He gave a soft chuckle, closing the closet door. Oddly, his closet was pretty well organized, but that was only to make room for his 'baby.' The couch faced the door, with a TV on the wall and a coffee table in front of it. Off to the side was an armless computer chair with a small bass amp in the corner. Adjacent to the living area, with no separation whatsoever, was the kitchen, and a bathroom beyond that. On the same wall as the closet, was the door to the bedroom. One window was on the back wall, looking out onto the street.

"That's an idea I can get behind," he murmured, walking over and sitting next to her, wrapping his arm around her. "Only question is before or after you see me shift?" He winked, leaning in close and letting his lips meet hers.

Zelda looked around his apartment. It was small, but it was a nice apartment. It did the job, after all. Next time he’d have to come to her house. They could really get loud there, if he was the loud type, anyways. It was going to be a good night though. The shivers that went through her skin as she waited for him to come to her were nearly too much. 

She crossed her legs as she watched him come back over, wrapping his arms around her on the couch as she did a small shrug, “Mmm, surprise me,” she murmured into his ear until their lips began to touch. One of her legs wrapped around his.  She wrapped her arms around his back, one hand going over his neck as she pulled him closer and the kiss became more… Passionate.

He shuddered, his other arm wrapping around her. Yeah, shifting was going to have to wait...

-----

He lay on his side on the couch, which...really was the few ways two people would fit, but he was content. His breathing was soft yet steady as he sort of shifted to look around the room. He didn't remember hearing any neighbors complaining, and the cops hadn't showed up, so he guessed it must not have been too loud. Not that it mattered. With all the 'indecent exposures' dotting his record, what was a 'disturbing the peace' added to the mix? Not that this neighborhood could qualify as 'peaceful' anyway.

He spent the next few moments in a contented silence before sitting up, and standing to his feet. Leaning down, he kissed Zelda's cheek to get her attention.

Once he was sure she was looking at him, he began to shift. It was instant; one moment, Jay was standing there, the next moment there was a golden retriever in his place tail wagging. One thing he'd neglected to tell her, was that no matter what form he took, it always had his icy blue eyes.

Moving to the bed probably would have helped them out, at least in terms of space. Couches weren’t the most comfortable when two people were laying there, without clothes. It looks like they were clear of being accused of being too loud, too. This time, anyways. 

She stirred a little as she felt his lips touch her cheek and she gave him a smile and sat up. The shift was so quick – she wasn’t even able to see anything of the actual shift. That meant it was painless, which was good for him. However, now their was a golden retriever in front of her. She reached a hand over and began to rub his head, and behind his ears. “Kinda weird knowing where my hand was at just a little while ago,” she joked. She did notice his eyes – wow.

“You’re a pretty pup,” she scratched on the back of his neck. “I still prefer you as, you know, human. A lot more attractive that way.” She gave him a playful grin. 

His tail instinctively wagged when she rubbed his head and scratched behind his ears. Yeah, maybe that was weird, but he spent so much time trying to act like a dog that it was well-ingrained into his being by now. Some dog-like things just tended to happen when he was in shift now, as a result of pulling the same charade for years. Sadly, he was unable to speak in dog shift, for obvious reasons, so he shifted back.

As he did so, he fought back a wave of dizziness, staggering just a bit. Shifting took energy, and combining the two shifts in a couple of minutes with the...activities...of just moments ago, it took a lot out of him. But it wasn't long before he was seeing straight again. He sat on the far end of the couch where there'd be more room. "Yeah, I guess it would be weird, wouldn't it? I never really thought about that before, actually."

He looked at her with a sly grin. "You're too sweet," he quipped playfully, sticking his tongue out at her. "All things considered, I'd hope you'd find this form more attractive."

She chuckled as she petted the dog shifter. She wasn’t sure if there was instinctual things that might be initiated when he was in dog form or if the tail wagging was simply a conditioned reaction to pretending to be a dog for a part of his life. 

She watched him shift back and, as a doctor, quickly noticed the dizziness. It was probably the shifting, she thought to herself. In either case, it was in her instincts to make sure he was okay, “You good?” 

She nodded in confirmation, “Right?” It wasn’t that big of a deal, but it amused Zelda. 

She giggled and gave him a teasing grin back, “It would definitely be weird if I liked the dog form more, eh?” She let her eyes check him out one more time before crawling on the couch and over to him. She then let her lips kiss on his, “I wouldn’t be able to do that if you were a dog, so I’m pretty happy about this form of yours.” She let her eyes wander to his more… Southern area, too. She gave him a teasing, playful grin and returned to her side of the couch. 

"Yeah. The shifting looks seamless, but it can take a lot out of me. Especially coupled with other...strenuous activity," He gave her another wink as he leaned his head back against the couch, closing his eyes and breathing deeply; it was obvious he'd been through this routine quite a bit.

Though usually it was after running from the cops, or someone's angry boyfriend, or someone else he'd pissed off. So this was a rather nice change of pace, anyway.

He opened his eyes just in time for her to kiss him, and he returned the favor sweetly. "Yeah, being human does have its...perks," he murmured softly, placing a hand on her leg before standing up and walking to her end of the couch. Kneeling, he kissed her again.

"It's funny though. I've had the apartment authority over so many times thinking I had a dog...What do you think they'd do if they found I was the dog? I mean...I don't think I'm technically pet..."

She nodded, “Yeah, that is understandable. The energy required to use one’s mutation can occasionally be pretty extensive.” She laughed, “Especially after strenuous activity.”  

She watched as he followed her to her end of the couch and she returned his kiss softly, letting one of her hands mess with his hair a little. 

That was quite a paradox – one she didn’t have the answer too, really. She clearly gave it a few seconds to think over before she shrugged, “Well, they do say no dogs allowed and you kinda can become one, so… Technically speaking…” She tried to make a straight face but the grin that escaped her lips showed she was clearly joking.

“Yeah, I mean, I guess you’re technically not a pet. But everyone has animals in their apartments when they’re not suppose too, anyways.” It wasn’t like it was that hard to sneak a dog or cat into your apartment, at least if you’re cautious about it (and that the animal isn’t loud.) 

He jokingly scrunched his nose when she'd messed with his hair a little--as if it wasn't messed up already. He pondered her statement as he let his eyes trail her body.

"Oh well. At least I'm house-trained, I won't chew on the furniture, or anything like that, right?" He gave another chuckle, just sitting on the floor for the time being.

He leaned back against the coffee table, still letting his eyes sort of wander as he spoke. "It is kind of interesting to think about though, isn't it? I guess I'm just a walking paradox." After a moment, he stood to his feet. "Think I'm gonna make a pot of coffee; you want anything?"

She grinned as he scrunched his nose up. He was a cute guy, for sure. No complaints about their passion a little while ago, either. 

She laughed softly, “See? No worries about getting the down deposit taken away, anything.” She shook her head a little bit, a small smile on her face. 

She looked towards him – initially at his eyes, but as his eyes wander, she let hers wander as well. She nodded, “I guess so. But don’t have an existential crisis on me, okay?” She gave him a wink as he stood. “Oh, sure, that’ll be great, actually.” 

She stood up after him, stretching her body a little bit. For a moment, she debated if should put some clothes back on. She decided not yet, though. She’d simply follow him into the kitchen area.

He laughed. "Pretty sure I had my crisis a long time ago, so you should be good there," he teased, stretching as his joints popping a little. He had to admit, he was liking her as a person so far. She was sweet, funny, and definitely easy on the eyes. Her being a doctor pretty well guaranteed that she was smarter than him but that didn't really matter.

He walked to the kitchen, also not bothering with clothes. He looked back to see her following him, then got his coffee pot set up. "Well, it'll be ready in a few," he said, leaning against the countertop. "There might be food or something in the fridge. Nothing as good as what we had at the restaurant, but I try." He gave a soft shrug.

After a moment, the coffee was ready and he poured a cup for himself, then for her. "How do you like it?"

She chuckled, “Alright, alright… I’ll take your word for it.” She grinned. He was funny, too, which helped out. They seemed to have a pretty good connection. Maybe this wouldn’t be the last time they’d talk, hook up, or date, or whatever. She’d just have to remember to give him her phone number before they left. 

She shook her head, “Nah, I’m not too hungry right now. Although, I am positive it’s at least competing for restaurant level goodness.” She’d probably be in a little bit, but for now, she was good. Plus, the mention of coffee gave her a weird craving for it. She leaned onto the counter top and watched as he poured the coffee for him and her. She blew on it a little and took a sip, “Mmm. It’s good.”

She crossed her legs as she sipped some more of the coffee, “So, when’s your next gig? I’ll have to be sure to show up.” 

"Trust me, I'm pretty sure my cooking is part of the reason I'm still a bachelor," he cracked, taking a sip of his coffee and noting how she took it. He found himself hoping this wasn't the last they'd see of each other. "But I do make good coffee, at least." He gave a light chuckle, crossing one leg over the other as he stayed leaned against the counter.

And then came the question he was halfway dreading. "Well, honestly, I don't know. I'm basically, just a fill in guy. Someone's bassist flakes or gets sick at the last minute, I'm the guy most people call. Can't seem to land anything permanent, sadly. Maybe these guys will give me a call back. Here's hoping anyway," he murmured, sort of disheartened as he raised his coffee mug in a sort of mock 'cheers' pose before taking a sip. Though, he did note that she wanted to see him play again, which made him smile.

"Think maybe I could get a greyhound shift and just race for a living?" he half-joked.

She cracked up over that. At least he was honest about it. He did make good coffee, so that was definitely a plus. Granted, she didn’t drink coffee that much. The doctor knowledge made her mostly a water drinker with some occasional splurges. 

She took a sip of her coffee as she listened to him explain his situation – he was a backup, the guy people call. She gave him a sympathetic smile, “I hope they do - but don’t feel too hard on yourself. It can take a while. Sometimes.” She felt bad for the guy. Life was a b*tch. She had a shadow government arm from across the rip terrorize her for a bit. Life sucked.

She laughed, “I mean, I don’t see what’s wrong with that, honestly.” She paused, thinking for a moment, “Do you have a paper and a pen?” 

"I know. I mean, I've made ends meet in worse times than this, but ya know. Play the hand you're dealt and all that happy bull****," he said with a light chuckle. "Oh, yeah. I'll be right back." He finished his coffee and went into the living room, looking for a paper and pen, but to no avail. So he checked the bedroom, finally coming across a pen and a notebook.

He handed her the pen and notebook before pouring another cup of coffee. "There should be a blank page in there." The notebook he'd handed her was mostly songs he'd scribbled the lyrics and notation to.

"Actually...I used to run track, so...doing it as a dog might be a pretty good setup if I can find a way in. And if I'm still any good, heh." He smirked.