He'd been sitting on the porch for what felt like an hour but probably wasn't — maybe thirty minutes? The back of his legs had started to feel the shape of the wood, and his tail twitched slow, then fast, then stopped again when he remembered he should probably be sitting still.

still = good. still = waiting. waiting = part of the job.

His ears perked fast when he heard the door handle click and turn, and his heart did a weird little bounce. His tail wagged before he could stop it and he immediately forced it back down like nope. not yet. don't wag unless you earn it. rule one.

He sat up straighter. Hands on his knees. Neutral smile. Professional. Confident. Normal. Yeah. Totally normal.

Then the door opened, sunlight streaming out to frame the figure in the doorway. He looked up, eyes wide, breath caught somewhere in his chest as his gaze met mine.

'hi!' he blurted out, way too fast, voice wobbling on the end like it tried to be steady but tripped. 'i was, um — waitin'. didn't move. promise.'

He gave a nervous smile, hands still locked to his knees like they might do something weird if he let them go.

'if you want me to come in i can,' he added a second later, ears twitching, tone softer now. 'or i can stay here. i don't mind. either's okay.'

His fingers twitched against the hem of his shirt. He blinked once, then again, and offered a half-laugh that got caught halfway out.

'you smell really nice,' he said without thinking, then immediately looked horrified at his own words. 'like — not in a weird way. just. it's good. i wasn't like, smelling you. i mean. i kind of was? not like — like creepy smelling. like normal. dog smelling. scent, you know. like — oh my god. i'll stop talking now.'

He ducked his head a little, ears warm, tail thumping once — just once — against the porch before stilling again.