Work Text:
Seungmin had his nose squished tightly against the glass door leading to his backyard, his butt wiggling behind him as his tail wagged furiously.
He stomped his paws on the floor impatiently and gave a curt bark just to remind everyone he was still waiting.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Changbin called as he walked across the room. There was a hint of a laugh in his voice but Seungmin didn't care because the man was reaching for the latch to open their sliding door and as soon as it was cracked open he surged forward to squeeze himself through even as Changbin yelled at him to wait.
There was no time for waiting, though, because it was raining! And Seungmin loved the rain, both in his human form and his puppy form but it was especially fun in his puppy form. The rain meant he got to run around the backyard and roll in the mud and then he got to shake everything off as his boyfriends ran around trying to stop him.
But first was phase one: run around. He bounded around the backyard with his head up high to feel the rain on his face and his tail wagging hard enough that water sprayed from it and got his body even more wet.
His paws splashed down into the numerous puddles that had accumulated in the backyard, each one getting a little deeper until his paws were completely soaked. The rest of his body soon followed as he plopped down in one of the puddles to roll around in it.
He coughed when a little puddle water got in his mouth but that didn't stop him from splashing around some more, his paws kicking up water as he rolled around and made a complete mess of himself.
His tongue lolled out of his mouth and he could see Changbin standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. It almost looked like he was enjoying watching Seungmin but he knew his boyfriend was also blocking his way inside so he couldn't go shake off on all the furniture.
Shaking himself off on Changbin sounded even more fun, though, so once his eyes locked onto the man he froze for a second before leaping forward and bounding towards him. Changbin jumped back once he saw what Seungmin was about to do but he was just a little too slow at getting the door closed so when Seungmin skidded to a halt at his feet and shook himself off muddy water sprayed over Changbin's shins and then the door when he finally got it closed.
He scampered away happily to the sound of yelling from behind the door but his back was already turned so he couldn't see the exasperated look on Changbin's face. Instead he raced back to his puddle and jumped in, kicking up more mud and dirt and water until his fur was so brown he could pass for a chocolate lab.
His tail was still swinging in a circle like helicopter blades behind him as the rain continued to pour down. He just got muddier and muddier until it was caking almost uncomfortably to his fur but he knew the rain wouldn't last forever so he put the sticky feeling out of his mind and continued splashing around the backyard.
Eventually, the rain did get lighter. It was less of a pouring storm and more a light drizzle by the time he finally started to feel tired. He laid down right next to the puddle he'd just claimed and stomped around on.
But now he was out of breath and he panted while the last of the rain drizzled down on his head. He blinked water out of his eyes and turned to look at the house where he could see Changbin through the glass door. He was sitting on the couch with Jeongin and his tail wagged just at the sight of his family. Maybe he should go back inside so he could be with them? It was pretty unfair of them to be spending time together without him, after all.
So he got up and shook off a little even though a lot of the mud and dirt had dried to his fur and didn't come off with his shake but he still ran towards the door and sat down eagerly in front of it, waiting for his boyfriends to light up at the sight of him.
Except neither of them noticed him for a whole three seconds and he was immediately offended so he barked loudly and jumped up to drum his front paws against the door.
Changbin looked up and Seungmin was even more offended at the way he didn't jump and run to pull him up into his arms after they'd been separated for nearly a full half hour. Instead Changbin just rolled his eyes and got up leisurely to open the door, but he only opened it enough to press his face into the gap.
"Seungminnie, you've got mud everywhere."
Seungmin just huffed and stuck his leg through the gap in the door to paw at Changbin's leg.
Let me in, he wanted to say but Changbin shook his head at him.
"Come on, puppy, you can't think I'm gonna let you in the house like this. You need to clean off first before you go running around in here."
Seungmin eyed him uneasily. 'Getting cleaned up' could mean a couple different things. Sometimes it was just a wet rag to wash his paws off, sometimes it was a comb to his fur to get through any tangles he'd gotten, and sometimes…
"You need a bath, baby."
Seungmin growled and panicked when Changbin opened the door a little more so he could reach down and try to grab for him but Seungmin was already moving. He leapt back and was halfway across the backyard when Changbin straightened back up with another eye roll.
"Hyung, why would you tell him that?" He heard Jeongin yell from behind. "You're supposed to just grab him!"
"Sorry," Changbin apologized as he stepped out the door and closed it behind him, probably so Seungmin couldn't make his escape that way. So he was stuck in the backyard with Changbin advancing on him.
Changbin just didn't understand. He hated bath time with a passion, because it was scary and uncomfortable! And not to mention unnecessary because who cared if his fur was a little dirty?
His boyfriends apparently did because they were always trying to throw him in the bath when he made a mess of something and it was just as upsetting each time they did it.
"Seungminnie, come on," Changbin called but Seungmin darted around and didn't let the man get close. "It's just a bath and then when it's done we'll give you some cuddles."
Seungmin huffed again and barked, still trotting around the perimeter of the backyard now with his ears pinned to his head. He didn't want a bath so why couldn't Changbin just respect that?
Never mind that his fur was still stiff and caked with dried mud and dirt and he was dripping wet from the rain so that his body felt twice as heavy. Never mind that he always felt squeaky clean and comfortable when the bath was done, but for some reason getting in was always scary. Maybe it was the loud sound of the running water or the way his paws always slipped in the tub, or just the fact that he was trapped when he was in there.
Besides, it was kind of fun being dirty so when Changbin ran at him and tried to trap him in a corner of the backyard he yipped and ran out of the way, looking over his shoulder to see Changbin still giving chase.
He had no chance of catching him, though. Seungmin prided himself on his speed when he was a puppy and Changbin soon gave up, stopping at the door to ask Jeongin for help. Their youngest gave some kind of exasperated answer that Seungmin couldn't hear but Jeongin got off the couch and came outside and now he had two people trying to catch him.
Jeongin whispered something to Changbin and then the two of them split up, probably trying to trap him. Jeongin came up on his right while Changbin ran up on his left, both of them with their arms out trying to snatch him but Seungmin darted between the two and made for the open door to the house that Jeongin had left open. How fun would it be to go running around the house shaking his fur off on all the furniture?
Except right before he reached the door he heard a loud yelp from behind him and he couldn't help looking over his shoulder. Jeongin was on the ground curled up in a ball and Seungmin's ears even picked up on a small cry coming from him.
He screeched to a halt and nearly tripped over his feet as switched directions to run towards Jeongin with a worried yelp. Did he hurt himself really badly? Did he break a bone or sprain something, did he need to go to the hospital??
He ran right up to the man and tried to shove his nose through Jeongin's arms to get to his face, but those arms quickly shot out and wrapped around him and Seungmin yipped as Jeongin stood up and took him with.
One glance at his face showed that Jeongin was grinning triumphantly and definitely not crying or in any pain. Seungmin's heart sank and he tried to wiggle away but Jeongin was holding him tight as he marched back towards the house.
"Caught you," he sang while Changbin giggled behind them. "And now it's bath bath time for the dirty puppy."
Seungmin hit his paws against Jeongin's chest and gave his best growl but it was ineffective because Jeongin just carried him into the house and straight to the bathroom where he was plopped down in the bathtub.
Seungmin whined and he jumped up on his back legs to try and crawl out but both Jeongin and Changbin sat down in front of the tub to block him. The bathroom door was firmly shut as well so even if he did manage to escape the tub there wasn't anywhere for him to go. They would just catch him and throw him back in.
So he whined and tucked his tail, squishing himself into the far end of the bathtub when Changbin turned on the faucet and water started filling up the space. He whined again and jumped back up, looking pleadingly at Jeongin.
"Go get him one of his toys," Changbin said, "so he settles down better."
Jeongin got up and left the bathroom as water began to reach his paws. It was warm but he still didn't like it and he opened his mouth to complain loudly against the treatment he was receiving. Changbin flinched at the loud noise and dragged Seungmin further down the tub so the water reached further up his legs. His muddy paws were already starting to turn the water brown and he saw Changbin scrunch his nose.
"How do you enjoy getting this dirty?" He asked as he kept checking the temperature of the water. "I can barely even see any of your golden fur, this might take a while."
Seungmin whined pitifully but he perked up when the door opened and Jeongin came back clutching a foxI.Ny that had recently become one of his favorite stuffed animals. He grabbed it between his teeth when Jeongin offered it to him and sank to his knees beside the tub again. Seungmin held his toy preciously in his mouth, making sure it didn't go in the water because he wouldn't want it to get wet. It was a little less scary with his plushie but he still tensed when Changbin pulled out his doggy shampoo and poured some in his palm.
In the meantime Jeongin grabbed a cup that they used for his baths and filled it up with water before pouring it over his back. Seungmin squirmed and whined and out of instinct he tried to crawl out of the tub again but Changbin pulled him back down and gave him a stern look.
"You're not getting out of here until you're all clean, bud. You can try all you want but it's not gonna happen."
"And this'll be easier if you cooperate," Jeongin added, pouring another cup of water on his head this time. He kept a tight grip on FoxI.Ny and stomped his paws in the water just so they knew he still wasn't happy.
"I don't get why you hate this so much," Changbin said as he started to rub shampoo into his fur. "You love running around in the rain and rolling in puddles but the moment you come into contact with bath water you're trying to escape."
Seungmin just huffed. He couldn't really explain it either but being in the bath was just different from other water. Soap ran down his sides and it was all dark from the mud, Changbin's hands were also getting dirty but Seungmin was more worried about keeping his plushie out of harm's way. His head was hanging over the edge of the tub so that FoxI.Ny was safe.
"Good boy," Jeongin praised when he'd sat still for a moment and let Changbin wash him without a struggle. He longed to shove his way out of the tub and shake off all the water but with both Changbin and Jeongin blocking him he didn't think he stood much of a chance.
So he stood stiff and slightly trembling as they poured water on him and washed his fur. They even had to drain the bathtub and fill it up with new, clean water because all the mud was making it dirty. At some point Changbin gave him a little bubble mohawk and had the nerve to take a picture of him while Jeongin held him still, and he tried to give the camera his most intimidating glare.
Slowly his fur started to get cleaner after several rounds of shampoo. His jaw was getting a little sore from holding onto his plushie for so long but Jeongin kept cooing at him and telling him how well behaved he was being so he was brave and kept still as Changbin went in for his last round of shampoo. He was mostly clean at that point and he was mourning the mud that had been stuck in his fur because it was fun being so dirty and he didn't know why the others were so insistent on getting him clean right away whenever he made a mess.
"Almost there, buddy," Changbin said as he opened the conditioner bottle. Seungmin stamped his paws impatiently and squirmed the whole time Changbin was working conditioner into his fur. He wanted out and he was nearly buzzing when Changbin finally started rinsing him off for the last time.
"Do not go jump on the couch right away," Jeongin warned him as he got up to grab a towel. "You have to wait until you're dry before getting on the furniture."
Seungmin yipped in agreement and jumped up excitedly when Changbin pulled the plug and Jeongin wrapped the towel around him and lifted him up. He accidentally dropped FoxI.Ny when he flailed in Jeongin's arms but as soon as he was set down he grabbed for him again.
Jeongin dried him off the best he could but Seungmin kept trying to get away from him so eventually Jeongin sighed and let up, standing so he could open the door.
"Off the furniture," he told him again but Seungmin was too busy whining and scratching at the door to listen and he threw himself through it as soon as it was open enough for him to fit. He raced down the hallway towards the living room with his tail flapping behind him wildly now that he was out of the bath and his eyes zeroed in on the couch, a perfect place to rub himself on and dry off.
He heard Jeongin let out a cry from behind him as he leapt up and immediately rolled onto his back to rub against the fabric. FoxI.Ny was clutched securely in his mouth as he flipped over again but just as he went to rub his side against the back of the couch he was grabbed by Jeongin and placed on the floor.
"What did I just tell you?" He asked but Seungmin was already running off again. Jeongin followed him as he ran around the living room with a sudden burst of energy before he spotted his dog bed and made a beeline for it—that was also something very fun to dry off on.
Luckily Jeongin didn't have any complaints as he flopped onto the bed and panted hard for a couple seconds before squirming around and trying to get dry. He stood up for a second and shook his whole body to get rid of the remaining droplets clinging to his fur before collapsing again.
"Much better," Jeongin said, taking a seat on the couch (noticeably avoiding the damp spot Seungmin had left). "Now just stay there until you're dry."
Seungmin just chewed on his FoxI.Ny toy, not paying Jeongin much attention but he was probably telling him what a good boy he'd been for his bath, and how brave he was. FoxI.Ny was getting pretty wet from being in his mouth for a long time but he kept chewing on his ear until he was satisfied.
Then he got up and went to look out the window. His nose squished against the glass just like it had earlier as he looked out at the backyard which looked so wet and muddy and…he really wanted to go out again.
He dropped FoxI.Ny from his mouth and pawed at the door before looking over his shoulder longingly at Jeongin.
"Oh, come on," Changbin said. He'd just walked into the room (the whole front of his shirt damp for some reason–was that his fault?) and he crossed his arms at the sight of Seungmin waiting at the door. "You're not going out again, we literally just got you clean."
Seungmin whined sadly as pawed at the door again. It looked so fun out there and he was in the mood to run around some more. Besides, the mud wouldn't last forever and he needed to play in it plenty while it was still there!
Another whine and he heard Jeongin sigh.
"Really, puppy?"
Seungmin pouted at him and scratched the door again stubbornly.
"Ok, fine," Jeongin said and he stood up. Seungmin wiggled excitedly as he came closer and undid the latch of the door.
"He's just gonna whine about it the rest of the day if we don't let him," Jeongin told Changbin when the older started to protest again. "And besides, he's cute in the bath."
He opened the door and Seungmin ran out, his paws getting immediately dirty as he splashed through a puddle. He'd completely forgotten about his bath and he'd be equally shocked and enraged when Jeongin and Changbin came out later to announce that he needed another one.