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Kyle Broflovski sat on the couch, waiting for his boyfriend to return home with some last-minute groceries.
He was watching the weather news as it detailed the coming overnight snowstorm. Several inches, they were saying. And of course, Stan had waited until the last moment to go to the store so they would have food for the next couple of days.
Kyle stood off from the couch to stretch a little. He then stepped over the various toys and bones on the floor to get to the window. Little snowflakes fell against the window, and more were showing up under the bright streetlights. He was glad he and Stan had no plans for tomorrow, and wouldn’t have to deal with the weather. Why worry about getting all the snow off the car when you could just cuddle under a warm blanket, and maybe watch some old movie with hot chocolate. Kyle was looking forward to it already.
Suddenly, the volume on the TV skyrocketed. Kyle quickly turned his head to see their cat, Tom, now on the couch, sitting right on the remote. He swiftly picked him up and turned the volume back down. He petted the top of the cat’s head with a small smile.
“I’m sure you’re happy you’re not fending for your life out there right now..” He said, scratching him under his chin.
They had found him wandering outside of their apartment building a couple years ago, and Stan began to give him some food. And before Kyle knew it, Stan was getting everything they needed for a cat and they were welcoming a new member of the family. Nowadays, Kyle was getting pretty tired of constantly dealing with the moist food cans, but the cat was not interested in the slightest in giving it up. He was a good cat, though, and normally lounged around whether he pleases.
They had two other dogs, Bronco and Kitty. Stan had had Bronco ever since his first dog, Sparky, died, and they had just gotten Kitty last year. Stan had been driving around when he saw Kitty on the side of the road, and Kyle really couldn’t say no to them keeping her. That was just the thing with Stan, you really couldn’t say no to him when he got attached.
Kyle sat back down on the coach, letting the cat go. However, he got right back on the couch and found a nice place to lay. Kyle flipped through channels, but nothing much else was on. Might as well continue to hear about the weather for who knows how long..
Sometime later, Kyle heard a key turn into the door, and the sounds of paws rushing over. He turned from the couch to see Stan kneeling down, bags of groceries in his arms as he tried his best to greet their dogs. Kyle smiled; those dogs loved him so much..
“You would not believe the adventure I had at the store,” Stan said as he got up and sat the groceries on the counter. “I had to fight this lady for the last of the bread. I thought there would be nothing left, but then I saw one more left and I quickly grabbed it, only for this lady to come over and like, aggressively demand to give it to her. She could really pack a punch, let me tell you,”
“Please tell me you won,”
Stan smiled and held up the bag of bread in triumph.
Kyle laughed, and came over to give Stan a kiss. “My hero..”
But, when Kyle pulled him close, he heard a little noise come from.. Stan’s jacket? It almost sounded like a little bark? Oh. Oh no.
“Stan..”
Stan just sheepishly smiled and pulled down the zipper of his coat to reveal a little puppy.
Kyle sighed. Jesus Christ..
It was no secret Stan loved animals. And if there was one thing Stan hated more than anything, it was seeing them suffer. So, damn it, if there was a stray animal Stan could help, they were coming home with him. That had been the case for their last two animals, and honestly, Kyle should not be surprised this was happening again.
Stan held the puppy close to his chest. “I know what you’re going to say, but hear me out!” He said. “I was coming out of the store and there this little guy was! I couldn’t just leave him there, we’re supposed to get several inches of snow overnight, and so I took him with me and yeah..”
“Stan, we can’t keep every single animal you find.”
“I know, I know.. but look at him! Doesn’t he kind of look like my old dog Sparky? Can’t he stay? Please, Kyle?”
Kyle crossed his arms, but Stan held the puppy up, and looked right at Kyle. Oh, goddamnit, no, not the puppy dog eyes! Fuck, fuck, fuck!
“Okay, okay, fine! He can stay! But only for a couple of days, and then we can take him to the vet to see if he has a chip.”
“Yes! Thank you!” Stan smiled, wrapping Kyle in a hug as best he could and giving him a kiss. Kyle rolled his eyes but kissed him right back.
“I’m going to get him some food, I’m sure he’s starving..” Stan said, leaving the kitchen.
Kyle unfinished unpacking the groceries, and putting them away in their respective places. He couldn’t help but watch as Stan gave the puppy some food, and then played with him and their other dogs together. As much as he knew they probably didn’t need another animal around the apartment, he had to admit.. He always loved seeing that bright smile on Stan’s face. What was he going to do?
At bedtime, Kyle finished his nighttime routine and got into bed. He sighed with content as he got comfortable under the sheets. It was nice and quiet, save for the wind that started to pick up outside. The room flooded with darkness as he turned off the lamp, and he laid back to get some sleep.
All of sudden, his eyes opened wide as something jumped on the bed, followed by his boyfriend getting in the bed right beside him. Both dogs had jumped on the bed, and got settled down right by Stan.
“Where’s the puppy?” Kyle asked.
“He’s over there on Kitty’s bed,” Stan replied. “Are you sure we can’t keep him forever? He’s so sweet, and our dogs love him..”
“We’ve only had him for a couple hours, dude,” Kyle replied. “What if he belongs to someone else?”
Stan sighed. “I guess.. but what if he doesn’t? What if he doesn’t have anyone?”
“Then I guess we’ll have to go from there..”
Stan looked away, but didn’t press the issue. He gave Kyle a kiss goodnight, and petted both of the dogs until he settled into bed himself.
Fuck, Kyle thought. He might as well just accept it now, how in the world was he ever going to say no to his boyfriend?
///
Sure, the next day came with several inches of white snow on the ground, along with cuddles under a warm blanket, and hot chocolate.. for twenty minutes.
Stan had spent the majority of the day with the new puppy, playing with him, making sure he ate, taking him outside so he doesn’t get lost in the snow. When they finally settled down long enough to cuddle, Stan made sure the puppy was right beside them. He even gave him a name, Dipper.
When the snow melted enough for them to take a trip to the vet, Kyle could tell how much Stan was dreading it. Stan thought of every single way to get out of going to the vet, from needing to run to the store again, to having to be there for some TV show, to taking the dogs out for a walk. It got him an extra day with Dipper, but it wasn’t enough. The whole ride to the vet, Stan held Dipper as close to his chest as he could.
Kyle looked at him from the corner of his eye whenever he could. His heart ached. A part of him was starting to wish Dipper didn’t already have an owner, and he wouldn’t have to go anywhere. But another part of him knew they already had three animals in their apartment, they couldn’t really take in another one. But, maybe.. it would be time to find another place to live.
It turns out Dipper never had a chip, and so there was no way to contact his owner, if he ever had one in the first place. That bright smile returned to Stan’s face as he picked up Dipper.
“Kyle, how can you say no to this adorable face?” Stan asked as soon as they were walking to the car. “We can’t just give him away to a shelter, who knows what could happen to him there. No one could want him, or someone does want him and they’re terrible pet owners.”
“We’ll just have to see..” Kyle replied. “We can keep Dipper for a couple more days, and see how things turn out.”
“Alright..” Stan replied. “But I’m getting him a collar.”
And so, Dipper came home with a brand-new collar and an engraved name tag. Kyle knew this was the end of it all, the exact same thing happened with their other animals. Well, whatever, his boyfriend was happy. And you know, Dipper was a pretty cute dog.
A few days later, Stan was at work, which left Kyle home with their animals. As soon as Stan left, Dipper was at the front door, crying.
“Oh, it’s alright, Stan will be home later..” Kyle said to him, but that didn’t really do anything.
He tried to think of things to do in the meantime. Stan had just gotten him some brand-new toys, and it wasn’t fucking freezing out today..
However, on their walk, Dipper was interested in seeing everything little thing out there. It was long before he was pulling on the leash and escaped his collar. He quickly chased after something, leaving Kyle to chase right after him.
“Dipper!” He called.
He finally caught up to him as he was barking at some leaf on the ground.
“Dipper, Dipper, it’s alright, it’s just a leaf..” He said, picking Dipper up from the ground. “Oh, man, I’m so glad I didn’t lose you or something.. I don’t know what Stan would have done..”
Dipper just proceeded to lick his face, causing Kyle to laugh. When he managed to pull Dipper away, he looked down at him. Dipper had this cute expression on his face, which only made Kyle smile. Maybe this dog wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all..
///
Stan came home hours later from a long day at work. He was greeted at the door like he always was by Bronco and Kitty, but something was missing. Where was Dipper? And where was his boyfriend? It had been a couple of days since they had been to the vet, and Kyle did say.. Would he really do it without Stan getting to say goodbye? No, Kyle would never do that to him.. Right?
But, before the thoughts could consume Stan, he heard something coming from the bathroom. Curiosity got the best of him, and he slowly made his way over. However, any fears he had went away as soon as he opened the door.
There was Dipper, in the bathtub, with Kyle giving him a bath. Kyle was laughing as Dipper tried to grab the water in his mouth, his whole shirt soaked.
“Oh, hey, Stan,” Kyle said as soon as he noticed him standing there.
“I can’t believe you’re giving him his first bath without me!” Stan said, sitting down to take the shower head in his hands. “What happened to ‘we’ll think about keeping him, Stan’”?
Kyle shrugged. “We don’t have to give him away right away.. Besides, I think our animals would miss him too much..”
Stan stared at him. “Wait, really?”
“Yes, really.”
“So.. does that mean we can keep him?”
“Yes, we can keep him.”
Stan’s face erupted into a smile and he quickly wrapped his arms around Kyle. So fast in fact, he dropped the shower head, sending water everywhere.
“Stan! Be careful!” Kyle tried to say, but Stan was holding him too tight to let him do anything.
He peppered his face with kisses, and even Dipper jumped out of the tub to join the celebration.
“Wait, Dipper, I haven’t—” But it was too late. Dipper shook himself, getting even more water everywhere.
Kyle wiped the water from his face, and looked over at his boyfriend, who was taking Dipper in his arms. He was soaked, and now there was so much he would have to clean up. But, still, he smiled.
He really did love Stan, and he loved their little family. There was nowhere else he wanted to be right now.