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Alex is incredibly giddy on the day they finally get to bring their puppy home. Thomas is equally excited, but he can definitely keep it hidden better than his boyfriend. They have already decided weeks ago that they are going to call their puppy Pigeon, after days of discussions and one power point presentation from Alex on the pros and cons of all the names they had chosen.
Now they are on their way to the woman they´ll get their puppy from, Martha, and Alex is clutching Thomas´ hand so tightly, that it feels like he is almost breaking his bones.
“Alex, calm down. You´re killing my hand.”, Thomas chuckles and Alex gives him a sheepish smile.
“Sorry.”, he says. “I´m just so excited that we´re finally able to take Pigeon home!”
Thomas smiles down at him and hugs him to his side, pressing a quick kiss to his forehead.
“I know, sweetheart, me too.”
Alex continues talking excitedly about how their lives will change and what they are going to do with Pigeon, and everything he has read about puppies, and Thomas has heard that all hundreds of times before, but he still listens to him with a fond smile. When they finally reach Martha´s house, Alex is grinning brightly and Thomas can´t help but join him. They only have to wait for a few moments, before the door gets opened, and Martha signals them to come in.
“Hello! Good to have you here! Pigeon is already waiting for you.”, she says with a smile.
Thomas and Alex follow her inside and as soon as they reach the living room, they get welcomed by two puppies, one of them Pigeon and the other one her brother. Alex sits down on the ground almost instantly and the puppies jump excitedly around him.
“Hi, baby!”, Alex says fondly, pressing a kiss to Pigeons head, who almost instantly tries to climb onto his lap. “And you are Bartholomew, sweetie, right?”, Alex asks giggling, as the other puppy licks his chin.
“Shouldn´t he be at his new family already?”, Thomas chimes in, looking up at Martha from where he is crouching to stroke Pigeon.
She nods, a sad smile on her face.
“Yes, they were supposed to get him yesterday, but then they called me and told me that they don´t want a dog after all. It´s now the third family who has rejected him and I don´t know what to do, I can´t keep him.”
Thomas knows what Alex will say before he even opens his mouth.
“Don´t even think about it, Alex.”
His boyfriend just looks at him with pleading eyes and picks Bartholomew up.
“Please can we take him? We have a garden and Pigeon wouldn´t have to be lonely when we´re at work.”
Thomas pinches his nose and closes his eyes for a moment, shaking his head.
“Alex-“, Thomas starts, but gets instantly interrupted by his boyfriend.
“Please. Just look at him! And it´s good for puppies to have another dog, right Martha?”
The woman nods, and Thomas lets out a groan.
“Those two were always very close.”, she provides, and Alex holds the dog even closer, even as he squirms to get away.
“See, Thomas. We can´t just leave him here. Please, honey.”
Thomas lets out another sigh and Martha pats his shoulder.
“I´ll leave you two alone for a few minutes, so that you can talk about it.”, she says with a smile.
With that she walks into the kitchen and Thomas and Alex are alone with the two puppies.
“Alex, I know you would love to take Bartholomew as well, but one dog alone is a lot of responsibility and we´ve only bought toys and other stuff for one dog. Two dogs mean double the amount of work and they cost twice as much.”
Alex lets out a huff.
“Those are all things that we can easily fix, and we have both enough money to afford two dogs. I know, that we only wanted to get one dog, but maybe this is faith, just look at them.” He points at the puppies, who are playing with a stuffed toy in the corner. “We are both at work a lot, which is why we waited so long to actually get a puppy, but this is the solution. Pigeon wouldn´t be lonely, because her brother would be there.”
Thomas sighs again, shifting over to Alex, so that he can curl his arm around the younger man, who instantly snuggles against him.
“Sweetheart, I know you would like to get both dogs, but this isn´t a decision we should rush. Like I said, a second dog is a lot of responsibility.”
“I know.”, Alex mumbles. “But sometimes you just have to do something without thinking too much about it, and maybe it will turn out to be the best decision of your life. You know, if I had actually thought everything through before I kissed you, we definitely wouldn´t be here.”
Thomas smiles fondly at him and draws him in for a kiss.
“You really have a way with words and you´re a manipulative bastard.”
Alex giggles and kisses Thomas again.
“So does that mean we will take Bartholomew too?”
Just as Thomas is about to respond, the puppy runs up to him and cuddles against him. Alex smiles brightly and takes out his phone, snaping a picture of them.
“He seems to like you.”, Alex teases.
He grabs the stuffed animal from Pigeon and throws it away for her to chase, while keeping an eye on his boyfriend.
“Everyone likes me. That doesn´t mean anything.”, Thomas gives back, but his voice is soft, and Alex knows that he has almost convinced him.
“Right.”, Alex laughs. “I didn´t like you when we first met. John didn´t like you either. Adams still hates you.”
Thomas groans.
“Fine. But we bought a house together and are now getting a puppy, so I´d say that supports my point more than it supports yours.”
Alex smiles fondly at him.
“Okay, fine. I still think Bartholomew likes you a lot.”
Thomas sighs.
“How happy would you be if we get both?”, he asks carefully.
Alex throws his arms around him almost instantly, pressing kisses to his face, while Bartholomew barks excitedly and jumps around them, Pigeon joining him.
“Very happy. Oh my god I love you.”
Thomas rolls his eyes.
“You are the worst, but I really love you too.”
Alex grins and happily picks Bartholomew and Pigeon up, hugging them to his chest. Thomas watches him with a warm smile on his face and thinks he would do anything for Alex.