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“You’re the one that said no. Why did you have to bring me here?”
Carlos had to roll his eyes as he watched his boyfriend with those green puppy eyes and that stupidly cute pout. The man was simply too adorable for his own good. The fact that TK was currently sitting in a fenced-in area, surrounded by at least half a dozen overly excited and energetic little canine fluff balls made it all that much cuter.
“Yeah,” Carlos finally replied, not even trying to hide his smile. “Because I know you, babe. If I had said yes to this before, you would’ve gone with the first rash decision. You would’ve picked up the first stray you came across without any consideration. So of course I said no.”
“And what’s wrong with a stray? They deserve our love, too,” TK grumbled, burying his face in the soft fur of one of the puppies. All of a sudden, his eyes went wide. “Wait,” he said, looking up at Carlos in wonder. “Babe, are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
The puppy currently claiming the space in TK’s lap right away used the chance of TK being distracted to climb up his chest and lick his chin. Carlos simply knew that there was no way for them to leave this room without the papers for this little one. Now he only needed to let TK know about that.
“If you think I’m saying ‘pick a puppy because we’re gonna take one of them home with us,’ then yes. I am saying what you think I’m saying.”
Tears welled up in his boyfriend’s eyes and within seconds, he was pulled down by his hand. He could have resisted, of course. But why would he ever want that? Going willingly, he leaned down and captured TK’s lips with his. The kiss was sweet, almost chaste, and it made Carlos’ heart beat all the wilder because of it.
There was this wonderful feeling again. This feeling he had every time he was close to TK, every time they touched or kissed or even just looked at each other. The love they had for one another… it was so pure, so real.
It was timeless and perfect.
All too quickly, their kiss was interrupted by the puppy wanting to join, trying to climb up on TK even further to reach Carlos’ chin as well. Their kiss ended with a chuckle and carefully, Carlos kneeled down next to them. Mindful of all the puppies scrambling around them. The one that had interrupted their kiss was onto Carlos within seconds, visibly happy that he could reach his face now as well.
The soft tongue felt funny against his stubble. He would need to shave again soon… although he had noticed how much TK liked a bit of peach, so he wasn’t all that much in a hurry. And apparently, the puppy liked the fluffy fuzz as well.
“So,” Carlos said in TK’s direction while he brushed his hand over the soft fur and played with the canine’s ears. “What do you say? Already decided on one of these?”
“Carlos… are you sure?” TK asked instead, hesitance clear in his voice as he gazed back at him. “You didn’t change your mind because of me, right? Or because I told you how I always wanted a dog growing up? I swear, I’m happy with just having Buttercup. Just because he lives with my dad doesn’t mean he isn’t my dog as well.”
Carlos was already shaking his head but he let TK finish anyway. Once his boyfriend stopped talking, he leaned in again for another soft touch of their lips. “No, Ty, I promise. I love the idea of a dog in our lives. It might not have been so easy in our condo, but now we have a bigger house and a garden. We have the space for a dog now.”
“But… with our jobs…”
“Well, Buttercup might need a little partner in crime, don’t you think?” Carlos told him with a wink. “You can take the puppy to the firehouse during your shifts – it’s already cleared with Owen. Or we get a dog sitter. TK, we’ll find a way to make this work. We still have a bit of time anyway before we can take one of these home with us.”
TK was biting his lip but the moment he looked down at the puppy that had now made its home in Carlos’ lap while gnawing on the strings of TK’s hoodie… the moment Carlos saw the soft glint in his boyfriend’s eyes, he knew it was a done deal.
And he also knew that his instincts had been right about which of these puppies they were taking home. It was this white fluff ball with the big black spots, the puppy that had claimed them as his and that wasn’t letting them go anymore.
Which was good, because TK and Carlos also didn’t plan on letting him go.
~*~*~*~
Three weeks later, they were finally allowed to take little Bumblebee home with them. They both took a few days off of work to make the transition easier for him and by the time they had to go back, Bumblebee wasn’t leaving TK’s side anymore. Wherever TK went, Bumblebee was right at his heels.
Much to TK’s relief, Buttercup seemed to adopt his new brother on the spot, and of course the entire Fire Fam was vying for his love, just like they did with Buttercup. And while Bumblebee loved to get belly rubs and hugs and treats from all of them, at the end of the day it was TK’s bed he slept in, cuddled close to Buttercup, hardly leaving any space for TK himself.
Within a few short weeks, Bumblebee settled into his new life not only with TK and Carlos but also as the newest member of the 126.
~*~
It was nine in the morning on a Sunday when TK let himself and Bumblebee into their house, one hand full with some warm baked goods from the bakery down the street. Bumblebee was first through the door, beelining for the kitchen. Not because of potential food, though, TK knew, but because this was usually where Carlos would be when they got home after him.
Given that Carlos’ shift had run late last night though, TK wasn’t surprised that he wasn’t up yet.
“He’s probably still asleep, Bumble,” he told their puppy as he entered the kitchen as well, putting down his purchases. Bumblebee was searching every corner, looking back up at TK now and then, clearly searching for Carlos.
Smiling, TK knelt down and Bumblebee pranced over right away. “How about we prepare some breakfast for him, mhh? What do you think? Should we surprise Carlos with breakfast in bed? Mhh? Yeah, we can do that,” he told him, watching as the puppy got more and more excited – which, of course, was due to his own voice, he knew that. But he still liked to pretend.
After opening the backdoor so Bumblebee could work out some extra energy for now, TK started coffee and then began to put together a little breakfast selection. Once the tray was filled with bread rolls, croissants, butter, honey, and jam, some orange juice, and a few slices of fresh fruits, he got out their favorite blue mugs and prepared coffee for both of them, making sure Carlos’ was exactly as he liked it. Ready to head upstairs, he called Bumblebee back inside and then made his way to the stairs; careful not to tip the tray or to trip over their overly excited puppy.
The bedroom door stood ajar and Bumblebee was through the door before TK had even reached the landing. By the time he stepped into the room, Bumblebee was already on the bed, excitement vibrating through his whole body because he had finally found Carlos, face turned to the side and sleeping on his stomach. TK watched as Bumblebee was eagerly licking Carlos awake while his boyfriend scrunched his face and tried to hide it in his pillow, apparently not ready yet to be woken up.
Bumblebee, of course, took this as the challenge it was, wagging his tail wildly, apparently happy about the game. He marched all over Carlos’ strong back and his shoulders, sliding down whenever Carlos moved again, jumping back on and burying his nose in his neck.
“Ty,” came the whine after a few moments, making TK chuckle as he put down the tray on the bedside table.
Quickly getting out of his pants, TK sat down on the bed, brushing his fingers through Carlos’ tousled curls. “Wakey, wakey, babe. Breakfast is ready.”
Much to his amusement, that got Carlos’ attention more than anything else, his man turning around to face him, cracking one eye open.
“You made breakfast?” he asked curiously, his lips stretching into a crooked grin. “Have you broken something again?”
“Ha ha, very funny,” TK replied with a roll of his eyes.
“Wait, no. You did something risky at work again and now you want to distract me with breakfast before I find out.”
TK pretended to glare at his man, not even letting Carlos’ shit-eating grin distract him. Looking over to Bumblebee, he pointed towards Carlos. “Bumble, bite!”
Eager as he was and probably thrilled at getting TK’s attention again, Bumblebee wagged his tail and marched over to TK, licking his face.
“No, not me,” TK whined as he cuddled the little puppy close. “You’re supposed to attack Carlos.”
Carlos’ laughter rang around the room as he rolled over and fell against his back on the mattress – quickly becoming aware though that this position was a mistake because it gave Bumblebee full access again. And TK did nothing to hold the happy puppy back when he left his lap to jump over and onto Carlos’ chest, nuzzling and licking his face.
Reaching up and securing Bumblebee, Carlos finally sat up, letting the puppy come to rest before him. “A few weeks ago, at least it would’ve been your kisses that woke me.”
“Awww, don’t worry, Bumble,” TK said, brushing over his furry back. “He doesn’t mean it like that. He loves your kisses as well.”
“Yeah, I do,” Carlos sighed, pressing a kiss to Bumblebee’s head before glancing over to the tray.
TK followed his line of sight with a proud smile and leaned over to pull the tray onto their bed. “I hope you’re hungry. Cause I’m starving. I ditched breakfast at the station to enjoy it with you.”
“You’re the sweetest,” Carlos mumbled, a sappy – and still somewhat sleepy – smile on that gorgeous face. “And I love you so much.”
“I love you too, babe,” TK whispered back, leaning forward to catch Carlos’ lips in a quick kiss before leaning back and reaching for the first croissant. “Alright, let’s dig in.”
They did just that, making sure to keep Bumblebee safely away from the tray but feeding him a few pieces of bread with butter as well. Simply enjoying the quiet morning, they didn’t speak much, just recounted their days here and there or TK telling Carlos some of the cute things Bumblebee had done back at the firehouse.
Somewhere between happily munching on a piece of bread and getting his belly rubbed, Bumblebee had fallen asleep in Carlos’ lap, making it impossible for the man to move. It was such an adorable view that TK reached for his pants and pulled out his phone, taking a picture of his boyfriend and their puppy.
“We chose a good one, didn’t we?” Carlos mumbled, his hand softly brushing over Bumblebee’s head.
TK was still unable to take his eyes off his man and their puppy, smiling at the both of them. “To be fair, I feel like he picked us as much as we picked him.”
“True.”
After a few more moments, Carlos looked back up at him, eyes tender and so full of love it made TK’s heart skip a beat. He leaned in without a word spoken, brushing their lips together, before shuffling over and leaning into Carlos’ side, humming in appreciation when Carlos pressed a kiss to the side of his head.
“I’m just really happy we found him.”
“Same,” TK muttered, his eyes never straying from their puppy.
There was another kiss pressed into his hair before he caught quiet words being whispered. “And I’m so glad we found each other.”
Instantly, the smile on his lips grew wider and he simply snuggled closer. Wordlessly telling Carlos that he felt the same.
Wordlessly telling him that he had never been happier than he was in every moment he got to share with the love of his life.
