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..........Grant grunted in surprise as the small, wiry form of a teenage boy flung itself against him in a blur of reddish orange fur. But, just as quickly as he had seized him, the boy released Grant with a yelp and stumbled away from him.

..........“Where’s Zsolt?” he demanded fearfully. “And who are you?!”

..........The man blinked. What in the world--? THIS was the “infant” he was looking after? His mouth dropped open in disgust. Stupid Zsolt! Whay hadn’t that old geezer told him “Laxis” was a kid, not a baby?!

..........The ‘Laxis’ in question repeated his frantic inquiry. “Who are you?! Where’s Zsolt?!” His voice was layered with a low, threatening growl and a confused whimper, at the same time. Grant made a face. “Zsolt’s gone away for the week, midget, and I’m lookin’ after you.”

..........For a moment, it seemed the teen had fallen into some sort of swoon. He tottered precariously, his tail going limp, his face going pale. But it passed rapidly, and within seconds he had revived his irritating questioning. “What?! Why did he have to leave? Why didn’t he tell me?” Laxis demanded, keeping close on Grant’s heels as he let himself into the house.

..........“Would you just shut up?” Grant scowled, tossing his bags onto the couch and making his way towards the kitchen. “Now, where is it…?” He scanned the floor with electric blue eyes. Laxis looked at him, at the floor, and back at him.

..........“Where is what?” he asked reproachfully.

..........“Your dog dish?” Grant responded, with a slight sneer.

..........Laxis looked like he would explode with anger. He fumbled for a few seconds, before diving headlong into a long stream of rants.

..........“If you think I’m gonna listen to you yap all day, you’re dreaming, idiotic mutt!” Grant snarled over the pup’s insistent raging, extricating his head phones from his bag.

..........Laxis bristled. “I’M NOT A MUTT!” he seethed, bearing his sharp canines, but his words went unheard. Grant had slipped the headphones down over his ears and was already bobbing his head to the beat of the music. The boy ground his teeth, and, in his frustration, pounded a small fist on the table. For this he was rewarded with a sore hand and a bemused smile from the blond man, who remained blissfully deafened to all but the rhythms of a borrowed CD.

..........Laxis’ tail swished in anger, his large fox ears flattening into his untidy brown hair. He would NOT stand for this! “Who do you think you are, anyway?! How dare you just walk in like you own the place! This is Zsolt’s home, not yours! I can’t believe you called me a dog! Zsolt will make you sorry!” Laxis yowled, inadvertently sounding a great deal like a yipping Chihuahua. When he again got no response, he began to stamp his feet, jump and down, pace like an angry lion, and yell a long string of unprintable curses and insults, all of which sounded slightly peculiar coming from the delicate-faced teen. Grant leered unpleasantly and mockingly held a hand cupped to his ear, as if encouraging the angry demi-human to speak louder.

..........At last, Laxis’ fury died into an angry bluster, having exhausted his vocabulary of foul language, and he prowled from the room. Grant shook his head.

..........Finally…stupid dog… Man, how could that geezer stand this little brat? He tsk’d under his breath and lazily fiddled with Zsolt’s stereo. If it hadn’t been for the money Zsolt had offered him to babysit the obnoxious little ‘pup’, Grant would have never in a million years allowed himself to be talked into this...Besides, the way Zsolt had described him, Grant had thought he’d be taking care of a REAL baby, not some sort of crazed kid that had never hit puberty! What a moron…

..........Meanwhile, safe in Zsolt’s room, Laxis flung himself onto the bed, seething, as the angry tears he’d been concealing suddenly blinded him. How could Zsolt abandon him like this? Didn’t he care anymore? He mustered a growl, but it faded into a weak, muffled sob.

..........Morning alighted on the rooftop with a warm, cheerful glow, accompanied by a soothing melody of bird song. The dew on the daisy garden sparkled in its last moments of existence before the heat of summer burned it away. In the house, the sun groped long bands of light through the eastern windows. The shadows faded into lighter hues.

..........Usually, Laxis liked the morning…especially when Zsolt wasn’t quite fully awake and didn’t mind being snuggled up with. But today was different. Very different.

..........For one…there was no Zsolt. Laxis lay alone on the mattress, cuddled up with a large pillow as a substitute, and gazed moodily up at the ceiling. He decided he’d forgiven his owner for leaving him, but he wasn’t sure if he could overlook the fact that Zsolt had chosen the-absolute-meanest-jerk-in-the-entire-freakin’-world to care for him.

..........Yes…that was the other thing that seemed to drain the sunshine out of this day. The thought that there was some blond-haired bully snoozing away like a lazy animal on Zsolt’s couch was almost more than Laxis could bear. A blond-haired monster…who’d, by the way, not only called him a mutt, but hadn’t cooked him anything to eat yesterday! Laxis scowled vehemently, feeling his stomach gurgle. Was that guy just going to let him go for a whole WEEK without a properly cooked meal?!

..........Perhaps it was because of all the attention he was used to getting from Zsolt that made this thought so hard to cope with. Whatever the reason, the idea of having to wait that long for some nice sirloin was a bit devastating. It was bad enough to not have Zsolt around…but to be deprived of his favorite food…

..........He sat up, thinking. Then, apparently coming to some sort of decision, he peeled himself from the comfort of Zsolt’s mattress and snuck from the bedroom, opening the door as quietly as he could. Just as he’d suspected, the Jerk lay asleep in a rather comically awkward position on the couch, snoring softly. He hadn’t even bothered to change out of the outfit he’d worn yesterday, and, by the looks of it, he’d fallen asleep listening to his headphones, which were now askew around his blond head. Some rock song of one sort or another was slightly audible from the earpieces, but even Laxis’ sharp ears could not make out the lyrics. He must have left his CD player on ‘repeat’ all night…It was a wonder his batteries had lasted.

..........Laxis edged, secret-agent style, along the short wall just outside the bedroom door until he reached the kitchen. This was where all the food was kept, right? He looked up at the cabinets and refrigerator lining the walls, and his eyes glazed over slightly. The last time he’d tried to cook, it hadn’t turned out so well…the fox-boy chewed his tongue, recalling the fish soup he’d tried to make not long before. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea...He could always just snag some crackers or warm up left-overs of something…

..........But, of course, the only thing Laxis wanted right then was what he didn’t know how to get--a hot meal. He trailed his fingers through his unruly hair, which was even more tangled than usual after a night of sleep. He’d seen Zsolt cook before…it couldn’t be that hard, could it?

..........He took a quick peek in The Jerk’s direction to make sure he hadn’t woken up yet. Upon assuring that his ‘sitter’ was still sound asleep, he sidled towards the oven.

..........Grant was jolted from his sleep by a terrified shout and the sound of a smoke detector. He jerked and hastily rolled right off the couch in a flurry of confused urgency. “What the H--- is going on?!” he demanded, struggling to his feet and trying to orient himself with his surroundings. Blue eyes darted quickly around the room, and caught immediately on a plume of smoke rising above the kitchen. Laxis was cowering away from the stove top, where one of the burners was engulfed in flame.

..........“What did you DO, stupid mutt?!” Grant scrambled over to the kitchen, shoving the boy aside, and glanced around the room for a fire extinguisher. Finding one tucked beside the fridge, he grabbed it and aimed into the heart of the golden-red flames.

..........Pssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

..........White foam shot over the oven, choking out the flames and blanketing the stovetop with a suffocating mist. A few more spurts followed for good measure. Then there was quiet, punctuated only by Grant’s breathless pants.

..........“Are you crazy?!” he raved suddenly, rounding on the small teen.

..........Laxis didn’t answer. He leaned weakly against the wall, and then slid silently to the floor. His face was turned down, but Grant could see tears trickling down his chin onto his neck. Any further berating died in the man’s throat at the sight of the pitiful demi-human.

..........“What did you do?” Grant repeated, making an honest attempt to sound more gentle. This pup really was an idiot…but Grant couldn’t stand tears.

..........Laxis didn’t answer. Grant swore under his breath. Stupid mutt…

..........He gazed over the blackened stove top, trying to imagine what he was going to tell Zsolt.

..........Your dumb ‘dog’ set your stove on fire…

..........But…he was probably trying to cook…

..........‘Cause I sorta didn’t feed ’im…

..........Grant cussed again. He hated being the one at fault. But…this was definitely something he’d caused. His eyebrows twitched at this thought, and he turned back to the boy seated miserably on the floor. Ugh…apologizing wasn’t a particularly strong point for him. Neither was comforting, for that matter.

..........“Stop crying,” he pleaded, though it came out as more of an order. Laxis shuddered.

..........“Look…” Grant sighed, trying to think of what to do. He crouched down, deliberating. How could he smooth this over…? “I…I’m sorry I didn’t give ya anything to eat, mu--er--kid…” Yeah, that sounded good. But Laxis still didn’t look up.

..........Grant scratched his head, dismayed. Okay, that wasn’t good enough…

..........He tried again, this time coming from a different angle. “The stove isn’t in too badda shape…You…uh…really didn’t damage it all that much…really…”

..........Yeah, so…that was a bald-faced lie. But it did seem to work, at least a little. Laxis raised his head ever so slightly, to the point where Grant could see his eyes. They were still trained miserably on the floor, and tears glistened at each corner.

..........“Eh…um…what…do you like to eat?” Grant attempted pathetically. It was so dumb, trying to come across all nice and stuff after he’d already made enemies with the little brat, but it was the last thing he could think of. “You like sirloin, right?”

..........To his great shock, Laxis emitted what sounded like a choked giggle and rubbed his eyes. “Zsolt…told you that…didn’t he?” he murmured thickly. His tail shifted across the floor--the beginning of a happy wag.

..........“Er…yeah.,” Grant said, cocking an eyebrow.

..........Laxis looked up, though his eyes didn’t meet Grant’s, and he smiled distantly. The older man watched him curiously, wondering what it was that had changed his mood so suddenly, but his thoughts were interrupted by the gaze Laxis fixed him with.

..........“Sorry I’ve been a troublemaker…”

..........Grant’s brow shot up behind his bangs. Whoa…LAXIS was apologizing? Sure, he’d been sort of an annoying idiot the day before, but he hadn’t done anything wrong…The young man’s stomach tightened with guilt.

..........“Well…um…” Grant stood, rubbing his head awkwardly, thinking. Then he smiled slyly. “Listen…It’s sorta my fault for not getting you somethin' good to eat…so, what d’ya say about keeping’ this sorta quiet? I’ll tell Zsolt I started the fire on accident…and you sorta forget to mention I didn’t feed you?”

..........Laxis thumped his tail against the linoleum, considering. Then he, too, smiled, showing his pointed teeth.

..........“Make me sirloin, and it’s a deal,” he purred, grinning.

..........Grant rolled his eyes, though inside he sighed with relief. “Whatever, mutt.”

..........“AND DON’T CALL ME A MUTT!”