The Apartment Above the Boards, Wednesday Morning

[puppy_fair]

Zack yawned, stretched, and smiled up at the ceiling sleepily. He'd slept better last night than he had in a while, thanks in part to the puppy that had come home with him last night. He wasn't planning on keeping the dog, not by any means, but he hadn't been taking to being alone very well, and neither had the puppy, after his siblings had all been adopted out. And, since Ino wasn't home, he hadn't seen any reason not to.

... Except that the puppy had apparently wandered off somewhere. Which wasn't an emergency, really. Zack would just lure him out with breakfast and squeaky toys, and then they could head back to the shelter, where the next person on staff could keep the timid little puppy company. Maybe get him adopted out to a good home. He crouched over to pick up the squeaky pork chop toy he'd brought home for the night, and then froze. And blinked up. And hissed between his teeth. Hadn't he closed Ino's door last night? Maybe he hadn't closed it all they way, and the puppy had nosed it open out of curiosity?

Holding his breath, Zack inched toward the door, nudging it open a little bit more, and made a strangled whining sound in the back of his throat. Yep. The puppy was in there. So was Ino, who he was mostly certain would kill him if she thought he'd brought a dog home to stay without even so much as asking her. And said dog was on her bed. Sleeping beside her. Not even the squeaky pork chop could save them now. Zack grimaced, and then shuffled off, first to get a shirt on, and second to get some dog treats. Maybe he didn't need to use the enticing power of the squeaky toy, if he could just lure the puppy over with snack foods instead. Quietly. Somehow.

He was so dead meat.

[OOC: For Ino! Or calls, if anybody wants, why not?]

Comments

[intraspective]

But not quite yet, as she slept on, unaware of Zack's over-dramatic prediction of her reaction (not entirely unwarranted, mind, had they talked about it last night) and unaware of the puppy on her bed.

No, right now it was just blissful sleep.

[puppy_fair]

Okay. He could do this. He could get Mr. Wigglebottom to notice the milkbones if only he put his mind to it. Zack crouched down by the door, not quite feeling comfortable with the idea of walking into Ino's room uninvited, and tried making little kissy sounds to get the puppy's attention without waking up the lady he was napping on.

Anything? Little buddy?

Well, there was a puppy whine and a pair of perked ears. Even a little tailwag. That seemed promising.

[intraspective]

And... Ino still didn't do much other than stir, just slightly.

She'd been exhausted, was the thing. Usually she was a light sleeper.

[puppy_fair]

Well, that was both reassuring and kind of worrisome. Zack chewed on his lip for a moment, and then picked up the box of puppy treats and gave it a light shake.

Okay, that got the puppy onto his feet, at least. And prancing a little in place.

[intraspective]

Ino was exhausted but she wasn't dead.

And she'd have to be, to miss a puppy prancing on her bed. On her.

She shifted, making a grumbling noise that wasn't all the way awake--but definitely nearly there.

[puppy_fair]

And the shifting and the grumbling was enough to make the puppy prance all the more, while Zack ducked his head and made a little whining sound, himself.

"Noooo," he whispered toward the dog. "No dancing, just coming here. Like a good boy. Good boy wants some treats?"

No, good boy wanted to prance.

[intraspective]

Between the puppy and Zack there was no way Ino was getting back to sleep, was there?

She didn't even bother to open her eyes, just reached out and put her hand on the puppy. Please stop prancing? Maybe petting would stop that.

[puppy_fair]

Sorry, Ino. You definitely weren't getting back to sleep today. Especially since the puppy had stopped prancing, and was now wiggling his butt excitedly, craning his head to try to lick that hand. That had was his new best friend!

"Oh my gods," Zack muttered, burying his face in his hand. "This is how I die, isn't it?"