#i love puppysitting for two days and TOTALLY being asked to do so. and not just. dogs being dropped off bc our service is 'free'

[krembearry]

i do not. like large and immature beasts. why do i keep finding myself in care of them

[bohemian-napsodyy]

how about reader spending the day helping Elliot puppysit for some new neighbors. Flipper is cool about it (like whatevs bro totally not jealous lmao), the younger pup is crazy silly hyper, Elliot is exhausted but really enjoys himself taking care of the dogs with readers help. PUPPY KISSES. :)

crying? who, me?? pffft nooo.

this is so precious anon, thank you for the idea!!

Warning: there’s dogs which means this is going to be a very long hc i’m sorry

you had been wanting to meet the new neighbours’ doggo for a while now

often you’d hear the little dude yapping early in the morning, almost always at 6 AM on the dot

resulting in Elliot grumbling to himself and tugging the quilt away from you and up and over his head in frustration

you, on the other hand, threw on Elliot’s hoodie and a pair of sweatpants as quickly as you could and ran out the door, hoping to catch the new Good Boy before the yapping stopped

but by the time you made it to the door, the little barks had already faded, and there was no doggo in sight

resulting in you trudging back into the apartment with a  >:[ expression on your face

this happened numerous times in a row

that dog was an elusive little bugger

honestly at this point you were almost fully convinced you were being haunted by the ghost of a dog, you only ever heard him, you never saw the little guy

“why don’t you just go and knock on their door?” Elliot grumbled to you on another early morning, once again yanking the blankets up and around himself to form a puffy little burrito

“I don’t know which apartment they moved into,” you answered as you quickly tugged on Elliot’s jeans which were much too long for you

but okay in your defense you couldn’t find your sweatpants

“Knock on all the doors, I don’t know,” Elliot kinda waved his arms in the air in defeat at you as he sighed exasperatedly, letting his head fall back on his pillow with a thunk

“Just let me sleep.”

Elliot Alderson was most definitely not a morning person.

luck must have been on your side this time, because just as you opened the door, half expecting to once again find nothing but an empty hallway, a huge smile spread across your face

THERE WAS INDEED A DOGGO

AND IT WAS A SAUSAGE DOGGO

the cute little dude was being carried like a football by his owner downstairs, and you managed to make brief eye contact with him for a second

but it was enough time to see the :D face the little guy made when his eyes met yours

Elliot must have heard your near-shriek of excitement, because before you knew it, he came bolting over, an alarmed look on his face

“What’s wrong???”

“Quick!” You exclaim, running back into the apartment to the window by the kitchen just as the little dog and his owner emerged from the building

the good boy actually waddled down the street

his paws were all short and stumpy and everything

“That’s the cutest little guy i’ve ever seen- El, are those my pants?”

You do a double take at your boyfriend, who was wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants that were at least two sizes too small for him

they ended a little ways past his calves, and he looked so awkward and uncomfortable you just couldn’t hold in your laughter

“you took my pants.” he deadpanned in response.

“I couldn’t find my own!”

“…well, as you can see, I found them.”

as if the day couldn’t get any better, IT DID

because later that day there was a knock on the door, and you opened the door to find an older lady holding none other than your new favourite four-legged neighbour

“Hi. I’m Lily, and this is Gus… we just moved in across the hall last week. Would it be alright if I left him with you for a few hours while I run errands?”

it takes all you have to not blurt out “uh, YES” right then and there

you bring Flipper over hesitantly, agreeing to take Gus forever for the day if Flipper got along with him

and as soon as Lily set Gus down on the ground in your apartment, the two of them were already yapping and starting to chase each other in circles

“I guess it’s official then!” Lily exclaimed with a laugh, giving you a wave as she left you with you newfound love

“El!” You call out, picking Gus up and holding him under your arm as you make your way to the bathroom. “Elli, there’s someone who wants to say hi!”

You open the bathroom door just a crack, enough for Gus to poke his nose in

you hear a snort snort snuffle snort as Gus sniffs his new surroundings

resulting in a little tiny laugh from inside the bathroom

Elliot opens the door, his jeans low on his hips as he dries his hair with a towel, a smile on his face as he sees Gus

and as soon as Gus sees Elliot, his tail starts wagging madly

“What’s his name?”

“Gus!”

at the sound of his own name, Gus barks, earning a laugh from the two of you

the two of you spend most of the day, sitting on the floor tossing one of Flippers toys back and forth

you sat in front of Elliot’s bed, and Elliot sat near the kitchen — both dogs were scrambling between the two of you to get the toy before you threw it back to the other side of Elliot’s apartment

you had never seen Elliot so genuinely happy in such a long time

his laughter was like sunshine as he sat on the floor, both Flipper and Gus scrambling to try and sit on his lap

“I think Gus likes you.” you giggle as you sit down next to him.

“Can we keep him?” Elliot asks, picking Gus up and giving him a little squeeze for emphasis

Flipper barks in protest, and you laugh, scratching behind her ears before giving her a hug yourself

“Gus’ll just be down the hall,” you say, reaching over to pat Gus’s fat little belly. he let out a sneeze, earning yet another laugh from the two of you.

“I see why you wanted to wake up early to meet him now.”

Elliot boops Gus’s nose

HE BOOPS GUS’S NOSE

what were these dogs doing to your boyfriend???

you weren’t complaining at all though

“So does this mean you’d wake up early with me to take Flipper and Gus for walks now?”

Elliot freezes, smirking at your hopeful expression before kissing you on the cheek in response

“Maybe. No guarantees, though.”