Hawknell Congrats! It's a gerbil!

Outfitw/coat and Pet carrier(but in green with Zaz Painted on it)

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Today was the day, she sent a text to Locke that she was coming as she had finally packed up the creatures entire enclosure, play spots, bedding, food... just everything that she had of this one small rodents. One rodent and the hatch of her truck filled with the large boxes and bags of stuff; she even bought extra bedding, treats, and food for the brothers to have for him so they wouldn't have to worry for a while.

When she arrived, she sat in the parking lot for a moment and picked up the container that held the sleeping critter, "You'll like him better than me, " she told Zaz before she turned off her car and would pull the fleece cover over the cage to keep him warm and would head to where he told her.

She'd go to the entrance of the apartment and then pull her phone out. If he was there she might not see him because she was a little distracted by the container and just her brain so she'd send a text;

Hello, we're here and i'm at the entrance

Ariadne

Aw crap, she was on time. Locke hopped on one foot toward the doorway as he wrestled a sock on his other. He snatched the keys off the hook and made it down the hallway, poking his head around the corner to see if he could spot Ariadne.

He found her standing outside with a green looking bubble thing that registered later as a carrying case.

"Hey!" Locke would call out waving. "Can I help you bring stuff in?" There was probably some of that sawdust bedding and food bags in the back of her truck.

Ari looked up and then gave a little smile to him and a wave as she shut her phone off and shoved it into her pocket.

"Hey! Yea, let's go back to my truck, it...might take a couple of trips, " she told him with a sigh as she would motion him to follow her to the dark purple truck with galaxy glitter splattered on it.

Going to the covered bed, she would lift the latch and drop it to show that there was more than just sawdust in the back. There was the main enclosure, containers that had food and treats, container that held the bedding and dusting materials, a bin of toys, and some disassembled smaller enclosures.

Without saying anything, she'd look to him, he did know that Pandora kept a whole room to this one small creature, right?

---

a small idea of some of the gear he has lol

He very much did not know!

"Oh baby..." Locke breathed out taking in the sheer magnitude of the gerbil's possessions. She did say one, right?

He looked helplessly at Ariadne before shuffling forward to pick up the closest thing to him. It was a part of an enclosure and right next to it was a huge bag full of tunnels and other contraptions that undoubtedly fit together to create the ultimate gerbil home. Or...at least he thought that for a couple of seconds before seeing that there were at least two more cages and that was just what he could see!

Ariadne looked at Locke and tried to not laugh, she really did. She was so dang sorry for this but she had no control over it; though she did supply them with extra goodies for this one tiny creature.

"I did say she had a whole room dedicated to this one little guy, right? " she asked him as she would reach in for a tote and would prop it onto her hip to carry while also carrying Zaz who was just happy and sleeping in his little travel container. No one could say that this critter wasn't well cared for. With what she could hold onto in her hand, she would look to Locke, poor guy looked shocked.

A laugh punched out of him as he attempted to pull some of the biggest pieces from the truck. "Not surprising knowing Pandora." She had a massive greenhouse for crying out loud and she would undoubtedly show the same extravagance to her pets. The smile that lingered was bittersweet and he turned away from Ariadne.

"Ah, what about her other pets again? Said you found some homes." He knew there were others. Reptiles being the first thing to come to mind.

That alone made her smile and laugh a little, nodding a bit, "She...she went overboard with the things she loves but it was always in a good way, " she told him, not even hiding the fondness in her voice for her cousin. She missed her.

Oh lord, those things, "Yes, I found her rather...dangerous reptiles a good home at the zoo. They are even labeled as her rescues and I even get pictures and updates given...given the circumstances on which I had to give them, " she told him. They were not her favorite creature but Panda loved them so she could tolerate having those photos because she knew it would have made her happy.

Rehomed to a zoo, she said? What kind of creepy crawlies did Pandora hide out in her house? Images of massive pythons, tarantulas, and funnily enough a baby penguin filled his thoughts. He wouldn't put it past the late psychic to have her own zoo. Go big or go home was a phrase that Pandora might have coined herself. "Cool cool." He said, distracted. The many boxes and bags were no trouble for his shifter strength, but even he couldn't keep all the odd shapes and angles from knocking together as he pulled the first batch from the trunk.

"If it's the Davis Zoo, then I'll have to go check it out." Make a trip out there and see it all for himself. The first load in hand, he would step away from the car and look expectantly at Ariadne. She could follow him inside. The door was unlocked.

Ari would give a nod but she understood he was a little focused on the task at hand and she would grab whatever she could and would adjust and then check on Zaz who was happily sleeping in all that colorful fluff that he had. Cute lil shit he was but she couldn't worry about him, no, she had to make sure he was in a good home and Locke and his brother should be perfect for that.

"It is, reptile section; they have her name on the little note spot from where they came from, " she told him as she would then walk on in with him, carefully adjusting the bin and bag she held onto so that it wouldn't fall as she made her way inside; oh it was warm and felt great!

Another time. When he wasn't still as raw from her loss. Now the sting only came when he was alone and thinking too much, which to say still happened quite a lot. Maybe in the summertime when time worked its magic. He'd go then.

With no plan in mind, Locke set everything in the middle of the living room and let Ariadne know it was perfectly acceptable to follow suit. Zaz would be set on the coffee table to finish off his gerbil slumber while the fetched the rest. It really was a mammoth of supplies. That gerbil would live like a king and take over half their living room.

Locke was 70% sure Emmet wouldn't mind.

"Okay, only like six more trips to go." He said, bringing some needed humor into the space. "Were their instruction on how to set this all up?"

Ari would set the sleeping creature down carefully and made sure he would roll around and once he was, she would help with the trips. Oh boy, she hoped they didn't mind the excessive amount of items; can't say he wasn't well loved on.

"Probably make it seven for good measure, " she quipped back, teasing a little bit with him before she held up a finger and went into her purse and pulled out a stack of instructions, "Yes and I am more than willing to stay and help set things up if you like, " how hard could a gerbil cage habitat be to set up? It shouldn't be that hard at all!

She still didn't know how his brother felt but if he wasn't here, it couldn't be blamed on her for bringing a singular rodent into their living space, "Do you think Zaz needs a friend? " she asked him suddenly, not sure why but it was a question there.

He was already at the door, confident Ariadne would be right behind. Having her stay and set up would be a god-send actually. "I'll definitely take you up on that. This stuff is worse than legos." Biggers parts, obviously but that meant more effort. Locke led them outside and to the open trunk with quick steps.

The food bags were his goal this time and piled high he thought he got them all. Vision obstructed, he listened instead to the sound of Ariadne grabbing her load before they'd set back inside. He remembered her question then, shifting his weight to accommodate the tilting stack.

"And, uh, I did read that gerbils do like companions. May have to look into another once he settles in." He could drag Emmett along and tell him the second one was his gerbil. That might make his brother all the more willing to become a pet owner.

"I would have to agree with you on that...but with the two of us it should be cake compared to one of us struggling to solve this...mess... " well it was an organized mess at least but still it was going to take them probably a hour to put everything together with the both of them.

She would pick up a couple more totes once they were back down to her truck and then would head back up to his apartment with him. She would set them down neatly in a stack and then go to check on Zaz for a moment.

"I did too...I am pretty sure she was going to get more knowing her; she might have been looking for more oddball gerbils like he is, " she told him as she would fix her coat a little bit from them moving stuff around. "I think we just need one more trip and we got it all and that is the bedding and treats, " she would tell him, ready to head on down again for round whatever they were on- she might be just hoping they didn't forget any of the play cages that Pan had for this one critter because there was a few.

Locke set things down as gently as possible which meant that some of it still ended up in a heap. Ariadne was far more organized with her wares and Locke commended himself on inviting her to stay. He would need help getting everything up without causing any serious injury.

Her attention to Zaz drew his as well. "What makes him such an oddball?" Locke leaned down to look at the sleeping rodent. Cute little thing, but nothing out of the ordinary physically, from what he could tell. Maybe Zaz had an extra leg or a sharp snaggle tooth! If so, he'd fit right in with a couple of shifters.

Ari would adjust a few things as she would make sure things were organized and then she was looking through the manuals on how they were put together. She would also pull out what the general list of things Zaz needed done on the daily/weekly/monthly that she had kept from Pan.

"Apparently he's a violet gerbil? If you hold him in the light right, he looks like he's a soft purple in that silvery color, " she explained as she would then hold out the little planner booklet, "I wrote down all the food he has in here, and a list of things he can't eat and all that stuff...so where are we putting his main cage? " she asked him, looking over to the large tank that would house the small critter.

At first, he thought she said violent gerbil and that she had duped him into accepting a homicidal rodent. The actual trait was far more adorable and Locke found himself peering at the little gerbil with wonder. "No way, whoa. " Maybe he could fashion a small hood to cover the eyes so he could put Zaz under a lamp and check the theory.

Ariadne proved her type A personality again and produced an entire feed list. Superb. Locke looked at all the bags and calculated months if not a year of food, meaning he inherited enough supplies to probably last the entire gerbil's life. Lucky little dude. He wished he had it that good.

"Yeah. I think we're set to start building. You call out instructions and I find?" If they divided and conquered this should go smoothly.

Ari gave a nod to that, "Mmhmm, I wouldn't have believed it until I saw it myself, " she told him with a little shake of her head at that one. She was feeling good about Zaz being here, she hoped that him and his brother would enjoy him.

At his suggestion, she would nod and then move Zaz's bubble out of the way for him so that Locke would have space as she pulled out his main cages instruction list. Oh boy, they could do this, it shouldn't be that bad.

"Ok we're setting up his main enclosure which is that big thing that has that wire topper that attached by hinges on the back with pins, " she told him. It was needed to keep the lil devil inside it, "So what is your brother like? " she asked curiously as he would start putting things together.

Locke worked diligently. Picking up the mentioned pieces right away. He liked working with his hands and so he easily slipped into his element.

Describing Emmett would be as simple as breathing. "He's quieter than me at first, but he can make friends with anyone. Real cheeseball." Brotherly fondness mixed with the standard younger sibling ribbing. Had his brother received the same question it would undoubtedly be similar.

And since Locke couldn't help himself, "I'd also say he's quite handsome but mostly to stroke my own ego."

Ari would tell him which pieces went where and how they would go and they would easily lock into place. Soon it would be time to add in the bedding and all those fun things for the little fella.

"Oh? Sound's like you two are similar in that regard, the friends and cheeseball, " she told him, a bit of a playful jab at him. He had agreed to her nutty way to use her as a periscope to get out of that corn maze. It was nutty but it worked! They weren't freezing in there anymore.

Ok that actually got a laugh from her, "So two handsome, funny, young men living in one apartment- how does this place not implode from it? Now you'll have a cute pet to lure in all the attention now, " she told him with a little laugh. As they were talking though, a little rustling sound could be heard from the carrier orb as little paws played with the bedding.

It really was like legos, snapping in the pegs and aligning all the tiny divots together to create a massive palace all for one gerbil. When he died, Locke wanted to come back as a pampered gerbil. This was clearly the high life.

Ariadne played right into his hand, buttering him up without a second thought. Safe to say Humble was not Locke's middle name. "We'll have to be careful. Having us all in the same room is hazardous for anyone's health." He would wink over his shoulder and then almost slip on some loose plastic wrap on the floor. Very suave, Mr. Bower.

The main structure complete, Locke sat back on his knees and starting pulling out the pile of twisty tubes and half tunnels. "You know all this stuff reminds me of the maze. Zaz is going to have a hell of a time navigating his huge home."

Ari would point out any possible error that he might make with the tubing and all the coded things, it was like building a little city for a rodent.

What she didn't expect was that comment and it made her grin a little bit now as her brow raised, "Ah so you must have sent him away to just protect others, how noble of you to do so, " she told him, a little tease in her tone over that and then he nearly slipped and fell on the floor. Ariadne had to bite her lip but a small snort left her at how he nearly smacked onto the floor; opse.

"Least we were smarter than the maze...I think if you just put food at the entrance and exit, the little guy won't get lost- I think, " she said with furrowed brows and a shake of her head, "It's supposed to help keep them from getting bored and driving you up a wall at night- supposedly, " she told him with a shake of her head as she pointed out another pice that belonged in the connection city.

She had been right. Rather than make things more complicated, Locke set the tunnels in a simple pattern first then added the twists and turns. In no time Zaz would have his own mini jungle of colorful tunnels to explore.

Rocking back to land on his butt, he scrunched together the now-empty plastic bags. "Good thing we're keeping him out here then. I'd have nightmares hearing his wheel going off at midnight."

His foot nudged forward to hit the bundle of bedding. "Wanna help me dump it in?" Call him crazy, but Locke actually liked the smell of sawdust. Tingled his nose and made him think of the outdoors in the sunny season. His bear, however, was a bit of a diva and only preferred the fresh stuff.

"First night I heard him I freaked out for a moment confused at what was making that sound, " she told him with a little embarrassed laugh. Yea, she was used to her quiet and single pringle life that had nothing in it really. She'd sleep better to the sound of fire than a wheel.

At his request, she would nod and shrug off her coat the rest of the way and tug up her sleeves. It thankfully had a zip seal top, so it wouldn't make an easy mess but only if you remembered to seal it.

Opening it, she would get her hands into it and then start to sprinkle it in, "It's supposed to be thick in some places because these little guys like to burrow around, " she told him as she would add in the soft shavings.

He laughed along with her, feeling at ease with Ariadne. She was like her late cousin in that respect.

A block of sawdust chips in his hand, Locke allowed her to demonstrate first before following her lead. He snuck a few sniffs as the bedding coated the entire bottom and did his best to make nice hills of the stuff so Zaz could create many secret hideouts.

"He’s going to live better than me." Locke joked as he tossed out the empty bag. He snatched up the bottle that lay with the remaining items and hiked a thumb behind him. "I’ll go fill up his water. You mind doing the food?"

He had a nice laugh, it did have her smiling and relaxing some. He was easy to relax with she noticed; she wondered if his brother was the same in that regard.

"I think he lives better than anyone I know...free food and home, attention...toys; I think being a pet is a cake life, " she told him with a slight joke in her tone as she would adjust the shavings and get it just right for the little guy.

"Yea, I'll get it, " she told him as she went to the bin that had his food dishes and all his food supply and she would open the little tubs that had his mixed food and add it to his dish while also pulling out some chews and then treats. Ari would carefully place them into his space, adjusting them a little bit and then sprinkling his treats around while also making sure he could get to his toys easily before she went to disturb the curious rodent.

She would pull him out carefully and hold him in her hands and gently rub his head with her fingers and whisper, "You'll like it here better than my place, promise, " she told him as she rubbed his head gently while waiting for Locke to return.

Locke actually needed a break away from the living room. It was easy hanging out with Ariadne. She was sharp and had no issue playing along with his sense of humor. Just like Pandora. It shouldn't be surprising, they were related after all. However, Locke felt...guilty. To be at such ease with someone that reminded him of his late friend. A completely silly notion. He was allowed to make other friends and Pandora would likely berate him for ever thinking this way. Still...he couldn't help the little part at the back of his head that disapproved.

The water bottle had long been filled and Locke realized that for that last few seconds water had been cascading over his hands. Quickly, he turned off the faucet and screwed on the top. He couldn't mope around forever. Ariadne was a really cool person and crazy nice for helping him set things up. Building a friendship with her wouldn't diminish his past relationship with Pandora. In fact, Pandora would have likely dragged Locke along to meet her cousin the first chance she got.

Such a coincidence, running into Ariadne, should be seen as a good thing. And that's what Locke decided to accept. Feeling lighter, he moved from the kitchen just as she finished setting up the feed bowls.

"Hey. I got it." He clocked her with Zaz in her hands, nodding approval before bypassing to lean down and set up the water bottle.

Locke watched her coo at the gerbil, smiling softly. "You'll get visiting rights of course. I'm sure Zaz would be happy to see you anytime." Ah, provided she gave them the heads up in case any twin was occupied or something.

Ariadne would keep giving light little scriffs to the gerbil, he was so stinking soft, like a moving cotton ball or piece of candy. She could see the appeal of this little guy and why her cousin had him; so then it made her wonder why the hell did she own snakes?

When Locke returned, she would offer a little smile. A part of her liked to think that it was Pandora's spirit that made sure they met and started to become friends. What else could explain her meeting him? She understood how she met Zachary but Locke was by chance, so she'd happily blame her cousin for pulling some strings.

"Great, his food is set up and treats scattered around in there...he should be good, " she told him with a little smile at that. Once he set the water up, she would offer Zaz to him to hold since he had yet to hold his new room mate.

"I'll gladly be that aunt that sends stuff; you know they have monthly boxes for gerbils? Well...almost any rodent that gives them special treats and is often themed? " she would ask him, a total surprise to her honestly about that one.

Locke was almost nervous to hold Zaz for the first time. The tiny gerbil looked so small in his hands and when he imagined the bear's giant paws...

Locke cupped Zaz like a precious jewel and stood deadly still, relaxing slowly as he reminded himself that the little guy was safe and not reacting terribly to the beast inside. His bear didn't have much interest in rodents and had quieted down after blinking open one eye before shuffling back to rest.

He appraised the work they both had done and hummed happily at the sight of a full food dish and all the essentials to make sure Zaz would be happy in the Bower home. Turning back to Ariadne, Locke made sure to thank her. "Couldn't have finished this without you."

Carefully, he ran a thumb over the gerbil's head and marveled at the silky fur. The tiny vibrations as Zaz explored the enclosed space made Locke smile. It sort of tickled.

"Wait, like a subscription box?" He asked, pulled away from his new pet. Locke knew about those, vaguely.

That little praise would earn her bowing her head a little and a smile rising to her lips, "It took two of us; you know how long it took to disassemble? You cut the reassembly time down by over half. So once more, great teamwork on our part, " she told him with a little grin at that. Just as they had worked together to get out of that blasted maze, they figured out a pet puzzle cube with ease with their teamwork.

She would nod, watching as he gave attention to the little fella before letting him go explore his freshly cleaned home and food. She would move to help clean up.

"Yes, he had a box subscription apparently and so next month you should be getting another. It's paid for until December, " she told him. He could probably guess who had done that without a second thought though.

"So what did your brother think of your new little roommate? " she inquired, wondering if he was excited or just didn't care or something else all together.

A rejection sprang upon his tongue, but Locke forced himself to swallow it. Subscription boxes were not the most economical and a near year's worth still to come? That had to cost a pretty penny. It was money already spent so he would stay silent on the matter and send a quiet "you're crazy" and "thanks for being you" to the ridiculous person who was Pandora.

"She really did think of everything." That would be the last he'd say on it for now.

To the other, Locke would take on a sheepish look and brush the back of his head while avoiding direct eye contact. "Ahhh, So Emmett might not know yet? Thought I might drag him to the pet store for his own gerbil and then tell him the surprise." It was a brilliant idea. Couldn't possibly go wrong.

All Ariadne could do was nod, "She did, I know she always tried to be ahead on things and be prepared as best she could but that often leads to a little bit of chaos as well, " she told him with a little shake of her head at that. She could only internally laugh at how whacky her cousin was over something like that and then she tried to imagine her with more pets nad that made her internally cringe; no thank you.

Oh...oh no, that might not work.

"Uhm you might want to do that before he gets home and see the little zoo you now have because he might suspect somethings up when he see's all the tubes, " she would suggest with a little chuckle at that. How long until the other brother returned from whatever he was doing? Really she had no idea but she knew eventually he'd find a rodent in his place and it wasn't a pest.

Locke smiled at her concern. For anyone else, yes, he should give them a warning. But his brother? Nope. Never. Emmett could never know such a courtesy. Locke had to school his face to keep the shit-eating grin from spreading past his lips and forced a contemplative nod.

"I'll think about it." The best he could promise since he had already fallen in love with dragging Emmett to Pet Smart the second his brother got off work.

Locke stood up and curled a fist to his side. "The important part is we finished putting this all together!"

The 'i'll think about it' rang with brotherly mischief. She wouldn't press but she could only imagine what he had in store for his brother. It made her smile though, the image of what might happen when he realized what was going on.

"I would like a picture of his reaction to having a new roommate at least then please, " she would request, a little smile in her tone at it.

He seemed very positive, "We did, want help organizing the tubs out of the way? " she asked him curiously. She was growing to realize she had more OCD than she noticed and it was sort of annoying but she also brought these in here so she was determined to leave it neat and tidy as well.

Locke was already itching to text his brother and tell him without any context to meet him at the pet shop. A quick peek to the digital clock in the room told him that it would sadly have to wait another few hours before he could time it just right.

"I'll be sure to let you know how he takes it." Locke's eyes were bright with trickery. He could almost picture the surprised Pikachu face from Emmett.

Her question had him jumping to action. "Ah, yeah. You want to take back some of these containers? We don't need everything. I can help you load them back up in the car."

That alone had her smiling and letting out a small chuckle. His poor brother but it was between them and it would be their entertainment and she would get to just hear about it and laugh from the side; which was perfectly fine by her.

Oh, she didn't need them back but, "Sure, let me help organize things first and condense them for you to help, " she told him with a small smile.

It only took her a moment to open the bins and start to neatly stack food and treats into a bin while setting empty ones off to the side, "Mm so I don't know a lot about you and I'd like to so tell me...what is one weird thing that you have done or wild, both apply, " she would ask as she continued to organize by size and type of food.

"Yeah, let's clear some of this space." Locke had already begun stacking bins and doing his best to haphazardly organize all the extra items for Zaz. The first bin slotted nicely into the second with a click, the third, however, needed a bit of a push.

It seemed Ariadne wanted to toss a few get-to-know-you questioned while they worked. Locke was suddenly reminded again of Pandora and her 20 questions. He took a moment to pull himself from the memory and answer.

"Huh. A weird thing that happened. Well, last year I ran into one of those people with superpowers and they froze my entire car engine. Freaky." That was a safe thing to mention, right? Varya didn't even have her abilities anymore and he never reported it...so it was now just a humorous antecedent that Ariadne might find equally funny.

Ariadne worked rather easily, not minding at all as she was used to organizing boxes from her job. It was therapeutic and relaxing for her to do this and with help it went by a lot faster than on her own.

Now that, made her stop for a moment and look to him in surprise.

"You met a psychic? And they froze your car engine? How, with electricity or something? " she asked, suddenly very curious. A part of her so badly wanted to ask if Pandora told him what she could do, it was such a strong urge that it nearly slipped out but she bit her tongue for a moment and wanted to see what he said further. Maybe she did tell him, she wrote about him in her journal but there was a chance she didn't as well and that would also put out the risk of her outing herself; was it worth it?

Oh right. They were called psychics. Pandora might have been the one to tell him that, but sometimes Locke's brain liked to push all information that didn't immediately pertain to his shifter lifestyle. He'd be sure to remember now.

Shaking his head, Locke clarified. "No, like actual ice. Frozen completely solid. Thankfully it only needed to dry out and I had a mechanic give it the okay."

It was seriously a blessing to still have his car. Locke thought it had been a goner.

Oh, well didn't she feel silly now but how he said things didn't strike her as the sort to dislike them but still, she'd drop that topic like a hot potato right now since it wasn't overly important ayways. Leave him in the dark about the going ons about the supernatural world.

"Oh! I don't think I would have managed that well...I'm no good with vehicles at all but at least you have your car still, " she told him, glad that he had something that worked still.

She would continue with organizing the bins, trying to drop it from the crazy amount that it had been to maybe two or three for easy storage.

Locke laughed good naturally again and pointed to his car parked just a few spots down. "I'd be up shit's creek if I lost my car. So, no harm, no foul for super girl." Water under the bridge for now and Varya did apologize profusely.

He held up the ready bins and set them into her waiting trunk.

"Let me grab the last ones and you should be good to go."

He seemed chill, very chill honestly and it made her smile that he easily forgave whatever mishap happened with his car, "You seem very easy going with things- also I'm glad your truck is doing just fine, " she told him with a smile as she would finish organizing the bins for him.

There, it didn't look so chaotic anymore and that honestly felt nice.

"Sure, I'll take this one and you should be good now, lets stack these in the trunk, " she told him as she would pick up a bin before looking at Zaz who was happily just in his food bowl eating away like nothing could bother him in the slightest.

A last look to all the new additions to his living room, Locke waved a few fingers in Zaz's direction so the slumbering gerbil wouldn't worry and followed after Ariadne.

He could sense their time drawing to a close and felt a rush to thank her one more time. "Seriously, appreciate all your help." It was nice in a way to have a little piece of Pandora and a good surprise for Emmett to find later. A tiny silver lining after a long row of rain clouds.

"Do let me know if you need anything else."

Ariadne would quietly make a mental note to check in randomly with Locke, just to see how he was doing and Zaz. She wanted to still be around for him and maybe become decent friends with him.

"Thank you for helping me with this as well...you have no idea how much this is helping right now, " she told him as she would shove things into the trunk of her truck. She'd deal with those things later on.

"You to, anything at all, please let me know- I don't care if it's simple, " she told him with a little smile at that, "Thank you again Locke...let me know how it goes with surprising your brother too, " she reminded him with a gentle tone and light smile at that. Things were still bittersweet to her but this was a good thing, Zaz would be loved and cared for and Locke, someone Pandora cared about, was getting something she obviously loved dearly. Maybe this was a bit more healing than she realized.

Would it be weird to hug? Probably. Locke returned her smile and added a little wave.

"I'll text you after, once Emmett's new gerbil is burrowing away with Zaz." He was looking so forward to the face his brother would make. Speaking of, he needed to go text Emmett as soon as Ariadne left.

"Don't be a stranger. Next time you can meet Emmett as well, just maybe not all of us in the same room, ya know, because it'd be too much handsome all at once." Locke had the audacity to wink and then belly laugh.

"I hope he picks a spunky one and another male unless you want babies, " she warned him with a small smile. She didn't think he wanted to be surprised with tiny rodents one day everywhere unless he did.

"You as well and I can't wait- maybe we can all go for Italian or rock climbing, " she would tell him before shaking her head at him and his joke, "Take care, thank you again, " she would tell him as she gave a small wave and would close up the back of her truck and head around to the drivers seat.

Her place was going to feel decidedly emptier but it was for the best. She would take a breath and then start her truck up, wave to Locke and then would drive off to work.