Sveta was still stuck in the apartment like a snail in a shell. Sure, she'd been outside in the past few days... usually for quick trips to the ice cream parlor or a grocery store. But mostly just to the door for the takeout she ordered. It wasn't like she was scared to go out, she told herself. It was just that the outside sucked, and as a recent kidnappee, she was entitled to some me time. Alone. In her pjs. With cold pizza.

Yup, she was totally on top of things.

Things were happening. Haven knew about SUPER now, and was working angles. They had plans, and Sveta even had a tentative invite to participate in those plans down the line. But for now, she was still 'recovering', and therefore entitled to takeout and being generally pissed at the world.

If only I had someone else to hate it with, she mused as she opened a bucket of ice cream.

Her cries of "Dammit, noooooo!" echoed around on the fancy-schmancy stone of Haven's halls. Noel really hoped deep down in her heart that fancy stone was not porous. "You do that outside! Outside, Dammit!" Mortified, she did her best to clean what she could with what she had, but eventually she called security so that they could get ahold of whoever did the cleaning. They needed an emergency cleaning. Now.

Annnnd to top it all off, it was dinner time. She'd totally spaced on their lunch plans. With their tight schedules lately, Noel had been doing her best to meet Ranger halfway. Just as he'd been trying to accommodate her. They would squeeze visits in here and there, maybe with Noel staying late to let the dogs play here and there. Noel texted an apology to Ranger and went to unlock her door.

And went to unlock her door.

His birthday was in February, wasn't it?

Noel let her head fall forward against her locked apartment. Ranger wouldn't be back for a bit. She could call security. Again. But she'd already had to call about her snuffly little puppy making a mess out by the elevators.

It was time, officially she decided, to throw a pity party. Knowing that misery loved company and that there was one person in particular that was especially miserable these days, Noel went to knock on Muse's door.

"It's Noel. And a puppy. You wanna have dinner?"

There was a knock on the door. Sveta wondered who it could be. She told herself SUPER would not knock, but she still peered outside, and only opened the door when she saw Noel's (real) face. The woman did not look much better off than she was right now, which was great, because Sveta would have felt self-conscious otherwise about the messy apartment.

>>"It's Noel. And a puppy. You wanna have dinner?"

"As long as we are not eating the puppy." Sveta answered promptly, then smiled a little and opened the door for Noel and the pup to come inside "Is it yours?"

Sveta was not a big pet person, but she also had nothing against them, if they were friendly. She quickly packed up some pizza boxes before the pop could get into them. "Um... what do we eat?"

Sveta opened the door to a very confused Noel. "Is eating the puppy an option? Dammit, come back here." The puppy had bumbled forward, too big for her own paws, and snaked between Sveta and the door in order to make a break for the open pizza boxes. Noel's voice cut in with her command before the puppy had a real shot at reaching anything, and Dammit stopped with a whine. The puppy obeyed. She took her dear sweet time (there were lots of things to sniff!) and whined once she saw Noel's face (complaints were lodged), but her stub of a tail did start wagging again when she got pets. Relieved that they wouldn't be wrestling over some questionable pizza, Noel ruffled Dammit's face with affection.

For all her faults and strong will, Noel still liked the troublemaker.

"Yeah." The puppy, for better or for worse, was Noel's responsibility. "I didn't ask for her, but she was a... gift from someone I can't really say no to. I guess she's alright, but I feel bad. I've been out a lot lately. She does help me know that time has passed even if I don't have the memories to prove it. This thing just keeps getting bigger." Dammit leaned against Noel's shin in a whiny plea to be set free in this new space as they entered the apartment together. Noel kept a better hold of Dammit's lead just to be extra sure she wouldn't run off again.

> "Um... what do we eat?"

"I was gonna suggest we go somewhere, but... that really sounds like effort." Plus with the pizza boxes and the pajamas, it didn't look like Sveta had actually gone out of the living room, let alone the apartment.

"I don't cook, so... Order in some Indian food?" The best part about New York was the myriad choices they had and so many of them delivered. "I have a menu from one of my favorites..." In her apartment, she realized. Noel groaned in disappointment. "iiiiin my apartment, which I can't get into right now. I keep my takeout leaflets in the oven." What better place for them? She certainly wasn't using the oven to cook.

>>"Is eating the puppy an option? Dammit, come back here."

The puppy managed to get into the apartment first. She was cute, in a wobbly sniffly way, and did not pee on anything (yet) so Sveta really did not mind the intrusion. To be honest, a puppy could not add much to the mess she was currently living in.

>>"I didn't ask for her, but she was a... gift from someone I can't really say no to. I guess she's alright, but I feel bad. I've been out a lot lately. She does help me know that time has passed even if I don't have the memories to prove it. This thing just keeps getting bigger."

So, she was Noel's dog. Or Noel's gift dog, in some way. Sveta watched as she obeyed the commands, and wondered what it would be like to have a pet that you could only sometimes remember.

>>"I was gonna suggest we go somewhere, but... that really sounds like effort."

"Yeah." Sveta closed the door and walked back to the couch that was mostly clean. It was clear that going outside was not one of her top priorities either at the moment. On the other hand, she was really glad that Noel stopped by to visit. She needed some time, but she was not a hermit...

>>"I don't cook, so... Order in some Indian food? I have a menu from one of my favorites... iiiiin my apartment, which I can't get into right now. I keep my takeout leaflets in the oven."

Sveta arched an eyebrow. "You locked yourself out?..." Not that it was all too surprising, with the memory issues, but it did suck. And also, they needed some food. And probably drinks.

"We can look it up online?" she suggested, pulling out her phone "Or we can get something... um." she nodded towards the pile of flyers on the kitchen desk, and added a smirk "I don't cook either."

> "You locked yourself out?..."

"My door's got a numpad in case I don't have the key. Some days not even that's enough." Noel followed Dammit around the living room, scoping out the corners and under boxes and bags and dirty clothes. The place looked like hell. Noel couldn't remember if she was a tidy or slobbish person, but it didn't really bother her. It just made her realize that her friend was keeping herself in this hell.

The blonde showed off her own stack of take out flyers. New York really was the best for food. Not that Noel had anything to compare to.

"Oh dang. Waffles? Chinese, Asian Fusion? Whatever that is..." She shuffled through the stack and plucked out a few hopefuls including gourmet waffles. There was something about waffles that was just... home.

"Are we gonna talk about you not going outside or is this something I'm supposed to ignore?" It would be best if she could just get it out of the way now.

Noel and dog both walked in and made themselves at home. Sveta was glad someone visited again; she was used to being alone, but she was beginning to feel that being shut in was going to make her look less than normal. Apparently, Noel was having her own problems with her apartment.

>>"My door's got a numpad in case I don't have the key. Some days not even that's enough."

"Maybe you can teach de dog to open it when you knock." Sveta smirked, piling things to one side to make some more space in the room, while Noel looked at the flyers.

>>"Oh dang. Waffles? Chinese, Asian Fusion? Whatever that is..."

"Waffles sounds good." most takeout was spicy or savory, so something sweet sounded nice right about now. Breakfast for dinner. Hmm. Who was she to judge?

>>"Are we gonna talk about you not going outside or is this something I'm supposed to ignore?"

"I'm going outside." Sveta noted a little defensively, digging for her phone in her purse "I did. I went to get ice cream. A girl started following me for some dumb school assignment, and I almost punched her face in... In my defense, she was an adapted."

> "Maybe you can teach de dog to open it"

Noel nearly dropped the waffle menu when Dammit yanked on the lead. Noel made the puppy sit and then decided to occupy the spot beside the puppy on the floor since Sveta was still shoveling out a spot on the couch.

"You joke, but this magnificent creature has already proven that she cannot be trusted with doors. She is supposed to stay in her kennel when I'm out. Now the kennel door won't stay shut. She's bent the dang latch." All the while Noel ruffled puppy ears and rewarded Dammit's decision to sit nicely. How could she not with that puppy face?

Noel maintained a healthy amount of skepticism, but the outside thing was pretty funny.

"Almost punched, huh?" It tasted true that Sveta had been outside, but the memorymancer woods not have guessed it based on the state of the apartment. Since she didn't particularly want to go out, Noel decided not to play the issue.

And Noel knew just what she wanted as far as waffles.

"Belgian Waffles with strawberries and cream." Noel leaned over to pass the menu to Sveta and then started to go through her pockets. "What do you want? My treat. I have... Maybe a hundred bucks still on me so the sky's the limit." Noel would refrain, however, from ordering cereal milk. As interesting as it was to see it on a menu, it still sounded gross.

Okay, the pup was darn cute. Sveta wanted to pet it, but so far it was obeying Noel's commands while sizing up the place; she'd need time to adjust and start being friendly. Sveta knew the feeling.

>>"You joke, but this magnificent creature has already proven that she cannot be trusted with doors. She is supposed to stay in her kennel when I'm out. Now the kennel door won't stay shut. She's bent the dang latch."

"Smart dog." Sveta smirked. Maybe she would be a Haven-trained service dog of some sort one day. Being Noel's pet already required a special breed, and they seemed to get along great.

>>"Belgian Waffles with strawberries and cream. What do you want? My treat. I have... Maybe a hundred bucks still on me so the sky's the limit."

"Um... waffles with bananas and chocolate?" Sveta glanced at the menu "You should call dem though, not all of them like the accent that much."

She finally managed clearing the couch, and took a seat, offering one to Noel as well. And the dog if she wanted.

"Don't your boyfriend have a spare key?"

Ew. Banana. Noel wouldn't call their friendship over some bananas, but only because she was feeling pretty generous. Also, she was sort of squatting in Sveta's apartment. It'd be pretty damn rude to talk crap and then continue to squat.

"Syrup too?" She reclaimed the flyer. Looks like it came on the side. Meh. She just wouldn't use hers.

After a little back and forth, Sveta managed to clear the couch and let Noel know that the dog was okay to go up. Lucky dog. Noel assumed she was allowed too, but let Dammit go first. There really was nothing like puppy cuddles and Noel wasn't a good comforter. Not as good as Dammit was, anyway. Not by a mile.

> "Don't your boyfriend have a spare key?"

"Yeah, I'll have to wait for him to get back. He's a big, busy boss man. Got places to be and things to do. You know." She stood and dusted herself off before pulling out her phone. Noel was feeling the strain of not seeing him a ton lately, but that was silly. She'd had years and years without.

"I'll call it in. Dammit shouldn't pee on anything. She did that in the hallway already." Noel pointed at the puppy who was making herself at home, tongue lolling and tail wagging.

Jerk.

Noel took a few steps into the kitchen and made the call. On impulse she added an order of chocolate milk big enough for both of them and a plain kid's waffle for the pup. 15 minutes give or take some delivery time. There. Food was procured in the kitchen, just as it should be.

"So..." Ohhhh. Here it came. The whole mental health check in friendship touchstone something or another that she had never really mastered. At least the couch was clean enough for Noel to sink down onto it."Why didn't you punch that girl who was following you?"

Noel getting locked out of her apartment, dog and all, was a little bit amusing. Good thing she had a guy with an extra key. A guy other than Devon, obviously.

>>"Yeah, I'll have to wait for him to get back. He's a big, busy boss man. Got places to be and things to do. You know."

"Uh-huh." Sveta nodded with a smirk "You are welcome to stay." The pup already made herself at home on the couch and wiggled happily.

>>"I'll call it in. Dammit shouldn't pee on anything. She did that in the hallway already."

Sveta gave the pup a long look while Noel called for food. Okay, then. No peeing. She was okay with no peeing. Also, one good thing about dogs: There was no risk of boosting them. Sveta gave Dammit a pat on the head.

>>"So... Why didn't you punch that girl who was following you?"

"Because she was obviously not a SUPER agent?" Sveta arched an eyebrow "Oooor she was really darn good at it. Either way... she was some kind of a drama student or something. I scared the crap outta her."

The pet only encouraged the pup. She wormed her way more and more onto Sveta's lap. By the time Noel was done placing the order, she didn't have to worry about room enough for the three of them on the couch. Dammit had no shame. Only cuddles.

"You only punch SUPER agents now?" Noel flopped down. She, at least, had been explicitly invited. And there were waffles on the horizon. So things were actually looking up. Noel rolled her head over to look at Sveta and the traitor puppy. Dammit's whole butt waggled with happiness. The tail wasn't enough.

"Thanks for taking us in." The 'I am a complete mess' was hopefully implied by her tone. "I shouldn't rely on one person like Michael so much. He's just so damn reliable."

The pup burrowed into Sveta's lap, and she petted the little animal. Pets were nice... she never thought about having one, her life not being calm enough to care for another living being, but it was definitely not a bad feeling to have all of a little fuzzy creature's affection. Noel joined them on the couch.

>>"You only punch SUPER agents now?"

"Hell no." Sveta smirked "But I only punch teenage girls if dey turn out to be a SUPER agent... It's a personal preference."

The order for the food was in. Not they just had to wait for it to arrive.

>>"Thanks for taking us in. I shouldn't rely on one person like Michael so much. He's just so damn reliable."

"It is good to have reliable people around" Sveta smiled "As much as we hate relying on them... I do anyway" she shrugged "But because I do not want to turn into a jaded lonely vigilante, I kinda make an effort."

Oh it's been a teenage girl? That sorta put a different spin on the situation. A much weirder one.

> "It's a personal preference."

"Fair enough. I don't think I've defined who I will and will not punch. I'll have to check my notes." Maybe no grandmas? Ah, but then there was that time Michael had to go punch that shapeshifter who'd tried to use a granny face as a way to not get punched.... hmm. Well, since her notes were purposefully in accessible from the web and she couldn't get to them?
"Until then, everyone is fair game for punching."

> "...I do not want to turn into a jaded lonely vigilante, I kinda make an effort."

"Is that our only option? We're mutants so we don't turn into spinsters, we turn into jaded lonely vigilantes?" Had Noel ever played vigilante? Right now her guess was no. "I don't think I've ever done the vigilante thing. Contracted security and government work, yeah, but I don't think I've ever just... gone out looking for trouble. Isn't that what that is? Pick a neighborhood and that's your patrol?"

Noel tried to entice Dammit over, but she seemed pretty content to sprawl across Sveta's lap.

That dog was definitely a traitor.

>>"Fair enough. I don't think I've defined who I will and will not punch. I'll have to check my notes. Until then, everyone is fair game for punching."

It sounded funny, but in Noel's case, it was entirely possible that she had notes about whom she was and was not allowed to punch. One would have thought that a couple of candidates, like teenager girls, grandmas, and puppies, would go without saying, but in a world full of shape-shifting mutants and evil agencies, lines were more often blurred or not. Sveta was still glad she did not punch Marisol, though.

>>"Is that our only option? We're mutants so we don't turn into spinsters, we turn into jaded lonely vigilantes? I don't think I've ever done the vigilante thing. Contracted security and government work, yeah, but I don't think I've ever just... gone out looking for trouble. Isn't that what that is? Pick a neighborhood and that's your patrol?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Sveta admitted, patting the puppy that wiggled around in her lap "I mean, if you are like me, trouble keeps finding you anyway, and catching you at the worst moments. So I thought, if I can't be left alone... might as well go around prepared to sort it out next time. So yeah, I picked neighborhoods where crime was interfering with the lives of people, and cops were not very enthusiastic to go. And den I took care of the small things my way."