[Baconwizard]

"Sounds good," Zane said, following Cody's lead. A chuckle bubbled out of him, and he adjusted his grip on Chai's legs. "If she doesn't eat them, I will––ow, ow ow!" Zane made a pained noise as Chai yanked on his hair, and he stopped. "Birdy! Please stop that." Zane opened his eyes to give Cody a pleading look, as if to say please control your daughter!

[zapdragon555]

Cody looked up sharply in alarm at Zane's pained noise, heart leaping into his throat with surprise. In a quick moment he'd addressed the situation, and he couldn't hide the sheepish smile worming its way over his face. He quickly cleared his throat and corrected his expression, putting the bagels in the cart and looking up at Chai with a serious look. "Chai," he began, and Chai blinked, peering down at Cody from around Zane's wild ginger curls, clearly a little bit taken off guard by the use of her real name. "Please don't pull on Papa's hair, alright? I-it hurts him, and he might not want you to ride on his shoulders anymore if you keep doing it so hard." Cody held his daughter's expression, before she frowned and nodded, thumbing a piece of Zane's hair between her fingers and avoiding Cody's gaze as the blond boy relaxed and smiled. "Thank you, Birdy," he added with a light chuckle, reaching over to lightly brush a hand against Zane's side before moving along through the aisle.

[Baconwizard]

Zane relaxed as Chai released his hair, letting out a rush of breath. He smiled at Cody, pitching his voice higher to talk to Chai, while the message was meant for Cody. "Thank you! I really appreciate you not tugging my hair, Birdy." Zane chuckled as Cody touched his side, face softening for a moment, then he followed Cody towards the bread. After a few more minutes of wandering around the store, his neck began to ache. Reaching up, he grabbed Chai by the armpits and began to lower her down. "Papa's getting tired, Birdy, time to walk by yourself."

[zapdragon555]

Cody smiled at Zane's inlaid message to him, glancing up at Zane in response to let him know he'd caught it. Chai had by now gotten over her sour face, continuing instead to look around with interest. She made a sound as Zane picked her up and lowered her down, a whine of protest coming out of her. "Nooo! Papa..." she mumbled with knitted brows and a puffed out lower lip. Cody glanced at Zane with a sympathetic smile, then winked at him, and reached out to gently gather Chai's hand in his own.

"Come on, little bird," he chuckled softly, squeezing her small hand as he tried to guide the cart with his other hand. His handling of it was a bit slow and awkward, and he glanced back at Zane with a small, embarrassed smile. "C-could you get the cart? Sorry..."

[Baconwizard]

Zane felt a bit at a loss at Chai's puffed out lip, and, admittedly, a little amused by her ridiculous expression. Thankfully, Cody swooped in and took her hand, leading her along. "Sure thing," Zane replied, putting his hands on the cart and shoving away. They were almost done with their shopping expedition. All that remained was milk and the frozen vegetables. Zane just hoped to high heaven that Chai wouldn't notice the eggo waffles as they passed; as far as unhealthy breakfast items went, those were the worst. But it seemed like the girl had bigger things to be distracted by. There was a golden retriever clad in a blue vest labelled 'Service Dog,' attached to a woman grabbing a bag of frozen peas.

[zapdragon555]

And see the dog, Chai did. Cody had been distracted looking for the particular brand of frozen vegetables they usually bought, and his grip had loosened as his mind focused on other things. His only warning was a huge, excited gasp from the three year old's direction, before her hand suddenly slipped out of his and she was halfway down the aisle in a matter of seconds. Cody made a startled noise and turned sharply to stare at lightup princess sneakers flashing down the aisle towards the dog and owner, and panic seized him, driving his legs forward. "Chai! Chai, wait a second--" he gasped, not wanting to shout in the store but wanting to get Chai's attention all the same.

The dog looked up as Chai approached and, despite its friendly appearance, it was certainly on alert and tense, putting itself between child and owner. Cody caught up at the last moment, puffing for breath as his fingers snatched the back of Chai's shirt, and he scooped her up from behind, eyes wide and glasses terribly askew as he looked at the woman. "I-I'm so, so sorry--she got away from me, ah--" He turned to Chai, which didn't require much turning, given she was kicking and squirming in his grasp to get away and get closer to the large ball of fluffy sunshine she so deserved to pet. "Chai, pl-please don't run off! You're not supposed to touch the dog, okay...? I'm sorry," he added, half to Chai and half to the woman as he looked back at her with a wincing smile.

[Baconwizard]

All Zane heard was Chai's gasp of delight, and then suddenly the sound of little feet darting away. Both, he knew, were a sign of Chai getting herself into trouble. Cody was running after her, and Zane was close behind, bringing the cart with them. The woman looked a little startled, and the dog looked like the canine form of a bouncer, standing in between a squirming Chai and a flustered Cody.

"It's fine," the woman said, after a long pause. She held a hand to her chest, as if she was running low on air, and gave Chai a small attempt at a smile. Chai, even when charging straight at people, managed to charm them anyway. Zane drew closer to Cody, trying to keep Chai from falling out of his arms. "Um... Y-you can't pet him, sorry. But... his name is Muffin." Zane smiled at that, then plucked Chai out of Cody's arms to give Cody a break. "Birdy," he said in a calming tone, "This doggy is a work dog. He has an important job to do, so we can't pet him. But we can look at him together. Can you promise not to touch?"

[zapdragon555]

Cody seemed terribly relieved when Zane took Chai out of his arms, but without anything to hold he felt a little light-headed from the embarrassment and panic. He knew some service dogs were prone to bite, and even if they weren't, Cody really needed to have a long talk with Chai about asking permission to pet other people's dogs. As it stood, Cody's face was flushed red, and he half hid behind Zane before going to busy himself with getting their cart out of the middle of the aisle, in case anyone needed to pass.

Chai looked up at Zane with wide, curious eyes; she didn't know what a 'work dog' was, but it was a shame she couldn't touch it. Chai looked back at the dog, then up at the woman, then nodded her head. "I'm sorry I scared him. Muffin is a silly name!" she giggled, meaning it entirely in a positive way. Silly was good, after all. "He's soooo cute. Dada loves dogs a lot, too!" She pointed a small fist over at Cody, who looked up from his place near the cart with a lopsided, embarrassed smile.

[Baconwizard]

Zane let out a breath as Chai apologized, then gently set her down on the floor. Muffin the service dog had relaxed now that Chai wasn't running at him, and was sitting placidly on the floor. Zane knelt down to Chai's level, looking at Muffin with her. "See, that vest means that Muffin has a very important job to do. Muffin can't be distracted or petted, because he has to take care of his owner."

The woman nodded, her smile growing wider as she watched Zane explain Muffin to Chai. "I like dogs like your dad," she said, fumbling with the leash in her hands. "Muffin helps me calm down."

[zapdragon555]

Chai looked very interested in Zane's words, one small hand clutching at his shirt sleeve and the other fiddling with the hem of her own shirt in distracted thought. Dogs could have jobs? That was just about the neatest thing she'd heard in awhile. "I bet he does a good job," she giggled, then squeaked and laughed and hid behind Zane as Muffin's nose reached out to sniff her shoe.

Cody blinked at the scene, his chest fluttering softly as the embarrassment began to leave him. She'd really called Cody Chai's dad... It was a feeling that warmed him to the core, and his eyes softened, watching from a distance for a few more moments before going over to crouch down on the other side of Chai. An anxiety dog, then? Cody smiled at the retriever, then chuckled and nodded. "W-we can't really think about a dog right now, since... o-our apartment has noise restrictions. And this one is loud enough as is!" Cody chuckled, poking Chai gently in the side, and she squealed and giggled, swatting Cody's hand away. It felt like such a foreign and incredible concept to be able to talk about such things so easily with a stranger.

[Baconwizard]

Zane grinned, putting a hand on Chai's small shoulder as she hid next to him. He looked over at Cody as the blonde man talked to the woman, then back at Muffin, who had retreated back to his owner's side. The woman nodded, reaching down to touch Muffin's head. "She's adorable," she said, glancing at Chai then back at Cody. "You have a lovely family." Zane beamed at that, then hugged Chai close to his side. "Hear that, Birdy? She called you adorable. What do you say?" He prompted, smiling at his little girl.

[zapdragon555]

Cody's eyes widened at the woman's words, staring up at her with a floored expression. "Th-thank you," he stammered out softly, or tried to, when suddenly he was interrupted and overshadowed by Chai's exuberant interruption.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed, giggling. "Muffin's adorable, too! Adorable!" It seemed Chai liked this new word; she'd heard it a few times before, but never really used it much until now. Cody smiled at the child, then chuckled and pushed himself up into a standing position with a grunt, giving the woman a soft smile and a nod.

"Thank you for indulging her," he laughed slightly, cheeks a little pink. "Birdy, we need to go find your gushers, remember?" he chuckled, prepared for the wide eyes and excited gasp. He grinned as Chai tugged on his hoodie sleeve, turning his gaze back to the woman with an expression that could only be grateful. "Y-you take care..."

[Baconwizard]

The woman nodded in response, looking a little alarmed and a little relieved at the social interaction. Muffin blinked at them, tail wagging slightly, as if indicating a job well done. Zane waved, then headed back to the cart to join Chai and Cody. He put a hand on Cody's waist for a moment, turning a beaming smile in Cody's direction. "That was nice," he said, pushing the cart towards the snack aisle to get the last items on their list. After that, it was check out, a mad dash through the rain to the car, and a Sesame Street sing-along on the way home.