For Canadaphile: Make Him Laugh
For: canadaphile
Author: olebade
Title: Make Him Laugh
Rating: PG
Pairing: Tao/Kai
Word count: 2618
Warnings: Talk of poop and pee hehehe.....
Summary: Jongin goes to adopt some dogs at the local shelter and sees this fascinating volunteer there who apparently has a little menagerie of his own at home.
A/N: So there was originally a lot more to this. But life kept continuously happening and I had to cut most of it for the sake of time. I am so sorry and I hope you like it anyway or at least find it a bit cute. FORGIVE ME! Q_Q
As Jongin scoops up poop and washes out pee from the puppy cages, he briefly wonders how he got roped into volunteering at the animal shelter.
It used to be that he would lounge around at home after a long day at his job or school. He would do his homework, watch TV, and dance a bit on the days he could get to the gym. Then that fateful day when he saw an ad for a poodle at the animal shelter awaiting adoption. One look at Monggu, his big brown eyes pleading for a playmate, and Jongin sighed.
He had gone to the animal shelter to see the dog. Dog. Singular. He ended up seeing dogs. Dogs. Plural. And he ended up bringing dogs home. Dogs. Plural. But as he was signing the papers, Jongin caught sight of a young man hurrying away towards the barns outside. From what little glance Jongin was able to get, he was attractive. But the boy is soon gone and Jongin is left with his new babies tangling themselves up in his legs at the front desk.
When he finally manages to get himself untangled and start walking his new pups back to his car, he turns his head and finds the same boy nuzzling the head of a horse a little ways away. Jongin stops, marveling at the beautiful boy.
When said boy suddenly turns his head up to look at him, the boy smiles pleasantly at him, showing off a straight row of teeth and a catlike grin. “Take care of you dogs well!” he encourages after moving his head away from the horse so as not to startle it.
“I will!” Jongin replies automatically before retreating to his car.
The next day, he was back to become a volunteer just to see the boy a little more. And to play with more dogs than he could afford to take care of. That was always a plus. He loved animals. He just didn’t like mucking out horse stalls and cleaning up after puppies that were not house broken yet.
It was all worth it that day he saw the boy cuddling with a puppy that was wrapped in a warm blanket. Jongin had been given an opportunity to play with the littlest puppies to socialize them to humans. The boy was already in there when he arrived.
“Hello,” the boy greeted him with a smile as he looked up from the little white puppy. “Here to play with the little ones?” he asks conversationally. Then he gets a good look at Jongin and goes, “Hey, weren’t you here just recently? I mean, like adopting, wasn’t it two dogs?”
Jongin blinks. “Y-you remember me?” he asked in surprise as he sat down and waited for a puppy to come his way out of interest.
“Of course!” the boy assured him. “I have a good memory as it is, but I remember better the people who leave with more than one adopted pet. They looked so happy to be coming home with you. How are they settling in, by the way?”
“Great! It took a little bit of careful watching the first day because they were curious about my other dog. But now they all play together and cuddle together. Taking them for walks takes a while though because they don’t want to walk straight.”
“They sound like they are adjusting well. I know whenever I adopt a new animal I have to make sure they socialize well. It would be kind of a disaster if an animal just didn’t like its playmates.”
“You sound like you have a lot of animals,” Kai said as he tugged lightly on a chew toy that was in a puppy’s mouth. It gave a non-threatening and playful growl as it fought to keep its toy. Kai didn’t try very hard to take it from him.
“A few horses,” the boy said. “A cat, two birds, three rabbits, and a newly adopted puppy that I brought home last week for the first time.”
“That’s so many!” Kai said, his eyes wide and his mouth dropping open. “How do you take care of so many?” But the boy just shrugs and picks up a little puppy to cuddle it.
“I’m Zitao, by the way. I almost forgot to formally introduce myself,” the boy said. Finally, Jongin had a name to put to that beautiful face.
“Jongin,” he replied with a smile. “It’s okay, I forgot too.”
“Jongin,” Zitao replied thoughtfully. “I’ll remember that. And I hope you continue to help out here. We definitely need the help.”
“I can see that,” Jongin said, nodding at the three puppies scrambling to get into Zitao’s lap with the fourth puppy. “They like you very much.”
“I know,” Zitao said with a wide smile. “And honestly, I wish I could take them all home. The money isn’t the problem in my case. But I couldn’t possibly take care of them all myself, and I hate leaving my animals in someone else’s care unless I’m going somewhere for an extended period of time more than two days. They’re my animals and my responsibility. Why should I ask someone else to socialize them?”
“I feel the same way about my dogs. But they only behave for me anyway. My sister tried to babysit my first one for me while I was away once, but he wouldn’t listen to her.”
Zitao smiled and Jongin felt his breath leave him for a moment there. He figured it was about time he be brave.
“So, uh…” he began, feeling a little silly. “I have a small confession to make. I didn’t only decide to volunteer because I love animals.”
“Oh?” Zitao said, blinking at Jongin in confusion.
“Yeah, I like animals very much and I’ll continue to volunteer as long as I can, but I also decided to volunteer…because of you…”
“Me?” Zitao repeated in surprise.
Jongin nodded.
“Why me?” Zitao asked.
No going back now. “Because you looked at home with that horse on the day I adopted those two dogs. And then you looked at me and smiled like I had made you the happiest person alive just because I was giving those two a new home. You’re very handsome, and that smile just made you look like an angel.”
Zitao was blushing bright red as he listened to Jongin speak and Jongin figured maybe this was a good place to stop and get to the point.
“I guess what I really want to say - or ask, rather - is, would you go with me to get coffee sometime? When you’re free?”
As luck would have it, Zitao said yes. About a week later, they found some free time together and went for coffee. Jongin made sure to bring all three of his dogs because Zitao had asked.
“Hello, little ones!” Zitao had said affectionately as Jongin walked them over to him. He lavished the pups with pets and kissy faces for a solid minute before finally standing back up to his full height to greet Jongin properly.
“Hey.”
Jongin smiled shyly. “Hey. So, I don’t know if you were expecting, like, Starbucks or something, but there’s a nice little outdoor café that makes great coffee this way. Right next to the dog park.”
“That sounds nice. Let’s go,” Zitao said with a genuine smile. Jongin just nodded, returning the smile and led the way.
After getting coffee, Jongin turned his dogs loose in the dog park to play and sat down on one of the benches with Zitao.
“I would have brought Candy if I had known you were going to ask me to a dog park,” Zitao said softly. He wasn’t angry and he wasn’t upset, but Jongin felt a little bad.
“Sorry. I got a little excited and forgot to tell you what I was planning,” Jongin admitted.
“That’s okay,” Zitao assured. “Just leave the plans to me next time.” Jongin’s ears perked up at the thought that there would be a next time.
“So…we’re friends then?” he asked hopefully. Zitao just smiled and looked at Jongin.
“Well we have to start somewhere, don’t we?” he said knowingly. Jongin smiled, a little twinkle making it into his eyes.
About an hour later, Zitao announced that he needed to return home because a friend of his was panicking over one of his kittens. “He’s a dear friend and even if he’s quite the brat, he’s always there for me when I need him, so I need to return the favor.”
Jongin just waved the explanation away with a hand. “It’s okay, I understand. Just make up for it next time,” he said with a teasing smile. Zitao just smirked back and socked him lightly on the shoulder with his fist.
“Next time, you’re coming to my place to meet the Huang clan. And by [i]clan[/i] I mean all the animals. See what you’re getting yourself into.” Then he winked and walked away with a little wave. Jongin waved back and waited until Zitao was out of sight before going to collect his dogs.
“Jongin!” he heard someone call from behind him. He nearly slipped on the sprayed down floor and only caught himself on the chain link wire of the dog cages. When he recovered his balance, he looked up and saw Zitao standing there, trying not to laugh at him.
“You scared me!” Jongin defended, face going red.
“I know. It was funny,” Zitao said, finally letting out a laugh. Jongin stuck his tongue out in retaliation. Then Zitao shoved a piece of paper in his face, almost close enough to lick it. Jongin blinked at it.
“What is this?” he asked as he set down his cleaning supplies and let go of the cage wall to take the paper from Zitao’s hand.
“My address, stupid,” Zitao said with an amused expression. “It’s a tad far away so you’ll want to leave here about an hour before our meeting time if you want to get there on time. “My parents are gone on business today so you won’t get their ‘potential-interest-interrogation’ today. I haven’t even told them you’re interested because I’m not sure about anything yet.”
Jongin knew Zitao was just telling him this to keep him in the know about his intentions. They were still very much just friends with a potential to go somewhere. But they needed to get to know each other a little more first before Zitao really considered him. Jongin knew he probably just wanted to be sure the feeling wasn’t fleeting and would stick around.
Jongin had a feeling it would, but he wasn’t going to push this faster than necessary.
“Saturday at noon?” Zitao asked. Jongin agreed in a heartbeat.
“Should I bring the kids?”
“Please do.”
Jongin arrives with three dogs sticking their heads out all his windows. He has to push Monggu into the back on a number of occasions as they drive up. And the longer they stay in the car, the farther the city gets. Zitao had been right, his house was far off and Jongin suspected it had to do with the horse he owned that required more land that could only be found in the rural areas beyond city limits.
When he finally drove up the long drive way belonging to the address Zitao had given him, he was relieved and so were his dogs; who desperately needed to pee after having their bodily fluids jostled around in their little bladders for the hour long car ride.
Jongin let them out and kept them relatively close (though not too close for obvious reasons) to let them answer nature’s call. By the time they were finished, Jongin heard the sound of hooves meeting dirt. He turned around and saw a horse and rider making their way to the fence next to the road.
“Jongin!” that familiar voice calls. Jongin finds himself smiling without thinking. “Glad you could make it!” the rider says as he pulls his horse all the way up to the fence. Sure enough, it’s Zitao who is sitting all the way up on that horse, looking far too comfortable for being so high off the ground.
“Hey, Zitao,” he greeted before moving on to his complaints. “Yeah, we made it. But I’m so stiff from being in the car for so long. The dogs are ready to play though.” Janggu barked as if in confirmation.
Zitao just smiled and hopped down from his horse. “Then follow me.”
Zitao takes the dogs to the backyard where they are introduced to Candy, Zitao’s tiny puppy. The three bigger dogs sniff at her for a minute before going to explore the rest of the yard. “They will be fine here,” Zitao insisted as he went back to Jongin’s side. “Come on, I want you to meet the rest of my non-human family.” Jongin just nodded and tried not to be surprised when Zitao took his hand.
Zitao went to find his cat first. She was a thin short haired grey cat that loved being petted. She snuggled into Jongin’s hold and pawed lightly as Zitao pet her. They moved onto the bunnies next and Jongin just let them hop around him peacefully because whenever he tried to pick on up, they scattered and Zitao just laughed at him.
The horses were different. Zitao seemed to love his horses very much and had a very strong connection to them. He nuzzled one of them on the nose and sighed happily into the short hair there before running his hand through the mane.
Then the sun hit him just right and Jongin forgot for a moment to breathe. It didn’t go unnoticed.
“May I ask,” Zitao began, “if this was how you saw me that day?”
Jongin swallowed. “It is…” he answered with a nod.
“Then can I tell you why I smiled at you like that that day?” he said with a knowing smile.
Jongin looked at him quizzically. “Uh, sure…”
“I should tell you I look for someone who can make me laugh,” he said, fixing his gaze to Jongin’s. “And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you make me laugh quite a lot. All the time at the shelter. And, I remember that day you walked out with your two dogs. They were tangled around your feet and you were tripping and it was funny and really cute and in that moment I really wanted to be your dogs; tripping you up just to make me laugh.” He stopped and laughed, patting the horse’s nose lightly. “So I think I’m feeling pretty close to what you’re feeling. Whatever we are, do you want to try it?” he asked.
It took Jongin a minute to realize just what Tao was asking. “You’re not afraid?”
“Of what? Of you breaking my heart?” Zitao asked. “No. I’ll break your arms if you do.” The comment sounds so confident that Jongin doesn’t want to challenge it just in case Zitao makes good on the promise. “I think you’re genuine with what you feel right now, but we’re going to take it slow just in case. Okay?”
Jongin just nodded and they shared a small, nervous smile. “I think that’s fair.”
Zitao smiled and reached out for Jongin’s hand. “Now come here, I’m going to teach you to saddle up and ride a horse.”
“WHAT? NO NO NO NONONONONONO!”
Sometime after Zitao got on the horse behind Jongin, the older boy decided it was a good idea to peck Jongin on the cheek lightly. Jongin is so surprised he loses his balance and falls off the horse.
Author: olebade
Title: Make Him Laugh
Rating: PG
Pairing: Tao/Kai
Word count: 2618
Warnings: Talk of poop and pee hehehe.....
Summary: Jongin goes to adopt some dogs at the local shelter and sees this fascinating volunteer there who apparently has a little menagerie of his own at home.
A/N: So there was originally a lot more to this. But life kept continuously happening and I had to cut most of it for the sake of time. I am so sorry and I hope you like it anyway or at least find it a bit cute. FORGIVE ME! Q_Q
As Jongin scoops up poop and washes out pee from the puppy cages, he briefly wonders how he got roped into volunteering at the animal shelter.
It used to be that he would lounge around at home after a long day at his job or school. He would do his homework, watch TV, and dance a bit on the days he could get to the gym. Then that fateful day when he saw an ad for a poodle at the animal shelter awaiting adoption. One look at Monggu, his big brown eyes pleading for a playmate, and Jongin sighed.
He had gone to the animal shelter to see the dog. Dog. Singular. He ended up seeing dogs. Dogs. Plural. And he ended up bringing dogs home. Dogs. Plural. But as he was signing the papers, Jongin caught sight of a young man hurrying away towards the barns outside. From what little glance Jongin was able to get, he was attractive. But the boy is soon gone and Jongin is left with his new babies tangling themselves up in his legs at the front desk.
When he finally manages to get himself untangled and start walking his new pups back to his car, he turns his head and finds the same boy nuzzling the head of a horse a little ways away. Jongin stops, marveling at the beautiful boy.
When said boy suddenly turns his head up to look at him, the boy smiles pleasantly at him, showing off a straight row of teeth and a catlike grin. “Take care of you dogs well!” he encourages after moving his head away from the horse so as not to startle it.
“I will!” Jongin replies automatically before retreating to his car.
The next day, he was back to become a volunteer just to see the boy a little more. And to play with more dogs than he could afford to take care of. That was always a plus. He loved animals. He just didn’t like mucking out horse stalls and cleaning up after puppies that were not house broken yet.
It was all worth it that day he saw the boy cuddling with a puppy that was wrapped in a warm blanket. Jongin had been given an opportunity to play with the littlest puppies to socialize them to humans. The boy was already in there when he arrived.
“Hello,” the boy greeted him with a smile as he looked up from the little white puppy. “Here to play with the little ones?” he asks conversationally. Then he gets a good look at Jongin and goes, “Hey, weren’t you here just recently? I mean, like adopting, wasn’t it two dogs?”
Jongin blinks. “Y-you remember me?” he asked in surprise as he sat down and waited for a puppy to come his way out of interest.
“Of course!” the boy assured him. “I have a good memory as it is, but I remember better the people who leave with more than one adopted pet. They looked so happy to be coming home with you. How are they settling in, by the way?”
“Great! It took a little bit of careful watching the first day because they were curious about my other dog. But now they all play together and cuddle together. Taking them for walks takes a while though because they don’t want to walk straight.”
“They sound like they are adjusting well. I know whenever I adopt a new animal I have to make sure they socialize well. It would be kind of a disaster if an animal just didn’t like its playmates.”
“You sound like you have a lot of animals,” Kai said as he tugged lightly on a chew toy that was in a puppy’s mouth. It gave a non-threatening and playful growl as it fought to keep its toy. Kai didn’t try very hard to take it from him.
“A few horses,” the boy said. “A cat, two birds, three rabbits, and a newly adopted puppy that I brought home last week for the first time.”
“That’s so many!” Kai said, his eyes wide and his mouth dropping open. “How do you take care of so many?” But the boy just shrugs and picks up a little puppy to cuddle it.
“I’m Zitao, by the way. I almost forgot to formally introduce myself,” the boy said. Finally, Jongin had a name to put to that beautiful face.
“Jongin,” he replied with a smile. “It’s okay, I forgot too.”
“Jongin,” Zitao replied thoughtfully. “I’ll remember that. And I hope you continue to help out here. We definitely need the help.”
“I can see that,” Jongin said, nodding at the three puppies scrambling to get into Zitao’s lap with the fourth puppy. “They like you very much.”
“I know,” Zitao said with a wide smile. “And honestly, I wish I could take them all home. The money isn’t the problem in my case. But I couldn’t possibly take care of them all myself, and I hate leaving my animals in someone else’s care unless I’m going somewhere for an extended period of time more than two days. They’re my animals and my responsibility. Why should I ask someone else to socialize them?”
“I feel the same way about my dogs. But they only behave for me anyway. My sister tried to babysit my first one for me while I was away once, but he wouldn’t listen to her.”
Zitao smiled and Jongin felt his breath leave him for a moment there. He figured it was about time he be brave.
“So, uh…” he began, feeling a little silly. “I have a small confession to make. I didn’t only decide to volunteer because I love animals.”
“Oh?” Zitao said, blinking at Jongin in confusion.
“Yeah, I like animals very much and I’ll continue to volunteer as long as I can, but I also decided to volunteer…because of you…”
“Me?” Zitao repeated in surprise.
Jongin nodded.
“Why me?” Zitao asked.
No going back now. “Because you looked at home with that horse on the day I adopted those two dogs. And then you looked at me and smiled like I had made you the happiest person alive just because I was giving those two a new home. You’re very handsome, and that smile just made you look like an angel.”
Zitao was blushing bright red as he listened to Jongin speak and Jongin figured maybe this was a good place to stop and get to the point.
“I guess what I really want to say - or ask, rather - is, would you go with me to get coffee sometime? When you’re free?”
As luck would have it, Zitao said yes. About a week later, they found some free time together and went for coffee. Jongin made sure to bring all three of his dogs because Zitao had asked.
“Hello, little ones!” Zitao had said affectionately as Jongin walked them over to him. He lavished the pups with pets and kissy faces for a solid minute before finally standing back up to his full height to greet Jongin properly.
“Hey.”
Jongin smiled shyly. “Hey. So, I don’t know if you were expecting, like, Starbucks or something, but there’s a nice little outdoor café that makes great coffee this way. Right next to the dog park.”
“That sounds nice. Let’s go,” Zitao said with a genuine smile. Jongin just nodded, returning the smile and led the way.
After getting coffee, Jongin turned his dogs loose in the dog park to play and sat down on one of the benches with Zitao.
“I would have brought Candy if I had known you were going to ask me to a dog park,” Zitao said softly. He wasn’t angry and he wasn’t upset, but Jongin felt a little bad.
“Sorry. I got a little excited and forgot to tell you what I was planning,” Jongin admitted.
“That’s okay,” Zitao assured. “Just leave the plans to me next time.” Jongin’s ears perked up at the thought that there would be a next time.
“So…we’re friends then?” he asked hopefully. Zitao just smiled and looked at Jongin.
“Well we have to start somewhere, don’t we?” he said knowingly. Jongin smiled, a little twinkle making it into his eyes.
About an hour later, Zitao announced that he needed to return home because a friend of his was panicking over one of his kittens. “He’s a dear friend and even if he’s quite the brat, he’s always there for me when I need him, so I need to return the favor.”
Jongin just waved the explanation away with a hand. “It’s okay, I understand. Just make up for it next time,” he said with a teasing smile. Zitao just smirked back and socked him lightly on the shoulder with his fist.
“Next time, you’re coming to my place to meet the Huang clan. And by [i]clan[/i] I mean all the animals. See what you’re getting yourself into.” Then he winked and walked away with a little wave. Jongin waved back and waited until Zitao was out of sight before going to collect his dogs.
“Jongin!” he heard someone call from behind him. He nearly slipped on the sprayed down floor and only caught himself on the chain link wire of the dog cages. When he recovered his balance, he looked up and saw Zitao standing there, trying not to laugh at him.
“You scared me!” Jongin defended, face going red.
“I know. It was funny,” Zitao said, finally letting out a laugh. Jongin stuck his tongue out in retaliation. Then Zitao shoved a piece of paper in his face, almost close enough to lick it. Jongin blinked at it.
“What is this?” he asked as he set down his cleaning supplies and let go of the cage wall to take the paper from Zitao’s hand.
“My address, stupid,” Zitao said with an amused expression. “It’s a tad far away so you’ll want to leave here about an hour before our meeting time if you want to get there on time. “My parents are gone on business today so you won’t get their ‘potential-interest-interrogation’ today. I haven’t even told them you’re interested because I’m not sure about anything yet.”
Jongin knew Zitao was just telling him this to keep him in the know about his intentions. They were still very much just friends with a potential to go somewhere. But they needed to get to know each other a little more first before Zitao really considered him. Jongin knew he probably just wanted to be sure the feeling wasn’t fleeting and would stick around.
Jongin had a feeling it would, but he wasn’t going to push this faster than necessary.
“Saturday at noon?” Zitao asked. Jongin agreed in a heartbeat.
“Should I bring the kids?”
“Please do.”
Jongin arrives with three dogs sticking their heads out all his windows. He has to push Monggu into the back on a number of occasions as they drive up. And the longer they stay in the car, the farther the city gets. Zitao had been right, his house was far off and Jongin suspected it had to do with the horse he owned that required more land that could only be found in the rural areas beyond city limits.
When he finally drove up the long drive way belonging to the address Zitao had given him, he was relieved and so were his dogs; who desperately needed to pee after having their bodily fluids jostled around in their little bladders for the hour long car ride.
Jongin let them out and kept them relatively close (though not too close for obvious reasons) to let them answer nature’s call. By the time they were finished, Jongin heard the sound of hooves meeting dirt. He turned around and saw a horse and rider making their way to the fence next to the road.
“Jongin!” that familiar voice calls. Jongin finds himself smiling without thinking. “Glad you could make it!” the rider says as he pulls his horse all the way up to the fence. Sure enough, it’s Zitao who is sitting all the way up on that horse, looking far too comfortable for being so high off the ground.
“Hey, Zitao,” he greeted before moving on to his complaints. “Yeah, we made it. But I’m so stiff from being in the car for so long. The dogs are ready to play though.” Janggu barked as if in confirmation.
Zitao just smiled and hopped down from his horse. “Then follow me.”
Zitao takes the dogs to the backyard where they are introduced to Candy, Zitao’s tiny puppy. The three bigger dogs sniff at her for a minute before going to explore the rest of the yard. “They will be fine here,” Zitao insisted as he went back to Jongin’s side. “Come on, I want you to meet the rest of my non-human family.” Jongin just nodded and tried not to be surprised when Zitao took his hand.
Zitao went to find his cat first. She was a thin short haired grey cat that loved being petted. She snuggled into Jongin’s hold and pawed lightly as Zitao pet her. They moved onto the bunnies next and Jongin just let them hop around him peacefully because whenever he tried to pick on up, they scattered and Zitao just laughed at him.
The horses were different. Zitao seemed to love his horses very much and had a very strong connection to them. He nuzzled one of them on the nose and sighed happily into the short hair there before running his hand through the mane.
Then the sun hit him just right and Jongin forgot for a moment to breathe. It didn’t go unnoticed.
“May I ask,” Zitao began, “if this was how you saw me that day?”
Jongin swallowed. “It is…” he answered with a nod.
“Then can I tell you why I smiled at you like that that day?” he said with a knowing smile.
Jongin looked at him quizzically. “Uh, sure…”
“I should tell you I look for someone who can make me laugh,” he said, fixing his gaze to Jongin’s. “And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you make me laugh quite a lot. All the time at the shelter. And, I remember that day you walked out with your two dogs. They were tangled around your feet and you were tripping and it was funny and really cute and in that moment I really wanted to be your dogs; tripping you up just to make me laugh.” He stopped and laughed, patting the horse’s nose lightly. “So I think I’m feeling pretty close to what you’re feeling. Whatever we are, do you want to try it?” he asked.
It took Jongin a minute to realize just what Tao was asking. “You’re not afraid?”
“Of what? Of you breaking my heart?” Zitao asked. “No. I’ll break your arms if you do.” The comment sounds so confident that Jongin doesn’t want to challenge it just in case Zitao makes good on the promise. “I think you’re genuine with what you feel right now, but we’re going to take it slow just in case. Okay?”
Jongin just nodded and they shared a small, nervous smile. “I think that’s fair.”
Zitao smiled and reached out for Jongin’s hand. “Now come here, I’m going to teach you to saddle up and ride a horse.”
“WHAT? NO NO NO NONONONONONO!”
Sometime after Zitao got on the horse behind Jongin, the older boy decided it was a good idea to peck Jongin on the cheek lightly. Jongin is so surprised he loses his balance and falls off the horse.