Work Text:
Spring has arrived in Diamond City and so has the pollen. This meant that a certain large orange anthropomorphic bulldog had to wake up early to wash the yellow build-up off of his cab. This was important since the cab wasn’t just for fun, it was also his business and a lot of his customers had allergies. So, being a good cabbie and employee, Dribble rolled out of bed. Still in his pajamas which consisted of a white tank top and boxer shorts with an outer space pattern, he went outside and walked down the stairs of the apartment complex to the parking lot where the cab was with cleaning equipment in hand. While he was tired and groggy, the job had to be done. He first drenched the cab by throwing a massive pail of water over it, causing a handful to splash all over him. He then used a scrub daddy and then a scrub mommy to spread soap and other cleaning products around the outside, with rinses in between every single one. By the final rinse, the cab was as good as new. The sleek orange outside shined in the sunlight, The windows could now see perfectly inside the cab, which was a little worn down with love, the headlights were lustful jewels, and the tires were as black as night. It was close to, if not perfect for the cabbie and his business. He did know that soon enough, the pollen would come creeping back, but hey, he did the best he could do for now so he went back upstairs to his apartment. However, he was hit with a negative aura as soon as he opened the door. Dribble’s significant other, roommate, and coworker Spitz, a small yellow cat who always appeared to be squinting, was slumped on the couch scrolling through TV channels. Dribble didn’t even have to say a word to the feline to know something was off. If there was anyone who could read people like a book, it was Dribble. He always knew when someone was in a bad mood or was just not a quality person, no matter how hard they try to hide it.
“Hey Buddy, is everythin’ all good?”, Dribble sympathetically inquired.
“Oh yeah, everything is ALL fine and dandy.”, Spitz snarked with the most obvious sarcasm the canine had ever heard, even Ashley’s delivery couldn’t top it. Spitz then just grumbled and curled up on the couch even more. Another oddity was that the cat was still in his pajamas. Typically, while Dribble on a non-work day could stay in the same pajamas for twenty-four hours, Spitz always liked to get dressed and groom himself the minute he got out of bed, no matter if they had to work that day or not or no matter how early he woke up. Today however was different, his green jammies were still being adorned and his fur was also unkept. Dribble is always bothered deeply by bad moods and so he always tries to fix it whether the other person likes it or not.
“Spitz m’buddy, you don’t look and sound that good. You can tell me anythin’ ya know.”, The canine stated as he plopped down on the couch next to the grumpy cat.
“Dribble! I don’t want to talk about it, Okay! Now leave me alone!”, the feline nearly shouted.
“Okay… be like that, but we should now get ready for work.”, sighed Dribble.
Just tell ‘em I’m sick or somethin’. I don’t wanna deal with anyone right now.”, Spitz grumped. Dribble also found this odd. Typically, his pal loved to socialize and go to work despite the many schemes Wario got them involved in. In fact, Dribble himself was the more introverted by a longshot of the two. Now, it seems as if the roles have reversed.
“Okay pal, but we’ll miss you. Especially Kat”, Dribble caved as he went to get dressed. There was no use arguing with Spitz or really anyone when they’re in a bad mood. Once Dribbled got dressed in his work uniform and groomed himself, he was ready to go. He figured he would just eat breakfast there as 5-volt always prepares something delicious and Spitz clearly needed to be left alone. Dribble let out one last goodbye to Spitz, who just grumped in response. So unusual and upsetting. That feeling stuck as the keys jangled and clicked when the dog locked the apartment door from the outside. It still stuck when he shoved the keys into one of his uniform pockets and began to head down the steps to the parking lot. It very well continued to stick as he entered the cab… alone. He was so used to walking down the apartment steps with his dear cat pal on his shoulders due to their significant size difference. He was so used to hearing the same cat crawl into the passenger seat as he himself got situated in the driver’s seat. He was so used to hearing the passenger door open and close. But he had to put these grieving thoughts aside and head to work. After all everyone, especially a little red-haired ninja, was waiting for him. The drive to Warioware Inc. seemed to last an eternity. Every single person, animal, insect, and vehicle outside seemed to move as if time slowed down. When the canine finally reached the white and purple building with a big “w”, he felt some relief as there were definitley people there that would at least try to help out a little with his very recent dilemma. The second he entered the building; he was greeted with silence. He must be the first one here. He didn’t take too long to figure it out though as he didn’t do his usual hanging out with Spitz before work. He trudged along to his office, which he usually shared with Spitz. Even Wario wasn’t here yet. The building being so quiet felt so weird. But also, so many things today felt weird.
“Hello!”, called a feminine voice from the front entrance. Dribble got up from his computer and went to the voice source. He was faced with a late high school-early college aged female with long and fluffy orange hair, a white mink coat, and a red dress, boots, and motorcycle helmet. “Why hello Dribble, what a surprise! Typically, I’m the first one here despite being late to everything else. Maybe I’m always early because I want to maximize my time with Wario. Anyways, where is Spitz?”
“Hello Mona and oh uh.. he sorta isn’t up to it today, so he decided to stay home.”, Dribble replied gruffly.
“Oh no, is he sick? If he is, I will totally run by the pharmacy and get the poor cat some medicine!”, Mona cried.
“I don’t think he’s sick. I think he is strugglin’ mentally today.”
“Do you know what’s bothering him?”
“No, I don’t. he’s refusin’ to tell me.” Mona then takes a long sigh and a deep breath.
“Dribble… If Spitz is refusing to speak to you… than it might be something that could impact your relationship, likely negatively.” The dog processed all of this. Did he recently do something that bothered Spitz? He couldn’t think of anything since Spitz had such a long fuse. What about in the past? Well, there was that one time in high school where he dated a girl before realizing he was a gay dog and before he found out Spitz was into him the whole time, so that ended up causing a kerfuffle. There also were the many times where Spitz was upset by Dribble not always liking his sci-fi fanfics, but those were always resolved quickly. Other than that, there was nothing that Dribble could think of. He and Spitz were thick as thieves and nothing could separate them. They were each other’s closest confidants and they always talked about how much they loved and appreciated each other. Wherever Dribble went, Spitz was always with him. Others even joked that they couldn’t go five minutes without being together… which actually was kind of the truth. So being away from Spitz for this long felt so strange.
“I hope that is not da case. I’m not rememberin’ any recent argument nor fallin’ out, so I actually have no idea whatsa botherin’ him.”, Dribble answered.
“Hmmm. Maybe you could bring Spitz by my mansion tomorrow so we can have a nice conversation.”, Mona offered.
“That could work. Only issue is I don’t know if Spitz will want to interact with anyone and also, I don’t know if he would trust you anymore than me.”, Dribble acknowledged.
“Convince him to get out of your place and speak to me.”, Mona countered. “I am a natural at having therapeutic conversations with my friends. It works on Ashley all the time! She now always comes to me for comfort when 5-volt isn’t available.”
“Okay. I give it a shot. Now I betta get back to work.”, Dribble responded. Both waved to each other before returning to their respective offices. The bulldog couldn’t get any work done though, even Wario’s fits of rage wouldn’t motivate him. He just missed his feline pal too much. So, he just slumped in his desk chair and starred at the blank computer screen. His imagination turned the dark void of the powered off monitor into a space scene featuring Spitz and him driving happily in their taxi through all the stars and planets. Oh, how he wished he was there instead of in his now dull office being forced to make games for the greedy, smelly, garlic man… alone. “If Spitz was here, he would be chewin’ me out on my procrastination. I now kinda miss that, don’t I?”, Dribble thought. Instead of working, he just continued to stare off into space, and it wasn’t the kind of space where he wanted to be with his best buddy.
“Everyone we’re here!!”, shouted two young twin voices. The voices now let Dribble leave his state of depression and enter one of slight happiness. He left his office to check out the source and was met with two twin girls, both kindergarten age and wearing ninja outfits. The orange-haired twin with pigtails had her face light up the moment she saw Dribble. The pink-haired twin with a singular pigtail on her head meanwhile remained calm. “Mister Dribble is here! Mister Dribble is here!”, the orange-haired twin shouted as she jumped up and down.
“Hey baby doll. I missed ya.”, Dribble greeted happily as he scooped the twin up in his arms and nuzzled her to his face, causing her to giggle.
“Ana, we’re big ninjas remember. Big ninjas don’t let themselves be coddled by grown-ups.”, The pink-haired twin hissed to her younger by three minutes sister.
“Sorry sis, but I can’t resist Mister Dribble’s attention.”, Ana whispered back. The pink-haired twin then turned her attention to Dribble, who was now holding Ana on his big-burly shoulders.
“Mister Dribble, where is Mister Spitz?”, Dribble then felt the sense of dread flood back, even while handling Ana, the employee at Warioware Inc. he adored and looked forward to seeing the most besides his own feline partner obviously.
“Uh well, he isn’t feelin’ great today. So, he decided to stay home ‘n recover.”, The canine replied. “I’m sorry Kat. I know how much ya love to play with him.” Kat in response just let out a “hmph” leading Dribble to sympathetically pat her head.
“Mister Dribble, let’s play rocket-ship!”, Ana shouted while clapping her hands. Rocket-ship was a game that she and the bulldog always played together. However, Dribble, who whose mood was brought down unintentionally by Kat’s question, wasn’t feeling up to playing those kinds of games at the moment.
“But I don’t”, The orange dog responded in a voice that sounded playful but he really meant what he was saying.
“Yes, you do.”, Ana replied in a sing-song voice.
“No, I don’t.”, Dribble replied in the same sing-song voice.
“Yes… you do.”, Ana retorted while changing her tone to sad and pleading. She was also giving the puppy eyes… which works on Dribble every time.
“Okay… Okay.”, Dribble sighed. “Itsa those puppy eyes every single time uh?” Ana cheered happily right before the large cab driver held her over his head on her stomach and began to run around the work place. Ana giggled and cheered while Dribble made rocket and space noises. Meanwhile, Kat was huddled in the corner, clearly upset about Spitz not being there. Dribble however, was too busy with the younger twin to comfort the older one, that was typically Spitz’s job.
“EVERYONE!! WARIO’S HERE, LET’S GET BACK TO OUR OFFICES BEFORE HE GIVES US GARLIC BREATH!!”, Mona shouted as tire screeching was heard outside. Dribble immediately set Ana down.
“I’m sorry we can’t play for longer Ana-banana.”, The bulldog said softly.
“It’s okay, Mister Dribble. That was so much fun.”, Ana replied happily. Her twin sister was still grumpy which let Dribble know that Spitz needs to come back to the workplace ASAP. Hopefully, Mona’s idea will work out and Spitz will return to his normal self.
(Time Skip)
“D’aww Dribble, do I seriously have to go to Mona’s place?”, Spitz whined as Dribble broke the news to him in their apartment the next morning.
“Hey buddy, it’s for your own good. She will just try to help you through this funk you are currently in. She’s our friend ya know.”, Dribble replied calmly though secretly, he was getting agitated by Spitz’s bad mood.
“Alright fine.”, The small cut huffed. “But if this goes wrong, you are really gonna ask for it, do ya hear me?” Yikes, now Dribble’s own boyfriend was threatening him. This was bad. Honestly at this point, Dribble was sick of all this crap and just wanted Spitz’s crappy mood to stop. He grumpily gestured for Spitz to head with him to the front door. They both left the apartment and headed down the steps to the parking lot. Once they entered the cab, it was awkward, even though they were both in the vehicle together
again. They drove in silence to Mona’s house. Even though Spitz was as quiet as a mouse, Dribble could still sense the bad aura that his mood was letting out and it was internally driving him mad. When they reached their destination, the cabbies were greeted with a large, beautiful, pale blue mansion with two fountains, a lot of palm trees, and a manicured lawn. They parked the cab outside the entrance. While out of character, Dribble couldn’t wait for Spitz to leave the cab so he could have a break from his bad attitude. Not soon enough, Mona came running out of her front door and towards the cab while waving her hand and shouting “Hello”. Dribble then rolled down the window.
“Hey Mona, I have Spitz in the passenger seat.”, The bulldog greeted.
“Perfect.” Mona then went to the other side of the cab and opened the passenger door.
“Hey, if you put your hands on me, I will- Spitz was then hushed by Mona scooping him up and holding him cozily in her arms while petting him. Spitz was heavily resisting the urge to purr. All the yellow cat could do was glare at his canine companion, who only smirked in response.
“I’ll send you a text when Spitz and I are done. Does that sound good?”, asked Mona.
“Yep, sounds great!”, cried Dribble.
“Okay then, see you later.” Dribble waited until Mona took Spitz inside before driving away. He decided to stop at various shops to keep himself busy. He first stopped at the local sushi place but left once he realized that he would be bored out of his mind eating sushi alone without his dear feline. He then went to a craft store to pick up supplies for crocheting, his favorite pastime, but had no reason to stay once he purchased all the supplies he needed. Finally, he decided to run to the local bookstore to see if he could find any good reads. There, he found the crown jewel, a sci-fi novel series that Spitz had been dying to read but couldn’t since money had been tight for the cabbies recently and they needed to put their needs over their wants for the most part, let alone the fact for Dribble at least, the expensive novel series wasn’t a need. Now was different, his dear Spitz, his favorite living thing in the world, was in great distress and needed something to help cheer him up. Dribble also knew that he had been a bit harsh with the cat recently so he wanted to give him this gift to let him know that they were cool and that everything was going to be fine. Dribble without much thought purchased the entire book series at the check-out counter and left, planning to surprise Spitz with it once his session with Mona had concluded. He left the bookstore and headed to the nearby park to relax for a little bit after leaving the gift in the cab. He parked himself on a bench and began soaking up the noon sun. It was a relaxing treat for him in these trying times.
“Mister Dribble! Is that you?”, a little girl’s voice shouted. The dog’s ears began to twitch and his tail began wagging. He saw a familiar little ninja girl with pigtails running towards him. She looked incredibly happy.
“Ana-banana! What a nice surprise! You made my day! C’mere You!!”, Dribble exulted as Ana ran towards him with her arms open. He got up from the bench and lifted the ninja kid into his arms tightly once she was of appropriate distance. “How has my baby doll been doin’?”
“I have been doing good. I made mommy and daddy proud by doing my addition homework right when I got home unlike sis. I got rewarded a cookie from the cookie jar!”, Ana reminisced. Dribble gave her pats on the head to congratulate her before something came to his mind.
“Oh, now that ya mention it, how has your sister been huh? Is she also here?”, asked Dribble.
“Well, she got in trouble with mommy and daddy for being grumpy and disobedient. So, she has to be in our room all day.”
“D’aww, that doesn’t sound like too much fun huh?”, Ana sadly shook her head in response. Internally, the canine had a hunch as to why Kat had been so grumpy lately. That upset him but he was going to put on a smile and cheerful disposition for his favorite, cherubic ninja. “Hey, how does a little walk through that nearby forest sound eh?”, asked Dribble, who knew that Ana LOVED everything having to do with nature, along with her sister.
“Oh my. I love that. You’re my bestie best mister Dribble!”, Ana praised while wildly clapping her tiny hands.
“you’re my buddy too Ana-banana.”, Dribble chuckled to the little ninja girl. He then placed her on his big, burly shoulders and began walking through the forest with the little girl admiring every plant she saw and giving them compliments while also stating fun facts. The bulldog was not intellectually-curious at all but there was indeed something precious about witnessing a little girl appreciate nature to no end while most other children would probably rather watch TV or play video games in this day of age. All of the cabbie’s worries seemed to have slipped his mind while on the nature walk with his favorite kid. Unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end and for Dribble and Ana, it was the sound of a notification on the former’s cell phone.
“Gimme just a sec, baby doll.”, Dribble sighed as he reached into his pant pocket and took out his phone. He saw that there was one new text message. Clicking on it revealed it was from Mona.
“Ciao! Spitz and I are done. He just unloaded some really heavy secrets. You can come collect him now. 😊”, read the text.
“I’m sorry princess, but I have to go and get Spitz now okay.”, Said Dribble to Ana who became disappointed. “I promise we’re gonna do this again soon.” He said as he set the ninja down. They walked back to the main park area so Dribble could drop Ana off at the playground. Once he did, he headed back to the cab and began the drive to Mona’s mansion. He was filled to the brim with anticipation that was both good and bad, good being that Spitz would hopefully reveal what was bothering him and the rift would end, the bad being that things wouldn’t work out and the unthinkable would happen… they would break up. Dribble couldn’t imagine life without Spitz. He in fact needed him to control his temper and come out of his shell. What would the bulldog do without him? This was a thought that he even went as far as expressing on the website for Warioware Inc. Regardless, the chance that things would go haywire was still there and it was really bugging Dribble. After an eternity, He pulled up to Mona’s mansion and waited. After 10 minutes, Mona came out with Spitz in her arms. Dribble took a good look at him. He noticed that instead of looking angry, he looked depressed and as if he’d just been crying hard. Mona gingerly carried him as she walked up to the taxi. “Hey Mona, how’s my Spitz?”, Dribble asked as he rolled down the window.
“Our talk was very deep and I learned some things that blew my mind and probably will for a while. Your reaction will probably be similar especially since you’ve known Spitz for so long.”, Mona replied dazed. Dribble then had to ponder, what in the world was Spitz’s secret? He couldn’t imagine the cat hiding something that big from his other half. They knew everything about each other, or that’s at least what Dribble thought. Mona opened the door, placed Spitz in the passenger seat, wished them good luck, and headed back inside after closing the door. Spitz very slowly buckled himself in, it seemed like he didn’t have any motivation to do so which was very unlike him since he usually was militant about road safety.
“Hey Spitz, I have a surprise for ya when we get home.”, Dribble announced, hoping to cheer his pal up. Much to Dribble’s chagrin though, Spitz just turned away and sniffled a little. Poor guy. Dribble then just decided to drive in silence as his feline buddy was clearly still in no mood to speak to him. About a quarter way into the drive, a heavy downpour ensued. The cabbies could barely see a few feet ahead. It was like white out outside. It made Dribble feel even more uneasy. Still, the cab was silent for a while until…
“DRIBBLE, PUT ON THE BREAKS!”, Shouted Spitz at the top of his lungs. Startled, the bulldog immediately plunged his foot onto the brake pedal, causing the cab to come to a screeching stop. Dribble couldn’t see anyone or anything ahead… so why would Spitz want him to stop the car? Just when he was about to inquire further, the cat suddenly unbuckled, opened his door, and bolted out of the car and disappeared into the mist after slamming the door back shut. Dribble was so stunned at Spitz’s actions; he couldn’t utter a single word. He wanted to exit the cab and look for Spitz, but that would be made near to impossible with the weather outside. It also wasn’t safe and while Dribble was willing to risk his life to help Spitz, a little voice in his head told him it wasn’t worth it this time around. The cabbie listened and with a heavy heart, drove back home with the help of the weak GPS signal. When he arrived home, he felt numb. He sat himself down on the couch and dwelled on everything. Oh, how their once homey apartment felt so empty now with Spitz off in an unknown location. Once the numbness wore away and the feelings caught up to Dribble, He buried himself into the couch cushions and wailed like a baby. He felt ashamed for crying like a spoiled child but he needed to let it all out. He tried to calm himself down by thinking about happy things such as Ana and her bright, cherubic disposition, but it didn’t work much. He was practically inconsolable. To feel some relief, he went to the medicine cabinet to look for his anti-depressants, then something caught his eye, a bright blue opaque bottle labeled “testosterone”. He wondered what that bottle was doing in the medicine cabinet. He used the cabinet frequently and this was the first time Dribble ever saw that particular bottle. Maybe the testosterone was for an experiment that the Crygors or Ashley and Red were doing and Spitz was just housing it for the time being… Dribble couldn’t figure it out and just decided to hit the hay after taking his depression medication. He didn’t end up sleeping well. He had horrible nightmares, primarily about Spitz. He woke up in a cold sweat after every nightmare and whenever he did fall back asleep, the nightmares would continue. Oh, how Dribble just wanted the night to end.
(Time Skip)
At around nine o’clock in the morning, Dribble awoke from another nightmare. What saved him was the pinging sound on his phone, indicating a notification. He groggily reached over to his nightstand and picked up his phone. Looking at his lock screen made him shed a tear; It was of Spitz and him in front of the rainbow Boston sign. They visited for pride month last year with the two of them being gay. They both looked so… happy and… carefree. It seemed like Dribble forgot what it’s like to truly feel those feelings after the rough few days he had. The notification saved him; it was a text from Mona.
“Ciao! How is Spitz doing? Did you two work things out?”, she clearly had no idea about last night’s events. Dribble didn’t want to relive last night but on the other hand, he felt it was important to inform Mona so she maybe could help.
“Eh… funny story, while we were drivin’ home, he ran outta our car and into the distance. I have no idea where he is now. He could’ve been hit by another car for all I know.”, Dribble texted back, tearing up at the last part. He then paced around his room waiting for a reply.
“I’ll come over and tell you everything you need to know then…”, When Dribble read the text, he immediately rushed to make himself look somewhat presentable. He then spent the rest of the time pacing around the apartment, waiting for Mona to arrive. He rushed to the door the second he heard knocking.
“Mona, how great it is to see ya!”, Dribble greeted anxiously.
“It’s great to see you too!”, the redhead replied as she took off her helmet and hung it on a coatrack. Dribble took a glimpse around his place and noticed how humble and messy it probably was compared to Mona’s place. He began scratching his head
“Yeah, I know my crib isn’t the nicest place in the wo-
“Oh Dribble, it’s perfectly fine. My place isn’t so nice by the time I arrive home every day due to my pets causing racket, plus your and Spitz’s home looks much more manageable than my home. Oh! Speaking of Spitz, Let’s get to business”, reassured Mona as she sat down on the couch with Dribble taking his spot right next to her… The spot that Mona sat down in was usually Spitz’s spot. Tears slowly began to well up in the bulldog’s eyes.
“Okay Mona! Let’s hit the gas! I’m anxious! C’mon!”, Dribble cried out as he shook Mona.
“Spitz… is…
“Spitz is what?!”, exclaimed Dribble. “I’m dying to get this ‘secrecy’ crap over with already.”
“SPITZ IS TRANSGENDER!”, Mona shouted out of impulsivity. The second the words slipped out of her mouth… Dribble’s mind exploded. He had to make sense of what he was hearing.
“So, my Spitz was… originally… a lady?”, The bulldog stuttered. The high schooler slowly nodded in response. The cabby couldn’t believe it. His Spitz, his Spitz, who sounded like a guy, his Spitz, who acted like a guy, his Spitz, who looked like a guy… wasn’t always a guy.
“Do you have an issue with him being a Trans male?”, Mona asked nervously. “I’m asking since I know you are only into males?” Dribble panicked when he realized what she was assuming.
“NO! I HAVE NO ISSUE WITH SPITZ BEING TRANS!”, Dribble shouted at the top of his longs in anger and fear at the thought of possibly being accused of transphobia.
“Woah! Calm down right now! I wasn’t accusing you of being transphobic, I just wanted to make sure that you would always love Spitz no matter what.”, Mona ordered. Geez when she gets mad, she turns into a military general.
“I guess I’m just surprised about Spitz, ya know.”, Dribble shook his head with guilt over yelling at Mona, one of his close friends.
“Believe me, I was surprised too when he first told me everything. My jaw could’ve totally fallen to the floor with nothing left holding it in… I was that surprised.”, Mona recalled.
“So… Is that why Spitz has been acting so off lately?”, Dribble wondered aloud.
“I assume so, unless there is something neither of you are telling me.”
“I mean it makes sense that he would be so flustered since that is a pretty big secret that he was hiding there huh.”, Dribble reasoned. Mona agreed by nodding her head. The bulldog then remembered the pills he found in the medicine cabinet and brought them up to Mona since it all now clicked.
“I guess Spitz didn’t feel ‘masculine’ enough so he decided to start taking the pills again. Unless those were pills from when he first transitioned in high school. But then why would he keep medicine that old?”, The teenager wondered.
“I dunno, they didn’t look that old to me”, Dribble shrugged. “Anyway, how do ya think I can help Spitz out huh? I miss him so much.”
“Well, the first order of business would be to find his location and see where he ran off to.”, Mona put together.
“But I dunno where he ran off to.”
“Do you have a tracker app on your phone?”, asked Mona.
“Yep”
“Try checking that”, Mona suggested. Dribble did so. While he turned his phone on, he couldn’t remember if Spitz had his phone with him when he ran off. Hopefully he did or else Dribble and Mona would reach a dead end. He opened the app and saw the profile picture for himself was at their apartment, which makes sense since he was there right at that second. Where Spitz’s profile was baffled him; it was at the Diamond City beach. Neither of them were fans of the beach so it surprised Dribble to see that was where Spitz was located. Perhaps he went to find peace in these rough times.
“Okay Mona, we gotta head to da beach. Thatsa where Spitz is at apparently.”
“Alright then, let’s go!”, Mona announced heading towards the door. As they were walking down the steps, Dribble wouldn’t stop rambling about his worries for Spitz and why on earth was he at the beach. It did bother Mona slightly, especially the beach part, but she also understood that Spitz’s was the most important living thing in Dribble’s life so she held back and kept quiet. “Now, should we take my motor scooter or your cab?”
“I dunno. I’d go with da one that’s faster.”
“Wait a minute… My scooter can’t fit two riders so the cab it is.”, Mona said sheepishly causing Dribble to do a mild face palm and groan.
“No worries, our cab has special equipment to make it go faster.”, Dribble reassured. Mona nodded and they both entered the cab, Dribble in the driver’s seat and Mona in the passenger seat. Dribble wanted to tell Mona to move to the backrow because the passenger seat was reserved for Spitz but he held his tongue as he wasn’t going to be rude to the person that’s helping him big time. The city was halfway enveloped with fog making it hard to see ahead. The GPS signal also became weak, making the drive even scarier. They drove their way to the beach. It was hard to pinpoint exact things because of how foggy it was. It luckily seemed to settle a little by the time they arrived. Mona and Dribble exited the cab and began wandering around while shouting Spitz’s name. Dribble’s shouts were full of desperation and pet names, he didn’t care how embarrassing it sounded. They got no reply. The bulldog’s heartrate had to have gone up by at least 10 points on average. Every time he called and heard no reply, he got more and more frustrated. He wandered until reaching a pathway leading up to a cliffside. His canine instincts told him to go up it, so he did. He knew there was potential danger due to how foggy it was, but he didn’t care in the slightest as he just wanted his precious Spitz back in his life. After about 5-10 minutes of walking along the path, he heard the sound of crying coming from an unknown source, all he knew was that crying sounded like it was coming from a man. Dribble felt some feeling of hope enter his large heart. The further he walked along, the louder the crying got. Eventually Dribble reached the summit. It was rocky and there were plants growing every few feet. The fog grew heavy again. Dribble went closer and closer to the crying voice until… He saw a familiar silhouette. It was his Spitz. Dribble felt a mixture of relief and angst. He got close enough where Spitz was no longer a silhouette and his features were now visible. He finally let some words out when he got even closer.
“Whoever ya are… just go away”, It’s been so long since the bulldog heard Spitz’s voice that he wanted to dance with joy but knew that now is not the time.
“Hey buddy, it’s me.”, Dribble said softly.
“I don’t care.”, muttered Spitz
“don’t say that-
“I swear Dribble, just go away so ya won’t have to see me jump off this cliff and drown.”, Spitz’s voice rose. Dribble was deeply upset by Spitz’s words and he so wanted to collapse and break down in sobs over what Spitz wanted to do but
“I am not gonna let that happen.”, Dribble replied. Spitz almost immediately spun around. His face was full of anger and tears.
“Ya can’t tell me what I can and cannot do! You don’t understand my feelings! You don’t even know why I want to end my life! I’d be better off dead than being myself in this cruel world! Just beat it and let me jump! You’d be better off without me, I promise!”
“Thatsa not true. Ya have me, your family, all your friends at Warioware Inc especially Kat and Orbulon, all those unfinished sci-fi novels that you wanna complete, Red’s tail to play with, the whole trans and LGBTQIA+ community to support ya-
“DRIBBLE, FOR THE LAST TIME-“, Spitz screamed but then paused cold turkey. His face transformed from angry to regretful and sullen. “Ya know… that I… am… Tr-
“Yes buddy, Mona told me everything this mornin’. So, I am just going to say that I love ya and everythin’ is gonna be alright.”, Dribble affirmed with a sweet and reassuring voice. His words made Spitz emotional and he broke down into tears. Dribble walked closer to Spitz while saying “C’mere my poor Spitzy” and opening his big, burly arms. He didn’t expect the small cat to do anything but continue to curl up on the ground and cry… He was proven wrong since the said cat slowly made his way toward Dribble and gestured for him to pick him up. Dribble easily did just that. It felt amazing to be able to touch his favorite feline again. Holding Spitz in his arms felt like pure bliss after what felt like such a long rift. Dribble stood there comforting Spitz by whispering sweet words and affirmations but also by slowly rocking him side to side. On the outside, Dribble is a gruff and intimidating bulldog, however he is super sweet and soft on the inside as shown in his interactions with both Spitz and Ana.
“Oh Dribble! There you are! I was looking all over for you… oh and I see you found Spitz too! That’s great!”, A feminine voice then shouted. It was Mona. She approached them while panting. “Didn’t you guys hear me shout out your names several times?”
“Oh Mona, we didn’t hear ya. I guess Spitzy and I were so distracted.”, Dribble said sighing and scratching his head. Mona then got close to Dribble and whispered.
“Does he know that you know?”, In reply, the bulldog nodded. “Okay then, how about we head home now… I mean as long as it’s okay with Spitz.”
“Ya ready to go home now Spitzy?”, asked Dribble. Spitz awnsered by nodding his head. After that, they all headed back to the cab with Spitz still held tightly in Dribble’s arms. The fog was now nearly obsolete and Dribble was in a much better mood now. He didn’t know if he could speak for Spitz though. They entered the cab with Spitz in the passenger seat and Mona in the back row. They then began the drive back to the cabbies’ apartment because the cat and dog lived there and also Mona’s scooter was there. Once they all arrived back at the apartment, they thanked Mona profusely and said their goodbyes, then she was off and it was now just the two cabbies… alone in their apartment. The atmosphere was a bit awkward. They both took their places on the couch and followed by awkwardly staring at each other. They each waited for the other to let some words out but that didn’t happen for a while.
“Dribble… I’m sorry that I put ya and Mona through all this crap. I was just scared about what would happen if I told ya since I know you’re only into guys.”, Spitz mustered out. Dribble’s heart began melting as he pulled his Spitz closer to him and engulfed him in a tight, warm embrace along with gifting some cheek kisses.
“Spitzy… it’s okay. I get it, ya were nervous and with a secret that large and deep, I understand completely. I may not be Trans like you, but I am part of the LGBTQIA+ community like you. It’s not always easy being part of this community but I don’t regret bein’ part of it for even a second, and neither should ya. It’s just who we are and no one nor nothing should change that.”, Spitz began to relax a little thanks to his boyfriend’s words.
“Thanks Dribble, ya are out of this world. I’m just worried that your opinion of me would change since… well… biologically-
“Spitz… Let me tell ya something.”, Dribble announced as he held Spitz tighter and tucked both of them under a blanket that was resting at the end of the couch. They both now felt very warm and cozy. “While I may be gay, your gender identity isn’t what makes me love ya, it’s your personality and everything else about ya. I love your wise words that ya say to try and calm me down when I get fired up. I love the Sci-fi novels you write and while they are bizarre, they’re the good kinda bizarre. Your passion for writin’ them is what makes me love ’em. I love the banter that ya and I do all the time. I love how much fun we have together. I just love everything about ya and ya are the best thing to ever happen to me. Even though I’m gay, there is a good chance I would still date ya if ya were a lady still, Ya know.”, Dribble tributed towards his favorite feline. The cheeks of that said feline turned bright red.
“Really Dribble, ya mean that?”, Dribble then replied with a confident head nod. Spitz preceded to give Dribble a large kiss on the cheek. “I love ya Dribble… and I’m relieved that you accepted me. I just hope that all our other friends will accept me too!!”
"I’m sure they will, and if they don’t, it’s their problem. Just know that no matter what happens, I’ll always be here for ya and we are in this together. I’ll always stick by ya.”, The bulldog reassured while nuzzling Spitz.
“Yeah, Together! And I do wanna preface that I will probably have moments in the future where I struggle with this kinda thing.”, Spitz warned.
“That’s alright, Ya have been through so much and you deserve so much support that ya will always get from me.”, Dribble comforted, holding Spitz closer and making him more comfortable.
“Oh Dribble… I don’t know what to say other than, I love ya.”
“Aw Spitz, I love ya too.”, Dribble replied as they shared a deep kiss. Now both at peace again, the two continued to enjoy their evening and the days that followed together and always having each other’s backs no matter what.