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“An emotional support animal?”
Dimitri sighed as he took another sip from his drink and then looked back at Edelgard and Claude.
“That was what my therapist recommended.”
“And what do you think, Dimitri?” Claude asked
“I’ll admit it would be nice to have a companion during one of my… episodes without having to bother you two or anyone else. I just don’t know if I’ll be able to take care of them. Aside from a family goldfish when I was six, I’ve never had a pet.”
But then Dimitri gave a small nostalgic smile, “Though to be honest… I’ve always wanted a dog, growing up. I remember begging my father every chance I got.”
“I also remember when we were ten and I took you with me to Ferdinand’s birthday party. You spent most of the party, playing with the Von Aegir’s dog and leaving me alone.”
Claude poorly hid his chuckle and muttering of “cuuuute” as Dimitri blushed and sputtered.
“H-hey! In my defense, El, I barely knew Ferdinand and everyone else there!” Dimitri shouted as he stood up from his seat
“And I brought you along because mother insisted that I had to go, Hubert was sick at the time, and I didn’t want to deal with Ferdinand by myself!” Edelgard retorted as she stood up from her seat
Claude, sitting between them, cleared his throat before a full argument could start.
“Okay as hilarious as hearing about your childhood shenanigans is, maybe you two should chill out?”
The two step-siblings immediately realized they were making a scene and awkwardly sat back down.
“I swear, one of these days, you two are gonna get us kicked out of this place.” Claude muttered
Edelgard ignored Claude’s remark and smiled at Dimitri.
“With all that said, I think it’s a good idea. Despite your insistence otherwise, I believe you’ll be just fine raising a pet. You’re very kind, responsible, even when you have trouble with it, you do at least try to be gentle. If you want my opinion, I think a dog would suit you well.”
“Yeah for as long as I’ve known you, you always kind of had this lost puppy vibe. It’d be perfect.”
Dimitri wanted to argue… but he’s caused enough issues for the owners so he simply tells the two that he’ll think about it.
After about a month and a half of saving his money, getting the proper items, and gathering and filling out the proper paperwork; Dimitri was ready to adopt a dog.
Claude offered to take Dimitri to a shelter that a friend of his worked at and the two set up a day to go.
“So you got an idea of what breed you want?” Claude asked as he was driving
“Not in particular. Though I would prefer a medium or large sized dog. I’d worry too much about a small dog getting underfoot… and the high-pitched barking does give me a bit of a headache.”
“Heh, you and me both, Your Princeliness.”
Dimitri sighed, “I wish you’d stop calling me that, Claude.”
“Hey it’s not my fault, you got that Storybook Prince vibe.”
“I thought you said I had a “lost puppy vibe?””
Claude smirked and shrugged, “Why not both? Anyway we’re just about there.”
Before long the two parked near a large building, if the signs advertising the dogs and cats available weren’t a hint, the sound of dogs barking in a fenced area behind the building, certainly was.
Dimitri and Claude stepped inside the building and were greeted by an enthusiastic young woman (her name tag read: “Flayn.”)
“Good afternoon, gentlemen, how may we help you today?”
“Is Marianne in today? My friend here is looking to adopt and I thought that maybe she could help him out?”
“Oh yes, she’s in. She’s currently outside letting the dogs get some exercise, I can take you to her if you wish.”
“Thanks.”
Marianne must be the friend that Claude talked about. Dimitri wondered why Claude felt that she in particular could help him.
Soon Flayn took Claude and Dimitri outside where they were greeted by the sight of dozens of dogs of different breeds and sizes running around and playing. In the center of all this was a smiling young woman with light blue hair tightly tied up. For just a second, Dimitri forgot how to breathe.
“Hey Marianne!”
The woman, Marianne, turned to Claude and made her way to him and Dimitri.
“O-oh Claude, i-it’s good to see you. I thought you said you weren’t currently interested in a pet.”
“Oh it’s not for me.”
Claude stepped aside and pointed to Dimitri, “This is Dimitri, one of my bar buddies, I’ve told you about him haven’t I?”
Marianne blushed a little as she shyly held her hand out, Dimitri also blushed as he took her hand to shake it.
“Um… It’s nice to meet you, Dimitri.”
“Y-Yes, you as well.”
The two stood there awkwardly until Claude finally spoke up.
“So! Dimitri here is looking for a dog to help him out as an emotional support animal and I figured you’d be a great help.”
Marianne looked away and seemed to curl into herself.
“I-I don’t know if I’m really the right person to ask.”
“On the contrary, you know the dogs here and you know exactly what to look for with a support animal.”
“I suppose you’re right… um… just give me a second.”
With that, Marianne blew into a dog whistle and all the dogs gathered in front of her and sat down, wagging their tails. She then turned to Dimitri.
“Is there a particular breed you’re looking for?”
“Ah not necessarily, though I would prefer a medium or large sized dog.”
Marianne nodded and looked back at the dogs, as she called several names. The called dogs approached her and she commanded them to sit while the rest of the dogs ran off to continue playing.
“If you’re looking for an emotional support animal, I’d say any of these would be a good option for you. Some of them will require extra training but they’re all very friendly.”
Dimitri walked up the line of dogs and looked them all over.
A few of them were just a little too big for his liking (and his apartment.) Thinking about it, he realized he’d prefer a short haired dog over one that was practically a giant ball of fur.
Then he noticed one of the dogs at the end of the line. Despite it sitting down, there was certainly an enthusiastic energy to it. They looked like they were ready to leap up as soon as they were given the word.
Dimitri couldn’t help but be a little curious and walked over to the dog and kneeled down in front of it.
“H-hello there.”
“Oh this is Grace. She’s a two-year-old Blaiddyd Rex.”
“Well based on that alone, I think she’d be perfect for you, Dimitri.” Claude remarked with a chuckle
Marianne continued talking about the dog, “She was surrendered to us as a puppy.”
Dimitri looked at Marianne with confusion, “Surrendered?”
“That’s what we call it when an owner gives up their animal to us. Grace’s story is a tragically common one, she was initially bought as an All Saints Day gift but then her owners realized just how much work and responsibility a dog truly is.”
Dimitri looked at Grace, he could certainly relate to being left behind by those you loved (even though in his case it wasn’t abandonment but rather...)
“I think I’ll take her.”
“A-alright. But just so you know, while she knows some basic commands, Grace will need some extra training to be a good emotional support animal.”
“I understand.”
Dimitri stood up and faced Marianne.
“Thank you very much for your help, Marianne.”
“I-it’s nothing. I-I’m just doing my job. Um… if you’d like, we also provide training services so you- um… you could bring Grace here so she can learn the proper… I mean...”
“Oh uh… thank you, I would appreciate that.”
After taking care of all the paperwork and the payment, Dimitri and Claude walked out of the building towards the car with Grace on a leash.
“Now remember our agreement, Your Princeliness. The dog pees in my car, you’re cleaning it up.”
“Yes, yes I understand.” Dimitri responded as he opened the backseat door for Grace to climb into the car.
As the two entered the car themselves, Claude glanced over at Dimitri with a look that the latter knew was trouble.
“By the way… couldn’t help but notice that the dogs weren’t the only thing you were focusing on...”
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about?” Dimitri said in a sincerely confused tone
“Marianne? Just to remind you, she’s a friend of mine. I’ve got her number if you need it.”
“Oh, that actually wouldn’t be a bad idea for scheduling training appointments for Grace.”
Claude just stared at him dumbfounded before shaking his head and starting the car.
===
Weeks went by and Dimitri adjusted to life with Grace.
She was very insistent on getting him out of bed even when his depressive episodes tried to keep him there, whenever he had nightmares, she was a comforting presence, and of course it was just nice to have someone around at home.
Of course, Grace wasn’t the only positive addition to his life.
Encouraged by Claude, Dimitri took up Marianne’s offer to help train Grace and it became part of his routine to visit the shelter every week.
Before and after the training sessions, Dimitri always took the time to speak with Marianne herself and get to know her. She was still rather shy and quiet although with time she did seem to get used to him.
But when he comes in to pick up Grace, he sees Marianne comfortably smiling and laughing with the dogs and he can’t help but wonder how he could have her smile at him like that.
Wait...
... Oh …
... Ohhhh …
“I think I may have fallen in love with Marianne...”
Claude and Edelgard stared at Dimitri, until the former pulled out a party horn from his bag and blew into it.
“Finally! You have no idea how long I’ve been saving this. If I knew you were gonna finally figure it out today, I would have asked Mercedes to bake you a cake.”
“Claude...” Dimitri said in an annoyed tone
“In fairness to Claude, you have been pretty obvious. You brought up Marianne in conversation a lot in the past couple weeks. Look on the bright side, at least you’ve got a better start than Claude did with his girlfriend.” Edelgard said with a smirk
Claude groaned, “You are never going to let that go are you?”
Dimitri sighed, “I’m just unsure of how to proceed. I’ve never really been in a relationship before and I don’t want to scare Marianne off.”
“Then maybe don’t show up at her door with a box of chocolates and a giant bouquet. I mean that would certainly be scary if you did that for me.”
Dimitri just glared at Claude as he took another sip of his drink. Realizing that his joke fell flat, Claude dropped the sarcastic grin in favor of something more sincere.
“What I mean is, you don’t need to jump straight into the mushy romantic stuff. Just ask her about her next day off and ask if she’d like to hang out. It doesn’t need to be a big production or anything like that.”
“I suppose I am overthinking this...”
“You are.” Replied both Claude and Edelgard
“But I’ll ask her when I bring Grace for training next week.”
“I’m sorry but Marianne isn’t in today. She called off work this morning.”
“I… I see...” Dimitri said, trying to hide his disappointment
Flayn gave a sad smile, “Like I said, I’m very sorry. I know you and Marianne had been getting along. She even sometimes talks about you.”
“Sh-she does?”
“Oh! I probably should not have said that… a-anyway, this happens occasionally but she always comes back after a day or two! If you don’t want to wait, we have a few other trainers on staff.”
Dimitri shook his head and wished Flayn a good day as he and Grace left the building.
“Well girl, since we came all this way, how about a nice walk?”
Grace let out a happy bark and wagged her tail. Dimitri smiled as he led the way, Gloucester Park should be nearby and it’s been awhile since he had the chance to go there.
The two make their way through the streets and eventually arrive at their destination. Dimitri was happy to see Gloucester Park’s famous rose gardens still around and still well cared for.
He continued further into the park and then suddenly Grace started barking and pulling on her lead.
“Grace, no! Please calm down. What has gotten into… you...”
Dimitri glanced to where she was trying to pull him towards and was shocked to see a familiar face.
Right in front of the park’s lake, sat Marianne, her usual tightly braided and tied hair left hanging down and a dog lying in her lap.
Despite this feeling telling him to leave her be, Dimitri began to walk towards her with Grace at his side.
“Marianne?”
She turned to Dimitri’s voice and let out a surprised sound.
“O-oh, Dimitri. What are you doing here?”
“I visited the shelter to drop off Grace for training but Flayn had said you weren’t there. I was worried that you fell ill.”
Marianne turned away from him, “You’re not… entirely wrong.”
Just from that answer… Dimitri couldn’t help but see a bit of himself in her… that there was something there that they shared.
Hesitantly, Dimitri sat down next to Marianne with Grace taking her place next to him. He looked at the dog in Marianne’s lap, if he remembered his breeds correctly, it looked like an Edmundion. He also recognizes the vest the dog was wearing, just like the one that was sent for Grace after he officially got her recognized as an emotional support animal.
He supposes that was why Claude felt that Marianne was perfect to help him.
“...What’s their name?”
“Huh?”
“Your dog?”
“Ah, his name is Dorte. I’ve had him for about three years I think?” Marianne says as she pets her companion
There was a brief moment of silence between Dimitri and Marianne until the former broke it.
“Have you ever… just found yourself unable to get up? It isn’t that you’re still tired it just...”
“...Feels too difficult… Dorte does try to help me but sometimes there are days where...”
“...It’s just too much… it’s the same for me and Grace.”
Silence fell between the two again but it was obvious that there was something there.
“Today was… a bad day, so I called off work. If it wasn’t for Dorte, I’d probably still be inside. That said, it’s not the first time I’ve done this. I apologize that I inconvenienced you...”
“Please don’t say that. I… I… know what it’s like when you try to keep it all hidden, try to pretend nothing’s wrong, and what that leads to...”
Images flash in Dimitri’s mind. Broken glass and bent steel, fake smiles in the mirror to ignore shaking hands, a broken pencil and an entire classroom of stares…
Then he feels a hand on top of his and Dimitri looks to Marianne.
“You don’t need to tell me, especially if it hurts you.”
At the same time, Grace whimpers and nuzzles at Dimitri.
“It’s alright, girl. I’m alright.” He mutters as he pets Grace
Then to his surprise, Marianne smiled at him.
“Thank you though. It’s difficult to find someone who understands.”
Dimitri smiles back at her, “I’m glad I could help even if only a little bit… Um… Marianne?”
“Yes?”
“I… before I found out you weren’t at work… I was hoping to ask you if… I was wondering if you’d... like to spend the day with me?”
Marianne looked at him in surprise but her smile quickly returned.
“I think I’d like that. But could we stay here… just a little longer?”
“O-Of course! ...We’ll do everything at your pace, Marianne.”
“Thank you, Dimitri.”
Thus Marianne rested her head on Dimitri’s shoulder and the two, along with Grace and Dorte, relaxed by the lake.