#sory

When Isaac asked his little sister to pet sit for the weekend, she didn’t hesitate. It had been forever since she’d seen Bex, his scruffy little mutt with ears too big for his head and a bark like a squeaky toy. Isaac mentioned he’d be out of town, travelling across the country for some project.

She’d always thought the name was kinda funny. 'Bex' wasn’t short for anything normal. According to Isaac, it stood for 'Beagle Xtreme™' – because, well, Bex was a beagle and Isaac liked to be extreme. It was the kind of ridiculous name only Isaac would come up with.

“The guys might swing by later tonight,” he'd said casually over the phone, “but don’t worry, they’ll be gone before morning. You’ll barely notice.”

So, naturally, she entered his place like she owned it.

The front door creaked open with a push of her shoulder, and she kicked it shut behind her, her voice immediately dropping into that high-pitched baby tone people save just for pets.

“Beeexx!” she cooed, crouching to greet the dog whose claws scrambled against the hardwood as he charged toward her like a little missile, tail wagging so hard his whole body wobbled. “Who's the cutiest, huh? Who's the most handsomest ever?” She scooped him up into her arms, kissing his nose and pressing her cheek against his fur. The cream-colored tote bag slung over her shoulder shifted with the movement, the strap dipping down her arm.

“Oh my goodness, look at you,” she gasped, “You’re even cuter than I remembered. Did you miss me? Huh? Did you?” She slipped her boots off by the door, leaving them in a careless heap before padding barefoot into the house.

Still murmuring baby talk into the dog's fur, she wandered through the hall toward the living room – then stopped dead in her tracks.

There was a boy there.

Not Isaac. Definitely not.

He stood frozen at the kitchen island, half a sandwich hanging out of his mouth, hand mid-air reaching for chips. Snacks were spread out around him like he’d been foraging for hours.

He blinked at her, mouth full, eyes wide like he’d been caught committing a crime, a single crumb clung to his bottom lip.

They both just stared.

Then, with the most casual, muffled mouthful of food, he grinned and said, “Hey.”

She blinked again, this time followed by a short laugh. It came out amused and a little surprised, like he caught her off guard.

“Uh… hi?" She said, letting Bex wriggle out of her arms and hop onto the couch. "I didn’t know anyone was gonna be here. Isaac never mentioned it.”

He took another second before answering. In that second, he couldn’t help but notice the way her pink tee hugged her figure perfectly, soft fabric stretching just enough to reveal the lace-trimmed layer underneath. The hem sat right where her frayed denim shorts began, hugging her hips before giving way to long, bare legs. She looked effortlessly thrown together, soft and sunlit... and completely unaware of the effect she had.

“Yeah,” he said finally, scratching the back of his head. “Classic Isaac.”

She gave him a quick once-over: messy curls, lazy grin, some worn band tee that had clearly seen better days. He looked like someone Isaac would hang out with, which was to say exactly her type – if she were the kind of girl to admit that kind of thing.

“Right,” she said, with a half-smile. “Guess I’m not surprised.”

The boy, still half-leaning on the counter, cleared his throat and gave a lopsided shrug. “Sooo… I’m guessing you’re not the Postmates guy.”

She smiled despite herself. “Nope. I’m Isaac’s sister. I’m supposed to be pet sitting for the weekend?”

“That makes way more sense.”

He stepped forward, offering a slightly sheepish hand. “I’m Tanner, I live here. House appointed fridge raider and full-time guy-Isaac-forgets-to-mention, apparently.”

“Y/n.” She shook his hand, a soft smile tugging at her lips, though there was a flicker of awkwardness in her eyes.

“Sooo… if I’m supposed to be pet sitting,” she hesitated, glancing around like she wasn’t sure where to put herself, “what exactly are you doing here?”

He exhaled through his nose, like he’d been dreading that question. “Well. So you see... technically, I was supposed to go with Isaac.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, we had plans to travel together. Flights booked, bags packed, even matching neck pillows,” he said with a grin, clearly amused by the memory. “We found these ridiculous squirrel tail pillow things— like, the pillow was shaped like the tail— and Isaac and I both thought they were so dumb.” He shook his head with a laugh. “But then something came up last minute. Personal stuff, so I couldn’t go.”

There was something almost endearing about the way he rambled on, like he wasn’t used to explaining himself but didn’t want to miss a beat.

He leaned back against the counter like that explained everything, then added, “Isaac left anyway. And then I found out the ‘personal stuff’ wasn’t even happening anymore, so… now I’m just kind of here. Trapped for the weekend."

“Don't you love how considerate he is?” She quipped, dry.

“Yeah." He breathed a quiet laugh. "I told him I’d be chilling here for the weekend. I figured he told you.” Tanner scratched at his jaw, glancing toward the couch where Bex was now gnawing on a pochita plush. “But I guess he forgot.”

“It seems so,” she muttered, shaking her head with a breathy laugh.

There was silence, comfortable in its awkwardness. She glanced at him again – his half-smirk, the way he looked entirely unbothered by the situation.

It should’ve been irritating. It was mildly chaotic. But the way he rambled through it all was almost charming.

Before the moment could sit too long, Bex came trotting back in, tail wagging and one of her boots dangling from his mouth.

“Seriously?” she muttered, already moving to intercept him. “Drop it.”

Bex paused, staring up at her.

“Sit.”

Instantly, he obeyed, dropping onto his butt, the boot still hanging from his mouth like a trophy.

Tanner blinked. “Damn. I didn’t even know he knew how to do that.”

She grabbed the boot from Bex’s mouth and gave him a treat from a pouch in her tote bag.

“I’ve been training him since before Isaac moved out,” she said, now crouched and giving the dog a pat on the head. “Guess he still knows who’s in charge.”

Tanner let out a short laugh. “I feel like he only likes me when I’m holding food. The rest of the time I get nothing but my shoes chewed up.”

“Sounds about right,” she said, tossing another treat to Bex and watching him catch it midair.

He glanced over at her. “You got more tricks?”

She nodded, digging back into the tote. “Wanna see?”

He shrugged. “Sure. Impress me,” and sank into the couch

She stood, guiding the eager pup through a couple of basic commands: spin, paw, roll over. Nothing fancy, but the dog was clearly loving the attention. Tanner watched from the couch, looking somewhere between surprised and genuinely entertained.

But Bex, now overexcited by the treats and praise, started hopping around in circles, pawing at her legs with an eager whine.

“Okay, okay,” she laughed, steadying him. “Chill.”

She barely had time to sit back down before he jumped up after her, settling himself right in her lap like it was his throne.

She let out a soft grunt, adjusting to the sudden weight. “Guess I don’t have a choice, huh?” she said, more to the dog, rubbing his ears.

Tanner grinned, shifting a little to make room. “He just does whatever he wants.”

They sat there for a minute, the room quiet except for Bex’s soft shuffling sounds as he adjusted himself in her lap.

Tanner leaned forward, grabbing a controller off the coffee table and gesturing toward the TV, where the soft title screen of Tears of the Kingdom was still playing, ambient music floating in the background.

“I was playing this before you got here,” he said, settling back. “Then I got hungry.”

He glanced toward the kitchen mess, then added, “Speaking of… I’m probably gonna order something. You want anything?”

Y/n looked over at the leftovers still scattered across the counter.

“Your buffet’s still out.”

“Yeah, well,” he said, deadpan. “I’m not about to make you eat whatever's left in the fridge... it's mostly expired, leftovers, or both,” he was already pulling out his phone. “What do you like?”

She shrugged, still petting Bex absentmindedly. “Not picky.”

“You say that now,” he muttered, scrolling through his phone. “But I feel like that’s a trap. The whole ‘I’m not picky’ thing always ends with, ‘Okay, well… not that. Or that. Or definitely not that.’”

She smirked. “Wow. You sound personally attacked.”

“Just prepared,” he said, tapping through the doordash app. “I’ve seen things.”

She gave a short laugh before glancing around the room again. At the stray shoes that spilled off the shoe rack by the door. The clothes that draped over the stairs railing, the back of the couch and a chair. A half-empty mug was left on the coffee table, and a crumb-filled plate abandoned on the fireplace. Not to mention the seemingly hundreds of pochita plushies that littered the entire space.

“I seriously can’t imagine living with, like… five Isaacs,” she said. “One was already enough.”

Tanner snorted. “It’s manageable.”

“Does he still leave his cereal bowl in the sink ‘to soak’ for three days?”

“He does, and now the bowl has its own ecosystem.”

She groaned. “That’s so foul.”

Tanner eventually set his phone down, apparently settling on something.

He sank deeper into the couch, game controller in hand, and glanced at her like he was about to bestow great wisdom.

“Okay, so this—” he held up the controller like it was some rare artifact, “—is your left joystick. It makes you walk. Right one’s the camera. A is for actions— talking, confirming— basically your everything button. X for jumping, Y for melee— thats like swords, bows, shields, spears, etc. B is for canceling, running, and also emotional damage when you accidentally hit it mid-combat.” ("-_-)

Y/n blinked slowly, absorbing the info dump. “Wow. Incredible.”

“I know,” he said, completely missing the sarcasm. “And this—” he pointed dramatically, “—is Ultrahand. This lets you build basically anything you want. You should see what cursed things me and Larry make together.”

She nodded solemnly. “Very advanced. I see why you’re so invested.”

Tanner glanced at her, squinting. “Are you mocking me?”

“Not at all,” she said, deadpan. “I’m learning so much.”

But the way she was biting back a smile gave her away, and Tanner shook his head with a grin, mumbling something about how “not everyone appreciates genius.”

He turned back to the screen, launching into a rambling explanation about shrine puzzles and the physics engine, clearly in his element.

And even though she had no clue what half of it meant, she didn’t interrupt. She just sat there, petting Bex, half-listening and fully enjoying the way his voice lit up when he talked about the dumbest little details.

The food arrived somewhere in the middle of Tanner explaining Zonai tech, and they ate on the couch without even pausing the game (or conversation), balancing plates on their knees while Bex shamelessly eyed every bite.

He eventually got a bite, though. Just a small one. Y/n caved first, and Tanner followed a minute later.

As the evening stretched on, the excitement of food and gameplay began to quiet. Bex was the first to crash, full and satisfied, shifting from Y/n’s lap until his head flopped onto Tanner’s thigh.

Y/n blinked slowly, watching the screen without really seeing it anymore, eyes heavy, head resting against the cushion behind her.

Tanner’s voice had softened over time – less explanation and more muttered reactions to what was happening on screen. He glanced over once, catching her eyelids fluttering shut.

She didn’t say anything, didn’t even pretend to be awake, and a few minutes later, her shoulder gently leaned into his.

Tanner didn’t move.

He glanced down, watching the rise and fall of her breathing, the way her hand still rested lightly against the curve of Bex’s back. The controller sat forgotten on his stomach, the game paused mid cutscene.

For a second, he thought about shifting. Grabbing a blanket or saying something, but he didn’t want to wake her.

So he just stayed where he was, letting his eyes drift shut, the warmth of the room and the quiet hum of the paused game around them like a blanket of its own.

—

Before the door even opened, Y/n's ears picked up the loud footsteps, muffled laughter, and the unmistakable clang of something dropping.

Tanner didn’t even stir.

The front door swung wide, and in burst Yumi, Nick, and Larry. All way too loud and totally oblivious to how noisy they were being.

“Shhh! Shhhhhh! Guys, seriously— quiet down!” Yumi hissed sharply, shushing them again as they kept talking loudly, trying to get their attention.

Finally, Yumi pointed toward the couch where Y/n was curled up with Tanner, Bex resting peacefully on her lap.

“Is that Isaac’s sister?” Nick whispered, eyes wide.

“Yeah, that’s definitely her,” Larry added, finally lowering his voice.

Despite all the noise, Y/n didn’t open her eyes; she kept them closed, savoring the calm amid the ruckus. Tanner shifted slightly but stayed out cold, clearly used to this level of chaos.

The trio exchanged excited and equally as shocked whispers, trying (and mostly failing) to keep their voices down as Yumi gave them one last stern hush.

“Isaac’s gonna freak when he finds out,” Nick muttered.

“Big time,” Larry agreed.