"Swear words only got four letters, genius," he muttered with a roll of his eyes. And then he snorted a laugh. "A hamburger, eh? How generous of you."

Casting an uncertain glance at the bat on his shoulder, he supposed he'd just been designated batsitter until Riku recovered. Fine, whatever, he could take care of a bat.

"I want cheese and jalapeno peppers," he said, wagging his finger, "but no tomatoes. Commit it to memory, 'cuz I'm holding you to it."

And then he waved a hand dismissively.

"Yeah yeah, don't mention it," he said. "You take care of that coat, I'll be by to pick it up tomorrow, capisce?"

And he didn't wait for Riku to reply, he simply waved in valediction and closed the corridor, trusting the kid could at least find his way to the exit. With a heavy sigh he flopped back down onto the couch and gently tweaked the bat's wings.

"Guess you're stuck with me for the time being," he said, and Stellaluna crooned softly and proceeded to snuggle herself into his hair. ... Great, less than thirty seconds of petsitting and he'd already been turned into a nest. He had a feeling it was going to be a long weekend. And not the good kind.