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Ranmaru was beginning to think he’d made a terrible mistake. When one of his friends, a regular at the bento shop, asked if he wanted to check out their dog’s new litter, he thought they’d just go over, pet some puppies for a bit and be done with it. Reiji absolutely adored bulldogs, so he thought he’d be a good husband and bring Reiji and the kids over to pet the little gremlins. But he should have known Reiji wouldn’t be able to leave it at that. He really should have known.
“Ran-Raaaan, pleaaaase? Look at her, she's sooo cute! We can’t just leave her here for someone else to adopt!” Reiji whined. His husband was holding one of the puppies in his arms like a baby, and both Reiji and the puppy were looking up at him with the biggest, roundest pleading eyes he had ever seen. It was criminally cute, but he needed to hold his ground.
“No, Reiji. We’ve got three cats at home, and I don’t think any of them would appreciate being chased around by a hyperactive puppy.” Ranmaru crossed his arms, attempting to look stern and imposing, but Reiji didn’t seem affected at all. Ranmaru on the other hand, was starting to lose his edge as Reiji added a pout to pair with his puppy dog eyes.
“But, honey, isn’t she just the cutest little bean you’ve ever seen? She has a heart shaped spot on her butt, Ran-Ran! A heart!” Reiji pointed to the spot in question and sure enough there it was. This was only going to make things more difficult. Akito, having heard Reiji fawn over the puppy in his arms, carefully removed himself from the pile of puppies he and Reina were playing with and came to look at Reiji’s favorite. Aki had to stand up on his tippy toes even when Reiji bent down to give him a better view, and Ranmaru couldn’t help but smile at how adorable the scene was.
“Wow, you’re right, Papa! She does have a heart spot!” Akito giggled as the puppy licked his face. “Are we gonna keep her?” Oh no. Reiji was hard enough to say no to, but Akito too? The odds were not in Ranmaru’s favor. He needed to even them out.
“Hey Reina, come help me explain to your Pops why we can’t get a dog. He won’t listen to me.” Ranmaru tried to make his cry for help sound a little less pathetic, but it didn’t really work. Reina looked up from taking videos of the dogs briefly to laugh at him. “Yeah, no thanks. I’ll leave this one to you, Dad.”
Ranmaru sighed. He couldn’t believe this. Betrayed by his own daughter. With no signs of help, Ranmaru continued to stare down his husband by himself. Reiji’s pleading eyes looked like pure molten chocolate, but Ranamru wasn’t ready to throw in the towel. He met Reiji’s watery-eyed gaze with his own cold glare. Ranmaru always used this to intimidate people. Back when he was in showbiz, it’d be prying reporters or composers trying to change his sound. These days it was mostly reserved for teens trying to get into the live house after 20+ hours and single moms trying to flirt with him at PTA meetings. Usually it worked pretty well, but Reiji seemed to be immune. Ranmaru, on the other hand, could feel himself losing his edge the longer he locked eyes with his husband. His traitorous heart felt like it was doing gymnastics in his chest and he could feel the flush creeping up his neck. All because of his dumb husband and his stupid pretty eyes. He never had been able to tell Reiji no, even before he realized his feelings for the man. Last minute changes to their shows, moving in with Count Crabbypants and the rest of Quartet Night, having children, and now this damn dog. One look from Reiji and all Ranmaru’s love-addled brain would let him get out was “Yes”. And this time was no different. With a sigh of defeat Ranmaru caved.
“Fine, I guess we can get the damn dog. You better housebreak the thing yourself, though. Cuz I sure as hell ain’t doing it.” Ranmaru barely got out his reluctant agreement before Reiji was embracing him in one arm, the puppy still cradled in the other, and placing a series of kisses on his cheek. Maybe giving in wasn’t so bad if this was how he got compensated.
“Aaaaah, Thank you so much, Ran-Ran! I promise I’ll take care of her all by myself! You won’t have to lift a finger, honey!” Ranmaru seriously doubted that, but his husband looked so happy he didn’t even feel like arguing the point. Aki looked just as excited as Reiji, and Reina was...laughing? Ranmaru gave her a puzzled look which sent her into an even more aggressive fit of laughter.
“What’s your deal, kiddo? Care to share?” Ranamru asked.
Reina attempted to calm her laughter enough to explain. “Whew, it’s just that I think this was the quickest cave I’ve ever witnessed. Not even a ‘let’s go home and think about it!’ A few seconds of The Eyes and bam, we’ve got a dog! You really are just a gay disaster when it comes to Pops, huh Dad?”
Ranmaru’s ears went red immediately and Reiji tried to stifle his laughter, but failed. “N-No, that’s not true” It was totally true.
“Oh it’s definitely true. Pops’ got you wrapped around his finger. No wonder you guys never argue. A teary eyed look and a kiss on the cheek and you just melt into a puddle. It’s hilarious to watch, honestly”
Reiji doesn’t even try to hold back his laughter after Reina’s explanation. When he’s finally calmed down he puts a hand on her shoulder and leans in to speak close to her ear. “Sssssh you’re gonna expose all my tricks, sweety” Reiji fake whispers to her
“Not like it matters. Dad’ll still be a sucker for it whether he knows he’s being played or not”
Reiji chuckled and handed the dog to Reina. The puppy, their puppy, licked her face when she lifted it up to get a closer look, and she scrunched up her nose at the feeling. With both hands finally dog free, Reiji took Ranmaru’s hands in his own and lifted them up to kiss his knuckles.
“Sorry for playing dirty, hun, but seriously, thank you. I think little Muffin will be a great addition to the family!” Muffin? Really? That name was totally not Rock.
Reiji gave him another quick kiss on the lips as thanks, and suddenly Ranmaru didn’t care about the dog’s name. His husband was happy, so he was happy.
“Yeah yeah. I’ll go tell my friend we wanna adopt her. Don’t get attached to anymore of the little shits while I’m gone, please.” Ranamru heard Reina mention something about owing the swear jar as he walked away.