Work Text:
“Honey, do you mind taking out the trash before you go?” Sabine asked, hugging her daughter close.
“Will do, Maman.” She picked up the medium-sized bag and stepped toward the door. “I’ll see you soon. Love you.”
Walking out the door, she hurried to the large dumpster behind her parent’s bakery, tossing the bag inside.
A small whimper caught her attention.
She almost considered a figment of her imagination until it came again, louder this time.
Moving around the dumpster’s side, her heart clenched at the sight before her. A small puppy whimpered and cried upon seeing her. A piece of rope around its neck was caught beneath the wheel of the dumpster. It looked as though it hadn’t had a bath in days or weeks.
“Oh, poor baby,” she whispered, reaching out to help loosen the rope. She discovered there wasn’t a collar or tags around its neck though she’d learned in the past that didn’t mean anything. “Come on, little one. Let’s get you checked out, huh?”
The puppy gave her a tentative lick as she picked it up, uncaring about its state against her latest design.
She giggled, its tongue warm and wet against her thumb.
“You’re an affectionate one, aren’t you?”
She hurried down the street, walking into the nearest vet office she found that accepted walk-ins. The receptionist took one look at the puppy and took her straight back, listening to Marinette’s tale about the poor puppy in her arms.
An assistant joined them not two minutes later with a small basin and bathing products for the puppy, taking it from her arms. The dark, matted fur gave way to a delicate brindle coat with a small smattering of spots.
The vet soon walked in and checked the puppy for any signs of disease or wounds. Other than a few nicks and scratches, he was happy to see the puppy in good health. He performed a quick scan for a chip and found the puppy lacked one.
“Can you chip him for me? I’m taking him home.”
The vet smiled, pleased by her easy acceptance of the puppy in her life.
While they finished up with the exam, the receptionist took Marinette back to the front where they shopped for some beginning supplies she’d need for the puppy.
She cringed at the expense, but she gladly paid for everything they’d need for the puppy’s first few weeks.
The assistant brought the puppy back out and handed the wriggling bundle to her, announcing her sweet girl was ready to go home.
“Oh,” she whispered, her eyes going to the puppy. “Well, then we’ll have to rethink the names I was considering, huh?”
She smiled and thanked the small team for all their help.
The puppy resisted the leash though she soon realized she wouldn’t be abandoned as Marinette waited for her every few steps to catch up.
As they reached the apartment she shared with Luka, he stood waiting for her at the entrance, his eyes soft with wonder.
“What do we have here?” He stooped to check out the puppy.
The puppy cowered behind Marinette.
Unperturbed, Luka held out his held and lowered his voice to a whisper. “Hello, little angel.”
She sniffed at his hand, giving it a tentative lick.
His hand ran down her back even as she wriggled closer to him, accepting him as a friend.
“I kinda told the vet we’d keep her after I found her,” she admitted after explaining how she came to find the puppy earlier and all she’d done since then.
Luka stood with the wriggling puppy in his arms. He brushed a kiss against her cheek before leaning close to ask, “Do you want to keep her?”
“I do.”
“Then, we’ll keep her.” He leaned back, a smile gracing his lips. “I want you to be happy, Marinette. If she makes you happy, then she stays.”
Smiling, she said, “I was thinking we could call her Sweetie. She is a sweetheart.”
His eyes drifted down to the puppy in his arms and regarded her a moment. “How about Angel?”
“Angel, it is.”