[Fic] Puppies ("He's the one I want.") PG13

[shinetae]

Fic: Puppy (“He’s the one I want.”)
Couple: JongHo
Genre: Fluff, Angst, Cracky?
Rated: PG13
Summary: Choi Minho is a shy boy and well behaved boy, but seems to not be able to speak when around other people. After moving from Incheon, Minho has no friends and his parents are too busy with work to talk or play with him.
Kim Jonghyun is a lively and active boy who doesn't stop talking, but lives with a constant lonesomeness due to the minor retardation in his left brain, which leaves him without friends, besides for the five little puppies that their dog recently gave birth to.
In desperate hopes of finding a companion for Minho, Mrs. Choi decides to adopt one of these very puppies, least of all expecting her son to suddenly ask for Jonghyun instead of one of the "real" puppies.
A/N: In order to escape writer's block, I have to write small and pretty cracky fanfics like this to get myself back into the writer's mood. This is one of them, but I thought I'd share it. It actually wasn't supposed to be so angsty, but here it is!


“Minho-yah, come here for a moment.” The soft and light voice of the child’s mother filled the air, interrupting the newly fallen silence, which had come to pass over the small backyard, hot summer air falling over the early evening, filling the air with the thick scent of freshly mowed grass.

The child glanced up slowly, using one thin leg to hold down his soccer ball, and wiped his wrist across his forehead to rid of the small droplets of sweat that had formed on his forehead due to the summer’s humid weather.

As the child glanced up slowly, he found his mother seated neatly in the shade of the small porch’s overhead, a soft smile on her face as she called her child to come to her. “Come here, Minho-yah,” she called again, extending long, thin arms for him to crawl into.

The five-year-old wordlessly kicked his soccer ball out of the yard and to the side so it would not be in the way, before slowly walking towards his mother and crawling silently into her arms.

“Minho-yah,” Mrs. Choi said, as she glanced down at her silent son. “I know that you’ve been bored and lonely since we’ve moved from Incheon, and your father and I were thinking about something…” She explained, combing her quiet boy’s long brown hair gently with her fingers.

Minho didn’t say anything in response to this, but turned his attention completely towards his mother. At the age of six, the boy barely spoke a word, and had said even less than before, since they had moved away from Incheon. He was always alone since the day they had moved, and his parents were both so busy with work that they had very little time to spend with their very-much-loved son, leaving the silent, but well-behaved child alone with nothing but his soccer ball to keep him company, leaving him to say even less than what should be normal for him. To tell the truth, both parents were extremely worried about him.

“Minho-yah, appa and I were talking together for and while, and we’ve decided something. Minho, do you want a puppy?” His mother asked softly, as she looked at her little son with a friendly and happy smile.

Minho glanced up quickly as he heard the words. He didn’t say any words to reply to his mother, but a bright smile spread over his lips and he nodded quickly.

~*~

“Nnnnnooooooouuugghhhhh!!!” A loud scream echoed through the hallways, as a short little boy rumbled through the hallway, a green dinosaur sleeping hat slipping off of his head, two brown and white puppies under one arm, and three black and white puppies under the other, as his mother and older sister chased after him down the hallway.

“Nooougghhh! No!! You can’t! No! You can’t take them-no! They’re my dinosaur sisters and brother! You can’t take them away from me!! They’re my family!!” The seven-year-old screamed, tears spilling from his big chocolate, puppy eyes, and streaming down his baby-cheeks.

“Jonghyun! Jonghyun-ah!! You have come back here! C’mon, baby, you have to give them back! We can’t keep them! We have to give them away and find them good homes!! Jonghyunnie! Jonghyun! Jjong-ah, come back here!!” His mother called desperately as she chased after her son as quickly as she could, trying to pry the five puppies their dog had recently had out of his little baby-arms.

~*~

The hot summer air filled the air as the cool air-conditioning leaked out of the car window as Minho boredly rolled it down and looked out of it. He had been in the car for what seemed like forever, and the worst part was, he kept thinking back to what his new puppy was going to be like, which made the wait last longer. Although he hadn’t said anything about it since his mother had told him that he was going to be getting a new puppy-not that it was unusual for the all-but-mute boy-he had spent almost every hour of every day becoming more excited about it. Although he was well behaved the entire ride-he couldn’t help but feel impatient.

Finally, after another excruciating five minutes, his mother smiled softly and pulled off of the main road, into a driveway, and allowed for Minho to peek nervously out of the window to catch a glance of a small grassy yard, with a blue house in the middle of it.

“Minho-yah, are you ready to go? Ready to go get your new puppy?” Mrs. Choi asked happily, as she opened her door, and helped Minho get himself unbuckled and slip down from the truck’s front seat.

Minho said nothing, but didn’t hide the small smile. He only nodded as he slipped out of the truck and took his mother’s hand, following her across a small sidewalk, towards another woman and a teenage girl with a sign that read “Free puppies to good homes”.

As Mrs. Choi approached the other woman and began to introduce herself to her, Minho remained silent and continued to hold his mother’s hand as he looked at the two people in front of him nervously (he had never been comfortable with strangers), and searched for a sign of a puppy.

“Hello! Hello, there! Are you guys here to get a sweet, little puppy?” The teenager asked happily, as she knelt down to Minho’s height and smiled largely at him.

Minho said nothing, and only began looking around the yard, finding the destroyed, torn up, and obviously chewed-on soccer ball that was stuffed under a shrub in the back of the yard, eyes falling away from the girl’s face and big smile.

The teenager’s smile dropped as she was left hanging and rejected by a six-year-old, but Minho’s mother laughed lightly and cleared it up for him.

“Minho-yah doesn’t talk much, but he’s very caring and loves animals very much. He would really love to go see those puppies and choose one.” She answered, smiling as she squeezed her son’s hand.

The other woman smiled lightly as well and nodded. “Go show Minho-yah to the back where the puppies are first, Junghee. I’ll go get their shot records ready and talk about the boring parent stuff with his mother.” She said, as she signed for Mrs. Choi to follow her towards the house.

Junghee smiled softly at Minho before taking his hand from Mrs. Choi and began pulling the little boy towards the backyard. “Come along this way, Minho-yah. This is where the puppies live for now.” She said happily.

~*~*~

“Predator Noonasaurus approaches towards dino-nest with strange, thin, two legged creature who seems to be her accomplice. Operation Puppy-dino Rescue time: estimated 1.5 minutes. Preparing running dino-claws; Pupposaur prepares…preparing distraction…mission A-GO!” A short boy whispered quickly, before suddenly releasing a miniature toy-catapult, sending a bunch of toys to go flying towards his Noona and the little boy, before suddenly taking off running.

Junghee looked up quickly and screamed loudly as she dodged the catapult-worth of toys flung at her, trying to cover Minho from being hit, only allowing the boy to catch a glance of a flash of a pale green color darting across the yard, shifting away from a small fenced area, towards the thick shrubs against the property line.

“JONGHYUN!!!” Junghee screamed furiously as she pulled handfuls of toy puppies and dinosaurs (an interesting mix, Minho would have thought) from her hair, and glared towards the direction of an open upper-story window. “Jonghyun! Now is NOT the time to-” She was suddenly caught off when she suddenly caught a glimpse of the open gate and knocked over cardboard box which once held the puppies.

“EOMMA!” Junghee screamed quickly, as she ran towards the empty cardboard box. “MOM!! MOM, JONGHYUN GOT OUT AND STOLE THE PUPPIES AGAIN! MOOOM!” She shouted, looking back towards the house, and letting go of Minho’s hand in her haste.

Minho looked around with big eyes as the teenager next to him continued to scream loudly, and watched as his mother and the other woman rushed quickly from the house to meet them, his own mother looking very worried as she approached them.

“Mom, it was Jonghyun! I know it was, he shot his toys at me a second ago. He must have somehow gotten out and now stole the puppies again!” Junghee tattled quickly, as she began looking around desperately for the puppy-thief.

Mrs. Choi glanced away from the empty box and back towards the woman and her daughter. “Is everything alright? What happened?” She asked quickly, a little shaken up from all of the suddenly yelling and commotion.

The woman sighed heavily as she looked towards the open back door of her house, before glancing back towards Mrs. Choi apologetically. “Ah, don’t worry about it. It’s my son, Jonghyun. He’s grown very fond of the puppies and doesn’t want to give them away now. He thinks that if he hides them, we won’t give them away, but we have to give them away in order for them to get all the attention they deserve.” She answered as calmly as she could.

“Oh really?” Mrs. Choi asked happily. “How old is he? Do you think he may go to Minho-yah’s school? He needs friends-you see, he’s very shy….”

Minho stopped listening and glanced away from his mother and the other woman talking, and from Junghee running back towards the house to bust her little brother, before something suddenly caught his eye. It was a pale green piece of fabric, which almost looked like a tail. He tried to glance back towards his mother, and even tugged on the fabric of her dress to get her attention, but she seemed to ignore him, too busy trying to find another little boy for her son to play soccer with, so he turned his attention back towards the green tail, which suddenly disappeared under the shrubs.

With one more glance over his shoulder at his mother talking busily, Minho let go of the fabric of her dress, and quietly slipped away from her side, going soundless and unnoticed as he approached the bushes, hesitantly kneeling down on the ground and peeking under the shrubs to see who was under it.

Minho almost gasped as when he kneeled down and peeked under the shrubs, he was met with two large, chocolaty puppy eyes, which stared back at him intensely, and blinked once before squinting a little in a glare, soft brown bangs falling over them slightly, a dinosaur hat on top of a fluffy brown head of hair.

“Y-yah! What are you doing?? You’re going to give the secret location of dino-nest away! Go away!” A little voice growled quietly, coming from the plump pink lips on the face which held the puppy-eyes.

Minho didn’t say anything and only blinked again as he continued to stare at the big puppy eyes in front of him, not even noticing the five puppies next to him as he continued to stare intently at the eyes, only to let out a silent shout as there was a slight groan and he was yanked under the shrubs by the collar of his shirt.

“Geez, you’re going to get me caught! Is that what you want to do? Get me caught and make me lose my family?” An angry little voice said from the little boy who had yanked Minho under the shrubs with him, as he looked and nodded at the five little puppies at his side, making sure they were all there.

“You’re puppies.” Minho suddenly stuttered out after a moment, still staring at the puppy eyes in front of him.

Jonghyun stopped checking on his family and glanced back towards Minho with a slight glare still in his puppy-eyes. “Your puppies? Yes, you’re right! They’re my puppies! And they’re not even just puppies! They’re special dinosaur puppies. And they’re my siblings, because we’re all dinosaur puppies. And I don’t care who you are, I’m not giving them to you!!” He growled quietly, still whispering in order not to be caught by Predator Noonasaurus, the most dangerous and scary dinosaur in Jonghyun’s world.

“No. You’re puppies. You’re all puppies. You’re a puppy too.” Minho stated bluntly after a moment, now sitting close to the other boy and staring closely at his puppy eyes, now convinced that this boy was more or less human, but definitely part puppy.

Jonghyun stared at the strange kid in front of him, not sure if he thought that the tall boy in front of him was either the coolest or the most insane person he had ever met before in his life. He was torn; for he denied that they were dinosaurs, which wasn’t to his taste-but then again, he did believe that he was part puppy. That was something that his mother and Noona would never believe him before. Maybe this kid really was the smartest person he had ever met before.

“Dinosaur Puppies. You’re only half right…” He muttered crossly, still not being content without being recognized completely as a dinosaur.

“You’re a puppy…” Minho muttered matter-of-factly, before suddenly reaching out his hand and patting the shorter boy on the head, as if he were a puppy, not paying any attention to the five real puppies yipping at his side, eyes too focused on the puppy-like boy in front of him, who had suddenly made him act so differently than he normally would have.

Jonghyun simply froze and stayed still, staring at Minho with big, confused puppy eyes for a long moment as he felt the other boy’s soft touches now petting his head as if he were a puppy. He wasn’t quite sure how to react to this feeling, but allowed himself to smile a little to himself. Normally when he claimed that he was part puppy, Noonsaurus would only roll her eyes and tell him that he was ridiculous and not believe him, and his mother would only tell him that he wasn’t and that he was a good, human boy. But, for some reason, this boy seemed to believe him, and didn’t laugh at him. Not being laughed at-it was something he hadn’t felt since he had entered school in the first place, and since his mother had made him drop out and home-school because of it. It felt so nice not to be laughed at, and to be believed, that it made Jonghyun smile widely before leaning forwards a little, licking Minho sloppily over his nose, causing for the taller boy’s face to turn completely red in his wake.

Minho froze completely, and his entire face turned red with blush as the strange puppy-boy licked his face happily, and held his breath. His eyes remained large, and he didn’t know how to react. However, he didn’t have a chance to do anything about it, until there was a sudden rattle in the bushes and there was suddenly the face of Junghee sticking her head into the wall of shrubs, causing for Jonghyun’s eyes to go huge and for him to scream loudly, flopping around desperately to hide the puppies from her.

~*~

Minho kept his eyes on Jonghyun, as the shorter of the two rubbed tears out of his puppy eyes, as he was forced to pull the puppies one-by one out of the bushes, and set them out for the other people who had come to take one, to look at. Jonghyun looked even more pitiful than a kicked puppy, as he sobbed and carried one last puppy from the bushes; a black, white, and brown, boy puppy, who had been his favorite, and struggled with himself not to run away with it.

Minho frowned sadly as he looked at the unhappy expression on the shorter boy’s face and the tears in his eyes. He had only seen the older boy smile a few times, and already, he wished that it would come back and he would stop crying. Suddenly, however, he was pushed out of his thoughts by the feeling of his mother’s hand dropping on his shoulder, and glanced up to see her smile as she looked at all the puppies lying on the grass, yipping and barking and being cute for everyone to see.

“Minho-yah? Did you get enough time to see all of the puppies? Is there one that you want, honey?” Mrs. Choi asked softly, as she knelt next to her son and looked at all of the puppies from his level. “You see that soft brown one? She’s a real sweetie. I think you’d like her.” She added, pointing at a lazy, fat, brown puppy in the grass.

Minho made a face as he looked away from the puppy and looked back towards Jonghyun again, who was still sobbing as he stared at the pup he still held in his arms. Mrs. Choi glanced back at him before looking towards Jonghyun, and half smiling.

“Well, honey? Is there a certain puppy that you want? You have to tell me, so I’m sure that I get the right one.” She said happily, finally finding a way to get to hear her son’s voice (it had been far too long since she had heard it, and she would do anything to make him seem like a normal, talkative boy).

Minho didn’t take his eyes off of Jonghyun as he messily rubbed his nose and cheek where he had been licked earlier. “M-mnghn.” He stuttered out after a moment, causing for his mother to smile at the sound of his voice. “I want that one.” Minho said, raising his hand and pointing towards Jonghyun and the boy puppy. “I want him.” He said again.

Mrs. Choi stood up again as she looked at the puppy that Jonghyun was holding, as the little boy only kept staring at Minho with big puppy-eyes, still wet from the tears he had shed, as he held the boy puppy close to his chest.

“You want the little boy puppy, Minho-yah?” Junghee asked happily, as she walked past Minho and approached Jonghyun. “I think you’d really love him. He’s really active, and I think he’d love playing soccer with you.” She said, as she walked towards Jonghyun, trying to take the puppy out of his hands, causing for Jonghyun to whine and push away from her, trying to keep the puppy in his own arms.

Minho pouted as the older people around him misinterpreted him, and he had to use more words in order to clear himself up. He hated talking. But, he had to, if he wanted to get the puppy he really wanted. “N-no. I don’t want that puppy. I want him.” He said again, this time making sure to point his finger just a little bit higher, pointing directly at Jonghyun, rather than the puppy Jonghyun was holding, causing for the older boy to look at him with big eyes.

Mrs. Choi, Mrs. Kim, and Junghee all froze as they heard the little boy’s words. No words were said as they just stayed still and stared at the two boys with big eyes, blinking every now and again, as they tried to comprehend what they had just heard. Was there some sort of mistake they were making by interpreting the silent little boy’s words incorrectly? There had to be. They really must be confused.

Jonghyun froze completely as well, as he heard Minho’s words, but unlike the stupid over-analyzing grown-ups, understood what Minho meant perfectly, and now was left with a goofy and crocked grin on his face, as he held the little boy puppy loosely by the front paws, eyes fixed on the taller boy in front of him. The words he heard, he understood them, and yet, he could hardly believe it. He was wanted? Minho chose him over all the cute puppies around them, and wanted him to go home with him and spend forever with him? He had never felt wanted or chosen before in his entire life. All the times before, he was used to being left standing last in line when playing kickball at school, rubbing his eyes sadly as the team captain who was stuck with him as default would complain loudly about him being too short or too slow or not good enough. He was so used to people laughing at him for claiming that he was a half puppy-dinosaur, and was so used to being called a “dummy” by all the mean kids at his old school. He was so used to the annoying doctors talking to him like he couldn’t hear them and trying to tell him he had some sort of “condition”. He was so used to the only ones who were friendly and accepting to him being the puppies, but…now…he had been chosen and wanted by another little boy? A human little boy? He couldn’t help but let the bitter tears that were still welled up in his eyes to feel warm as he smiled widely at the taller but younger boy in front of him.

Minho showed a small but happy smile as his eyes continued to stay connected with Jonghyun’s big puppy eyes, and slowly slipped out of his mother’s arm’s loose grip, and made his way over to the shorter little boy. “I want this puppy instead.” He stated, mind set on the two big brown puppy-eyes looking up at him happily. “He’s the one I choose.” He said, looking over his shoulder at the three confused grown-ups, pointing at Jonghyun as he stood close to him, so no one would misunderstand him again, but was suddenly cut off abruptly by the slight giggle that came from the shorter boy, and the feeling of being licked messily across his cheek again.

Mrs. Choi’s eyes widened to the size of apples, and Mrs. Kim’s and Junghee’s mouths dropped wide open as they watched the little boy drop the puppy he had been holding and quickly jump on top Minho, pinning the taller boy on the ground, licking his face and laughing happily, pretending to be some sort of puppy, as the younger laughed happily and squirmed playfully under him as he pet his head gently.

“I love him!!!” Minho laughed happily as he struggled to move his face away from Jonghyun’s happy puppy-kisses.

Both boys were laughing so happily, and smiling so widely as Jonghyun continued licking at Minho’s cheeks, but were suddenly stopped completely by Mrs. Choi suddenly remembering herself, noticing that her sweet little son was being licked by another BOY, and set herself to stop it at all costs.

Jonghyun shouted unhappily as he was peeled off of Minho harshly, by two thin but sharp hands picking him up by his middle, and winced at the angry scowl given to him from the other little boy’s mother.

“GET OFF! Stop this right now, and get off of my son!” The furious mother yelled loudly and furiously, as she ripped Jonghyun off of her son, and all-but-threw him into his also-angry mother’s arms. “My son is NOT GAY, and will NOT have another boy licking him!” She shouted again, as she grabbed Minho’s arm and yanked him to his feet.

Jonghyun growled angrily as he trashed around in his mother’s arms, furiously fighting to get back into the arms of the only one who had wanted him. “Yah!! YAHH! Let me go! Let go of him, you mean tyrannosaurus-rex! Let us goooo!!” He growled angrily, as he began kicking and struggling to break free and try to reach Minho again.

“Jjong-ah! Jonghyun-ah! JONGHYUN! What the heck are you doing!? This is NOT appropriate behavior at all! You do not do that to other little boys, you understand!? Y-yah! Stop kicking-w-wait! Mrs. Choi, don’t leave yet-ah, Junghee take care of your brother!!” Mrs. Kim shouted quickly as she all-but-threw (again) Jonghyun into his sister’s angry arms now, and scooped up the little boy puppy in her arms as quickly as she could, before chasing after Mrs. Choi, who was now steaming down the driveway.

~~~~~~~~~~`

“MRS. CHOI! MRS. CHOI, WAIT A MOMENT!” Mrs. Kim shouted quickly, as she chased the other woman and her silently protesting son down the driveway. “Mrs. Choi, wait! I’m so sorry for my son’s behavior! You have to understand, he has a minor retardation in the left side of his brain, so he’s little-he didn’t mean anything by it. Please! Take the puppy anyway! From what you were telling me before-Minho-yah could really use a friend, and this is the special only boy puppy-I think that you’re the best home for it. Please, forgive my son, he didn’t mean anything by it.” She testified as quickly as she could, as she reached the other woman, who barely stopped for long enough to look over her shoulder at the desperate woman and the little boy puppy she held in her arms.

Minho stopped as his mother stopped yanking him by the wrist towards the car, and glanced up at the other woman with big, tear-filled eyes. Why had his mother ripped him away from Jonghyun so quickly? He had finally found someone with whom he could speak properly, and with whom he was happy with, and she took him away from him. He could still hear Jonghyun’s shouting coming from the back of the yard, and wanted so badly to run back to him, but his mother’s tight grasp was cutting off the circulation on his wrist, and he had no other choice than to take the “real” puppy in his arms as it was handed to him, tears still spilling down his cheeks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Jonghyun continued failing his arms, kicking and screaming weakly in his sister’s arms as he heard Minho’s car turning on, and knew that he was leaving. Hot and furious tears filled his eyes and fell down his cheeks as he kicked uselessly, trying with all he was to try to chase down the other boy before he disappeared from his life, just like his daddy had, too. As his mother returned from the driveway empty handed, Jonghyun gave up fighting in his sister’s hands, knowing that his favorite little puppy had gone away with the one who had actually chosen him. All he could do was cry bitterly, as he yanked himself out of Junghee’s arms.

“WHY!? Why did you do that!?! Why did you take me away from him!?! He wanted me! He actually wanted me! He wanted me, and didn’t laugh at me like everyone else! He’s the only one! The only one who ever really wanted me! Why did you take me away from him!? Why!? I hate you!” He shouted furiously, little baby-voice scratchy and raw with pure emotion, as he quickly kicked away from his mother and sister’s arms, running into his little place in the bushes where he had been when he had first met Minho, the remaining few puppies not enough to make his heart stop aching.

Ten years later:

A heavy sigh escaped his lips as he dropped down onto his computer chair, kicking the over-used soccer ball under his desk, as he slowly shook his head and allowed for his long brown hair to fall in his face and on his shoulders, as he dropped his chin against his arms folded across the backrest of his chair. He let a soft melancholy smile slip on his lips (although he hardly meant it) as he stared into the two deep-green puppy eyes of the medium sized, brown, black and white dog sitting next to his bed.

“Huh, Gong Ryong*, they’ll never understand will they? I wonder if they’ll ever find out that I still think about him so much, even though it was years ago. I wonder if they’ll ever realize I still wish that that crazy puppy boy was with me right now. That…I still think I love him.” Minho sighed again and shook his head as he closed his eyes as the grown boy-puppy licked his hand softly. “But I’ll never meet him again, huh?” He asked quietly, knowing that the only one being in the word who he could comfortably talk to, was nothing but the puppy he had gotten ten years back.

~*~

Common and scheduled, yet still completely sincere tears slipped from the blonde’s large brown, still puppy-like eyes as he laid still in the slightly wet grass, staring up at the stars as his fingers lightly stroked the fur of the small puppy lying next to him, knowing that the next afternoon he would be forced to give it away, as well as the day of the local high school’s senior prom, which he wouldn’t be going to, even though he was now allowed to go to school there, because no one wanted him there.

“Why would they do that to me, do you think, Dongsaeng? Why would they take me away from him, even when I begged them so hard to let me go? Why did they take me away from the only person in the world who has ever accepted me just for who I am? Do they really not care about me? Do they really want me to be alone for the rest of my life, just because this god damned brain makes me more naïve than the others? I might be some sort of retard, but I don’t not have feelings! Huuh, why am I bothering you with this? You don’t know who I’m talking about-though I surely haven’t forgotten about him…” Jonghyun muttered quietly, smiling sadly as the puppy next to him nibbled playfully at his fingers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Four years later

“Gong Ryong, Gong Ryong, c’mon old boy. Do you want to get up today? Have enough energy to stand up and go to the park one last time? I know it’s hard for you to walk these days…but I’ll go slowly with you. I know you don’t want to stay here at the house in these next few hours…let’s go someone else for today.” Minho tried speaking as excitedly as he could, but he couldn’t help but feel his heart ache painfully in his chest as he stared at the deaf old dog next to him, and as the veterinarian’s words of starting to say goodbyes replaying in his mind as the old dog didn’t make any attempts to stand up.

“Gong Ryong…please? Come with me, and walk with me the way you used to when we played soccer together-just one more time?” Minho tried again, but knew that the old dog wasn’t going to make it through the walk, as his old bones gave in more and more each hour. He knew that walking him wasn’t something that would help the old dog in his last few hours, but he couldn’t help but pray that if he was to walk him through the same park he used when they were both young, that he would somehow become the same little puppy he used to be, and he wouldn’t have to go through the same pain of losing the only one he was able to feel comfortable enough to find words in front of again.

“G-Gong…Gong Ryong…..just one more time…” Minho was begging quietly, eyes closed tightly as he kneeled next to the dog, as he remembered the childish tears that spilled from his eyes the day he first held Gong Ryong in his arms, crying as he was torn away from the one little boy who had such a major effect on him, fourteen years ago. Suddenly, however, he felt a soft tongue gently lapping against his forehead, moving his short black hair from his hairline gently, and he smiled lightly as he glanced up to find the large eyes of the old dog staring softly at his.

~*~

The silence of the emptiness of his small cheap-lease apartment was deafening him slowly, and he couldn’t stand anymore. He had to get out of there and find some sort of other living being again, because he couldn’t take anymore of this being alone. He sighed as he pulled on his white Reebok shoes and opened his front door, moving his fluffed brown hair from his face, chocolaty puppy-eyes adjusting to the bright early-summer light that lit the entire apartment as soon as the door opened. Near to his new apartment was a small park, where he had only walked through alone a few times when he needed a break from composing his song lyrics in the evenings, but never in the bright of the afternoon. Perhaps it may help his dampened and lonesome spirits; though the sight of happy and normally children playing together with their dogs and toys only made his heart ache.

~*~

Only a short distance was behind them, when Gong Ryong looked up at Minho with large and tired green eyes, and Minho felt a lump growing in his stomach and throat as he knew very well what that look meant. He knew that Gong Ryong wasn’t going to be able to make it another step further.

The sun was hot above them still, so Minho slowly guided the old dog into the soft grass in the shade of a large tree and poured a little water from his bottle into a small dish he had brought along with him. Minho knew better than to think that shade and water was going to make Gong Ryong’s condition any different, or make him be able to stay for him for any longer than he already had left-his old body wasn’t suffering from the heat, just from age, and there was no way Minho could relieve it, no matter how hard he tried.

Minho sighed heavily as his stomach dropped when he realized it was going to be one of the last few moments he would spend with his best companion for the last fourteen years, and how after that day, there would be nothing left connecting him or reminding him of the two chocolaty puppy-eyes and the memories they held, every time he looked at the old puppy who was as close as he would ever get to being with the strange little boy again. He sighed again before laying down in the grass, resting his head against Gong Ryong’s chest, feeling as it rose and fell, hearing his heart beating too quickly, and his breathing became irregular.

“Gong Ryong…thank you. For staying with me these many years. I’m….really going to miss you. I’m going to miss you so much.” Minho whispered quietly, as he clenched Gong Ryong’s fur in his fists, burying his face in the old dog’s chest. “I’m going to miss you….I wish you didn’t have to leave me. I wish you didn’t have to become a memory like he did…” He whispered quietly, not fighting the few tears that pushed into his eyes, until, he suddenly felt Gong Ryong’s breathing hitch just a little, and heard his tail heavily thudding against the grass, despite how it pained his spine to do so.

“Gong Ryong…it’s okay. I’ll be fine, you don’t have to use all your strength…” Minho started, until he suddenly felt Gong Ryong moved a little more, pushing his nose under his chin, then raising his head the best his old neck could, forcing for Minho to glance up slowly in front of him.

Minho didn’t suppress the gasp that slipped from his lips as he looked up slowly, suddenly finding himself looking eye-to-eye with two large, chocolaty puppy eyes, which only continued to stare intensely at him, blinking every now and again, but remaining silent.

“Y-yah, what are you doing, naming a dog Gong Ryong without consulting with his fellow dinosaur siblings? What are you trying to do, give him the most generic name for a dino-puppy?” A slightly deeper voice growled quietly, coming from the plump pink lips on the face which held the puppy-eyes.

Minho swore his entire body froze, and he was unable to move, or even breath as he stared closely at the puppy eyes in front of him-the same pair he had seen for the first time fourteen years ago-the same pair he thought of every day-the same pair he swore he would never see again. He had so much in his heart and mind in that moment, and yet, he couldn’t find himself saying anything or doing anything aside from staring at the eyes still, and saying two simple words.

“You’re puppy.” Minho found himself stuttering out, after a long minute of simply sharing familiarizing eye-contact with the two large eyes in front of him.

“Your puppy, actually.” Was the honest reply from the short man in front of him, as fluffy brown bangs fell in the way of his chocolate puppy-eyes, a soft and familiar smile falling over his face as he continued to stare at Minho happily. “I’m your puppy. You’re the one who wanted me.” He clarified.

Minho didn’t wait for another word to escape from Jonghyun’s familiar lips before he was already standing up next to the still-shorter older man, his arms wrapped around him as tightly as they possibly could be. “Yes, my Puppy. But not just a puppy, a special human-dinosaur-puppy. But…all mine. Because he’s the one I want.” He whispered quietly, as he took the shorter boy even closer against him.

Jonghyun felt the warmth rise in his chest for the first from the first day he had been chosen by Minho fourteen years ago, as he once again felt the comfort of knowing that he was wanted. Knowing that he was the one someone wanted, chose, not only was stuck with. He couldn’t think of any better thing to do or say than to allow for him to smile to himself and slowly lick Minho’s cheek as affectionately as he could (despite the fact he had already grown out of truly believing that he was a puppy).

Minho laughed quietly and shivered slightly as he felt the older man’s tongue licking against his cheek slowly and affectionately, before finally turning his head until that tongue met his lips as well as his own, bringing the shorter into an actual human kiss for the first time.

“Can I keep him this time…?” Minho finally asked quietly, as he caught his breath again once their kiss broke, and he pressed his forehead against Jonghyun’s securely.

“As long as you take care of him forever. He’s not quite right in the head sometimes.” Jonghyun answered, smilingly lightly.

Minho laughed at this, but wrapped his arms tighter around the sturdy older man’s waist, and put his forehead back against the shorter’s. “I’ve noticed that….but that’s okay. I promise. He’s the one I want regardless.” He answered, smiling contently.

Jonghyun let out a quiet and warm breath against the taller man’s shoulder as he closed his eyes and allowed himself to be held securely. “Then I promise I’ll stay right here forever.” He reassured, as he realized how he was finally accepted, just for how he was. And that was all he could ever ask for before.

Minho half smiled against Jonghyun’s shoulder, but stopped and reopened his eyes slowly as he felt Jonghyun’s arms lighten around him, and noticed the shorter boy looking over his shoulder to stare at Gong Ryong, who had put his head down in the grass now, but continued to stare up at them with big, green eyes. Minho swallowed nervously as he looked at Gong Ryong knowingly, and as Jonghyun slipped out of his arms long enough to kneel down next to the old dog, immediately getting licks all over his hands as he began petting him softly. After so many years, somehow, Gong Ryong seemed to still recognize that two brown puppy-eyes staring at him softly, and remembered being held by two little baby-arms from the same boy, fourteen years ago.

Jonghyun showed the old dog a soft smile as he continued to pet him gently on the head, and Minho held his breath as he kneeled next to Jonghyun’s side again, staying close to the other man as he tied his fingers softly into the long and soft fur of the old dog in front of him. Jonghyun gave him a knowing but comforting glance, and leaned his head against Minho’s sturdy shoulder next to him, to prove that he wasn’t left alone.

~*~

The sky above was dark and grey with rain clouds, and Minho could feel Gong Ryong’s absence in the small home, but didn’t feel alone or empty, as he rolled over on his bed and looked at the now-filled spot next to him, finding two soft puppy eyes and a smile tied in with the blankets and pillows next to him. Minho allowed for himself to smile lightly as he looked into Jonghyun’s eyes, and was replied to by an equally happy smile as the shorter boy stared up at him from where he was laying, then the feeling of Jonghyun’s lightly closed fist pawing at him until he slowly leaned down and kissed the plump pink lips below him gently, laying next to him again and running his fingers gently through the fluffy mound of brown hair atop his head.

“I love you…”

“I love you!”

A/N: *Gong Ryong means Dinosaur