Work Text:
Wriothesley sighed as he looked out the window and took a drink of his beer; another New Year's Day spent indoors, another new year welcomed with unenthusiastic applause. Furrina wagged her tail as she pattered towards his side. "At least I still have you, Fufu," He cooed while he petted her.
Wriothesley laughed when Furrina smiled and licked his face; the fireworks were already blasting outside, even though it was still thirty minutes before midnight.
Suddenly, Furrina stopped licking Wriothesley, and she turned her head towards the door. Her ears jumped, and her smile shrank.
"Fufu? What's wrong?" Furrina didn't answer Wriothesley's question; instead, she hid in his bedroom. Wriothesley's posture tensed as he cautiously walked, grabbing a knife as he approached the door. He slowly peeked through the peephole; his posture eased when he saw a handsomely familiar face. Wriothesley put the knife back in the kitchen.
Wriothesley couldn't help but chuckle when he saw Varka silently practicing his greeting and encouraging himself to finally knock. Before Wriothesley opened the door, he went into his bedroom first.
"Fufu, we're not going to the vet," Wriothesley laughed as he petted and consoled his pet. "We don't have to. You've been a very good girl, haven't you, Fufu?" Wriothesley reassured her when he fed her a treat.
Wriothesley took Furrina's restored smile as a cue to let Varka in. Furrina followed him as he walked towards the door, forgetting that he had a treat in his hand. Wriothesley smiled when he saw his pet's happier disposition, not realizing that it was due to the treat, rather than his comforting strategy.
Wriothesley opened the door when Varka was about to knock. The latter's right hand was formed into a knocking gesture that's similar to a dog's default hand gesture.
"Wriothesley!" Varka said a little too loudly than he intended. "I—I mean, hey," Varka attempted to say nonchalantly. "I was in the neighbourhood, and I thought I could, you know," he put his thumbs in his pockets. "Drop by," he attempted to wink, but it came off as an ill-timed blink.
"I'm sure it was easy for you, since we live across the hall from each other," Wriothesley sarcastically countered, which made the muscled man blush and rub the back of his head.
"Th—that's not what I meant. Y—you see, I just thought that you would visit your family," Varka sputtered, sprinkling nervous laughter at every other word.
"Varka," Wriothesley's utterance of that word made Varka's heart stop for a moment.
"Y—yes?" Varka focused his eyes on Wriothesley, as if the man in front of him would disappear if Varka uttered a single wrong word.
"Do you want to spend New Year's together?" Wriothesley smiled when he asked Varka. Little did he know, Varka's heart was doing a somersault at the mere suggestion of spending time with Wriothesley.
"Of course!" Varka wished he could control his volume better around Wriothesley. "I—I mean, sure if you want to. It's cool if you don't want to, I—I don't care," Varka tried to lower his voice into an acceptable volume, but his words sounded like a whisper.
Wriothesley grinned as he stifled a laugh. "Come in, it's about to be midnight," he said, putting his arm on Varka's back, leading him inside the apartment.
Varka smiled and blushed like a teenage girl getting asked out on a date by her crush. But he didn't care, as long as he got to welcome the New Year with his crush.
"Wow, nice place," Varka's nervousness slowly melted away as he entered Wriothesley's house. "Where's Furrina?" He questioned when he saw that the dog didn't greet him with her presence.
"Well," Wriothesley crossed his arms, and he tilted his head towards his bedroom. "She thinks that we're going to the vet every time she senses you. So she's in hiding right now," he sighed.
"Old habits die hard, I guess," Varka gave a hearty laugh.
"Yeah, I guess," Wriothesley didn't notice that a smile had spread on his face.
Varka and Wriothesley were about to enter a comfortable silence when they were interrupted by a scratching sound. The sound seemed to be coming from the bedroom.
"Looks like she's ready to come out," Wriothesley opened the bedroom door. opened the bedroom door.
"Oh, his dog's a lesbian," Varka thought he didn't say that out loud. 's a lesbian, then maybe he's gay," Varka accidentally pondered out loud.
"Yeah, why wouldn't she be? Her owner's gay," Wriothesley smirked as he looked at Varka.
Varka could only avoid eye contact and blush; he didn't think that he could blush so much in less than an hour.
"Nature vs. Nurture, you know, did Furrina come from a line of lesbian dogs or did I unconsciously teach her my homosexual ways?" Wriothesley wiggled his eyebrows.
"You weren't supposed to hear that," Varka floundered as he blushed. He's never blushed so much in his life. "But it's nice knowing that I have a chance," Varka fiddled with his fingers when he whispered.
"More than you know," Wriothesley tilted his chin up. He kissed Varka; it was soft and sweet at first, but Varka intensified it with a determined and hungry kiss.
When both of them pulled back, they were panting, and their eyes were dilated.
"I like you so much, pup," Varka's eyes immediately widened. "Shit! It's too early for pet names!" He thought.
Varka relaxed when Wriothesley cupped his face. "Pup," Wriothesley said before giving Varka a soft peck on the lips. "I like that," he said against Varka's lips.
Before Varka and Wriothesley could kiss again, Furrina started barking. The husky led them to the window. The fireworks multiplied in a roaring ferocity. The people shouted an enthusiastic, yet uncoordinated, chorus of "Happy New Year."
Varka and Wriothesley looked at each other. They haven't even realized that it was already the new year. But they did realize that a new and exciting time was about to begin in their lives.