"I simply thought..."

"Caius, no,"

"But, it was all alone in a box thrown in an alley!"

"I don't care if it were in the dumpster, we are not keeping it."

The elder man threw a very uncharacteristic pout towards the other, who firmly ignored it and crossed her arms over her chest. Her eyes avoided the tiny, wiggling animal in his arms, because even she knew that if she were to glance into its eyes, she'd be cast under it's spell if adorableness. Just look at Caius— he's the strongest, most stoic person she knew besides herself, and here he was, melting and fawning over a puppy.

Lightning didn't want to get him upset or sad, she just didn't want to deal with the work of raising and keeping a pet. They've lived together for a few months, and they were barely getting the ropes to using their new apartment. What made him think that they could take on the responsibilities of a puppy? It would certainly need space to run and play, which they were limited on, and it would need toys, and a collar, leash, grooming— so many things that they definitely weren't ready to take on right now. Of course, both had well paying jobs, both could equally support the bills of their new home, however the idea of a pet made the young woman anxious. She never had a pet growing up, her sister never wanted a pet growing up, either, and Lightning was certain Caius didn't have any past experience with a pet.

"You can pout and frown all you want, but it's not changing my mind," she said finally after having enough if his pouting.

Caius rolled his eyes and held the small animal more gingerly in his arms, trying his best to make it comfortable. "What will make you change your mind?" He asked, following her as she made her way into the small living room area if their apartment. "I will try my best to make it up to you, I promise."

She shook her head, "Nothing can make you change my mind. Why do you want it so bad, anyways? It's a stray, it'll learn to survive— or we can take it to the pound."

He sighed quietly, something that the pink-haired woman wasn't quite so used to hearing. Whenever Caius sighed, and it was rare, he was often thinking of the past. Neither if their back stories were very pretty; both their parents died when they were young, both had younger sisters who they protected and raised at a young age. Lightning had Serah, Caius had Yeul—

Just after she remembered that, a gasp escaped her lips almost silently. Turning back to Caius, she took a step forward, "Is that why you want to keep it?"

He didn't say anything, and neither did the animal in his arms. In fact, he tiny puppy had fallen asleep in his strong arms, one of its paws hanging over his left arm as it slept peacefully. Now that she got a better look at it, it appeared to resemble Yeul: soft, blue-ish fur covered its frail body, and it had small, floppy ears. If it was awake, it would probably have soft, green eyes.

It wasn't fair what happened to Yeul. They both knew and understood that he wasn't ready to move on with her death, but he had seemed to let go most of it. He wasn't as sullen as he used to be, he was a bit more sarcastic, yes, but that was simply his personality. If Caius wasn't sarcastic and witty, Lightning wouldn't even be in a relationship with him in the first place (she enjoys his witty remarks for the most part, but he never failed to make her blush with certain compliments).

He had a talent for making her feel guilty. "Caius, I understand your reason for wanting to keep it. But we can't just..." And that was his cue to look at her again, his bangs brushing over his eyes and his hues beginning to enlarge. Lightning hated that puppy face, and he knew it worked on her every time. A hand went up to rub at one of her temples, and the young woman sighed audibly before shaking her head. "I suppose we can't abandon it like this..."

In a split second, his depressed and sullen attitude had quickly changed into one of content and happiness, something she was surprised to see from him. "I'll look after her, I promise you, Claire."

"Yeah, yeah." Lightning craved the warm sheets of her bed more and more as Caius gently set the small animal on the sofa in the living room area, grabbing a nearby blanket to drape over it. It amazed her how automatic his actions looked, and she remembered that he had just as much practice as she did. With a small smile, Light added, "You're already taking better care of it than you take care of me."

"You still have most of my attention, do not worry," He gave a peck to her cheek before leaving for the kitchen, sensing Light would want a dose of caffeine to calm her nerves over their new addition to the household.

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