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While only Yami could get their full respect and only he and Finral knew all of the commands, the pack that called the Black Bulls' base home had mellowed out over the years. They treated Asta like a chew toy, but that was more because he could take it than anything else. Vanessa was convinced that Yami considered it another form of training for the kid.
But Oni was amiable to any Bull willing to give him attention, and after a lifetime of nothing but thread to keep her company, Vanessa had affection to spare. When she settled down for an afternoon drink and Oni waddled over, she was always willing to oblige. The way his bulgy eyes squinted when he was scratched under his chin was too adorable to pass up.
Yami, smoking and reading in the corner, rolled his eyes and muttered something about her spoiling him. Vanessa grinned and ignored him.
Thus gainfully employed, it took Vanessa a moment to realize that Finral was leaning on the back of the couch watching them. He had a thoughtful look on his face. Vanessa giggled (she'd already made her way through some of the bottle) and asked, “Worried I'm stealing your dog?”
Finral raised an eyebrow. “Not really...” He glanced at Oni, who had looked up at his voice, before he turned back to her. “So, Vanessa... you really think Oni is cute?”
Vanessa smiled, and cooed, “Who could say no to this face?” She scratched his chin again, and got a happy wuff in response. Finral still looked skeptical, his eyes lingering on Oni's admittedly crooked and too-large teeth. But then his expression softened, and he walked around the couch to lean down and pet the back of Oni's neck. Oni immediately wiggled onto his back, tail thumping the floor.
Finral muttered an exasperated, “Greedy,” but he obliged and reached down to rub Oni's belly. Vanessa pouted a bit. Oni liked her, but he'd never let her do that.
“So girls like this kind of thing?” Finral asked, still petting Oni.
That was when Vanessa realized what this was about. She hid a smirk. Oh, Finral. This is not going to go the way you want it to. Out loud, she said, “Sure. If a guy has a dog, it means he's affectionate and responsible.” Finral nodded. Vanessa could almost see the wheels turning.
She tried to feel bad for setting him up, but couldn't. While she'd never dream of intruding on Yami and Finral's years-long game of winding each other up, nobody said that she couldn't have her own fun. And this was definitely going to be entertaining.
Finral started to ask another question when he was interrupted by a long nose jabbing into his ribs. Tengu looked up at him dolefully, as if to ask why Oni was getting attention and he wasn't. Finral sighed, but dutifully used his other hand to pet Tengu. Less than a second later, Agyou and Ungyou slunk out of the shadows as well.
Finral tried and failed to look put upon. Laughing, he told them, “I only have two hands... why aren't any of you bothering Yami?” But he did his best to give all of them attention anyway.
Out of the corner of her eye, Vanessa saw Yami glance over when Finral laughed. His gaze lingered, though Finral, distracted by the dogs, didn't notice. Vanessa took another swig of her wine. Amusement bubbled through her veins along with the alcohol.
Those dogs already know who Mom and Dad are, and they're not going to tolerate interlopers.
*
It was a few more days before her little nudge paid off, but it was worth it.
When Finral and Oni ported back to base that afternoon for lunch, they were not the immaculate dog-and-owner pair that had set out that morning. Both were spattered with mud. Oni was wagging his tail, looking like he'd had a marvelous time and was ready for another go. Finral's left eye was twitching, he was flushed- temper or exertion, she couldn't be sure- and Vanessa could almost see steam pouring out his ears.
This time there was a bit more of an audience. Several of the Bulls looked startled by Finral's unkempt state. Luck cheerfully asked if he'd been in a good fight. Noelle, holding her nose, demanded that he quit offending her royal senses. Even Gauche had looked up from his picture of Marie. Finral ignored them all and stalked over to Yami.
Who took one look at Finral and Oni and burst out laughing.
“What the hell did you do, Oni, drag him through every mud puddle from here to Kikka?” Looking up at Finral, he added, “Or did pretty boy try out a new look? It suits you.” He said it with a smirk, voice mocking, but in the years since the tower, Vanessa had learned something about men. She looked at Yami's eyes and snickered.
I know when a man likes what he's looking at, even if he hasn't noticed himself. Doesn't surprise me that Captain likes them a little disheveled.
Finral faltered for half a second. Vanessa watched closely. Had he gotten a bit redder? Maybe one of these idiots has started figuring it out...? But then, clearly deciding to ignore the second half of that statement entirely, Finral threw up his hands.
“He tried! When I took him into town, he chased every cat and lapdog he saw. I had to spend fifteen minutes tracking down a lady's poodle when it ran for its life.” Vanessa glanced at Oni, who had settled next to Yami's chair and looked extraordinarily pleased with himself. A few of the other dogs had started trickling into the room, no doubt attracted by the interesting new smells on Oni.
“Then I tried a public garden. First he tried to rip up the flower beds. Then, yes, he managed to find a mud puddle. He waited until we were right next to it before he jumped in. Splashed mud all over himself, me, and her dress.” Finral took a deep breath before continuing. Kudan nosed at a smudge on his sleeve; Finral ignored him.
“So I figured the city was making him nervous, and took him to a popular field. I took my eyes off of him for two seconds and he was demolishing some poor lady's picnic hamper. At which point I gave up, because our dogs are the worst, Yami!” He flung out his arm in a gesture that encompassed all of the half dozen dogs who had wandered out and were currently sniffing at him and Oni.
Vanessa's heart warmed. Even when he's annoyed, it's 'our' dogs. I guess he worked too hard for that acknowledgment to give it up.
There was a moment of silence. Finral seemed to be waiting for some kind of reaction from Yami. Yami looked down at Oni, then leaned over and rubbed his ears.
“Iiko.” Vanessa couldn't help it; she grinned. I know that one.
Finral's jaw dropped. Then he sputtered. “Ii- really?! Oni wrecked all of my attempts to get a date and your response is 'good dog'?!”
Yami didn't stop what he was doing. “Yup.”
Finral deflated. Looking like it physically pained him, he asked, “...why?”
“Because it's funny.”
Finral made an inarticulate noise of frustration. Yami grinned.
“What, you don't think they're good dogs?” He clicked his tongue, and instantly had the attention of every canine in the room. Finral's eyes widened. He took a step back, but he wasn't quick enough. Yami jerked his head towards Finral.
“Chu.”
Finral yelped and went down under an avalanche of dogs attempting to lick his face. Vanessa lost her battle with laughter. So did most of the rest. Gauche, however, looked confused.
A little more prone to trying to understand the people around him after the incident at the cave, he turned to Vanessa and asked, “Why is 'chew' the command for licking?” Vanessa started to answer, but Finral beat her too it.
Still trying to shove off the dogs, he said, “The command is 'chu,' not chew.” He enunciated the difference. “It’s Sunlander for ‘kiss’,” he added, voice acidic, “because Yami thinks he’s hilarious.”
Yami smirked. “I can't hear you over the mutts. And I am hilarious.”
Finral sent him a look that probably should have melted his face off. Yami's expression didn't so much as flicker. Gauche was looking between the two of them like something wasn't quite adding up. Vanessa patted his shoulder.
“Don't worry, Gauche. Someday they'll stop using the dogs as intermediaries.”
Gauche just looked more bewildered than ever. Vanessa started laughing again.
Life's never boring around here.
*
Yami didn't ask himself why he'd praised Oni for wrecking Finral's flirting attempts. It was funny. And if Finral trying to use their dogs to score a date annoyed him, that wasn't unusual. Lots of random shit pissed him off.
He ignored the nagging thought that it was a bit weird to care about Finral's dating schemes. Yami had better things to do with his day than psychoanalyze himself.
Besides, Finral should have known better The dogs weren't trained to make friends; they were trained to recognize Black Bulls and be suspicious of everyone else. Oni was the friendliest, sure, but that didn't mean much outside base.
Though the look on Finral's face when Yami had said 'good dog' was priceless.
*
Several hours later, Gauche bolted upright out of a dead sleep.
'Oni wrecked all of my attempts to get a date and your response is 'good dog'?!'
‘It’s Sunlander for ‘kiss’.’
‘Someday they'll stop using the dogs as intermediaries.’
Yami and Finral. Finral and Yami. Gauche rubbed at his single remaining eye to try and force out the mental images. Sometimes he hated the way his brain put things together without his leave. Life had been a lot easier- and less brain-scarring- when he’d only cared about Marie.
He decided to look on the bright side. Once they sorted themselves out, there was no way Finral would still be flirting with every girl he saw. Gauche might have only just started to pay more attention to the world outside his sister, but he was absolutely sure that his captain didn't share.
And that means I won't have to kill Finral when Marie gets older. Just Asta.