Chapter Text
It was your birthday weekend, and you couldn’t be more excited. You had plans with friends, family, and of course, your best boys Minho and Chan.
Friday was calmer than you expected, getting to see family throughout the day because you didn’t have work. You talked with some long-distance family on the phone for a while, walking around your apartment and kissing Chan’s cheek as you went from room-to-room. Minho was out getting groceries, saying he and Chan were going to make you the best birthday dinner but you couldn’t know what it was until the night of.
Chan’s job was to distract you as Minho went in and out of the apartment, occasionally just covering your eyes when Minho put up groceries. Then it was Minho’s job to distract you as Chan moved secret gifts into the hallway closet. You would’ve tried to sneak a glance, but Minho was currently showing you pictures of Soonie, Doongie, and Dori, and you couldn’t resist.
“And here Soonie is terrorizing Dori… and here Dori is terrorizing Doongie…” he said, swiping through pictures of the cats laying on each other and stealing each other’s treats.
“Do they get along most of the time, or just take after you when the kids misbehave?” you laughed.
“Oh, they definitely take after me,” Minho said, hand to his chest, very proud. “They have to learn to get along somehow, and I can’t always be there to teach them right from wrong.”
“They’re cats, Min,” Chan said, coming back to your bedroom after successfully hiding all the presents. “They don’t have many goals except to get food and pets from their humans, let alone morals.”
“Maybe your pets don’t, but I have taught my children very well.”
You listened to them debate over cat morals while you scrolled through the cat pictures yourself, occasionally sending the really cute ones to yourself.
The two of them decided that bickering wasn’t enough, they had to bicker and sit on top of you while doing it. Within ten minutes you had two fully grown men just sitting on you while you smacked their arms, which only made them snuggle into you more.
“Alright,” Chan said after a few minutes of squishing you into the mattress. “Time for dinner! We’re taking you out.” He picked you up over his shoulder while Minho grabbed their wallets.
“Wait! Where are we going? You didn’t even tell me there was a pre-birthday outing!” you yelled, trying and failing to get ahold of Minho behind you for some leverage. He just grinned and continued following Chan out the door.
“Surprises are for adventurers, and we will turn you into one soon enough!” he said, very happy that Chan was literally holding you back from swiping at him. They finally set you down when you got outside, walking you in the direction of downtown.
“Where are we even w – “
“No questions! A surprise is a surprise,” Chan said, holding one of your hands as Minho held the other swinging your arms in tandem. The breeze was warm enough that you didn’t need a jacket, comfy in the clothes you were already wearing that day. As you walked, the three of you chatted about your days, what you talked about with your family and friends, and what you were excited about in the upcoming year. Getting older meant more adventures, more loved ones, and more love to share.
They eventually turned down a street you didn’t frequent, making you confused when you stopped in front of a new shop that read The Pawfect Palace.
“What’s this place? Is it new?” you asked, trying to see inside the frosted glass windows with pawprints on them.
As they both opened the doors for you, you were stunned to not only see many different types of animals, but also some of your friends in the city. You let out a surprised noise and ran in, hugging each of them while also trying to figure out what was going on.
“It’s a pet café! Like that new cat café on the other side of town, but it also has a section for dogs and a little aquarium section too,” Minho said, very happy you took the surprise well. “The frosted glass is so the animals don’t get nervous with a lot of street traffic.”
“And,” Chan said, leading you to a big table where everyone was sitting, “they have lots of different snacks that are also pet friendly! Just in case something spills, or you want to feel a furry friend a snack.” This was evidently the dog section they had brought you to, as Chan knelt down to a small Corgi puppy that wandered up to his leg.
This part of the café had dog-themed decorations, baskets of toys, and small beds that a few dogs were napping in together even with more than enough beds for each of them. The other half of the café in the front was cat-themed – separated by a small gate for the employees and customers – having climbing towers, similar baskets of toys, and beds where cats were lazing in. There was a back section labeled with fish symbols, and you could see past some people that there were large and small tanks containing multitudes of happy little aquatic creatures, some actual fish, some crustaceans.
“This is… this is so sweet and cute and I’m so excited to see everything and everyone and – and – “ you stuttered out, so excited to see so many little creatures and be surrounded by your friends at the same time. The same small Corgi got tired of Chan and stumbled right into your leg, where you promptly picked her up and held her against your chest. Her little collar said she didn’t have a name yet but was adoptable. Chan, Minho, and your friends immediately saw the look in your eyes, and they knew they couldn’t say no to what you were about to ask the barista who walked up to the table you were all sitting at.
“Hi!” she said, clearly excited the Corgi was warming up to someone new. “That’s our newest puppy, she’s been so shy the past few days. She’s really come out of her shell today, though, so you picked a good day to visit. Are there any snacks on the menu you all are interested in trying today?”
“We actually looked at a menu online,” Minho said, knowing that you were too enamored with the puppy to actually pick up a menu. He ordered a few things for everyone to try at the table, with a few of your friends petting other dogs, two going to the cat section, and Chan wanting to look at the fish while your orders came in.
The Corgi had snuggled further into your shirt, seeming to know it was nighttime and she should be asleep soon. You pet her soft ears, almost cooing at how sweet she looked. Chan came back with some pictures of the fish he found, explaining each of their names and their breeds while Minho went to look at the cat section too.
The longer everyone chatted, ate snacks, and relaxed into the café, the more reluctant you were to leave. Chan saw how sweet you looked with the puppy, practically making puppy eyes of your own at him. He leaned over to Minho and said I told you so in a sing-song voice, Minho looking equally amused at you.
“We knew this would happen,” Minho explained. “We knew we couldn’t take you to a pet café and you not want to adopt one of the adorable creatures we would find, so we called ahead to see if any of their pets were adoptable.”
“Turns out,” Chan said as you started grinning, “they are! Including the sweet puppy you’ve been attached to for the past hour.”
“So does this mean we can…” you started, really unsure of how your luck was this good.
“Yes, we can adopt her, if you want,” Minho finished.
You squealed in excitement, careful not to upset the sleeping furball in your arms.
“What do you want to name her?” they both asked at the same time, making you giggle.
“I think… Annika,” you said, satisfied with your choice.
“Oh, let me guess,” Chan started.
“Annika from Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus?” Minho said, already catching on.
“That movie is a classic and I will not hear anything different,” you firmly said, kissing Annika’s soft little head. “Welcome to the family, Annika. Man, my birthday hasn’t even started and this birthday is great!”