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Happiness is a Warm Dog by akire [Reviews - 0] 
~~~ "Hemmy! Come on, boy!" Pete hunkered down on his kitchen floor and tried to track the scuttle of claws on tile that marked the tiny puppy's exploration of his new environment. "Dude, I don't think he's coming back any time soon. It all smells too good." Pete pushed up off all fours and stretched lazily. The cool tiles pressed hard against his knee-caps as he worked out a crick in his neck. "I think you're right. Oh well, it's not like he can go far, and there's no carpet in here." The mess Hemmy had made on his mother's living room rug had been impressive. Tiles were hard on the knees, but easy to clean. Wincing, Pete rolled back onto his butt and rubbed his shins before rolling forward, pushing his feet underneath him. Without thinking, he reached out blindly towards the fridge for balance. "MOTHERFUCKER," he roared, collapsing back onto the floor as he automatically brought his scorched fingers to his mouth. "What?" Joe half-rose as he looked over the table and down at Pete. With a high-pitched bark, Hemmy came skidding over to investigate. "You okay? What happened?" Pete eyed the fridge warily as he gathered his puppy up into his lap. "Fucking fridge shocked me." His eyes tracked down onto his fingers, then to the puppy who was settling into his lap. Nervously, he gently nudged Hemmy onto the floor, trying to touch him as little as possible. "What the fuck?" Joe was still staring, eyes wide. "You think its...I thought you had that shit under control now?" Pete nodded, bringing his knees up like a barricade between him and the puppy. "I haven't zapped anything by accident in years..." He looked down at Hemmy as the dog began batting his shoelace. "Fuck." Joe looked like he was going to say something, but instead he came over and scooped Hemmy up into his arms. "Dude, it was probably just a one-off. I don't think you're gonna electrocute Hemmy." Pete scrubbed his hands through his hair. "But what if I was touching him instead of the fucking fridge." Shifting Hemmy over until he was tucked under one arm, Joe yanked the fridge door open. "It's still running, you didn't hit it that hard." Slamming the door shut, Joe ruffled the pups ears as he returned to his seat. "Can you zap anything that hard?" Pete snorted through his nose and climbed to his feet, careful not to touch anything. "Only if there's a thunderstorm handy." "See. Dogs probably get worse zaps from those invisible fence things." Pete pulled out the chair opposite, grateful for the wooden furniture. "Yeah, maybe..." He laughed as, with a yip, Hemmy scrambled out of Joe's arms and skidded across the table to crash into his chest. "See, Hemmy doesn't give a shit. He's down with it." Joe's grin faded a little. "How do you feel?" Pete snorted as he stroked Hemmy's downy muzzle. "You sound like my fucking shrink. Or a clinician." Joe shrugged and leaned back. "Hey, I get it too, remember. I know the routine. How do you feel?" Pete looked away from Joe, who he had known too long, who knew him too well for anything but the total truth. Hemmy whuffed against his arm, his dark eyes closing in sleep. "I feel good. Happy. " More definite this time. "I feel happy." He heard Joe shift, stand, felt the warmth of his hand come down on his shoulder. "Maybe that's it then. You're happy." Joe removed his hand and began to walk away. "Glowing, even!" Joe added with a laugh. "If Hemmy wasn't asleep here, I'd school you for that." He heard Joe's laughter fade as Joe moved away. Gently stroking the puppy's warm head, he nodded to himself. "Just a happy little spark, Hem. It's okay. Just a happy little spark." |
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