Chapter Text
Atsumu
“It’s been three days, Daisy, what am I supposed to do?!”
Daisy, per usual, doesn’t respond. She tilts her fluffy little head and satellites her big ears in his direction, but she remains silent. Beside her, another little body sleeps soundly, wrapped up in all of Daisy’s luxurious fluff.
Atsumu’s heart swells at the two tri-colored pups but he knows this isn’t forever. Or at least, it wouldn’t be if that stupid, uptight doctor from the clinic would ever get back to him.
His brother hasn’t been helpful, but he didn’t expect him to be.
“I could have Toya take a look at her, Tsumu,” Osamu had said yesterday.
“No! I want that stupid owner to get his head out of his ass and respond to my damned email! It’s irresponsible to ignore correspondence from a reputable place!”
He could feel the look his twin was giving him through the phone.
“Don’t say I didn’t offer to help you. And don’t forget that the guy you took over for wasn’t exactly the most reputable person. I mean, he used to let people return dogs.”
But Atsumu was too incensed to hear any sound reasoning. So he hung up on him. How dare Osamu not take his side on principle?!
And sure, Komori was a nice guy and if Osamu trusted him then Atsumu trusted him, too. But that wasn’t the point. The point is that the owner of the stupid clinic had clearly had a grudge and had no qualms taking old frustrations out on Atsumu without a second thought.
Atsumu had thought his day couldn’t get any worse after that initial call to Itachiyama. And then she walked in.
“Welcome to Inarizaki Pet Outlet! How can I help you?” He said as the bell jingled overhead.
A woman around his mother’s age frowned at him.
“You’re not Ken.”
He shook his head and turned up the charm a notch, smile lifting on one side.
“I’m afraid not. Ken retired and I took over for him. My name’s Atsumu. Did you need help with your pup there?”
Her lips pursed like she’d bitten directly into a lemon. Apparently the charm was not working.
She sighed dramatically and held the dog out by its scruff towards him.
“I need to return this thing. She’s constantly urinating everywhere in my house and I can’t put up with it anymore.”
Was he dreaming? This couldn’t possibly be a real life interaction. He pinched his thigh.
“Ow, fuck!”
“Excuse me?!”
“Sorry! Have you taken her to a vet? It’s pretty common for puppies to have a learning curve with potty training.”
The woman made a noise that will haunt Atsumu’s dreams and thrust the dog in his direction again.
“I signed that Lemon Law paper. Take the damned thing! I don’t want her anymore!”
“Ma’am I understand you’re frustrated but-,”
The sting on his face registered before the slap did. The puppy yelped at being jostled and Atsumu reached out to take her instinctively.
“First that doctor and now you! I’ve had it! I’m never recommending these places again!”
She stormed out of the building with a huff, the bell ringing chaotically as the door slammed behind her.
Atsumu met the puppy’s eyes and gently massaged the back of her neck.
“Sorry for the rough handling, little lady. Your mom is kinda crazy, huh?”
The dog yipped excitedly and suddenly Atsumu’s hand was wet.
“Hmm, I guess if your mom didn’t get you checked out then we certainly should. I don’t like it, but there’s one guy I’ve heard of that could probably figure you out. But first things first, let’s get you cleaned up, yeah?”
Atsumu knew he wasn’t a city boy by any means, but did people seriously just return “troublesome” pets here? He counted his blessings that you couldn’t so easily give children away, especially in the countryside, because Osamu as an only child would’ve made his mother’s life much easier.
Atsumu has no idea who the angry woman was and the puppy had no collar or name tag. He guessed she was younger than 3 months by her size alone, but there’s no way to be certain.
He presses “call” on his phone.
“No,” Suna says curtly before hanging up.
“I have to do everything myself here!” Atsumu screams.
He dials the clinic and waits to be forwarded to voicemail but instead the line clicks over.
“Thank you for calling Itachiyama Vet Clinic, how can I help you today?”
The voice is feminine and so pleasant that Atsumu forgets he’s angry.
“Uh, I have a puppy that I need to make an appointment for with Dr Sakusa.”
“Certainly! We have some availability this afternoon, say around 1:30?”
“That sounds great. Thank you.”
“Of course! And I’ll just need a bit more information from you to set up the appointment.”
So Atsumu gives her his name, address, number, and email before setting up a profile for the dog. However, he’s forgotten one crucial detail.
“And your pet’s name?”
“Uh,” he responds eloquently.
The puppy is still tucked against Daisy. The puppy that isn’t his. That he’s just helping in the short term.
“Petunia,” he murmurs.
His mother loved flowers enough that Atsumu memorized all the different names and pictures to make her smile. Naming the dog she gifted him and Osamu was simple, she came with a yellow bow and his mother loved daisies. Her second favorite flowers were petunias.
“How cute! Alright Mr Miya, you’re all set for an appointment this afternoon at 1:30 with Dr Sakusa.”
Atsumu zoned out as she asked for records or history.
He hadn’t thought it’d be this easy.
That’s how he finds himself at the end of the walkway leading up to the clinic, Petunia tucked in a satchel and Daisy trotting faithfully at his side.
“Alright Daisy, so here’s the plan. We’re going to ambush him. You distract him while I figure out a way to get him to apologize. And then we’ll get Miss Tunia here all fixed up and in a good home.”
Daisy barks at him, tail wagging, and waits for his lead.
The clinic is smaller than he expects, considering the medical feats that are performed here. The lobby is the size of his living room, wooden benches and chairs spaced out evenly. The receptionist chirps out, “be with you in a moment!”
However, his plan is immediately derailed when Komori turns the corner and spots him.
“Well, well, well, you aren’t the twin I was expecting to see.”
Atsumu deflates. But Daisy, wonder dog that she is, picks up his slack and does a cute little dance at Komori’s feet before rolling over. The distraction works wonders.
“And what is my favorite patient doing here,” he asks in a soft voice before crouching down to scratch her belly.
“Motoya, have you seen— what is Daisy doing here?”
Atsumu looks up and nearly bites his tongue. Standing beside the front desk, with a fat Siamese wrapped in a towel tucked beneath his arm, is quite possibly the hottest man he’s ever seen. There’s a black surgical mask covering half his face and black curls fall artfully across half of his forehead. And he’s looking right at Atsumu with what he can only consider confusion.
“You’re not Osamu,” the man says.
This is devolving faster than Atsumu can keep up with. Before he needs to bother making up an excuse, Komori taps him on the shoulder.
“Your bag is leaking.” Is that a smirk on his face? He’s going to kill Osamu.
“Motoya,” the man snaps, “get him into a room. Haru is staying with us, so I’ll get clean scrubs for him after I get her settled.”
There’s a commanding finality to his words that sinks something in Atsumu’s stomach because—
He groans. “That’s Dr Sakusa?”
Komori is definitely smirking. “Please follow me, Mr Miya, and we’ll get you into a room and out of your urine stained clothes.”
“I’m telling Rin that you said Daisy’s your favorite.”
Komori gasps. “Cruel! Daisy is my favorite canine patient but Lin is my favorite feline patient.”
“Why haven’t you told him who I am?” Atsumu asks honestly.
The look on Komori’s face rivals Suna’s when he’s up to no good. “I’m testing something. Best of luck! He’s in a bad mood today!”
Komori slams the door behind him and Atsumu waits with bated breath for the door to open again. This is all starting to feel like a very bad idea.
He jumps when the door opens and one of Sakusa’s brows lifts at the reaction.
“I’ve got a spare pair of scrub pants that should fit you and here’s a trash bag for your current clothes.”
Atsumu’s still at a loss, connecting the man in front of him with the asshole on the phone, but when Sakusa levels him with a flat stare, he can begin to see the resemblance.
“There's a bathroom to the left of the reception desk that should be large enough for you to change comfortably.”
Oh. Duh. He’d just been sitting there and staring. He tries to ignore the flush on his face.
“Right! Thanks!”
He awkwardly grabs the pants, the movement jerky, and hightails it out of the room. The receptionist directs him to the bathroom and he does his best to not fall over in the process of peeling off his urine soaked jeans.
He hesitates outside of the door. Maybe this really was a bad idea. Maybe he should’ve run it by Osamu. Maybe—
“Are you going to stand out there all day?” Sakusa calls and Atsumu flushes again.
He lets himself back into the room and if he thought Sakusa was giving him an unimpressed stare before, the one he’s getting now is downright hostile.
“I have a laundry list of questions for you Mr Miya.”
“Oh I’m sure you do, but I’ve got a bone to pick with you first.”
There’s a flash of shock on Sakusa’s face before it smooths back into feigned boredom. He gestures for Atsumu to carry on.
“I don’t know what I’ve done to you, but you’ve been a real jerk to me. I’ll admit, I don’t know the first thing about running a business, but I’m trying my best. And my best means working alongside you to make sure we don’t have a flood of Petunia’s.”
Sakusa frowns, the wrinkle in his brow pronounced.
“I’ll take it, you're referring to Mira?”
“Is that what her crazy owner used to call her?”
“Yes.”
“No taste. Anyway, she’s part of the reason I’m here. I’d prefer to get to the bottom of what issue you have with me first, but taking care of whatever’s wrong with Tunia takes precedence.”
“Big word for you,” Sakusa murmurs, palpating Petunia on the table.
“That’s what I’m talking about! You’d never say that to another client! You’re picking on me.”
Sakusa chuckles and continues his exam.
“I’ll tell you the same thing I told her owner three days ago: upon physical examination, there’s nothing glaringly wrong with her. She’s extremely young, but there are issues that can present early. I had wanted to check a urine sample but her owner declined any diagnostics.”
Atsumu wrinkles his nose. “You can do that? Just assume you know better than the person who went to medical school?”
Sakusa huffs again. “You can do whatever you want, Mr Miya. At the end of the day, I’m just here for consultation.”
“Call me Atsumu. You already know about the twin thing.”
“Since I’m already on a first name basis with Osamu, I have no trouble differentiating between you two, so I’ll stick with Mr Miya.”
Atsumu has to sit on his hands before he throttles this doctor.
“So?” Sakusa asks him and Atsumu frowns.
“What do you mean, so?”
Sakusa rolls his eyes. “Since I’m presuming you to be this dog’s new owner, I’m asking if you’re interested in pursuing diagnostics.”
“Oh, I’m just holding onto her until I can find a better home.”
Sakusa sighs, something tortured and tired. “Then as her current caretaker, yes or no to testing, Mr Miya?”
Atsumu has to swallow a scream and the urge to tackle the man to the ground. A good noogie would take him down a notch.
“Whatever you think is best, doc. I’ll do it.” He says through his teeth.
“Excellent. I’ll borrow Petunia for a moment to get a sterile sample and then bring her back. If you don’t mind waiting in the lobby, we’re going to need this room to keep appointments moving.”
Atsumu nods and gathers Daisy and his urine soaked pants. He watches Sakusa head in the opposite direction and up a flight of stairs.
He catches the receptionist’s eyes and flushes again, spinning away to take a seat.
“Mr Miya?” She calls out to him and he nearly curses. “I just want to confirm that you’ll be Petunia’s caretaker for the time being? As soon as you rehome her we can update your file to reflect that.”
Atsumu nods and she begins typing, but he’s distracted by the pang in his chest. He can’t keep Petunia. He knows that. But there’s still something about the thought of her being gone that doesn’t sit right with him.
A wet nose touches his hand and he blinks, coming back to himself. Daisy’s head is tilted and she nudges her nose against his hand again. He smiles at her and strokes her ears the way he knows she loves.
“Thanks, Daisy.”
“Mr Miya?” The receptionist calls again.
He looks up and she nods in the direction Sakusa had gone.
“Dr Sakusa asked for you to come upstairs.”
He stands, feeling more than a little uncertain of the situation. But Daisy nearly leads the way, pulling on her leash uncharacteristically.
Sakusa is at the top of the stairs holding the door open, Petunia in his arms. Daisy nearly dislocates his shoulder in her attempts to reach the other man.
He’s led up to what look like offices and Sakusa gestures for him to have a seat.
“I got a sample from her, but I’ll be honest with you, I’d be surprised if it came back with anything of note. Since you’ll be caring for Petunia for the time being, I thought it best to let you know my current plan of action.”
Atsumu nods. “Hit me, doc.”
Sakusa grimaces. “Whether I like it or not, you obviously take good care of Daisy. And Osamu mentioned you’ve both had her since she was around Petunia’s age, which leads me to believe you’re familiar with house training a dog.”
Atsumu snorts and Sakusa glares but continues.
“I’m concerned the issue, if anything, may be that Petunia is suffering from urinary incontinence secondary to a weak bladder sphincter.”
Atsumu frowns. “At the risk of sounding dumb-,”
“Dumber,” Sakusa adds.
Atsumu glares. “I don’t really know what that means, in regards to Tunia or how we would even fix that problem.”
“I don’t expect my clients to know everything. I’ve printed out some handouts on general urinary incontinence and ways it differentiates from poor house breaking. Essentially the biggest difference is if you think Petunia is aware that she’s urinating when you’re seeing these ‘accidents’. So if she’s posturing to urinate versus she’s just laying or even walking and urine is leaking out of her. Does that make sense?”
Unfortunately, it did.
“Yeah, that clears it up. Thanks.”
Sakusa nods, his posture tense. “I’ll send the urine sample out to our lab to ensure that we get the most thorough results. If it comes back normal, the treatment plan I’d like to get Petunia on would be an estrogen supplement. It would be a medication she would have to take daily until we found a dose that stopped the leaking. From there we can slowly decrease the dose until we find the lowest possible amount that still controls her symptoms. This is a condition that can sometimes get better with age, but I’ll caution you that it’s possible she will have to take medication for life.”
Atsumu shrugs. “I mean, that seems like a small price to pay if it’ll make her life better.”
Sakusa’s brows shoot up and his eyes widen. And then he turns his chair to begin typing something on the computer.
“I’ll write down what we’ve discussed in case you have questions and I’m not here. I’ll be in touch tomorrow with the results. The medication is something we can provide here for you, so if it or another treatment is needed, I’ll have it ready for you at the front desk. You can head back down and Yachi will ensure we have all of your information correct.”
Sakusa hands Petunia over carefully, ensuring Atsumu has a good grip on her before he pulls away.
Atsumu feels a little dumbfounded. Was this seriously the same person from the phone?
“Do you need assistance finding your way back downstairs, Mr Miya?”
Scratch that. It’s definitely the same asshole.
Atsumu smiles with teeth and stands.
“I’d say it was a pleasure but it wasn’t. Thanks for taking care of Tunia anyway. Look forward to hearing from you, doc.”