Chapter Text
"Wally fell first. Barnaby fell harder"
How it all started..
One of the favorites holiday was just at its finest, the cold air and snow flakes covering all of the Welcome Home neighborhood parts and pieces, Ugly sweaters and the delicious aroma of a feast filled the house, cutting through the winter chill like a warm embrace. Everyone except Julie(who is passing with her family!) decided to spend the Christmas party event at Poppys barn and delicious meals, helping with what they could to make this day another memorable moment of the year.
The sound of clinking glasses and jiggling all over the place, and the beautiful food taking the big attention at the place, filled with good words and comfort between the friends and not-so friends neighbors. While the others were changing gifts and cards, Barnaby followed Wally to the front door medium-open. Where he looked at the others having fun and delight.
Barnaby pressed a big paw in his head, this "fun" way he used to make the awkward feelings disappear in a full decade.
"You're quieter than usual, kid! Santa forgot your presents, or you just awake as the Grinch today?" The dog laughed as he patted the shorter male hair with those heavy fingers he has.
To Barnaby, Wally was the 'innocent friend', the innocent creature who needed to be protected from the neighbors' crude jokes. He didn't see, or pretended not to see, that beneath that expression of someone who had never broken a plate, Wally guarded an abyss. And Wally observed Barnaby with a hunger that didn't come from the banquet.
"Im not a kid, Barnaby." with a voice so soft it was almost lost in the winter wind.
Barnaby stopped laughing. His eyes dropped into Wallys, and on the first time in years, the joke died on his throat. The cold outside was immense, but there, between the two, something started to burn.
"I know you aren't, silly!" Barnaby tried to regain the fun tone make, but his paw, that was laying on his head, lowered down to his shoulder, didnt moved, his fingers tugging against the soft fabric of the sweater Wally had on, feeling the warm of his body, that he always treated as platonic.
Wallys head stayed still, but his eyes moved to look up at him, giving him a creepy feeling down his spine.
"Uhh, Wally, you're scaring me.." Barnaby let out a growl, his voice deep. He tried giving a side smile, but his staring kicking in on his heart as the smaller moved his head up to look at him, his hands moving to lay on the big hand Barnaby put on his shoulder.
That touch made Barnabys heart beat fast, is it normal?.. Wally is just like brother to him, right?!..
He swallowed hard, the couple of drinks he had before melting in only one taste on his mouth, that disappointed as his mouth run dry.
"You're acting strange, Barnaby.." Wally caressed his furry fingers with softness "are not you.. supposed to be.. waiting.. for the meal" His eyes glued on the bigger one, his smile making this looks more as a threat.
Barnabys heart started beating fast as he took a look at this oportunity, his smile fading but not letting go of its shoulder.
Opportunity. The word echoed in Barnaby’s mind, heavy and thick like the snow piling up against the barn doors. He should have made a joke. He should have barked a laugh, ruffled Wally’s hair one more time, and walked back to the table to steal a slice of Poppy’s ham.
But Wally’s hands..smaller, smoother, and deceptively delicate...were holding his paw in place, or is that what he wanted to belive.. The contact felt like a brand.
"The meal can wait," Barnaby heard himself say. His own voice sounded foreign, stripped of its usual performative cheer. "Besides, I think I’ve already lost my appetite for turkey." He scratched the back of his own neck awkward.
Wally’s smile didn’t widen, but it changed. It sharpened. He stepped closer, invading the space Barnaby usually guarded with humor. The smell of the party felt miles away, muffled by the heavy tension vibrating between them.
"Is that.. so?" Wally murmured. He tilted his head, his eyes, dark pools that seemed to swallow the flickering Christmas lights from the hallway. "And what are you hungry for, Barnaby?.."
Barnaby felt the wooden frame of the door behind him. He hadn't even realized he’d backed up. The "innocent" Wally he had spent years protecting was gone, replaced by this focused, predatory stillness. The height difference usually made Barnaby feel like the big brother, the anchor. Now, it just made him feel exposed.
"I... I don't know," Barnaby lied, his breath hitching.
Wally’s fingers traced the pad of Barnaby’s paw, a slow, gently exploration. "You’re a bad liar, Mister B."
Barnabys heart stopped at that. Wally really mean it? Is it his dirty mind or he Wally Darling was being inappropriate?
"A-And what do you mean, kiddo.." Barnabys tail wagged but had a worried look on his face, the answer could change the whole perspective he had of him all his life.
Wally took a weak hold on one of his fingers, and placed a kiss on the tip of it, with still having this neutral expression and smile.
Before he could answer, the heavy tension broke as Sallys voice rang out from the kitchen, high pitched and fluttering with excitement, making Wally let go off his paw and look back to the kitchen and table. Thanks, God!
"Errr.. turkey! right.." Barnaby said, taking his hand off Wally and heading up to the kitchen, putting up his usual self as he got close of the others, not looking back, and wishing this weird conversation died there, but deep down, he knows Wally wasn't doing this on purpose.. or is what he wanted to believe.
As he started eating and drinking, he noticed Wallys eyes on him, eating him with his eyes, or is what he clearly wanted to. Everyone time someone talked and interacted with Wally, he would look and interact back, but it always.. always.. falling into his. Those black glistening pupils glued on his by the other side of the table, and this silly smile on his lips.
Barnaby tried to ignore him. Talking, eating, drinking..
The banquet was delicious, such as the drinks, everyone's was satisfied and stuffed. The night passed like a lightning in the middle of a rain. around two hours after they started eating, everyone's was going back home and helping clean up, Howdy was the first to left for his bodega, Frank got back home and Eddie followed him after, Sally decided to stay and help Poppy. Leaving Barnaby and Wally together..
The world tilted slightly every time Barnaby blinked, the warmth of the cider humming a dull, heavy tune in his veins.
Too drunk to help, leaves only one option for him, at least the best at the moment. Walk back home and say good bye for the girls hes leaving alone..
Opening the front door he could see how thick the snow has become, the freezing wind making him shiver as the walk back home looked almost impossible, looked back to the girls as he crossed his arms as a try to warm up, but he knows he would just be on their way.
When he was about to go, suddenly, he felt a small hand on his leg.
"Can you walk us Home?.."
Barnaby didnt exitated or questioned, picked the boy up to his shoulder as he started walking to the red living house. They made it almost every year, they always end up in the same bed, and they didnt cared, Barnaby always ended up drunk, and Wally always ended up cuddling with the dog.
The stumble to Wally’s house was short, but the wind was biting. Since Home was just a stone's throw away, it was only natural for Barnaby to crash there, it was a routine they’d done a thousand times. The freezing fog making his fur to bristle and their teeth chatter. As inside, the flooring of Home creaking a "welcome back" beneath their feet, something none of them actually knows of.
Inside Wally’s bedroom, the atmosphere was soft and familiar. Barnaby let out a heavy sigh of relief, shedding his vest and sinking into the mattress that already smelled faintly of Wally’s oil paints and expensive soap. Letting him go while Barnaby got comfy and his eyes started to close.
"Move on, apple pie.." Barnaby mumbled as he let go of Wally and placed his head on the pillows
He could swear he hears Home screams in agony when Wally undressed. But he didn't settle on his side. Instead, Barnaby felt the weight of the smaller man shifting, crawling over him with a slow, mechanical precision.
Barnaby’s eyes snapped open. In the dim, blue light of the room, he saw Wally hovering over him, perched on his knees. Wally wasn't smirking or posing; his face was a mask of intense, wide-eyed concentration. He looked like he was studying a painting he couldn't quite understand.
"Wally? Kid, what’re you doing?" Barnaby’s voice was a rough whisper. "You're gonna fall off the bed if you keep moving like that."
"Im not a kid, Barnaby.." He reached out a hand, pressing a palm flat against Barnaby’s heart. "And your heart is going very fast.. It’s making a lot of noise.."
"Yeah, well, you're sitting on me, pal," Barnaby huffed, his breath hitching as Wally leaned closer. "And this kid thing. Again?.." he growled.
"I want to try something," Wally said. It wasn't a request. it was a statement of fact. "I’ve seen how the people in the books look at each other. I’ve seen the way they touch. But I don't know how it.. feels. I think..I want to know how it feels with.. you.."
Barnaby dont took it serious, he let out a wheezing laugh, the sound muffled by his sleepy tone. "You’ve been reading too many of those romance books Sally keeps in the theater, Wally. You’re talkin’ nonsense. Go to sleep before the house starts talking back to you."
He closed his eyes again, waiting for the weight to shift, for Wally to settle into his usual spot by his side like a always. But the weight didn't move. Instead, he felt Wally’s fingers (cold as the snow outside) slide under his Christmas tie, tracing the sensitive warm fur of his neck.
His face was so close now that Barnaby could feel the stillness of his presence. Wally didn't breathe like other people. He was a silent, rhythmic constant, almost artificial in his calm.
Barnaby’s eyes flew open, the last of the alcohol-induced haze evaporating under a surge of pure adrenaline. The room felt smaller. Wally gaze was down at him, his blue colored hair slightly messy from the walk, his eyes two bottomless, dark pools that swallowed what little light remained in the room.
"Wally, cut it out," Barnaby growled, but the strength was leaving his limbs. He was used to being the big guy, the one who carried the weight, but here, pinned beneath the smaller man’s steady gaze, he felt strangely fragile. "We’re friends. Best friends. You don't... you don't look at friends like that, okay buddy?"
"I look at everything, Barnaby.." Wally said, his hand moving from the tie to Barnaby’s jaw, his fingers curling into the fur there. "I watch the sun.. I watch the birds.. I watch the neighbors.. But I’ve watched you the longest.. I know the way you pretend. to be happy when you're tired.. I know the way you look at me.. when you think I’m not staring back.."
The weight of Wally sitting in his chest felt much heavier than they really were, his face starting to burn, not from the bunch of alcohol he had in his body right now, but the excitement growing making him considerate what Wally wanted of him..
Barnaby had enough, his hand grabbed instinctively onto Wallys small torso. His eyes opening in a surprised stare, but his smile not leaving his face.
His face getting close, as he felt the dog shiver under his small hands on his neck, placing a gently kiss on his wet nose, not waiting to press one in his lips later. Nothing inappropriate, but a inocent little kiss, just enough to make Barnaby curious about the real taste of his mouth.
"Mwah!" Wally whispered, mimicking the written kisses he’d seen in stories. Barnaby let out a breathy laugh, the tension breaking as he convinced himself Wally was just being his usual, silly self."
Barnaby was still laughing, that comforting sound of someone who thought this was just another one of his neighbor’s eccentricities. But the laughter died down little by little as he realized Wally wasn't pulling away. The smaller man remained there, palms flat against Barnaby’s chest and neck, feeling the animal heat radiating from him.
"Wally? What is it now, pal?" Barnaby asked, his voice softening, losing its joking edge.
Wally tilted his head, his gaze fixed on the big dog’s lips. "I read that people lose themselves in the kiss of someone they like. But I don't know how to... lose myself, Barnaby. You can teach me.."
Before Barnaby could respond that it was a dangerous idea, Wally leaned in. And what he done, wasn’t a movie kiss, it was clumsy, almost clinical. He pressed his lips against Barnaby’s with too much force, almost abnormal. not knowing how to move his mouth or how to breathe, simply trying to grasp the sensation.
Barnaby let out a heavy sigh, feeling the innocence behind the attempt. He couldn't bring himself to be rough, even with his blood beginning to boil, his nature was one of care. He brought his large hands (so much bigger than Wally’s head) and cradled the man's face with extreme gentleness, as if holding a wounded bird.
"Slow down, Shrimp... breathe," Barnaby murmured against his lips, guiding him. "No need to rush. Just... feel it."
Barnaby began to kiss him back, but in a protective way, wrapping his massive arms around Wally’s small frame, creating a nest of warmth. He didn’t want to 'break' Wally. He wanted to merge with him. Barnaby’s touch was careful, but the intensity came from the way he pressed Wally against his own body, feeling the other's fragility in contrast to his own strength.
Wally let out a low sound, a sort of click of satisfaction, and his hands began to wander through Barnaby’s fur. Not with malice, but with a silent hunger. He wanted to know how every part of that enormous dog reacted to his touch.
"You’re so soft, Barnaby..." Wally whispered between kisses that were now becoming more fluid. "And so big. Home told me looked like you could swallow me whole... and I think I would like that."
Barnabys let out a giggle, oh God, he can not do this without knowing if Wally is sure about what he truly wants..