bprd_agent_red | (no subject)

Red gets it. Maybe not in the same way that Laura does, but in his own way he understands.

Professor Broom gave Red his first kitten, stressing how delicate it was and how Hellboy needed to be very careful, and to take good care of it. Despite his boisterous nature and attitude, Red heeded his father and surprised quite a few with his gentle handling and excellent care of the cat.

Even now it may be surprising to see how careful he is when he eases down to the ground amongst the swarming cats, watching out for them as they, in typical cat fashion, let him adjust rather than move out of the way.

"Not everyone is a cat person, but they seem to like ya."

X is not quite smiling, but the curve of her mouth is looser than usual, and she no longer looks like she is five seconds away from bolting out the door.

(Though not even the presence of cats will get her to leave her back completely to a door. Not even with Red and Liz around.)

She lifts her hand away from a more persistent tabby cat, ignoring the claw-bedecked protest, and reaches for a smaller black and white cat.

As a reward for good behavior, of course.

"I like them, too," she assures Red, looking up for a brief moment.

Then her attention is taken up by Steve McQueen, who is testing out her shoulder as a useful launching pad for his next escape attempt.

Liz pulls a foot up and quietly watches the girl and the cat, her leftover smile from Laura and Red's back-and-forth slowly fading into something more tempered and thoughtful.

"Hey, Steve, don't get any ideas there, pal."

He eyes the cat, then shifts his focus back to Laura.

"Gotta watch him, he's the king of escapin'. Shoulda named him Houdini."

"Steve McQueen," Liz calls. "The Great Escape. It works."

(She named the cat.)

X looks up from the cats, half-startled.

"I know."

Beat.

"It is a good movie."

She automatically shifts her balance so that Steve McQueen does not fall.

It has the side benefit of allowing the tortoiseshell cat to climb up on her knee.

That part was an accident.

"Yeah, yeah."

Red waves a hand, rather disappointed with just how Un-great, the escape in the film really was. He knows the point was about the attempt, but wanted to see them get away.

It's an old argument, so he lets it go in favor of paying attention to Laura and the cats.

"Also gotta be careful with him an' the c-a-t-n-i-p." He spells it out slowly, eying Steve. "The guy's an addict."

"Catnip is a drug," X says.

It mostly comes off as prim.

If anyone can believe X sounding prim.

"For cats."

She scritches a few more of the cats.

Then --

"That is why."

That is why Steve is an addict, at least.

Oh, the humanity.

That sound in the background is Liz strangling laughter.

Red hears the snickering from the peanut gallery, and gives a Look at Liz.

"Yeah, well, Liz gave it to him to start, and if you think he's nuts now it's a whole lot worse when he's hopped up."

X does not look sulky, not quite.

She does, however, raise her head enough to bestow a very dubious look on both Red and Liz.

Because really, now.

"I do not want to see. Now."

Beat.

"Thank you."

She lifts Steve McQueen up, shifting him to a better position.

He bears it with what looks like indulgent patience. X is so picky.

Edited 2010-03-03 05:00 (UTC)

"--I did not give it to him!" Liz protests indignantly. "It was what's his name with the ponytail, Stanton."

(She was laughing at Laura's reaction, not at the memory of Steve stumbling around like a stoned furry moron.

Though, granted, the latter was a little funny.)

Edited 2010-03-03 05:08 (UTC)

"Sure."

Red makes a show of rolling his eyes.

"The point is, I didn't do it," he tells Laura, placing a hand on his chest, then making a quick head tilting gesture towards Liz.

X looks to Liz at that, eyes narrowing faintly.

Consideringly.

"Stanton is still here?"

She is just wondering if she will need to be wary of him.

Honest.

Liz shoots Red a you think you're so funny and subtle but you're not look (pulling a mock outraged face), then glances back at Laura.

"Nah," she says. "He didn't cut it; freaked out the first time he saw a harpy. I think he went running back to whatever macho service branch he came from." She rolls her eyes.

"Oh."

X's attention returns to the cats.

"Good."

Now that Steve is resettled, she picks up the tortoiseshell.

They both seem very comfortable with the arrangement.

"She has a name?"

This question goes to Red. Obviously.

"That one totally had nothing to do with me," Red says, and a 'for once' could probably be added to the end.

Looking at the cat, he smiles and nods.

"Yeah, Farrah. You can probably already tell she likes lots of attention."

"She's a sweetheart," Liz says with a faint smile.

"I like her," X says, after a thoughtful few moments of silence.

Then she looks anxious.

Or at least as anxious as X is capable of looking.

"If that is okay?"

Red looks at the cat, glances at Liz, then looks at Laura.

This is hard, because he really does care about the cats, but it's Liz's idea, and he's convinced Laura will take good care of Farrah.

Pulling in a slow breath, he reaches out his flesh hand to stroke the tortoiseshell cat.

"Yeah, it's okay."

He ruffles the cat's fur, and smiles.

X's shoulders relax fractionally.

And then, greatly daring --

She smiles back.

(It is not a very big smile, but she tries.)

"Thank you."

They make a pretty adorable picture right now.

Not that Liz would say so to either of them.

(If only her camera wasn't across the room.)

Steve, meanwhile, is perched on Laura's shoulder. He has been watching these proceedings with a regal eye, but now, apparently feeling that he is not receiving enough attention, he balances on three paws and bats at Laura's hair with the fourth.

Liz's fond, quietly proud (of both Red and Laura) smile fades to a more reasonable level.

"You and Steve are buddies, huh?"

X looks startled again, though whether at Liz's comment or Steve McQueen's hair-batting is unclear.

She does free one hand from Farrah in order to scratch behind Steve's ears, though.

She is thorough like that.

Then --

"Yes."

It is only a little hesitant.

"He likes me."

And vice versa.

Liz got that.

She shoots Red the slightest of slight apologetic looks, and then she says, "Maybe Farrah could do with a friend. If you wanted." She folds her arms comfortably.

Wry: "Your apartment building would probably be a safer escape hatch than the Bureau." Every time Steve gets out, Liz is less and less sure that they're going to get him back before something stomps on or eats him.

(The look that she tossed to Red was only slightly apologetic because, well -- out of all of the cats, Steve is the one who is the most Liz's.

He'd probably be happier, she thinks, with Laura; definitely safer.)

Seeing Laura with the cat gives Red a warm fuzzy kind of feeling that he'd never admit to having, but likes quite a bit. He returns Laura's smile, though his is stronger, classic Red.

The smile loses something, though, when Liz offers up Steve McQueen. He turns to Liz, and the look she's giving him makes him swallow any protest. Steve is her cat, if Liz is willing to let him go, Red won't argue.

Farrah would be happier with a friend, and Steve has had more and more close calls here at the Bureau.

Nodding, Red starts to stand.

"Let me get you some things for them."