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Don’t get Nero wrong; he could go as far as to call himself a dog person.
He loved dogs… Just not this dog.
He watched you play with the puppy you had rescued on your lap, scratching it behind its ear and making faces at it. Nico talked with you as she worked behind the counter, your shared laughs and the dog’s small barks echoing inside the van.
Like it wasn’t cramped enough with V’s talking pets already.
What was supposed to be short-fuse of a man sat on the disordered couch, sulking, forgotten like an old toy.
It had just been a week, and he was quickly growing tired of sharing. He found the dog adorable at first, but then it decided to get between the two of you in bed when sleeping, impeding him from properly holding you. That's fine, he told himself. It's just a dog.
Then he wasn’t able to kiss you because the dog wanted attention instead. Alright.
Then he couldn’t sleep in with you or even hold you in the mornings, ‘cause guess what? The dog’s gotta walk at the crack of dawn.
And if that wasn’t enough, the leisurely time that you usually spent teasing each other or cuddling was replaced by… whatever this was. He fully believed you only glanced at him a few times in these past few days.
When the puppy successfully gave you the paw after a couple of tries, you couldn’t help the bright smile that spread on your face. “good boy,” you beamed proudly, feeling the warm licks of the pup on your hand, its tail wagging in excitement.
“You never call me that.” He frowned, the words escaping his lips without his consent.
You and Nico exchanged a perplexed look.
Where the hell did that even come from?
“I was kidding,” he added way too quickly. He wished he were kidding, and you could all laugh it up and stop looking at him like he said what he said.
A crooked grin spread across Nico’s lips, and Nero sighed internally. “Sure you were, doggy,” she retorted, clearly holding back more teasing remarks. She proceeded to fish a cigarette out of her pocket. “And I’ll be out for a smoke,” she announced, already making her way around the counter, looking like she needed a break.
“Outside?” He questioned, scratching the back of his head and attempting to play off what just happened. “Don’t you usually smoke wherever you please?”
“With a cute pair of tiny lungs in here? I’d be damned!” She scoffed.
Once she reached the door, she turned to you, her usual smoking buddy, holding out the cig with raised eyebrows, “You coming or what?”
Your hand stopped petting the pup. You stared at her as if considering the offer, but when you felt the dog hop off your lap, you eventually decided a smoke break wouldn’t hurt. “Coming…” you said, patting the hairs off your lap and following after her.
Nero’s eyes zeroed in on the animal, scrutinizing its movements as it sniffed the floor of the van until he felt your hand ruffle his hair as you walked past him. “Stop glaring at him.” You chastised. His brows furrowed in mild annoyance despite the fluttering feeling in his chest.
“I’m not glaring. I love the thing– honest!”
You gave him one last sharp look as you made your way out.
The second you and Nico stepped out of the van, he huffed and rubbed his face in exasperation, cringing at his impulsive choice of words earlier. When his hands slid down his face and cleared his eyesight, he was greeted by big brown eyes looking up at him.
Of fucking course.
It couldn’t be a big badass dog.
No- no, the icing on the cake was that it had to be a tiny ball of fur.
“They only like you cause’ you're cute, y'know?” He murmured. The dog merely tilted its head in curiosity, making Nero realize he was talking to a dog. Just what was going on with him today?
“Forget it.”
The puppy barked, the sound coming out nearly as a shrill for what was supposed to be a respectable creature. “Can't say I blame them,” He finally muttered, closing his eyes once again while resting his head back against the couch.
Just as he started to relax, he felt a small weight crawl on the couch. The corner of his lips twitched involuntarily before he even peeked to see the dog, its head resting on the edge of his lap as the brown, thoughtless eyes kept looking up at him.
Nero’s hand moved hesitantly, awkwardly petting the soft fur of the animal. So this is what all the fuss was about?
His expression eased along the crease between his eyebrows, and before he could realize it, his thoughts were slipping away in the drowsiness that threatened to consume him.
Maybe sharing wasn’t so bad under these terms.