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Li Huan zipped his jacket up a bit more to keep out the cold air. He wouldn’t have come out wearing shorts if he knew it would get this chilly. But he didn’t, and he was sincerely regretting that right about now.
He continued to walk until he came across a box lying in the middle of the sidewalk. He stared at it blankly, wondering why someone would just throw a box in that specific location when there was a dumpster right beside it. He leaned down to look inside, wondering if it was full of clothes or other various items, but was shocked to see a tiny black and white spotted puppy. He looked a little closer, fearing the puppy might have been injured or even dead because of the weather.
Li Huan slowly moved his hand inside the box to poke the still animal. When the puppy squirmed and whimpered, Li Huan felt the weight in his stomach lift a little. But he still wondered, where was the owner of the puppy? If it even had one.
The puppy’s eyes opened slightly, and its tail began to wag. Almost instantly, it stood up on all four legs, shaking off the dirt that was blown on into the box. The puppy barked, but not in a defensive way, more excited than protective. Li Huan found himself picking up the little stray, checking to see what gender it was: female. The man smiled at the puppy.
“Are you hungry?” Li Huan asked her, to which she replied with a little bark. “Hmm… want to go home with me?” She barked again, her tail wagging even faster than before.
Li Huan didn’t think twice about pulling her close to his chest and walking off with her. He still didn’t know if she belonged to anyone, but frankly, he could care less. All he knew, was he wanted to take care of her, like the responsible person he was.
On his way home, he stopped by a small convenience store that just so happened to sell dog food and bought a medium-sized bag for the puppy. He paid for the item and left as quickly as he could, not wanting the puppy to wander off while he was in the store buying her something to eat.
Once he stepped through the front door of his and his lovers home, he set the puppy down onto the floor as he retrieved two small bowls; one for the food, the other for water. He watched in astonishment as the small puppy gobbled all the food down and drank all of the water.
Soon after the puppy was full enough, she began to yawn. Li Huan was just about to put her in the bed to get some sleep, but he noticed that she didn’t exactly smell fresh. If Yu Yang came home to smell something pungent, he’d for sure find out about the puppy. Li Huan wasn’t quite ready to confront his lover about him finding a stray and bringing it home.
The tall man carried the puppy to the kitchen, preparing a nice little bath in the sink for her. He set the puppy in the sink, surprised at how calm she was. She shivered a little when Li Huan sprayed her down with water, rinsing out her fur. After getting her a bit wet, he poured a decent amount of Dawn dish liquid into the palm of his hand, smoothing it over the puppy’s back. He spread the soap around, getting into all the creases and crevices. He was absolutely careful and cautious when it came time to wash her scalp and behind her ears, not wanting the soap to get into her eyes or water to get into her ears.
Li Huan sighed as he rinsed off the puppy, all the suds draining down the sink. He grabbed a dish towel and dried off the small, damp creature as much as he could before setting her down onto the floor. Everything was fine… until she began to run around, jumping on furniture and squirming around, shaking her entire body to dry it off. Li Huan now started to panic.
“No!” He hissed and rushed over to the small puppy, who was rolling around on their light brown sofa. He lifted the puppy, sighing when he saw the wet splotches on the couch. “Yu Yang’s going to kill me for this.” The puppy whined, its tail tucking between her legs. Li Huan only smiled, petting the funny-looking animal. He made sure to wrap her up securely before he lied down with her on the bed.
The sky was beginning to darken, the sun now set. He didn’t know what time it was exactly and how much longer it would take Yu Yang to come back, but before he could even check the time on his phone, his eyes shut, breath steadying. He was already fast asleep when the front door suddenly opened.
•❅──────✧❅✯❅✧──────❅•
Yu Yang was tired after the long ride home. His mother had fallen ill and demanded to speak with him in person. It turned out, she had collapsed due to loads of stress. She was worried about Yu Yang, per usual. Yu Yang didn’t understand why she had to constantly worry about him. He was an adult now, he could take care of himself perfectly fine!
The brunette sighed as he twisted the doorknob to his house, pushing open the door. Once inside, he furrowed his eyebrows at the two bowls sitting on the floor. Then, he noticed the small trail of water, leading in all sorts of directions.
His first initial thought was an intruder, but what intruder has paws?! Yu Yang squinted at the little paw prints on the couch. There was only one way a dog could have gotten in…
“Li Huan!” Yu Yang called out, an ominous grin on his face. He set his bag on the sofa before stomping his way up the stairs to find the said man. “I know you’re-” Yu Yang stopped mid-sentence to see Li Huan and a small ball of fluff, cuddling close together. Yu Yang’s heart throbbed at the adorable sight. “Motherfucker…” He placed his hands on his hips.
•❅──────✧❅✯❅✧──────❅•
Li Huan’s eyes fluttered open to a frowning Yu Yang. As he was about to ask him what was wrong, he suddenly remembered… the puppy. Li Huan shot up in bed, waving his hands, frantically, trying to find an excuse. “I can explain. I was coming home-”
“It’s fine,” Yu Yang sighed, sitting down on the bed. “What did you name him?”
Li Huan looked down at the sleeping puppy and frowned. “I haven’t named her yet. I didn’t think you’d let me keep her…”
Yu Yang stared at the black and white spotted pup, a small smile growing on his face. He hadn’t had a pet ever since Dong Dong. Having a new puppy around didn’t seem too bad. “Pick a name.”
Li Huan studied the puppy’s features, before coming up with a name that could well-describe her, “Měilì.”
“Měilì?” Yu Yang asked. “Měilì… I like it.”
Li Huan felt his lips curl into a smile. “We can keep her?”
“We can keep her.”