He twisted and turned. There was a moment of silence before sheets were ruffled once again, and the Chocolate Labrador that had been under the blankets gave out a huff, before wiggling out and staring out in the open blankly.
It was official - Zuma can't sleep.
The Chocolate Labrador sighed, getting up from the rest of the pups as quietly as he could, before making his way towards the entrance of the lookout. He stared out of the glass. It's been snowing since the early morning, and the weather man had called for a blizzard by tonight. Ryder said the pups were allowed to stay in, since the ten year old would be worried if anything were to happen to them. The thought pulled a smile from Zuma as he watched the snow fall from the sky, the wind blowing harshly.
For a good while, it was silent with an exception of a small, buzzing noise that Zuma quickly found out came from a machine in the kitchen, as well as some of the other pups - namely Skye. Thinking about the others, Zuma turned his head towards the rest of pups and smiled at them.
They were all fast asleep, Skye kicking and twitching in hers, and when Zuma's eyes landed on a particular pair of pups, his smile widen even further.
To the surprise of everyone - Marshall included, and the poor pup was so obvious with his crushes since Everest - it turns out that the young German Shepherd, going by the name of Chase, whom everyone thought had a crush on Skye, had been harboring some more-than-friendly feelings towards the Dalmatian. Of course, Chase had been stubborn and hid his feelings to the best of his abilities, until that one day where Marshall had went missing (again, this time not on purpose) and about time anyone found him, the Dalmatian was beaten, bruised, and was running some serious health-risk.
The pup had barely been conscious when he told them what happen. There had been a gang of dogs, mostly stray, and Marshall just had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. They tracked Marshall down when he'd ran, into a dead end, and started fighting him, tearing into his flesh, and nearly bit his ear off in the fight. When they were done, they simply left Marshall for dead and he would have been too, had they not found him in time.
Hearing this, Chase had been absolulately furious and despite Ryder's warning, Chase went after them. Against all odds, and Zuma not knowing how, Chase had came out victiorious . The dogs had left Adventure Bay before anyone could do anything, and while Ryder was upset at Chase for disobeying him, it made Marshall even more worried and upset than Ryder was.
"Chase, why? Your fur..." Marshall asked, looking at the dog beside him with horrorfied eyes. Chase shrugged and did his best to hide the flinch.
"It'll grow back. Besides, nobody messes with my dally." Chase said, giving Marshall a lick on his cheek, causing the black and white dog to blush. Since then, the two were joined at the hip, cuddling, playing and teasing each other. Zuma thought it was cute. Skye, however, had been heartbroken, as she liked Chase too, but supported them anyway. Not long after, Skye had develop a crush on Rubble, and Rubble was still trying to get her to like him like that, not knowing that Skye already did.
The Chocolate Lab shook his head and gave out a small chuckle.
"Zuma?" A voice croaked and Zuma looked up to see Rocky standing a few feet away, rubbing his eye with his paw. "You up?"
Zuma felt his heart skip a beat and blush.
"Yeah," He said. "Did I wake you?"
"No, no. I just had a feeling." Rocky said, sitting next to the lab. Zuma tried his best to ignore the heat coming from the mix-breed, and swallowed roughly.
"Oh."
Silence.
The two stared out at the snow.
"Sooo...what are you doing up?" Rocky asked, glancing at Zuma. The chocolate lab shrugged.
"Can't sleep. I've tried, but I can't. You?" He asked, looking at Rocky, who blushed and look down at the ground.
"Same reason, I guess." He said, and then there was an uncomfortable silence falling upon the two of them. Zuma found himself swallowing again, wishing to everyone above in puppy heaven to give him the courage he needs to confess his feelings towards his best friend.
Zuma didn't understand it. Everyone knew Zuma was the type of person who never allowed fear get in his way - mission or otherwise. Zuma was considered fearless for a reason, and yet...
Yet place me in a room with my crush, and I suddenly become a statue. He thought, rolling his eyes before glancing back outside. The wind seem to be getting harsher and harsher as hours passed and Zuma feared a blackout might happen by the end of it.
"I hope everyone is alright." Rocky whispered, looking at the blizzard outside.
"I'm sure they awre fine, Wocky. They all must be asleep by now." Zuma said.
"Unlike us." Rocky said, causing the two to chuckle.
"Yeah..." Zuma said. He sighed out of frustration, before getting up from his seating. "I'm going back to bed. Join?"
Rocky seemed hesitate, and despite the darkness, Zuma could clearly see the mix-breed blush.
"Eh, sure. No point of staying up when everyone else is asleep." He said and Zuma chuckled again. When the two made it back to their beds, silence once again filled the air, and Zuma slowly found himself getting agitated. For paw's sake, Zuma, his thoughts told him. Just tell him how you feel!
Unknowingly, Rocky was having the same conversation with himself and just when he was about to speak, Rocky started first.
"Zuma, there's something I...I want to tell you." Rocky said, biting his lip and blushing a little. Zuma's right ear perked, and the Chocolate Labrador turned to look at him.
"What is it dude?" He asked, looking at Rocky with concern in his eyes. Rocky bit his lip harder, body tense.
"I like you." He said, but it was too low to hear, even for a dog's ear. Zuma blinked.
"Um, what?"
"I like you. Not just like a friend's like, either." Rocky repeated, blushing even more. Zuma blinked and smile softly. Well, that makes two of us. He thought and moved closer to the recycle pup. This didn't go unnoticed and Rocky blushed again. "Z-Zuma?"
"I like you too, in that way." Zuma muttered, nuzzling Rocky's side. He smiled when he heard Rocky's heart beat even faster, knowing that it was him that made Rocky nervous and shy-like.
"Good. For a moment there, I thought you'd hate me." Rocky said and Zuma just snuggled closer, letting out a yawn.
"Never, Wocky. You'wre my best fwriend, more than that now." The Chocolate Labrador said, and gave Rocky a lick, causing the mix-breed's eyes to go wide. "You'wre my mate."
Something about that made a shiver go down Rocky's spine and he smiled softly.
"Yes," He whispered, laying down next to Zuma. "My mate."
A/n: I have no idea why or how I came up with this. It's just pointless. BUT Zuma and Rocky has always been my favorite second gay pairing, next to Chase and Marshall. Feel free to review if you wish.