This was dangerous and she should not be having as much fun as she was. She was asking for so much trouble right now, and she had to be careful not to get carried away. As fun as this was, the last thing she wanted was for this to become irreparably awkward for both of them.

You’re adorable lol

Anyway

Yes, changing the subject is good. Safe.

What time should I be expecting you in the morning?

just want to make sure the house is somewhat presentable in time

Yeah, 7am was a bit early. Claret didn’t really consider herself a morning person by any means, but she had a feeling Five here might be. But like he said— the sooner he was here, the safer she was, right? She didn’t want him to lose out on sleep for her sake, though.

How about 8am?

I think we can both use as much sleep as we can get

Nice, that works.

At this time, Lord Byron had hopped off her lap, stretching his front and hind legs a bit before padding to the front door. He looked over at Claret, making a whiney “hrmm” sound to get her attention.

“Alright, alright, I’ll walk you,” she conceded, getting up and stretching her arms high above her head. She shoved her phone in her back pocket, grabbing her keys and going over to the door as Lord Byron started hopping around and barking excitedly. She grabbed his orange leash off the hook by the door, latching it on to his collar.

She contemplated texting Five for a moment and telling him she was stepping outside for a few, but ultimately decided against it. She’d just be gone for a minute.

Leash in hand, Claret walked out the door, mindful to lock it behind her. The black pug nearly pulled her down the hallway and up the stairs with excited force, but she managed to remain in control of the little guy and not have him take off running. After having him for a few years, you’d think he’d have gotten better at being walked, but Lord Byron never stopped getting overwhelmingly excited for the short walks he’d go on several times a day.

He immediately guided Claret over to the neighbor’s flowers— pissing right over the petunias. Claret shook her head, amused, as she took her phone out of her pocket to send Five another text.

You sleeping soon?

She came back inside with Lord Byron, hanging his leash back up as the little guy zipped through the house like a bullet. He was fast for a guy that was more round than anything else, though maybe that was why he had a tendency to crash into things when he had the zoomies. She could swear she heard some thunks in the other room. She locked the door again before checking her phone, seeing she had a few texts from Five.

So yeah, maybe he was a morning person.

You mean never? lol

I'm a bit of a night owl, but I'll probably sleep now, too

Got a big day tomorrow

She went back over to her living room, turning off the TV and pushing her coffee table forward, away from the couch a bit. She was glad the futon had clean sheets on them right now, so she didn't have to worry about that. She wouldn't bother opening it up until tomorrow.

She finished her drink, setting it by the sink to wash in the morning, whenever she got up.

Lord Byron was waiting for her in her room, curled up right where she usually slept, energy completely spent in the span of five seconds. "Oh, you little bastard." She commented affectionately. It's not like she was going to move him now. Oh well. She climbed into bed, waving the lights off as she pulled the covers over her. Lord Byron liked burrowing under the blankets, always seeking warmth where he could find it. She thought of getting a weighted blanket for him for whenever he was napping, but she hadn't gotten around to ordering it yet. He curled into her stomach, turning into the perfect little bagel shape, making little sniffs and snorts as he got comfortable and turned into the tightest little roll of fluff he could. 

Claret sent out another text to Five. 

Heading to bed

Well, technically she was already in bed, but the details didn't really matter.