Chapter Text
Shane had decided to stop and buy some groceries on the way home from Ottawa. It wasn't like his fridge would be empty at home, but he was too worried about Ilya to really focus on looking up recipies to cook from scratch, so he'd just get something easy to make. By the time he was walking out of the shop, he had a simple microwaveable meal box that looked somewhat healthy and was suitable, in his opinion, for his microbiotic diet. He wasn't really thinking about food, worry gnawing at his guts, but he knew he had to eat after driving all the way home.
He made a quick stop by the guy sitting on the ground beside the front door, to drop a few loonies in his cup. He was nice, he had smiled at Shane on his way in.
"Bless you. May your wishes come true," he said, in a low, raucous voice.
"Thank you?" Replied Shane, somewhat confused by the second part of the sentence. Did wishes come true? He was told to make a wish, as a child, before blowing on his birthday candles. And maybe they did come true, cause he always wished he would get into the NHL and play for Montreal, as a child, and that did come true. Either way, he decided not to waste potential good luck, and he paused just outside his car, closed his eyes and thought about what his wish could be.
I wish I could understand Ilya better and help him in the best way I can when he's sad, even if he doesn't tell me that he is.
Shane opened his eyes after a few minutes, and things just weren't how he left them. His car was taller than him, his food was now on the ground (and smelled amazing, he almost had the impulse to bite into the package,) everything was brighter, but also more muted in color. The sky looked the bluest he'd ever seen it. Almost as pretty as Ilya's eyes.
Ilya!
All of a sudden, Shane sprinted towards the road. He was running as fast as he could to go back to his boyfriend, forgoing the car and choosing to just go on foot. Looking down towards his shoes, he saw that he wasn't wearing any. He didn't have socks or clothes or shoes, but he had a black fur coat all over his legs... paws? He tried to speak, but the only sound that came out of his mouth was a loud, high-pitched bark. Tail. He had a tail. He turned around to look at it and his whole body shuddered, tension that was only released with a full-bodied shake that made his floppy ears slap against his cheeks.
He couldn't think about the fact that he was, all of a sudden, a fucking dog. He had to go back and find Ilya. He looked sad when Shane said goodbye, and even though he would never admit it, he looked like he was about to cry.
Shane kept running and running and running. Someone on the sidewalk shouted something at him, they tried to lunge and catch him, but Shane used his small size and agility and avoided them easily. He checked on both sides while crossing the street, and made sure to peek beyond parked cars.
He got distracted for a moment when he saw a cat under a car, and growled at it instinctively, only receiving a hiss and a swat from the hairy feline.
Shane was about to cross another street, when he heard steps coming from behind him.
"Hey, little friend," said the gentle voice he recognised. Harris! Shane knew him! His tail started wagging incessantly, all fluff and fur. He was panting and offering the closest thing to a smile that he could manage, under the circumstances.
"What are you doing out here on your own? Are you lost?" Harris continued. The bark in response to his questions was supposed to mean 'not lost, just running home,' but Shane was not sure Harris could understand him.
"Do you want to come with me? I have a friend that could help." Harris' calm demeanor and gentle voice gave Shane some hope. He barked again, this time excited, his front paws doing a little tippy-tap on the sidewalk.
"Alright, let's go!" Harris matched Shane's excitement, and headed towards a truck parked on the side of the road. The doors were closed, but as soon as Shane approached, he could see a black figure inside, jumping from the front seat to the back seat, back to the front, and on and on.
"Oh, don't worry about him, he's just Chiron. He is sweet, just excited, and you'll be fast friends, I promise."
Harris opened the back door of the truck, and helped Shane get on. Chiron was sitting in the back seat, not far from him, panting and staring at him. His tail was wagging and tapping repeatedly on the leather seat.
Harris closed the back door and stepped into the front seat of the truck. Before even putting his seatbelt on, he turned around towards the two black dogs in the back seat, while rummaging in his pocket for his phone. "I'll just check in with Ilya to see if he's home. He won't mind if I drop by with a new dog for him, but Shane might be there and they might be... busy." He blushed a bit at the last word, but went ahead to press the call button.
As soon as Shane could hear the faint sound of Ilya's voice from the phone, he started barking.
Harris leaned towards the back seat in an attempt to calm Shane down, but he was just so excited to hear Ilya's voice that he couldn't contain himself. So Harris had to shout to let Ilya hear anything he was trying to say. "I found a dog on the street. He looks well groomed, medium size, I don't know if he's chipped or neutered, but he seems okay with other dogs. Do you want to home him for a few days, while you're off?"
Shane was still boucing around the back seat, when he heard "sit. down." spoken in a snappy, loud voice.
He did that, and looked towards the other side of the back seat. Chiron was staring at him, serious and unamused. "Did you say that? Can you understand me?" Shane asked, his body still trembling and excited, trying to restrain himself.
"Dad talking, dogs listen," answered Chiron. Succint, but clear enough. Shane whined, then yawned nervously, then licked his lips and settled down on the back seat. A few minutes later the car was rolling on the road, and he was staring out of the window to the view he knew so well, but that looked so different with his new eyes.
As soon as the car turned on Ilya's street, Shane jumped to his feet - his paws? - again. He started to obsessively smell the air, just in case he might catch a whiff of his boyfriend. When Harris drove the car past Ilya's neighbors, Shane barked once at the house, just to say hi, his tail wagging faster and faster.
By the time Harris' truck crossed the gate of Ilya's property, Shane was almost in a frenzy. He was excited, he was anxious, he wondered if Ilya would recognise him, somehow.
Harris opened the back door of the truck, and Shane almost trampled over Chiron, in his rush to get outside. He took off running towards the house and, as soon as he saw the door opening, he started barking and whining excitedly.
"Have you met that dog before?" He heard Harris call from behind him, but he was too busy jumping and trying to reach Ilya's face so he could lick it. Ilya finally knelt down, his eyes were puffy and sad, but still the most beautiful blue Shane had ever seen. He whined again, and then crawled between Ilya's legs, and started licking his face.
"No, never. He is beautiful, yes?" Ilya's voice was raspy and he sounded tired, so Shane snorted and kept licking his face, trying to make him feel better.
"Ok, come inside, I'll make bowl for you and you can meet Anya."