#he hates his paws being held. hates being put into the harness

[eqan]

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[honey-dewey]

The Dog Days of Summer

Pairing: Frankie ‘Catfish’ Morales/Reader

Word Count: 1,923

Warnings: A few mentions of Tom, but this is all fluff!

Permanent Taglist: @phoenixhalliwell @star-wars-hell

On one of the warmest days of summer, Frankie takes his dog to a one man dog wash. The last thing he expected was for his dog to lead him to the future love of his life, but hey, that’s how things work here. 

“Community dog wash,” Frankie read off the flier that had been placed in his mailbox. “What do you think Red? Wanna go check it out?”

Red huffed from his spot on the couch.

Frankie chuckled, sitting beside Red. He’d always been a dog person, but could never see himself owning one. At least, not until he’d come home from his latest mission. When Tom had died, he’d left his beautiful Rottweiler dog to the boys. Apparently his wife and daughter weren’t dog people. The Millers couldn’t take Red, and Santi still hadn’t come back to the country. So the care of Red had fallen to Frankie.

Red was not a small dog. At almost 120 pounds, he could’ve been a menace if he wanted to. However, he was gentle as can be and so incredibly enthusiastic for literally anything. Frankie could still remember when Tom had brought Red to meet the boys, and he’d been a tiny fuzzy puppy who’d fallen asleep cradled in Frankie’s arms. Now, that baby was nearing 5, and was no less adorable.

The only thing Frankie hated about Red was having to bathe him.

Red was a menace on bath day. He cowered in the corner of the shower, never got close enough to the shower head to actually get clean, and bit Frankie when he tried to dry him off.

“I think we should go,” Frankie said, scratching behind Red’s ear. “Check it out. You might make some friends.”

Red boofed softly. Sometimes, he responded at just the right times and Frankie could’ve sworn he understood him.

Nearer to noon, Frankie got up off the couch and got dressed, Red dutifully following him and vibrating with excitement at Frankie put his harness on and led him to his truck.

The location of the dog wash wasn’t far. In fact, it was a few minutes away in a small public space. There were a few kiddie pools, a hose, and a single person standing there, drying off a small dog. A handmade sign read ‘Community Dog Wash.’

Frankie kept a firm hand on Red’s leash as he walked over. Tom had trained Red well, but he was still prone to overeager introductions or forgetting he was a big dog.

“Alrighty Ms. Avery, Lydia’s all clean!” you said, handing Ms. Avery her small dog back. Today was one of the nice days of summer, warm without being stifling. So you’d donned shorts, an old shirt, and a baseball cap you’d gotten from a friend and headed out to wash the neighborhood dogs. You did it every summer, and this year was no exception.

“Hello,” a slightly nervous voice said, and you looked around. A man who you’d seen once or twice around the neighborhood was standing there, a practically vibrating Rottie standing by his side. “Is this the dog wash?”

“Yep!” You said happily, kneeling down to introduce yourself to the dog. “Hello, who’re you?”

The man pat the dog’s head. “This is Red.”

Red, seizing his opportunity, licked your face.

“Red!” The man reprimanded, causing Red to whine. “No!”

“Oh it’s fine,” you reassured, wiping your face with your sleeve. “My dog is so much worse.”

As if on cue, your dog came ambling over. The man’s eyes went wide. “That’s not a dog. That’s a small bear.”

You reached up and scratched behind your dog’s ears. “Nah. She’s a Caucasian Shepherd dog. Her name is Oboe, short for Oberon.”

“Like the Game of Thrones character?”

“Midsummer’s Night Dream actually,” you said. “I’m (Y/N).”

“Frankie.”

You stood, brushing yourself off. “Well, Frankie. Shall we?”

Red was very eager to follow you right up until he discovered this would include water. At which he pulled on his leash and whined pitifully, trying to escape.

“I’m so sorry,” Frankie said as you stood by one of the pools and tried to contain your laughter. “He’s always like this when I try to bathe him.”

Oboe snorted, as if she was laughing. She had curled on the grass, bathing in the warm summer sun. You sighed. You’d have to get her some ice, or else she’d overheat herself.

You walked over to Red, grabbing him and lifting him with ease, which shocked Frankie. He stood there, wide eyed, as you plopped Red in the kiddie pool and got in with him, straddling the dog and squeezing his hips with your legs. “See, this isn’t so bad.”

Red whined and tried to run, but your grip on him tightened. “Frankie, can you hand me the hose?”

Frankie grabbed the hose and handed it to you, smiling as Red gave him a very betrayed look. “Sorry buddy,” he said, kneeling down. “But you smell.”

You gasped overdramatically. “No!” You said, smiling. “He smells just fine!”

Frankie laughed. “Mhm. Sure he does.”

Getting Red wet wasn’t hard. Between the pool and the hose, he was soaked in minutes. However, Frankie had to shed his shoes and join you in the pool because Red wouldn’t sit still. Now, with Red soaked and both of you getting sore, you reached to grab the soap and immediately got a face full of water as Red shook violently.

“Red!” You gasped, looking down at yourself. You’d been a bit damp from your previous dogs, but this wasn’t just a bit wet. Water raced down your arms and legs, and you completely abandoned your ball cap, sighing. “Gonna have to wash that.”

Frankie mirrored your action, tossing his hat beside yours. “Yeah. He’s prone to shaking. Sorry.” His face was just as wet as yours, water dripping off his chin and cheeks.

You shrugged, putting soap in your hands and throwing your leg over Red’s back again. “It’s fine,” you said, starting to lather the soap into Red’s fur. “Oboe’s got all that long fur, and when she shakes, it’s hell.”

Frankie nodded. “Where’d you even find her?”

“A breeder,” you said, scratching Red’s shoulder and laughing as he began to kick. “Breeder was a good friend of mine, and she had a puppy who no one wanted because she was the runt. I had just moved here, and said screw it, I’ll take her. They named her Oberon. All the puppies in that litter had Midsummer names.”

“She’s a runt?” Frankie looked at Oboe, surprised.

You nodded. “She was,” you said. “She’s actually still on the small side for her breed.” Red squirmed out of your soapy grip, but Frankie caught him before he could make a getaway. You smiled and picked up the hose. “Red, stop squirming.”

Red didn’t listen. He continued to wriggle, now trying to bite the hose water. You used one hand to clear the soap from Red’s fur, grinning as he kissed your chin when you bent down.

“So, how’d you end up with Red?” You asked, looking up briefly at Frankie.

“Oh.” He was quiet for a second. “I was in the military, and we lost a good man on a mission not too long ago. Red was his dog.”

You paused in your actions. “I’m so sorry.”

Frankie shrugged halfheartedly, still crouched in the water. “It took a while, but we recovered.”

Red gave you no time to feel much regret about your words. Instead, he tried to bite you as you washed his paws, and you gave him a light bop on the nose. Not enough to hurt him in any way, but enough to warn him. He didn’t try again, thankfully.

Once Red’s front paws were clean, you turned around and started to wash Red’s back half. Oboe had joined the fray, licking moisture out of Frankie’s shirt. He didn’t seem to mind much as he held Red’s face and kept him from going anywhere. As you scratched your nails over Red’s butt, he began to wiggle harder, one leg coming up and then the other.

“He’s dancing!” You said joyfully, continuing to scratch. Frankie laughed, watching Red kick.

Finishing your job only took a few more minutes, and then you were drying Red off and strapping him into his harness again. He kissed you anytime you came close to his face, and you laughed when his entire back half wiggled when he tried to wag his tail.

“Alright,” you said, finally done. “He’s as clean as he’s gonna get!”

“It’ll last all of ten minutes,” Frankie promised, picking his hat up but not putting it on. “I’ll see you around?”

You nodded. “Of course. I’m here every weekend to play with Oboe. We haven’t got a huge backyard, and she likes to run.”

Frankie smiled. “Maybe we’ll have to come play with you and Oboe one weekend.”

“I think we’d both like that.”

Frankie left after that, and you watched him herd Red into his truck. He waved as he drove off, and you waved back.

“Alright Oboe,” you said, turning back to your dog, who was chewing absently on the brim of your hat. “Hey!”

You pulled the hat from her mouth and immediately felt your stomach flip. This wasn’t your hat. The oil company logo was faded and unfamiliar, and you looked around. Frankie’s truck was nowhere to be seen. He probably hadn’t even noticed he’d left with your hat instead of his.

After an hour, the sun got to be too much, and you relented, putting Frankie’s hat on your head. You had to adjust it so it would fit, but it did a decent job of keeping the sun off your face.

When you finally ended up home, you hung the hat up and let Oboe loose in the house. She immediately curled up in her bed, and you slowly made yourself dinner. You were halfway through chopping some vegetables when your phone rang.

“Hello?” You wedged the phone between your shoulder and ear.

“Hey.”

You smiled. “Frankie!”

Frankie chuckled. “I think you have something of mine.”

“I could say the same about you,” you said, glancing at the hat on your coat hook by the door.

“Yeah. Sorry about that,” Frankie said. “Glad you wrote your number in it though.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot I did that,” you admitted, dumping the vegetables into a bowl. “Oboe and I are going to go back to the community space tomorrow to watch the neighborhood soccer team play. Wanna come with?”

Frankie was quiet for a second, and you could hear shuffling. When he spoke again, he sounded strained. “Yeah. Sorry, Red had my shoe.”

You laughed. “Tell that rascal he needs to be nice to his daddy!”

Red barked in the background, and you smiled. “Anyway, tomorrow. The team plays at noon, but I’m always there at eleven to help set up.”

“I can be there at noon,” Frankie said. “I won’t bring Red though. He’s spending the day with his uncles.”

You leaned against your counter and tried to wipe your grin off your face. “It’ll just be the two of us. And Oboe.”

Oboe looked up when you said her name, but quickly went right back to sleep.

“That works,” Frankie promised. “This almost sounds like a date.”

You tried to cover your nervousness. “Maybe it is a date.”

Frankie had a grin in his voice when he spoke again. “It’s been a while since I’ve been on a date.”

“Same here.”

“I guess I’ll be seeing you tomorrow then.”

You nodded. “Yeah. I’ll be seeing you. Don’t forget my hat.”

“Don’t forget mine,” Frankie replied. “Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” you echoed, hanging up and looking at Oboe. “Oboe. I think I’m in love.”

[yamithediaperdork]

Crime and Punishment: Jail Bird Diaries (MHA)

Crime and Punishment: Jail bird diaries

*The following is the entries from a diary recovered from the cell of one Katsuki Bakugo after serving his time in the regression jail. certain entry's have been removed as the writing was unable to be made out.*

Week 2, Day 1

So after a fucking week in this stupid fucking hell hole they dare to call a good idea, It's been suggested to me by the stupid AI I have to refer as daddy that I might calm myself down and stop adding time to my stupid fucking sentence if I vent in this stupid fucking book. I pointed out I can barley hold this stupid fucking crayon with the mittens i have to wear but a hand just came out of the wall and patted my head, telling me I'm a clever boy and I'll figure it out. I would of added anther two months onto my sentence right then and there if it wasn't for these fucking glove, even if Maybe kinda sorta..the head pat felt nice. ANYWAYS! to any assholes reading this, expect lots of fucking cursing because daddy said I can swear all i want in here and I have a back flow I need to get out. I mean with all the stupid fucking bull shit I have to put up wi- And fuck me, shitting myself again. fuck this place sucks.

Week 2, Day 2

You just know it's gonna be a shit fucking day Diary when you wake up to the feeling of having a uber load in the seat of your pants patted and rubbed and being praised for being a super good pooper. I'm already not a fan of the super bulky diapers these bastard keep me in but 'daddy' has apparently registered me as a super pooper and states anything thing less wouldn't hold up to my boom booms. refer to my statement about earning more time in here from the last entry for my feelings on THAT! I had figured with the massive bulk of these things at least I wouldn't have to worry about any cutesy outfits save for some t-shirt but since apparently I pissed off god, guess fucking what? No really, Guess. If you guessed they went and adjusted some of the sleepers that all the other big babies in here sleep in to fit over my massive diaper ass then ding ding ding! winner winner chicken dinner. Picture me, a man known as a murder god..and in a blue full body fuzzy care bear style with a white tummy and 'har har' the grumpy bear symbol on the belly. Fucking thing even has a hood! I swear if it wasn't for the fact the thing was soooo soft and kinda comfy, I would of found a way to rip it off. and I don't care WHAT daddy claims, I only dropped right off to sleep in it because he drugged my milk, not because I felt warm and safe. Fuck this place!! I never thought I'd be semi ok with the stupid paw patrol t-shirt and my giga diapers on display.. anyways wrapping this up, apparently I'm having more fucking visitors today. fucking yay..

Week 2, Day 3

Oh my fucking god. yesterday would just NOT fucking stop. apparently it was some sort of official visitors day or some bull shit like that. 4 fucking visitors and three of them not fucking Deku who's trying to make it a point to show up every day as support. first up was mister shock and awe himself Denki. He just couldn't get that stupid grin off his face and kept gushing about how cute I was and how much he wished he could of came in and given me butt pats. I was about ready to snarl that he couldn't when a couple of daddies arms came and took a firm hold on me to keep me from bolting and then the cell door opened up. "Come on in! Katsuki can use all the butt pats he can get. I know he'll act like he hates them but all little guys like him love them." Daddy said. Like, WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK! So in from that stupid blond and the door shuts and daddy tells me to turn around and present my rump for pats. Like I was gonna fucking listen to THAT and turned around to tell the speaker box his voice comes from as much and well.. Ok You see my mistake? I swear I was turning to tell daddy off but according to him and Denki I turned around like a good little boy eager for my bum pats and before I could get a god damn word out that's what was happening. talk about major fucking blushing going on and gah, not proud to say this but without a second thought i spread my legs a little so that he could get a better pat going on and it MIGHTA of sorta felt nice for all of 0.0000001 seconds! Daddy and Denki are lying sacks of shit when they say i coo'ed! Basically spent the rest of Denki's visit after that over his lap, getting butt pats and back rubs and being told just how cute I am and how much he prefers me like this. if it wasn't for the fact punching a visitor would of netted me a extra year I woulda slugged him. that the only reason i went along with it..

after a hour he left and Daddy was praising me for being a super good boy and rewarded me with chocolate milk in a bottle instead of the normal formula and put some power rangers instead of paw patrol on TV.  I mighta zoned out holding my bottle with both hands cuz of the mittens and chugging and watching that I didn't notice my next guest till I heard the giggle. whipping my head around and giving me one hell of a neck ache thats still kinda here, I saw what looked like a school girls outfit standing up on it's own and knew it was Tooru. "oh my gosh don't stop because of me! that was sooo cute! I wish they hadn't of taken away my cell phone i would of taken the cutest video!" she gushed and clapped. I held up both hands and because of the mittens she thought I was showing I wanted uppies but I think you know what i was really doing Diary. Of course daddy let her in too and she kept giving me heads and patting my head and asking daddy all sorts of questions about my treatment and like.. ugh. I felt like a toddler getting hugs and attention but ignored while the adults talked. she tugged me onto her lap and kept rocking me and tickling my tummy and it took me awhile to figure out what she was trying to do, she was trying to make me crap myself during her visiting time! well she left half disappointed because even though i was cramping, all i did was wet my diapers so I'll count it as a win. ...that said about 10 seconds after she left I was squatting and totally loading these stupid diapers to the brim.

Thankfully for what tiny bit of pride I've managed to hold onto, while my diaper change took what fucking seemed like forever, I was re-diapered and daddy was in the process of tossing the stinky one when my next guest arrive. because I'm Mr. fucking popular. It was Deku of course and because he's been here so often he's got a special pass that just lets him come in. He was in the middle of saying hi when his nose wrinkled and then he covered it and coughed a little . "oh, somebody just had a diapie change I uh..smell." he said sheepishly. "Oh yeah, little guy is living up to his label as a super pooper." Daddy said. "oh my god freaking stop calling me that!" I whined and uh..Maybe didn't help with trying to give off a big boy image because I was still on the changing table and grabbed a stuffed bear and put it over my face. "oh my gosh, CUTE!" Deku squealed and daddy was laughing. Like..fuck. it's bad enough when the shit they're making me do gets that reaction..then i fucking set myself up for it. getting off of the changing Table me and Deku did our normal catch up and I once again begged him to try and get the other kids in 1-a to stop coming here, telling him about Denki and Tooru. the green haired bastard just told me everyone missed me and wanted to make sure I was doing ok and not to be such a grumpy Gus. I swear I almost took the extra year right then and there. Instead I switched the convo to talking about what was going on at school and what I had missed and yeah.. it was kinda nice catching up a little bit. I hadn't dared asked till now worried it might just trigger a fit that was going to add time on you know? and Deku was nice, not rubbing it in or at least trying not to that they were going on bigger and more exciting field trips and shadowing full on heroes this week. I think it helped that while we talked I started to color in one of the coloring books Daddy provided and Deku joined in, though his picture was colored in a lot better then mine cuz well he has full use of his hands. As his time ran out and it was time for him to go, Deku made me blush like crazy when he asked if he could have the picture I colored to hang up on his wall and asked if I'd color more pretty pictures for him. being at a lost of words, I just nodded my head.

After Deku left daddy said it was time for a quick lunch and then a nap, I was clearly worn out and had one more person to go. I just sighed and went along with it because it's not like I would of really had a say in it anyways. again apparently my behavior for the day was having a effect on my dining choice because while I was put in the same high chair I normally was, instead of yucky baby food I got some cut up chicken nuggets and fries. I wonder how good I'll have to be to score a medium rare steak? anyways, after lunch and a burping I was put down for a nap and woke up to the sound of the door to my nursery prison. I was still groggy and stuff so when I rolled over and looked up to see the face of my mother, i just thought I was dreaming for a second and gave a tiny giggle and ugghhh.. say "hi Mommy." it wasn't till she broke out laughing I realized she was really there. She was..very amused to say the least and told me she had canceled the cruise she was on and flew back home as soon as she could when she'd found out the news. she mentioned that she had been made aware that there WAS a option to give me a form of parole in that I could go and move back in with her for the term of my sentence and she could let me get away with just pull ups and she had been thinking about exercising it..Until she fucking saw me in here and saw how 'natural' I looked like a big baby! I'm...I'm not proud to say I mighta of broken down bawling and begging her to let me come home with her, and ugh.. as I got more hysterical I ended up promising to be the bestest little boy ever. Mom just hushed me and picked me out of the crib I'd been in and hugged me to her chest, patting my squishy bottom (Hey, all the milk i had before going night night, you'd of wet yourself too!) I realize i never covered this before but i had been put down for my nap in just my diapers so there's THAT fun mental picture of me in my booties and mitts and soggy huggies and Mom cuddling me and trying to calm me down. I was bawling and hiccuping when she popped a paci in my mouth and sat down on a rocking chair that daddy provided and with me curled up in her lap rocked back and forth talking about how I had just proven this place was doing wonders for me and then started to ask daddy questions about where to get supplies. curled up close to mommy and hearing her heartbeat.. I..Fell back asleep.

Thankfully no ones coming today, not even Deku since he's busy..I just don't know if I could handle it after yesterday. and yeah, the rest of the day after I fell asleep in mom's lap was just a blur. fuck.. I need to get out of here.

Week 2, Day 6

Know I ignored you for a bit there kinda Diary, I went to write in you but just came out all mixed up and crossed it out. I've mostly docile since Mom's visit and uh..kinda sorta.. I dunno. Kinda wish Deku would come by. I know he's got that big shadowing All might thing going on but..Fuck. I dunno. Daddy keeps going on about me almost hitting a critical point in the program and I don't know about that..I just..I almost wish mom HADN'T of told me about how i could of been at home you know? I was struggling with this before finding that out. I'm spending the day in my sleeper t'day, I just wanna feel all..I don't fucking know.. small and safe? and that helps with it and daddy was more then understanding when I asked to. It just has to come off when I'm eating and stuff and well, semi gone back to the baby food but still getting milk milk. and the baby food is a yummy flavor at least. I dunno Diary, I think thats it for today. Katsuki out.

Week 3, Day 5

Man, looking back on the past couple of entries I did between here and last week and even I can't make out what the heck I wrote. guess a semi recap is in order. Midoriya ended up visiting me during supper on day six of last week and asked if I had any more pretty pictures for him. I hadn't thought I'd actually done any but I guess in the semi daze I'd been in I had and daddy brought them out for him. I told him about mommy visiting and he was really sympathetic and agrees that she shouldn't of told me about the possible parole if I wasn't gonna get it, He had known but well.. knowing my mom like he does had already figured out what she'd picked. He just didn't wanna get my hopes up. Daddy let him take over feeding me and I dunno..it was kinda nice and stuff. we watched a bit of TV after till I started farting lots and Midoriya tactfully left before I ended up going poopies in front of him saying he knew I was in a fragile place and promised to visit the next day. Day 7 was basically the normal same old same old, got out of my sleeper, breakfast and a diaper change then playing with my toys and watching tv till Midoriya showed up. He joined in on a awesome game of Teddies VS Building blocks and I was uh.. kinda giggling like a real little guy and sooo relaxed that I didn't notice something till he brought it up, wrinkling his nose. "Katsuki, did you go poo poo?" He asked. Well, of course I said no because I hadn't felt myself go but then I got a whiff of myself and god, that was sooo embarrassing!! Midoriya ended his visit early as he knows I hate being watched during a change, but told me how much of a good boy I was and that made me blush and smile. After he left and I was all nice and clean from the poopie diaper daddy didn't dress me though, it was time for a bath and a section of the wall opened up and I was led to a fair sized tub and allowed to get in myself. Daddy got me all washed up as the tub filled up and even trusted me without my booties and mittens, though with the wall having sealed up behind me there wasn't really anywhere I could run to. with me all squeaky clean he let me play in the tub for a while as there were some toy boats and a few sea monsters and it was wayyy more relaxing then the quick showers I'm used to. finally when i was all pruney daddy drained the tub and dried me off with a nice fluffy towel and got me redressed though I was mayyybe a little more relaxed then I thought from the tub cuz I took my nap early, and ended up missing a visit from Ojiro. (Daddy said the only reason he'd interrupted my other nap was cuz well, Mom is my real mom.) Is it weird I felt bad he came ALL the way here to see me and couldn't because I was a sleepy little guy? I dunno. Man.. this place is getting to me ya know? basically lather rinse repeat for the next couple of days, being fed, playing with toys, watching cartoons, and filling my diapers. getting to see Midoriya and hand out and yeahh. Yesterday Ojiro tried again and this time I was awake and heh.. he was really nice about it and told me he forgave me already when i whined out a sorry for being asleep the last time. in his own words he really should of called ahead since little guys like me are prone to impromptu naps. After that we played blocks for a little while and he just kept smiling so much and squirming about till daddy asked if he needed to use the potty. Ojiro blushed uber bad which in turn made me giggle like crazy and said no, but took off shortly after. I wonder what was up with him? I tried to ask daddy but he just patted my head and told me to color a picture for Midoriya, so I guess I'll ask him when he comes over today.

Week 3 Day 7

Midoriya just laughed when i asked him my question  and still won't answer it, even after i threatened NOT to make him any more pretty pictures. Daddy and him both found my threat to be funny and cute though so I guess that's good. Denki came to see me again and was all about patting my butt again and playing peek a boo with me.. which Ok. was fun for like a little bit buttt he reallly carried it on for too long but when i said I was getting bored we swapped over to playing with stuffies till his time was up. Well ok, I played with them and told him what was going on and he just smiled and told me how creative I was and made me grin like a dork. I asked HIM about Ojiro's odd behavior before he left and he got a BIG grin on his face and said he'd be back for more details and then daddy scolded me about not sticking in other peoples affairs. I'm so confused. The next day Midoriya was here and something reallly 'brassing happened.. I had gone boom boom once again and He was going to leave..but daddy asked him if he wanted to help change me!!! I don't know who was blushing more, me or him! In any case, after Midoriya helped cleaned my butt up and daddy re-diapered me, He took off all squirmy and blushing and daddy joked about me having a effect on all the boys.. whatever THAT'S suppose to mean. Mommy is coming by later today and I hope I don't spend her whole visit sobbing again like a crybaby.. though daddy said it's ok if I do cuz it's a big part of my rehab.

Week 4 Day 1

Sooo..who's got two thumbs and ended up crying himself to a early bedtime in mommies arms yesterday? THIS guy. she came in as I was having supper and technically it was too late for her to be there but they made a exception. I was already kinda.. whinny.. when it looked like she wasn't going to show but then daddy said she could only be there for half a hour. Mommy explained that she got stuck waiting on a delivery of things she's going to need for me in the future and took over feeding me the rest of my supper while I whined and huffed that I had waited allll day on her. It wasn't till after she had given me my ba-ba in her lap and burped me I thought to ask what she had ordered. She just smiled and told me not to worry about it and to be a good little boy and kissed my forehead and I.. I totally fudged my huggies, in mommies lap. Cue meltdown and I don't even really know why..it's not like I haven't been pooping my pants for awhile now right? I don't know whether it was because I was being held, or who was holding me, or just her reaction as i did it that got to me. "Oh! Somebodies making mommy a present!" with utter delight in her voice and patting my bottom as i kept filling my pampers to the brim. I just..I just started to bawl and sob and buried my face in her shoulder and no matter how much Mommy and daddy told me it was all ok, I couldn't stop. I don't even remember going to sleep or getting a diapie change..I just woke up this morning in my crib in a soggy diaper (Yeah I've become a bed wetter, so what!) and yeahhh.. Daddy says he'll tell me who changed me, him or her when he thinks I can hear it without bawling.

Week 5 Day 5

After holding up for journal for daddy to read, he told me I need to start taking time to calm down and focus before writing, my last couple of entries were all scribbles again. he told it was very cute and brave of me to wanna share it with him though and gave me lots of awesome head pats. I guess since i didn't make sense when i originally gushed about it, i should go back over it. Just shortly after the thing with pooping my pampers in mommies lap, i just started to really like head pats and daddy took notice and has been showering me with them. just makes me all giddy and I've started to lean into them. Midoriya noticed the love of 'em took and started to give'em out! Jirou came by with Asui and it was while I was watching some Micky mouse club house and singing along. I had just went "OH TOODLES!" and heard giggles and clapping and well blushed a bit..but daddies been trying to help me embrace what a little guy I am so I forced a smile then blew a raspberry at them. told'em if they wanted to come in and visit they could, but they had to join in and help Micky out. they giggled but agreed and well for a couple of stinky girls they weren't half bad to hang out with.

They weren't as fun to hang out as Mommy when she came and visited, though I said sorry a BUNCH of times for my fit she just gave me head and butt pats and told me it was all ok. She's been twice since the stinky break down and I've managed NOT to bawl both times for the most part. I mean..i get a little teary when she has to go buttt i get it. wish she could visit more but between work and setting my room up she's been a busy bee. I asked about why she'd hafa set my room up since I always figured after this I'll be going right back to school but she just chuckled and took out the action figures she'd brought from home for me and her to play hero's and villains with. (I mean, don't get me wrong, LOVE the stuffies I have in here, and Midoriya, Denki, Kouda and Tenya have gotten me others..but action figures are sooo much easier to have do cool stuff.) Oh guess i forgot to mention a bunch of boys showed up, Kouda, Tenya, Satou, Eijirou, and ughhh.. Mineta. They showed up as a group with some presents and while 4 of them were all cool and nice.. well, one guess who was a little butt? he actually got me so worked up with his teasing I swore for the first time in ages and daddy had to wash my mouth out but he also banned him from coming back. Back to playing with mommy, it was super fun, she was the evil baddies trying to attack the peaceful stuffie village and I was the heroes saying the day and giggling as i was in just a t-shirt and my uber diapies.  there was slight almost crying moment though while playing with mommy.. I went to lean forward to grab a action figure and just with like.. NO control blorted. It was loud and stinky and I guess I had the cutest look on my face. Maybe asked if I wasn't to stop playing while i finished or keep going and well..I didn't want her to be bored just sitting there watching me go blort. (Blort is a nick name for going poopie I picked up from Ojiro when he visited again, though his butt looked all puffed out and he seemed wayyy more into hugging stuffies then me. eh, go figure) Anyways, we finished up the game and I have having so much fun I MIGHTA pretended I was still blorting even after it was all out so we didn't have to pause again. I know I know, that meant sitting in my own poopie for awhile when I didn't hafa but I'm not really worried about a diaper rash or anything, they use like the best creams and powders here, and well I maybe kinda sorta like the squishy feeling.. though when i told daddy he said that's just because I haven't been able to make a big boy mess in awhile. I'm shocked my hair didn't ignite i was blushing so bad when he said that. Before you even ask diary, I waited till it was just me and daddy ta mention that.. though he hinted mommy had known I was done. He said maybe tomorrow if I'm super duper good today I can get a milking which confused me at first since I don't have boobies.  thennn he explained it out and um yeah.. lots of blushies and gonna try and be on my bestest behavior.

Week 9, Day 3

Sowwy been 'noring you. dis too busy hasing fun wiff everyone. daddy said it's otay though and told me to make at least one last entry in ya. Ummm otay. Sooo Turns out dat Ojiro and Denki are now all dating and kissy face and and Denki was a wanna be daddy dom and the reason Ojiro got all squirmy and silly? he was all jelly of me and my kick butt nursery! Apparently he was gonna -GIGGLE- try and git locked up in here so he could be babied and Denki just spanked his butt RED and pampered him. He's a super good at going blort too, and when they visit we have blort offs. (Score 4-3 in mah favor) Let's see...what else....Oh! Midoriya went and got a part time job as a daycare worker and 'ppently it's at a speical daycare where big babies like Ojiro n me can go, once I get out. kinda silly since i'm gonna be a uber big boy n stuff when i git out butttt daddy is always telling me to be polite sooo i nodded. He's been helping out wiff my diapie changes when he's here and even put in a few volunteer hours here to help out. (Such a good guy!) Mommies been by A LOT more latly too and can't stop gushing bout the appent change in my attuide. she's been bringing in and taking home my action figures cuz her and daddy agreed those are toys for use only under special supervision and I kinda ended up admitting to her I like sitting in my poopies now, at least for like.. umm.. 10 minutes. She just laughed and said noted and that it worked out with one of the additions she put on my room.. whatever dat means. She still wont tell me what she's done or why I'll be going wiff her when I get out, but eh, asking too many questions is a good way to lose a milking and the way daddy does'em.. dun what dat. Ummm I fink dat's everything Diary..fanks fer helping me get though the first bit of life here n being a friend! Daddy asked me to leave you here wiff him when I get out, but he'll print a copy for me and mommy.

After half a year in baby Jail, It was a fair different Katsuki who stepped out then had gone in. and that wasn't just referring to his change in attire. His quirk had more or less been nullified over the course of his treatment via special drugs in his drinks and food though it would return if he weaned himself off of said drug. Katsuki for his part didn't seem to mind since it got him out of his baby mitts and let him use his fingers for fun stuff like finger painting. (though even the daddy AI had learned it was best to strip him to just a diaper when he was painting, the little guy liked to draw on himself and had a massive fit when daddy had washed a turtle he'd drawn on his tummy off before he could show Midoriya.) He didn't even seem to mind that he'd been released in his now familiar bulky diaper and one of his many baby tops, wearing a pair of Winnie pooh socks and sneakers and holding onto his mom's hand as he was checked out. The warden smiled and waved bye bye to him as he was signed out and Katsuki semi hide behind his mom but waved bye back and then they were heading home.

"so Um..Mommmmmy?" Katsuki asked, sitting in the back seat of mommy's car, buckled into a customized car seat just for his puffy diaper butt. "whatttty?" She asked, looking back at him via the rear view mirror and smirking. "Can you tell's me now why we're going back home and not ta school? Like..is it so I can get's my big boy clothes on?" he asked, kicking his legs ideally. "welll you've missed most of the school year as is, there's no way you'll be able to catch up. so it's been agreed that you'll just take the rest of the year off and stay with me. and Besides, you need to re-potty train buddy." his mom pointed out. "...no i don't. I can hold it." Katsuki huffed, blushing and hugging one of the stuffies he'd been able to take with him and holding it to his chest. "Katsuki..what don't good little boys do?" She asked him. "...Lie." he huffed and looked down. "and what was that you just did?" "..Lied Mommy..I sowwy.." Katsuki said and he just looked SO sad and had tears welling up. "It's ok sweetie. Mommy isn't mad. but you need to tell the truth so you can have lots and lots of head pats ok?" she said quickly. "O-Ok..I..I guess..Maybe i kinda don't have pee control anymore..but I mostly know when i hasa blort." Katsuki said. "Mhhhmmm..well we'll be keeping you in your diapies for awhile and working you back up to be kid undies for the fall unless you decide you like being mommies little guy." "pffft, wike I'll PICK ta stay like this.." he huffed and squirmed. "Well if you do..a lot of what mommies been doing while you've been in there is baby proofing the apartment and turning your room into a nursery like the one you've been in, just no daddy though." "I..wait..wut?" Katsuki asked, and squirmed. "Yup, a changing table, a crib..I got you a high chair and got a baby bouncer for you because daddy told me it's your favorite way to make big boy messes after you've blorted." She giggled. Katsuki was squirming BIG time now in the back seat, and ended up popping his paci into his mouth and sucking on it big time and hugging his stuffie to his face. "oh it's ok sweetie. Mommy knows a growing boy like you has your needs. Just make sure to get mommies help if you wanna go bouncy bouncy ok?" She asked. The poor red faced boy couldn't speak, just suckled and nodded lots. the old Katsuki would of had a bitching fit and blown his way out of the car and stormed off..but Baby Katsuki just realized maybe just because he was out of baby jail..didn't mean he wasn't still a baby. 'I'm not a jail bird anymore..this is gonna be a longggggg summer..' He thought and then sucking on his paci and the noise of the car and vibration of it, drifted off to sleep like the big baby he was.

The end

[writefightandflightclub]

Nightmares and daydreams

Summary: you have a nightmare centred on Poe meeting a bitter end, and so you have to see for yourself that he’s alright. Major angst, eventual fluff.

Author’s note: not super happy with how this turned out, but it’s been sat in my drafts unfinished for so long that I just need it gone. Plus, I cried a few times writing it (at the same bit each time) and I can’t take it anymore. Yikes :P

Warnings: nightmares, sweats, fear, reference of character death / war (not too graphic), crying, arguing / fighting, angst. Gendered terms WRT to reader e.g. “girl”, sexual themes but no explicit smut.

GIF by @hupperts​ (I use this GIF so much, oops.)

Word count: 2.6k

You are barrelling down the hallway in a cold sweat, tears coursing down your face. You know it doesn’t make sense -it’s not logical- but your nightmare had seemed too real. You had to get to him. You had to see for yourself that Poe was ok. You needed to shake that image of him; skin cold and bloodied, eyes vacant -as glassy and unlit as empty cockpits. You needed him in front of you, living and breathing; and so, you woke and you ran.

This was the second time you had run to him today.

It had been a typical dogfight. A typical close-call. Poe had pulled some reckless stunt and his X-Wing had taken a hit. Smoke trailing behind him and flames licking the cockpit, his stuttering engine had barely carried the battered craft home. You had landed bumpily behind him as you watched his ship thump and skitter across the runway, jumping out and tearing over towards him at full pelt as you watched him clamber out of the cockpit, swaying slightly and patting down his lightly smoking flight suit. You had been inexplicably angry with him, trembling with white hot rage as you tore into him for his actions. You had pulled your helmet off and smashed it on to the duracrete floor, had screamed at him and he had screamed back, spitting vitriol at one another until you were practically chest-to-chest in the airfield.

The ground troops had to wrangle you apart, siphoning Poe off towards the med bay -despite his very vocal protestations- and dragging you towards the command room. Still bubbling with a boiling rage in the pit of your belly, your incessant accusations of Poe’s folly hissed from your lips like irrepressible steam. The General ordered you to take a walk and cool off, and so you had looked at her as if betrayed and stormed-out of the command room, leaving a fraught scene in your wake.

You had walked into the forest surrounding base, not knowing where to, until night descended and turned the air biting cold. Until the heat has dissipated from you, figuratively and literally. Until you just felt numb. By this time, the exhaustion was hitting you, and all you wanted was to fold yourself into darkness, perhaps before any regret had a chance to take hold of you. You’d retired sullenly to your quarters, stripping off everything except your underwear and tossing it to a heap on the floor, then you had climbed under the covers, still covered in smoke and dirt and blood and not caring.

You were exhausted, so sleep came to you immediately, but it was encumbered by the residual adrenaline and stress wracking your body. The events of the day twisted and flailed in your mind like wisps of smoke which became whips, cracking at you with violent and jarring intensity. Flashbacks of actual terrors mingled with imagined terrors came as an onslaught until you were trapped in a vivid vortex of despair, the fear you held deep in your bones right at the centre, seeding the tangled vision.

Poe. Poe dead. Poe dead and gone.

You were jolted awake by your own cries and thrashing, your heart pounding and skin slick with sweat, your jagged breaths heaving in the pitch-dark. Alone in the night, you desperately tried to sift through the events of the day to understand what was real. You were sure that you had screamed at him on the runway- that he’d made it home. Hadn’t he? Even so, the nightmare had plucked at a deep-seated fear. The fear that you carried religiously with you into every mission. As sure as you would zip-up your flight suit and harness, load your munitions, and put on your helmet, your fear that Poe wouldn’t make it this time was bundled into the cockpit with you, crammed into the spare spaces. The fear always settled around you, lightly at first like wisps of smoke, clinging to your hair and skin. At moments where he came too close to harm, those wisps would become whips again, and the only way to stave off the inevitable pain was to become fierce, like a lion. To become angry.

You routinely masked your feelings with anger, but the truth is, you are terrified. Terrified you’ll lose him. Now, when you are too exhausted to muster any further defences, the whips are cutting you deep. The wounds they’re inflicting might not be physical, but the pain you are feeling is wholly real.

That was how you ended up at his door in the night, banging your closed fist against it persistently.  You didn’t care that you were half-naked and dishevelled, the thought having barely entered your head. You simply need to see him.

Poe opens the door wearily, still in his flight suit despite the late hour. He is still sweaty, still covered in blood and dirt, his hair a knot of confused curls and thick stubble sprouting over his jaw; but even this weak show of energy seems positively vital, radiant in comparison to the macabre vision in your nightmare. He registers it is you standing there, and in all the terrible situations Poe has seen you face, you’d swear he can’t have seen you this distraught before. His eyes instantly flash with concern.

“What is it, what’s happened?” Poe asks, his voice creaking under the strain like he can’t possibly take anything else horrible today. Even so, he’s looking at you like he’d run out and fight the whole galaxy for you if you could just tell him what hurt you like this. But him being in front of you is all you needed. You simply dive forward and cling to him in relief. Like you should have done when he touched down. Like you should have done in every moment you possibly could have before now.

He yields to you slowly, as if he is starved of touch, perhaps as if your affection is a shock to him after all of the times you’ve been too harsh. After all of the times you’ve stubbornly, selfishly tried to push him away. Slowly, as if you may be a cruel trick, a vision or a wisp of smoke yourself, Poe brings one arm around your waist, one hand up to wrap securely at the nape of your neck. He must find you slick with sweat, your bare flesh cloying and trembling beneath his palms, but he doesn’t recoil. He simply holds you as deliver stifled sobs of relief into his shoulder.

After a few moments like this, upon realising there is no external danger -the threat is evidently an inner turmoil- Poe shuffles you delicately into his room so the door can close behind you. “You’re ok. You’re safe.” he soothes, as your hands ball into his chest. “Do you want to tell me what’s up?” He coaxes, without pressuring you, bringing his hands to your shoulders to gently part you from him, to make you look him in his eyes. You find them still full of concern as well as weariness.

The softness of him, given without question, is almost too much for your vulnerable heart to bear and so you bite back cruelly. “You’re a stupid, preposterous man.”

Poe’s jaw tightens, and you half expect him to come at you, but instead, he lets your words bounce off him. Instead, the palm of his calloused hand comes up to your face, rough pad of his thumb gently swiping the tears off you. “I know that, but what’s new?” he teases, with a whispered voice and soft smile, though his eyes remain turbulent with worry. His other arm comes back to your waist, his broad hand warm and reassuring at your back.

You’re not equipped to counter such disarming tenderness. All you know how to do anymore is to deflect it. “I hate you sometimes.” you insist stubbornly.

This time Poe purses his lips, his eyes hardening slightly. But you’re looking hungrily between his eyes and mouth, your pupils blown out, your hands now fisting at his lapels, your breath seething in and out of you.

You’re almost chest-to-chest, as you were earlier that day, except this time, his hand is on your bare skin, his fingers drawing circles on your back, his dark eyes intent on you, infused with heat but not with anger. He continues to caress your face with his palm, and to both your surprise your mouth moves to him, your soft lips brushing over his fingers, a needy moan billowing over them. 

His own breathing becoming uneven, he cocks his head inquiringly at you. “And the rest of the time?”

The rest of the time? When you weren’t telling yourself you hated him?

Thinking about that invites buried, denied feelings to the surface. Your palms paw at his chest. An urge talking hold of you which is so strong, so irrevocable, that you feel almost powerless against it. Your hands slip down his torso in something like defeat, tugging at the flight suit at his hips, pulling him on to you. Both his hands move to your back now, his fingers tracing his touch on you like a spark running along a fuse line.

“Poe.”, you breathe. Still resisting, pawing, whimpering.

“What do you need? Tell me. Say it and it’s done.” his gruff, throaty request is like the striking of a match.

With it, you do tell him. Tears still drying on your cheeks, your lips work all of the words into him that you can’t find, the feelings that you have buried and can’t yet name. Your mouth presses to his in a crush of lips as if you are trying to pin your slippery heart safely between you. As if you will die if you ever lose this contact. Poe responds immediately, urgently; without pause, as if he’s always been ready for this. As if he’s always been expecting it, and everything else is simply an interruption - a break from the inevitability of kissing you.

He tastes like oak and spice and caramel, his tongue against yours sending a trail of fierce heat down into the pit of your stomach as if you’ve just taken an intoxicating swig of him into your mouth; a warming sensation like the burn of whisky, your body thrumming with this buzz. And it’s still not enough of him. You want to be drunk on him. He moans into your mouth. His tongue is no longer biting and bickering, but warm and supple and in agreement with yours.

It’s the kind of kiss that is both desperately sad and desperately joyous because you waited so long for it.

Poe’s thigh thrusts in between your own, his muscled leg pressing up against your core as you feel his desire growing against your hip. His hands slip up into your hair, his touch growing frenzied, more desperate, and you tip your head back to give his lips access to the column of your neck, his stubble grazing and tongue soothing the tendinous flesh there as you moan into the air for him.

Your hands can’t decide where they want to be, and you want to touch all of him at once, his body both soft and strong under your touch. You just know you need his skin on you, and so you clutch desperately at his flight suit, up against the logistics of getting him naked with all manner of belts and holsters impeding you, your haze of desire not helping you accomplish your task. 

Poe senses your urgency and groans into the junction of your neck, hating himself for the interruption he knows he has to deliver. “Wait.” he breathes, before tearing himself reluctantly away from you and stepping back a fraction. “Wait. This is happening really fast... Is this ok?”

“We have to, Poe, we have to. We can’t wait.” you plead, and something in your voice seems to have the opposite effect to what you’d hoped for.

“Baby, there’s no rush.” Poe slows, the concern returning to his eyes again, a result of the emotion and insistence in your tone.

“No! There’s not enough time!” you blurt out, voice desperate and broken and high-pitched. And there it is. The thing you have to acknowledge. That fear you hold deep in your bones is resurgent all over again, and it instantly causes tears to spring forth from you. “There’s not enough time, Poe.” You repeat weakly and in defeat, voice filled with so much pain that Poe steps imperceptibly back from you, as if he is being hurt vicariously. “I dreamed you were gone. I dreamed that you were dead.” you admit, and Poe’s eyes swim instantly with sadness. Almost with guilt. He sags as if he’s been punched in the gut.

“That’s what you were upset about?” he questions in the smallest of voices. “That’s why you’re here?”

Realising that the mood has gone and feeling sombre, you fold at the knees and sink down, perching on the end of Poe’s bed. Solemnly, he sits down next to you. He looks positively broken.

“I can’t stop thinking about it, Poe. It could happen. On any single mission. It could be either one of us.” You look at him in apology, and although you can see your words are hurting him you don’t seem to have the strength left to contain your confession any longer. “I already wasted so much time trying to tell myself I hated you that... I’m scared. I’m so scared that I’m gonna run out of time to love you. Poe.”

His face twists in distress, and he’s staring wordlessly at a very particular spot on the floor, seemingly unable to lift his eyes to yours. He wants to reassure you. You can see the effort shudder through his body. You see him try and flail for words of comfort, each attempt dying in his throat. Instead, his brows knit together and his face contorts. Your heart breaks seeing the pain there, and he shakes his head as if in apology as tears begin to overflow onto his cheeks too. He knows your fear is valid and there’s little he can do to allay it. You know he feels this because when he finally looks back up at you, you recognise the very same fear in his eyes too.

When he finally speaks, his voice cracks with emotion. “I don’t want to run out of time to love you either.“ Agreement is seemingly all he can offer you. You sit there together in momentary silence, reaching out to grasp one another’s hands tightly in the space between you on the bed, becoming joined by the hands and joined by your shared fear.

Suddenly, everything seems so bleak, and you wonder if you’ve made a mistake. If anger would be easier. If love is too much pain. But then, you think back to your dream, to those lifeless eyes of his, vacant and glassy and unlit as cockpits. The pain in him now stems from a living, breathing love. At least that’s something. And suddenly, it seems like everything. Poe holding you? Alive? Kissing you?

Poe is surpised when a small smile inches its way over your face. “It’s ok, Poe. It’s ok. I’m wrong. I’m tired, and I’m scared, and I’’m wrong.”

He wipes his tears away with the heel of his hand. He shakes his head in mild confusion.

When you speak again, your voice is stronger, more certain. “We haven’t wasted any time. We found each other, didn’t we? We made it this far? Maybe we don’t know if everything will be ok. How much time we have left. But we have this second and the next and then the next. And when I’m sitting here with you, this second, you’re more than enough for me.” You reach over to twine your fingers in his curls, gazing at him fondly. “How lucky am I that you came back today, and that I get to hold you? That doesn’t sound like a waste to me. If I get to hold you one more time or 1000 or a million, I want to make each one count.”

He leans into your touch, and you realise how wrecked he is. How wrecked you are. He nods, softly, another single tear coursing down his cheek. You kiss it away from him. Finally, a small smile echoes your own.

“We’ve got time?” he asks you, voice tinged barely with hope. 

“We’ve got time. We don’t have to rush. I’ll be here in the morning, and if you want me to, I’m gonna kiss every inch of you and make love to you. And I’m gonna take my sweet kriffing time with it, ok?”

He brightens ever so slightly at that. “If I want you to? Are you kidding me?”

You smile a little more broadly at him. “Can I kiss you?”

He nods, and you bend to press a feather light, chaste kiss to his mouth. He closes his eyes against it and tugs in a deep, slow breath.

“What now?” he asks tiredly. 

“I’m tired.” you state, and Poe nods in agreement. He mumbles something to you and momentarily retreats to the refresher, returning with a damp cloth.

“What are you doing?” you ask in confusion, and he stands before you, cupping your chin in his hand.

“Baby, you’re beautiful, but you’re a mess. Just let me take care of you a minute, ok?” Ever so gently, he runs the cloth over your face, your neck, your arms, your torso. He washes away the dirt and blood and sweat, and with each gentle, intimate caress he seems to wash away some of the weight of the day along with it.

Once this sweet man is done, you slowly return the favour, helping him unbuckle himself and slip out of his flight gear- a much easier prospect when your fingers are calm, your hands steady. He steps out of his clothes and even with how tired you are you can’t help but appreciate his body, your eyes running over his form before you stand to ease the cloth over his face and his tired muscles too. “How do you look good even when you look like shit, Dameron?”

He throws a small, lopsided grin at you before chucking the cloth in the direction of the refresher, the mess would be tomorrow’s problem.

“Come on. We’re gonna sleep.” he pats your thigh affectionately and encourages you into his bed, laying down beside you in turn and curling his warm, sturdy body around you. “Only sweet dreams from here on in, ok? I’ve got you, sweet girl.”

It feels so good to have him wrapped around you. Still, right now, you just want to hold him fully, want to encase him and comfort him too. “Hmm, this is all wrong, Poe.”

“Huh?” he questions, already groggy and tumbling towards sleep.

“Don’t you wanna be little spoon?”

“Yeah.”, he admits, swivelling around sleepily under the sheets so you can slot yourself around him. 

He hums in happy satisfaction and you can’t help but snicker softly into the back of his neck.”You make happy beeps too?” you ask, referencing the sweet sounds Poe’s astromech comes out with. 

“What can I say? I like it when you don’t hate me. Took you long enough to figure it out though.”, he chides, good-naturedly. 

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“None o’ my business.”

You smile into his hair as you pull him into you even more tightly.

You had known love could hurt, but you’d never known it could hurt so much that you would fail to recognise it as love. However, as you hold him like this, you feel something happy begin to blunt the edges of your pain. You had mistaken love for a cruel beast to keep at bay; to counter by becoming equally ferocious. But now that you had confronted your nightmare, you saw that this love could only stop hurting you if you welcomed it. This love only bared its fangs when you tried to fight it.

“Poe,” you say softly, before he drifts off. “I’m so sorry. For being so angry.”

“Me too, sweetie.”

Your heart swells and you finally close your eyes again. As you hear Poe’s breathing become softer and sleep-ridden you whisper softly into his curls as you tug him close.

“I’ve got you too, sweet boy. Sweet dreams from here on out.”

THE END

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[captaintuggeroferebor]

the one with the Orc and the kitten

You had really hoped your day off would be simple, no dealing with rude customers and no ensuing headaches when they said something so asinine you lost faith in people altogether. So after pouring some coffee into a mug, you propped your feet up on the coffee table and pulled out the book you had been dying to read.

Only to hear a scratching noise.

“What the…” you lowered the book, looking around your slightly messy apartment; a mess you were diligently trying to avoid, and made a face.

You checked your feet, making sure you hadn’t slid one of the many plants across the coffee table. And yup, you hadn’t. So what the hell was-

scritchscritchscritch.

After a moment of making increasingly irritated expressions you sighed, putting the book down and tip toeing the length of your apartment. First back toward the bedroom, but then the sound got fainter, so you went back towards the door and it got louder.

You paused right in front of it.

Then tugged it open to reveal a tiny, black ball of fur with large green eyes.

“Where did you come from little guy?” You leaned down and picked up the black at gingerly, giving it plenty of time to scamper away. It didn’t and you brought it to your chest, closing the door and walking back to the couch, plopping down and inspecting the small creature.

Well, it didn’t take long to figure out it was a boy and that he had a tiny green collar around his neck with a tag that read ‘Taco’.

“Really, your name is Taco?” you asked and earned yourself a swipe from a paw. “Alright, alright. I’m gonna text the landlord; she’s a Witch, she should be able to figure out who you belong to.”

It had been a while since you had had a cat, taking to plants more since the death of your last one, whom you had had for eight years. Even holding the little ball of fluff made it hard to swallow and your eyes sting.

One handed texting wasn’t fun, but with one hand captured by said beast and his tiny, needle-like teeth gnawing on your finger, you weren’t about to argue.

Is there anyone in the building who has a black kitten named Taco? The message went unanswered and while a part of you understood that she was busy, the other part really just wanted to sit down and relax for a day.

You sighed, scratching at the kitten’s head, smiling when he purred and sounded more like a motorboat. “You’re kinda messing with my day here Taco.”

Your phone dinged and you swore when you read the answer. No, no one does. If you’ve found an animal I’d suggest taking it to the animal shelter and putting up fliers.

After putting Taco down so he could proceed to attack the pillows on the couch like they had personally offended him and thought for a moment. While having him in the apartment would bring up a lot of memories, the thought of putting him in the animal shelter made your chest tight.

Thanks, was all you sent back.

You had fliers to make and Taco’s owner to find.

You’d had Taco for about a week and were simultaneously in love with the little fur ball and hating him with a fiery passion.

He had already been littered trained, so thank the Gods you hadn’t had to deal with that. But he was the most annoying cat you had ever met, you weren’t sure his owner would ever be missing the little asshole.

He didn’t leave your side when you read, but Gods forbid you try to turn a page and not pet him.

He had trained that right out of you with his little teeth.

Taco loved to scratch at everything and spend his nights running back and forth around your apartment, knocking plants over and chewing on things kittens were definitely not supposed to chew on. Not only that, when he finally chilled the hell out every night, he decided your face or throat was the best place to sleep.

“You’re a goddamn brat,” you reminded him, kissing his head as you continued to pet him.

No one had responded to your many, many fliers over the past week and while you were tolerating his behavior, you didn’t want to replace whoever his owner was. Someone had to be missing him; the trip to the vet had revealed he didn’t have a chip but was in perfect health.

And his little collar and tags…someone had to missing the little hellion.

Even if you were sick of your things being knocked over or ruined, you would miss the little hairball if he suddenly disappeared.

“Hopefully your owner finds those fliers before you get too comfortable.” you told him, rolling your eyes when he swiped at your hand.

Knock. Knock.

The heavy sounds at the door happened the same time your phone went off and you hesitated between that and the phone, only for a few seconds before more knocks came. Taco went careening down the hallway and for a moment you watched him go, shaking your head before you made your way to the door.

With a yank, you opened the door. And had to look up and up some more when you came face to face with a massive, muscled torso.

And had to stop your jaw from dropping.

Or drool from coming out of your mouth.

“Uh…” you swallowed. “Can I help you?”

“Are you the one who found Taco?” the Orc demanded.

You didn’t answer immediately, unable to tear your eyes from him. He was tall, at least seven foot, muscled and broad like most Orcs were. The workout clothes he wore showed off his body to the point it was almost obscene, stetted across his barrel-like chest, near bursting where his biceps pressed against the fabric, and muscles in his stomach were so defined you blinked a few times.

Was he real?

When he cleared his throat you bit your bottom lip. “Uhm. Yeah. I mean, yes! I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting anyone today. Come in and I’ll get the little terror as soon as-”

“I prove he’s actually mine,” he finished before you could, nodding and waving one of his hands when you went to defend yourself. “I understand, I wouldn’t hand over a kitten to just anyone who came looking. I’m Orak.”

Well then.

After telling him your name, you stepped back and allowed him in the apartment, wishing you had had time to clean, but pushed it down and went in search of Taco. It only took a moment of indecision about whether or not you should grab all the things you had bought for the little demon for you to decide that would be best.

It hadn’t been smart or in your budget, but no one could resist that little face.

Speaking of which, Taco sat on your bed chewing on the book you had left there.

You rolled your eyes and scooped him up in your arms with the bed, harness, bag of food, and various toys. After squashing a wave of embarrassment that you had gotten so much and headed back out to the living room with Taco gnawing on the hair that had slipped from your bun. “Well I found him, eating my books again.”

“He does that. I’m sorry, he really is a brat.” Orak said it with an air of exasperation but the sheer amount of adoration in his honey colored eyes made your knees weak. He held is phone out after a moment. “These are all the pictures I have.”

A yelp of surprise escaped your mouth with said brat jumped and propelled through the air and landed on his shoulder. Taco then began to rub against the massive Orc and swipe at the rings in his tusks.

You took his phone, reinforced and made larger for bigger species, and sure enough there were hundreds of pictures of the little terror. Your heart clenched at seeing what was the first picture and asked. “You found him on the road.”

“Yeah outside my apartment screaming. Couldn’t get rid of him them,” he answered easily, though it was clear his attention was said kitten.

“Well, he’s yours. I’m glad he won’t be eating my books anymore.” you joked.

Orak offered you a lopsided grin and you thought your knees might give out. “Can’t say I missed that either. You didn’t have to buy him all this.”

You made a face and chuckled. “It’s been a while since I had a cat, I went a bit overboard.”

“Still too fresh to get another?” he asked, eyes unbearably kind.

You rubbed the back of your neck and gestured to the potted plants around the apartment that took up a lot of space. “My powers sort of came in and before I could have the landlord hex them so she wouldn’t get into him…”

You swallowed, remembering opening your door and looking for her.

It had been one the worst days of your life.

“I’m so sorry.” Orak stated, voice rough with emotion and so soft at her admitting that. “Well, thank you. I got the information from your landlord, so I’m sure you sent you my number. If you ever want to see this little beast or, just me, again, let me know.”

It was only after he had picked up all the things for Taco and left, that your realized Orak had been that upfront with his interest.

Well, shit.

You had ended up going on a few dates with Orak, all of them he found something fun, something you wouldn’t have considered for a date.

The first had been going to the pumpkin patch and while he was good with animals, he had picked the worst and then deferred to your Pagan abilities. He hadn’t understood, never encountering someone like you, and after some explanation about the nature of Pagans (who were like Witches, but without the connection to magyck and only a connection to the Earth), you had taught him how to pick the right pumpkin.

The second was a tour to look at the changing leaves.

And the third had been a trip to the vineyard that was run by his Centaur friend.

So when the two of you stumbled back into your apartment, giggling and holding one another, you felt like you had known Orak for years.

He was quiet, calm, and so kind; he had easily soothed your anxieties of being in a new city and only working yourself to the bone, an allowed you to hold Taco or him without calling you clingy.

You tripped and in the process of catching you, Orak pulled you toward him, which ended up with your back against the wall. The soft laughter between the two of you stopped as you looked up into his honey colored eyes, the sharp line of his nose, the curve of his jaw that was covered in thick, coarse hair.

Your hands wound into the thick braids that fell over his shoulders.

He said your name softly and duck his head, pressing his slightly chapped lips to yours, gently kissing you so that his tusks and piercings didn’t get in the way. You pulled him closer, a whine slipping through your lips when he hiked you up so you were straddling his thigh.

The noise he made was low, lewd, and made you grind downward on his leg after hearing it.

It became clear he wasn’t going to move further, you reached down to take one of his massive hands and place it over the zipper to your jeans.

You ground down on his hand. “Come on Orak.”

“Tell me how you want it,” he demanded back, nipping at your bottom lip.

“Touch me, dammit.” you hissed.

That seemed to do the trick; he ducked down and bit at your throat, biting down on the sensitive flesh there, which only made you let out a high pitched moan. Orak undid the button and slid the zipper down, his fingers dipping in, finding your clit and circling it slowly. He growled your name, continuing his work on your neck.

He switched to his thumb, fingers dipping down inside of you. Your head smacked back against the wall as his thick fingers stretched you, the pain of the stretch bleeding into pleasure.

“So wet,” he groaned against your neck, moving his thumb faster as he pulled his fingers out, only to push them back in at a not so gentle pace.

“Fuck!”

Your hips moved of their own accord, undulating faster and faster against his hand, forcing his fingers inside you again and again. Orak lifted his head kissing you again, though you couldn’t manage to kiss him back, on whine against his lips with an open mouth. He grinned against your lips, pupils blown wide at the sight of you losing control. “Come on beautiful, come for me.”

The coil in your gut tightened, all your muscles doing the same at you raced towards release.

Almost, almost, almost.

His teeth clamped down on your throat, tusks pressing hard into your skin.

You cried out, body doubling over as your muscles clenched, pleasure rushing over your body in waves, muscles shaking with each one.

Orak kissed your forehead, whispering praises as you came down from your high, the squelching of his fingers moving and your heavy breathing filled the room. After your were only shaking a bit, he asked, “You wanna take this to the bedroom?”

“Hell yes,” you panted.

[joiesomer]

who: somer, jeff ( @xjefferxx​ )

where: Jeff’s room

when: jan 20

notes/triggers: somer deals with the fallout of too much honesty

Jeff was curled up on his bed at the frat. He was hurting and his mind was doing all the flips it could. Somer had publicly said he wasn't sure about being engaged. How could he say that when he said yes? Did he really want to marry Jeff at all? It was all spinning in his head as he curled up more, tears pouring from his eyes.

When Jeff didn't reply to the private message, Somer sighed and shoved his phone in his pocket. He hated when being truthful screwed things up. He thought about trying to call his fiancé, but he probably wouldn't answer. Instead he bundled up, got Punkinpi in her harness, and headed over to the frat. "Jeff?" he yelled up.

Jeff didn't move from the bed, he didn't respond to Somer when he called out. Did it matter anymore? He didn't want to get married, he was unsure about them, so why should he respond? He read what Somer said and it only made him more upset, how many times would he have to prove his love from the other?

"Damnit," Somer swore, his breath pluming out in the cold hair. "Jeff!" he yelled. "Let us in! Punkinpi will freeze in the snow!"

Jeff shook as he typed. Its unlocked The frat door was always unlocked during the day so it was easier for the guys to come and go.

The redhead shook his head, his hat slipping sideways as he ran up the stairs. Why did they leave the door unlocked? In this cold ... Punkinpi ran to the door of Jeff and Anthony's room and pawed at it, crying. "Yes, miss," Somer said, panting. "I know. We're gonna fix it, okay?"

Jeff heard their kitten mewing. He wasn't surprised that Somer brought her along. Still though, he was crying and losing his mind right then. All the tricks and the lies it was telling had a hold on him. Jeff couldn't handle any more thoughts of depression than his own in this state.

Somer pushed the door open, turning the light on. Trailing her leash, Punkinpi jumped up and licked Jeff's nose, while Somer leaned on the bed and looked at Jeff with sad eyes. "Blondie," he whispered. "Please?"

Jeff started to pet the kitten but wouldn't look at Somer. He wouldn't speak to him either. He was hurting, hurting so much. Finally he got words together. "I love you ... so much and you just told everyone that you're not sure you want to marry me. That you think we're going to end ... you just told everyone that ... " He started to cry heavily now. "You're my everything, I don't want anyone else and you said you don't know if you want to marry me."

He started to blurt out a reply, then bit his tongue and tried to think about what to say. "It's ... it's what happened with Benji and Cooper," he said finally. "Benji was so sure, just like you. So sure. And now he's hurting so much. And I don't ... I don't ever want you to hurt like that. But I'm scared I will, just ... by being myself." He picked at a bit of the covers, feeling tears pricking at his own eyes. "I'm not a good person. I know I'm not."

Jeff growled. "Stop, Stop that right now. I'm not ... I can't handle you doing that when I'm like this. You know that’s bullshit and that I love you, so stop okay?" Jeff was slightly mad now. He couldn't put up with that from Somer right now at all. "You're not a fucking man child like Cooper and I'm not Benji, don't you dare compare us to them. No matter what you fucking said in public that you don't want to marry me and you're not even denying it now!" Tears streaming down his face. "Am I not enough? Is my love for you not enough?"

Somer flinched. Punkinpi tried to lick Jeff's tears, then put her ears back when his voice raised. "You know I love you, so you stop it," he said back, caught between anger and despair. "I didn't say I don't want to marry you! The question was if I was conflicted -- and I am! I just wanted to be honest to you. I would never have said yes, never kept this ring on my finger, if I didn't actually want to!" A sob caught in his throat and he choked on it, breathless. "You're so much more than enough and that's why I'm conflicted! We're young and the world is full of other people and people who have done this and then it was awful and I can't stand it if you get hurt!"

Jeff sat up some, holding the kitten still then he moved closer to Somer. Without words at first, he pulled him into a heated kiss. Parting from it, Jeff looked at him. "We're not them, we're are us and you're the only person I see since the moment I kissed you under that tree. I'm not conflicted at all, I know I love you and I know you're my forever. Am I yours?"

When Jeff let him go Somer was even more breathless. He groped around, finding a tissue, and blew his nose, then wiped at his eyes. "That's cheating," he muttered halfheartedly. He was still scared of what their future might hold -- he knew too well that love wasn't everything. But he couldn't stand to see Jeff like this, so he smiled shakily and said, "Yes. Yes, of course you are."

Jeff held his hand then, just looking at their hands as he shook still. His mind was still running all the worst thoughts ever. He bit at his lip then looked to Somer. "Would you hold me?" Letting down his guard a bit. He just wanted to be held and held tight.

Gently Somer set Punkinpi to one side, holding her off while he climbed on the bed. "Lil miss wants to hold you too," he said, struggling out of his coat and dropping it to the floor. Then he put his arms around Jeff, pulling the blond in tight to his chest. "I love you," he said again, as firmly as he could. "I love you, and I want to be with you forever."

Jeff curled into Somer, letting his eyes close as he took him in. He didn't want to talk for the moment, just wanted to be held. The pressure of being held helped with his spiraling. It could calm him down some as he nuzzled Somer's neck and just breathed him in.

He could tell by the way Jeff moved that he was in a bad space still. Somer wrapped him up even closer, feeling the blond's hot damp face against his skin. Punkinpi, trying to help, perched on Jeff's hip and tucked her paws under, making herself as heavy as possible.

Jeff laid there in his arms, sucking his lip a bit. "I got scared when you said it so publicly ... you could have told me privately." Words whispered as he held onto Somer's shirt so tight it might rip.

Somer brushed his lips against Jeff's forehead. "I didn't want you to know," he whispered back. "I didn't ever want you to know, and then they asked what I was conflicted about ... and that's the only thing." He sighed. "I should have just ignored the question."

Jeff shook his head. "You should tell me, I need to know ... so I can help you through it." He responded, looking up to his redhead. He nuzzled his cheek then and just held on more. "I love you so much ... you're so much to me and more and I know we'll make it, even if we're young."

The redhead pressed his lips together. "You just said you thought it was because your love wasn't enough, and that's not it," he said. "I can barely even explain it to myself, and you don't like it when I ... when I'm honest like that. You constantly say it."

"I don’t like when you put yourself down all the time and question how I feel. If you need me to reassure you that I love you and I'm not leaving, then I will but not in the way putting yourself down ... " Jeff ran his fingers through Somer's hair softly.

"I'm not questioning how /you/ feel," Somer burst out softly. "I'm questioning my deservingness. Jeff, just because you love me, I can't just ... get over something I've been dealing with for as long as I can remember. I talk to my therapist about this almost every month!"

Jeff had been trying to understand since they got together, but this was a first of him telling him what it exactly was. "So you think you're not enough?" Jeff looked at him with big eyes and so much love and concern.

"I know I'm not enough." Somer hung his head, trying to get away from that clear gaze. "I'm not a good person, Jeff. I'm not nice, and I'm not ... I want bad things to happen to people, and I don't think before I speak -- look what I just did to you. And I'm selfish."

"Everyone does those things ... I yelled at Topher today and told him I was done with him because of him asking for advice then arguing with me. We're all selfish." Jeff replied, making him look to him. "Please look at me when we're talking ... please."

Somer flushed when Jeff lifted his chin. "I should be better," he insisted. "I should be a better person, and I'm not. I ... I should be normal, and I'm ... I'm awful, and needy, and selfish."

"So am I." Jeff kissed him again. "I'm selfish because I don't want you looking at anyone but me. I need you all the time ... and you're not awful unless someone is awful to those you love."

He kissed Jeff back, but felt like he still wasn't getting his point across. "Jeff ... you deserve so much more than me. So much more."

"Why don't you let me decide what I deserve?" Jeff replied to him.

Somer's eyes welled with tears again. "I'm trying to protect you from me, and I'm so selfish I can't even let you go."

"Like I said, that’s my decision." he whispered back. "I love you and I won’t let you go. So I'm just as selfish."

With a sniffle, Somer said, "Ah hate it when y' make sense. 's not fair."

Jeff smiled a bit. "Nothing’s fair in love and war." Pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "Now I'm slowly coming up, but could you just love me and kiss me for a while so I know you're here and the thoughts will shut up?"

"Y' say that like Ah could ever stop lovin’ you," Somer whispered, his accent coming thicker. He kissed Jeff carefully, still hurting from the dark path they'd come down, still afraid he wouldn't be allowed. "Ah need mah thoughts t' shut up too. Ah love you, Ah love you, Ah love you."

Jeff shivered. "You and that fucking accent ... it’s kryptonite to me," he whispered, kissing him when Somer kissed him. He just wanted to kiss him and not talk for a while, so he pressed in for another kiss.

[sollea]

Dolorem et Consolationem Ch16

LeaIsa fic. Characters in chapter: Lea, Isa, Ienzo(, Balsam) Words: 1611 Read the entire fic on AO3

Summary: House hunting with Ienzo. Dog time!

They’d gone home to look over things and decide what homes they should actually bother going to check out. Isa sat down almost instantly because didn’t feel like going through papers while standing up. Felt too much like the past for comfort. Standing and going through paperwork was too Saïx for comfort.

“So, are any of those locations places you’d be interested in living? They weren’t ideal home locations when we were younger, but, I assure you, they’re very nice now, even if isolated from most everyone else,” Ienzo hovered over Isa’s shoulder as they looked at the papers. 

Looking up at Ienzo, Isa shrugged. “It’s not as if we’re against walking to get places we want to go. The main world area is small enough that it doesn’t matter much, it’s not as if any of these homes are in the surrounding area that we can’t get to but by boat, right? Unless I’m mistaken? Lea?”

Lea had wandered from the kitchen table to the fridge a few minutes before Ienzo and Isa actually started talking about things, so when he was directly addressed, he blinked. “Yeah, what’s up?”

“Am I making a mistake in assuming we don’t mind the outskirts of town?”

“Nah, I just want a place big enough that people can crash when they visit and Balsam can be happy without breaking things with his giant body,” Lea said as he gestured to the dog sitting directly next to him while the fridge door was open. He’d opened it to get a snack while the other two were talking, bored of talk and papers. Balsam was a magnet to the open fridge, watching for any opening to steal food right out of it. “We have a fridge and some space and we’re all happy.”

“Ah, yes, that does take some of these homes out, I believe. Not all of them have had appliances installed.” Ienzo began to pull some of the papers aside, taking them away from Isa without letting him have any real say in it being taken. Isa sat back and watched as Ienzo decided which houses weren’t worth their time. Suddenly, nobody was able to do any work as a dog bounded over to the people who didn’t just eat food without giving him any.

Balsam shoved his nose against Ienzo’s leg, whining for attention after the heinous crime Lea had just committed. Ienzo looked down at the dog then up at Lea. “Did you not give him anything?”

“He’ll get fat, Ienzo,” Lea said, perched on the kitchen counter with a bowl of leftover curry. “And dogs can’t eat everything I’m eating. It’s got onions and I think garlic?”

“Of course it has garlic. It’s the curry, right? Why would it not have garlic in it, Lea? Would either of us make something without garlic?” Isa reaches down to scratch at Balsam’s head. “No curry for you, no matter how many times you ask.”

Ienzo frowned and looked from dog to Isa. “But if he’s asking for food, doesn’t that mean he’s hungry?”

Immediately after the word “hungry” passed through Ienzo’s lips, Balsam barked and bounced. Isa tapped the table, drawing Balsam’s attention back to him. Paws hit Isa’s legs and legs were turned away from the dog. Ignoring Balsam’s behavior was the only real way to get it to stop. Isa collected the papers that remained on the table and looked at Ienzo. “Well, I think we’ve narrowed it down enough. As soon as Lea puts the curry he didn’t even warm up-”

“It’s fine like this,” Lea interjected, offended by Isa’s pointed attack on his unwillingness to bother warming food up.

“It’s disgusting like that. Warm up your food,” Isa snapped. Breathing slowly, he handed Lea the papers and took the bowl away from him, shoving it straight into the fridge. “We’ll come back and you can eat that after you warm it up. You are not immune to having your food bowl taken away.”

Lea stared at the papers in his hands and sighed, shaking his head in mock-disappointment. “Wow, Isa, just stealing my food. What if I wanted to hang out here for a while?”

“We shouldn’t be keeping Ienzo,” Isa said, rolling his eyes. “Not so you can sit around and not warm up your curry.”

“I’m actually fine here, I’ve been told there’s no rush for me to come back to the lab. Apparently I’ve been overworking myself, but none of the other apprentices have been willing to tell me.” Ienzo shrugged, looking down at the dog who was again at his feet. “I enjoy being around you both, if you don’t mind me being here.”

Lea snorted and hopped off the counter, handing the papers to Ienzo. “Why would we mind? I’d think you’d mind being around us. Me.”

“Lea,” Isa said in a flat voice. The kitchen was not the place for Lea’s existential dread and guilt anymore, it tore Isa’s heart and soul to shreds to think about… things. “Please don’t.”

Lea rubbed at the back of his neck and sighed. “Yeah, okay, well.” He looked to Ienzo. “You wanna show us where those places are?”

“Ah! Yes. Yes, we can go.” Ienzo shuffled the papers around based on how close the homes were then smiled up at the two. “Can we take your dog as well? Maybe he’d like to see your possible new homes?”

“Uh, yeah, sure. Hey, Balsam, wanna go on a w-” Lea was stopped by the dog bolting for the door, bouncing happily by the place they kept his harnesses, the current one and the last one he’d grown out of that they hadn’t thrown away yet. Balsam was happily barking and Lea smiled, amused. There was nothing better to bring a person back to good thoughts than a happy dog. 

Isa walked over and calmly got Balsam into his harness and clipped the leash on. “You’ve alerted the dog, we have to go now or Balsam will rip my arm off.”

“Yeah, yeah, we’re coming.” Lea gestured for Ienzo to come with him as he exited the kitchen, holding up his fingers to count down from three for Isa. Balsam had a tendency to try to bolt out of the house and he was getting too big to do that without preparation. He opened the door with his hand in fist, watching with glee in his eyes as Balsam’s excitement redirected from the doorknob to the outside world.

Isa held tight to the leash despite Balsam’s pulling until the dog circled back. He was still an excitable puppy, so pulling was all too frequent at the start of walks, so they had to find something for him to keep him from dislocating shoulders with the strength he didn’t know he had. It had been a few months since they got him, so he was getting bolder in his attempts to break the rules. It was a good thing Lea and Isa had practice with dogs from their first time as somebodies. 

Ienzo watched silently as Isa got Balsam under control. Lea and Isa watched Ienzo walk up to the dog and begin to pet him, forgetting momentarily that they were doing something that wasn’t just about the dog. Eventually, he looked up at the two taller men and let out a small, “Oh,” before leading the way to the houses Isa had chosen to look at.

The first house was nothing special, it was small for Radiant Garden, far away from the main hub of life. It was furnished, so they had to keep Balsam on his leash to avoid ruining things that might not become theirs. Isa loved it, but Lea hated the idea of not having more space when they had a dog and enough friends to populate a small world. Isa eventually agreed that the small house just wouldn’t work out, no matter how comfortable it was to stand inside. 

The next home was bigger, completely barren, and closer to the town they were familiar with. Technically not a stone’s throw from houses that were originally good with the upkeep, but Isa could easily make it one. After Lea double checked the doors to make sure they were all closed, Isa took the leash off of Balsam’s harness and let him roll around on the floor, quickly attracting Ienzo’s attention again.

Isa walked to stand next to Lea, leaning against the taller man with a smile on his face. “Is there any point to looking at the other places?”

“I mean, yeah? But not extensively… We both know we’re just gonna love this one, don’t we?” Lea was never sure what to do when Isa was initiating the affection, so he just stood there until Isa sighed and moved Lea’s arm back with his shoulder. They were back to being able to communicate silently, Lea knew exactly what that meant, he did it to Isa every single day. Wrapping his arm around Isa and placing his hand on the other man’s waist was more than comfortable. He was happy. They were starting their own life that didn’t include going through hell.

Isa continued to watch Ienzo play with the dog then looked up at Lea, smiling gently. “Think this can be home?”

“You know anywhere can be home when I know I’m with you,” Lea spoke quietly while meeting Isa’s gaze. “We just gotta know.”

Isa nodded and leaned to kiss Lea gently before turning back to look at their friend, the youngest that called Radiant Garden home, play with their puppy. Balsam was getting big, Ienzo was getting comfortable, and they were finding home.

[sampaii-ca]

Everyday Fiends (Klance Drabble)

Everyday adventures in the life of two demon boyfriends and their three headed dog.

“What the hell!” The man looked down at his suit, scalding hot coffee seeping into his crisp white shirt and all over his shoes.

Keith snickered behind his hand, looking at the man. “Is that the best you got?”

Lance flashed him a wolfish grin, “You KNOW I can do better than that. That was just a warm up.” He laced his fingers together and stretched his arms out in front, rolling his neck to get the mock kinks out.

With a flick of his finger, the skirt of the girl standing in line at the coffee shop, flew up and over her face. A high pitched shriek rang throughout the shop. Lance shot Keith a wink and he rolled his eyes.

“Only you enjoyed that one. And it was still lame.” Keith muttered under his breath.

“Aww is my baby jealous?” Lance wriggled his eyebrows at him, leaning over the small table they were sitting at. “Don’t worry babe, I only have eyes for you.” His eyes closed as his lips drifted towards Keith’s, but before they touched, Keith snapped his fingers and he was suddenly falling out of his chair, it being swept out from under him. Lance let out a yelp as he landed on his ass. The few people in the shop turned to look at them.

Keith couldn’t hold in his laughter anymore and let slip the most undignified snort. Hiding his face behind his hands. Little short snorts escaping as he tried to control his breathing. “Y-your face!” Tears were prickling at his eyes and he wiped them away with the back of his hand.

“Owwww BABE!” Lance scowled at him from the floor, “That hurt!”

“You’re such a baby.” Keith stood up and walked around the table, holding out his hand to help Lance up.

Lance pouted but took the offering, Keith pulled him up on his feet and Lance immediately draped himself over Keith’s back, putting as much of his weight on him.

“Oof, you’re heavy.”

“Ya, well, I’m injured Keith. INJURED...cuz my boyfriend is an ass.”

“Heh, ya but you love this ass.”

Lance reached down and gave him a little pinch. “I DO love this ass.”

Snorting in response, Keith grabbed his hand and they walked out of the cafe into the late afternoon sun.

“What should we get for dinner tonight?”

“Hmm I’m kind of feeling Thai.” Lance wrapped his arms around Keith from behind, kissing the side of his neck.

“Lance.”

“What?”

Keith leveled him with The Look, “You know what.”

“You love Thai! Why can’t we get some?”

“Babe, you literally breathed fire from the spiciness of your curry and ended up setting the table cloth on fire last time we were there. I’m pretty sure they unofficially banned us from their restaurant. We’re also lucky no one saw the fire come out of your mouth.”

Lance grunted, “Worth it, that curry was sooooo good. I love it spicy! Can’t we just order out then, you can go pick it up so they won’t have to see me.” He started to run his hands along Keith’s sides, sliding under his shirt.

Despite running at a warmer temperature naturally, Lance’s touch sent goosebumps across his skin.

“Ugh, fine. I’ll head there now but you need to take Kosmo on a walk when you get home.”

“Deal!” Lance loved Kosmo so this was an easy trade off.

At the next corner they stopped, Lance held Keith’s face between his palms and he pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead. Then he turned Keith around and smacked his ass so hard it echoed throughout the intersection and took off running towards their home. “See you later babe!”

Keith was momentarily stunned but regained his senses when he started to feel a dull throb coming from his ass cheek. “That little fucker…” he mumbled under his breath and started to walk in the opposite direction towards the restaurant.

Lance skipped up the steps to their front door with a grin on his face. He shook his hand out to get the feeling back into it, a slight stinging sensation spread through it from slapping Keith’s ass so hard.

Hehe, worth it!

“Ooooo Kosmoooo! I’m hooooooome!”

Not two seconds after he threw his keys on the entryway table, a giant blue/black blur of fluff barreled into him. Almost knocking him over.

“Hey buddy.” He wheezed out. Kosmo started licking his face, all three tongues spreading slobber up his face and into his hair.

“Hahahah ok ok! Stop stop! Please!” He pried Kosmo from his face, it was a little difficult when there were three heads attacking him at once.

Eventually Kosmo stopped and hopped off Lance, sitting beside the coat rack where his harness hung.

“You want to go on a walk?” Kosmo’s ears perked up and his tail started to wag faster.

“I bet you do. Yesss who’s a good boy!” Lance scratched behind one set of ears and dropped a kiss on each snout.

He grabbed the harness from the coat hanger and wrapped it around Kosmo’s body. The leather was worn and faded from many outings in the sun and rain but the runes etched into it were still there. A friend had come up with a spell to camouflage Kosmo’s two extra heads while he wore the harness. Humans weren’t accustomed to seeing a Cerberus walking casually down the street so they had to hide his two extra heads somehow. To them he just looked like a normal Husky when wearing the harness.

The harness also helped “ground” Kosmo so he couldn’t teleport while they were out in public. They learned their lesson when he was a puppy and couldn’t control his jumps every time he got excited. Pretty sure that’s why their neighbor hated them, Kosmo kept teleporting into his backyard and eating his flowers.

A year later, multiple apologies to the neighbor and after a lot of training, Kosmo only ever teleported when called or told to.

Heading outside, they followed their usual route around the neighborhood. Making a stop in the local park. It was a beautiful day, a few families playing lawn games or just chatting while sitting on the grass.

Lance sat down on a bench, Kosmo by his side watching a family nearby throw a frisbee around. The frisbee ended up at Lance’s feet and a young boy jogged over to retrieve it.

“Sorry about that.” The boy said as he jogged up.

“No problem.” Lance bent down to pick up the frisbee and handed it to him.

“Thanks.” The boy glanced at Kosmo, “Is this your dog?” Lance nodded in response.

“Cool, can I pet him?”

Lance chuckled and Kosmo’s ears perked up. “Ya, go ahead. He loves behind the ear scratches.”

The boy beamed and began cooing at Kosmo and scratching behind his ears like Lance said and Kosmo’s tongue immediately lolled out and his eyes shut in pure bliss.

“He’s a Husky right?”

“Ya, a rare breed you could say.”

The boy looked at Lance in confusion but didn’t say anything because Kosmo abruptly turned his head, ears turned forward towards a tree a ways away from the bench.

“Hmm—“, seeing the boy’s confusion, Lance looked to Kosmo just as he took off into a sprint. Unfortunately, the clasp underneath the harness snapped under the force of Lance still holding onto the leash, breaking the concealment spell hiding his true appearance. And in his excitement, Kosmo teleported across to the tree and started chasing a squirrel with all three heads shimmering into existence, out for all to see.

Lance was stunned into a stupor but was jerked back into his body when the boy screamed and started pointing frantically towards Kosmo, running in circles around the trunk of the tree, barking up at the squirrel who had taken refuge in the branches.

“Uhhhhhhhh--GOTTA GO!! BYEEEEE!!” Lance sprinted towards Kosmo, leash and harness still in hand and practically tackled Kosmo to the ground trying to get the harness back on. Both rolling around in the grass, Lance getting smacked in the face with Kosmo’s paw (or maybe it was his tail) a few times When that failed, he did the only thing he could think of.

“Take us home Kosmo.” He whispered in the wolf’s ear. There was a tingle along his skin, a crackle of electricity in the air and in a flash they were gone.

The hardwood floor met the back of Lance’s head with a loud thump as he landed, Kosmo landing right on top of him. Knocking the breath from his lungs.

A soft whoosh of air escaped, “Bud--dy..I’m gunna need you to get off.” Trying to push against Kosmo was like trying to move a small car, especially when three large wet tongues started licking all over his face.

Lance accepted his fate of not getting up anytime soon and just laid there on the floor giggling, giving Kosmo’s scratches to wherever he could reach.

A few moments later, keys were jingling in the lock and Keith stepped through the door, carrying multiple bags of food.

Kosmo immediately raised his heads and bounded towards Keith, kicking the breathe from Lance’s lungs for the second time.

Kosmo collided with Keith’s legs. “Whoa! Hey there boy!” Keith held the bags of food above his head so Kosmo couldn’t reach them. “Lance? Lance where are you?” He rounded the corner into the kitchen and saw Lance sprawled out on the tile.

He set the food down on the counter and peered at Lance from above, “Whatcha doin on the floor babe?”

“O you know, just inspecting the tile.”

Keith snorted and began to pull plates and silverware out. “Did you guys go on a W-A-L-K?”

“Ooooo ya we did. Boy do I have a story to tell you.”

Keith’s mouth tilled up into a charming smirk. “Do tell.”

Lance picked himself off the floor and dusted his pants off. Feeling the excess slobber on his face, he swiped if off with his sleeve.

"Well, lets just say we need to find a new park to go to.”

I'm going to make this a series, already have an idea for the second chapter :3

[anonymouswriter2311]

Little Yellow Bikini, Chapter 2

Vanessa was no stranger to walking the streets of the village during the early hours of the morning. Between late-night emergencies, to the three-month period where she and Charity were sneaking around, the darkening streets had been a calming sight for her. Especially this morning, with Johnny toddling excitedly beside her with his new Paw Patrol backpack filled with his toys, chatting away about their holiday, and two large suitcases in tow, she couldn’t be happier. Charity had protested when Vanessa suggested that she and Johnny meet them at the pub instead of spending the night, but Vanessa wanted to double and triple check everything.

 Charity was stilled dressed in her silk dressing gown when she answered the door, her sheepish grin quickly turning into a playful smirk as her eyes traced over the cute yellow jumper her girlfriend had on. “Morning babe.” She purred as she leaned forward to steal a quick kiss. “And hello Johnny-bobs!” The barmaid added as bent down to ruffle his short hair.

 “Char’tee! Holiday!” The little boy jumped excitedly, the sound of his toys bashing against each other filling the quiet streets.

 “Come on in before you catch your death!” The barmaid quickly moved to help pull one of the suitcases into the small hallway, while Johnny ran straight up the stairs in search of his partner in crime.

 “Charity, why aren’t you ready yet? The taxi is due in like…”

 “An hour babe, I know and it only takes a few minutes to make me look flawless!” Charity winked wickedly, as she reached out to grab Vanessa’s hips bringing the small vet into her clutches.

 “Are the boys awake at least?” Vanessa muttered before melting against Charity’s lips. The blonde was in a great mood, and Vanessa relished in it. Their tender moment was quickly interrupted by the loud stomping of the toddlers and angry growl of a teenager being abruptly awakened.

 “They are now…” Charity huffed out against Vanessa’s lips, before stealing one more, quick smooch. “If I send Moses down can you get him dressed?”

 “Course, are we having breakfast here or at the airport?” Vanessa smiled brightly, as she shrugged out of the woman’s hold.

 “I promised Noah a fry up, but there is some juice for them chilling in the fridge if they want it.” She sent a quick wink, before disappearing up the stairs.

 Getting Moses dressed had been the easiest part of the morning, he was still half asleep and just enjoyed being cuddled by the blonde vet. Noah, on the other hand, was proving to be the most difficult part of the morning. It was no secret that the young man wasn’t a morning person – just like his Mother, Vanessa always thought but never voiced – he was grumpy, groggy and the littlest thing would set him off. But after he had finally entered the world of the living, the sharp scowl had quickly been replaced with a joyful grin. Charity had just about finished getting ready and double checking that they had everything by the time the taxi pulled up. Noah and his Mum took care of the bags, while Vanessa secured Johnny and Moses’ Paw Patrol themed harnesses.

 It didn’t take long getting to the airport, the three boys sat bundled together at one side of the taxi, Noah sat in the middle while Moses and Johnny watched him play a game on his phone. Charity had dozed off, laying her head contently on Vanessa’s shoulder, while their fingers laced together. Vanessa could tell straight away that the barmaid hadn’t slept well the night previous, she hadn’t been for the last few months. Bails would haunt her dreams most nights, and while Vanessa had been able to chase him away and comfort the woman when she could, the vet had an idea of what it was like for the pub owner on the nights when she couldn’t stay with her. That was one of the reasons she booked this holiday, she wanted to get Charity away from it all before the trial, if anyone deserved a break it was her.

 Charity snuggled closer, inhaling the sweet smell of Vanessa’s perfume, she was her comfort blanket, just like Moses elephant, and Johnny’s stuff dalmatian. She trusted her 100%, even after the meddling. Charity had never trusted someone like this before, heck she had never liked anyone like this before. Never wanted someone to meet her kids, let alone go on holiday with them, never craved to wake up in someone’s arms every morning…Vanessa wasn’t like anyone else, and Charity was thankful for that. She was safe in Vanessa’s arms, where she belonged.

 “Ness…” Noah whispered as he saw his Mother peacefully asleep on her shoulder.

 “Everything okay darling?” Vanessa whispered back, nothing but kindness laced in her voice.

 “I was just wondering if you wanted me to take a picture, of you and Mum together?” He asked sweetly as he held up his phone, waiting patiently for permission.

 “Oh, go on then. But don’t breathe a word of this to your Mother though.” The vet winked as she smiled brightly at the camera, excited that Noah seemed to have finally accepted their relationship.

 “She’s gonna hate these,” Noah laughed as he handed the phone over to Vanessa. “If you zoom in you can see the buddle of drool on your shoulder.” He added with a playful smirk tugging on his lips.

 “And she say’s I’m the one that drools,” Vanessa whispered to herself with a snort, before carefully handing the teen’s most prized possession back over to him. “Send us that?”

 “Sure!” He laughed while he quickly got to work on her request, frowning slightly when he found her name in his contacts. ‘Vanessa, Mum’s relationship of the month’, he had set it that way, when his Mum had demanded that he should have Vanessa’s number in case of an emergency, but looking down at it now, he couldn’t help but feel a little bit guilty and ashamed of how he acted.

 “Everything alright?” Vanessa quickly asked, when she saw his usual cheeky grin fade away.

 “I really sorry Vanessa.” He replied, catching the blonde vet off guard. “I wasn’t the nicest person when you and Mum started dating, and I realise now that I was in the wrong.”

 “Aww, Noah. You don’t need to apologise.” The smaller woman quickly tried to reassure him. She couldn’t believe that they had finally reached this point, and it warmed her heart.

 “No, I do. You make my Mum happy, and she’s nicer when she’s happy…so thank you.” He shrugged, as he subconsciously wrapped his arms around the now sleeping toddlers.

 “It’s my pleasure…I really care about your Mum, Noah.”

 “I know, you two love each other. Anyone could see that.” He smirked, making Vanessa’s breath catch in her throat. They hadn’t said those three words yet, and while they had been on the tip of her tongue for the last few months, she had no idea that it was apparently obvious to people looking in.

 “Know what I’d love?” Charity mumbled against Vanessa’s shoulder, sending a wave of vibrations coursing through the vet.

 “Oops.” Noah laughed, as his Mum lifted her head. She looked exhausted, and not as flawless as usual, but both Noah and Vanessa preferred her like this. She wasn’t trying to put up some front and hide behind her makeup, she was just her.

 “Oops indeed.” Charity smirked as she smoothed out her hair, and placed a small kiss on Vanessa’s cheek, her way of proving a silent thank you for letting her get at least a little shut-eye. “And I thought them two were the chatterboxes!” She added, a goofy grin appearing on her face as she took in the sleeping toddlers cuddled up against Noah.

 Security was a breeze since Vanessa had paid for speedy boarding, so the small group found themselves seated by a large window, surrounded by breakfast food in no time. Neither Moses or Johnny had taken much interest in their food, both too pre-occupied by the planes landing and taking off on the runway. Charity had been the first to venture off for a look around Duty-Free. Picking up some sweets for the kids, and a little present for Vanessa. She couldn’t be more grateful for this week away, it had already made her feel a whole lot better and they hadn’t even left yet. By the time she returned to the table, Moses was curled up on her girlfriend’s lap, happily watching the planes fly by, while Johnny and Noah were in the middle of a small game of tag, never venturing too far away from Vanessa’s protective gaze.

 “Hey.” Charity whispered as she placed a small kiss on Vanessa’s cheek, before taking her seat.

 “How was shopping?”

 “Alright. Got the kids some sweets to munch on, oh and I got you this!” Charity winked as she handed the small gift bag over to the vet. “Why don’t you go play with your brother babe.” She gently kissed the toddlers cheek, before he toddled away.

 “You didn’t have to get me anything.”

 “You got me this!” The barmaid exclaimed, gesturing over to the three laughing boys. “I haven’t seen them this happy, or excited in a long time. Me an all.” She added with a shy smile.

 “It’s only a holiday,” Vanessa shook her head amusingly at the blonde, not really good at accepting praise of any kind.

 “It’s more than that, and you know it!” Charity lovingly reached out, to squeeze Vanessa’s jean cover knee. “Now, open your bloody present before I return it!” She warned, prompting Vanessa to quickly dig into the small bag. After a few seconds of searching, she pulled out a long black box. Throwing a confused look over to her girlfriend, Vanessa carefully opened the box gasping as she saw a small silver heart necklace.

 “Oh my god. Charity it’s beautiful!” Tears started to pool in her eyes, as she pulled Charity in for a tight hug. Once she was finally released, the taller blonde gently picked up the necklace and moved to put it on her girlfriend, kissing the back of her neck once she as finished.

 “Yeah, well so are you.” The barmaid blushed as she reclaimed her seat, and reached out to take Vanessa’s hand in her own. “I heard what Noah said in the taxi.” She whispered, noting how panicked Vanessa looked as the words reached her ears.

 “Oh,”

 “I do ya know…I just don’t think I’m ready to say those words yet.” She nervously admitted, coughing back the emotions as she did so.

 “Really?” The smaller woman’s face lit up, as she lifted her free hand to gently touch her new necklace.

 “Of course, Vanessa!” Charity laughed, finding her girlfriend utterly adorable. “It’s just…every other time I’ve said it, I’ve never felt it. I feel it with you, and when I’m ready to say it, it should be special…and not in the middle of a crowded airport.” She winked, squeezing her hand tight.

 “Flight LS398 to Ibiza now boarding at gate number four.” The overhead announcement echoed, interrupting the tender moment before Vanessa had a chance to fully reply.

 “Guess that’s our cue babe.” Charity winked as she waved over to the boys, who quickly began racing back to them.

 “Charity…I feel it too.” Vanessa whispered as they stood to gather the boy’s backpacks. “And I love the necklace.” She added as she placed a lingering kiss on her pink cheeks.

AO3 Link

[djerinyes]

Devil, Interrupted|| Reza & Daejun

Daejun generally hated the heat, preferring to stay inside his air conditioned, organized space than to brave its inescapable rays. He had no issues spending his summer quietly entertaining himself talking to clients, or tending the garden after dusk or before dawn. It was lazy, certainly, but he figured that he deserved a while to just be himself, alone, rearranging his furniture or hunting for cat trees and toys that didn’t clash with the cool-toned gray aesthetic the place held. He didn’t mind the inactivity. He liked to think he was recharging his darker side. One of these days, he’d stumble into a plan to end all plans, settle back into his devilish role, but for now, deep-cleaning the place was the height of excitement. 

He handled solitude with minimal restlessness, but Gremory was another story. The damn creature stuck to him like a second skin, always around his ankles, or on his thighs, or curled up around his head during the night. He tried to make her sleep in her own bed, he really did, but she had a terrible habit of ignoring his commands when it was convenient for her, acting like she’d suddenly gone deaf and blind and could only cling to him harder and purr louder. Although, her presence was actually soothing on the days he woke up groggy, separate from reality, or from nightmares of being underground. Feeling dead was difficult to do with tiny black goblin claws kneading his neck and meowing like a thousand-year-old river monster. 

In fact, she was so devoted to staying by his side, when he left the house for a walk, she’d follow (don’t ask him how she got out, because he still didn’t know), silent, yet cheerfully trotting along. The first few times, he didn’t even realize until she got tired and cried loud enough that he turned around, which of course meant he had to carry her all the way back before continuing, and she’d come running again only to get under his feet in a high stakes game of chicken which he had yet to win.

It was frustrating. She was quite the escape artist when she felt like moving. Daejun just wanted peace, and freedom to actually do what he set out to do when he went out in public. If she wanted to come with him so badly, she could, he just wished she’d act more... normal. Though, to be fair, he had no idea how cats were meant to act, so maybe this was natural?

His solution, until he could teach her to stay put, was to bring her along in a tiny harness and leash, and a small cat-sized sling he strapped to his chest (just in case he needed to keep her close while using both his hands) (nobody had actually attacked him while he was out with her so far, but it was better to be safe than sorry in these situations, plus it made him feel something... important, maybe? Needed? She never minded his overprotectiveness, and in fact, the few times he’d actually put her there when there were loose dogs around, she’d never been so smug or content), allowing her to retreat onto his shoulders and rest there when she grew tired. It was good exercise for her as well, because the most she did otherwise was bat around a few toy mice and launch herself at him from anywhere and everywhere, including the floor, the fridge, his cupboards, and once, from a precarious perch on top of his bedroom door. She was just lucky he caught her every time. It provided some well-needed stimulation to her and kept him from turning completely to stone.

Of course, the problem with this arrangement was that Gremory loved people as much as Daejun despised them, and she’d abandon him in the blink of an eye to stop in front of passers-by, padding straight into their path and burble-chirp in excitement until they either cooed and petted her, or exposed themselves as a coward and gave her hairless body and glowering, scar-faced owner a yellow, disgusted glance before hurrying away. Daejun hated when people touched her without his approval, but he despised it even more when they fled. Neither he nor Gremory should have to suffer their judgement.

So in an effort to escape both the day’s punishing rays and human contact, he took to walking at night, armed with the silver blade holstered safely under the black sweats covering his calf. They didn’t go anywhere particularly dangerous, sticking to the sidewalks of the residential area and 24-hour gas station linked with a fast food restaurant, never more than a few miles from home, avoiding any parks or areas associated with cult activity. He also felt much more badass being active after dark, recalling with vivid detail when he was practically nocturnal, out dealing, fulfilling wishes, and gathering information well past the witching hour ended like any drug lord should. Walking a cat so she didn’t get sunburned was, admittedly, less thrilling, but the cool air put adrenaline back in his veins again. 

The two of them had just reached the gas station, where Daejun would typically buy a water bottle and rest before turning back, the graveyard workers long past being surprised when he came by with the cat perched on him like Pinocchio's missing conscience. It was almost unheard of for anyone else to show up there so late, which was why tonight, a presence at the pump outside put him on his guard. 

Some kid with hair that stood straight up in a neat, stylish peak, slender body covered by a leather jacket, was standing around filling his death trap of a bike up with gas. Though his back was turned to them, Daejun kept his distance, prepared to leave just as silently as he’d come, unwilling to risk an encounter that could possibly cause harm to Gremory. 

Gremory, though, had other plans, because she left the safety of his shoulder, trotting towards the guy and going so far as to hop onto the seat of the motorcycle and pose like she was oh so pitifully starved for attention (she wasn’t) one paw lifted and slightly outstretched in a dramatic plea. She let out a hearty beast-noise in greeting, not too loud, but demanding and out of place in the still night.

Did she even remember that she was attached to Daejun with a leash? Probably not. Biting back a sigh, he stepped closer so as not to pull too hard at her harness. “Gremory, no.”

[imaginetonyandbucky]

A/N: Second part of the doggo AU.

Warnings: implied dog trauma and past injury

---

Borks and Scritches - Part II

Bucky loved the park, because Tony was there.

Every day they went to the park Bucky was most excited about meeting his friend again. The flying disk was amazing but snoofing Tony and playing with him was even better. Steve always took the leash off at the entrance and Bucky did a zoom straight to the bench were Peggy was sitting with Tony.

Today the ground was a bit slippery because it had rained and Bucky flopped onto his side straight in front of Peggy, totally on purpose of course. Tony was standing on her knees, watching him, wagging his tail. Bucky woofed, his tail made splashes in a puddle. Tony hadn't been coming out of his house for very long, but now he was always waiting for Bucky.

Bucky scrambled to his legs and greeted Tony properly by snoofing him thoroughly, then challenged him to play. Tony first jumped onto the bench and then to the ground, he took a moment to inspect his wet paws then engaged in a playful but fierce dirt battle with Bucky.

"Prepare for bath time." Peggy said. Steve had joined her on the bench.

"Yeah, already figured as much."

Bath time was not something Bucky liked but he didn't care, he played with Tony to his heart's content. They rolled around in the dirt and they chased each other around. Bucky didn't use his full zoom speed when running; Tony wasn't as fast and it wouldn't be fair and not fun at all, but he liked to nip at Tony's tail just to show that he could catch him.

Often they didn't play or run at all but simply walked around and explored. Bucky had never known there was so much to discover by just sniffing around, Tony was very smart. They found rabbit holes, Tony almost fit into the bigger ones, but Bucky liked to dig them up anyway or tried to, mostly he just ended up with his face in the dirt, one-pawed digging wasn't his speciality.

Together they almost caught a few squirrels; Tony found them and chased them towards Bucky who did his best to catch them, but he wasn't quite agile enough to catch them before they escaped up a tree. The trees never gave them back.

(Read more ahead)

----

Today started as usual. Bucky and Steve went on their daily morning run and then Bucky got a big bowl of fresh meat. Steve went to work in his office and Bucky took a post-breakfast snooze in his dog bed under Steve's desk. Eventually that got too boring and he occupied himself with some of his toys but then Steve called him to the door to put his harness on, it didn't feel right. It wasn't time for the park yet and Steve had snacks in his jacket pocket. Bucky could smell them.

Bucky was right, something was wrong, because Steve didn't walk to the park or the place where they poked Bucky with needles all the time. They also weren't going for a run because Steve was just walking and not running and Bucky was really confused. His confusion turned to fear when they got further and further away from their house. He wanted to stop and go back, he whined and pulled on the leash to get Steve to turn around. Steve told him to come along and Bucky reluctantly followed, earning a small treat when he walked a few steps without pulling on the leash.

The constant treats and praises from Steve calmed Bucky down but that only lasted until they reached the stairs that lead down to the subway station.

Bucky knew the subway and he didn't like it. It was loud and cramped, a lot of smells were coming from all directions and there were too many humans too close. They didn't pay attention where they were going and constantly bumped into him and they smelled all nervous and bad.

Then there were the stairs.

Bucky hated the stairs, especially the ones that lead down. He has fallen down more than one during his lifetime and even with Steve holding him up with the harness it was uncomfortable to hobble down one step at a time. He howled and backed away from the stairs, but Steve held him so firmly, his harness was almost slipping off. Bucky barked his heart out, he didn't want to go down the stairs, he couldn't even see the end!

Steve crouched down and held his head, scratching behind Bucky's ears.

"I know, buddy, it's scary, but I'll hold you, okay?"

Bucky continued to protest, talking back at Steve loudly. Steve hung his head. "Alright, alright...no stairs, but we have to get down there. I promise you are going to like it when we get there." Steve got up and tugged Bucky towards the moving stairs on the edge of the normal stairs. These looked even worse than regular ones but Bucky knew he wasn't supposed to get on these, they were dangerous.

"God, I wish you were like 30 pounds lighter," Steve said and then, "Up." Bucky got up on his hind legs without hesitation, holding onto Steve with his front paw, he knew what came next. Steve wrapped his arms around Bucky's chest and lifted him up. Bucky scrambled with his hind legs to find some purchase on Steve until his human shifted him around and he could settle his front paw on Steve's shoulder and his hind legs around Steve's hips. He felt Steve's arms holding him firmly across his back. He whined a little bit but being carried wasn't the worst in the world and he could snoof Steve's ear and lick his face better like this. He didn't do that though, he was a good boy after all.

Steve's arms were save and Bucky was happy to be carried, he looked around from his new vantage point. Everything smelled different from up here and he licked his nose to savor the different scents. He only noticed that they were already underground when Steve put him down again. Bucky woofed at him but let himself be dragged through the metal contraption with the spinning thing.

Bucky squished himself against Steve's leg when they were standing and waiting on the platform. It wasn't as hectic down here, most people were just standing around, Bucky was fine with that.

He did however lose it when the train came rushing into the tunnel, next thing Bucky knew was how he was cowering on the train under the seats with Steve's feet in front of him. He was panting heavily, the smell of dirt and urine was strong here.

“There's a puppy, mommy, I want to pet it!"

Steve's feet shifted in front of him.

"No, Maddie, see how it says 'Please give me space' on the dog's jacket?" That was a woman's voice.

"Yes?"

"It means the dog doesn't like to be touched."

"Okay."

"Thank you, ma'am." Steve said.

People were walking by in front of Bucky but the seat and Steve's feet gave him enough cover to not freak out every time, sometimes a small growl escaped him though. He was unstoppable when the train stopped and Steve got up, he dashed out of the door just when it opened, Bucky only paused when he reached the stairs upwards. Steve was panting next to him. "I'm not going to carry you up. You can walk up stairs no problem."

Bucky huffed and hopped up one step at a time, Steve gave him support through the harness and finally after an eternity they were back in fresh air and less people and less noise and Bucky started to sniff the ground.

"Almost there, come on." Steve again lured him with the promise of treats down the streets. It was a bit easier here even though Bucky had never been here and everything smelled different. There were less people on the streets and more green patches on the side walk and the air smelled cleaner. Bucky didn't know why they had to go on the horrible train to go on a walk in this area. It was nice, but he would have preferred the park.

Something dawned on him when Steve stopped in front of a house, Bucky sniffed the door frame and oh yes there was a scent he'd recognise everywhere, he followed the scent up the stairs and to a door and as soon as he and Steve stood in front of it the door open.

Tony's scent enveloped him and he barked excitedly, trying to get into the room, past Peggy, but Steve held him back.

"Can he go in?"

Peggy laughed, "Of course, Tony's sleeping though."

Suddenly Bucky was free and he dashed into the room and then another, everything was full of Tony's smell and he didn't know where to start looking. Tony was everything that was on his mind, all the hardship and trauma from the train forgotten, and finally after ages of looking he spotted his tiny friend lying on the couch on a nice plush cushion. Bucky jumped on the couch, knowing full well he shouldn't. He snoofed Tony, snoofed him all over until Tony lifted his head lazily and acknowledged him. Tony yawned then curled up again.

Bucky was happy, so happy, he snoofed Tony one more time then squished himself into the space behind Tony's back and the couch cushion. At least his head fit comfortably, he had to make due with the couch for the rest of his body.

Happy and content, being so close to his friend, Bucky dozed off. He was so exhausted from the trip to Tony's house that he hardly even noticed when Steve removed his harness.

"The subway really took it out of him, new places are always difficult. I was afraid he wouldn't be able to calm down here, guess I shouldn't have worried."

"They are adorable together. Bucky is so enamored with Tony, and Tony is with him. It might not look like it, but Tony is like a whole new dog with Bucky around. He's so stressed outside and with Bucky at his side...he never used to leave his carrier, it was like his armor."

Bucky cracked an eye open and looked at the two humans. They were holding onto each other and watching them. Bucky huffed and went back to sleep. He didn't care what the humans were on about, he just wished they would stop making noise. This was a very good day, the best day even and he drifted off into sleep, dreaming of playing with Tony and the flying disk.

~James

[allabouttaetae]

Kimchi Brought Us Together (1)

Chapter 1

Pairing: Taehyung x Dog Trainer!Reader

Genre: Angst, fluff

Warnings: Anxiety and Panic Attacks

Word Count: 4,016

A/N: OKAY Here we go!! My first BTS fic, here it is. I don’t know, this may end up turning into a soulmate AU, it might not. Let me know what you think! :) 

If there was one place you hated most, it was the airport. Flying wasn’t so bad, the flights might be cramped but at least you could catch up on some sleep. But the airports and, more specifically, the airport crowds, were absolutely hellish for you.

You were contemplating over this as you overheard the flight attendant, in her slightly too-cheerful voice, inform the passengers to buckle their seatbelts for landing. “We will be arriving in London within the next 20 minutes!” Her voice chirped over the PA system.

You sighed, and glanced down to your feet. Tucked between your legs and the wall in front of you sat your dearest service dog, a German Shepherd whom you affectionately and quite uncreatively named Kimchi, since you loved the food so much.

Kimchi looked back up at you, his black and yellow vest twisting a bit as he moved, a quiet whine escaping his lips as he sensed the pressure changing in the plane. You quickly bent down and gave him a reassuring pat on his head before making sure his harness was secure on him. You settled back into your seat and secured your own seatbelt, sighing aloud as you again felt the dread creep back up your spine. Landing the plane, and then the airport. Great.

The landing was smooth and relatively quick, and being seated at the front of the plane as well as having a fluffy, four legged companion by your side meant that you had to exit the plane first, to avoid causing a hold up for everyone else. You quickly grabbed your carry-on luggage from the overhead compartment and picked up Kimchi’s leash before heading for the exit. You hoped that if you walked fast then maybe you could miss the rush.

Weren’t you in for a shock.

Upon entering the building, the first thing you noticed was the plethora of security personnel lining the walkway to the luggage pick up. Behind them, you spotted a horde of reporters, all of them trying desperately to see around the security guards. You idly thought that some celebrity must have also been on the flight, although you didn’t know who it could have been. You couldn’t really be bothered to keep up with celebrities, honestly you didn’t have the time.

What really caught your attention, however, was the chanting. As you picked up your luggage and made your way closer and closer to the sound, Kimchi following along at your heel diligently, you couldn’t help but to wonder what kind of celebrity it was that would elicit this kind of welcome.

The closer you got to it, the clearer the chanting became. You heard, surprisingly enough, Korean names being shouted over and over, along with three distinct letters. BTS.

“Kim Namjoon! Kim Seokjin! Min Yoongi! Jung Hoseok! Park Jimin! Kim Taehyung! Jeon Jungkook! BTS!!” You heard this chant being repeated again and again. You had never seen this kind of reaction to a celebrity. The energy that these people in this foreign land were showing was, truly, incredible.

It was also terrifying.

You could feel your anxiety getting the better of you and subconsciously reached out for Kimchi. He was there in an instant, his head gently pressing against your hip as you continued to walk. You focused on caressing his head and ears, trying to keep your breathing steady. You wished for nothing more than to just sit down and let Kimchi put his weight on you, to wash away all of the fear that was threatening to swallow you whole. But you knew that if you stopped now, you might not get back up. All you had to do was get out.

You passed by the final checkpoint and exited into the worst of the chaos. You saw all the fans, still chanting and screaming, holding signs with men making odd faces on them. You had to push your way through the crowd, the closeness of everything knocking the breath out of you. You felt like you were going to drown in this mass of bodies, and for a moment you couldn’t see, you couldn’t tell where you were, what was up and what was down, you sucked in a ragged breath-

You felt Kimchi tug on his leash, pulling you forward. You heard him bark twice, a loud, deep sound that had the fans around you jumping away in shock. You took a moment to breathe, resting your hand on Kimchi’s soft head for comfort.

As you made your way through the crowd, with Kimchi confidently in the lead, you idly thought that it was kind of amazing for a Korean group to be getting this much International attention, and wondered how it was you had remained under a rock and hadn’t heard of them yet. You tried to make a mental note to look them up later.

You made your way to where your carpool was waiting, pickup ‘F’. It was at the opposite end of the airport, so you tried to pick up the pace a bit to quickly make it past the insane crowd.

You tried to single out the sound of Kimchi’s paws padding along the ground, his breathing as he panted, the way his shoulder would brush against your leg as the two of you walked in sync. He was perfectly in tune with you, always attentive and always loyal, your perfect partner. You wouldn’t be able to function without him by your side and you were eternally grateful for his constant presence in your life. You focused on your Kimchi, putting all of your attention on him, and so ignoring the cheering crowd you sped past.

You could see the large white sign, with a large red ‘F’ on it, and you let out a breath you didn’t realize you had been holding. You nearly ran over to the doors, Kimchi picking up his pace to match yours. You made it outside and inhaled deeply, savouring the fresh outdoor air.

You looked around, searching for the English dog trainer, Laura, you were here to partner with. She had agreed to pick you up and take you to your hotel, where you would be staying for the next week. You were supposed to discuss with her the upcoming dog shows you were to be attending and planning out driving arrangements on your way there.

You frowned as you looked around, not spotting her anywhere. You hurriedly pulled put your phone and turned off your airplane mode, searching for the conversation in which she told you which pick up station she would be at. You flipped through the messages until you spotted her name. As you clicked on it, your phone buzzed three times as the person in question sent you three new messages.

Laura (10:26 am): Hey Y/N! I know I said I would pick you up in lot F but the roadway is blocked off for construction. so I’m gonna go to lot A instead

Laura (10:55 am) Alright, I’m here!

Laura (11:18 am) Y/N?? Where are you? I’m waiting…

You felt panic sink into your skin as you turned on your heel and rushed back into the building. Kimchi huffed as he sped after you, but you hardly noticed. You couldn’t hear his paws on the floor, or his steady panting. You barely felt his shoulder brushing against your leg. The only thing you could hear, see, feel was that Laura was waiting.

She’s waiting, she’s been waiting, she’s on the other side waiting.

She’s going to leave me here.

You felt your breathing becoming ragged, your palms becoming sweaty. Your head started spinning and before long you once again couldn’t tell up from down. But you still continued trying to speed onwards, as sweat dripped down your neck and shivers ran up your spine. You felt bile rising into your throat and tears stinging your eyes and you knew that you were going to collapse, you were through, you were going to vomit….

Kimchi suddenly stepped in front of you and, very gently, jumped up to put his paws on your hips. You stopped in your tracks and stared down at him, and you felt him gently pushing you backwards. You slowly released the unconscious death-grip you had on your suitcase and sank down to the floor, your breathing slowly evening out as Kimchi carefully crawled onto your lap. He leaned his body into yours and you wrapped your arms around his torso, allowing his warmth to sink into your skin. You tangled your fingers into his course fur as you held him close to you, inhaling his familiar scent. You revelled in the warmth of your best friend and just stayed like that for a moment, Kimchi sitting in your lap with your arms wrapped around him. Before long, his therapy began to take effect on your body. The shivers ceased, your tears dried, your clammy hands returned to their normal softness.

You whispered a gentle thank you to your best friend as you hugged him. Kimchi sighed in contentment as he rested his head on your shoulder, his tail thumping gently against your leg. You released him from your grasp and commanded him to get off your lap, which he did so immediately. You patted his head gently and kissed his nose, ignoring the confused looks you were getting from the people around you.

You grabbed your luggage and continued on your way towards pick up lot ‘A’. The area with the crowd, you remembered. You pushed the thought away as you pulled out your phone to send Laura a text, letting her know that you had headed to the original pick up lot ‘F’ but were now on your way to where she was. You hit send and stuffed the phone back into your purse.

As you walked, your hand rested gently on Kimchi’s head. You did your best to ignore the chanting, the frantic cheering, the high pitched screaming of the over-excited fans. You could still feel the threat of a panic attack boiling in the pit of your stomach, but you had Kimchi right there next to you, holding the pieces of you together. So you pushed on, staying close to the wall as you walked by the crowd of fans.

A bright flash startled you from the corner of your eye and you looked over to see the horde of reporters excitedly snapping pictures of the awe inspiring group. You paused for a moment to see them, nearly taken aback by the sheer beauty of them. There were seven of them, and all of them were breathtakingly handsome.

You noticed bright red hair on one of them, and a blonde with a sweet smile beside him, before you were shoved abruptly to the side by one of the manic fans. You gasped, turning to rush away from the commotion, only for you to be blocked in again by a wall of bodies.

You turned back around, again glimpsing over at the famous boys. One with dimples and ashy brown hair, one who looked nearly as shocked as you were, then a broad shouldered one with plump lips and a very handsome face, and a man who looked like he was perpetually tired…

You desperately tried to push your way through the crowd, inadvertently forcing your way ever closer to the handsome men who were currently causing your life to be completely hellish. You glanced up again, trying to figure out how you had ended up further away from your destination, the threat of a panic attack slowly rising up like a snake in your belly.

You glanced over the fans, stealing another look at the cause of the immense crowd.

Your attention was drawn to the last boy in the group, and you were stunned by his beauty. He had silver coloured hair which fell lightly into his dark eyes. His jawline was sleek and defined, his skin was slightly darker than the rest and he seemed to have been kissed by the sun. He wore expensive looking clothes and large, round glasses. He was making a ‘V’ shape with his fingers in front of one of his eyes as he gazed at the camera’s, and you thought that he certainly must have been a model. For a brief moment while you stared at him, admiring his beauty, your panic ceased.

You were so entranced by the group you hadn’t noticed yourself inching slightly closer. You were staring intently at the silver haired boy, forgetting completely about Laura in pick up lot ‘A’. You were so enraptured by his beauty you didn’t even register the screaming girls behind you. You didn’t hear their feet stomping towards you, or their high-pitched voices getting closer to you. You didn’t realize the three of them were headed straight for you.

You heard a loud, piercing yelp from beside you, just as the screaming girls ran past you. Your eyes darted away from the handsome man and over to the most important thing in your life, your partner, your Kimchi.

He was crying, yelping in pain as he lifted his left back paw off the ground. He tried to put it down and screamed out again, whining desperately as he looked up at you. You felt sick and dropped to your knees to examine him. You reached for his foot, only to be knocked over as another oblivious fan rushed past you. You heard Kimchi yelp out again, louder this time, and suddenly you were filled with rage and sickness and worry. You needed to get Kimchi to a vet, but these ridiculous fans were pushing you around and hurting your partner.

Before you had the chance to fly off your handle and rip into these fangirls, you heard a deep, booming voice shout out a single word in english.

“NO!”

The voice rang out close to where you were crouching next to Kimchi.

You looked up, only to see none other than the silver haired boy you had been admiring just a few moments earlier. He stood above you, his arm outstretched towards the fangirls, with a very pissed off look on his face. A girl near him took a tentative step forward and he shouted again, “NO!”. The girl froze, tears brimming in her eyes. He did not look sympathetic.

He looked down at you then and you thought he was going to shout at you as well. You braced yourself for a scolding, expecting to be chewed out for causing a disturbance. Kimchi whined behind you and you just hoped this guy would hurry up so you could get him to a vet.

“Do you speak Korean?” He asked gently, his deep voice rich and velvety. You nodded slowly, narrowing your eyes at him. He smiled and knelt beside you as the team of security guards shuffled to form a protective circle around him - and by extension, you. The boy looked down at Kimchi with warm eyes. “Is this your dog?” He asked, keeping his voice low.

You nodded again, reaching out and wrapping an arm around Kimchi protectively.

“I heard him cry out. Is he okay?” He asked, his eyes never leaving your distressed dog. You glanced over to him before turning Kimchi slightly to expose his injured foot.

“S-someone must have stomped on his foot...” You began, struggling to speak over your anxiety. “Some girls ran by, and then he-he screamed.” Your heart clenched in your chest as you described what had happened to your partner. You looked up at the silver-haired man in desperation. “Please... He needs to get to a vet.”

He nodded quickly before rising from his position on the floor. He turned to the other members of the group and called for one of them, walking over to talk with them and who you assumed to be their manager. You turned your attention back to Kimchi. You had managed to get him to lie down in an effort to make him more comfortable. He was looking up at you with wide eyes, lightly whining every so often. You gently stroked his head, whispering words of comfort to him as you caressed his ears.

You heard two sets of footsteps coming towards you. You turned around to see the young, shocked looking boy from the group had joined the silver-haired one. He crouched down next to you, his wide eyes staring at Kimchi.

“Do you have a car or a ride?” The silver-haired man asked, and that was when you remembered.

“Y-yes!” You nearly shouted in your sudden realisation. “I have a- uhm, friend, I guess, who was supposed to pick us up. We were on our way to pick up ‘A’ before this happened.” The two men nodded at you, then at each other.

“I will carry him to your friend’s car.” The younger boy spoke suddenly, in a very matter-of-fact manner. Your eyes widened and you were about to decline his offer out of habit. You were so used to doing things yourself, to always denying help. You never wanted to be a burden to anyone.

But when Kimchi let out a pained whine, and you looked down at him lying pathetically on the floor, you suddenly didn’t care who you had to beg for help.

You nodded at the two boys, the younger of the two immediately scooping Kimchi into his arms. You noticed that although he looked slim, he seemed to be very strong. Kimchi weighed in at 70 lbs, and he had a very stocky build. He was made of nothing but muscle, and you knew from experience that lifting him up was no easy task. But this boy lifted him with ease, cradling him close to his chest like a baby to keep him comfortable.

You noticed fans around you whispering to each other and pointing at you, and it took everything you had to just focus on getting to the exit. You just had to get to Laura’s car, then you would be on your way to getting Kimchi treated. You led the two boys and their entourage of bodyguards towards pick up lot ‘A’. You were getting closer, closer.

You walked out of the doors, looking around desperately for Laura’s familiar face. You looked around frantically, but no matter where you looked you couldn’t spot her white SUV anywhere.

“So which car?” The silver-haired boy asked from beside his younger companion. You could feel panic rising in your stomach for the umpteenth time that day as you looked around.

“I- I can’t see it...:” You whispered, and you could feel tears threatening to spill out of your eyes. You pulled out your phone to check if Laura had sent any more messages, and your heart dropped into your stomach as you stared at your phone, realization dawning in your mind.

You hadn’t actually pressed send on your last message.

Laura (11:29 am): Y/N I thought your plane was scheduled to get here at 10:45.

Laura (11:34 am): Seriously Y/N I really can’t be waiting here all day, where the hell are you?

Laura (11:43 am): Alright I’ve been here for almost an hour waiting. Call a taxi.

You couldn’t contain it anymore. Your tears spilled over and you collapsed to the ground, dropping your phone in the process. Kimchi whined loudly and squirmed in the arms of the boy holding him, trying desperately to get to you. You wrapped your arms around your torso as shivers ran up your spine and you began to violently shake. The world felt like it was spinning, and you felt bile rising in your throat as all of the anxiety Kimchi had suppressed came back to you with a vengeance. All you could think of was getting Kimchi to a vet, but you had no ride. You didn’t know what to do, and your mind was racing, looping your anxieties over and over again.

What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?

“Hey, hey! It’s okay! Please don’t cry…” That deep, velvety voice pierced through your frazzled mind. You looked up to see the silver-haired man crouching in front of you, his hands gently touching your arms as he stared worriedly at you. His face was slightly blurred as your tears continued to flow, but you could see his eyes well enough. You could see them enough to know that they were very warm, and unbelievably comforting. His touch was soothing in a way you had only ever experienced from Kimchi, and that shocked you. You felt him rubbing soothing circles along your arm with his thumb, and your heart skipped a beat as you looked up at him. “Your dog is going to be okay. I promise. We will get him to a vet.”

Your eyes widened at his last statement. “You- what? B-but, you-you’re…” You stuttered out, trying to formulate some kind of sentence. Your mind was still reeling from your panic attack and your heart was still frazzled from the soothing touch this man was providing you with. You Had wanted to say that he was a celebrity, that he was too busy. He laughed, and you found the sound to be so soft and warm, you felt as though your heart was being bathed in sunlight.

“Don’t worry about it. This is our fault anyway, the least I can do is make sure that he is okay.” You gaped at him, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to try to say no. You felt exhausted, and if this famous guy wanted to help your Kimchi you figured you should take advantage of that and let him.

The silver-haired boy got up, and as soon as his fingers left your skin you felt cold again. You watched him walk over to his manager and one of the other band members - the tall, dimpled one, you noted - and begin animatedly talking to them and pointing towards you and the younger boy holding Kimchi. You saw them both shaking their heads at first, however it seemed that this boy was very persistent. He waved his arms around and shouted something along the lines of “taking responsibility”. The dimpled man looked taken aback by the silver-haired boy’s outburst, his eyes darting back and forth between the boy in front of him and you. After a moment, he nodded slowly and said something to their manager.

The silver-haired boy turned on his heel and sped back towards you. He had a very smug grin on his face.

“We’re taking you to the closest emergency veterinarian. I’ll take you to the van.” He reached his hand out towards you and you graciously accepted it. He pulled you up and off the ground and you somehow felt just a little bit lighter than you did a few minutes ago. “Kookie, we’re taking them. Let’s go.” He said to the younger boy. You idly though that ‘Kookie’ was a pretty cute nickname, and you realized then that you didn’t even know these boys’ names.

“Thank you so much for all of your help. My name is Y/L/N Y/N, and my dog’s name is Kimchi.” You said as the three of you began walking. The two boys snickered, and you couldn’t stop yourself from allowing a small smirk to grace your features.

“Kimchi?” The younger boy laughed as he gently carried your partner. “That’s a, uhh, unique name.” You grinned at him, explaining that you really love Kimchi fried rice and it was the only thing you could think of when you were naming him.

“You must have been very hungry.” The silver-haired boy laughed and you giggled at his joke. The funnier part was that you actually were very hungry at that time.

 You looked between the two, both of them with warm smiles on their faces, and you knew that you wanted to know who they were.

“Can I ask your names…?” You said timidly, glancing between the two men as you walked towards the company van. The silver-haired man looked taken aback, his eyes widening at your inquiry.

“You mean,” He looked over at his friend, who’s eyes had widened in pure shock. “You don’t know who we are?” He asked, unable to hide the surprise from his own face. You giggled and shook your head.

“I don’t really keep up with celebrity stuff. I’m too busy for that.” You said honestly. The boys nodded, both of them wearing unreadable expressions.

“My friend carrying your Kimchi is Jeon Jungkook.” The handsome, silver-haired man started, a bright box-shaped smile that had your heart melting gracing his lips.

“And my name is Kim Taehyung.”

[queendeanofpie]

Heyyy wanted to let you guys know that the beautiful magiesheartlove inspired this! I hope you guys like it because a Balto!Au is perfect for these two! 

@magiesheartlove You beautiful girl ;)

~~~

"Cmon Lance! We can still catch the end of the race." Keith yelled excitedly

He raced along running as fast as he could his large paws carrying him farther and farther.

He could hear the shouts of the men and barks of the dogs and it sent a shiver of excitement up him. He laughed taking off as he leapt from pole to pole his friend flying after him.

"No no no I am a delicate country bird . .  I hate going into town" Lance grumbled

Keith threw a grin over his shoulder at the bird

"Ahhh come on, whats the worst that could happen?" He asked innocently before laughing as he sprang off of a barrel. Lance shrieked grabbing his tail but Keith grinned flicking him off.

"Please! Why do I let you talk me into these things!" Lance yelled as he landed into a pair of pants on a cloths line. Keith jumped grabbing the clothesline and used his momentum to swing to the other side.

He grabbed lance setting him down but the goose slipped sliding down the roof. He landed on a rack of moose antlers and yelled at someone pulling out his tail feathers.

"What-" Lance grabbed his tail feathers back.

The comment, however, died in his throat when the man pulled out a large cutting knife. The man held up the knife the swing lining up with his neck but then Lance was being yanked back out by Keith.

"Bring that back you theif!" The man yelled but Keith laughed already bounding onto the next roof.

"You are putting me down now? Huh mr. Golden retriever?" Lance mumbled his voice muffled by Keith's mouth.

"Oh yeah, yeah What ever you say Lance" Keith sighed tossing the goose out of his mouth and making a face as he spit out a couple feathers.

He shook his head before taking off again. Lance followed rolling his eyes "Every time there is a race you run around like your in it" He complained

"One day . . . I will be" Keith replied wistfully He grinned as he slid down a narrow roof and jumping down into and open window. He walked out side ears perked as he listened for the announcer.

"Lance Sanchez is no Spring chicken!" Lance yelped as he slid down into the huge pile of snow next to the building He shivered shaking the snow off his feathers "or a spring penguin!" He added shaking his head.

Keith rolled his eyes taking another moment to catch his breath. Lance grumbled before flying up onto his back. As far as he was concerned it was the safest.

"Look! The two mile mark!" A man announced yelling over the cheers of a crowd.

"C'mon we dont want to miss the end!" Keith said brightening up. He took off heading for where the finish line would be.

"Woah no way that would be Trágico" he paused "I was being sarcastic" He added.

Keith laughed running ahead Lance still bouncing on his back. Keith's thoughts started to wander as he started thinking of a certain husky.

"Do you think  . . Allura will be there?" He threw over his shoulder hopefully

"Oh you mean that spicy strawberry blond husky you talk about about all the time? Amigo you are love struck" Lance said rolling his eyes

"No i'm not . . .She's just nice" Keith mumbled ducking his head bashfully

"Oh sure!" Lance laughed Keith hushed him as his ears began to pick up the race. He raced forward and Lance huffed grabbing onto his neck to hold on.

Keith came out of the shadows Lance moving to sit up on the fence shaking out his feathers.

"Allura! Stay girl!" A shout rose over the crowd and Keith immediately looked for the source hearing the familiar name.

Keith's brain stopped working instantly. Allura was smiling while her owner Pidge was hugging her giggling waving a mushers hat in her other hand. Allura noticed and smiled over at him her blue eyes sparking.

A sudden gust of wind from the dogs racing past suddenly tore the hat from Pidge's grip.

"My hat!" Pidge tried to grab her hat but Allura grabbed her sleeve in her teeth.

Keith watched the hat float upward resting just a few feet in front of the finish line. He looked back and forth between Pidge's upset look and Allura sad one and he knew what he was going to do.

He took off Lance shouting after him in Spanish but Keith ignored it. He pulled ahead feeling his pulse racing as he passed the musher and eventually the first line of dogs

"It's that stray dog! He'll ruin the race!" Some one yelled causing Keith to wince. He closed his eyes flattening his ears and growled before opening them and pushing on.

He was approaching the lead dog now. Lotor, who gave him a sneer. Keith had managed to ignore all the other dogs in the team but it was harder to ignore Lotor. The malamute unnerved him to no end.

"Oh no!" Lance cried before flying over head trying to catch up to the wolf hybrid. Lotor snapped at Keith a enraged look on his face.

"Out of my way Lobo!" He growled before trying to bite him and trip him up. Keith gave him a wolfish grin as he dodged it. He lunged ahead and grabbed the hat before running out of the way of the sled and letting him win.

Lance waddled over to him crossing his wings and huffing at him. "When will you learn to stay on the side lines eh?" He asked

Keith shook his head still gripping the hat and slowly walks over to Pidge to return it.

"Keith! What a crazy thing to do! and just to show off for a pretty girl" Pidge grinned taking her hat. Keith grinned softly while looking over at Allura with soft eyes. She looked back warmly

"I'm sure Allura would love to have you on our team!" She exclaimed holding up the harness for him. Keith examined it curiously. Was he really going to get to do this?

He gingerly lifted a paw to try to help her put the harness on him but he was interrupted by a large man grabbing pidge away from him

"Hey hey hey!Pidge  honey stay away from him" The man warned He started to kick know at him and Keith felt his stomach drop as he slunk out of the harness ashamed.

"Dad!" Pidge cried reaching for him as he sadly started to walk away.

"I'm sorry but he might bite you, He's part wolf" The man explained

Keith visibly winced hearing that word. He lowered his head and slowly walked away. He was about to slink back home when another voice caught his ear.

"Hi there Allura, Enjoy the race?" A deep voice purred.

Keith looked back feeling a pang of sadness hit him in the heart. Lotor was talking to Jenna and she didnt look like she was trying to get away.

"Yeah, almost as much as you did" She replied coolly making Keith sigh.

Keith walked away slowly his long tail brushing the ground.

"Thanks jenna!, Let's go celebrate, I know where all the bones are buried" Lotors voice echoed in his ears and Keith winced finally taking off so he wouldn't be in earshot.

The more Keith walked away the more his head lowered. Sometimes he wondered why he even tried. Lotor always managed to get Allura's attention and he got shunned.

Lance looked like he was going to say something. He opened his mouth closing it for a second before opening it again and closing it. Keith sighed turning away feeling a bit better that his friend was trying to cheer him up, even if he failed

The shouts of Pidge calling Jenna caught his attention once more and in an instant all thoughts of rejection were gone. Keith gave a smile and took off making sure Lance was following.

He jumped through a hole in the fence before trying to skid to a stop realizing he wasnt in the alley anymore. Allura looked up surprised as Keith skidded to a stop in front of her their noses touching in an accidental Eskimo kiss.

"Ohh" Was all Allura could say

Keith realized what happened and felt his ears droop as he skidded back an inch or two in embarrassment. He chuckled nervously not knowing what to say.

"U-uh Allura . . .uh . . heh" Keith stammered. Allura smiled and Keith felt his heart soar. Maybe he had trouble getting to the race and seeing Lotor always made him upset but seeing Allura made it worth it somehow.

"Lura! Come on!" A voice suddenly called Allura turned for a second seeing her black and white haired male calling her Pidge smiling next to her.

Allura turned back but to her surprise the handsome wolf-hybrid was gone. She sniffed around going into the hold in the fence still not seeing him but Pidge called her again.

She sighed giving the alley a longing look before leaving barking a greeting to Pidge. Keith shook his head squeezing his eyes shut before taking off back through the alley way.

He slowed to a walk as he caught back up with Lance who had the smarts to stay back. They walked along and Lance shook his head putting a wing on his friends back.

"Keith, Amigo I am sorry but there are some things I can't do for you. I am goose not Cupid" Lance said

"Yeah" Keith mumbled quietly

"Didn't make the team . . Bingo" A deep voice suddenly taunted from behind

Lance froze and Keith felt his chest swell with anger. He was just fine until Lotor decided to show up. He came to a dead stop and Lance got in front of him.

"Don't listen to him, Don't look at him. Live a long life" Lance ordered Keith growled quietly to himself before spinning around with a look of anger

"My name . . is Keith" He spat

Lotor smirked as he walked further into the alley but Lance let out an aggravated sigh.

"But you can call him. Idiot" Lance mumbled  through gritted teeth shaking his head

"I'm sorry Keith . .Keith the half breed" Lotor sauntered past the rest of the gang emerging into the alley. Star, Kaltag, and Nikki laughed as they came up behind Keith.

Lotor smirked walking over to lance who now took a defensive stance glaring at the large malamute

"Hey goose! You a half-breed too?" Lotor asked his nose stopping just inches in front of Lance.

"Oh no" Lance muttered

"Part . . . . Turkey?" Lotor suddenly shoved Lance backward the short goose falling into a roasting pan and the lid falling on top of him.

"Good word play dere boss" Nikki chuckled

"You are the wittiest, the quickest. Your the drollest the cleverest . . the sharpest, Your the most hilarious . . ." Kaltag laughed

"You crack me up!" Star finished laughing hysterically Kaltag smacked him on the head and the dog fell passing out.

"Lotor! Leave Lance out of this!" Keith growled standing in front of Lance protectively

Keith compared to Lotor was a lot smaller and the size difference was painfully obvious to Lance. He knew Keith would stand no chance.

"Awww Keith" Lotor taunted walking away. His bushy tail slapped his face and keiths face  controrted into a look of anger.

Lance silently touched a wing to Keiths tail, his touch barely calming him down, but enough for him not to launch after Lotor.

"I've got a message for your mother" Lotor lifted his mouth letting out a ridiculous howl. Star, Kaltag and Nikki all laughed before joining in howling with him.

Nothing lance did would stop Keith now. He narrowed his eyes and growled the sound somehow deepening in his throat as he started to stalk towards Lotor.

"What's wolf for 'Go chase your tail'?" Star asked drawing Keith's attention.

Keith snarled pinning his ears back at them and Lance jumped up grabbing his tail trying to stop him

"Keith stop woahhh!" He yelled his attempt to stop him not effecting him at all.

"Get him" Lotor said calmly The other three began to bark at Keith but he ignored him his eyes focusing on Lotor.

"Get out of here, Wolf dog. You'd better get back to your pack" Lotor sneered disgust showing in his eyes.

He leaned down until he was right in Keiths face, Keith's furious gaze meeting Lotor's smug one. It was interrupted by Lance suddenly pushing Keith backward shocking Keith

"Maybe its the unrelenting fear talking but i'm seeing wisdom in this advice, Can we go? NOW" Lance said quickly pushing him backward.

Just like that all the anger drained out of Keith. It was stupid and pointless. Keith wasn't good enough to fight Lotor, He wouldn't win. Lance was right.

Keith's anger fell way to defeat and he lowered his head sadly turning away and squeezing his eyes shut. He didn't feel like seeing the look on their face.

Keith felt snow suddenly start landing on him and his heart dropped into his stomach as he realized they were kicking it on him. He sighed shaking his head and getting some of the snow off.

A rock suddenly hit between his shoulder blades and Keith stumbled loosing his balance and falling into a couple of trash cans and planks

It made a clang and Keith jumped up ashamed taking off Lance taking off after him just on his heels.

He kept running and running until he was out of breath. Keith looked up to find himself outside of town.

He looked down his run now slowing to a very slow depressed walk. He headed towards his boat every bone in his body begginning to feel wore out.

Keith froze eyes snapping shut as he lifted his nose sniffing the air. He turned ears coming to attention but they went flat seeing what he smelled.

It was a pack of wolves out on the hill. One of them howled at him but Keith backed away ashamed. He couldn't howl like they could. He never even attemted it.

They disappeared and he shook his head his tail brushing the ground as he walked towards his home.

"Not a dog . . . Not a wolf. All he knows is what he's not. If only he could see what he is" Lance sighed watching the wolves disappear.

~~~

Keith felt better now, sitting out on the bow of the ship watching the Alaskan sunset.

"and what is so interesting?" Lance asked seeing the familar look on his friends face.

"Allura" Keith sighed.

"Ahh is love" Lance smiled "So go make a move! When the angels balalaika's strum the sweet song of love, Tango!" Lance urged him tangoing for a few seconds

"Nah . . she's not my type" Keith mumbled his head lowering as he thought of his wolf heritage.

"And why not? This wolf business again? and what's wrong with being half and half I like to know!. Sometime I wish like crazy i was half eagle!" Lance exclaimed grinning

"Why?" Keith asked the corners of his mouth lifting up

"Better profile for one thing" Lance huffed striking a pose smirking "And no one eats you for another"

Keith chuckled before going back to watching the sunset. Maybe Lance was right.

~~~

Allura paced out side the window nervously. Her human, Pidge was in there with all the other children and she didnt like it.

She barked hoping to gain Pidge's attention and smiled when the little girl looked up.

"Jenna? Jenna! Jenna! Hi girl!" the little girl squealed jumping up and grabbing a coat opening the door to great her dog.

Almost immediately she started coughing and Allura nuzzled her hand worried. Her father came out wrapping up the girl quickly

"Pidge! Pidge come on, Your gonna catch your death out here honey" Her dad ushered her in and she looked back at allura with a sad look

"Come on honey the doctor's waiting" Her dad said softly as the door swung shut leaving Allura standing in it's shadow.

Allura ran from window to window looking for pidge until she finally found one seeing pidge being led into a small room with a man in a white coat.

Allura watched nervously looking between the doctor and her kid's parents. Pidge coughed and the doctor exchanged a worried look with her parents.

"Allura?" came a slightly high voice behind her

"Uh . . Allura" She turned seeing Keith but he was the least of worries right now.

She turned back to the window worried

"Keith . .hi" She said distracted. She watched as the doctor was talking to Pidge's parents

"Hi look . . uh maybe it's a shot in the dark, but I uhh . . I was wondering if you'd . . maybe like . .to go chase a few sticks by moonlight?" Keith asked hopefully chuckling

Allura heard him but it didn't really register as she watched her girl's mom hug her tightly. Something was wrong, she could feel it.

"Allura?" Keith asked seeing her upset look

"Pidge is in there" Allura said softly

Keith jumped up next to her instantly a concerned look on his face. He looked over at her in worry

"in the hospital? Why?" He asked

"She feels warm . . . she has a terrible cough, Keith what's wrong with her?" she asked looking up at him with a helpless face.

Keith felt his heart sink at the fear and worry in Allura's face. He sighed looking back at Pidge but a thought struck him.

"I don't know but . . I know how to find out. Come on" He motioned for her to follow him and hopped down from the window heading around toward the back.

He smiled motioning to a wooden door "I have the keys to the city" He extended a nail lifting up the nail in the locked effectively opening the door and held out his paw

"After you" He smiled politely

Allura nodded and began to walk in noticing his large paws. "Keith" she breathed truthfully she like them and thought they were amazing but Keith coughed embarrassed.

"ah hehe, big paws kinda run in my family" He muttered walking ahead of her and trying to hide his burning face "At least . . .one side of my family" He finished softly turning away.

He walked into the boiler room and turned into a tunnel before checking to see if Allura was following him.

He turned just as she came up on his side and he blinked in surprise

"Stay close" He said before slowly navigating through the darkness.

"He no problem there, It's so gloomy down here . . . . not that I'm scared or anything" She added quickly as she followed his long tail through the gloomy mustyness.

Allura jumped almost running into a spider web. It was suddenly swept away as Keith looked back shaking the cobweb off his tail with a smile

"Gloomy? You kiddin? It's the most beautiful spot in the world! Dogs travel for years just to be right here" He said brightly lifting a cloth off her nose with a large paw

The moved along under the boards allura looked around starting to feel a little creeped out the more she looked around.

"here? I can't see why" Allura murmured still trying to stay optimistic. Keith was certainly acting weird but she was hoping he knew what he was doing.

"That's cause your looking at the bowl half empty" Keith whispered playfully pushing a big pile of broken bottles up

Keith could tell Allura was starting to think he was crazy and he wanted to laugh. He couldn't wait to see her reaction. He stepped in front of the light casting the bottles in darkness

"You see this? It's the polar ice caps" He grinned

"Keith those are broken bottles. And their not half empty, their all empty" Allura replied slowly as if trying to be polite

"The sun . . . " Keith continued motioning to the light behind him from the grating.

"Keith!" Allura exclaimed the corners of her mouth lifting up

Keith moved away causing the light to hit the bottles "And to the north . . . "

The reflection of the bottle caps shone on the oppposite grey wall revealing a dancing mirage of green and purple lights. Allura gasped in surprise her eyes lighting up making his heart pick up.

"The northern lights" She breathed turning to him eyes sparkling "Oh keith you were right it's so beautiful" She exclaimed still staring at the.

The lights seemed to reflect off Allura's sky blue eyes and Keith couldn't help but find himself nodding in agreement. He stared at her with a knowing smile.

"Yeah" He said softly "Beautiful"

~~~~

[ajricci]

Activation || Amadeo & Noah

While Noah walks Haukea through the woods, he runs into AJ right before he is attacked. Then things get really weird. 

AJ finally had the information he needed, the next step was figuring out what he was going to do with the information. He could try to find the families of the victims or the witnesses that he now had access to, but he couldn’t be sure that any of those people would be interested in talking to the son of the man accused of murdering their daughters. So that was out until he could think of a better plan. He also needed to get medical records from the hospital of the victims, but without access and with Blanche a little busy avoiding death by poltergeist he figured that would have to wait for a while too. Far down his list were revisiting crime scenes looking for anything that the police might have missed from the original murders. It had never been a priority because two years later the chances of finding anything were almost slim to none. But he had nothing better to do today, so that was how he found himself out in the middle of the woods just a few miles from the university wondering just what he thought he was going to find at this long forgotten murder setting.

Hooking Haukea’s leash onto her harness Noah closed his truck door smiling down at his happy puppy. In all his days at the barn this was probably the thing he missed most, Haukea’s little face doing one of those Labrador smiles up at him. Ruffling her fur a bit Noah picked his water up from off the side of his truck bed and they were off walking across the parking lot towards the trail. He didn’t really know which one they were going to take yet, but something was pulling him towards…. The left one. Yea they were going to start on the left one and then work their way back, or around, or whatever. He wasn’t to fussed about where they went as long as he was with his dog. And that’s how he found himself walking through the forest with his pupper on her lead in front him not a care in the world.

Not surprising to AJ in the slightest, there was nothing at this crime scene to find. Besides a short string of crime scene tape weighed down by a fallen branch, AJ would have been unable to tell that the place had once been the scene of a murder at all. There had just been too much time between now and then for anything noteworthy to be left over. There was always the possibility that the police had done their jobs efficiently and found everything that had been noteworthy. He kept his cool and made sure not to lose his temper. This was just the first crime scene after all. The first step in a long investigation and he knew that not turn he took could lead to the end of the rainbow. A twig cracking in the distance made him spin and pull his pocket knife free from his back pocket. Maybe he should start bringing his dad’s gun with him. But the guy walking his dog through the woods barely looked like they intended on hurting Noah. “Hey” AJ said, folding the knife back up and stuffing it away, “How’s it going?”

Looking down at Haukea as she barked a small warning Noah held her leash tighter as the boy approached. Normally Noah wouldn’t have given him a second thought, no normally he would have just given a nod and walked past. But it was late afternoon and the kid was folding up a knife and stuffing it in his pocket, a movement that wasn’t exactly alarming but not exactly something that gave him a happy rainbow feeling. “Hey” Noah replied with a small little wave as Haukea tugged at her leash a little. She wasn’t usually a puller, but she was quite the happy-go-lucky pup, always trying to put her nose in potential danger. “Kea heel” He commanded making his dog swing her body tighter towards him as he slowed his pace down before the boy. “And it’s going good, you know out for a walk and everything, how’s it going for you?” Noah asked hoping his face wasn’t as full of suspicion as his chest was.

AJ knew that he must look crazy roaming through the woods and pulling his knife on the first person that happened to walk by. So he tried to diffuse the situation by letting a smile to slip across his face and laughing nervously. He brought his arm up and scratched at his neck. “Sorry I’m a little jumpy. Never know who you’re going to run into out in the woods after all.” He was making sure to sound extra friendly and extra awkward. Awkward was always the best way to make others less suspicious. “Cute dog.” He pointed out, hoping the dude would welcome the misdirection in conversation.

Looking from him to his hand Noah just let his face do the talking, lips pursed in a small line “Yea” He nodded not knowing exactly what else to say to that. Because if you wanted to set someone at ease that was probably not the way to go about it. But then again if this wasn’t like some sort of ambush the Boy was probably a lot smarter than Noah with his knife. Although Noah guessed having brute werewolf strength could be comparable. Noticing the other boy change the subject to something better Noah though calmed down a little. Ok woodland serial killers didn’t usually call dogs cute after all. Right? “She is,” Noah agreed looking down at his dog and smiling softly “Name’s haukea,” He continued as Haukea’s wagging tail made him feel better about the situation. “It means snow white in Hawaiian” He didn’t exactly know why he was offering that information up to the boy but you know, why not. It was friendly information about a safe subject after all.

“That’s adorable.” AJ wasn’t sure how much longer this small talk was going to go on. He didn’t have a lot of experience talking to random strangers in the woods. He hated small talk, he found it useless and time consuming. But the last thing he needed was some concerned civilian calling the police about some suspicious character in the woods. The police department and the media would have a field day if they got the opportunity to tote a Ricci into the station. “You must be a Disney fan? Or a Grimm’s fairy tales fan.” Maybe quoting those ridiculously dark horror stories wasn’t the lightest of conversation. “Uh AJ” He offered his name up, closing the gap between them to hold out a hand in introduction.

“Yea, I was pretty proud of myself for that one” Noah quipped back with a small smile. He was happy this was going better, but then again how could things not go better when they were on the subject of dogs? It was Noah’s favorite. Standing there shifting his weight from foot to foot, Noah gave Kea a sit command, seeing the ‘I want to jump all over this stranger and lick him to death’ action in her yes. “And it was more of a I wanted a princess name for my little princess, and that was the one that seems to stick” He could feel the blush start to rise in his checks but he fought it hard. Men can want to name their dogs’ sweet things, and know about princesses, and put dogs in sweater when it’s cold too ok. It’s not like. A thing or anything you know. Shaking it off though Noah was grateful when the kid decided to introduce himself “Noah,” he replied to the boy before gesturing to the excited dog struggling to stay still and sitting while there was a new person to greet just inches “Oh and she knows how to shake too if you wanted to be really formal about it”

 AJ didn’t want to shake the dog’s hand. He had nothing against dogs or cats or really any pets in general, but he also had no desire for one either. His parents had never had a pet, said that they travelled too much for it to make sense. AJ vaguely remembers asking them for one when he was younger but as the years went on he enjoyed the freedoms no pets allowed him. Plus, he wasn’t an overly sentimental enough guy to really get attached to a pet. “Uh shake” AJ did as was suggested though, because that was how polite small talk went. Surprisingly, the dog listened and soon AJ was holding her paw and shaking before letting go and giving the dog a good pat on the head. “She’s well behaved” AJ complimented, impressed by her skills. Another reason his dad had never wanted a pet, didn’t want to take the time to actually train one. “I never had any pets growing up.”

Watching Kea get to show off her hard work with a lovely shake had Noah practically melting in his tennis shoes. And even more so when AJ remarked on her being well behaved. It had been and still was a lot of work keeping up with her training, but Noah knew in the long run it was all worth it to have the best behaved dog around. “Thanks” Noah nodded at the boy before putting his own hand on his dog’s head to silently praise her for being good. “It was a struggle at first but she’s learning, aren’t you girl” She wagged her tail on up at him. Looking over toward AJ though Noah’s smile fell slightly when he told him he didn’t have any pets “Wow, that sounds rough. I mean my dad was a Vet so we always had animals around.”

AJ shrugged, “It wasn’t too bad I guess. My family and I travelled a lot so we never really had time for one. Wouldn’t be much of a pet if he was locked in his cage all day.” Another bonus of never owning a pet was the lack of fur floating around his home. He still found cat hair on the clothes he had worn to Blanche’s that night. He would have to be careful to make sure to never wear black to her or the Parrish household again. Cats were the devil. He heard the crunching of leaves and glanced behind him but was met with an empty forest. He had been careful to not pull his knife this time around. It had probably just been a deer or an oversized squirrel. This was the forest after all. “You two seem close though.”

“Yea I feel real guilty about putting her in her crate while I go to like an hour class so I can understand that.” Noah commented with a slight wrinkle of his nose, looking down at his puppy for a moment. But then without warning she stood, tail straight out body ridged. It maybe only took a split second before he felt it too, the little prickle on the back of his neck that made him feel uneasy, and the sound of crunching leaves. Looking around Noah squinted into the forest along with the kid, wishing that for once he’d actually had werewolf powers so his low light vision was better. But he didn’t. And if he was being honest it was probably some brave forest animal anyway, coming over to see what all this ruckus was about. Placing a hand on the back of his Neck, Noah gripped Haukea’s leash a little tighter the feeling still lingering on. “Yea, she’s helped me a lot like emotionally with things” He shrugged out hoping that whatever it was would pass quickly so he could stop feeling like he was on edge and ready to rip someone’s throat out with his teeth.

Emotions was a conversation that AJ did not touch. He wasn’t comfortable with people talking about their feelings to him and he definitely wasn’t comfortable talking about his feelings to others. Before he fell down that rabbit hole AJ decided that it was time to cut the conversation off and get out of the woods. He hadn’t learned anything from the crime scene but AJ was pretty sure that he wasn’t going to find anything out either. It was too old, too weathered to hold anything useful. “Well I should start heading back towards the campus I was just looking for some good running trails.” AJ still faced Noah but began taking a few steps backwards and pointed back in the direction of the college. “It was nice meeting you though. And your little dog too.” He laughed politely to try to maintain the friendliness.

Still feeling on a little on edge Noah just nodded at the boy when he said he was going to head back toward campus. Noah should probably head back to the parking lot too, but he’d wait until the teen was at least out of eye shot before doing that. Didn’t want to be a creeper after all. Especially in these creepy woods. Laughing slightly at the wizard of Oz reference though the older boy waved at the teen “Nice to meet you too knife boy, and be careful with that ok, wouldn’t want to scare anymore hikers” He quipped back feeling like an old grandpa, but a you know like a caring old grandpa. Not a weird one.

“Knife boy. Nice” AJ laughed before giving a slight wave and then turning around and starting his hike back towards where his truck was parked on the campus. It wasn’t too long of a walk, though without the path students would usually follow the hike would take a little longer, but AJ had been hiking his entire life so this would present no real challenge to him. He had only just barely crossed over the long forgotten string of caution tape still on the ground when someone crashed into him from the side and slammed him into the dirt. He was rolled onto his back and his throat pinned by a hand that connected to a woman in her mid to late twenties. Her skin was fair but her hair was pitch black and although the face seemed familiar he knew he had never seen this woman before. Thewo man had crawled on top of AJ, pinning both hands above AJ’s head and using her knees to pin AJ’s legs to the ground. “How fucking dare you come here after what your father did?” Great. Another fan of his father. What the hell was she doing out here then? AJ tried to speak, to say anything, but he couldn’t talk with the hand pressing down against his throat. Instead, AJ focused his entire attention on getting free, choosing to squirm against the woman’s weight crushing down on him and trying to get anything, an arm or leg or something free. “Your father kills my sister. I guess I’ll return the favor.” She freed her hand from AJ’s neck and AJ took the opportunity to take a much needed breath. The relief was short lived however, when the woman held the hand up and AJ watched as her nails began elongating to the point that they were longer than the knife currently unreachable in his back pocket. That’s when AJ truly began struggling.

Something was not right, Noah could sense it the second that AJ disappeared along the trail. It was as if the air was charged with uneasiness more so than when he first felt it. Standing there though Noah didn’t know what to, If he was a real werewolf he probably could sniff, or track, or just figure it out himself. But he wasn’t. He was just a man with way above average strength and olfactory senses for his body, a man with doubts. Luckily for everyone though Haukea had no doubts, and while Noah stood motionless his loyal dog used her instincts to charge off after AJ, a sharp growl dissipating in the air after her. “Haukea!!” Noah shouted sprinting after her only able to watch for now as his dog sunk her teeth into some woman holding AJ by the throat.

The dog had been quick and in all honestly had probably saved AJ’s life, but she hadn’t been quick enough. AJ couldn’t begin to describe the pain he felt as the man pressed his elongated nails against the surface of AJ’s stomach and then slowly began forcing them into his skin. The move had been deliberately slow, a show of power. He wanted to take his time with AJ. The pain became only more intense as the nails sunk deeper into his gut. AJ was careful not to scream, he ground his teeth together but forced his mouth to remain closed. He shut his eyes so tight he felt he would pop a blood vessel. Then he heard the man scream. Peaking an eye open he sound the dog- Haukea- biting at the man’s arm and as the man readjusted to get free of the dog’s teeth AJ finally felt his opportunity. In as swift of a motion as he could in the pain that he was in he used one leg to kick one of the man’s knees out then levelled his other against the man’s chest and kicked. AJ was expecting to have enough time to scramble away from the man, instead he watched as the man flew across the air and cracked against a tree at least fifteen feet in the air. The fall from the tree to the ground seemed to move in slow motion and as AJ and the man both looked bewildered from what had just happened, it was short lived as the man found his footing and took back off the way he had come.

Still running towards the situation Noah tried not to let the acrid smell of blood wafting off of the younger boy dissuade him from his goal. Which you know was save his dog and AJ. But apparently the kid had it all covered, as the woman flew backward, Noah’s tennis shoes skidding to a halt near AJ’s head. Ok that was. Well. That was interesting to say the least, this whole unexplained superhuman strength thing. But he couldn’t overthink it now, not when it could just be a fluke of human ability. Listening to Haukea bark the intruder away Noah stood ready above AJ till she came back toward him muzzle covered in blood but tail wagging. Yea she really was a good girl. Crouching over the boy Noah let the adrenaline take him eyes assessing the situation quickly and efficiently “Hey we’ve got you now, just breath alright” Noah ground out as he swiftly pulled his own shirt over his head bunching up the fabric and pressing it into the gash on the boy’s stomach.

The next thing AJ knew another figure loomed over him and then pain shot through his body as he realized pressure was getting put on his stomach. His arms flailed out in defense and caught against skin. His vision was blurry, but he wiped at his eyes and finally focused in enough to see Noah kneeling beside him, shirtless. Why the hell was he shirtless? Further investigation revealed the shirt Noah had been wearing balled up and being shoved against AJ’s still bleeding stomach. He mumbled his protests and knew exactly what a gut wound meant. It meant that he was in deep shit right now, depending on how deep the wound went. It had sure felt deep in the moment. “You’re ruining your shirt” Was the first coherent thing that he got out of his mouth.

Mind running a mile a minute as he tried to go over all of the first aid protocol he knew, Noah looked down at the shirt in his hands the edges already tinged red. His shirt was not going to last long, and he knew time was crucial. But luckily for the pair AJ was coherent and talking so that gave them a little extra time. “It was either this or my pants. So you’re welcome” Noah retorted hoping that would keep the kid talking a little bit as he racked his brain for what he could do, but there was really only one thing they could do right now. “Alright so based on what I know about gut wounds we are going to need to get you to the hospital ASAP ok.” Noah said calmly looking down at the boy and hoping he wasn’t in the mood to complain. I mean Noah could probably keep him contained long enough to get him to his truck…. But then again there was that fluke of strength thing. Yea it was probably best if the kid came along quietly “So if you can hold this close to your stomach, I can carry you to my truck. Sound good?”

As a kid, AJ’s father used to take him hunting. AJ had never been a fan of the sport personally. Found it unnecessary in a world where they could buy meat at a grocery store minutes away. He liked to leave the killing of animals to those that were actually stranded in the wilderness. But he remembered they used to sit up in the trees and talk about his father’s cases. One particular case talked about a wife who shot her cheating husband in the gut and left him in their house alone for hours. It was his father’s final words on the subject that stuck with AJ. “It’s just like a deer if you shoot it in the gut. The best cure is a headshot.” That sentence kept ringing in his ears as Noah was giving him instructions. He definitely didn’t like the idea of being carried though. “Nobody is carrying me anywhere” He grumbled and swatted at his hand still pushing against the wound. AJ put pressure against it himself and then held his hand out to Noah, “I got the wound just help me up.” Maybe refusing help from someone offering was dumb, but his dad had always taught him to put pride first. AJ knew it was bad advice but still had always seemed to follow it.

Frowning slightly as the kid professed his slightly morbid ideology Noah looked for something to tie the shirt onto AJ. But there wasn’t anything really, unless he tied Haukea’s leash around the boy, “Well it’s a good thing that I believe in modern medicine then and neither of us have a gun” He replied back with a wink, un-hooking his amazingly patient dog from her tether. He wouldn’t tie it around the boy yet but he’d keep it handy just in case the kid couldn’t keep it together. Especially when he was insisting on walking himself. “You walking by yourself is not going to help your chances any, trust me on that one” Noah said taking the boys arm with one hand while also scooping his other against the kids back. “On three ok, one, two three” Gently Noah pulled the boy up letting him decide on how upright he really wanted to be.

AJ had to hold back the groan as Noah lifted him up off of the ground. He had been lucky the guy with him had been plenty strong in his own right and could basically lift AJ up with little help from AJ himself. He wasn’t sure how easily he could pull himself up off of the ground at the moment. He had been injured plenty of times throughout his life. Multiple injured ankles plus a broken bone from hiking accidents. Open wounds from self-defense training taken too far. Getting jumped by the kids at school. None of those injuries had hurt this badly. “I can walk.” AJ argued, dragging his feet across the dirt mostly supported by Noah, but still convinced that he needed to do this on his own. The weirdest part was that as he dragged his feet across the dirt worrying that the hike was taking too long and he was going to bleed out, he could tell that walking was starting to become easier. He felt his feet actually catching the surface and soon he was supporting himself. “I bet this isn’t how you planned on spending your day. Certainly not how I planned on spending mine.”

Supporting the kid as they walked Noah looking back to make sure Haukea was following, giving her an easy ‘follow me’ command while he was at it. If he was being honest she probably didn’t really need a command, as never strayed to far from his side normally. But the last thing he wanted was to get AJ to his truck and suddenly have his dog be nowhere to be found. Focusing his attention back on AJ Noah gripped a little tighter as AJ tried to argue “And I can definitely carry you, but I don’t think either of us are going to get our wish.” Noah retorted wishing the kid wasn’t as stubborn, help was a good thing after all, especially if you are at a risk of bleeding out over the carpet. Loosening his grip a little as he felt the kid get the hang of walking like this (although Noah did get a little tingle of strangeness about AJ’s sudden and new found walking abilities) Noah just scoffed playfully at the boy. “Nope. But Thank god you cleared that up for me, because I was getting a little concerned that getting attacked by a strange woman with creepy nails was some sort of kink of yours” He joked hoping that would keep the boy talking.

As AJ continued to walk he could tell that something was not right. Or rather, maybe something was too right. While walking put most of its stressers on leg muscles, the stomach was definitely being exercised too which meant that with a wound like his he should be in searing pain to the point of passing out or at least needing to be carried by Noah. There was no logical explanation as to why he was up walking. The wound still hurt and blood was still leaking from it, but the pain was bearable and red was not pouring from his stomach like it had before. “Well she completely ignored my safe word, so that was fucked.” Chances were she had recognized AJ from the news and saw the opportunity, but what the hell had she been doing there in the first place? And most importantly, what the hell was she? Not human, that was for sure. “Thanks. By the way. Your dog too.”

Snorting slightly at AJ, Noah felt the edges of his lips turn upwards. Yea this kid was going to be just fine. “Hope you used a good one for that,” Noah retorted as they walked “My go to is monkey slut” He grinned at the other boy now, anything to keep him talking and coherent, though it was starting to seem easier as time went on. Though there was the thank you that made Noah have to turn away a little bit. “Well I wasn’t going to stand by and watch you die.” He pointed out trying not to make a big deal out of it. Because It wasn’t like he did it for the thanks or anything, he did it because. Yea. He wasn’t going to watch another person die on him without being able to do anything. He wasn’t going to have that blood on his hands too. “So you know no need to thank me, or her, she already gets enough treats. But um are you ok?” Noah asked changing the subject as he looked down at the rag Aj was still holding to his stomach. He was leaning less on Noah now, which was not some sort of adrenaline fluke that should be happening. If anything Noah should be carrying the boy by now, with him screaming in pain, or like passed out, or something that wasn’t practically walking by himself.

“Monkey Slut? That’s a new one.” AJ sincerely hoped that that was a reference to some modern production that AJ he was unfamiliar with and not just some random thing that Noah had come up with on the spot. Or worse, his actual safe word he used for BDSM. Personally he cared little about what people were into sexually, he just felt bad for anybody that Noah may sleep with that had to actually hear the phrase Monkey Slut used during intercourse. “I’ll make sure to keep that in mind.” The better his stomach was feeling the more he realized that this was not normal just as the strength he used to kick that woman off of him wasn’t normal. The same way that the woman that had attacked him wasn’t normal. The strength could hypothetically be explained by adrenaline; the same way that the woman who lifted the car off of her baby had. The healing didn’t make sense though. It either had to be AJ’s or something that the woman did, and AJ wasn’t guessing healing was not the girl’s endgame. Either way, his wound wasn’t normal which meant that a hospital would be of no use to him. But he had an idea who might be able to help. “I can’t go to the hospital.” AJ said suddenly, happy to be get over the awkward conversation that entailed thanking others. “I need to get back to my truck.”

“Yea, helps as a password too. You know if you think all your friends are clones or something” Noah replied knowing that AJ probably wouldn’t get the reference. But that was ok. Anything to keep him talking, especially since this was starting to get weirder and weirder as they kept walking. Stopping Noah looked straight at AJ as he mentioned not being able to go to the ER. “Like I can’t got to the hospital because my parents will find out, or like I can’t go to the hospital?” Noah questioned with a raised eyebrow the signs all starting to make sense. Weird people after him, super strength that seemed to come from nowhere, high pain tolerance, probably super healing ability. This kid was not a normal kid, and instantly Noah felt himself become even more protective of AJ.

“What friends?” AJ asked, the pain still pulsing at his stomach making him seem more serious than he had actually meant to be. AJ hadn’t kept the company of friendship in almost two years. The closest thing he had to friends now were a few people he had driven home from Prom night when they got wasted off of some mysteriously tasteless spiked punch. Sure, he had learned some pretty crazy things about each of them over the summer, but the fact remained the same that the only times he had seen them had been in situations when one of them needed the other’s help. That sounded more like a partnership than a friendship to AJ and that was exactly the way he preferred it. Friendship was messy and only opened him up to letting his guard down and being stabbed in the back. “You can pick whichever reason you want, but I can’t go to the hospital.” He fidgeted and pushed himself free from Noah’s support. AJ swayed for a second but by some miracle managed to stay upright. “I appreciate your help. But my truck is that way.” He pointed off in a different direction.

“You talking to me on that one punk?” Noah questioned with another raised eyebrow, not knowing if the kid was trying to make a joke orrrrr what? Or maybe this kid didn’t actually have any friends, there was that. Pushing it out of his mind though Noah tried not to hold AJ too tight as he squirmed away from him, but part of him didn’t want to let go, even as he was finally forced to. Standing there as Haukea whined at the both of them Noah didn’t exactly know what to do. Because he wanted to make sure he got to where he needed to go, that he didn’t die or something, that he had, well a Pack if he needed it. But of course admitting that could prove to be the thing that pushwd the kid away, and he knew that, which is why he found himself backing away slightly, holding up his hands in a non threatening way. “Look I don’t know why you don’t want to go but if it’s for the reason I think it is I just want you to know I’m not going to hurt you.” He stated calmly “Like I honestly just want to help. And I know people who can help if you let me” He continued already pulling up Eliza’s possible schedule in his mind.

AJ stared at Noah as if he were insane. “Punk? What are you, forty? You’re like three years older than me.” AJ didn’t have the time to deal with Noah right now. He didn’t seem like a bad dude. He was understandably concerned about letting a boy who had just been stabbed in the gut wander off by himself without going to a hospital. If the situation had been reversed AJ would probably be doing the same thing. As little as AJ cared about the personal lives of others he had less interest in watching them bleed out to death while he did nothing to help. He could be an asshole, but he wasn’t heartless. “I don’t have any friends.” He decided to clarify, not understanding why he would think some random kid in the forest would be making fun of him while still leaning against him for support. “I get that you want to help and that’s real White Knight of you and all, but I don’t fucking know you. And I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.” AJ was began up slowly while still facing Noah. If Noah refused to let him go off on his own AJ couldn’t outrun him, not with his stomach in the shape it was. “I am going to figure it out myself.”

Ignoring AJ’s qualms about calling him a punk (because he didn’t know punk was an old man word now?) Noah stood his ground next to Haukea the dog still whining her displeasure at the both of them fighting. “Friends or no I’m sure as hell not going to just let you go off by yourself” He crossed his arms across his bare chest. Because yea, no sir Noah was not leaving his side until he had to, friends or not. And especially not. Feeling himself get more frustrated by the minute Noah took a breath knowing that time as precious here. But of course that was when Aj decided to make a comment about him “white knighting” the situation and it all went downhill from there. “This isn’t me white knighting, this is me trying to make sure a young man like yourself doesn’t end up dead in the woods.” He snapped wondering if the thought of dying was just absolutely a foreign concept to the boy. And that when Noah felt it in his chest, the sudden realization that no this kid probably didn’t know just how fragile life was at time. He didn’t know that he was being helped by a person who had been through not one but two horrible near death experiences, one of which left him an orphan and a werewolf. Gathering himself though Noah tried not to project these feeling onto AJ, knowing he was growing too invested into this to be of any good assistance. He needed to stay sharp and focused after all, not emotional. “Your strength, your healing. I know where that might come from, and I know people who might be able to help. No hospitals involved.” He said quietly, hoping that would convince the boy. But they just sort of stood there at a stalemate for a few breaths and Noah couldn’t take it anymore. “Please. Please just let me help you to your truck. Or like. Drive you somewhere. I don’t want to wake up next week to your obituary knowing I could have done something” he whispered looking up at AJ a desperate pleading in his eyes.

Jesus, what the fuck had happened to this dude to make him so fucking dead set on helping a random stranger in the woods? One that clearly had no interest in being helped. “Aren’t you White Knighting? I don’t even want your help and you’re still trying to gallop in and sweep me off my feet.” Quite literally, considering he had planned on carrying AJ through the woods less than twenty minutes ago. It was obvious this was becoming personal. Yet AJ had no clue why the hell he seemed to know about strength and healing. AJ was curious about it himself. Almost curious enough to follow along with him. But once again the knowledge that AJ knew next to nothing about Noah, didn’t even know if that was his real name. For all AJ knew Noah could have been working with that freaky chick to get AJ on his side. Noah clearly knew something AJ didn’t about this apparent strength. There was no way that an injured AJ was going to trust him with little to know knowledge on the guy. “I don’t have any fucking clue what you’re talking about. But if you’re so sure about this shit then you shouldn’t need to worry about me dying anyways.” He needed to go, but couldn’t without some sort of head start. The dog wouldn’t be too happy about this, but AJ started forward back towards Noah. He didn’t hate the guy, not from what he knew of him. But that was very little and AJ wasn’t willing to risk it. Once close, AJ tried to summon the same rage and fear that existed in him when that bitch was on top of him and shoved Noah to the ground. The dog went wild, and the sudden strength forced his stomach to sting and his ears to begin ringing. But AJ ignored all of that and turned on his heels and took off into the forest hoping that his adrenaline would kick in quickly and take the pain away.

Opening his mouth to respond, Noah closed it getting the feeling that there was nothing he could do to change the kid’s mind. Though that wouldn’t stop Noah from following him to make sure he was ok. Surely the kid couldn’t object to that right? Right? But before Noah could even say anything more on the subject AJ was launching forward at him, hands coming at him. And if he had been ready he could have withstood most of it, he could have dug his heels in the ground and refused to be budge like he did in football. But the cruel fact of the matter was he hadn’t been ready. He hadn’t been standing his ground like in football so he went over landing on his ass and skidding slightly against the dirt, the force of AJ’s pushing feeling like. Well feeling like exactly the way his uncle would have pushed him, only confirming Noah’s fears. There was something supernatural about that boy and there was nothing he could do about it.

@hawaiianhalfwolf

[caninelymphoma-blog]

2. Braver than any of us

1 Dec 2017 – we started Toby on chemotherapy with the O in CHOP: Oncovin® or Vincristine. Side Effects: Diarrhea. Panting. Restless nights. He was also on prednisone on a daily basis. The vincristine had a good, noticeable effect on the lymph nodes about 3 days later: All submandibular and popliteal lymph nodes shrunk from quail’s egg size to pea size.

We read up on the benefits of the budwig diet and decided to give it a go. the idea being that flaxseed oil, rich in Omega 3 Fatty acids, lignans and phyto estrogens, in combination with cottage cheese and other food restrictions, help fight cancer.

We tried it with Toby but failed. His appetite was already affected by the side effects of vincristine, and he hated the Budwig combination of cottage cheese + flax seed oil (we still have 2 big bottles of the best cold pressed extra virgin flaxseed oil in our fridge if anyone wants it…. ) He basically started getting put off by food with the budwig, because we kept trying to trick him into eating his usual food, wrapped around some cottage cheese and doused with flaxseed oil.

“Budwig diet ? Hell noooooo...  yuck”

We also subscribed to the raw diet and stopped giving him cooked chicken – one of his fave treats – and also his favorite dry kibble from TIMBERWOLF PLATINUM. This is actually a really good product, grain free, natural ingredients etc. When Toby was put on this initially years ago, his fur coat gain lustre, his energy levels improved and his stools became firm. He became healthier. But research shows that kibble can be carcinogenic and chockful of starch which increases the glycemic index (ie. spikes blood sugar). So we started feeding him mostly grass fed beef – dry freeze for minimum 3 days to rid it of bacteria, then sliced thin and he would usually eat it all without complaint. We did try to give him budwig for a whole week but it was really challenging to get any into him. He started putting up a fight and making a royal mess of himself. We did not resort to syringe / force feeding.

2 weeks after the vincristine, his lymph nodes were already growing back to quail’s egg size. We moved on to cyclophosphamide which had fewer side effects but we had to be very careful with handling the tablet and fed him orally with some meat wrapped around it, with gloves and also his poo. He went back to Gentle Oak every week to get his blood tested. He handled it like a champ. He was truly braver than any of us and still constantly played with us, and got excited at car rides and walkies. We would sometimes get really down realizing that Toby would leave us sooner than expected. He was really in the pink of health leading up to this. We’d feel so fearful of losing him and would cry sometimes just thinking about it. Cyclo had very little effect on shrinking the lymph nodes. We held hope that this was part of a protocol therefore the combo effect of Vin – Cyclo – Doxo would massively shrink Toby’s lymph nodes. We just needed to get to Doxorubicin. (scheduled on 5 Jan)

29 Dec – Toby started to cough when he barked at other dogs. It seemed like there was a chest infection of sorts affecting him. when he got held back by the leash, he would choke and cough due to the collar. So we switched to a harness.

“Harness !? Try harnessing up this beauty will ya!” 

5 Jan 2018 at Gentle Oak – Toby couldn’t proceed with scheduled doxo due to the cough that he caught. Basically his immunity is now worse, due to the cancer and the chemo (remember that Chemo kills rapidly-dividing-cells but also healthy cells) he became more susceptible to bacterial infections. Vitamin C injections were administered by Dr.Lee to fight off infection but lymph nodes kept growing. Note the Vitamin C injections had to be given to him through an IV catheter in his paw. This caused a bit of pain but prolonged discomfort because he had to walk and sleep with it. We also noted that his abdomen kept growing in size and he looked massively bloated. We did an ultrasound at Dr. Lee’s advice and can see that his spleen had become the size of a German shepherd and covered with spots / lesions. This is not a good sign – basically the spleen acts as the body’s biggest lymph node. Cancer 1, Doggo 0.

So.. Again we ask ourselves

WHAT WOULD WE HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY ?

Instead of fretting over the anti-cancer / keto meals that he wouldn’t eat and giving in to him by reverting to his usual favourite meals, we ought to have let him go hungry ! Restricting his calories/Intermittent Fasting would in turn help his body expend all the glycogen reserves and encourage the metabolic switch from burning glucose to ketones.. which would be made possible thanks to

Changing his diet to be high in fat, low in carbs, low in protein… with lots of activity. For this you can mix fatty meats (beef, duck, salmon), organ meat, coconut oil, flaxseed oil, quail egg etc. Here’s an article about the benefits of a ketogenic diet 

Consider putting your doggo on preventive anti-biotics to keep infections at bay. This is rather controversial as gut bacteria gets wiped out and causes other type of problems, but supplementing your doggo’s diet with prebiotics and probiotics and a wide variety of food, will help mitigate issues. Most importantly, the huge advantage is that he would have been able to stick to the schedule / protocol to ensure he gets the best chance of kicking cancer’s ass into remission, instead of giving it time to adapt and evolve and develop further resistance.

[vivaciouswordsmith]

Chapter 7 lives

Finally got some of my work under wraps, so I finished the next chapter of FLF. As always, you can read it here or beneath the cut. Enjoy!

(Unrelated note: I’ve seen quite a bit about that Ender Eye AU, and I’ve gotta say...I’m pretty intrigued. Might write something about it when this is all wrapped up...)

Chapter 7: Growing Into It

For a while, the reaction to their heist appeared to be minimal. 

Geoff poured over every newspaper from the last week and watched every single news video under the rather extensive ‘Local Crimes’ section on Weasel News’ website, but their heist was a mere footnote, a blip on the massively overloaded radar that was Los Santos. Still, it blipped, and there was coverage, and even an investigation. That was definitely something.

Their crew’s image had to be put on the back burner for the time being as Geoff, Jack and Michael wondered what the heck to do about Gavin. He’d brought what was practically a Wal-Mart’s worth of computer gear from his ‘place’, set it up, and showed them everything he’d cobbled together about their crew. Security camera footage of them staking out the bank. Screen mirrors of all three of their phones showing every text they’d ever sent to each other. A map of Los Santos with all their planned escape routes drawn in red. And a plethora of other files tucked away in a thousand folders, most of which had names relating to male genitalia. It was a downright frightening amount of data, and it made Jack and Michael nervous. Geoff was a little unsettled as well, but the Brit’s knowledge of their operations, along with the sheer tenacity with which he had complied his data, convinced him to keep him around, at least for the time being.

For the most part, Gavin fit in fairly well with the crew. He liked to go drinking with Geoff, had fun butting heads with Jack, and was playfully chased around and yelled at by Michael. In that aspect, he was one of the boys, and he was happy, even if Michael and Jack weren’t one hundred percent on board with him being one of the crew.

Ryan, however, had not been won over in the slightest. He’d stopped snapping at the Brit, but he still lunged at him, if only to see him fall on his ass and run away squawking. He never gave chase, just watched him run and walked away, tail held high and a bit of a strut to his stride. He ruined a pair of Gavin’s tacky Converse by pissing on them, chewed through two pairs of headphones, and, for several nights in a row, woke him up at five in the morning by barking outside his door.

As Jack so succinctly put it, Ryan accepted that Gavin was there, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.

“I think you’re growing on him,” Michael told him one day. Gavin had come home after a job and Ryan charged straight at him. The techie barely had time to screech before Ryan hit him hard and knocked him to the floor. Now he lay on Gavin’s torso and panted. He wiggled underneath the wolfdog, but no matter how much he tried, the pup would not budge.

“Yeah, well, I well wish he’d grow off me!” he said back. He shoved at the wolf’s bulk, and only managed to make him jiggle. Ryan yawned, long and slow, and put his head on his paws and shut his eyes. “Oh, for God’s sake!”

“He’s faking it.” Michael did his best to hide his laughter and failed miserably. He stooped down and rubbed the white splotches between Ryan’s eyes. The wolf cracked open an eye. “C’mon, Rye-Bread, let him go.” He grunted and shut his eye again. “Ryan, you know Geoff likes him. And he’s fucking harmless anyway.”

“Michael!”

“Shut up, you know it’s true.” Ryan huffed loudly and rolled off Gavin. He shook himself and walked over to Michael for pets. “There you go. Good boy.”

Gavin pushed himself upright and glared at the wolf. “Prick.”

The wolf looked back at him and growled. His lip curled up enough to show off a bit of white fang. Michael threaded his fingers through his ruff and managed to calm him down. “Man, if looks could kill, you’d be fucking dead.”

“What’s his deal, anyway?”

“He’s just not used to you, I guess.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“What do you mean what’s that supposed to mean? It means he’s not used to you yet!”

At that moment, Geoff walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. “The fuck are you dickheads arguing about?”

“Geoff, why do you have a bloody wolf, Geoff?”

“Uh…why not?” Ryan walked over and hopped up on the couch. “I mean, Jack’s the one who adopted him. Ask him.” The wolf’s wet black nose bumped against Geoff’s hand, and he absentmindedly scratched the pup behind his stump ear.

“Just look at him!” Michael gestured at the wolf’s facial markings. “Look how cool he is!”

“He’s pretty fucking smart, too,” said Geoff. “Saved my stupid ass, at any rate.”

“You’re just jealous ‘cause he doesn’t like you.”

“What? I’m not – why would I – I don’t even – what?” The Brit spluttered and gesticulated while trying to gather his thoughts. Ryan glanced at him, and they swore to God the wolf smirked. “I don’t give a shit about him!”

“Yeah, I’m sure you don’t.”

“Anyway, not that this isn’t fun, but I actually need you dickheads to do something for me.”

Both Michael and Gavin looked over at Geoff, all levity forgotten. “What is it?” the demo man asked.

“There’s a warehouse on the docks with some…stuff…in it. If we want to be a big, badass crew, we’re gonna need it.”

“So…”

“So you’re reconning! Just scope it out, see what the defenses are like, and all that good shit.”

“Why do you want me to go?” Gavin asked. “God, I just got back, for Christ’s sake! Why’re you sending me out again?”

“Because, as far as I’m concerned, you still haven’t proved yourself to us.” He held up his hand when Gavin squawked again. “I know, I know, you helped us with the heist, and you’ve been working with us ever since, and you’re sort of growing on me, but still, y’know, not quite on board.” Geoff gestured vaguely and sagged into the couch. “You know how it is.”

“No.”

“Well, my decision’s final, so tough shit.” He reached out for the TV remote, but paused and looked back at Michael. “Oh, and take Ryan with you. I, uh, forgot to take him for his walk this afternoon.”

“What?” said Gavin.

“Sure,” said Michael. “C’mon, Ryan.”

The wolf jumped up and sprinted over to the door. Gavin shifted back against the couch and held up his hands. “I’m not sitting in a car with that monster.”

“He’s a wolf, not a monster. And fucking calm down, already. He’s not going to hurt you.” Michael unhooked Ryan’s red harness and beckoned him over. The wolf sniffed the harness and let out a growl. “C’mon, man, I know you hate it, but we don’t need you running off all over the place, okay? You’re too wild, man! Can’t control ya!” He twisted and wrestled until he finally managed to get Ryan into his harness. The red straps nearly disappeared amidst the wolfdog’s fluff, but Michael managed to clip the leash onto the D-ring without any problems. “Where is this warehouse, anyway?”

“Uh, hold on, I’ve got it here somewhere.” Geoff rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a wadded up notecard. He flung it at Michael, who caught it without looking. “Have fun. But not too much fun. Adequate fun. Not-destroying-the-warehouse fun.”

“We’re not going to destroy the fucking warehouse, all right?” Michael put his hand on his chest and batted his eyelashes. “What sort of monsters d’you think we are?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Geoff waved them off and settled back to watch his show.

“C’mon, Gavin!” The Brit let out a startled noise and jumped back a step. “Fucking move already.”

“I was going anyway,” he said under his breath. “Don’t see why I gotta go to the sodding warehouse anyway.”

“Cause it’s protected with cameras, you dumbass!” Geoff yelled. “Also, seriously, you want to be part of this crew, don’t you?” The startled hacker could only nod. “Then shut the fuck up and do your job.”

“Aw, but Geoff-”

“No buts.” He waved them off and focused on his show.

“You heard the boss, Gav. Let’s check the warehouse out.” Michael grabbed Gavin’s arm with his other hand and pulled him toward the door. Ryan tugged at the leash and pawed at the door. “We’re going, we’re going.”

They stepped out into the greasy parking lot and made their way to Michael’s car. It was a shitty old square thing, painted blue with a red stripe down the middle, but it was Michael’s, and he liked it. He popped open the back door and whistled at Ryan. The wolfdog wiggled in place for a moment and gracefully leaped into the back. Michael let go of the leash and shut the door on the pup. Gavin slouched in the passenger seat while Michael started up the car and rolled both rear windows down for Ryan.

They didn’t talk during the fifteen-minute drive to the bay area. Michael focused on the drive, Gavin largely sulked, and Ryan ran back and forth between the two open windows, occasionally stopping to let the wind play in his fur and pant happily at passing cars.

Michael stopped on the beachfront and stepped out into the blinding sun. It was a busy day on the Los Santos beach, which wasn’t all that surprising. It was a lovely Sunday afternoon, and the beach was one of the few places the gangs agreed not to touch. Hopefully they’d just be two dudes and their dog, and nothing that would raise eyebrows. Or get the police called on them.

It would be about a five minute walk to the warehouse, and Michael wasn’t in any sort of hurry, so he unclipped Ryan’s leash from his harness. The pup’s ears twitched, and he immediately set off for the ocean.

“What’re you doing, Michael?” Gavin squeaked. He drew closer to Michael and gripped his bicep. “Why’d you let him off his leash, you bloody lunatic?”

Michael shrugged. “It’s a nice day, and it’s not like we’re doing anything serious. Let him have some fun.” He pushed Gavin’s hand off his arm, but let him stay close. “Also, Ryan’s not going to hurt anyone. You especially.”

The wolfdog in question bounded back toward them. He left a trail of sandy pawprints in his wake, and had something shiny in his mouth. He stopped at Michael’s feet and dropped a dead fish onto the toes of his boots. He looked up at Michael and licked his chops expectantly.

The techie let out a horrified retch and jumped back. Ryan snorted and nudged the dead fish with a paw.

“Nice job, Rye-Bread,” said Michael. He lifted the dead fish up by the fin with his thumb and forefinger. “It’s very nice.”

Appeased, the wolf turned tail and hurled himself back into the surf. Michael flung the fish away and continued walking, ignoring his companion’s gurgling and vomiting. Eventually, Gavin finished his heaving and wobbled after Michael, muttering irately under his breath.

What was probably a five-minute walk ended up taking nearly half an hour. Michael and Gavin weren’t in any hurry to scope out the warehouse, and the wolfdog leaped through the white surf and snapped at fish, foam and debris alike. Michael called him back over once they reached the dock area, and clipped the leash back on his harness. Ryan grunted and flicked his good ear, but he allowed Michael to leash him again and stayed by his side while they mounted the warped wooden stairs up to the docks.

“So, which one of these is our warehouse, then?” Gavin asked.

“Uh…” Michael pulled the wrinkled card out of his pocket and squinted down at it. “Fuck, Geoff’s handwriting’s awful…couple more, I think? Yeah, yeah, it’s that one over there.” He pointed towards one of the newer buildings.

“Let’s get this over with, then. I could do with a damn break.”

They drew closer. Gavin made note of the security cameras posted by the front doors and on both sides of the building. Michael noted the make of the doors and considered breaching them to see what was inside. All in all, while more modernized than the weather worn wooden buildings around them, it didn’t look like it would be that hard of a heist. Or whatever the fuck Geoff intended to do with it.

Then Ryan snarled. They both jumped and looked down at the wolfdog. His fur stood on end, his hackles raised and his muzzle pulled back to reveal his teeth. His ears rotated, and he turned his head to face one of the other buildings.

The hair on the back of Michael’s neck stood on end. He put his hand on his gun and glanced around. “Something’s up,” he hissed.

“What?”

A movement beside one of the other warehouses caught Michael’s eye, and he whirled around. Two men strolled out from the neighboring dock and froze at the sight of Michael, Gavin and Ryan. They were dressed in dark clothing and had thin, grim faces. Both of their hands jumped almost in perfect unison to their waistbands.

“The fuck are you two doing here?” one of them asked.

“Just walking my dog,” said Michael. He reached down and put his hand on Ryan’s harness.

“And what’s the twink doing with you?” the other asked.

Gavin let out an indignant sound, but any protest he was about to make was cut off by Michael’s elbow ramming into his stomach. “He just wanted to walk with me. The fuck are you asking for?”

“You’re on our fucking turf, that’s why.” They stepped closer. Ryan tried to lunge, but Michael held him back. Froth dripped from the wolf’s bared teeth, and his good ear pressed flat against his head. Michael’s fingers shifted down to the clip keeping the leash attached to the harness.

More footsteps sounded from behind and to either side of them, and several more black-clad men closed in a circle around them. Gavin’s fingers dipped into his waistband, where his gun rested against his stomach. Michael did his best to hide this movement, but he supposed there was no point. He could feel the tension heating the air around them, and he knew it wouldn’t be long before it erupted in violence. Ryan huffed and growled and shifted in place, eyes flicking from enemy to enemy.

One of the guys gave them a once over. His eyes suddenly widened, and he pulled out a Glock.

“That guy’s one of the assholes who did that bank heist! Remember, a few weeks back?”

Guns appeared amongst every single person on the dock. “So, was that bank not enough for you greedy fucks? Had to rub your greasy dicks all over our stuff?”

“Hey, hey! My dick is not greasy!” Michael slowly pushed the leash’s clasp open. Ryan must have realized what he was doing, because he stood stock still, his eyes fixed on one of the men who’d first accosted them. “I have excellent genital hygiene.”

“Michael,” Gavin said. “Don’t antagonize them!”

“I’ll antagonize the shit out of ‘em! They’re pointing fucking guns at us, Gavin! We’re past the fucking ‘Oooh mistah we’re so sorry!’ stage.”

“You’re right about that, at least.” The main guy clicked the safety off on his gun and pointed it at Michael’s chest. “Don’t worry. We’ll take good care of your bodies.”

“Thanks, but I’ll pass.”

Michael yanked the leash free and dived toward the nearest building. Ryan surged forward and leaped. His paws slammed into the man’s chest, and he went down with a scream. Two other men were taken out with headshots from Michael before the others cottoned on to what was going on, and then the docks erupted in gunfire and shouting.

Gavin somehow managed to duck a hail of bullets and took cover behind a nearby wall. Ryan had already vanished into thin air, leaving behind a wide-eyed corpse with a bloodied mass of meat in place of a throat. There were already four dead bodies lying in pools of blood, but other men swarmed, seemingly out of the woodwork, and took positions near their fellows. He pulled out his gun and returned fire as best he could. He winged one of the guys and killed another. He briefly considered calling Geoff and asking for help, but the storm of bullets dissuaded him for the moment.

He backed further into the alley, considering his options. The car had been left way back on the beach, and he didn’t want to leave without Michael anyway. If he had better weapons, he’d feel a lot more confident fighting until every last member was dead, but the gun was more a precaution than anything else, and he’d packed a pittance of ammo. The hacker’s heart thumped in his throat, and his legs trembled. He couldn’t see things getting worse.

So, naturally, things got worse.

An arm wrapped around his throat and yanked him powerfully backwards. Before he could yell or shoot or do anything, really, the still-warm muzzle of a gun pressed against his temple, and any thoughts of…anything, really, flew out of his brain.

“Listen close, you little shit,” a voice growled in his ear. “If you want to get out of this, you’re gonna do exactly as I say. Got it?” He nodded. “Good. We’re gonna walk back out there, and we’re going to convince your friend to stop shooting. Then you’ll both come along quietly to our boss’s place for a heart to heart chat. Hell, maybe we’ll give him a nice wolfskin rug while we’re at it.”

He started pulling Gavin back towards the no man’s land, ignoring the Brit’s dug in heels. His thoughts were frantic, desperate, trying to find some way to get out, some plan to escape, but he saw nothing…

A snarl sounded behind them, and the gangster turned to face it. Gavin couldn’t help the fearful adrenaline that clenched his heart at the awful sight behind them. The wolfdog stood silhouetted in the “alley”. Blood dripped from his muzzle and soaked the fur of his chin and chest. He stepped forward a few paces and growled again. His red-stained teeth glittered in the afternoon light.

“Stupid dog,” the man sneered. His gun moved away from Gavin’s head to point between Ryan’s eyes.

The moment the gun moved away from him, Gavin brought his pistol down hard on the man’s penis. He let out a garbled shriek and fell back, clutching his crotch. Ryan charged forward the same moment Gavin stumbled away and fell. For a moment, the Brit swore the world slowed down. He saw Ryan’s knees bend, watched him spring into the air, flinched when long teeth tore into pale flesh. Blood spouted into the air, and a shriek cut off almost immediately, replaced by pained gurgles. In moments, it was over. Gavin’s would-be captor lay dead on the ground, blood streaming from the gaping hole where his neck had been.

Ryan snorted and shook himself. He bent his head and snapped up the semi-automatic from the dead man’s fingers. He turned back and walked over to Gavin, who was busy trying to catch his breath. At first, he drew away from the beast. The fresh blood literally dripping from his muzzle was not a particularly endearing sight. The wolfdog huffed loudly and nudged Gavin’s hand with his nose. When Gavin still didn’t react, he growled and dropped the gun in his lap. He twitched and stared dumbly down at the weapon. Ryan put a paw on top of the semi-automatic and nudged it toward Gavin’s right hand. Finally, the techie reached up and grabbed it.

Ryan turned away and padded back down the space between the warehouses. Gavin hastened to follow him, and saw another dead man lying near the entrance to the “alley”. More bloody marks stood out on his pale skin, and the Brit shuddered when his eyes locked with the corpse’s blank lifeless ones. Ryan hopped over him and glanced around before heading to the right. There were still sounds of gunfire echoing through the area, but there weren’t as many of them this time. Unfortunately, one problem was replaced with another: the distant sounds of police sirens slowly called over the beach, steadily growing louder and louder. Unless they wanted to spend the night in LSPD lockup, they needed to get out now. He swallowed and tailed after the wolfdog.

They reached the end of the dock area, rounded around one of the shoddier warehouses, and headed back to the main area. Two men had taken cover behind some old steel barrels and shot at the side of another warehouse. Ryan’s pace slowed, and he crouched to the ground. He glanced up at Gavin, then looked at the man to the right. He pointed his gun at the man’s back. He swore the wolf nodded at him before turning back to the other. Gavin opened fire and blew the man’s skull wide open while Ryan leaped on the other man’s back and ended his life with a swift bite to his neck.

“Is that all of them?” he asked.

Ryan huffed and walked to the edge of the pier. He snuffled at the boards and the entrances to the warehouses. His ears jumped upright and he ran to the warehouse where the men had been shooting. Gavin sped after him, heart in his throat.

He turned the corner and nearly gasped out loud when he saw Michael sitting with his back to the warehouse wall, blood pooling around one of his arms. Well, he kind of saw Michael, because most of the demoman’s body was obscured by the giant black wolf sitting on top of him. His mind flashed back to the sight of long white fangs tearing into flesh, and for a moment he considered shooting the wolf right then and there. His fingers curled for a moment around the trigger.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, Ry-Bread, I’m okay, it’s just a graze!”

The words pulled Gavin out of his fears, and he finally saw the wolf’s pink tongue lathing Michael’s freckled cheeks, and saw the smile on his face. Ryan’s tail wagged when Michael stroked his fur and gave his flanks a few pats. Gavin lowered his gun, and felt a sudden twinge of guilt low down in his guts.

“Michael, did they get you, Michael?”

“Huh?” Michael’s eyes flicked up to meet his. “Yeah, but it’s just a scratch. It’s nothing, I swear.” He pushed Ryan off him and pulled himself upright. He stepped toward Gavin and showed him a bloody tear in the sleeve of his jacket. “Fucking assholes. I like this jacket, goddammit.”

“Still, we’d better leave. Cops are showing up, and you know Geoff hates it when we get locked up.”

“Shit, really?” Michael cocked his head, and scowled when he heard the sirens. “Fuck. Let’s hit the road, then.” He walked out into the main area, but wobbled and would have fallen if Gavin hadn’t caught him. “Fuck me.”

“C’mon, boi. We’ll get you home, and Jack can patch you up, yeah?”

“I’m fucking fine…just a little dizzy, that’s all…” Ryan whined and bumped his nose into Michael’s palm. Blood dripped down his jacket sleeve and splashed onto the worn wooden planks. “Okay, he might…have cut something important.”

Gavin wrapped Michael’s good arm around his shoulders and dragged him back toward the stairs. Ryan trailed behind them, letting out the occasional whine.

“Don’t worry. We’ll get you home.”

It was fairly late in the afternoon by the time Gavin, Michael and Ryan returned home. Jack was playing what looked like Call of Duty, but he immediately paused the game and stood up upon seeing the blood still oozing from Michael’s jacket.

“What happened?” he asked. “I thought Geoff was just sending you out for reconnaissance!”

“Some arseholes were watching the place. Shot us up and injured Michael.” Gavin propped Michael up against the kitchen table and stepped back to let Jack tend to him. “We managed to take care of it, but we, uh, made a right mess of the docks.”

“Fuck. Guess Geoff got bad intel on that warehouse.” Jack pulled his first-aid kit off the shelf and popped it open. Michael shifted about an inch away and grabbed his injured arm.

“M’fine,” he said. “S’not a problem.”

“You’re bleeding like crazy, Michael.” Jack batted his hand away and pulled the jacket off his shoulders. Gavin retched at the sight of the jagged wound torn into the meat of Michael’s arm. It looked much worse than it had with the jacket covering it. Ryan sniffed Michael’s hand, leaned his head back, and let out a howl.

“He’s gonna be okay, Ryan.” Jack briefly patted Ryan’s head before pulling a pair of gloves out of his kit and tugging them on. Ryan whined again and walked over to Gavin. He leaned his bulk against the Brit’s leg and nearly toppled him. After a moment’s consideration, Gavin put his hand on Ryan’s head. Surprisingly, the wolfdog’s tail wagged a bit, and he looked up at Gavin with big blue eyes. The dried flakes of blood clinging to the fur of his muzzle was still off-putting, but he didn’t look quite so batshit insane now.

It took Jack about twenty minutes to get the wound cleaned and to sew it shut. He gave Michael some painkillers beforehand, and by the time he stitched the last wound shut the demoman had nodded off and snored peacefully. Gavin had graciously lent Michael his shoulder, but scowled and shifted him off when he drooled on his shirt. Jack wrapped the wound up with gauze and bandages, and led Michael to the couch. He flopped down and let out a loud snore.

Not five seconds after that, the front door banged open again, and Geoff strolled into the room.

“Great news! I finally found my..” He trailed off when he saw the group clustered around the couch. “Uh, what’s going on?”

“Geoff, why didn’t you tell us the warehouse had a billion bloody guards, Geoff?” Gavin glared at his boss and crossed his arms. “They blasted the shite out of us, Geoff.”

“Guards? It wasn’t supposed to be guarded.” Geoff frowned and moved to look at Michael. “Guess that answers my question, though.”

“Not that it matters anyway,” said Gavin. “Cops showed up right as we left.”

“If that’s the case, they’ll probably confiscate everything in the area as evidence,” said Jack.

“Fuck. I really wanted that warehouse, too. Dammit.” He sat down in his chair and brushed the hair off his forehead. “This’ll set us back a bit.” Ryan walked over and put his head on Geoff’s knee. He reached down and scratched behind his ear stump, and the pup’s eyes closed happily.

“What did you find, Geoff?” Jack asked.

“Oh, yeah! So, me ‘n’ Gavvers here got royally fucked up a few nights ago, and we had the best discussion on what we’re going to name our little group!”

“Do we really need a name?”

“You – wha – of course we need a fucking name! We can’t just be ‘Those Fuckers Who Fuck Shit Up’ forever!”

“I don’t know, ‘Those Fuckers Who Fuck Shit Up’ is kinda catchy,” said Jack.

Gavin, meanwhile, stared at the ceiling and frowned. “I don’t remember this.”

“You wouldn’t, you fucking lightweight.” Geoff laughed when he squawked indignantly. “Anyway, we came up with some fucking amazing names, and I had the presence of mind to write ‘em all down. I lost the paper for a bit, but I finally found it in my car!” He pulled a cocktail napkin out of his pocket and offered proudly to Jack. “Tell me what you think of ‘em.”

Jack took the napkin and carefully uncrumpled it. “Geoff, this is completely illegible.”

“What? No, it should all be there.”

Gavin wandered over and peered over Jack’s shoulder. “What? Geoff, this is utter nonsense.” He laughed and tugged the napkin out of Jack’s hand. “God, this is absolute bloody gibberish! Nothing on here makes sense!”

Geoff stood up and pulled the napkin out of Gavin’s hand. He squinted down at the scrawling on it and frowned. “Fuck. This was brilliant a few nights ago.” He brought it up to his nose and squinted his eyes almost shut. “Wait…wait…I think…I think I see an f.”

“Where do you see an f in that mess?” asked Gavin.

“Yeah, I think…maybe…if that’s an f…maybe that says ‘Fake’? Fake…Fake ah…Fake AH Crew! There, that’s our fucking name!” Geoff slammed the napkin down on the table and sat back down in his chair. Ryan wandered over and sniffed the napkin. His nose wrinkled, and he turned tail and ran back toward his food bowl.

“That makes no goddamn sense,” said Jack.

At the same time Gavin said, “Did you make that up?”

“Obviously I made it up! And I don’t hear you coming up with anything better!”

“Is there a Real AH Crew? Also, what the fuck is AH?”

“You know what? Shut up. Everyone shut up. I fucking quit.” He shot to his feet and stormed off to the kitchen.

Jack shook his head and crumpled up the napkin.

“Fake AH Crew. What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”