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I’d woken up late, far too late for my own good. Sigma could've woken me easily. I always listened to them. There wasn't any reason they couldn't have. We had things to do today after all. Though I didn't mind, instead taking a few minutes just to soak up the warm sun from my place on our bed.
I soon pulled myself away from the comfort of the warm sheets, reluctant to really function. Just as I was changing into something a little more suitable to run errands in, Sigma came in, it was like they had a sixth sense. They always managed to make me feel more at home, maybe that'd be worth mentioning to them given their prior quest to find one of their own. They smiled, rummaging through the lower drawer of our bedside table, lava lamp still on and warm above them. More properly clothed now I turn to them spotting their wallet and a leash I'd gotten for myself recently in their hands.
“What’s that for? Aren't we going grocery shopping?”
“We are, I just thought my puppy might want to go for a walk too. That is why you bought this, no?” Their warm smile didn't falter even as they said it, eager. Maybe too eager, not more eager than I though. Never more eager than their silly pup could be. Sigma had always been nothing but supportive over my choices, truthfully it was a little overwhelming, and yet my tail still wagged at the prospect of being taken on a walk. I nod sheepishly, ears sat flat against my head.
“Id um…Id like that.” Sigma smiled a little more at my acceptance and wandered over to retrieve my collar as well. Something I wore just to feel a little more like myself, hardly a branding of ownership like most would assume. They hum as they clip it around my neck, peppering my cheeks with kisses and praise, they had to be sure their puppy was well taken care of after all. And well taken care of I was. Practically pampered in their care. A soft blush crept up to my cheeks as I leaned into it, pecking at their cheeks in return as my tail wagged diligently behind me. Then came the metal click of the leash against my collar, a subtle weight compared to what the collar was on its own. Though they released it to hang against my leg. Sigma must've thought I looked disappointed cause they pet my head gently before stepping away to get something else off the bedside table.
“I need two hands to carry groceries, hon. Mind if I borrow your keys?”
“Sure, what do you need them for though?” Pretty gray eyes meet mine, they say nothing more, instead attaching the carabiner i kept my keys on to their belt loop just where the edge of their sweater ended. Titling my head a little Sigma really couldn't help but adore how sweetly puppyish I truly was in my nature. “Why do you need my keys..you have your own?” Though they don't answer me, instead simply retrieving the end of the leash they're meant to hold and clipping it to the carabiner with a tender smile that answered it all. They gave the leash a light tug before reaching to pet their hand across my cheeks. It took a moment for me to really process it, cheeks warming more with that sweet pink flush they knew so well. Gray eyes find my own and I find myself leaning in to lick at their cheeks a little, they weren’t as fond of those puppy kisses as they were of my usual ones but they didn't dare turn me away, the affection between the two of us something they cherish too greatly to ruin.
Nuzzling against their now wet cheek I smile against their skin allowing them to tug on the leash a little and lead me away. I’d follow them to the end of the earth if it meant getting to be as much myself as I wanted all the time. I’d bark and whine for attention and cuddle close even when I was tired. I'd wag my tail to the beat of their heart.
My tail wagged more the further we walked down the street towards the grocery store, Sigma periodically giving the leash a light tug when I fell behind, distracted by some knick knack I found on the sidewalk or a cute cat in someone's window. My excitement was more than enough to dispel any embarrassment I might have previously felt at the prospect of being paraded around on a leash, though some part of me knows I really wouldn't have cared so much with Sigma here. Even while we wandered the isles of the grocery store I found myself caring about it less and less.
“What would you like for dinner tonight?” Snapped out of my own thoughts I smile at them and shrug a little. I basically only ate the same five things so it wasn't too hard to narrow it down.
“Maybe pasta tonight?”
“Didnt you have pasta for lunch yesterday?” They ask with a gentle laugh. Regardless they made it a point to put the ingredients for pasta in the basket they grabbed. “As long as you're eating something, honey.” Smiling a little more myself I shift on my feet a little to lean against their back. As long as I ate. Even if it was the same food as yesterday and the day before and everyday the past week. Maybe it wasn't the healthiest habit but it was better than not having any safe foods at all, maybe some people would see Sigma as an enabler for having that outlook on it, but then again maybe I didn't care. They took care of me and I took care of them, that's all that really mattered at the end of the day, that we had one another. A little tug at the leash led me forward, grabbing things here and there, things I liked, things I knew they liked. The ingredients to make cookies. Sigma took notice and smiled.
“Making cookies for anyone special?” It was a rhetorical question.
“No one special, just my pretty partner.” We smiled at one another giggling warmly amongst ourselves. A bubble between space and time that harbored just us and that deep, powerful love and admiration we had for the other. “Promise I won't get fur in them this time.” They snorted quietly, rolling their eyes and shaking their head once more.
“I don't care about the fur, it's everywhere else around the apartment anyway.”
“Just means there's a little bit of me everywhere you go.”
More soft giggles ensue, more tail wagging, more gentle eyed looks of knowing exchanged. The domesticity of it all was something most people would give their life for. Soon enough we found ourselves at the counter paying for our little grocery haul. I'd nearly forgotten about the leash when the clerk gave me a funny look for it. And for the first time in a while I wasn't plagued by self deprecating thoughts when I ignored it. Actually ignored it, didn't just try to.
We bid our farewells soon enough after and I followed Sigma out to the sidewalk once more. The cool spring air was a welcome comfort compared to the stuffy little store. And their warm smile was welcomed over anything else. Slipping into an easy pace next to one another my keys on their belt loop jingled lightly, more noticeable now that I was really paying attention. It warmed my chest seeing them with my keys, with my leash, with my heart in their hands. An offering to an angel sent from heaven just for me. Carved out with nothing but my bare paws just for them. My poor puppy heart poor no longer.
“How would you like to go run around at the park before we head home..hmm, puppy?” There was a quiet pause, the only sound between us the jingling of my keys. I nod sheepishly.
“I'd like that, I'd like that a lot.”