xp_logs | Kurt and Amanda, Saturday morning (Reply)

Amanda meets Triscuit and gets roped into puppy-sitting.

Kurt made a point of not putting Triscuit on a lead when they were outside where nothing valuable could be broken. It wasn't as if he couldn't stay close enough to keep an eye on the puppy, and catch up if there seemed to be any need to, after all.

As they drew closer to the smokers' porch and the little dog suddenly broke into a gallop at the sight of someone coming out, he looked quickly to see who it was, then relaxed. No need to restrain Triscuit there.

Amanda was too busy pulling out cigarettes and fumbling with her lighter to notice the small puppy racing towards her, and as he collided with her legs she yelped and dropped the pack. Triscuit immediately started nosing at it, and she bent to scoop up the cigarettes in one hand, the dog in the other. "Little early for you to be starting on those," she told him wryly. "So, where did you come from, huh? One of the kids?"

"Actually", Kurt said from a few feet away, smiling, "he is mine. One of Lili's litter, and Lorna gave him to me when I came back. His name is Triscuit, for which you can blame Kevin."

Amanda broke into a pleased smile. "Hey, Blue," she said, then glanced down at the puppy she had tucked under her arm. "Yours, huh? I should pay more attention, by the looks of it. This mean you're back for a bit, or are you waiting until he's big enough for the whole quarantine thing?"

"I think I will be staying for a time", he said slowly, stepping up onto the porch to join her. "I spoke with Stefan before leaving, and... he understands I belong in both places now."

"That's brilliant news!" Momentarily forgetting the puppy, Amanda grabbed him in a one-armed hug, until a muffled squeak reminded her. "Oops, sorry there pup," she said, offering him back to Kurt. "It'll be good to have you around again, Blue. The place missed you."

Kurt took the puppy in one hand, then curled his tail comfortably round the little body to hold him that way, close to his side. "I might not have come back yet - or perhaps at all - if you had not asked me to. But now I am back, I realize I missed it too."

"You were needed," Amanda said simply, but then gave him another grin as she shook a cigarette out of the pack. "And I wasn't up for any more babysitting."

"And when I knew that, I came", he said equally simply, giving the cigarettes a look. "And as I understand it, you had to babysit for a little longer anyway."

She rolled her eyes a little at the look, and moved slightly away before lighting up - having lunch with Jane had meant she'd been restraining herself for most of the day. "Between hauling Cain's arse back here from Sri Lanka or wherever, and looking after Ange, I've been spending a bit more time here than usual. Had a shitload of work when I got back to the office."

"I can imagine", Kurt said sympathetically, dropping the issue of the cigarettes unspoken. "Have you caught up with yourself now?"

"Mostly. Still got some calls to make to check on some things." She shrugged a little, smoke drifting around her head from her first drag. "And Ange is doing well enough to get bored, which is good. What about you? Settling back in all right?" She smiled a little at the puppy. "Chasing that little bloke around?"

"He certainly keeps me well exercised", Kurt agreed affectionately, rubbing the puppy between the ears. "And I am settling in very well, thank you. It helps that my old routine was there to be dropped back into, I think."

"It'll do the kids good, having things go back to normal. Tho' they've got that trip to Japan coming up soon - some of them were talking about it on the bus today." Amanda leaned back against the railing, propping her cigarette arm against her other elbow, that arm wrapped around her waist. "I keep wondering how they pick the staff for these things, considering the curse and all - do you draw straws or something?"

"Mostly it is a mixture of volunteers and who is fit to go at any given time", Kurt said wryly. "Which may limit the choice for this particular trip. And that reminds me - I will be going to Japan. Would you like to do a little puppy-sitting?"

"Do I get a present if I do?" Amanda asked, teasing. She shrugged a bit. "How hard can it be? Sure, I can take him for a bit while you're gone. Be good to have some company in the apartment."

"You would get a present whether you did or not", he said with a smile. "He is housebroken, so you will not have that difficulty. Though he still has a tendency to chew things."

"Chews on things? What kind of things?" Amanda asked, giving the puppy a slightly worried look.

"Oh, chair legs, newspapers, clothes, shoes, anything he may find on the floor..." Kurt said innocently.

"Floor, huh?" Amanda screwed up her nose. "This isn't some cunning plan of yours to make sure I clean my place, is it?"

"Not at all! You would only have to pick up things that cannot be safely chewed. Such as your books."

"Yeah, somehow I don't think some of those would make the best chew toys." Amanda took another drag on her cigarette, and squinted at Triscuit through the smoke. "Right, you, here's the deal. No eating the books, and I won't smoke in the apartment while you're there. That sound like a plan?"

Triscuit raised his head, obviously aware he was being talked to, and yipped inquiringly. "I think that sounds like a very fair deal", Kurt said cheerfully. "Though remember that he has little self-restraint, like any baby."

"Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to abuse the poor little bugger." Amanda reached out with her free hand and scritched the puppy behind the ears, receiving a lick in the process. "We'll be just fine."