[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

This time, Delano was unable to stop himself from laughing out loud as Lina started giving Akili a bath. Since their son hated being cleaned so much, it was certainly an effective way to get him from getting out of control from their joke on him.

Laying down next to Lina, he watched in amusement as Akili tried to escape. "You know, I'd quite like to see that speed you're talking about," he teased, "but Lina is right. You will need to be cleaned again if you will run around too much. Perhaps it would be a better idea if you wait up on showing us how fast you can go." He was already formulating some back up plans should Akili still refuse, but he didn't want their son to get disappointed in himself by trying to run faster than he really was.

Sure, for now he still didn't realize when Delano and Lina would go easy on him to let him enjoy himself, but it was only a matter of time before he would wise up and begin to realize that he isn't actually as strong or fast as he thinks he is.

[TheWhistlerify]

If anything, hearing his father say that he wanted to see how fast he was made Akili even more eager to escape his mother's wrath than he already was. But, at the same time, he really hated baths, which gave him an idea of some sort. Lina would usually bathe him at the end of the day, meaning that running about now would make him get one more bath than usual. However, if he were to save all of that for tomorrow, it would be included as part of the next day's dreaded cleaning time. "Ugh, fine!" he said with an annoyed groan, finally ceasing to squirm about between his mother's paws.

"You are just the cutest cub." said Lina with a chuckle as she looked down at the tiny ball of fur that was her and Delano's son. It was hard to believe that he would one day be as big as his father. She then gave Akili's little head an affectionate lick. "You're our angel!" she teased. It was true whenever he was quiet... A part of her didn't want him to ever get bigger...

[DGFone]

While Delano was all for teasing their son, the way Lina talked about Akili right now made him groan in embarrassment. Sure, it was how she talked about Akili, but not usually when the cub was actually around... "Lina, please! Give the kid a break!" She gave him a look and he quickly had to correct himself. "Oh, uh, no, you can continue to clean him..." this earned a groan from the cub, but it wasn't like Akili hadn't just resigned himself to this anyways, "I was talking about you know... your language."

Sure, he was making it sound like Lina had said something naughty, but he was simply enjoying teasing her now instead. Perhaps Akili would figure out that he had just turned the attention away from him and onto his mother and perhaps say something funny as well. Lina wouldn't be very amused to be suddenly on the receiving end, Delano thought...

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina couldn't help but playfully roll her eyes as she realized that Delano was annoyed with the way she was talking about Akili, which he was already used to at the end of the day. It was rather amusing to see him all embarrassed just because their son was around and, as he already knew but seemed to forget, she found his embarrassment adorable. "Oh, but he is, Delano!" she said in a half complaining / half teasing tone. "And Muroki told me that he looks almost exactly like you did when you were young!" Yes, she already had her son to serve as a tiny versiom of her mate, but to actually imagine Delano as a cub was just as entertaining.

Between her paws, while he was a little annoyed with the way his mother was talking about him, Akili seemed rather pleased with hearing that he looked very similar to the way his father had looked all that time ago. "Really, mom?" he asked, looking at Lina with that happy smile of his.

"Yup!" Having finished bathing the cub, Lina went ahead and placed Akili down between Delano's paws. She giggled as their son curled up into a tiny ball and snuggled against one of his father's paws. What made it even more adorable was the further embarrassment this triggered on her mate's side. "Oh, come on, Delano!" She licked him behind his ear, where she knew he was a little ticklish. "You know you two are the best combo!"

"Yeah!" Akili looked up at his father with his wide, adorable eyes. "We're pals, right dad?"

[DGFone]

Delano was getting ready to roll his eyes again. After all, Lina was apparently not seeing that Akili was starting to get annoyed as well by her antics, making Delano not the only one to be finding they way she talked... interesting.

That is, until she just had to mention that, and now suddenly Akili was no longer annoyed anymore. Well, so much for using the cub as leverage, who was now quite content to settle in next to his father's paws... Delano squirmed when Lina proceeded to lick him right where he was the most ticklish, where she knew he would be left very much immobile and helpless. "Lina!" he tried to protest, "come on now! Don't do that! Lina!"

It was Akili's question that caught him off guard though. Looking down at Akili, Delano thought of how he should reply when it came to him. "You bet we are," he replied, grinning at Akili, "pals for life!"

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina couldn't help but chuckle quietly to herself as Delano squirmed next to her as a result of the way she licked him behind his ear (they were snuggled up closely together, after all). It was one time where the two of them spending some time alone that she found out he was ticklish in that area, and deep down Delano also knew that he was complaining simply because their son was right there. It was a sensitive spot, and her mate was obviously not too comfortable with being forced to squirm helplessly as a result of her affection with the little one watching.

Licking him again, this time on the cheek so that he wouldn't have an excuse to complain too much, the lioness rested her head on her mate's shoulder and smiled as she watched their cub beam with delight at his father's answer. While both of them were his parents, Akili and Delano seemed to have a somewhat closer bond between them. She knew that male cubs often felt more attached to their fathers, but she still found it impossible not to smile whenever she watched the two of them together.

She giggled loudly as Akili then stood up and walked closer to his father, rubbing his little body into the lion's mane while purring happily. She looked at Delano as this went on, licking his cheek again as the cub lay back down and leaned against his father's chest for warmth.

[DGFone]

Delano allowed Akili to go and snuggle up next to him, especially since Lina was doing the exact same thing by his side as well. Being stuck in between the two, he tried to get as comfortable as he could with the two of them really limiting how much he could more. Not that he was really complaining about it, but he still would have liked perhaps a bit more room to move his rapidly numbing limbs.

Still, he did enjoy Lina's licking, and even with Akili right there, he couldn't help but let out content purrs as his mate continued to lick him, luckily this time not at his ticklish areas. He was even starting to forget his discomfort from being forced to sit still in a less than ideal position. If anything, it felt great to be like this with his family.

[TheWhistlerify]

Lina was more than content to just lie there and nuzzle her mate. It was what they often did just before Akili always ran over and somehow interrupted them, only that this time the cub was right there, curled up into a little ball and cuddled up against his father's mane. It was nice to be affectionate without having their son complain and even better to have him stay quiet while being right there with the two of them. Delano's ocassional purr of content seemed to match her own and were a sign that he was enjoying the moment just as much as his mate was. Lina gently placed one of her paws against Akili, giggling as he let out a small yawn that came out as an adorable mewl.

[DGFone]

While Delano had rested for a good portion of the day, he didn't doubt that Akili had spent most of the day running around and other such things for the same amount of time. So it didn't surprise him that now that they were all together and resting, how quickly it took for Akili to start falling asleep.

Glancing at Lina and then at Akili, he muttered, "Should we.... might it be a good idea if we take him inside? It's not exactly very far..." He motioned with his head towards the den entrance, which was nearby. "That way we can be, well, you know... alone..." He glanced down quickly as he heard their son make some noise, but it was only Akili adjusting in his sleep. "So... should we?"

[TheWhistlerify]

While the chances of Akili suddenly waking up and interrupting them after a whole day of running about were more than just simply low, and while Lina felt a little bad about the idea of moving the cub because of how peaceful he looked, there was no denying the fact that she and Delano didn't get too many peaceful moments like this. Therefore, the risk of having Akili wake up, as small as it was, was one neither she nor her mate were too willing to take. Their son would be far less likely to wake up if he were inside the den, alone, rather than with the two of them.

So, looking at her mate with a smile, the lioness nodded her head once before very gently picking Akili up by the scruff, making sure to get up from her comfortable position by Delano's side slowly so to not accidentally wake him up. She waited for Delano to join her and the two of them began the short walk back to their den, which really wasn't that far away. Upon getting there, Lina went ahead and placed their cub down inside their small, inner den, where the odds of him waking up as a result of being cold or from noise were lower. With that taken care of, they left the den again.