Tess finds something interesting while going through her boyfriend's closet.
Code Drop Promo 7 - An Unguarded Moment Tempe O'Kun
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"Oh, that's Draggy Puff-Fluff." Erik wagged.
"Draggy Puff-Fluff?" Tess dangled the purple dragon by one plush ear, arching an eyebrow at her boyfriend.
"He was my favorite stuffed animal as a kid." The golden retriever squirmed.
"And you kept it?" She tossed the fluffy reptile his way with surprising care.
He caught it in both arms, blushing through his gold fur. He offered a smile. "I guess it reminds me of home."
She laughed, bumping him in the shoulder. "What are you? A kid on a sleepover?"
"By some definitions." He looked around at the small apartment he'd moved into with her. "Nobody made you dig through my side of the closet, missy."
"Oh whatever. You're mostly out of it anyhow."
"Hey!" He stuck his tongue out at her, a wide pink brushstroke against his golden muzzle.
"Kidding, kidding." She leaned in and kissed his cheek.
"So you were just too tough for a plushes as a pup?"
She didn't answer. Her muzzle opened, as if to speak, then closed. Her ears flattened back.
"You did have one!" He poked her with the dragon's fabric paw, bouncing. "What did you have? Come on, tell me!"
"A Totoro."
"Ooooh. Really? Now there's some anime cred."
She nodded, quieting. "It was a big one... Well, it was big then. It probably would be too small for me to hug now."
"You don't have it anymore?"
The jackal shrugged. "I grew up, got out of that sort of thing." Her gaze shifted back to the boxes on the floor. "Let's just finish sorting through this stuff, okay?"
Erik's ears popped up, catching something in her tone. Mulling it over, he bent down to help stow some of his fantasy novels. The whole time, though, his ears twitched in thought.
* * * * *
Sunlight crept in through the window, cut in slices by the nearby buildings. The apartment was cast in the half tones of a city evening, augmented by the scanning bank of light from passing headlights. The paler glow of a streetlamp buzzed to life, its angle more terrestrial, it's color more unearthly. Opposite the window lay the kitchen, the various surfaces of cookware and appliances reflecting the lustrous shapes cast upon them.
The golden looked up from the disassembled iPod on the coffee table to see that Tess had returned home from work. He wagged up from the sofa, padded over to her, and settled his paws on her waist. As was becoming their tradition, neither of them spoke right away, instead rubbing their muzzles along each other. Small kisses trailed off into longer ones. Her laptop bag slipped from her shoulder, easing to the floor, followed by her jacket. He turned his muzzle to meet hers, letting her tongue slip against his lips and into his mouth. Nothing rushed, nothing hurried, the world hung in peace for a moment as they got reacquainted.
When he felt her hackles smooth and her body start to relax, he tapered off the kiss and looked down into her coffee-cream eyes. "Hey."
"Hey." Her paws drifted around the dog's middle, resting on the base of his tail.
"How was your day?"
"Moderately shitty." Tess sighed against him. "Our new boss is an idiot."
"That's lame." He rubbed nosepads with her.
"You don't seem too broken up about my day." She squeezed his tail, feeling it sway.
"That's because I have a way to fix it."
"Oh?"
"Yep." He nodded, eyes closed with canine joy.
"MP potion? Phoenix down?" The jackal chuckled, weary. "Because that's about what it would take to revive me at this point."
"Even better." Slipping out of her embrace, he led her by the paw back to the sofa and gestured for her to sit.
Settling in beside the Nintendo-themed throw blanket, she eased into the overstuffed couch with a huff. She propped her hind paws up on the coffee table, mindful of the electronic parts scattered there. "Oh boy. A broken MP3 player. You sure know how to treat a girl."
"Oh, hush." Erik pulled the blanket back with a flourish.
There sat, fat and neighborly, a large plush Totoro.
The squeak of delight echoed through the apartment and warmed Erik's canine heart.
She reached out with care, picking up the stuffed spirit. Restraint fought a losing battle on her face. "W-where'd you even find this?"
He shrugged. "The enchanted forests of eBay."
Hugging the grey creature with one arm, she pulled him down to the sofa with the other. Once he was within cuddle range, she snuggled him close without a word.
Erik, feeling about as surprised as the Totoro looked, slipped his arm over her shoulder. His tail wiggled against the back of the couch.
After a long moment, she set the fuzzy spirit down against the opposite arm of the sofa, scooting close to her golden. With her head on his chest, she smiled. Erik wasn't sure he'd ever seen her so... happy. He rested his head atop hers, he savoring her scent, her warmth, but most of all the affection that radiated toward him in waves, taking the form of soft squeezes, gentle rubs of her paws, and the steady whisper of her breath against his shirt. Resting his free paw over hers, he settled in against her, simply being. Just as he began to doze off, he swore, just for a moment, that the Totoro smiled.
