It wasn't her favorite, but it was one of the few she could eat. Her favorite was raisin covered in chocolate, but that would have sent her to the bathroom faster than Stan had this morning. Her adult self could stop herself from eating too much chocolate but not the toddler. She liked to chew on bones too, but Ford didn't feel comfortable giving her some, especially in public.
Ford picked out his own bag of Jelly Beans and started munching on them. When Little A finished her bar, she tugged at Ford's sleeve and gave him her wrapping. « Thank you » said Ford, placing the wrapping in a pocket of his backpack to throw away later. He tucked his own snacks away and looked back toward the sea.
He took a look around them, trying to find something next to do. His eyes landed on a pile of dried seaweed that started to move around a few yards away from them. He nudged Little A on the shoulder and pointed to it, an eager smile on his face. « Arthuria look! » He whispered to the little girl. She looked up at him, curious and followed his gaze. « Something is moving in the seaweeds over there! Want to check it out? » He looked down at the toddler. He couldn't contain the excitement creeping up in his chest. It was probably nothing that big, but it was still a small mystery to solve. A mystery he could solve with a young friend.
« Yeah! » The toddler answered and bolted to the seaweed pile.
Ford was right behind her. They both stopped near the seaweeds. He spotted a branch nearby and used it to lift some of the sea weeds out of the way. « Well would you look at that. » He exclaimed while unraveling a school of crab. There were a few of them, they were pretty small, except for one that seemed to be taking care of the smaller ones. He crouched down and examined them. They were pretty unusual… Ford took his notebook out and scribbled down some more. « Now, you see little one, usually crabs don't take care of each other like that. They might live together, but they are not a social species by any means. This here is quite unusual, the bigger one seems to be taking care of the smaller one, almost like a mother cat takes care of her kitten OR a wolf taking care…. of her… pups...»
He stopped his lecture when he felt two tiny hands grad his coat and a little body pressed himself against his side. He turned to see Little A trembling next to him. Her tail was tucked close to her legs and her lips were quivering. He raised an eyebrow at the sight. « What's wrong little one? » He inquired. The little girl looked frightened by something. He couldn't recall seeing her this scared or distressed, except when she had found his stack of Jelly Beans and biting him. He sighed at the memory and rested a hand on her shoulders, she was trying to be so small that his hand covered them both. He squeezed her gently, trying to get her attention. She looked up and her pupils were dilated. Something was scaring her. « What's wrong? »
She looked away and hid her face in his coat, muffling her answer. « I didn't hear that, little one. » He gently pushed her away from him so that her head wasn't in his coat anymore.
She didn't hide her face in his coat or shy away. Little A had a strong grip on his coat. « The little cawbies awe scawie »
« I'm sorry? » He blinked at her owlishly a couple of times.
She pointed to the pack of crab in front of him. « The cwabies awe scawie! » She wasn't curled on herself anymore and strengthened her posture.
« Why are they scarry? »
She frowned and looked seriously at him. « No laughing? » She asked him, raising an eyebrow.
Ford couldn't help the smug smile that crept up on his face. He looked her in the eye and replied « No promises! »
She reeled back. Little A hadn't expected him to answer like she had this morning. She looked dumbfounded for a moment before clutching his coat tightly again. She sighed and confessed « They walk weird. » Ford raised an eyebrow. « They move sideways. Is fweakie! »
Stanford slowly turned his head away and tried to take a calm compose breath. He removed his hand from her shoulder and rested it under his nose, trying to muff the fit of laughter that was creeping up on him. He didn't promise anything to the toddler, but he still thought it wouldn't be a good idea to laugh at her.
His eyes landed on the crabs in front of him. They were walking sideways, next to each other, not totally looking where they were headed. His shoulders shook again. Little A was right, it was a bit freaky. The crabs started to walk back toward the sea, causing Ford to laugh more. Little A moved forward a bit, extracting herself from his back. « You are right little on. That is freaky »
She raised her head and showed him a shy smile. « Fweaky » She told the crab as they crawled away. Stanford laughed out loud. Little A was a bit surprised by his reaction, but started to giggle with him. In a few moments they were both leaning against each other, roaring with laughter. Little A was the one leaning the most and Ford was just trying to keep his balance.
Stanford got his breathing under control and whipped the mirth from the corner of his eyes. Little A wasn't holding his coat anymore and had strengthened up. Her tail was happily wagging behind her. Their laughing fee had calmed her down and she wasn't scared or clinging to him anymore. She looked at him with sparks in her eyes. « Feeling better? » He asked her while ruffling her hat.
She shoved his hand away and nodded enthusiastically. Little A looked around them for a moment, before shining a mischievous grin at him. She stood on her tiptoe and raised her hand high above her head. Stanford was puzzled as to what she was gonna do. She slapped her hand on his nose and shouted « TAP! You it! » and took off. Little pebbles flying everywhere behind her.
Stanford just stood there, she had gotten him off guard. Little A was still running away, not looking back. Ford got to his feet and sprinted after the toddler. « It's on, little one! » He yelled at her. She giggled and cooed some more and started to zig zagged everywhere to avoid his grasp. Ford might've missed doing these sort of things with Mabel and Dipper, but he won't miss out with this little toddler.
Ford and Little A kept running and exploring the beach for most of the afternoon. Despite her small size and stature, the little girl could still run pretty fast. She did lack the stamina that would've allowed her to keep running for hours on end. They ended up going back to observe more of the tidepool and what lived inside at the moment.
Stanford only decided they should head back to the boat when some of the shadows became more stretched, the tide started to rise and when Little A yawned and rubbed her eyes for the fourth time in a row. They both had pretty red cheeks from the wind and running around all afternoon. As they walked back to the wooden staircase, she struggled to put one foot in front of the other, Stumbling on the pebbles under her feet, so Stanford resulted in carrying her in his arms.
She had protested a little at first, but as soon as Ford rested her on his arms, she tucked herself against his chest and stopped moving. Stanford could feel her breathing even out and becoming very slow. She held his coat tightly in her hands, humming quietly some song Ford had never heard. Considering how exhausted she was, it probably didn't make any sense. Even her tail was dangling above his forearms, limply.
As they walked back into town to get to the marina, new by standards glanced at them and whispered to themselves. Ford barely paid them any attention, he didn't need that at the moment. He had spent a wonderful afternoon with Little A at the beach and he doubted anything could change his good mood. He kept walking and paid them no mind. A contemptuous smile was stuck to his features.
« What a cute little sweetheart! What's her name? » A voice came from his left side making him jump. Instinctively his hold on Little A tightened as he looked at the stranger that had sneak up on him. A middle aged woman, with a bag of groceries was now standing next to him. She looked younger than him, but her hairs were turning grey around her temple. She was looking at them with an endearing look on her face.
« Excuse me? » Ford managed to ask the stranger, slowing down his stride to a stop. He turned around to face the women.
The stranger laughed a little « Your grand-daughter, what's her name? » she asked while depositing her bags on the ground.
« Oh! She's not… She's not my grand-daugther. » Stanford spluttered. He wished Stan was here to deal with this. « Me and my brother are babysitting… For an old friend. »
« Oh, I'm sorry. I've heard from the town that you just spent all afternoon on the beach with her and just assumed... » The woman started to say.
« Yes well… She's not. » Ford deadpanned. He knew his social skills had improved over the years, but he just didn't want to have a conversation at the moment. He had spent a lovely afternoon with the toddler and he didn't want to think of her as a pillow for everything he missed out of. He couldn't call her or think of her as his grand-daughther. The women looked a bit hurt by his answer. He sighed. « Her name is Arthuria. Her mother was a big fan of the Arthurian legends, so… She named her in honor of the King of Knights. » He explained. He left out the part where Arthuria's mother wanted a boy instead.
The woman shifted her gaze back to the toddler. Her mood seemed to have improved a little by his answer. « Hi Arthuria. Did you enjoy your afternoon on the beach with… I'm sorry I didn't catch your name? »
« Stanford. My name is Stanford. »
« With Stanford? »
Little A nodded silently, rubbing her cheeks against his coat. She didn't have the energy to speak or was too shy to answer with words, Stanford couldn't tell. « She's a bit tired from her afternoon, we were heading back to our ship to get settled for the night, aren't we Little A? » He rocked her a little. The toddler nodded again and loudly yawned. Ford chuckled, some of the tension he hadn't realized he had in his shoulders melting away, she had sounded like a little puppy.
« Oh, I'm sorry to keep you! I better get going myself. I've got three mouths waiting for me back home. » She bent down to grab her bags back and headed out toward a yellow and red house. « It was nice meeting you both. I hope to see you again in town some time. I'm Ruth, by the way. » She turned around and left them both.
Stanford stood there for a moment. Trying to process what this conversation had been about. she had wanted to know their identity but why? What would she gain from that conversation? Little A giggled in his arms. He turned his attention to her. « What's funny, little one? »
« Sisser has a girlfriend » Murmured the toddler. She giggled some more and stopped when another yawn caught her.
« We really need to head back. You aren't making sense anymore » He resumed his walk, ignoring the little grumbling noise Little A made at his comments. Still, he felt his cheeks getting warmer.
They walked the rest of the way to the ship in silence. By the time they reached the Stan O War II, the sun had started to set. Little A's head was banging nails on his chest. The thought occurred to Stanford that he should've given her a nap before heading to the beach. She wouldn't be this tired now if he had the foresight to it.
They reached the cabin in total silence and darkness. Ford rested Little A on the sofa and turned some lights on. The toddler grumbled at the sudden brightness that filled up the room and rubbed her hands on her face, trying to stay awake. Stanford took a quick glance inside their bedroom, making sure his brother was still there. He saw a mass on the bed, still there, rising and sinking to the rhythm of it's breathing. Satisfied, he grabbed Little A's pjs hastily, turned back to the living room and thought for a moment and smiled. He took her and his coat off and hanged them near the door.
« Ok, little one, here's what we are going to do » He said, clapping his hands together. The sound startled the little girl and woke her up a little. She looked at Stanford and tilted her head on one side, making her lose her balance, landing sideways on the couch. She didn't break eye contact with him the whole time. She blinked a couple of times to keep herself awake. Ford smiled and continued. « We're going to eat a bowl of cereal for supper. » Her eyes light up at that statement. « Then you'll have a bath and it'll be bedtime. How does that sound to you? »
Little A lifted her arms above her head, while being sideway on the sofa. « Yay! » She exclaimed while stretching her back. She crawled off the sofa and walked to the table while Stanford took two bowls and spoons from the cupboard and set them down. She rested her hands on the chair with the book pile and followed Stanford movements with her eyes. She seemed a bit more alert then she had a minute ago. He rested her pjs on the table, away from their eating area, he didn't want it to get dirty.
Ford turned around and retrieved the cereal box. He picked Little A up and set her on the pile of books. He filled both bowls up with cereals and milk and handed one of the spoons to Little A. She grabbed a spoonful of cereal and shoved it in her mouth. She was happy and humming to herself, tail swishing back and forth behind her back. Her eyes were half opened. She was getting sleepy.
They both ate their breakfast supper in silence. Stanford wouldn't admit it out loud, but the events of the day were starting to wear him down too. He was doing a good job at hiding his exhaustion, but now that he was seated, relaxed and alone with the toddler, he could feel his eyes getting heavy. He rested his head on his hand to keep it steady, but he felt it slip and sat up straight right away. It wasn't that bad, he just needed to hold on until Little A had taken her bath.
This is what it feels like to take care of young children, he pondered. Of course, he had taken care of the toddler with Stan the last couple of weeks. That's the thing, it was him and his twin together and now that he thought about it, it was mostly his twin that dealt with her more. Today he had taken care of her all alone. He wasn't going to complain, he had spent an amazing day, but it really had drained him. And people with… with grandkids did this all the time. It felt so strange and so natural to him at the same time. He did feel a twinge of sadness at the thought that he hadn't done it with his niblings, but neither of them held it against him. Maybe this was a chance to experience this, even if it was with another kid. He decided to ask Mable and Dipper the next time they'll call them.
Stanford was brought out of his thoughts by a weak tug at his sleeve. He looked down to see Little A handing him her empty cereal bowl. « Imma done! » She told him with a little milk mustache on her lips. She licked some of it off, but not all of it.
Stanford looked down at his own bowl. He was mostly done with his meal himself. He took her and his bowl back to the sink. Rinsing them both hastily, before turning back helping the toddler off the book pile. He grabbed her pjs and moved her to the bathroom.
She never made a fuss about taking a bath whenever Stan asked her to take one. She likes taking baths. The only problem is that she likes it a bit too much. She would splash in their tub and make water go everywhere around her. They always had to spend the next half hour drying it up to make sure no moitures would grow afterward.
Tonight with the way she was carrying herself, Stanford was pretty sure she wouldn't play too much around. He setted her pjs on the toilet and got to work on filling up the tub with warm water and soap. He sat in front of the tub on his knees. He rolled up his sleeves up to his elbows and tested the temperature after a moment. When he deemed it right he turned around to look at Little A. She was sitting on her pjs on the toilet, kicking her feet while waiting for her bath. Her eyes were still half opened. « Come here little one, let's get you ready. »
Little A jumped off and came next to him. Stanford helped her out of her overalls and socks and moved to her shirt. Thanks to Stan's surprising skills in sewing and taxidermy he managed to make some holes in her pants for her tail. They were designed to make her feel comfortable and restrained her. Stanford couldn't help but admire his twin's handywork. He moved to her shirt and she raised her arms up to help him.
As soon as he got her undressed, he hastily put her down in the bath. She settled herself and grabbed the two sponges on the side of the bathtub and handed one to Stanford. He sighed in relief, she really was tired. By that time, when she wasn't tired, her sponge would be flying everywhere as her imagination turned it into a plane or something else. Ford took the sponge from her hands and started to wash her. Little A washed her arms, legs, face and belly while Ford worked on her back, hair and tail.
They both hummed a peaceful song. Stanford found he had to hold her back straight otherwise she was tilting forward and falling asleep. He started to wash her hair and ears. As he moved around them, he laughed as they twitched a little when he got too close. He quickly realised how tired she looked and decided to cut her bath time short and set her up for the night as fast as possible. Just soaking in bubble water should be enough for tonight. « All right that should be enough for tonight. What do you think, Arthuria? »
The little toddler slowly turned to look at him. She gave him a dopey smile and nodded. Yeah, that was the best solution for tonight.
Stanford reached for the bath cap and was about to pull, when he noticed Little A going stiff. Her ears were perked up and twitching left and right. She looked a bit more alert. Raising her head she sniffed with her nose and smiled brightly. Her tail started to stir the water. He opened his mouth to ask her what was going on when he heard a creaking sound behind him.
« So that's where ya guys are. » A gruff voice said behind him.
« TAN! » Little A exclaimed, tail wagging wildly, making water splashes everywhere. Stanford closed his mouth just in time before drops of soap and water landed on him.
Ford raised his head placantly in front of the toddler. « Easy!Easy! Little A! » He said. The toddler calmed down and smiled. Ford was now fully drenched and soaked. Ford turned around to see his brother stepping into the bathroom. He had changed his tank top and boxers for a clean white shirt and some dark sweatpants. His face and features had more colors than this morning. His cheeks were pink and his eyes were bright. He was standing upright, resting his fits on his hip.
Stanford smiled at the sight of his brother standing on his feet and smiling brightly back. « You don't look as dead on your feet as you did this morning. » Stan bowed dramatically at him while he stood up. He removed his wet bangs from his face and looked at his twin. « Well since you're looking better, you can help Little A get into her pjs while I go change into something… less wet? »
« Sure, go change, sixer. I'll handle things from here. » Stan walked toward the bathtub and pathed Ford on the shoulder as he passed him. He picked up a dry towel and bent down in front of the tub. Little A was smiling at him, her arms raised so he could pick her up and dry her out. « What about you, sweet pea. You're wet enough? Ya wanna get out? »
« Huh huh! Imma clean! » Stanford heard her say as he exited the room. She then proceeded to explain to Stan everything they had done and see during the day. He let them be and headed for their bedroom to change into his own nightly attire and set his wet clothes in a corner of their room. He looked at the pile of clothes and realises they were overdue for a trip to the nearest laundromat.
Ford looked at his bed and considered just stepping into it right away, leaving Stan with Little A for the evening. Getting some much needed rest, that he didn't expect he'd want.
« Stanford Filbrick Pines! Why is Arthuria saying ya made a girlfriend!? » Guess not.