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Characters: Barnaby Brooks, Jr. (

sentiments), Rei Kurosawa (

cursemarked), Kotetsu T. Kaburagi (

wildest)
Location: Rei's apartment
Rating: G?
Time: March 13, evening
Description: Kotetsu and Barnaby go to visit Rei after hearing of her past and stay for cookies... and to take home a new friend?

And once again, Barnaby was being pulled away from his work on investigating the mystery to socialize a little. While Barnaby would have normally had a problem with it, Kotetsu had assured them that they were only going to Rei's. Just the three of them?

Barnaby could accept that. Not because he didn't have much choice in the matter--because he really didn't, not when it came to how persistent Rei could be and how horribly persuasive Kotetsu already was--but because of what had occurred during his last discussion with Kotetsu. It had been a heavy talk, one discussing Rei's own world and the risk of having her return, and that sort of concern just meant that they needed to spend as much time with her as they could while they were still there. Although Barnaby was still warming up to the idea of spending more time with Rei in general, he was more up to dropping by her apartment. Unexpectedly? He wasn't really sure, he had just said yes when Kotetsu asked.

Which was the main reason that brought Kotetsu and Barnaby to standing before her door. Barnaby brought with him a small cloth briefcase containing a few photo prints. He figured he may as well bring them to her and get her opinion on the very slow beginning of his new side project, on top of just saying hello... and the other reason, which he was hoping Kotetsu would have forgotten by the time they made it to Rei's place. Sure, he was sure said extra reason would probably walk right up to them, maybe hiss a little, possibly scratch up his boots... but really, it was just about Rei. Letting Kotetsu take the lead as well as leave him to knock, he just glanced around the hallway of the building.

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The aftermath of Kotetsu's not!date with Rei hadn't exactly been pretty, but he had at least been able to go about things without feeling like everything was going absolutely wrong and he just wanted to shout at the top of his lungs. It didn't exactly mean it was out of his mind though, nor did it mean that he was bound to forget it. The main question then was, what would he tell Barnaby?

It took him an entire day of contemplating the pros and cons of sharing such personal information with someone else to just come to the conclusion that he could trust Barnaby enough to let him know Rei's secret, and though he made his partner promise to keep it between the two of them, it wouldn't be much of a surprise if he let it slip. But so they knew, and things sucked, so what else were they meant to do that didn't consist of moping about over how life was a cruel mistress?

Make the best of things, obviously, and that was exactly what Kotetsu had planned when he had once again convinced Barnaby into having another social get-together, this time deciding the two should visit Rei at her place. Not only that, but they were bound to lighten things up considerably over the brilliant idea he'd been sitting on for a while now. Yes, today would be a good day, and as he stood in front of Rei's door and knocked, he looked over at his partner and nudged his arm with his elbow. "Oi, try to be a little more energetic. And don't make it look like I dragged you here by force. I told you, she'd really appreciate this!"

He looked back over to the door but then turned to Barnaby once more. "And don't go trying to back out of bringing the cat home. We decided, so deal's final."

Rei sat up with a light jerk at the knock (and the yapping park of the Pomeranian she'd acquired for Karkat that followed) sitting very quiet and very still for about half a minute as she tried to reorient herself. Papers, photos, and rolls of undeveloped filmed stacked on the little coffee table that Rei had previously been napping on, earning a few smudges of pen ink on her cheek for her trouble.

She looked to the clock, then to the door, before she slowly stood and stretched herself out again. Neck, legs, and back all felt stiff from her unnatural sleeping position and her fingers were stained with markers and ink; she didn't quite feel presentable enough for visitors, but just leaving them would be rude, wouldn't it?

Why'd she have to fall asleep like that anyhow? Napping wasn't unusual for her; it's not like she got more than maybe three or four hours of sleep a night as it was, but passing out on the table was a little new.

"Shush, Lucky." She leaned down to pat the hyperactive little dog on the head and opened the door (there is a distinct lack of unlocking going on here, mostly because Rei's never locked the door before; it's been broken forever) with a yawn. "Yes?"

Wait what the hell is this she doesn't even.

"Kotetsu? Barnaby? Is something wrong?" Because why else would they both be showing up at her apartment unless something terrible had happened?

He sent a small frown in Kotetsu's direction. "I came voluntarily," he told him. If Rei asked, he wouldn't hesitate to admit it. For as much as he was 'dragged' down there, he really had no argument against going with him. It was mostly the cat, and the fact that Kotetsu didn't forget that at all... Damn. Pursing his lips, he glanced away. "I was hoping your short-term memory would have kicked in about the cat."

But alas, it hadn't. Barnaby would probably spend a good portion of the time there trying to become more of a pet person--or trying to not hate the idea of pets in general. Having something that couldn't take care of itself, worse than a child in the way that it couldn't even speak and tell you what was wrong, that would possibly claw up the furniture or pee on the floor (or was that what dogs did?)... none of that sat well with him. He liked taking care of one person: himself. And then Kotetsu but Kotetsu was capable of caring for himself as well.

It wasn't until Rei opened the door that Barnaby was reminded of their number one reason for visiting her. Above the stupid pets, they were there to say hello to her. Figuring he may have looked annoyed from thinking about the pets, he flashed her a very bright smile. "Hello, Miss Rei," he greeted. Never dropping that Miss. "We were in the neighborhood and decided to say hello."

Whatever reservations Barnaby had about coming over or even the cat issue, Kotetsu wasn't going to pay a single bit of attention to it. Even if he initially questioned the decision of having any sort of pet around the apartment, he couldn't really find much of a reason to say no. They were hardly as busy as they usually were, and it'd give them something to do with their free time. Not to mention taking another pet off of Rei's full hands would be a big benefit to her.

After what he'd been told days ago, he wanted to make things as easy as possible for her, so if taking in one of her pets to give her more time for herself would be helpful then he was more than ready to say yes as well as convince Barnaby to not be so huffy about it. When he heard Rei's voice from the other side of the door, Kotetsu quickly mumbled over to his partner. "Too bad for you, huh? This old man's memory isn't failing him just yet."

But, Barnaby's attitude seemed to be fine, at least now that Rei had finally answered the door. "Hey! Nothing's wrong. I was bored and Bunny was lonely so we figured you'd be the best bet in helping both of us out!" Kotetsu peered curiously over Rei's shoulder into her apartment. "Was that a dog? Sounds awful yappy."

Rei stood in the doorway for a moment or two, as if trying to figure out if her life was real right now. She glanced behind her at the mess, "Oh, um..." Well aside from papers everywhere there wasn't much of a reason to decline the drop it. So she smiles, a little exasperated, a little tired.

Oh right. New dog. Rei stepped aside and the little puffdog shot oout of the door and into the hallway with a happy yip. He bounces around Barnaby and Kotetsu's feet, his tail wagging hard enough to make his whole body shake with it. If one could understand dog they'd hear him begging for pets. Rei sighs and rubs her head. "Yeah. It's a Pomeranian. One of the boys I took under my wing had it, but his world doesn't have dogs, so he didn't know how to take care of it."

She assumes it doesn't have dogs, anyway. "So I took it in for him as a favor. He gets along alright with Enma, but Potato and Cat don't like him much." She gives a helpless little laugh, like she's perfectly aware of how her life is just spiraling out of control, and steps aside. "Lucky, get in!"

Lucky shoots back inside, probably to jump on the cough and bother loafdog and Rei gestures them in. "I can make tea-- or something..." Her kitchen always looks largely untouched due to lack of use, but Rei at least knows how to make tea and use the microwave. "I was in the middle of work, but I can take a break for a while."

And by 'work' she means 'sleeping on top of it' just a moment ago, but. Still.

Definitely too bad for him to get the opportunity to go home without a cat, but he was slowly growing used to the idea. After all, taking one of the animals would benefit Rei, even if Barnaby didn't want it. That thing wouldn't be allowed in his bedroom, though. But once he heard the yapping, he left Kotetsu to continue the introductory formalities while his own eyes were distracted by the sudden noise. A dog barking... It was higher-pitched than he had been expecting, and it was a lot louder and more excited to see them.

Oh no, was it going to scratch up his boots? Oh, and there it went. Barnaby just watched it run before turning back to Rei, following her urging them inside. What an apartment... He was less distracted by whatever mess than by the animals nearby. Already, he could see another bundle of fur on the couch--or he thought? Fur, or a pillow, or something. Interesting place...

Turning back to her, he smiled. "Your place is very homely." Not his version of homely, but definitely that 'lived in' feel that other apartments had. Maybe he was the odd one out with his near-impossible standards of cleanliness, but this wasn't necessarily 'bad'. Just different. So this was what it was like to have a lot of pets...

As soon as the ball of excited fur dashed out of the room and out into the hallway, Kotetsu found it more than a little difficult to listen to whatever Rei was saying as his eyes and especially his attention just trailed after the dog-- or at least attempted to. Wow, that thing was like a speeding bullet. A loud one. Thankfully he at least managed to catch a few words and when something odd caught his ear he turned back toward her.

"Wait, there are worlds that don't have dogs?" He didn't sound particularly depressed about the statement, seeing as he had sort of a neutral stance on most animals, but it sure did sound surprising. Did they have cats? Hamsters? Rabbits? "Huh..." His voice trailed off as his thoughts wandered, but when the dog suddenly dashed back into the apartment and Barnaby had started to head in, Kotetsu snapped back to attention and slide right on through the doorway, taking off his hat and glancing around.

"It's a lot different in here than the last time I was around." A lot messier, and way more animals, even though he couldn't see them yet. The faint smell in the air was there though. It wasn't exactly bothersome, more... warm? Like his partner soon spoke up with, homely. Comfortable, happy. It was a good thing for Rei to have.

Before he could start to curiously wander about to find the rest of the pets (particularly that cute little cat with the funny ears he wanted to take home), Kotetsu stopped in his tracks at the offer of tea. "Tea's good! I'm not really that hungry so don't worry about making anything else." And then, his eyes glanced over at Barnaby expectantly. Be nice and don't make her do any extra work. Only tea for you mister.

Lucky took refuge n the couch, quieting down, thankfully, but panting hard as if the sudden dash around had been enough exercise for the hour.

"I'm not sure, really. He's from another planet entirely, and all their animals are monsters, from what I know." It was a pretty scary existence, from what she'd learned from him and Nepeta.

Despite their pleasant comments on her home, she felt her face heat up. "I, uh--" Embarrassed she began to pick up the papers and things, trying to balance them in her arms. "Sorry, if I'd known you were coming over I would've cleaned up. I've been really busy, so..." Rei let her excuse trail off, trying to stack the papers in neat little groups.

"Please make yourselves at home, though. I'll get started on the tea." And to the kitchen she goes, feeling a little frazzled.

But look who should come wandering out, no doubt attracted to all the noise and new people, but a certain food-named, funny-eared cat, who plops his butt down and stares at Kotetsu and Barnaby from the relative safety of the shadow of the couch.

Hey, tea was definitely fine by him! He didn't object as Kotetsu decided on the drinks, merely nodding in agreement. Just staying silent, Barnaby listened in as Rei explained to Kotetsu about the worlds that didn't have dogs. Another alternate universe--Barnaby would be sure to remember that. Later, he would probably inquire who, but it was good enough just knowing this information.

But as Rei fumbled about the apartment, Barnaby just smiled and shook his head. "It's fine." Sure, it was messier than he would have liked, but not everyone lived such a painfully clean and great life as he did. And 'be nice to Rei' came with lying about the cleanliness of her apartment. It was good that he was used to this; these lies were second nature by now. And better to not worry about it than to guilt her into cleaning.

How did one 'make themselves at home' in a stranger's house, though? His pondering on this came to a near-complete halt at the sight of the furry cat roaming from the kitchen and moving to the couch. They were taking that home...?

"Which one is this?" he inquired.

Did they have to, Kotetsu?

Immediately all that fact brought up was a world full of weird monster-like cats and dogs and bunnies and Kotetsu could almost cringe at the thought. What sort of world was that? Ten-foot tall bunnies with fangs and claws and... okay his thoughts were getting out of hand. Nevermind about all that. "Weird..." He mumbled hesitantly before continuing his search.

Luckily, that search didn't take long, as sooner or later the cat he'd been hoping to catch sight of came wandering by into his view and right as Barnaby spoke up, Kotetsu did as well, though with a little more almost child-like enthusiasm.

"Potato!" But before he could start to make his way over to the couch to scoop up the cat, Kotestu turned around and looked over at Rei. "Wait, that one's Potato right?"

For all he knows she could have gotten another cat that looked just like Potato, what with her sudden habit of taking in animals. Rei, you need some restraint, just say no.

After placing the papers down in a relatively neat order and started on the tea, Rei poked her head out briefly to see who they're talking about. "Oh-- Yes, that's Potato. Cat's probably back in my room."

As if responding to his name the cat looked up and mewed, stretching out and padding over to rub first against Barnaby's leg, then Kotetsu's. The purring started up almost immediately, a deep rumble as he winds around their legs for pets.

Rei chuckled and turned her attention back. "You can tell the difference because Cat's bigger. Potato's small and has those funny ears."

There were just way too many animals in this apartment. And already Kotetsu pointed out the one he had agreed to take home, but the fact that he hesitated almost made Barnaby frown. Actually, he would have been frowning had he not been using so much self-restraint to keep it off of his face. He needed to seem unbothered. Really, it wasn't that bad, but Barnaby just wasn't a pet person, and--

Oh god when did it teleport to his legs?! Potato brushed against his leg, as if seeking some sort of affection. Petting? Taking him home didn't mean Barnaby had to pet him, did it...?

Yep, he did have some funny ears. Barnaby waited until the cat moved closer to Kotetsu before leaning down to look at him more closely. He really did look like a cat Kotetsu would want to keep. Barnaby just hoped that cat didn't have sharp claws.

Kotetsu could barely contain himself when the cat started to idly maneuver its way around where he and Barnaby were standing, and the second it started rubbing against them and purring, resisting the urge to just scoop it up was way too hard. He'd wondered if Barnaby would try to pet it but as he suspected, his partner didn't budge a single inch. Oh well, more time for him and Potato then.

Once the cat went back over to him, Kotetsu crouched down and immediately reached out to give Potato a brief little headpat, grinning as the cat arched his head up for more contact. But of course, Kotetsu wouldn't bother with more petting so soon. He wanted to mess around with those weird, cute, tiny ears.

"He looks even smaller up close! Bunny, I told you it had funny ears! You're too cute to handle, y'know that right?"

...you two converse among yourselves for a while, Kotetsu is going to be busy with the cat for a while.

There was a noise, somewhere between a chuckle and a muffled giggle, from Rei's direction that she quickly covers up with a clearing of the throat. Poor Barnaby, he was so clearly out of his element. Laughing at him (and at Kotetsu's overenthusiasm with the cat), was almost cruel. Hopefully Barnaby would get on board with it soon, though; how could he resist that adorable face?

Potato was clearly loving the attention and seemed pretty happy in Kotetsu's hands, making Rei feel a little easier about letting him go with them. Cats were easier to take care of than dogs, and Potato had always had a good temperament and was easy-going. He should fit in fine with them.

Bringing the tea over Rei set one aside for Kotetsu, whenever he managed to pull himself away from Potato, and held the other out to Barnaby. "It's really not so bad." She spoke softly, smiling a little. "They're mostly independent animals, and Potato's really quiet."

Rei watches Potato bat and mouth at Kotetsu's fingers, not actually biting or breaking skin, but clamping his little mouth around the digits in an attempt to stop the man from tweaking his ears.

"Did you have any pets when you were a kid, Barnaby?"

The cat did indeed have funny-looking ears. Kotetsu was enjoying himself, so Barnaby just smiled politely and shook his head, deciding to just focus on Rei. He could talk with her, this nice, two-legged homo sapien who was not furry and did not meow, and leave Kotetsu to acquaint himself with the new intrude--introduction to their hero apartment.

"Thank you, Miss Rei." Taking the tea, he smiled at her, then took a sip. At least they didn't seem so bad. Kotetsu was enjoying himself, and Barnaby was willing to give the cat the benefit of the doubt--if not for Kotetsu, then to at least lessen Rei's care load. The less pets that weighed her down, the better off she'd be.

Her question took him by surprise, and he shook his head. Pets...

"We weren't allowed to keep any animals where I lived," he answered. "I've never had much exposure to animals in home settings. A cat will be an interesting difference."

The conversation between the other two in the room fell on deaf ears from Kotetsu's end, clearly more interested in having himself a little play fight with Potato than discussing independent animals and pets and home settings or whatever it was they had chosen to talk about. Even for a tiny cat, he sure was feisty when he could be, which suited Kotetsu just fine as he kept darting his fingers in and out of biting distance.

But of course, eventually even that got a little predictable, so Kotetsu decided to remove the bracelet from his wrist and let Potato bat around at that for a while. There really was no way he was even going to remember tea had been prepared for him unless he was called over. Or something was thrown at him. Either one would do.

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