2007-07-04: Mocha, Coffee, Espresso

Starring:

Cass_icon.gif Lachlan_icon.gif Niki_icon.gif

Summary:

Niki has puppy problems, the least of which is finding a name, so she brings her newest charge in for that free bit of training that was offered before.

Date It Happened: July 4th, 2007

Mocha, Coffee, Espresso


Lachlan's Apartment, Brooklyn

Good ol' Fourth of July. It's a bit rainy out there, which will make fireworks just grand, right? Right. It will probably clear up by the time darkness rolls around. It's only a light drizzle. Lachlan is putting together an early dinner — barbecue ribs, of course — so that he and Cass can enjoy some fireworks up on the roof of the building later. The radio's on and playing All My Life by the Foo Fighters, and Lachlan's humming along as he cooks. This time he's actually dressed in something: a long-sleeved dark green shirt and black jeans that look brand-new. He's been clothes shopping today, because things are on sale.

Dressed in one of Lachlan's old shirts - which is too large for her - and a pair of her own cut offs, Cass is certainly enjoying the Fourth of July holiday. Especially when Lachlan's cooking barbecue ribs. Bonnie follows along obediently behind her as she makes her way into the kitchen and joins in on the humming. Sneaking up behind him, she moves to wrap her arms around his waist and raises herself up on her tiptoes to rest her chin on his shoulder. She interrupts her own humming to ask, "I'm going to get a beer. Do you want one?" He cooks, she'll get them boozed up.

Bzzzzzzt. The intercom that connects to the lobby of the building announces someone's presence. After a bit of static and indistinct activity, the first voice that comes through is… a girlish squeal of distress. It's short-lived. Forget it happened! There's a squeaky *yap!* of a dog into the intercom, followed by, "Uhmmm. H-hey. Lachlan?" The voice sort of resembles a certain blonde's.

When he's embraced from behind, Lachlan bends backwards just a bit to accommodate the chin on his shoulder and cranes his head back to place a kiss to Cass' cheek. Hee. He likes it when she wears his clothes. "Tha'd be great," he murmurs. And then there's the buzz of the intercom and a squeal and he blinks once, twice. "Bloody— " Basting ribs is abandoned in favor of slipping out of the kitchen and over to the intercom. He presses the button and speaks back into the microphone: "Niki?"

Ears perking at both the intercom and Lachlan's question, Cass gives an eye to the ribs and then moves to the fridge. Pulling out three instead of two beers, she moves into the doorway so that she can oversee what's going on as well as make sure the ribs don't get burned. "Niki?" she asks Lachlan, though the question is more rhetorical than anything else.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I know it's a— " Insert general sounds of flailing around in the lobby here. " holiday! I have the puppy here and hey, heey, calm down, you," the last portion of that sentence is definitely not meant for Lachlan; Niki's voice gets quieter, further away, trying to soothe, presumably, the dog.

Oh, Lachlan had expected Niki to come by eventually. Not exactly on a holiday, but really, he's not upset. His sort of job doesn't really have holidays and it's not hard to do it during a holiday anyway. "Nah, s'no' a prol'em. Bring 'er up." He glances back at Cass with a smirk. "S'just Niki. Think she brough' 'er puppy over fer trainin'."

Cass doesn't seem too upset that Niki came over on the holiday, either. "Good good, I already pulled an extra beer out of the fridge," she tells Lachlan and holds up her hands currently occupied by beer bottles. "Just what this apartment needs. More puppies." Bonnie runs around excitedly at the prospect of barbecue and more people the play with, generally celebrating in her own little dog way.

"Thank you," Niki's voice filters through the intercom. It may be distant and distorted, but she certainly sounds grateful. She makes her way up to the right apartment and gets a hand free from the squirming puppy in her arms in order to knock on the door in no time. Despite the rain, she's dressed for summer and without an umbrella, just wearing a dark purple tanktop of some indeterminate stretchy fabric and a comfortable black mini skirt (they exist!) and boots - cowboy boots, for the record. Both she and the ansty multi-coloured puppy are a bit damp from the on again, off again rain outside. There's a simple black collar and leash attached to the critter.

The song on the radio switches to New Age Girl by Deadeye Dick when Niki arrives, and Lachlan happily opens the door for Niki after the knock. He's already picked up on the puppy's state of mind and is sending signals to her — calming signals. "C'mon in." Sure he notices what she's wearing, but he's a man. That happens. He kinda likes what Cass is wearing more, but that's just personal preference.

Lachlan /better/ like what Cass is wearing more as half of it is /his/! "Hey Niki!" Cass calls out from the kitchen, despite not doing the cooking. She's still keeping an eye on those ribs. It's a delicate business, barbecuing. "Happy Fourth! I pulled a beer out of the fridge for you if you want one!" Bonnie comes rushing up to the new puppy and the new person entire backside wagging along with the tail. She's excited. Deciding to let the ribs lay where they cook, she joins the others in the living room, holding out a beer for each Lachlan and Niki.

"Hey," Niki is already smiling apologetically by the time Lachlan opens the door. "I didn't want to come over on the 4th of July, but the 4th of July's sort of why I came," she explains. "Fireworks. Someone was setting them off and she just started to lose it. Ever since then, she's been going crazy." Well, you know what they say about dogs taking after their owners. "…except now she's on her best behaviour. Figures." Niki rolls her eyes good-naturedly at the puppy who has mysteriously stopped squirming so much. "Hey, Cass." She politely refuses the beer with a smile and, "No thanks."

"Yeah, I tend ta have tha' effect on dogs," Lachlan quips with a grin as he closes the door behind Niki. "An' fireworks're usually the reason I get calls on the fourth o' July anyway. Have a seat; 'M gonna check onna ribs." As he passes by Cass, he gives her a quick smooch on the lips and takes his beer into the kitchen.

Though the smooch is a surprise, but Cass takes it with a smile. Taking Niki's beer as her own. Using the hem of Lachlan's shirt, she twists off the cap and smiles. "He does at that. Good thing, too, since right now we're overrun." It's not just the happy Bonnie who is circling Niki and the new puppy curiously. It's the puppies Lachlan's training for the police. "Awww, she's a sweetie. Don't worry about it. We were just cooking and debating going up to the roof to see if we could see the fireworks. So, did you name her yet?"

For a split second, Niki struggles to keep a grip on the puppy - not because "Mocha" is too strong or heavy for her, of course, and not even because she's squirming, exactly… it's because the puppy wants down to see the other dogs! Like, right now, please?! Laughing a little, Niki makes sure the door is shut behind her and crouches with the puppy just inside the living room. "Hi Bonnie," she remembers the bigger dog from Enlightenment and gives her a pat. "Her name's Mocha, but I dunno if that's staying yet," she replies to Cass. Micah said it sounded silly … but I pointed out it sounded a lot like Micah, so that's where we are now."

Do You Like Pina Coladas is the next song on the radio, and it's not long before Lachlan's singing along can be heard in the kitchen. Of course he adds his own Scottish brogue and twists to the song, but he's shameless and doesn't seem to care if Niki thinks he's batshit or an awful singer. All the while, he keeps the feedback open for the dogs that are swarming around Mocha and Niki, snuffling at both excitedly. Puppies want play plz! The clatter of metal-on-metal indicates that Lachlan has withdrawn the ribs, but it's likely because he only wants to add a bit more sauce before they're finished. "Come with me an' escape~"

As Lachlan starts singing in the kitchen, Cass can't help but grin and it gets turned to Niki. "Don't mind him," she says softly to Niki. "I can't do anything about his music tastes." It's teasing and she doesn't mind if he actually hears what she says about him. Louder, she continues the original conversation. "Mocha? Aww, that's a good name. You're right, though, it does kind of sound like Micah. Maybe you could do something like Coffee. It'd keep the same idea and not sound at all like Micah." Louder, she adds, "It smells great, honey!"

Niki makes no comment on Lachlan's singing abilities - but she does smile in the general direction of the kitchen. Pretty soon, it turns into more of a grin to match Cass's. "Maybe," she says, canting her head to the side and glancing down at the currently-named-Mocha. "Espresso?" Who knows. Soon, the puppy will have an identity crisis, too. For now, all the puppy wants to do is play. "So, um— will they all… you know, get along if I put her on the floor?" Niki calls out to the kitchen.

Swipeswipeswipe, clatterclatter. Ribs are back in the oven, and Lachlan comes out sucking barbecue sauce off his fingers and carrying his beer. "Yeah, they'll be a'righ'. They're just puppies." It's mature dogs that one must worry about. And Bonnie's always happy to see other dogs — she's seen them go in and out all the time. "So, wha' sort o' trainin' were ye lookin' fer?"

As Lachlan comes back out of the kitchen, Cass moves backwards slightly so that she's closer to him. And, even despite the sauce on his fingers, she reaches for his hand. Taking a swig from her bottle of beer, she lets the two talk business about dogs. That's not her field. If Niki suddenly wanted to learn how to talk to dogs, well, then maybe she could figure something out. But that doesn't seem to be the case here.

Down goes the puppy onto the floor. Niki keeps a loose hold on the leash as the little dog tries to romp with the others. "I don't really know, to be honest. The normal stuff? She's been pretty good— " On that note, she reaches out to give the puppy some love. "It's just, sometimes she makes a lot of noise and I don't wanna get in trouble with the neighbours."

"So ye wanna have 'er be a bit quieter, then. Tha's fine." Lachlan nods a bit, holding Cass' hand when she takes his. "If ye leave 'er here fer 'bout a week, should take care o' ever'thin'." And it's free, of course. "Havena figured out a name fer 'er yet, eh?"

"I think Espresso is a good one," Cass offers her input for the name department. "You you could go with something really unexpected. Like…cat or something. I knew someone who named their cat Dog. It was weird." She grins. That's all she really she has as an input. "Oh boy, can your apartment handle that many dogs? Plus a kitten?" She turns slightly so that she can address Lachlan properly. "Not that he won't train your puppy!" That's for Niki, of course.

"It's a work in progress," Niki answers on the subject of the puppy's name as she pushes up from the crouch among the many dogs. As for Cass's suggestions on naming conventions, she just gives the other woman a silly look, amused. "Are you sure?" she asks of the trainer. "You do look like you have your hands full."

"Yeah, I'll be sendin' the other puppies back ta the cops in a couple days. Shouldna be a pro'lem." This is said for the benefit of both women, of course. "An' George is fine." Even though he's probably hiding out under Lachlan's dresser as he usually does in the presence of all the puppies. Unlike the dogs, the Scotsman hasn't reached the point of being able to calm and coax the kitten into getting along with others.

"As all good names are," Cass grins at Niki. "Aww, you have to send the puppies back to the cops soon? Maybe we can just keep one. Tell them he got lost somewhere." She knows how much Lachlan loves Dobermans and the puppies are really just too adorable. "George is fine, huh? Have you seen him today?" To Niki, she gives a roll of her eyes. "I get him an adorable little kitten and he thinks it's the end of the world or something."

"Thanks, Lachlan. I guess this is yours for the week." Niki hands over the slim black leash - still attached to the dog, but she's occupied nearby with the other puppies. She can't help but laugh when Cass brings up the kitten - and Lachlan's reservations about it. " Well, now I can see why a cat might shake things up a little." This place is dog central. "I should leave you two to your 4th of July," she says, tucking her hair behind her ear. She crouches down again, to pick up "Mocha" for a just a moment, interrupting the playtime. "Be a good girl for Lachlan, Mocha. Coffee. Espresso. Whatever your name is," she says with a laugh… and shakes off the thought of relating to the many-named dog as she ruffles her and stands back up. Better not to dwell.

Uhhh … well. Lachlan glances toward the bedroom, then back to Cass. "This mornin'." When he woke up and George was on the bed, even though Lachlan totally does not let him sleep there ever don't ask it's a hallucination. To Niki he waves a hand. It's no problem. He would offer to let Niki join, but, well, Cass just started feeling better, and he kinda wants to take advantage of that. A lot.

"Something will come to you," Cass assures Niki. "Just keep brainstorming. Or it'll just come upon you suddenly. You can just call her 'dog' if all else fails," she grins. When she moves to leave, she's not about to stop her. After all, it's Fourth of July and she should probably be celebrating by lighting things on fire with her kid. "Thanks for stopping by. We'll take good care of her." As soon as Niki is through the door, she turns around to wrap her arms fondly around Lachlan. "One more puppy to add to your happy puppy family, huh?"

Once Niki's gone, Lachlan's got no problem with getting hugged. He wouldn't have minded even if Niki hadn't been gone, actually, but eh. He wraps his arms around Cass in kind and smiles down at her. "Yeah, looks like." A glance over at 'Mocha' and the pack before he takes a moment to remove the leash from the puppy. Then it's right back to Cass. "Ye really think they'd let me keep one?"

It's a little awkward to keep a hold of her beer bottle and hold onto Lachlan at the same time, but Cass manages. She's a bit more conscientious about the PDA's in front of her friends when she can. "I don't know. Maybe if you ask them really nicely, they will. If not, maybe /I'll/ think about getting you a little doberman puppy. If you're very good to George." Because she knows that he's good with Bonnie. "After all, I think Bonnie needs a playmate. She's getting a bit lonely, don't you think?"

"Yeah," states Lachlan truthfully, glancing down at Bonnie as she romps with the rest of the puppies. And maybe he just really misses having Dobermans. He grins briefly before giving Cass a kiss and starting to draw away gain. "Think the ribs're done." They should be right about now, and it'd be bad to char them.

Either way, Cass is sure that a doberman is in Lachlan's future. Whether by police dog or from her. The grin and the kiss is taken quite well, but when Lachlan tries to pull away, she snags onto his shirt to drag him back for another kiss. Not a very extended one, but more than just a simple passing kiss. "Mmm. I think so." Looks like it's rib time.

… hell, forget that. Let 'em burn! Lachlan likes that kiss lots, and instead of turning away again to get into the kitchen, he keeps his arms around Cass and starts to walk backwards, hopefully bringing her along. That grin remains plastered to his face. "'Course, they'll— " smooch "— have ta cool a bit b'fore we can— " smoochsmooch "— eat 'em." Smooch.

They did all that work cooking them! Or, well, Lachlan did. Cass just sort of watched. And helped by wearing Lachlan's shirt. That's a help, right? Walking backward, she grins into the kisses. "Cool— " kiss "— Huh?" Kiss again. "That might— " longer kiss "— give us some time, hm?" Even if they are walking slowly, it's not that much further to the kitchen.

"Yeah." Oh hell yeah it will. Hell yeah. Lachlan finally manages to steer them both into the kitchen and, after one last, long, deep kiss, he turns away from Cass long enough to open the oven door and extract the ribs. An advertisement for Nathan's campaign ends, and the radio starts up 'What Is Love'. Ribs out of the oven safely, the Scotsman turns back to Cass to resume that part where the ribs cool down (even though other things might heat up).

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