rockytpup:

My squeak toy!

Squeak.
Jonathan lifted his hand above his eyes to give his puppy a glare. He had felt the boy’s weight on the bed.
Squeak.
“K9. No. Not now.” Jonathan covered his face again.
Squeak.
“Puppy now is not a good time. I’m grieving.“
K9 knew that though. He saw his Master dress in black ink and straight lines, double breasted and single pleated. K9 watched, helpless and conflicted, as his pup brain wanted nothing more than to hump and drool over his Master in such formal wear; but his human brain stood back, terribly frustrated that he could not think of how to comfort his Master like this. Jonathan was not a stone that water eroded; he was a stone that water went around; but he was not the same pillar of strength and fortitude today. So, K9 hung back in pup space where it was safe and innocent.

K9 followed Jonathan around the house like a shadow, observing him lying down with cucumbers over his eyes for twenty minutes before leaving with a box of tissues. Instead of leaving K9 a good-bye cookie to help with anxiety, Master Jonathan left the whole ceramic jar on the floor. K9 happily ate four before remorse kicked in. He licked up the crumbs and went to wait in his dog bed for his Master.

K9 watched the doves outside and took a nap, but he sprung up when he heard the garage door open. He trotted out to greet his Master, but his Master ghosted past him with barely a pat on the head. K9 gave a concerned whimper, then trailed Jonathan upstairs.
K9 found him supine on the bed, hand over his eyes, still dressed in his sleek clothes. Unsure what to do, K9 brought his Master his favorite squeak toy.

Squeak.
“Puppy, now is not the time for play,” Jonathan said, his voice raw.
K9 whimpered. Squeak. He dropped the squeak toy on Jonathan’s chest and nudged it toward him.
“K9,” Jonathan said. “I’ve had a long day.” Tears slid down his cheeks. K9’s eyes widened in concern. Seeing his Master cry was like weird, like seeing your teacher in the supermarket weird. K9 licked his tears quickly, then brought the tissue box over from the nightstand. Jonathan muttered a thanks and blew his nose. K9 licked all the tears he could, then snuggled up against his Master and threw an arm and a leg over his chest. His human side was cautious about wrinkling the fabric, but his pup side liked being close.

Jonathan’s chest jumped. “I just can’t get used to the idea that he’s never going to call me again, and I’ll never see him, or hear my father’s voice.”
K9 felt his heart break for his Master’s pain. The need to do something for him was causing him great distress. Suddenly, it clicked, and K9 broke character. “But…Sir, don’t you have voicemails from your Dad? You’re always saying your inbox is full.”
Jonathan sat up, mouth agape. “Oh my god, I think you’re right. Where’s my phone?” He began to look for it frantically.
“Arf!” K9 pressed Jonathan to the bed with both paws, making sure he stayed put and rested while he hunted for it. K9 traced his Master’s path and found the phone in the mount in the car. The GPS app was still open. K9 brought it upstairs with his head high and tail wagging, and dropped it on his Master’s chest.
“Good boy,” Jonathan murmured, patting K9’s cheek. Jonathan tapped the screen for his visual voicemail and scrolled though. “Oh my god, there are a couple. All those times I was busy and let it go to voicemail…” his voice caught again.
K9 nudged the tissue box forward with his mask nose. Jonathan used it. They listened to messages from a man no longer walking the Earth. Jonathan curled up around phone and wept. K9 kept him company, until his Master wore himself out and began to fall asleep.
“I’m sorry I’ve been ignoring you,” Jonathan murmured.
“You are a very very good puppy.” He pulled K9 into a tight embrace, and K9 made a noise of pleasure. “I love you. Thank you so much for helping me through the loss of my dad.”
K9 barked. “That means ‘I love you’ too in pup, Sir.”
Jonathan managed a smile. “Can I take off your mask so we can cuddle skin to skin?”
K9 nodded eagerly. Jonathan removed the mask, and his own clothes down to his underwear. and they nuzzled until they both found a comfortable position braided in the other, and slipped off into a nap together. K9 decided when they got up, he’d make his Master grilled cheese and tomato soup. Master needed comfort, so he would provide it and make comfort food. It was all so clear now. He’d have to leave the safety of pup mode to help the most. The squeak toy would have to wait to be squeaked until later.

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Captions are fictional.