-- Vivian POV, New Fairhagen --

  She felt exhausted once they got home from shopping and just flopped onto the couch in the living room.

  "Vivian you're still sweaty from all the running today. You should take a shower before you lounge on the couch", Tom's voice came from the kitchen where he put their food into the freezer.

  She knew he was right, but she still didn't want to. His nose was not nearly as good as hers, and if the couch had more Vivian scent on it, he wouldn't even notice.

  "Vivian, do you hear me?", his voice was louder this time.

  She hissed in his general direction.

  "Vivian get off the couch and under the shower!" he ordered.

  She heard him close the door of the freezer and he appeared in the kitchen door. She just laid flatly on the couch.

  "It's been you who wanted to run to every shop and back. And now suddenly you have no energy left to get under the shower?" He looked at her.

  She looked at him without showing much expression. Passive resistance was the true energy saver. And tomorrow was a new day for running.

  He sat down at her side and shook her at the shoulder, "Vivian you're all sweaty. You really need a shower."

  She tried her best puppy eyes impression.

  "You can be a lazy bitch at times," he scolded her.

  She sure could be after so much running like today. Rightfully so, even. He only ever had walked. She had been running to and fro.

  He slapped her rump.

  She hissed at him. Moving would cost too much energy.

  He got up from the couch, grabbed a wrist of hers and pulled. She let him pull.

  He grabbed both wrists and managed to pull her from the couch. She slumped to the floor.

  This might become a new game. She felt curious now what he'd do next. The bathroom was all at the other end of the apartment and he wasn't strong enough to lift and carry her all the way.

  To her surprise he grabbed her at her feet and began to drag her through the living room towards the door to his office. Shit. This way he was out of reach of her clawed hands and with her feet held by him this way she couldn't get enough leverage to .. do anything but being dragged.

  "Tom!" She complained.

  "What's the matter?" He was already orienting himself to the next door, the door to their bedroom.

  "Let my feet go!" She shouted and struggled her legs.

  "Nope. You'll just run back to the couch as I know you. It is shower time now", the door slid open behind his back and he dragged her further, this time towards the bathroom door.

  For a moment she pondered if she should try to get a hold on the bed or the carpet, but she actually didn't want to make it that much harder for him.

  The bathroom door slid open as he approached. She could spread her arms and grab both edges with her claws. If she wanted. He'd have no chance to drag her any further that way. Did she want to? Maybe next time.

  They passed the bathroom door and he twisted her legs to force her to lay on her belly. More options to reach things with her claws!

  Then she heard the beep of the privacy lock on the bathroom door. The grip on her ankles loosened, and a look confirmed he was holding them both between his forearm and body to have one hand free. If she wanted she could break free now. But the door was locked. She looked at the locked door. She had no idea if she could override the privacy lock.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Then she heard the shower being turned on and her feet given free. The next moment she was hit with cold water from the hand shower. She hissed and held her hands against the water stream, eyes closed, just to be hit again with cold water from a different angle.

  She tried to fight her way against the water towards Tom, but he was clever, sprayed her face in between so she could not see, and changed position, without her ears being able to track him over the hissing of the water spray.

  She jumped blindly in the rough direction where the water was coming from but had miscalculated, hit the rim of the bathtub and scrambled to soften the fall with her arms. Then she felt her bikini bottom pulled down her legs and cold water hit her just under her tail. She shot around with a furious hiss and tried to jump again, but slipped on the wet ground and had to protect herself from hitting anything hard with too much force when she fell. Clawed feline feet on wet ceramics just had no traction. Then she felt her top pulled upwards and she raised her arms to let it slip before the delicate fabric ripped.

  "Warm water!" She protested.

  "If you are good, you'll get warm water", he offered.

  "I give up! Warm water!" She shouted.

  She was still on all fours in the tub when the water turned warmer.

  Now he was distracted with the selection lever and the hand shower was in reach. She quickly snatched it from his hand and doused him with water. Yes, face first, he should learn too how it was to be blinded by water. Then all the places she considered sensitive. And she turned the selection lever back to cold.

  "My suit!" He exclaimed.

  "Too late! You started this", now she had the hand shower and kept dousing him.

  He tried to hold his hands defensively in front of himself, eyes kept closed. She kept showering him for a little more making sure to bypass his defenses from different angles just like he had done earlier.

  "Peace?" She eventually requested in a loud voice.

  "Peace", he confirmed and nodded, hands still held to protect his face from the water spray.

  "Alright", she turned off the water. The whole bath room with all towels was drenched now. They would need to get fresh towels ... later.

  "Get out of the stupid suit and let us shower properly!" It was hard to sound commanding with her melodic voice.

  "So, suddenly you want a proper shower?" He eyed her suspiciously but actually began to take off his soaked suit.

  "We are both wet already, so we can have a proper shower now, too. But you'll soap all my fur!" She declared firmly.

  "All your fur?" Another suspicious look from him.

  "All my fur", she confirmed with a nod.

  "I think we can talk about this", he made amends and she helped him to take off his soaked garments. Luckily the apartment complex had a laundry service which could take care of the mess later.

  She stepped back into the tub which also served as shower tray and hooked the hand shower to the holder up in the wall, adjusted the direction so it would shower them both if they stood close together in the tub.

  Tom joined her in the tub and pulled the curtain around them, quite useless now that the whole bathroom was already soaked wet.

  "Warm water!" She reminded him.

  "Warm water", he confirmed, set the selector lever to middle position, and started the water again.

  "Warmer!" She demanded.

  He turned the water a bit warmer. She knew he liked to shower colder than she did, so she didn't insist on even warmer water but just hugged him and let the water flow over them both. He stroked over her head and ears which gave her this welcome twitchy lightning sensation and she rubbed her cheek to his chest.

  "Feeling snugly?" He asked her.

  "Just reaping the moment", she nudged his chin with her snout, picked up the bottle of shower gel and offered it to him, "Soaping time."

  "You really want me to soap you?" He rose his eyebrows.

  "Yes. Head and back first", she turned her back towards him, and waited till he turned the water off. Her tail bounced between his legs. She considered that a good thing for the moment.

  Cool shower gel was applied to her head and she made sure to keep her eyes firmly closed. Shower gel in the eyes was mean stuff.

  She felt how his hands slowly made their way downwards her back and just before he got close to the base of her tail she pressed herself backwards against him, which resulted in him hugging her for a moment.

  "Front now. No peeking!" She instructed.

  She shuddered for a moment when fresh, cold shower gel was applied to her chest, then rose her snout, "Throat first, then down."

  "Vivian, what's gotten into you so suddenly?" He wanted to know.

  "You wanted a clean Vivian, now you get a chance to do all the work", she tried to sound matter-of-factly.

  He dutifully soaped her front and she had to try very hard not to squeak when his hands reached more private places.

  "Legs and tail too", she let him know.

  "Nope. You do those yourself", he declined.

  She felt the water being turned on again and her head rinsed with moderately warm water. She turned around to hold her snout deeper into the shower stream, but didn't dare to open her eyes yet till she was very sure there was no soap left at all in her face.

  She smiled at him, rose her arms, "Now rinse me all around."

  "And what about the 'no peeking'?" He asked.

  "You are not peeking are you?" She pretended to be totally unaware of the situation.

  He rinsed her front and she turned to let him rinse her back and sides as well.

  "Now it's time to clean the Tom", she declared.

  He looked at her, "Ah yes?"

  She stopped the water and picked up the shower gel bottle to squirt a good measure into her left hand, "Yes for sure. Can't have you dirty when we bounce test the bed. Now close your eyes. Hair wash first."

  She would have to be really careful now with her claws.