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“No, no bath!” Pox said, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked down at Paul and Ticktock, “Pox clean enough for any stupid plan Paul has!” She then stuck her tongue out at the human.

Paul rolled his eyes, and let out an exasperated sigh, “Oh, so my plans are stupid now, huh?” he asked, “You thought they weren’t bad before.”

“That was before you try to trick Pox into getting bath with nasty soap!” she countered.

“I’m not trying to trick you, Pox, I was just offering. For my plan to work I need to have a bath. It’s the only way I can pass still being in good standing with my father enough to get by the workers at the growhouse.” He smiled and moved up closer, resting his hands on her hips, “Besides I thought you might find it romantic.”

Pox let out a snort, “What romantic about nasty soap and flower oil?” she asked with a huff.

Paul grinned a bit, running his nails along her side and he pressed close, “Well I wasn’t talking about that part since you hate it so much. I more meant, having me rubbing and touching every part of you. Massaging your whole body from head to toe,” he said. He continued to scratch over her sides, “You do like when I touch you, after all.”

Pox shivered a bit at the scratches, and her fur fluffed out as she nodded eagerly, “Yes, it nice when Paul isn’t afraid to touch Pox. But Paul doesn’t need to give Pox a bath for that!” she said and shivered again, squirming under his hands.

“No, but it would still be nice, wouldn’t it?” he asked, not letting up. He had learned some of Pox’s weak spots and he took full advantage of them to tease her, running his fingernails down her back along her spine and down to the base of her tail.

She shivered more and let out a soft gasp, especially when he scratched at the spots that were hard for her to reach. “Yes…would…” she said and closed her eyes. The human was getting to be quite the talented lover. “Pox make deal, will let Paul wash with water, but no soap!”

Paul smiled, ready to take that win, “Alright, deal,” he said and leaned in to give Pox’s nose a small bite. He then looked over at Ticktock and smiled to his smaller lover, “Would you like to join us, Tick?” he asked her.

Ticktock stretched from where she was sitting, looking at the innards of a disassembled watch before looking over and nodding, “I would like that, yes. Especially if you’ll brush my fur,” she said.

Paul nodded, “I can do that, and your hair too,” he said and gathered up a clean set of clothes, and the soap and the small grooming kit he had purchased with a few half moons during one of the market excursions they had gone on. One of the items in it was a hairbrush that ticktock had tried and fallen in love with. She had insisted on having him use it on her a few times over the past few weeks since he had gotten it.

Once the things were gathered, Pox took the lead and let Paul hold onto her tail to lead him through the dark tunnels, with Ticktock taking up the rear. They moved through the twisting maze of tunnels to an area near the kitchens where the rats had tied a pipe into one of the water pipes for the city, allowing them to draw fresh clean water for drinking. Similar tie-ins to the city’s gas infrastructure were used to allow them to divert small amounts of coal gas for limited lighting, and cooking.

The rats had set up the outlet of their water to drain into a large cistern, creating a shallow pool of water that was used for cleaning and bathing. Though they didn’t use anything like the soap Paul was accustomed to, many of the rats actually bathed and groomed themselves or each other pretty regularly. Pox was one of the minority that chose to do so rather infrequently compared to her peers. She claimed that being a plague carrier made her immune to most diseases, and so she didn’t see a need to worry about hygiene as much.

The trio arrived at the cistern, a large circular pool in a chamber dimly lit by a few gas lanterns. There there were a couple of other rats already in the cistern, swimming around in the cold water. Paul set his things on the edge and stripped out of his clothes. Despite the rats choosing to go naked or with minimal clothing, he preferred to stay fully dressed whenever possible. He then stepped down into the water, shivering as he did so. The cistern wasn’t deep, coming up to Paul’s chest while standing.

Pox and Ticktock took a few moments before joining him, entering the water slowly to get used to the cold. Paul had a feeling that the temperature of the water had more to do with Pox’s hesitance than anything else. He knew she had no problem swimming in the river when she needed to, but since he had moved down into the warrens to escape the winter chill, she had not gone on as many excursions above ground.

The large rat shivered some as she got down and lowered herself in the water to her neck, before taking a breath and ducking her head under the water for a few moments before rising up again, with her hair and fur matting down with the weight of the water clinging to them. “Ugh…cold!” she hissed softly, her large teeth starting to chatter.

Paul went up to her and rubbed at her sides, chuckling a bit, “Yeah…I bet you’d enjoy this sort of thing a lot more if we could get heated water,” he said and started to run his fingers through her fur, grimacing a bit at the oily film that came off of her into the water, leaving iridescent patterns on the surface that slowly flowed away from them. He pressed on however, having learned the best thing to do was not shy away from the unpleasantness.

Pox stuck her tongue out, “Maybe, probably not!” she said, but didn’t stop the human and turned her back on him for him to get the spots that were hard for her to reach, “Does feel nice having mate to help though,” she said and relaxed, leaning on the edge of the pool while Paul worked over her with his fingers.

Ticktock, for her part, got into the water and swam around, occasionally ducking under the water and running her fingers through her hair, rinsing off some of her own accumulated grime before going over to rest near where Paul and Pox were. She sat up on the edge of the pool with her feet dangling in the water.

Paul smiled and ran his hands along Pox’s thick tail, going from the base all the way to the end in several long strokes that had the rat practically purring at his touch. More and more, Paul was growing to enjoy how physical rats were when it came to showing affection. He liked the constant touching and cuddling. Even the licking and occasional love bites had grown on him. “Well, I think sharing a hot bath would be great, but even this is nice,” he said.

Ticktock giggled some, “You are just happy Pox won’t be as smelly tonight!” she teased, kicking her foot, and splashing some water on Paul.

Paul chuckled a bit, raising a hand to guard himself from the water, and then he splashed her back, “Hey now, none of that or I won’t brush you!” he said, sticking his tongue out at the smaller of the two rats. He then leaned in and gave Pox’s ear a gentle bite, “Lean back some so I can get your hair,” he said, getting her to duck under the water, and he ran his fingers through her long curly locks, making sure to scratch and rub at her head, coaxing even more pleased sounds from her. He smiled at her and planted a kiss on the end of her nose, then he gave her front as much attention as her back.

He ran his hands down her chin and over her neck and chest taking time to squeeze at her breasts and tease her nipples. The rat gasped out more from the touch, and she shivered as his hands trailed up and down her stomach, before giving her a squeeze around the middle. Once he had tended to Pox, Paul turned to Ticktock, getting the hairbrush. “Well come on,” he said to her, as he moved to sit on the edge of the pool and pulled her into his lap.

Ticktock put her arms around his neck and smiled, leaning in to kiss his lips, before letting him work the brush through her short gray fur. She shivered as the pointed bristles passed through her fur, feeling like dozens of claws scratching her back all at once. She liked getting brushed, and having the mats and tangles removed from her pelt.

Pox meanwhile got out of the water and shook herself dry before using her claws to comb down her fur and her hair. “Need to stop by kitchen to dry off fur,” she said, rubbing at her arms some and shivering again from the cold water still dripping from her fur. She moved over to one of the gas lamps to warm herself back up as best she could.

Paul nodded, “If you want to go on ahead, I will wash up and Ticktock could lead me there,” he said, finishing brushing out the fur on Ticktock’s legs. He saw that she was shivering too, “Or I can try to find my own way if you are too cold,” he said, looking concerned.

The small rat shook her head, “I’m fine. Besides, I don’t want to stay in the kitchen any longer than I have to, or Ladle will want me to help peel tubers.” She stuck her tongue out at that.

Paul chuckled and nodded and as Pox wandered off, he moved up behind Ticktock and started to brush her hair for her, running the brush through and being careful to work the knots out without pulling too hard. When he finished, he tied her hair up for her, and then he leaned in and kissed at her neck, wrapping his arms around her. “There you go, Tick,” he said and smiled.

She turned and hugged him and kissed him back, “Thank you,” she said, and nuzzled against his neck, “Do you need help shaving?” she asked him.

He smiled and nodded, “If you don’t mind,” he said, holding her for a moment before slipping back, and he grabbed the bar of lye soap and dunked it in the water before rubbing it between his hands to work up a lather that he then applied to his beard, before taking a razor out of his shaving kit, and a leather strop, “Here, I need to strop my razor, so if you could, help me pull this tight,” he said, handing one end to Ticktock. Once it was tight enough, he began stropping the blade, making sure it was as sharp as he could get it, then he took the razor and a mirror over to one of the lights.

Ticktock stayed close by and held the mirror for him, and she watched Paul as he ran the sharp blade over his face, trimming up the stubble that had grown in. Ticktock had found human ways of grooming to be rather fascinating. Rats didn’t always trim their hair, and some didn’t have hair to trim. The concept of styling it was utterly new to her. She also had a fascination with the act of shaving, and all the different ways that a human man could look different depending on how he let his beard grow.

Paul splashed water on his face when he finished shaving, and then checked to make sure he didn’t miss anything, before taking the soap again and he started to lather up his body and hair. Ticktock surprised him by taking the bar and helping him with his back, and he smiled at her, “Thanks,” he said, letting her finish before he slid back into the water to rinse off, before climbing out again. He then started to dress himself in the fresh clothes he had brought, and he pulled his hair back into a ponytail, tying it off with a strip of cloth, before checking his appearance again in the small shaving mirror. “Okay I think I’m ready,” he said, gathering up the rest of his things.

Ticktock nodded and put her tail into his hand and lead him along, “So when are you going to tell me and Pox what this big plan of yours is? I know you want to get into the growhouse, but why?” she asked as they made their way to the kitchen. Once there, Ticktock let out a sigh of relief when she found no sign of Ladle. Pox had the gas burner that was used for a stove turned up, creating a bright yellow flame, and was drying out her fur.

Paul nodded, “I can do it now, I guess. I’m going to try and get into my brother’s office at the main growhouse tonight. He has a book there that would be useful to us,” he said, sitting down next to Pox and holding his hands out to warm them by the fire.

Pox snorted, “How does book help?” she asked, rubbing her hands through her fur to help speed up drying off near the flame.

Paul rubbed his hands together, and flexed his fingers, “Well, it details everything about the operation of the grow houses. It lists the times and dates for planting, watering, how much light, when they do maintenance, and everything else needed to run them. But it also lists the expected yields and harvest dates. They produce a new edition every few years, and I know the new one was just about to be printed before me and my father had our falling out.”

Ticktock nodded, “That would be helpful. We could have a better chance at sneaking in and getting other kinds of food than just beans and rice. Fruit maybe and roots,” she said, “But how do you plan on getting this book?” she asked.

Paul gestured to himself, “Honestly, it’s a gamble, but I plan on going right in the front door. My father is a proud man, I don’t think he would let it get out that his son had run away to live in a rat nest, at least not any further than he had to. So, if I go in not long after the shift change, conveniently just missing my brother, a worker should let me right inside.”

Ticktock shook her head, “But what if you are wrong, or you get found out?”

Paul shrugged his shoulders and glanced over to Pox, “Well, I want Pox to shadow me. If things go too far south, I expect she’d be able to get me out. She’s stealthy enough to stay close without getting caught.”

Pox nodded, “Yes, Pox sneakiest rat, can get in and out easy. Has done many raids on grow houses too so knows them well.”

Ticktock nodded and then looked to Paul, taking hold of his hand, “You know that Pox will kill anyone who stands in her way to get to you though…”

Paul sighed a bit and squeezed Ticktock’s hand. He knew this would come up and had prepared for it. He looked at her and nodded his head, “Yeah, I know. I do want to avoid killing if I can, but if it has to be done, I’m going to try not to let it bother me,” he looked to Pox and took her hand as well, squeezing it, “If things go bad, I’ll let you know. You do whatever you have to, okay?”

Pox squeezed Paul’s hand in return and nodded, “Yes. If Pox must, will kill a hundred humans to rescue Paul.”

Paul couldn’t help but smile at that, “Well once we get warmed up, we should get moving, I want to get an eye on the growhouse so I can see when my brother has left.”

Pox nodded, “Yes, but few more minutes. Bath water nasty cold!” she said, rubbing her arms again. She was mostly dry at that point, but Paul couldn’t blame her too much. The warrens weren’t as cold as the winter locked city above, but they were damp and clammy all the same.

He nodded his head and rubbed his hands over the fire, “Sounds good to me, just keep an ear out for Ladle,” he said with a smile, "I don't want to peel tubers either."