When Sammy Lawrence's phone rang, he was in his bedroom going over bills. He did NOT jump like a rabbit, he did NOT run to the living room, and he absolutely did NOT grapple with the phone like Boris fumbling with silverware. To insinuate such a thing was simply absurd.
"Ah, yeah uh, hello?" he just about kicked himself for stumbling like that.
"Sammy, it's Joey!"
"Oh hey Joey, uh, so what's the news?"
"How would you like to meet our newest addition?"
What was also absurd to insinuate was that Sammy so readily agreed. He did NOT drop everything to get ready, he did NOT pull out pre-packed bags despite the short distance, and he did not, under any circumstances, run straight to his car like a moron.
Despite all these things not happening, Sammy made it to the studio in record time, and he entered with minimal fumbling and absolutely no bumbling. Didn't stop him from making a few funny noises when he realized he had barged right in on the toons themselves.
"Mr. Lawrence!" Boris nearly dropped the banjo he had been playing and placed it very neatly and very quickly on the chair he'd been sitting on. Sammy had all of those 3 seconds to brace himself for a barreling mountain of inky, furry wolf hug. It wasn't enough.
"It's so great to see ya again, Mr. Lawrence! Mr. Drew said you'd be comin' over today but I didn't know it would be so soon!" The toon lifted his musician captive off the floor and squeezed.
"Alright, alright, let me down!" Sammy pushed at the lanky arms surrounding him and was promptly placed back on his feet. He straightened out his clothing, more than a little miffed. "So where's this new pal of yours, huh?"
"Oh, he's right over –" Boris turned around and stilled. The little devil, thoroughly startled by the appearance of another human and his elder toon's reaction, had ran to the desk in the far end of the room and hid himself in the leg space, pulling the chair in with him as a barrier.
Sammy raised a brow. Bendy was supposed to be mischievous and curious, not nervous and scared. Joey had said as much over the phone. Beside him, the giant wolf rubbed his arm and laughed awkwardly.
"Ah, sorry about that, Mr. Lawrence. Bendy ain't used ta new stuff all that much yet. He's still tryin' ta figure things out."
Boris moved over to the desk and sat cross-legged in front of it. He looked back apologetically. "Ya mind sittin' down over there? Ya don't look so scary sittin' down."
With a grumble of 'when have I ever been scary', Sammy did as he was told. He watched as the wolf slowly but surely coaxed Bendy out of his hiding place and into his arms like a toddler. The ink demon gripped the elder toon's overalls and watched Sammy suspiciously.
With a few good scoots, Boris made his way closer to the musician and stopped about 3 feet away. He smiled down at his buddy. "He ain't gonna hurt us, Bendy. This here is Mr. Lawrence, and he's who taught me all about those instruments we like."
Bendy seemed mightily surprised and skeptical of this, but he pushed himself out of Boris' arms and stood nearly eye-level to Sammy's position on the ground. They watched each other, quiet and motionless. Boris fidgeted.
Finally the little devil tilted his head and reached a hand out to touch Sammy's pant leg, who raised another eyebrow but didn't comment. He let the tiny toon poke at his leg, his arm, even his hair and face, until Bendy was satisfied and crossed his arms with a contemplative squeak.
"I'm not gonna hurt you," the musician's voice was quiet but firm. "I just wanted to meet you. Maybe teach you music too, if you're interested."
Boris took this chance and jumped in. "See buddy? Mr. Lawrence is a good teacher, he taught me all about music! Now we can plan together and sing and dance –"
"I thought you two were supposed to be practicing." Joey's voice called out unexpectedly and startled all three occupants. As Sammy jerked backwards a little, he saw Bendy turn and ram himself straight into Boris' chest, grabbing the overalls again and burrowing his head in black fur. The wolf in turn started petting his head and humming, looking over his shoulder in the direction of the voice.
"We were, Mr. Drew, but Mr. Lawrence is here now and I was introducin' him and Bendy!"
"Oh wait, he's –" there was a crash and a thud and some muffled swearing. "Hang on a sec, Sammy, I'll be right out!"
Sammy didn't miss the way Bendy curled closer to the wolf at Joey's voice. He also didn't miss, when Joey came rushing into the room to greet him, how Boris kept his eyes on his creator the entire time. Something cold flipped in his gut.
"So sorry I couldn't properly welcome you, Sammy. I was down the hall and didn't hear you come in." The artist wiped an ink-stained hand on his shirt and held it out to the musician, who took it and hoisted himself up.
"Eh, it's fine. Met Bendy right here anyway, I'm glad it's out of the way." He couldn't help the amused chuckle as he looked at the wolf. "We can't keep startling each other like that."
Boris opened his mouth to respond but Joey beat him to it. "Well, it doesn't matter. You've met, you can see Bendy's a success, and hopefully we can begin teaching him as soon as possible. He's only been conscious about a week, but I figured an early head start would be beneficial."
"Yeah, sure, sure." Sammy watched as the toons remained attentive to Joey. He cleared his throat. "Actually, uh, I have some stuff in my car I'd like to try, for sight singing and so on, so if you could pull your weight, that'd be fantastic."
Joey rolled his eyes but went out without complaint, and the musician watched the subtle relaxation in the toons when he went. Boris didn't seem to realize he had done it, but Bendy hopped out of his lap and made no qualms about showing his unease, glaring hard at the exit door and turning back to the abandoned banjo.
The wolf got up like lightning and got a hold of the instrument before the devil. "Ah, sorry buddy, but I toldja you can't play with it yet. Gotta be careful." He gave a quick glance to Sammy, biting his lip. "Er, am I right Mr. Lawrence?"
The man looked back the way Joey had disappeared. "Yeah Boris," he said quietly, "you're absolutely right."
A/N: So I'm still alive. That's a thing.
I'm so sorry for taking so long with such a short chapter, life has been kicking my butt and I've had very little time and/or inspiration. The good news is that hopefully I can get back to semi-frequent updates again soon. Thank you all for waiting so patiently.
