what_the_shock | A bar on the mainland

Miguel had looked around, found a pub with good food and plenty of beer, and called a taxi to get them there. The bar even had $1 drafts on Monday.

They might regret that after these two started drinking.

[Expecting one, and NFB for distance!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

puppy_fair

Zack closed his mouth before even managing to get that protest out, yes.

"... Well, if you've ever tried to put a dozen puppies in a single place..."

Sure, it was easy on the back, but sleeping would never happen.

From:

what_the_shock

"Close the door and shove them in one at a time?" Miguel suggested.

You were bigger than they were, Zack.

From:

puppy_fair

Yeah, but they were way less likely to fall victim to his puppy eyes than he was theirs.

"... That's a lot of laps."

Yes, Zack. A dozen. Less if you double up.

From:

what_the_shock

"You lived in a cave for months; what's a few laps with dogs?"

From:

puppy_fair

"I thought the goal was me actually getting some sleep at some point," Zack pointed out, grinning crookedly.

And ordering another beer.

The bartender was seriously starting to look concerned, now.

From:

what_the_shock

The bartender could deal; it wasn't like they were making trouble.

"You saying you won't get any sleep buried under puppies?"

From:

puppy_fair

"I mean, there's no guarantee the puppies will be sleeping," Zack pointed out, reasonably.

From:

what_the_shock

"That just means you have to tire them out first," Miguel said. He thought about it. "Do they chase pointers like cats?"

From:

puppy_fair

"They do," Zack agreed, "but it's kind of mean. They never really catch it, you know? Which bothers dogs more than it bothers cats, I think."

From:

what_the_shock

"I've been working on these spider things," Miguel said. "Miniature robots. I could make some bigger ones. They fly. They could chase them."

From:

puppy_fair

"At that point I might as well still be sleeping downstairs in the puppy playpen," Zack pointed out, smiling crookedly.

From:

what_the_shock

Miguel laughed. "No, see, first you tire them out, then you all sleep."

From:

puppy_fair

"Oohhhhh," Zack smiled crookedly as he reached for the next drink. "Okay, that's the order that goes in, huh? And here I've been doing the puppy thing wrong this entire time."

From:

what_the_shock

"Dork." Miguel lobbed a napkin at him. "Go sleep in the puppy pen, then."

From:

puppy_fair

"You can't tell me you're not jealous," Zack teased, smiling.

From:

what_the_shock

Miguel laughed. "I absolutely can tell you I'm not jealous. Don't get me wrong, puppies are fine, but I'm kind of partial to a bed when I can get one."

He flagged down the increasingly worried bartender for another round.

From:

puppy_fair

"To each his own, then," Zack replied. "I think my priorities are sound."

Puppies. Never the wrong choice, Miguel.

From:

what_the_shock

"Perfectly sound, just until you need to get some actual sleep," Miguel pointed out. "Which I think gets us right back to where we started."

From:

puppy_fair

"To that place where I'm probably never sleeping again?" Zack smiled wryly. "I'll figure it out, man. I promise. Worst case scenario, Girl will make sure I rest."

From:

what_the_shock

"Good for her," Miguel said, nodding. "Seriously, sleep is a good thing. Doing without's fine when you have to, but miss too much and your brain goes to mush."

He paused for a drink and a bite of the nachos. "You're safe on the island; you get that, right?"

From:

puppy_fair

Zack kind of froze up at that, his drink partway to his mouth.

...

"I mean," he said, slowly, "I guess so... It's why I'm there. Instead of my own world. You know...?"

From:

what_the_shock

"Yeah?" Miguel nudged him. "So why can't you sleep?"

From:

puppy_fair

Zack looked at Miguel quietly for a few moments.

And then just kind of turned his attention back toward the beer.

Sat in silence another few moments more.

"Not all nightmares go away just because you've got puppies or you're safe."