Work Text:
Something about that day seemed to change something in Jett. When they decided to visit an animal shelter and wonder about the possibilities of their future. Jett has been wanting a little companion for a while. Someone else other than his loving boyfriend and Veronicat — of course he loved that ball of pristine white fur, but sometimes he wanted someone to make her company, other than Mark who was a full-time babysitter to her.
Mark had been trying to tell him that Veronicat was aloof and pretty territorial whenever it came to personal boundaries, something Jett had clearly been able to see; Sometimes he couldn't even get closer to his boyfriend without receiving a slap of Veronicat's tail because she wagged it so much around Mark, as if telling him to get away. Perhaps Veronicat was his biological daughter? Because no way it was otherwise, they were just too similar.
Despite that, Jett insisted that she would accommodate without any issues, after all, she got used to Jett after a while and no more scratching happened since.
Mark was not entirely opposed to the idea, he'd wanted another cat since he loved them, but Jett seemed to introduce the possibility of getting a puppy, but his worry of his precious girl getting frightened or hurting the newcomer spoke louder.
Maybe Jett wouldn't be so convinced if they hadn't come this far together, after all, it took a good glance at their relationship to realize what kind of dynamic they once had in the past, before even getting together.
✧ ────── ✧
It was around 2 pm, they just had lunch and were ready to leave the house, not without his boyfriend, who was currently coddling his daughter on his arms, holding her like a newborn.
"So we going or nah?" Jett pretended to act impatient, in fact, clearly endeared with the sight of Mark smiling down at Veronicat, that purred against his shoulder. Mark suddenly looked at him with a clueless look.
"Hmm? Oh yeah, right." He said, slowly letting her go with a little maneuvering.
They were both dressed to go out; Mark just wore his usual oversized clothes while Jett went for more colorful pieces of clothing that fit him just perfectly. Nonetheless, they were both excited and nervous to go the animal shelter, this time to pick a new member of the family. They were aware of how many animals would end up there in a matter of days, it made Mark's heart ache at the thought.
✧ ────── ✧
His sweet Veronica was just a kitten when he met her, he was fifteen and was going through one of the worst phases of his life, by the time, he had fallen into one of the worst depressive episodes he'd ever experienced, and he was constantly going in and out of the psychiatric hospital. After a particularly rough crisis, he was left in a very fragile state, needing tubes of oxygen to keep him stable. His mother was worried sick about him and needed to make sure that Mark would be able to recover safely after he got discharged from the hospital.
Veronica found her way to his life by sneaking out of her litter early in her life and ending up in the rescue shelter. As a kitten whose life was being seriously threatened at the time, Mark's mom found her just in time. She was about 5 weeks old and had completely white fur, as well as some of the most gorgeous green eyes she'd ever seen, she was remembering, seeing her son opening his eyes for the first time and looking up at her, she immediately fell in love, it was just like what she felt back then, that's what she had seen in baby Veronica.
It was no wonder that they became inseparable, Mark's instincts to protect the one creature that saved his life was something truly important to him. He wouldn't be here if it wasn't for his mom and his sweet girl. Even when he was weak and breathing through nasal tubes, he continued to gently care for the little baby. Something he didn't do often with himself. It helped him understand gentleness and it taught him to be more patient.
Mark shook his head as he spent way too much time tying his shoelaces, Jett even offered to help but Mark growled at him to get back. There was no doubt that him and Veronicat were blood-related now.
"Let's go!" Jett rushed him to get over with it, he was clearly excited to meet a new potential family member, he just couldn't stay still.
The car drive there passed by instantly, at last, they parked outside of the shelter and left the vehicle to enter the same building that they had been a couple of weeks ago. They were greeted by a kind employee and soon met with many rows and columns of caged animals. They all had different nametags and a bit of info on them. Mark immediately followed the path to the section that had cats, while Jett went for the dogs, both realizing after a minute that their respective lover wasn't there.
Mark got lost seeing cats stuck behind glass panels, they all had different colors, age and some were badly injured too, he couldn't help but resonate with them a lot more, even though he knew Jett wanted a dog this time. He left with a deep ache in his heart as he heard meowing echoing the hall. When he met Jett on the other side of the shelter, he was already looking at him from the corner of his eye.
"Baeskii! I thought you left." He said, suddenly turning to him. Jett always had that stupid nickname on the tip of his tongue.
Mark approached his lover and looked at where he was standing, he was sure that he had some lame name idea for the dog that they would adopt.
"You're looking at the one with black spots on his face?" Mark spoke, seeing the rather large dog that stood out of many. His name is Mason and he's about 7 years old, according to the information they had, his last owner had died from old age.
The older dog excitedly greeted the couple with a bark while scratching the glass with one paw, as if begging them to adopt him and take him home. "He looks like a good boy." Jett said, looking through the glass with a smile.
Mark just stood there, not sure if he would want to approach such a huge dog. But nonetheless, Mason seemed kind and open to new parents. Jett suddenly looked over at his shoulder, Mark didn't seem to lean into the idea like he was, probably because Jett was more excited than he was.
"Okay, we can look at other options." He said, walking away from the dog with a small frown, despite that, he wanted something that both him and Mark wanted, so he wasn't going to lose his spirit over one disappointing situation.
They walked around the place, observing the other dogs that were waiting to be brought home. They looked at further options, independent of age or sex. Nothing seemed to attract Mark, he was already thinking about how much work each of them would require, either bathing, grooming or just taking care of the chaos in their home. He wanted to be less picky, but it was his truth; he already needed his personal space, and Jett was the only person he (sometimes) allowed to bother him.
"Awwh, do you see this puppy? It looks so lonely." Mark suddenly overheard Jett say, as he was busy trying to calm down the maltese dog he had accidentally provoked just by existing.
Mark approached him, looking at the small space, he peeked inside to see a pup. It had barely any information and it hid behind the small cushion that Mark assumed to be its bed.
Unnamed golden retriever pup; male, 3 months old, recently found in a garbage bag.
"Babeeee, we have to get him," Jett whined with a cute pout, trying to make pleading eyes so Mark could get convinced, despite it barely working in the past couple years. "He looks so wet and sad."
Mark felt his heart picking up the pace, seeing the poor creature inside the cage, his fur was light brown with a hint of lighter yellow. The inside of his ears was pink and everything about the pup screamed precious baby. Mark found himself fond of the puppy too, his cuteness was just too overwhelming.
"He's actually quite cute..." Mark whispered, one corner of his lips twitching, as if he was threatening to smile in that same moment, but he held back.
"Isn't he?! Woah baeskii, did we just agree on something?" Jett spoke with much admiration on his words, turning to his boyfriend and suddenly planting a kiss on his pale cheek. "Can we take him? We'll call him something rad, I promise."
There was nothing rad about being flustered in the animal shelter. "Or we could just name him something normal." He brushed Jett's suggestion.
A worker that passed by the area began to walk towards the pair with a smile on her face, seeing that the two were approaching a possible conclusion on their behalf. "Hello! Do you need any assistance?"
Mark almost jumped but he held back to not look like a mess, grabbing onto Jett's bicep for leverage. "Oh, I was just looking with my boyfriend here." Jett ended up talking first, actually using normal words.
"We want the pup."
"What? Really???!" Jett turned to him while his look of joy was lighting up the place.
Mark turned to meet his eyes, feeling somewhat shy to this day, they were caught having an agreement and he couldn't help but blush. " I think so... Yeah." He felt unsure out of nowhere.
"Ohhh! Hell yeah!!" Jett exclaimed, clearly overjoyed by his lover's decision.
The worker was happy to deal with her newer clients, after all, not many came here and left with a new companion. "I'm so glad someone actually wants to adopt him, unfortunately we cannot spend a lot of time with the pups after a certain age," she glanced over at the spot where the little golden dog laid. "He's an angel, he healed pretty well and still is in the process of being weaned, we usually nurse our pups until they're good enough to start weaning, and so on."
Mark absorbed the information that the worker was telling them while he was thinking about baby Veronicat, she would already eat wet food at 5 months, which meant that they had to be more careful with the puppy. He trusted the specialist, turning his head to look at Jett who seemed radiant to bring the new furry family member to their home. However, Mark was still worried about his high maintenance. Maybe they should have picked an older dog, but something about raising another baby animal made his heart warm. He let out a sigh, after all, he had been his mother's baby at some point too. And Jett still acted like one.
Eventually after a good while of talking with the animal shelter employee, they signed some papers and more of the same. They both left with their new puppy in a pet carrier, now carrying it to the car.
"Can you ride in the back with Rocket?" Jett spoke up as Mark was about to get in the passenger seat.
"Rocket? That's not even his name."
"Ok, then go in the back with Dr. Pepper?"
"Let's just call him Rocket."
"No, no, no wait, what about Nugget?"
Mark didn't even say a word after that, baffled by his boyfriend's awful name suggestions. But he did eventually get on the backseat where their puppy was being carried, as Jett kept going with names.
"Domino's..." Jett said, as he started the car. "Can we have pizza today?"
He looked over at their new baby boy and rolled his eyes at this boyfriend's words. "Okay but at least let me name the pup."
The car started rolling as they got back on the road; he worried about the young one who was stuck in a cage since he was rescued. Even now, Mark moved to open the door of the carrier, allowing him to see more inside, his heart got increasingly warmer at the sight of their golden pup snuggling to a fuzzy blanket with tiny red stars. Red reminded him of Jett, and he smiled at the thought, he was so in love with this idiot, but at least it was HIS own idiot boyfriend.
He started to call out for the pup the same way he did to his cat, seeing if it got anywhere. He wasn't sure, he never had a dog and never been closer to that either. He got surprised to see that the pup let out a tiny whine, snuggling even closer to the only source of comfort he had.
Jett was mostly humming along to a song he was listening to on the radio and driving, while Mark was busy thinking of a name and watching over the little one. He was suddenly hit with an idea. "What if we call him Turbo?" He said, breaking the silence between them.
"That's a sick ass name! It's your suggestion so I instantly love it babe." Jett's praise quickly got to Mark's mind, and he blushed like a teenager. They could have ended this conversation earlier if Mark had suggested a name before.
✧ ────── ✧
When they got home after an exhausting shopping session for their new pup, they made sure to be careful and not shake the carrier a lot, also they had to introduce baby Turbo to Veronicat. Mark decided to place the carrier down to see what she would do once she approached him.
"Yo baby girl, we got you a new brother!" Jett announced out loud, seeing Veronica walk over to their shoes with curiosity. She looked over at the newcomer and tensed, before coming closer to sniff Turbo through the carrier.
Jett and Mark looked over at each other, trying to decipher each other's gazes, they just hoped everything would go well. But when she was done, she gave them a warning by hissing and then leaving with her tail high up.
"Ouch, real sass." He added after concluding that she wasn't fond of Turbo.
Mark furrowed his brows, thinking about what they would do with him now. "We should only let him wander around when we're watching him." He said, opening the carrier and coaxing the little fur ball out. Turbo was terrified because he was still a baby after all, he hasn't gone anywhere in a long time, he was barely aware of his surroundings, so it would take him a while to settle in their home.
When he came out of the carrier for the first time, Jett picked him up with his gentle hands and cradled him against his chest, making the pup feel his warmth. It was like taking care of a real baby. Soon enough its gentle whines would subside, and he would fall limp in Jett's arms.
The rest of the afternoon had the couple sweating over the new pup, feeding him was a bit of a challenge soon after exiting his carrier, he would act like an overexcited kid, doing zoomies around their living room until he would flop somewhere and nap. Veronicat didn't seem to act violent with him, but they would watch them just in case. She mostly didn't care, if Turbo didn't mess with her, she wouldn't do anything.
They would follow the specialist's advice, by placing puppy pads on their room and basically any corner of the house, he was still learning so a high chance of him doing his necessities somewhere he wasn't supposed to do was high. They also needed to prepare a specific type of puppy meals for him while he's still in development. Making him less dependent on bottle feeding and gradually introducing him to solid foods.
The first time they did it, Jett almost spilled over their whole package of puppy milk formula, while Mark used the blender to turn some puppy kibble into thin powder, all while their new baby was clinging onto their ankles and letting out little barks.
"Just a second, okay?" Mark hummed out, preparing a bowl and pouring the crushed kibble into the puppy milk mixture that Jett prepared. "Jett, I think you put too much water, you turned it into soup."
"It's so he keeps hydrated, isn't that important too?"
"I guess." He shrugged, at least a little water wouldn't hurt.
After mixing it well, Mark put the bowl down and the pup eagerly headed towards the source of the delicious smell that made his puppy senses tingle. He waddled over with his small and clumsy paws and fed from the bowl. As Turbo was being kept in the shelter, he had grown used to eating alone, so there wasn't much to do before he actually started eating by himself, it made their lives so much easier.
Of course, his wobbly body couldn't handle all that excitement and would end up burying his face on the mush, getting his fur all dirty while letting out soft whimpers. Jett was so busy looking over him that he immediately noticed what happened. "Oh damnit! Nice job soiling yourself bud. He chuckled, running his fingers over the pup's fur, trying to hold him back from diving into his food bowl.
Mark watched over his boyfriend with affection, a rare moment where he would just sit back and watch him do anything. It made his heart flip. "I think he liked the food though. That's good."
"Please be a puppy that likes baths... Please..." Jett sighed out with a fond grin, thinking about what they would have to do next. Somehow it ended up being a reference to his and Mark's hygiene habits.
Mark laughed at Jett's words, seeing Veronica coming up to him with a sweet mew. When she sniffed Mark, she seemed to turn her back at him and leave. He smelled like the new puppy after all. And that made Mark upset.
He couldn't handle losing her, what if she would hate him for the rest of his life?
After he was done eating, they were going to take the puppy out to their courtyard, but he seemed to have different plans, rather than heading straight to the puppy pad, he started to jump all over the place, with Mark having to come after him to hold him still. He was covered in puppy mush, but they would only bathe him afterwards.
"This guy has way too much energy." Jett said, watching as Mark carried him over to the mat placed on the floor.
"Guess who had the idea to adopt him."
"HEYY! Not fair babe, we're NOT returning Turbodog!" he approached his lover, seeing the way the pup got Mark's shirt all dirty with puppy mush. He was clingy and liked to nuzzle against him and Jett a lot. "He seems to like you a lot." Jett grinned at the sight of Mark holding Turbo.
"He's so warm and fluffy." He murmured with a tiny crack of a smile on his face. He was never fond of dogs, but the pup managed to win his heart.
"We gotta get him potty now." He said, earning a nod from Mark.
They decided to place him down on the puppy pad, where he would have to settle and do his thing. Jett fed some moist kibble directly to the pup, so he would stay in place and not decide to wander off somewhere else. Or else they'd find something they'd not want to see. Turbo was hesitant, sniffing Jett's hand and munching on the kibble with some difficulty, his teeth were just beginning to develop, so Jett barely felt pain in the way he bit him.
Mark watched the encounter with a sweet gaze. He knew he would chicken out once Jett turned to meet his eyes. But the way he was such a natural with dogs made his heart do backflips, he was like a big puppy too, and he always saw himself as a cat. Their dynamic ended up matching like the sun and moon, and so on.
He wasn't used to the amount of care that dogs required, Veronicat was one thing, but this was another, he knew damn well he was better off letting Jett do it. But Turbo was their baby now, he couldn't himself slump back because of his insecurities.
"He's doing it now!! Arghhh good job dude!!" Jett exclaimed out with his hands on his head, slightly gripping on his locks to show his excitement. Mark couldn't show the same. Jett picked him up afterwards by wrapping his hands around the pup's chubby belly, his proportions being of a potato with arms and legs. He was pretty healthy to say the least.
Mark saw Jett kissing Turbo's head, placing little kisses on his soft fur, while also accidentally consuming the mush Turbo had before, quickly letting out a noise in complaint. "Yuck. What are they feeding you bro?"
"That's not for you idiot, not everyone edible is for you—" He jokingly referred to Jett, seeing him trying to get the bitter taste out of his mouth.
"Okie dokie! Time for your first bath." He said with the usual wide grin that Mark was always looking forward to seeing. But would never admit that out loud.
They took over the bathroom, sitting on the floor next to their shower. The couple was focused on keeping the water in a considerable temperature before actually pouring it over the shivering thing. He was still a tiny being after all.
Before going home, they had the opportunity to buy everything they needed. It had been a long time since they bought this much stuff for an animal and they had to often restock on litter sand and wet food for Veronica, but moving in a new creature was different. The two weren't that tidy, but they were aware of the responsibility that came with adopting a new pet.
Mark helped Jett wash Turbo, while Mark gently rubbed puppy shampoo on his furry body, Jett held him still so he wouldn't try escaping, it was clear that he wasn't really enjoying it, but they had to clean him. They hoped to soothe the little one with treats afterwards. In the meantime, Veronicat strode into the bathroom to complain to her humans, she mewled and sat there by the door to try and bring their attention to her.
"Oh, yo girlie," Jett casually said, turning around to see the sulking cat there. "Came here to make up with your brother?"
His boyfriend was still paying attention to the way he washed Turbo, making sure to rinse the shampoo properly so it wouldn't cause irritation afterwards, but Mark also wanted to tend to Veronica, who had just walked in. "At least help me, won't you?" He told Jett.
Jett eagerly grabbed the shower head from Mark's hands and started to run it all over Turbo, except his head. He was shivering under his hands, so he was starting to feel bad. "There, no more stinky, let's dry ya up!" Jett reached out for a nice, fluffy towel to wrap the puppy on.
Mark turned around to call out for his cat, who would come running towards him with no second thought, rubbing herself on him and purring. Mark's clothes quickly got covered in white hair and he felt his chest all fuzzy. "Veronicat, don't leave me, okay?" He said in a more lighthearted tone. "It's Jett's fault we have a dog in the house."
"Real nice there brofriend." He replied with a hint of sarcasm, while drying his fur with the towel, making sure he was careful and gentle with him. The pup would let some whines, but Jett would soothe them with soft whispers and kisses on his small head. Jett was so affectionate with Turbo that it pissed Mark off. He was so cute it hurt.
Veronicat seemed to comprehend his words — at least try, because now, she headed towards Jett and wagged her tail while using her cute button nose to sniff Turbo again. Mark and Jett watched the interaction happen as quiet as they could, but Jett couldn't resist letting out a chain of "aww" and "so cute", and Mark himself felt happy to see them bond. After a few groundbreaking seconds passed by, Veronica began to groom one of Turbo's ears, dragging her sandpaper tongue on his puppy fur, while the little one simply nuzzled against the feeling.
The couple stared at each other with surprise. "Well, that was quick."
"Didn't expect that." Mark added, in awe.
Perhaps, something about this spoke a million of words, their little family would get along well from now onwards, considering the age difference between Turbo and Veronica, they could definitely develop something beautiful together. Little Turbo eased into the comfort of being cleaned by Veronica, with her being like a sweet nurturing mother that he didn't have. Maybe it was time for her to pass on Mark's legacy, as he spent a lot of time taking care of her too.
Once she was done, she grabbed the pup by the scruff of his neck with her mouth and took Turbo out of Jett's possession. "Oh— Where is she going with him?"
They watched the white cat take the pup all the way to the living room, and when Jett and Mark followed behind, they saw that Veronica was providing him her bed and letting him stay near her. A change of mind like this wasn't expected by any of them.
"Broskii! Broskii! Do you see this???"
"I'm not blind you know?"
Jett turned to him with a smirk, wrapping his arms around Mark's waist and leaning into his neck, pressing a kiss on his pale skin. With a simple act of affection, his skin would turn pink and his ears bright red. "Look at me now baby..." He spoke with glistening brown eyes looking up at his bright green ones.
"Ew." He pretended to find him uninteresting, but in reality, he was a blushing mess.
"Our children are getting along."
Oh gosh. He really said that. He said that while he was pressed against Mark. His belly was warm and soft against Mark's back, making him feel relaxed. He eventually leaned back against his boyfriend, letting out a breathy chuckle. "It sounds so weird coming from your mouth."
"You mean... This gorgeous mouth ya love to kiss?" Jett spoke in a lower register, making Mark act up like crazy.
"You're so lame." He replied, but he liked to hear his sappy words, that gorgeous voice... "In front of the kids."
They were acting like a bickering old couple with children, when they only had a cat and puppy in the house, it was their favorite thing to do, no other thing could bring them this much joy.
"You said the thing!! Rehehe!!!" He pinched Mark's side, earning a yelp from him.
"Unhand me Jett Dawson!" Mark let out a significantly louder laugh than before, actually feeling the sensation bubbling in his chest, his stomach filling with butterflies, the situation beginning to set in... he felt happy.
Veronicat let out a few purrs and meows as she played with the pup, who was currently jumping on her back and pretending to fight her, the pair made sure it wasn't an actual threat for the little one. But Veronicat was being gentle with her kitty punches and bites, just enough to keep Turbo entertained and under her watch.
Since that day, they would warmly welcome their newest family member with lots of love and care, Mark was slowly opening up to the idea of having a dog along with his cat. Like usual, he had the days that he would rather be alone, but that was just something that Jett was already used to.
✧ ────── ✧
Turbo was 8 months today, with Veronicat being almost 11 years old, she was still incredibly loyal to Mark, while Turbo had just begun his path to adulthood. In no time he had grown a lot, he was now the size of their kitchen counter, being able to steal food once they were not looking. They mourned the tiny pup he used to be, cozily nestled in their arms, eating from a bowl bigger than his body. Nowadays, he ate actual dry kibble, was more independent and extremely energetic, as well as he was chest-level with the pair when he stood on both feet.
Veronicat was about to be considered a senior, she already napped a lot and was less energetic, not able to keep up with Turbo's energy at all. Mark would spend more time with her, despite Turbo taking a clear liking on him and constantly annoying him with his demanding attitude.
It was about 6 am when Mark woke up, not because he was a morning person, but because he was covered in Turbo's slobber, Turbo had jumped on the bed and crawled over him, just to wake him in the nicest way a dog would think of.
"Turbo...! Stop licking me." He complained, trying to move away from the dog's tongue. "Get down boy!"
With one frustrated huff coming from the golden retriever, he eventually jumped off the bed, sitting beside the bed with an expectant look. Like he was an angel and deserved treats. Jett ended up waking up with all the fuss, grumbling under his breath as Mark had left his cuddling position with him.
"Hey babe, come back here..." He murmured still incredibly laced with sleep.
"I fear I might not be able to do that because well... I'm soaked because of Turbo." Mark's words were filled with sarcasm, since he smelled like a wet dog and he was trying not to get any of it on his mouth at that moment.
He headed towards the bathroom, trying not to trip on Turbo because the dog followed him as if it wasn't enough messing around, he tried to wash his face as much as he could, ignoring the fact that he had pretty much washed his hair on the sink too. He didn't care, he felt annoyed and tired for waking up so early.
Soon, a figure emerged in the bathroom with him, a sleepy Jett wrapped his arms around his waist and leaned his chin on Mark's upper back, burying his face against the thin fabric of his t-shirt, Jett was almost as clingy as Turbo was. They both liked to hog all the sheets and occupy a lot of room in general. Like father like son. Mark would be falling off the bed if Jett wasn't cuddling him every night.
The bathroom felt tiny with Jett and Turbo in it, the dog barked for breakfast, while Mark was doing the bare minimum and washing his face early on that morning, Jett still pressed against him. Mark looked at the mirror, noticing that his facial hair was beginning to grow out more consistently. He would just shave that off later, he had two kids to feed after all.
"My love, if you're that tired then just go back to bed, I'll go feed them."
"Mmmh... Warm... Will you come back...?" Jett said as he nuzzled against the back of Mark's neck, complaining like a drowsy baby.
Mark couldn't resist his words, he sounded so vulnerable and quiet, unlike when he felt awake and would radiate his energy whenever he went. "Mhm.. Just gotta feed 'em." He was so tired that his words came all jumbled together.
It was part of their routine; Mark would wake up in middle of the night or pretty early because either Veronicat screamed at him for food at 2 am or Turbo was demanding his breakfast at 6 am. Sometimes they'd switch shifts too. But it was more about how much of a heavy sleeper Jett was, he would sleep like a rock through it all, only waking up because Mark left the bed.
Turbo huffed continuously, showing how impatient he was and that he had been starving for ages, which was about a whole night that he should have slept, so 15 minutes since he woke up. Poor thing hadn't eaten in 15 minutes. Jett eventually unwrapped himself from Mark, not leaving before he kissed his pulse point. "See ya there babe."
Mark felt tempted to follow Jett to bed, he missed their more still life. With Turbo, it had been a great contrast and a change to their home's pace. Yet, he couldn't say that he disliked his newer furry pet, he was cute when he wasn't doing anything much or trying to destroy their house. He resembled Jett in a way, like whenever Mark was hard to approach, Jett would keep coming to him, no matter how grumpy he was.
No matter how much he shoo'ed the now-grown pup, he would keep clinging to him like they were inseparable. Mark's cold heart had gradually melted over the last months, after all, he was a pup with his own puppy brain, he saw Turbo as someone who saw him as a very important person in his life, he fully let his guard down around the couple, and Mark thought it was pretty sweet and it meant a lot to him. Same thing he had thought about Veronica, then Jett. He was dating Jett and he trusted him more than anyone out there, knowing it was mutual. It made him feel important and appreciated. So, he didn't see it any differently with Turbo either.
Ten minutes after he had left the bathroom, he was placing food on two pet bowls, Veronicat and Turbo swarmed around Mark's legs like flies, waiting for him to place the bowls down. Her tail was high up like an antenna, seeing if Mark would give her any extra treats — both being highly greedy for treats. A bad habit that him and Jett had to break immediately, as they were growing spoiled with each day that passed.
"Here, damn." He let the bowls down as the two greedy creatures lunged at their meals like they had not eaten in weeks. He was almost getting his finger bitten out by Veronicat, who was a little too excited for her stinky wet food — it was more of a tiny nibble, but he liked to exaggerate.
Veronicat had never been this lively, not even when she was a kitten, she was a little energetic, sure, but it was quickly overshadowed by her feline instincts once she grew up. Mark looked conflicted as he thought about his dearest cat growing old, he was not ready to let go of her anytime soon — probably never. Maybe a new sleep buddy had been a good thing after all, since she would still play with the puppy and groom him sometimes, which was helpful. Mark and Jett had walked in on them quite a lot and always lost their minds at the cute sight.
Mark smiled to himself at the thought, slowly shaking his head as he imagined a life without any of this. He would've been deep underground by now. Now he felt like he had to be more grateful for the second chance that had been granted to him. He petted Veronicat and Turbo while they were busy eating, before standing up and walking back towards the bedroom.
As expected, Jett was deep into his nap, his limbs lazily stretched over the sheets whilst he snored like a lawn mower. Mark couldn't help rolling his eyes with the amount of love he had for him, even when he hated his snoring, he knew it was a sacrifice he would be willing to take so he could keep having this in his life. When Mark decided to leave his insecurities behind, he got on the bed, scooting his body closer to Jett's. His lover seemed to have a sensor because he stopped snoring when he cuddled against him. He immediately wrapping his arms around his back and pulled him in so he could be tucked under his chin, laying his head on his chest. Mark could hear his relaxed heartbeat.
Jett opened one of his eyes and sniffed Mark's hair, since his nose was quite literally pressed on his boyfriend's black hair. The scent of Mark's unwashed hair always got him; he couldn't hold back a little giggle.
"What?" Mark barely managed to get that through, about to pass out in the same moment. He couldn't help nuzzling further into the comfort of Jett's cushioned chest, he smelled of his boyfriend, he couldn't describe it any better, also because Jett was his boyfriend of many years, and he was the owner of the scent Mark was truly addicted to.
He was the one he had to thank.
"I love you so much Baeskii," he whispered, kissing Mark's forehead. "Thank ya for tolerating me, even when I'm annoying."
"I... love you too Jett, you're the best boyfriend I could have ever asked for."
"Hehe— You're so lame." Jett said jokingly. "So sappy..."
"I take everything back."
"Nooo~ I'm sorryyyyy~" Jett whined as he leaned on his elbows, staring at Mark with a tiny pout on his plump lips, his locs messy and curlier than usual because of laying down for too long, Mark still thought he looked flawless, no matter how many times he had looked at him before. "Mmph... I'm also glad we have badass Veronicat and Turbodog."
"It's like having a family, I'm pretty happy with how it's turning out." He murmured, still very sleepy, his voice more raspy than usual, but he was speaking from the heart, and Jett could see the honesty in his words, he reached out for a loc and began to run his thumb over a piece of Jett's considerably thick hair.
"Yaaaa... I love this family so much." Jett chuckled, melting under Mark’s soft touch.
Mark felt his heart rate increase at the sound of Jett's words, he had never thought about how much those words would impact him. After all, they had a little family of their own, he was not even pressured to do anything he didn't want — they were fine without any actual kids, despite talking about it sometimes, they never proceeded with the idea after getting Turbo. He released Jett's loc and ran his fingers down his cheeks, feeling the texture of his beard under his fingertips. They stared at each other with clear exhaustion in their eyes, but brushing that fact away, they were exchanging loving gazes. Jett hummed, pleased with Mark's touch on him, when Mark moved his fingers down to his lower lip, feeling the softness of the skin there — acting as if he had never done that before, he just loved Jett's lips way too much.
Jett didn't mind leaning in for a kiss, they touched lips in a gentle manner, before he pulled away and went back to his original position with a relieved sigh. "Sleep well shrimp. I will be here for you always..." Jett said under his breath, he could say real nice things when he was sleepy. Mark was grateful he didn't have to think a lot before speaking right now, he had an excuse.
But before he did, he heard small footsteps entering the room, along with a sound of bed sheets shuffling, Veronicat slowly made her way to Mark’s neck, wrapping herself around him like a scarf, purring and nuzzling against the two. Jett chuckled, running a small hand over her belly as she got in between their bodies. Turbo seemed to have followed her because he also got on the bed, making himself comfortable in their bed with a low grumble. The bed was crowded and Mark was being squeezed by Jett, and Turbo who was laying on his other side, he couldn’t deny it felt nice but also a little too tight for his liking.
Jett let out a sigh, his hand slowly stopping its movement as he fell back asleep. Mark was awake for a bit longer, simply relishing on the feeling of their cozy family, discomforts aside.