#he might entertain the idea of some reptiles or caged rodents but they still need to be let out for exercise. and he’s not dealing with that

[moonfurthetemmie]

Thinking about the Lucidity AU

Yknow what would be funny and also very sweet

They end up with two dogs. And the new one gets along with Champ great

Shale would never let anyone intentionally go out to adopt another dog, and I doubt anyone wants to risk pissing Shale off by having another loud annoying dog. But they saw the little guy all alone and it didn’t have any ID and it was cold and dirty and so so scared and they couldn’t just leave it there etc etc

Whoever finds the little guy will probably check in with everyone else whos not part of the diabolicule, and then they go talk to those three

Lucidity’s all for it, so long as the new dog and Champ can get along okay. No one is surprised by that and they readily agree.

Nightshade doesn’t really care, though if the little mans is a breed known for being vocal, like another husky, he’s going to have some objections

Shale needs a minute he’s going to have an aneurysm. Why did you bring ANOTHER fucking dog!!! Champion was enough!!!

But one way or another the three are convinced to let the new dog stay and it’s great. And maybe Shale ends up being the new dog’s favorite human

Shale probably mostly ignores it, but little man’s wants attention! Once it gets comfortable with everyone maybe it pesters Shale a lot until he goes “Christ, what do you want?!” And then little mans sits and barks and wags its tail sosososo fast and it’s so obvious it wants pets. And it won’t leave Shale alone until he does.

And Shale starts giving it attention just to keep it from bothering him like that. And then starts keeping some toys in his office to occupy the little bastard when he’s trying to work. And then a little jar of dog treats appear on his desk.

Everyone is in shock. And afraid. They expected the new dog to be terrified of him? They know Champ isn’t but they figured that was just because Shale didn’t want to get his ass kicked for scaring Lucidity’s dog. What is going ON

Shale also takes it upon himself to train the little shit not to get up on the furniture. Which is pretty much the only training of any kind he does with it. The rest is left up to the others

okay now also imagine they somehow also end up with a cat and that becomes Nightshade’s best friend and shoulder cat.

“I distinctly remember you complaining about getting dog fur on your clothes.”

“…And?”

“But you let the cat sit on your shoulders.”

“Firstly, I’m less concerned about cat hair. Secondly I’d love to see you try to keep [cat] from doing something when they really want to. It’s a losing battle.”

“…uh huh.”

[lulueteli]

critter cottage

ao3

prompt: volunteering // animal shelter

If you told Lucas a year ago, that today he’d be standing in a room full of animals with a boy that he adored more than life, he would have rolled his eyes and walked away. 

He had been wanting to take Eliott out for a date for a while now, but hadn’t thought of any ideas until Basile had brought it up. Apparently, daphne had dragged him to a nearby animal shelter to drop off bags of animal food for donation, and they had ended up playing in the puppy room for a few hours. 

So here he was now. Leaning against the doorway watching his boyfriend curled up on his bed, illuminated by the glow of the noon sun. 

Eliott had been running himself ragged before his bac exams, and now that they were finally done, he had a chance to rest. He had been more subdued this past week, spending his time sleeping at his or Lucas’ place. Lucas wasn’t quite sure if this was just exhaustion, or if it was possibly a depressive episode. Either way, he took the time to make sure that his room was clean, there was always a glass of water next to the bed, and that the blankets were covering Eliott so he wouldn’t be cold. It was the little things that Lucas did, making sure things were in order to reduce his boyfriends stress. 

As he walked further into the room, he watched the rise and fall of Eliott’s chest, the way his hair is messily sprawled along the pillow, a few strands scattered across his forehead and cheekbones. 

this is who i’m meant to spend the rest of my life with.

Taking a seat on the edge of the bed, Lucas began to run his fingers through Eliott’s hair for a few moments, before resigning himself to shaking his shoulder to wake him up.

“Eliott? Eliott, come on, wake up.” he prodded gently. “We gotta get going soon, baby.” With that, Eliott began uncurl his body, moving Lucas hand off his shoulder as he began to stretch. 

“Remind me why I agreed to go with you in the first place,” Eliott yawned. “because I could still be sleeping right now.” Lucas rolled his eyes and began to tug Eliott further out of bed.

“Because for once in my life, I’d like to be romantic to you, mister.” With that, Eliottt's grin softened.

Pressing a kiss to Lucas cheek, Eliott grabbed the jeans he had flung over Lucas desk chair, before tugging on one of the several hoodies that Lucas had stolen from him. 

“So let's go.”

<hr>

“So, our volunteers have the option to choose which area they would like to work in. We have birds, kittens, cats, small rodents, puppies, dogs, and reptiles. Which would you like to work with?” The receptionist of the animal shelter they were currently visiting seemed excited that they were choosing to volunteer here, which made Lucas wonder about how often people actually came there. He knew that many preferred to get a purebred rather than to adopt, but personally, he would love to get one from the shelter. Sue him, he’s a sucker for animals. 

“I think we’ll just stick with dogs, please.” Lucas responded, watching Eliott who was now watching some of the cats crawl around an enclosed room.

Lucas was given a badge for himself and Eliott, before following another staff member down several halls. 

“As you may understand, several of these older dogs were either dropped off from families who could not care for them anymore or have been rescued from mistreatment in their past homes. We keep the more aggressive dogs who have no chance for rehoming in a separate part of the shelter, so they get the proper care they need. The dogs in these kennels are safer than those, but I will warn you that some of them might not want to interact with you due to their past. Most of them have just finished feeding, so if you want to help feed the last few kennels that would be helpful. The food is in that closet in the corner, and bowls are in each of the kennels. Feel free to holler if you need me.” Once he had finished gesturing towards the closet, he waved to Lucas and Eliott before walking back towards the offices. 

Turning towards his boyfriend, Lucas mocked the staff members hand movements.

There was an ease of routine as the fed the remaining dogs, Lucas pouring the food in the bowl while Eliott made friends and cooing over each one “Lucas I bet this little guy is called Jack” “Eliott that’s a Great Dane and his sign says his name is George” to “Eliott stop letting the dog climb all over you let him come eat” “but lu, he’s just a big baby!” “He’s a 2 year old 170 pound American Stanford pit bull” “Lucas. His sign says he won’t go to sleep without a blanket covering him. He’s a baby.” 

Their bickering kept themselves and the dogs entertained for a while moving back and forth between the kennels to pet those who had finished eating. Lucas gathered the remaining food and put it back in the closet, turning around and expecting Eliott to be a few feet behind him. Instead, he was met with an unusually silent room. The only sounds he heard was faint breathing from the dogs who were still awake, and the occasional whimper or snore. 

“Eliott? Eliott, where are you?” His call met no response. 

He walked around the lines of kennels for a few minutes more, peering into the cages to see if his boyfriend had perched himself to pet more dogs. But he wasn’t there. 

Confused, he exited the section of dogs, weaving his way back to the main offices. He caught sight of the staff member who had showed them around.

Lucas jogged up to him before asking, “Have you seen the guy I was with earlier? Tall, messy hair, blue eyes?”

The employee looked down at the chart before raising his eyes to meet Lucas’. 

“Eliott? He was here just a moment ago, asked if we had any more shy and timid dogs that he could try to befriend. I sent him down to room 5A to meet with one of our behavioral specialists.” With that, Lucas began to search for that room, and after a few more minutes of running around, he spotted the room.

“Putain, Eliott. Why the fuck couldn’t you wait for me-“ Lucas had opened the door but trailed off when he spotted the position his boyfriend was in. 

Eliott has discarded his hoodie to the chair in the corner, and was now sitting up against the wall with his eyes closed. The room small counter and sink in the corner of it, and Lucas could just barely see the outline of a dog bed pressed underneath it. Hearing the door open, he gestured for lucas to sit across from him in the exact same position. 

“Did you really have to walk out and leave me like that? I was worried about you,” Lucas couldn’t help but be a bit annoyed. 

Eliott grinned, albeit sheepishly, “I’ve seen those videos where the girl befriends the shy dog and helps it come out of its shell. I wanted to try,” his grin disappeared a bit, grimacing as he continued. “I’m really sorry though. I shouldn’t have left you in there, and I should have said something. It was pretty stupid of me. Especially since you planned this entire thing.”

Lucas met Eliotts eyes briefly before nudging his foot against Eliott’s knee.

“S’okay. Where’s the dog though?” Lucas looked around the room. There was a basket of untouched toys in the corner with a water dish on the floor. 

“She is very shy, come here,” Lucas moved to sit next to Eliott as he continued, “Her name is Mazie. She’s a white goldendoodle and apparently has always been very shy.” Lucas could now clearly see a small white ball of fur, snout resting at the edge of the bed so that they were both in her gaze.

“I think that if we just sit here and not provoke her, she’ll eventually start to come over and sniff us. It worked with my cousins dog.”

And so they sat there. For the next half hour they sat against the wall, fingers interlocked, waiting for Mazie to find her own courage. Which she did. She began the pace the floor near them, getting close enough to sniff the material of Eliotts jeans before scuttling back and towards her bed again. The process repeated over and over again until she eventually jumped over their legs, and butted her head against their entwined hands. She began to leap over their legs, grabbing one of her bones from the basket before plopping herself between their legs, content to ignore them now. 

During this time, Eliott had videoed Lucas playing with the pup, smiling so widely that Lucas couldn’t help but mirror. 

this is what it’s like to be happy.

And glancing at Eliott’s soft smile, dog hair covering his jeans and their hands linked together, Lucas is content to feel this way, everyday.