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At first, Waylon thought Miles was kidding. That it was simply a joke or a hypothetical question until he saw the male come walking in with supplies from the local pet store and stacked it all up on the table. He had a massive dog bed sitting in the living room next to the couch and a kennel was shoved in the corner of the kitchen with food bowls set up. A dog pillow was inside the massive kennel that could probably fit a young calf inside it. He had massive bags of dog food and a big plastic crate made for storing it. A leash and collar were already in hand and Miles gave a massive grin at his boyfriend. “What’s all this?” Waylon asked, leaning against the entryway to their bedroom. Their home was a small one bedroom flat which they rented. They were lucky their landlord allowed pets otherwise Miles wouldn’t be doing this but then again, even if it wasn’t allowed, Miles would have still snuck it all in.
“I’m getting a dog and you’re coming with me to pick it out.” Miles announced with confidence like a 8 year old boy off to the pet store with a parent. “There’s a bunch of big dogs at the shelter up for adoption but i can’t decide on my own. Please Way!” Miles added, pressing his palms together as he begged his boyfriend with pleading emerald eyes.
Waylon couldn’t deny that look. Not one bit and Miles knew it as Waylon sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and giving the supplies laid out a second glance. Miles had really thought of everything. He even had guidebooks on how to handle the different stages of a dog’s life and had been reading up on how to train and handle a big dog breed. “Fine. Let me grab my shoes.” He conceded and Miles leapt towards Waylon, throwing his arms around his boyfriend’s shoulders and pulling him into a tight hug.
“Thank you Way Way!” He pecked him in the cheeks, waving the collar and leash around in his excitement before Waylon pried him off to retrieve his shoes, smirking at the brunette. As much as Miles came off as the hard ass neutral, Waylon knew he was a little kid deep down inside and he loved that about the male. Despite what others saw around them.
The ride to the shelter didn’t take very long. Even so, Miles tapped the steering wheel of his beloved jeep impatiently, humming to the music of the radio and staring down the congested city traffic of lunchtime rush hour. It was inevitable but Waylon half expected Miles to get fed up with it and jump out to run the rest of the way on foot just to be able to get the dog of his dreams. In the past they had lived in smaller apartment and living spaces where anything bigger then a goldfish wasn’t allowed. Miles had always talked about how he wanted a dog growing up but city life back in his hometown near DC made it hard to have a pet. Moving to Denver didn’t make it any easier but now that they had a bigger home and Miles wasn’t working all the time like he had been in DC, always going away and traveling, he could spend all the time in the world with his dream puppy. With Waylon now included in the lifelong childhood fantasy.
The shelter was line any other compound in the middle of a city. Always a little too small and a bit over crowded with animals eager to find a home. It broke Waylon’s heart when the lady at the front desk led them back to the kennels. This place was a kill shelter and he knew each of the animals they walked past were running out of time to find a forever home. The shelter was broken up into two portions. One was for felines and one for canine. The cat rooms were big see through glass boxes with kitty toys and towers built inside for the little ones to play with. There was a play room on the other side for interested adopters to meet the felines. But they didn’t stop there. They continued on to the kennels where the dogs were and there were a lot of dogs. They ranged from all sizes and breeds. Old dogs and young dogs. But one consistency was, almost all of them were big dog breeds.
This was a city built of small single to two person apartments. There was no room for big dogs, there weren’t any parks for them to roam in nearby and many of the people here were too busy working to have a big dog to take care of every second of every day. That’s even if their residence allows them. Even more so, a lot of dog breeds, mainly big dog breeds were banned from certain buildings and areas. Which left a lot of pets that people brought with them from out of state when moving to the busy city would be abandoned or dropped off at the shelters because the owners couldn’t keep them which was a shame.
These thoughts didn’t seem to reach miles though as his spirits just ignited into even more excitement as the lady stood nearby watching him make his way up and down the aisles of kennels. “What do you think Way?” Miles asked, glancing over at his boyfriend who the blonde was wandering along behind him. Glancing at all the saddened pups that seemed to know their own demise was quickly approaching.
“Hm? Which one calls out to you the most?” Waylon asked, giving Miles a soft reassuring smile. The brunette bit his bottom lip.
“I kind of want them all.” He grunted and looked around with that childish glint once more.
“Miles, our home isn’t that big. One dog is all we need. Maybe later we can expand our fur-family.” Waylon said in a firmer more parental tone that he often found only came out when Miles was up to mischief or needed some reining back in.
Miles groaned but his lips curved into a slight smile. “Fine. Alright. But I’ll hold you to that statement later on.”
‘I’m sure you will you goofball.’ Waylon thought to himself with a soft chuckle. He followed behind Miles as he looked from kennel to kennel until one caused the brunette to stop in his tracks. Something came over his features that startled Waylon. He thought something was wrong as the male dropped down to his knees in front of the kennel. He rushed over and noticed a strange yellowed eyed dog that was huge and almost wolf-like in appearance. He had traits that were mostly reminiscent of a german shepherd but had fur as black as night with flecks of grey across it’s chest, accenting strange patterns that were almost unnatural. It was obvious it was a mix of other massive dog breeds with perky ears and keen eyes, staring directly at Miles. Waylon could have sworn he saw something connect the two beings together. Like a visible bonding but he may also be overdramatizing the whole experience.
Miles’ lips spread into a grin that his face could hardly contain. He opened the kennel, crouching down at the opening and reaching a hand out to the dog which at first it just sat there staring him down and Waylon was a little nervous. It almost seemed like it was contemplating eating him. He was about to open his mouth to speak when the dog suddenly pounced on his boyfriend, tackling him to the ground in one bound. The lady at the end of the kennels shrieked and started running towards them and Waylon stood frozen until he heard Miles’ laughter. The dog had it’s jaws near his throat but he wasn’t biting him, instead the massive black beast was covering him in saliva and tongue kisses. Miles was a fit of laughter and squeals of excitement. “I want this one!” Miles blurted while the lady behind Waylon recovered from her momentary heart attack. Waylon was still shocked by the whole experience and felt like he lost a few years of his life as Miles sat up and the massive dog sat in his lap, licking his neck and face still. He adjusted the collar to fit and looped it around the canine’s neck. The leash latched onto the D ring already.
“What are you going to name him?” Waylon asked, standing next to his boyfriend as he ruffled up the layers of thick black fur on the hounds body. The beast’s large yellow eyes practically glowed but it’s massive maw was open with a happy grin and soft panting. It’s big thick tail thumping loudly against the side of Miles’ pant leg.
“Hm, I think….Walrider.” Miles beamed up at Waylon.
“What kind of name is-” The lady behind Waylon started to speak but he folded his arms and shot her a look that silenced her. “Okay, Walrider it is. I’ll draw up the paperwork and you two- er three can be on your way.” She explained, turning on heel and heading back to the front.
Waylon watched as Miles was completely absorbed in the dog. “Just wait Walrider, you’ll love it at our house. We can go on car rides in the jeep all the time. Go for walks. Go hiking and just cause mischief.”
“Cause mischief is right.” Waylon quipped playfully. “Now I’ve got two trouble makers to deal with.”
“Oh, come on. You love it.” Miles teased, his emerald eyes turned up to Waylon.
He leaned down to his boyfriend, stealing a chaste kiss from his lips and then shuddering as he wiped at his mouth. “Yuck! You’re covered in dog slobber.” He cringed and shook his head, resigning himself to ruffle the brunette hair to fluff it up. The massive black dog nudged his hand, asking for attention as well. Waylon smiled, smoothing back the previously ruffled black fur and scratching behind his ears drawing a pleased groan from the beast of a hound. “Come on you two. Time to head home.” Waylon smirked, gesturing for the dog to move aside. Miles gave Walrider a light push and took Waylon’s offered hand to pull himself to his feet. His free hand gripping the end of the leash still as they made their way towards the entrance.