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The Chase Space needed a pet.
Magnus thought working at the shelter had been great so far, but with each passing day it became clearer and clearer there was something missing.
It started when Magnus overheard Alex comforting a young teen in the kitchen. The kid had said something along the lines of, “The only reason I would want to go back to that house is because my dog and cats are there. I miss them.”
Alex seemed to sense Magnus’ presence at the edge of the kitchen and she glanced up at him. Magnus could tell she didn’t want to interrupt this pseudo-therapy session with a side conversation, so he only quirked an eyebrow to ask what she wanted. Alex’s silent message passed between them: Would it be in the realm of possibility to get a pet?
To which Magnus’ response was an eloquent shrug as he made his way to the fridge. The topic was dropped in favor of Magnus calling out to the whole house, “Anyone who wants pizza can come down in twenty!”
Then he cringed because he had accidentally yelled. They tried not to do that here, considering how many people had come fresh out of abusive households and traumatic backgrounds.
This reminder must have caused the teen at the table to remember something they had to do before lunch, because they waved and scurried away back up a flight of stairs to their temporary room.
Alex raised an eyebrow at Magnus. “Frozen pizza? From a box?”
Magnus went red and turned to fiddle with the preheat settings. “I don’t see you jumping in to prepare a gourmet dish.”
“Because I’m too busy doing important things.”
“You spent three hours today alphabetizing every book in the mansion.”
“Mm,” Alex mused, scooting out of her chair and lazily moseying over to join him by the stove. “My point precisely.”
She leaned against the counter opposite him, and no, Magnus’ breath did not hitch when she flicked her emerald hair out of her eyes, thanks for asking.
“What kind of pizza?” She turned over the box on the counter to see the picture. “Cheese. Adventurous.”
“It's all they had,” Magnus said, quietly indignant.
“Blitz and Hearth would be appalled.”
Magnus smirked, nodding. “They'd probably come up with something so elaborate it barely resembles a pizza anymore.”
Alex rewarded him with a sly smile that made his heart do a flip. “But until they get back, I guess we’re stuck with WonderChef Chase, huh?”
“That's me.” Magnus went red and started to get out place settings for those that wanted to come and sit at the table, as well as extra napkins for those who would take their meals in their rooms. The shelter was new and big enough that everyone so far had been able to have their own room, which was really special to Magnus. As he fished out the Parmesan cheese from the back of the fridge, he smiled and said, “I used to absolutely drown my pizza in Parmesan. I was so used to it that by the time I was homeless and couldn't get it anymore, I didn't even recognize the taste without it. It was like a different food altogether.” He paused. Blinked. He hadn't meant to say all that. Instead of letting Alex respond, he quickly asked, “Do you want any? I can put it on your plate for later.”
Alex didn't respond. She just stared at the floor pensively, her arms crossed. After a second, she said, “We’re doing a good thing here, Magnus.”
“Oh.” Magnus closed the fridge. “Yeah. We are.” A small smile formed on his face.
Alex looked up again, smiling conspiratorially in a way that made Magnus yearn to be in on the secret. She continued, “And you know what would make it even gooder?”
A number of things zoomed through Magnus’ head, but he thought it best not to mention any of them. “What?” he asked. “Is that even a word?”
Alex ignored him and grinned. “If we had a dog.”
-
The sunset cast a serene reddish hue on the main living room through one of the wall-length windows that lined the place. The light caught Alex’s amber-and-brown eyes, making him look almost supernaturally beautiful. Magnus went quiet for a second, distracted from their conversation by the rosy glow washing over Alex, making him forget what they were arguing about.
Alex didn't let it last long. He raised his eyebrows and snapped in Magnus’ face. “Hello? You were about to try and tell me why a cat could ever possibly be better than a dog for the shelter. Which I doubt you can do, because obviously a shelter dog is better than a shelter cat.”
Magnus blinked to reorient himself in reality. “Oh. I mean, I guess I just like cats way better than dogs.”
“That's it? Yeah, we’re getting a dog.”
The parts of Magnus’ brain that always needed to impress Alex Fierro (which were most parts) kicked into gear. He continued, “And a dog would always be in the way. It would jump on kids, plus people who are scared of dogs wouldn't be able to stay.”
“But a cat does no one any good! They just hide in the corner and sit around hating people.”
“To be fair, that’s all you do, too.”
Alex threw a throw pillow at him from the couch they were sitting on, thankfully not at full strength. Magnus laughed. Perhaps this is why they called them throw pillows. Alex said, “I’m not giving in, you know.”
Magnus sighed. “How about we just go to a shelter and decide there?”
“By which you mean, how about we go and decide on a dog there, right?”
Magnus gave him a long look. “No, I don’t mean that. C’mon, we can check it out tomorrow.”
“I’ll have to see if I have plans.”
“You don’t.”
Alex raised his eyebrows. “How do you know?”
“Alex, I live with you. I know you. You don’t do anything on Tuesdays except that glazing workshop at eight.”
Alex narrowed his eyes. “...Fine. We can go to the shelter and you can see up close why we definitely need a dog.”
“Mmhm. Sure.”
“Noon tomorrow, okay? Alright, that said, I’m going to go finish that vase.”
“Bye,” Magnus said, leaning over to see if he could score a goodbye kiss.
Alex leaned away sharply. “Oh, no. You don’t get kisses until we get that dog.” He stood up and left for their makeshift pottery studio upstairs, Magnus’ eyes clinging to his green jeans for just a moment too long.
Oh man. They were going to have to get a dog, weren't they?
-
Animal shelters looked cleaner in commercials.
Magnus resisted the urge to plug his nose as Alex slumped beside him in the doorway. She had slept through her alarm and was still fighting to keep her eyes open. One could describe her scrunched-up sleepy face and rapidly fluttering eyelids as adorable - Magnus certainly wasn’t saying that, but he supposed one could make that assessment.
“Are you sure you’re awake enough to do this?” Magnus asked.
“Just find me some dogs to play with. I’ll wake up.”
Magnus tried not to look too grossly in love as he shook his head at her, leading her by the hand to the front counter.
According to the people working there, there were tons of both cats and dogs in the shelter that day. Upon hearing that, Magnus and Alex glared at each other, both silently saying, Hear that? They have the correct animal as well as yours.
They went to the dog room first, because Alex gave Magnus a little kiss on the cheek to bribe him and Magnus apparently turned into a pushover under those conditions. As they wandered past a door with a bone on it, they came into a large kennel with at least twenty dogs barking at the top of their lungs. Magnus was repelled. Alex lit up, sleepiness forgotten, and immediately ran to the dogs. Magnus mourned the loss of her hand in his.
Fifteen minutes later, Alex had personally greeted each dog and found out all of their names. She returned to Magnus, who had been standing outside the room where it was quiet, and urged him to come back inside.
“I've narrowed it down to three that could be good fits for the shelter.”
“Meaning good fits for you.”
“For the shelter. Come on.” She grabbed his hand again to drag him along, so Magnus decided maybe this wasn’t all bad. She brought him alongside three different adjoining kennels and flourished her arms like viola.
Oh no. One of the flea monsters was actually adorable.
A medium-sized dog looked up at Magnus quietly and obediently, its eyes blinking in pure innocence. Immediately Magnus pointed to that one and said, “If you’re going to inflict a barking mess upon our shelter, I require it be that one.”
Alex snorted. “Of course you go for the golden retriever. Of course.”
“Is that what it’s called?”
Maybe that wasn’t a good thing to say. It earned him a look like he was from Mars. “You don’t know what a golden retriever looks like?”
Magnus shrugged, being the poetic person he was.
Alex looked around to no one with an expression of pure Do you see what I put up with?
“Okay,” Magnus said, shifting uncomfortably. “Well, I’m not saying yes to it, I’m just saying if we did go down the inferior-slobbery-animal route, I would allow this one in my home. But that doesn’t mean you’re not about to fall in love with a beautiful, quiet, neat cat in the next room over, so no guarantees.”
“Hm,” Alex mused, smiling. He could tell she thought she’d won. The thought annoyed Magnus.
“Let’s go see some cats,” he grumbled.
When they got inside a room marked with a ball of yarn, Alex crossed her arms. “Ooh, look. Cats,” she deadpanned.
The cat room was bigger. It smelled nicer. It wasn’t crazy loud. How was Alex not seeing this?
Magnus smiled and visited all the cats in their kennels, pointing excitedly at one black kitten that had come up to the bars of the cage and attempted to paw at Magnus’ face. Magnus gaped and turned to his girlfriend. “ALEX. Are you seeing this, Alex. He loves me!”
Magnus was expecting Alex’s expression to be stone-cold, so he was surprised to see the corners of her mouth reluctantly turning up. There was hope.
He went full steam ahead. “Look at its little paws! It’s so tiny!” He checked the name tag on the side of the kennel. “He’s called - wait. Garbage Bag?”
A volunteer at the corner of the room looked up from their paperwork and laughed. “Oh, we just do that so we don’t get too attached. You’re supposed to rename them.” They turned back to their work.
"How did you know its gender?" Alex asked Magnus.
"Well, animals have no concept of gender, but the name tag had a blue sticker for boy so I went with that."
There was that sly smile again. "That was a test. You passed."
"I'm learning well."
"You have a good teacher."
"Ha."
Alex shifted her weight. "Plus, Garbage Bag is a pretty male name if you ask me."
Magnus laughed. "Was that a men-are-garbage joke? You're a guy half the time, might I remind you."
"My point stands."
Magnus snorted.
Alex focused back on the kitten, smirking. “I dunno about renaming him. I kinda like the idea of having Garbage Bag the Cat.”
Magnus’ eyes widened. “Will you let us get a cat if his name is Garbage Bag?”
She raised her eyebrows. “You really are desperate, huh?”
“Very.”
Alex tapped her foot on the ground, humming contemplatively. “I’m sorry, I still won’t give up a dog to get a cat.”
“And I won’t give up a cat to get a dog.”
Another staredown, albeit this time less vicious. It seemed both of them had softened on their views a bit. (At least, that’s what Magnus prayed Alex’s expression meant.)
Very slowly, Alex said, “I think we may have to reach…” She took a breath as if the next part was physically painful. “... a… compromise.” She cringed.
Magnus was speechless. “I don’t know if I’ve ever heard you say that.”
She uncrossed her arms and crossed them again. “Yeah? Well, savor it. It’s only because you usually would have folded by now. I guess this must be serious for you.”
Magnus thought of protesting, but she was right. He usually let Alex win the smaller arguments. But this was important.
Alex suggested, “Let’s go back and see that golden retriever. Get her beautiful, highly adoptable image fresher in your mind. Then we can talk.”
“Alright. As long as you take a long, hard look at this beautiful kitten and let him hold your hand.”
The volunteer piped up from the corner again, “Actually, please don’t touch them. Some of them haven’t been vaccinated yet.”
Magnus corrected himself, “As long as you take a long look at this bundle of joy and heaven on Earth while staying a respectful distance away.”
“I agree to your terms.”
Alex approached Garbage Bag and leaned in close to the cage. The kitten jumped around in circles and pounced on its own tail. Magnus gleefully watched Alex become more and more visibly in love with this kitten.
“And we wouldn't have to do any work to take care of him besides feeding and stuff.” Magnus said. “And Garbage Bag here wouldn't even shed because he's a shorthair.”
“Cool.” Alex said in what was probably supposed to be an apathetic voice, but instead teetered on joy. Magnus had known the cute kitten would wear her down. Personally, he was looking forward to having an actual grown-up cat. They were mellow and were good companions around the house. Kittens were cute, but they were a whole thing.
Alex turned away from the kitten, unsuccessfully trying to hide the hearts in her eyes. Magnus dared to dream of a world where he actually owned a cat with his girlfriend and did not have to deal with a tail-wagging beast.
They visited the dog room again. You know, that golden retriever really was great, as far as dogs went.
Alex checked the nametag. “Her name is… Sandy. Huh. Guess only the cats get weird names. Fitting.”
Magnus would have glared, but there was no bite behind her words now. Magnus hoped she’d seen the light even a little bit regarding nature’s best house animal.
Alex checked Magnus’ face as if she were gauging his reaction. For the first time during all this, she didn’t seem perfectly solid in her marketing ploy. “We wouldn't have to keep the name,” she said, kneeling down on the ground to look the dog in the eye. “We could name her whatever we want.” She looked up at him pleadingly.
“Sandy,” Magnus repeated. “Wasn't that also the dog in Annie?”
Alex nodded and smiled at the dog, waving as if it would understand human greeting patterns. “Oh, yeah. It's Sandy that she sings 'The Sun’ll Come Out Tomorrow' with.”
“Hm.”
“And what better dog for a shelter than one who would remind us all to have hope?” Alex finished, saying exactly what Magnus was thinking.
Magnus went silent.
After a moment, Alex pointed to Sandy's info sheet and said, “She came from an abusive home, Magnus.” Ooh. Too real for Alex. “We could make the rest of her life something wonderful instead of letting her rot in this prison.” There was genuine emotion in her eyes. Magnus knew a nerve had been struck.
Unable to move, Magnus managed, “That's really sad.”
“That kitten will be adopted soon for being little and cute. This dog needs us. We are its family, Magnus.”
Another volunteer chimed in, “Actually, black cats get adopted at a much lower rate than their colorful counterparts. Garbage Bag is likely to spend his whole life here.” They turned away to their work again. Did these people listen to everything a guy said around here?
The black kitten felt like a part of their family, too. It was supposed to go home with them. With that information in check, Magnus had an idea. A very obvious one, but an idea nonetheless.
Magnus called over to the volunteer, “How is Sandy around other animals? Like cats?”
“Oh, she's great. She's already a few years old, and she likely lived with cats before this, so she's really calm with them.”
“Are there any…” Magnus eyed Alex, who seemed to be holding on to his every word. “...Buy one, get one free situations?”
He shrugged at Alex, who was nodding emphatically.
A laugh. “No, unfortunately. You'd only have to fill out one set of paperwork, though. Can I help you with anything?”
Magnus met eyes with Alex. She gave one final, decisive nod and it was decided.
“I think we're looking to adopt,” he said.
-
Two long hours of paperwork later (where Alex spent most of the time doodling on actual legal documents), they walked out of the animal rescue as happy pet owners. Alex held Sandy, who kept licking Magnus’s knees, on a leash. And honestly, the pure happiness in Alex’s eyes to have this dog made it all worth it to Magnus. He would of course give this dog all the love in the world, but he was still overjoyed to have the cat, too. He held up Garbage Bag’s cat carrier and smiled past the air holes. Alex loved the cat, he could tell. She just had to have more time to realize it.
Once the car was all packed up, new pets loaded in the back seat, Alex leaned over from the passenger seat and graced Magnus with a long kiss.
She laughed at what must have been an amusing expression of his. “What?” she asked, smirking. “No kisses until we get a dog. I keep my promises, don't I?”
Magnus smiled back stupidly. “I love our new animals,” he said.
“And I love -” she cut herself off, embarrassed. “Uh, my dog. She's the best.”
“Our dog,” Magnus corrected. He turned to the backseat and finger-gunned at Sandy. He needed the dog to think he was cool. This was important.
Alex sighed, gazing wistfully at the carrier containing the kitten. “And our cat. He’s great.”
“Are we going to rename him?”
“We’ll see. Garbage Bag the Cat still amuses me.”
“Me too. Maybe he can have lots of nicknames instead. Like a name-of-the-day.”
“Maybe,” Alex mused.
The ride back consisted of Alex being constantly turned around in her seat way more than was safe to play with Sandy and wave to Garbage Bag, while Magnus checked his rearview mirror way more than was safe to watch her.
-
The pets were perfect for the house.
Sandy was quiet and therapeutic when residents needed a calm presence or just a dog friend, but she also played with people whenever she could. She loved frisbees and fetching and fetching frisbees, and often carried her favorite frisbee around like a toy. The mansion’s huge estate let her run around to her heart’s content outside, much more than she could have in Magnus’ old apartment or even Hotel Valhalla. Often when she walked into a group setting, at least one person would unconsciously start humming “The Sun’ll Come Out Tomorrow”.
Garbage Bag never got a new name. Instead, people would choose a random person name or common noun when referring to him and everyone else would figure it out through context. Popular options were Jeremy, Coat Rack, and Weird Small Dog. Hearth just used the sign for cat.
Blitz and Hearth fell in love with both animals. Hearth particularly loved Paper Clip, while Sandy would accompany Blitz during long nights of sewing and scribbling designs. Sandy would even desert Alex’s room some nights to sleep in Blitz and Hearth’s bed instead, much to Alex’s and Hearth’s chagrin and Blitz’s delight.
After some time had passed and everything had settled one lazy afternoon, Magnus and Alex sat on one of the out-of-the-way couches, half-curled up together as they read separate books. Sandy lay across Magnus’ lap while Alex scratched Tax Deductions behind the ears.
Magnus looked up from his book and smiled. “You have my cat.”
Alex barely looked up. “No, you have my dog.”
“You got chocolate in my peanut butter,” Magnus joked.
Alex kept her attention on her book, still good-naturedly responding without really listening. She finished, “And you got peanut butter on my chocolate." She paused and actually looked up at him. “I’m glad we got both.”
“Me too,” Magnus said.
“Makes this place feel like home.”
The corner of Magnus’ mouth twitched. Alex being genuine was always an event to be appreciated. He leaned over, scooting even closer to her, and nodded. “Yeah.” After a moment of deliberation, Magnus leaned in and kissed her. Just because he could. She smiled into it and brought up her hand to cup his jaw.
When he pulled away, she kept her hand there and met his eyes. “Guess what?”
His stomach fluttered. “What?”
“You're cute. That's what.” Then she smirked and turned back to her book.
Magnus didn’t start reading again right away. He couldn’t even focus on the words. He was about as red as one of the fire trucks Sandy tried to chase on the regular now.
Yeah, he thought.
The pets were a good idea.