A/N: Shizuo/Varona, with no rating!
Disclaimers: Ryohgo Narita is still fantabulous~ And this lovely duo belong to him~
"What is it?" Despite the heavy rain pouring down from above, something odd caught Shizuo's eyes. He never would admit it, but his eyes were trained to spot tan fur the instant it appeared – for obvious reasons – and so spotting the tan fur of something that didn't belong to a jacket was quite the plausible scenario. At first, his adrenaline kicked in and his pulse suddenly sky rocketed – a conditioned response from hunting down a flea for so many years – but just as soon as his heart rate spiked the adrenaline was gone; it all dropped back down once he realized that what he was looking at wasn't part of a jacket. Nor was it moving. Shizuo glanced down with a look of disdain at the sopping brown mess lying on the road. It had it's back pressed against the rise of the sidewalk and it was small, maybe a handful or two in size. It looked disturbingly like a small cat – a very run down and almost dead cat. His softer side kicked in and he stopped. He was done work for the night, and in no hurry to get home; raining or not. But this little creature lying on the side of the road, it looked like it needed help.
Varona, dressed lightly in a thin purple jacket and jeans despite the rain, glanced around Shizuo to see what he was looking at. Gentle violet eyes scanned over the creature-object in question, before she moved out from underneath the safety of the umbrella and stooped down onto her heels. Her blonde hair was soaked almost instantly but she didn't seem to notice. Instead, she reached a hand out towards the creature on the road and ran her fingers over it's body.
"Is it dead?" Shizuo came up behind her, holding the umbrella over her head to keep her from getting anymore wet. He would feel terrible if she got sick because of this. The cat was probably long dead, firstly because it wasn't moving and it looked starved, and secondly given their recent bout of terrible weather he would have been surprised if it had actually made it.
"Negative." Varona said, leaning against her knees and gently curling her fingers around the animal. She gently picked it up. The thing looked more ragged and dead than when Shizuo had first spotted it. It looked like a disfigured rag doll, clumps of fur hanging from between Varona's delicate fingers. "It lives. Vaguely." She said, cradling the thing to her chest and standing back up. The small creature instantly left a giant wet mark on the thin cloth of her light purple jacket. She turned around, the only emotion on her face conveyed by her eyes widening only slightly, and she took a step closer to Shizuo. "May we take it home? It is a small puppy. Samoyed. Approximately three months in age. Sick."
Shizuo stared at her, his mouth thinning out into a frown, because it looked very dead, but how could he say no? He couldn't say no. She had said it was alive, right? He sighed. "Alright, but if you can't fix it, I can't afford a vet." Varona nodded, no hint of a smile, but just like Kasuka Shizuo could tell she was happy with his response. He smiled wide enough for the both of them before wrapping and arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer. "We should get back to my place really quick then? Will it be okay?"
"Affirmative." Varona said as they took off down the sidewalk, the slapping of their shoes being drowned out by the drum of the rain on Shizuo's Incredible Hulk umbrella. It had been a mock gift from Izaya one birthday, but instead of being mad, Shizuo had turned the tables by continuing to use it. Of course, Varona had suggested it in the first place, and after explaining the whole 'joke's on you' trend, Shizuo couldn't help but laugh. "And young Samoyed is female." Varona cut in, glancing down to the muddy puppy pressed tightly against her chest. "Diagnosis is malnutrition. Young Samoyed is too thin. Should be twenty to twenty-five pounds. Feels like ten."
Shizuo glanced over, his eyes landing on the small little thing pressed tightly against Varona's chest. Now, as they walked through the rain and under the streetlights, he could see that the puppy's stomach was gently moving. It was breathing at least. "Aren't they supposed to be white?" He asked. The puppy was very brown, and he doubted that it was just all mud.
"Affirmative. Young Samoyed is very dirty. We need to stop for puppy food and shampoo." Varona said, glancing up and over to Shizuo. He nodded, even though his worries were lying more in the pup's medical condition, calculating in his head how much a puppy would cost. If Varona wanted to keep it, it would be better if the pup stayed with her. Her father was still sending her money every month – secretly of course, Varona wasn't supposed to know who sent the money to her account, but it was painfully obvious – and she would be better suited to take care of it. Shizuo would feel terrible if the puppy ended up starving simply because he couldn't afford food.
He suddenly chuckled. He was already thinking about it like Varona was going to insist on keeping the little thing. "Are we... keeping it?" He asked, glancing over to the small puppy once again. It looked really ragged and dirty. It could have diseases. Were they even ready to take care of another living creature together? He and Varona had been – secretly – dating for over three months now, and that was after casually meeting up on almost a daily basis as 'friends'. They both knew Tom suspected something, but he was still encouraging them to have their 'first date'. But their relationship wasn't the point. The more Shizuo thought about it, their relationship had nothing to do with the decision at hand.
If Varona wanted to keep the puppy then who was he to say no? If she wanted to keep the puppy, then Shizuo would have no qualms against it.
Who knew? Maybe it was a step forward in their relationship.
Varona glanced up at him as the neared the corner store right by his apartment. She blinked twice before looking back ahead of her, gently stroking the small pup. She seemed to be thinking the question over carefully. The puppy hadn't moved since she had picked it up, and that alone started to worry Shizuo. He trusted in Varona's intellect though, and if she didn't think the pup was dying, then it was probably going to make it at least back to his apartment.
He cleared his throat as they entered the store, both of them regulars by now and the cashier didn't even look their way. "Rather, would you like to keep it?" He asked. They went through a couple of aisles, looking for the little pet sections that most corner stores had, before finding what they were looking for. Shizuo picked up a couple of cans of soft dog food, glancing at the labels in confusion muddled with curiosity. He had never had a puppy before. His parents refused to get them pets as a kid because his father was severely allergic to almost all animals. He suddenly felt a little bit excited. If the puppy ended up being alright, it would be cute, wouldn't it? It would almost be like they were a normal couple. It kind of felt like they weren't secretly dating for a moment.
Varona suddenly smiled, glancing down at the puppy and then shooting Shizuo her own set of puppy-dog eyes. "If Shizuo would like too, affirmative." Shizuo could only smile back like an idiot because of course he wanted to if she did. She suddenly turned away, eyes still lingering as she swayed her hips, venturing over towards the drink selection.
"Is this enough?" He asked, holding up four cans and glancing around until he spotted his girlfriend. He didn't know if the pup could even eat soft food, let alone how long they would actually care for it. Varona nodded, standing in front of the coolers, a bottle of raspberry sparkling water in one hand and the puppy still in the other.
"Shampoo, negative." She said gesturing towards the small pet section. Shizuo mentally added money back into his wallet.
They paid and left within five minutes, Shizuo kicking open his apartment door and allowing Varona to hurry in first. He peeled his soaked grey sweater off of himself before dropping it by the door to be washed, kicking off his wet dress shoes and stepping into his too cold apartment. "I'll get the heat going," He said, glancing over to Varona who was wrapping the puppy up in her jacket. That too would need to be washed afterward. He eyed the small dog, wondering if it would be okay without a vet. It still looked dead and vaguely like a drowned cat.
Varona seemed to know what she was was doing. After bundling the puppy up, she sat it on the couch where it began to stir, and briskly walked into the kitchen on light toes. She went right up to a cabinet and pulled out a couple of small bowls. She ran one underneath the tap, luke warm Shizuo noticed as he turned the dial to the thermostat, and then she quickly went back out into the living room, setting both bowls on his coffee table.
"Hello, young Samoyed," she said in a soft voice, pulling out a single can of the dog food from the bag. She popped it open in front of the puppies face, the little thing stirring and sitting up with a gentle pant. Shizuo came closer timidly, sitting down cross legged beside Varona on his carpet. He didn't touch the puppy, simply just watched. He admired her eyes, more on the green side than the regular brown, and realized that they were indeed pretty. The little puppy made a barking motion, but no sound came out. "Good, young Samoyed," Varona cooed again, and Shizuo smiled at her choice in words like he always did.
When the puppy managed to sit up, wobbling lightly on it's own feet, Varona help out the small bowl of water for it to drink. It silently barked again before shoving it's face into the bowl, greedily lapping at the water as fast as it could. The fur on it's chin was instantly soaked, and the water in the bowl began to turn a little brown.
"It was thirsty," Shizuo commented, watching in fascination as the pup drank it's fill. Varona nodded, patting the pup lightly on the head before placing the bowl – now almost empty – back onto the coffee table.
Grabbing the little dish not filled with water, Varona tapped out half the small can of food before placing it on the couch, right in front of the puppies paws. With the jacket still wrapped around it, it tried to stand up, falling over clumsily before quitting completely and simply dropping it's head to the bowl once again.
"And it's not half dead," Shizuo noted, watching as the puppy devoured the small handful of food in a matter of seconds. He was honestly surprised that something so small was moving as easily as it was after appearing dead only ten minutes ago.
"Young Samoyed is just exhausted." Varona said, her lips pulling at the corners just enough to tell Shizuo that she was smiling. He suddenly thanked his brother for being so expressionless. Now if only he could read other people this easily, his life would be so much easier. "I will soap down young Samoyed's fur in your kitchen basin." She said, picking up the puppy even though it was trying to like the bowl completely clean.
"In my kitchen sink?" Shizuo asked, glancing at the sheer amount of dirt coated on the small thing. That would definitely clog all of his pipes. "I have a bath tub." He stood up with her – them, following Varona into the kitchen like a replaced puppy.
"Human basin is much too large." Varona said, setting the small pup onto the kitchen counter where she promptly laid down, legs sprawled. "I require my own hair shampoo from your bathroom."
Shizuo chuckled at the request but disappeared almost immediately from the kitchen.
Varona cleared out one side of Shizuo's sink, just a bowl and a cup – he was quite clean, contrary to popular belief – and plugged it so that she could fill it with warm water. She turned on the tap, the puppy watching her anxiously with her tongue hanging out. Shizuo came back when the sink was half full, handing her a bottle of her own lavender scented shampoo. He leaned forward, making a face at the little puppy, and she snapped her mouth before yawning tiredly.
"My thanks." Varona put the bottle down on the counter, turning the tap off and carefully lifting the puppy and placing her into the sink. The Samoyed voicelessly yipped, pawing at the water for only a moment, until she settled and plopped her rear where she stood. She yawned again, and it brought a smile to Shizuo's face.
"Are you going to name it?" Shizuo asked, watching as Varona took a clean cup out of the cabinet and filled it up with the water from the make shift bath.
"Her," Varona corrected, gently pouring water onto the pup's back. Mud and dirt instantly washed off, the water turning muddy and brown in the matter of seconds. "And yes. Young Samoyed will require a name." At this, Varona glanced over to Shizuo, who was leaning against the counter eyeing the puppy delicately. "Does Shizuo have suggestions?"
He glanced up at her, before glancing back down. The pup looked happy, tongue still hanging out as Varona poured water over her. "Ummm..."
The water got too muddy too fast. Varona stuck her hand in and pulled the plug so that the water could drain, because at this point, it wasn't much of a bath. There was a lot more dirt and grit caked on to the pup than either of them had expected. But still, the puppy was already looking several shades whiter.
Shizuo chuckled. "We could name it something after the fact that it, err, she... changed colours. Like..." He wracked his brain for a name that didn't sound stupid, but came up empty handed. "Like... or we could name her Ameko, 'cause we found her in the rain."
Varona shook her head and Shizuo watched the way her hair bounced off her shoulders as it slowly dried. When the sink was empty, Varona turned the tap back on and filled up the cup, pouring it over the puppy until most of the dirt and grime were gone. The puppy barked again, nothing but the whisper of a sound, and Varona glanced up, smiling at Shizuo. "Shizuka."
Shizuo blinked, before glancing down to the puppy. "Quiet." He said, the meaning of the name fitting the pup nicely. The puppy motioning to bark once again. "I like it."
Varona smiled, actually smiled before setting down the cup and picking up the bottle of Shampoo. "Shizuka, young Samoyed." She said, as if confirming the new identity of the puppy. She popped open the lid before glancing over to Shizuo almost questioningly. A couple of seconds later, she handed the bottle of shampoo Shizuo's way. "Would Shizuo like to wash Shizuka?"
Shizuo blinked, glancing at it like it was about to bite him. "Um... I won't hurt her, will I?"
Varona laughed, pushing the bottle closer. "Negative. Shizuo is, how would I say, gentle giant."
Gentle giant. Shizuo chuckled before accepting the bottle. He moved closer, standing beside Varona, hip by hip, and submerged one hand into the water. Varona wrapped an arm around his waist, watching carefully as he pat the pup on the head. Shizuka silently yipped, tongue still hanging out, and Shizuo smiled. She was cute. She was just as cute as Varona. He squeezed out a fair amount of shampoo and diligently rubbed it between his hands until it was foaming and frothing at his fingertips. The puppy silently yipped again as Shizuo reached out to gently pat her atop her head again, almost to reassure himself that his strength was in check, before threading his fingers through her still brown fur.
"It appears as though Shizuka likes Shizuo." Varona stated happily, leaning against the counter and simply watching the smile that was growing on Shizuo's face. The puppy's tongue was hanging from her mouth, eyes squeezed shut as he massaged the shampoo into her fur.
"It seems so," Shizuo agreed, the soap in his hands slowly turning brown. He pat the puppy once again, deciding that he actually quite liked it. "Shizuka, hey?" He sounded the name out once again before nodding. It was a little strange on his tongue, given how close it was to his own name, but that might have been part of Varona's intention. It was hard to tell. She was so much smarter than him.
Shizuka suddenly yipped, struggling to stand up on her own. Shizuo retracted his hands quickly, worried that he had hurt her and he glanced to Varona in borderline panic. Once Shizuka was solidly standing on own she shook out her fur in a violent manner, flinging dirty soap suds over everything within five feet of the sink – Shizuo and Varona included – before plopping back down on her rear and whispering happily once again. She looked proud of herself, her head held high and the tell tale signs of white fur poking out from the remaining soapy mess.
Both humans blinked in confusion, before they burst out laughing, Varona holding onto her stomach and Shizuo trying to wipe the sting of mud from his eyes.
Shizuka. It definitely fit.