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Duchess growled, tugging on the rope that Amanda had in her hand. "Come on Duchess, I need this for my school project," she said with a laugh. The dog complied, opening her mouth, panting happily since she was still in play mode.
Ernest approached Duchess and began patting her head. "No eating Amanda's stuff, okay? She's cool. You can only eat my Dad's work that he needs to grade."
A loud, "BOOF!" from Duchess confirmed that it was a plan. Or not. None of you could speak dog fluently.
You were too busy waiting for the baked macaroni and cheese to finish itself up in the oven while you scrolled through your DadTweet feed in the Hugo's kitchen. You saw an advertisement for an event called Poetry and Slam Competition. Apparently, it was an event where people read out their poetry, and after two people finish reading their pieces, they had a wrestling match. This definitely sounded like something Hugo would take a look at.
You heard the front door's lock click. When you turned your head to the door, Duchess was already barking and standing on her hind legs with her front paws on the door. You walked over, telling her, "Remember, you're a dog. You can't walk like humans you silly-"
Duchess knocked your body to the ground and she began licking your face. "Uh- hey!" You laughed as you managed to get her off of you.
By the time you got back up, you saw Hugo sighing as he pet Duchess. "Hey there sweetie," he said while looking at you with tired eyes and a crooked smile. Something was definitely wrong.
Amanda ran over to Hugo, giving him her signature tight, suffocating, and loving hugs. "Welcome home Pops!"
"Thanks Amanda," he said, giving her a kiss on the forehead and patting her back. She put him back down and went back to the living room, gluing toothpicks together to make a bridge which surprisingly wasn't knocked down by the energetic household pet.
Ernest yelled out, "Duchess, go to the backyard! We'll play with the Frisbee!"
"BOOF!" She ran over to the backyard door, leaving with Ernest.
You smiled and looked back at Hugo as he leaned his head on your shoulder. He whispered very low, "I'm. So. Tired. I don't want to do anything."
You nodded and put a hand on his cheek, kissing his forehead. "I'm making dinner for everyone, so after dinner, you can kick back, relax, and not do anything else. I'll have everything under control."
Hugo smiled and chuckled. "Thank you so much Y/N. You're the best."
"Alright everybody!"
You stood up tall with a chewed up 6-inch ruler in hand, walking down the line that Amanda, Ernest, and Duchess made. Amanda played along enthusiastically, Ernest slouched and was indeed confused, and Duchess just stared at you. This was a great crowd.
"So, Hugo is tired beyond belief today. You can blame his students for the stress, but that didn't come from me." You walked up to Amanda. "So, Amanda, what do you think we could do to help out Hugo today?"
She thought about it, eyes looking up at the sky and her fingers tapping at her face. With a snap of her fingers, she said, "Oh, we can wash the dishes for him!"
You high-fived her. "You're right on track! We all should help him with the cleaning today. It'll help to give him one less thing to worry about dealing with." You walked over to Ernest. "Are there any other things that you think that we can do that'll help your dad out?"
"..." He gave you a blank stare. You were hoping this was his thinking face. Then, his eyes lit up. "Didn't he need more groceries?"
"Mhm, so someone can talk a walk to the grocery store and bring back some food. I'll pay, but someone just needs to make the trip." You walked over to Duchess. "And what about you? Do you have any ideas?"
"Arf!"
"Perfect, just be cute and give him the space he needs today, alright, girl?" You clapped your hands together. "Now, let's get to work!"
After everyone went back indoors, everyone began fulfilling their roles. Duchess curled up on the couch, sleeping. Amanda was vacuuming the floors. Ernest already headed out to get the groceries. You hoped that he wasn't going to buy anything too expensive. You told him that he could buy anything that he wanted if he had enough cash after he got what was on the grocery list. You, however, were cleaning the kitchen.
You quickly washed the dishes, but they were sparkling afterwards since you made sure to use some extra elbow grease. You turned to Amanda as she was rolling up the cord for the vacuum cleaner. "Hey Dad, is there anything you need help with?"
"I think there's some laundry in the dryer. If there's any there, I'll help you fold and put them away, okay?"
"You got it!"
You sat next to Duchess on the small space available on the couch, waiting for Amanda. It didn't take long for her to enter the living room with a basket full of dry clothes. She dumped them onto the floor and began tossing them into different piles. You looked at her a little confused. "How come you're putting them into piles?"
She looked up at you confused. "You don't organize them first?"
"Not really."
She resumed organizing the clothes. "I usually put them into piles that way I know that I'm done with putting away my pants, shorts, short-sleeves, and long-sleeves. All of that."
You raised your daughter well.
+10 Dad Points.
Amanda had a grossed out look on her face. "And just so you know, I am absolutely NOT touching Hugo and Ernest's underwear!"
You couldn't help but laugh. "Alright Manda Panda, I'll handle those." You sat next to Amanda and killed some time by helping her with folding the laundry.
By the time the clothes were folded, Ernest came back into the house with an energy drink in his hand. "Hi Y/N."
You looked over to the front door, happy to see Ernest back in one piece. "Welcome home, Ernest! I have your clothes all folded, so I'll just put them in your room. Also, could you put the groceries away?"
Ernest sighed and rolled his eyes. "I guess I can."
"Thank you Ernest!" You took Ernest's clean clothes into his room and left them on his bed. You took Hugo's clothes over to his bedroom, slowly opening the door. You saw Hugo curled up on top of the covers. You couldn't tell if he was sleeping or not, so you quietly stepped in, closed the door, and began putting his clothes away.
Hugo said in a slightly more energy-filled voice, "Hm? Oh, hi Y/N. What are you doing?"
You turned to him and said with a smile, "I'm just putting your laundry away. You can stay there and keep relaxing."
Hugo was already out of bed and went over to the laundry. "I'm not letting you do all of this by yourself. It would seem unfair, even if I am tired." He placed a kiss on your cheek, smiling. "Thanks so much for helping me out today. I really needed it."
Damn, his smiles always made you happy.
With the both of you working together, the laundry got done relatively quickly. You took his hands in yours and said, "I have a surprise for you. Do you wanna see it?"
Normally, Hugo didn't like surprises, but since he knew your surprises never disappointed him, he nodded. "Anything for you, honey."
You led him into the living room, and you saw his jaw drop. "I... you got it all cleaned? For me?"
"I told you that I'd get everyone to help!" You gave him a big smile, and Hugo gave you a tight hug.
"Thank you so much, Y/N." He also saw Amanda and Ernest staring from the living room couch. "And thank you Amanda and Ernest."
Amanda gave two thumbs up. "It's no problem!"
Ernest crossed his arms and looked away. "I just did what I was told, but I guess... you're welcome."
Ernest gave a compliment.
+5 Kid Points.
Duchess looked up and saw Hugo, calmly approaching him. "Arf!"
Hugo got down and rubbed her head. "And thank you for being such a good dog."
Hugo looked so at peace, and you knew that you did a great job pulling everyone together to make it happen.