As usual in these situations, River catches up to what I’m trying to say before anyone else.
“Right, so he’s friendly, it’s safe for him to be up here, but he can't leave the house or grounds,” he summarizes for everyone.
I nod, “Yep, that’s what I said.”
“I don’t think it was,” Baz says, a teasing spark in his eye.
I do what I always do when one of the guys teases me, and I stick my tongue at him while I give him the finger.
His laughter is husky and rich, and my smile widens just from the sound of it.
He should laugh more.
From the look in his eyes, his laughter surprises him, and I’m guessing that he hasn’t had the chance to laugh much over the last few decades.
The bitey book hops around the table as we all rush to move the plates and food out of the way, and he takes nibbles of every pastry that we don’t move quickly enough, making us all laugh.
The book, which I have just decided in all my wisdom is now called Bitey, goes around to each of the guys and cautiously nudges them for pets.
“He really is just like a puppy, but in book form,” Doc says as he cautiously pets the top of Bitey.
“He’s pretty cute,” Baz says as he scratches Bitey under the chin.
“He seems to like you,” I grin when it’s clear that Bitey has decided that Baz is the chosen one and stops wriggling, staying tucked close to Baz.
“Is the book snoring?” Reed asks with surprise.
“Bitey,” I reply.
“Huh?” Reed asks, his opal eyes confused, and his dark eyebrows rise in confusion.
“The book, I’ve called him Bitey,” I explain, as I finally take a bite of the pastry that I’ve been holding. I moan, “Fuck me, that’s good.”
“Well, if you insist,” Griff grins.
I burst out laughing.
“Dude, that was bad,” River chuckles.
Griff shrugs, still smiling as he says, “Yep. Worth it though.”
“You know I shouldn’t be surprised that the book decided to come up with you. House and I have been trying to convince him to come up for decades, with no such luck. He’s been sulking,” Ethel chimes in. “I am surprised that he didn’t bite you. He bit Zephyr a few times before he finally let him stroke him.”
“Wait, is Zephyr going to miss him? Do I need to take him back down?” I ask.
I can’t get over how lonely it must be for Zephyr down in the basement. I really don’t fucking like it, and I’ve got no idea how long he’s actually been down there for, but something tells me that it’s been a while.
There’s a heavy pause, and I start to wonder if Ethel is even going to answer me, but finally she replies.
“I am sure that Zephyr won’t mind. His situation is complicated, and I am, unfortunately, not at liberty to discuss it,” she replies.
I share a look with the guys, well, that couldn’t have been much clearer unless she hit us over the head with it. Don’t ask questions about Zephyr’s situation.
“Alright, Ethel,” I reply, because there isn’t really much else that I can say.
“I guess we have a new guard book dog pet thing?” Ransom grins.
“What do we feed it?” Raiden asks. “What was it eating in the basement?”
