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It's 7 in the morning. Ilsa Faust is in her bed. She struggles to open her eyes. She is lying in a big white bed with pastel blue sheets and soft pillows. She feels an arm wrapped on her chest. She slowly turns around, she sees a familiar face. It's Ethan Hunt. His fluffy hair moves slightly in the wind. His left hand is still wrapped around her neck and seemingly pulls her closer to him. He’s still asleep. Ilsa snuggles up to him. His breath is light, soothing. He feels someone's hugging him. Slowly, he opened his eyes.
“Hey…”, Ethan looked at her lovingly. “Sleep well?”
“Very well.”, Ilsa answered, burying her head in his chest.
Ethan holds her, planting a small forehead kiss on her. He sits up and looks over at her. She can't help but fall back to sleep.
“Wakey wakey sleepyhead…”, he plants a small kiss on her cheek.
“5 minutes…”, Ilsa replied.
“Big day today.”, Ethan smiled.
“I know.”, she said, burying her head in his chest again.
They got up and got dressed.
They walk through the streets, Ethan puts his arm around her shoulders and pulls her slightly closer. Ilsa is very nervous. Today's her first Christmas day without the trouble of the Syndicate and a little break in a long time. She wondered if anything wrong would happen. Although the streets are full of people who are celebrating, the lights and the festive atmosphere fills up the well-decorated streets of New York, Ilsa couldn't help but to zone out.
“Hey, it's going to be alright.”, Ethan gave her a smile. Ilsa smiles back, feeling a bit assured.
They walked past a dog shelter, full of different breeds of dogs, barking through the window, hoping for a new home this holiday season. Ethan looks around, finding things to cheer Ilsa up. He spotted a little golden retriever through the window. The puppy, unlike others, didn't have a festive collar on it. Ethan kept eye contact with it for a bit before walking to a cafe nearby.
Ethan picked a corner to sit at and let Ilsa sit near the window, so she can see the dog shelter when she turns to see the view. Also, it's the most convenient position as Ethan can see the full view of the cafe without much effort and he can just people-watch from time to time.
“Want anything?”, Ethan asked, as he sat down.
“A Frappuccino, maybe? I don't really know.”, Ilsa replied shortly.
“Sounds about right. Don't move. I'll come back soon.”, Ethan smiled and went to the cashier.
Ilsa nodded, then she laid back and looked at the view. People shoveling snow, kids playing with toys, a huge Christmas tree with fancy decorations, nothing new. But is it really? She caught a glimpse of a dog shelter, which she has never been to before, even though she walked past it a couple times while shopping for groceries.
Soon, Ethan returned, holding a chocolate Frappuccino and a black coffee. He places the Frappuccino on the table. He noticed Ilsa was still looking at the dog shelter, just as he expected.
“Hey I'm back.”, Ethan booped Ilsa's nose.
Much to Ilsa's surprise, Ethan just looks at her and smiled.
“What?”, she said, turning her focus back to the drink.
“Are you people watching or zoning out again?” He asked while sipping his coffee.
“A bit of both.”, Ilsa replied, starting to stir her drink.
“You know, we can walk around if you want. Go skiing, even.”, Ethan suggested.
“I'd appreciate that.”, Ilsa sips her drink, her focus still on the dog shelter.
“I see someone's already decided where to go?”, Ethan teased.
“Maybe.”, Ilsa finished her drink.
“Alright then.”, Ethan finished his coffee as well. They hold hands and walk to the dog shelter.
“Ling, ling!”, the bell rings as Ethan and Ilsa step foot in the shelter.
“Morning! Any puppy you're interested in?”, Jemma, who's one of the shop owners, asked.
“Oh no we're just looking.”, Ilsa said, looking around the cozy shop.
“Many people said that, then they ended up getting a few fluffs back home. They'll become old hags sooner or later.”, a young man muttered while feeding a poodle.
“Fitz! That's rude.”, Jemma said.
“Uh, sorry. What do you have in mind? We have lots of puppies. How about this poodle? It's very cuddly.”, Fitz asked while feeding the dog.
“What do you think?”, Ethan turns to Ilsa who's looking at the golden retriever puppies.
“I like this one. Is it cuddly too?”, Ilsa asked, pointing to the golden without a Christmas collar.
“Yes! Sorry we ran out of new collars. He's very cuddly and is only 8 weeks old! We haven't named him yet but if you want to have it, it's up to you to decide, of course.”, Jemma explained.
Ilsa started laughing as she pets the puppy.
“We can afford a puppy, can't we?”, Ethan smiled, looking at Ilsa petting the golden.
“Okay. I think I will have this one.”, Ilsa answered.
“Thank you! He can go home after the registration and we'll give the documents to you.”, Jemma said.
“What are you going to name him?”, Fitz asked.
“Maverick.”, Ethan thinks.
“That's a silly name.”, Ilsa laughed.
“Is it? I think it's a great name. And it's a very cuddly Christmas buddy.”, Ethan said.
Ethan and Ilsa walked out of the shelter and Ilsa cuddled Maverick all the way home.