Work Text:
They were happy. Living Below the Line was maybe not as comfortable as Above the Line but in return no computer algorithm dictated who they had to live with, what they had to eat, and watch. They were free.
The little house they had bought was perfect. Cozy and homey, unlike most homes Above that looked more like arthouse pieces then homes. They had nice neighbours, and if they were really honest with themselves they never really had wanted to leave Below anyway.
Burt had spent more than thirty-five years Below and fit in right away while Stu needed longer to get used to it again.
Even when they were living Below his parents had spoiled and sheltered him, he was still a child after all. He had never lived through any of the horror stories the people Above were telling each other. Most likely because they weren’t true anyway.
When they moved Above he was only 18 and took to the comforts of that society quickly, suppressing all the hardships and mundane tasks from Below. Burt was still laughing about his first attempt at doing laundry a couple of weeks after they had moved in, but he also wore the slightly too small and decidedly patchy coloured blue sweater vest like a trophy around the house, to Stu’s chagrin.
Stu had quit his job above the line and quickly found a new one in an office Below where a vacancy had recently opened up. The interview for it went really well, but the boss seemed a bit reluctant about hiring someone who was from Above the Line and had asked some odd questions, like if Stu was breeding worms for soil aeration.
Despite being at an age were retirement was clearly an option Burt requested to be transferred back to his old job Below and worked at the car dealer as a part-time salesman again. They didn’t really need the money, as both of them had more than enough, he just didn’t want to be at home all day playing house husband plus, he just loved cars.
Life was good to them though, and they didn’t complain about all the missing conveniences as long as it meant they had each other.
“You know what I really miss from above the line?” Stu said one morning while he was buttering toast. He sounded causal but Burt didn’t miss the slight wistful undertone in his voice.
He looked up from his traditional newspaper, made from actual paper, as Stu continued: “OhPeeh. He was such a good dog even if he was just digital.”
“We could visit him if you like?” Burt suggested, as he put the newspaper down to see to look properly at Stu.
“Nah,” Stu mumbled and took a bite from his toast. “He texted me that he found a new family. He’s happy.”
He sighed as he chewed, almost melancholily, on his toast.
“Oh.” Burt said, slightly disappointed too. “That’s great for him.”
Stu nodded in agreement. His gaze fell on Burt’s wristwatch, Burt had taken to wearing it again since they moved, and frowned. He reached over and turned it a bit to see it better before shouting: “Oh, shit. I’m late! I’ve got to go!”
With that he dropped the toast back on the plate and jumped up from his chair, almost toppling it over, and rushed out of the kitchen. Only to return seconds later to grab the toast and stop in front of Burt.
“I’ll see you tonight.”
He pressed a quick kiss on Burt’s lips and wanted to rush off again but Burt put his arm around Stu’s hips and held him in place. Stu looked at him confused.
“Have a great day,” Burt said, then he pulled him down for a proper kiss.
Stu was grinning brightly as they separated again. Then he was off again, though he only made it to the kitchen door before Burt called him back.
“Your lunch is on the counter, egg white.”
With a nod Stu rushed over and grabbed the box before he was finally out the door.
~*~
Even without all the obligations from Above the Line time passed by equally fast Below too, and the weekend arrived quickly for them. Stu liked to sleep in on the weekend while Burt still woke up with the first rays of the sun after years and years of getting up at the break of dawn. Though, he was getting the hang of staying in bed longer. Especially because Stu turned into a real snuggle bug when he was still more asleep then awake, and Burt enjoyed immensely to have Stu wrapped around him.
Nevertheless, Burt was already on his second coffee and halfway through the newspaper when Stu shuffled into the kitchen. His hair was getting longer and stuck out in odd angles partly from sleep and partly because of the nights activities. An image of Stu’s flushed face, eyes closed, mouth hanging open with Burt’s hand tugging in his hair, briefly flashed before the older man's eyes while his gaze roamed over Stu from head to toe.
Stu hadn't even dressed yet and just had slipped on a pair of boxer briefs and a t-shirt they had left on the bedroom floor the night before. The plain grey t-shirt was clearly not his as the collar almost slipped off his right shoulder but the boxer briefs fit snugly, highlighting all the important parts, even so the pattern of cartoon dogs was slightly distracting.
Burt grinned into his coffee mug as he was taking a sip when he saw that Stu didn’t even notice his look. He had stopped in the kitchen door and yawned heartily, stretching his right arm above his head while he scratched his ribs with his left hand, pulling the shirt up and revealing part of his stomach and the dark patch of hair that vanished below the waistband of the briefs.
“Rough night?” Burt asked amused, startling Stu slightly.
“You tell me, you were there after all,” he teased with a smirk as he walked to the table.
He stopped next to Burt and gave him a kiss, his stomach rumbling loudly at the same time.
“Go, take a seat,” Burt said with a huffed laugh as they pulled apart again.
Obediently Stu sat down and grabbed the coffee pot to fill his mug with the dark brew while Burt got up and went to the counter.
“I made omelettes,” he said as he tinkered around, creating kitchen noises. Stu was busying himself with adding milk and sugar to his coffee and stirring it in as another yawn escaped his lips.
“Egg white omelettes with bacon and toast, and the egg yolks fried on the side,” he explained like a chef as he sat the two plates on the table in front of Stu with a wink.
“You’re the best!” Stu said delighted, his eyes sparkling with joy as he grabbed the fork and knife. Burt brushed a hand across his husband’s back as he turned and went back to the counter to fetch his own plates.
He sat down in his usual spot again but didn’t start eating right away as he watched Stu tuck in with a smile and a tender look. The younger one closed his eyes in bliss at the first bite and let out a moan not unlike the ones he usually reserved for their lovemaking.
“It’s perfect!” Stu said with a hint of awe in his voice. “Another reason why I love you!”
Burt only chuckled, amused about Stu’s antics. They ate egg white omelettes every weekend since Al had moved to Irmingblam and gave up the diner, nevertheless Stu never failed to be excited about it.
“What are the plans for today?” Stu asked when he was halfway through the omelette and the first hunger was sated.
“You’ll see,” Burt said ominously and when he saw Stu’s confused face, he added, “It’s a surprise.”
“You’re making me curious. Are we leaving the house or are we staying in so I don’t have to bother to get dressed?”
“We’re going out so you should dress,” Burt said and added as an afterthought, “Unfortunately.”
An hour later they stood in front of their car, a Volkswagen Jetta. Burt had gotten it the moment he had started working at the car dealer Below the Line again. He was very relieved that he got rid of the atrocity Above called car even if it was just a rental.
“Where are we going?” Stu tried again as Burt started the car.
“Ssh… just wait,” Burt quieted him, causing Stu to frown.
“You really know how to raise the anticipation.”
Burt laughed heartily and petted Stu’s thigh.
They fell quiet then as Burt concentrated on driving and Stu watched the scenery pass by. Below was, compared to Above, dirty and run down still it had it’s charm.
They almost drove down to Stu’s old neighborhood in Hallubeck Heights and he started to worry that Burt had found some old friends of his, but then they took a sharp left turn to Ooscar and soon after they stopped in front of a big iron gate.
“A pet shelter?” Stu asked surprised as they got out of the car and he could read the sign above the smaller entrance door that was build into the gate. They could hear dogs barking in the distance. “Why?”
Burt shrugged as he walked over to him and held out his hand. Stu took it easily and let himself be led to the door.
“I know that you miss Ohpeeh,” he begun, “and I’ve seen your look whenever you see a dog on the street. So I thought we should get one.”
“You want to adopt a dog?” Stu asked, even more surprised while Burt opened the door for him and urged him through. The barking intensified the moment the door was open.
“Why not?” Burt asked in return.
Stu just looked at him speechless and Burt chuckled lightly. He took his hand again.
“Come on,” he said as he started to walk again. “You can choose one.”
There was a small office building, more like a overseas shipping container, on the other end of the dusty yard and they quickly walked over to it.
A bell chimed above the door as they entered and an elderly lady looked up from a computer as they stepped in.
There was a basket in a corner and two small black and white dogs laid curled together in it. They looked up when the two men entered and wagged their tails but didn’t leave their place.
On the desk, next to the keyboard was a cat, she just yawned and curled in on herself some more, ignoring them completely.
“Hello, how can I help you?” the woman asked cheerfully. Her friendly eyes sparkled brightly behind halfmoon shaped glasses.
“Hello,” Burt said with a smile as he walked up to the desk, pulling Stu along. “My husband and I would like to adopt a dog.”
“Oh, that’s great!” the woman chirped. “Please, have a seat!” She pointed towards a pair of chairs in front of the desk. “I’m Angelica.”
She held her hand out to Burt.
“Burt Maxsome,” he introduced himself as he shook her hand. Stu did the same before they sat down.
“Is it your first time?” She asked and both Maxsome’s nodded. “Ok, I know how exciting this is and I’ll help you through.
I’ll asked some questions first to make a rough selection of who would fit best with you. Then we go and look at the candidates and if someone catches your eyes you can go on a walk to see how it works out. After that we will do all the paperwork.”
“Sounds good,” Burt agreed with a smile toward Stu who nodded along still a bit overwhelmed by the surprise.
“Great!” Angelica smiled at them. “Will it be your first dog?”
“Well, we briefly had a Happy Happy Digi Digi Pet Pet,” Burt said.
“His name was Ohpeeh,” Stu added helpful as the woman just stared blankly at them.
“Okay…,” she finally said, drawing out the word. “I’ll take that as no then.”
She noted it down on a sheet before she continued to ask about their living conditions and jobs to see how much space and time they had for a dog.
It took them half an hour to answer all her questions. She was very thorough, working to find the perfect fit.
“I’ll put the best candidates into our welcome paddock and then we’re going to see which one would like to go home with you,” she said as she got up from her chair.
Immediately the little dogs jumped out of their basket and rushed to the door, barking happily.
“Awww, you cutie-pooties,” she fawned. Her voice higher than before. She bent down and the dogs started to lick her face. “Aww, mommy loves you too.”
Burt and Stu just shared a look.
“You want to help your mommy? Yes, you do! Aw, my lovelies, common, mommy will take you along.”
She opened the door and the dogs dashed out immediately.
“Please, follow me,” she said unfazed at what just occurred as she turned back to Stu and Burt.
She gave them a smile as she let them pass by her before locking the door behind herself. Inside the cat yawned and rolled onto her back.
Angelica lead them over to a fenced field. It was shaded by trees, in the back was a small agility obstacle course and toys were littered everywhere.
“Please, wait here. I’ll fetch the dogs,” she said.
She turned and left. The dogs were running around her feet excited as she walked away.
“Do you already have an idea of what you want?” Burt asked. He wrapped an arm around Stu and pulled him close.
“No, not at all,” the smaller man said. He leaned into Burt and brushed a hand absently over Burt’s stomach. “Let’s just see which one fits us best.”
They had to wait almost fifteen minutes till Angelica came back. She had six dogs on leashes that dragged her more or less to the paddock, while her little dogs tried to nibble at her heels happily, almost tripping her up.
“Oh, you little rascals!” she laughed, pushing them away with a hand as she stopped by the gate leading into the paddock.
The shelter dogs all went in different directions, sniffing around and tangling up the leashes while she fumbled the key out of her pocket. One or two of the dogs looked towards the men standing there but they weren’t interesting enough apparently.
When the door was finally open Angelica released the dogs from their leashes and they immediately ran off on the field.
“We’ll let them work off a little bit of that energy first,” she suggested as she closed the door behind them, “and you can take a first look at them.”
The dogs were all different. There were two small lively ones. One light brown, almost golden, with longish fur and short legs, the ears were pointy and upright with tufts of lighter fur on the base. The tail was fluffy and curled over his back. The other one was a darker brown with black highlights and shorter fur. His legs were longer but he wasn’t taller then his buddy. They rolled around in the grass together without a care for the bystanders.
A big fluffy dog with curly grey and white fur was making his round, sniffing the trees and leaving his mark here and there. He was followed by a chocolate coloured chihuahua who sniffed every spot too.
A mid sized mutt with shaggy fur was just sitting in the grass scratching his sides apparently enjoying it immensely. He looked like he was smiling with his eyes closed.
The last one was a lean black dog, all short fur and long legs with upright ears and a long slender tail. She was picking up toy after toy as if she couldn’t decide which one to pick.
And in between all of them the two small black and white dogs chased each other.
“What do you think?” Burt asked after a while, the woman next to them was excitedly watching all the dogs.
“I don’t know,” Stu said as his eyes roamed over the field. “They’re all great.”
He startled a bit as a cold wet nose was pressed against his hand. He looked down to the dog, it was the sleek black one. From close up it became apparent that she had brown markings on the muzzle, chest and legs. She held a yellow ball in her muzzle but dropped it when she was sure that she had Stu’s attention. Though he apparently didn’t react fast enough for her as she looked expectant to the ball and then back up to him before pushing her nose against his hand again.
“You want me to throw it?” Stu asked. She gave a short, excited bark and her tail started wagging.
Stu picked up the slightly slobbery ball and the dog jumped in front of him. Then he tossed it far and she dashed after it at full speed.
“Nice throw,” Burt said awed.
“I didn’t only play Safeball in school,” Stu said slightly flustered.
Then the dog was back and dropped the ball at his feet once more.
“Again?” Stu asked with a laugh and picked up the ball again.
Burt watched him proudly as he threw the ball again. Suddenly the little black and white dogs circled him and he saw that Angelica was coming closer to him.
“Hey, you two,” he laughed and tried to pet the little whirlwinds but they were quickly off again.
“Why don’t you look at the dogs too?” she suggested when she’d reached him.
“Oh, I want to let him decide,” Burt said with a nod towards Stu who was currently having a tug-o-war with the dog as she’d found a different toy to play with. Burt’s look lingered on him for a moment before he turned his attention back to Angelica and added: “I trust that he’ll make a good choice.”
He had barely finished the sentence when a loud, “Whoa!” came from Stu and he quickly looked back to him.
Stu was sitting on the ground with the dog standing over him trying to lick his face. He was trying to hold her back with his hands on her chest while laughing loudly because he was quite unsuccessful.
“Stop!” Stu gasped out between gales of laughter, but she didn’t give up.
“Aww, she loves you,” Angelica said as she walked over with Burt following behind.
She grabbed the dog’s collar and pulled her back.
“Enough,” she said sternly when the dog didn’t stop pulling in her hold. Immediately she sat down like a good dog.
“Are you ok?” Burt asked looking down on Stu.
“Yes, I’m fine,” Stu said and wiped his sleeve over his face.
He took the hand Burt offered him and let himself get pulled up.
“We were just playing,” he explained while Burt brushed some grass from his back.
“This is Phineas, a Dobermann,” Angelica explained. “She’s only a year old and full of youthful energy. She still needs some training to reign in that energy but overall she’s a lovely dog. Protective, loyal, cuddly and very playful.”
She let her go again and Phineas immediately picked up another toy and rushed to Stu again.
“Hey, girl. You want to play some more?” Stu cooed as he took the ball.
He threw it again and she ran after it.
“She’s great, Burt!” Stu said excitedly as he watched her.
“Yes, I can see that,” he said with a fond smile. It was more because of Stu’s apparent joy but he could also see the merits of this dog.
“Would you like to take her for a walk?” Angelica asked then and Burt and Stu shared a quick look.
“Of course, that would be great,” Burt said and Stu beamed at him.
Phineas started to pile up toys at Stu’s feet while they waited for Angelica to get the leash.
“Now, what do you think?” Stu asked, and bumped lightly into Burt’s side.
They were walking through the neighborhood of the pet shelter. Phineas in front, slightly pulling on the leash Stu was holding firmly. Burt wrapped an arm around his husbands narrow hip and held him close.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect this,” he said while he watched Phineas.
“What did you expect?” Stu asked curiously.
“Well, I guess something smaller and cuter.”
“But she is cute! Look at her!” Stu cried in mock outrage. Phineas looked back to them almost questionly.
“Yes, she’s cute,” Burt agreed. “She also looks like she can protect you from the dragons down here.”
Stu huffed. “I don’t need protection.”
Burt just pulled him a bit closer and they continued walking in silence.
“So, are we keeping her?” Stu asked after a while.
“Yes, I think so,” Burt agreed.
~End~