19 - Feeding the Tiger (2)

"We're letting you two get away with too much just because you're good to look at," Alair grumbled.

"Well…no one has ever bossed us around before," Kai said. "Everyone respects us." He stared at Alair, looking a little aggrieved. After all, even though he was quiet by nature, Kir was an impressive human and could easily scare other people (and did it fairly often, too). And Kai himself was a big, magnificent tiger. Most animals and their humans were terrified of him!

"We respect you too," Ilari said soothingly, as if placating a small child, and rubbed Kai's ears.

The tiger leaned into the touch. "We only allow you two to behave like this," he told Ilari. "We are very fierce with other people and we give orders."

"Naturally," Alair said haughtily.

Kai gave Ilari an injured look.

Ilari giggled and hugged the tiger, stroking his lush fur. "Don't mind Alair," he said. "He's a bit spoilt."

If tigers could purr, Kai would be purring rather loudly by now.

Kir watched them indulgently and Alair climbed up on his lap, nudging him until the man stroked his fur. Then the silver cat fell asleep.

"Does your space element allow you to store food for a few days?" Ilari asked Kir. "I read there was an old chef who used to keep her specially seasoned ham in her space for up to five months, and it'd still be really fresh."

"Maybe not quite that long," Kir replied.

Ilari frowned. "How long will you be travelling? The maximum limit?"

"I should be back it three days…but in the worst case scenario…perhaps five days." Kir paused. "I'll try to return as soon as I can."

"Can you store food safely for a week?" Ilari asked.

Kir nodded.

"So, if I pack meals for you two, would it remain edible?" Ilari asked. "Would you be able to heat up stuff? And keep things refrigerated?"

Kir smiled slightly. "I don't have kitchen appliances in my space…but the hotel room will have them."

Ilari was relieved. "Good," he said. "I'll pack a week's worth of meals for both of you, and I'll put labels on them." He furrowed his brow. "You are able to use gadgets to heat things, right?"

Kir laughed heartily. "Yes, dear," he replied.

"Oh, he's already nicely henpecked," Alair muttered, not opening his eyes. "Marry this one, Ilari."

"Seconded," Kai added, raising a big paw.

The two humans blushed furiously.

---

A few hours later, a mountain of meals in neatly packed, oven-safe, disposable boxes with colour-coded labels in Ilari's clear handwriting was placed before Kir. Kai, who had been hanging around in the kitchen with Ilari (and had been happily snacking – well, officially, taste-testing for Ilari as his self-proclaimed assistant) and Njall, who had joined them at some point (and mooched off his fair share of snacks as his elderly privilege), flanked Ilari, who looked quite pleased with himself, his blue eyes glowing with satisfaction.

Kir flushed as he took the checklist Ilari handed him.

"There's enough for a week and a little extra. They are colour coded and labelled in order of meals and freshness, and I've indicated what should be cooled and what should be heated, as well as the optimum temperatures before eating. I'll also send reminders at mealtimes on your phone. If your trip is likely to extend, let me know on the sixth day; I'll arrange for more," Ilari explained.

Kir's golden eyes glowed. "Don't spoil us too much, Ilari," he said softly. "If you choose not to marry me when our dating period is over…I may not be able to stomach someone else's food."

Ilari blinked. "I'll ensure you and Kai are fed properly for the rest of my life," he promised seriously. Then he blushed and added quickly, "Even if we don't get married. It's the least I can do for you."

Kir didn't respond. Instead, he focussed on the meal-boxes and put them away in his space carefully.

Kai nudged Ilari. "Don't mind my human," he whispered. "We are not used to such…care. He just…doesn't know what to say."

Ilari's heart twinged. I could learn to love them, he thought to himself.

Njall nudged Kai, his copper eyes two parts affectionate and three parts protective. The jaguar and the silver-haired human exchanged a look.

Alair, who had been sleeping (and purring) on Kir's lap, raised his head lazily and sniffed delicately.

"Oh, you made that soup," he said to Ilari. "I want a bowl."

Ilari rolled his eyes. "There's plenty in the kitchen. I made enough for everyone."

Alair huffed and looked up at Kir. "Get me some soup, Kai's human," he ordered.

"Behave," Ilari scolded his cat. "I swear I will make you eat healthy food for a month if you continue to be so lazy."

Alair shuddered violently, making everyone else burst out laughing.

"Meanie!" Alair accused childishly. Then he curled up on Kir's lap and fell asleep again.

Ilari frowned. "Isn't he sleeping too much these days?"

"I'll ask Ivan to look into it," Njall said. "We haven't had a small cat in the family for a very long time…but maybe he'll remember something."

Kai looked rather guilty. "It's probably my fault," he murmured. "He has been showing me around the place and getting me familiarised with things around the house almost every night. We spent almost an hour last night trying to open the fridge like Kenya does."

"But you're wide awake," Ilari remarked.

"I'm used to not sleeping much because of Kir's work. I can stay awake for five days straight like him," the tiger replied proudly.

Ilari and Njall looked appropriately horrified.

"That's really unhealthy!" Njall said.

"I'm adding a soothing tea to your dinner," Ilari said to Kir. "I'll give you a few flasks. And you need to send me a text before you go to sleep. I'll keep a checklist for your sleep patterns and have Mom review it."

He walked off before Kir or Kai could utter another word.