It all began with a puppy. A silly, adorable, irritating puppy.
Klaus glanced down at the little furball from over the top of his paper. Caroline was out – much as he adored her he could not take another shopping excursion, and they did appreciate the little alone time they had. It made being together that much sweeter. But since the dog's main carer was not in the building, the puppy had latched onto Klaus.
The husky puppy returned Klaus' gaze with adoring dark blue eyes, his tail wagging hopefully. When Klaus attempted to return his gaze to the newspaper he had been reading, the puppy made an irritable noise and bumped his head against the hybrids leg. Klaus looked at the puppy again, torn between amusement and irritation. He swore they should have named the dog after his little brother Kol. It was just as much of a playful nuisance. Surprisingly, there had been enough debate about the name without Kol's name being mentioned.
"Luka." Caroline had suggested, as they sat in bed during one of their late night chats.
"Too common." Klaus stated, partially to receive the exaggerated expression of shock from Caroline.
"Too common?" She repeated incredulously. "Its different without being weird."
"How is Fenrir weird?" He asked, and she gave him her famous look, but he continued regardless. "It's the Nordic wolf-god – powerful, fearsome – "
"And not something we want if we're going to name our dog."
"Why are we doing this again?"
"Because I never had a pet and I'd like a chance to take care of something with you that isn't a plant."
"We look after Kol and Rebekah."
"That's beside the point." Caroline pursed her lips. "Akela? If you're thinking along the lines of a wolf, then that's the name of the wolf in The Jungle Book that leads the pack."
Klaus raised his eyebrows at her. "You and I both try to be the alpha already. I don't think we need a dog attempting to do the same."
"Fair point." She sighed. "Well then, since you're so obsessed with Norse mythology, are there any other dogs you can think of?"
"Skoll? Or Hati?" Klaus mused. "They are the wolves that chase the sun and the moon."
"Hati." Caroline mused. "Hati."
The dog had been named after the wolf that in Klaus' time had been known to chase the moon across the sky for eternity. But no one would be able to guess that from the way the puppy bumbled around the house. Klaus was secretly scared of even the small responsibility of such an animal. Horses could fend for themselves, you simply needed to provide them with food and shelter and they could be taught to walk and run and carry people. Wolves too were fairly independent creatures. But although he knew that the puppy would grow to be a large, wolf-like creature that could take care of itself, he wasn't accustomed to having to take care of such a tiny fragile thing. It had fallen over its own legs the other day, and Klaus' instincts kicked in, making him want to rush over and hold the damned thing. It was irritating. Klaus was the big bad, not the big dad.
Klaus frowned, turning the page of the paper. Hati growled, the sound no bigger or fiercer than a kitten, and Klaus put down the paper to look at the daring little dog. Hati growled at him again, and Klaus growled back, his eyes flashing warningly. He had to give the dog credit; the puppy backed a couple steps away but otherwise stood his ground, little chest puffed out. Klaus contemplated transforming into a wolf just because he could, when Hati bumped his head against Klaus' leg again before impatiently sitting down with restless paws, a move that Caroline called 'feed me now, or else'. Klaus checked the clock and it was indeed the impudent dog's dinner time.
"Don't expect me to do anything about it." Klaus grumbled, sitting back in his chair.
Hati growled and then, when he realised it wouldn't grab Klaus' attention anymore, huffed. Klaus smirked, thinking he had won, until the little devil started howling.
"Alright, alright, I'm going." Klaus said lowly, storming off to the kitchen with Hati hot on his heels. The puppy bumbled around Klaus' feet as the food was prepared, and sat impatiently as the hybrid set it down in front of Hati.
"Good boy," Klaus said fondly before he realised, and shook his head with a scoff. Hati didn't care, already snout deep in his dinner as Klaus strode back to his chair and his paper, intent on finishing the article and starting on the Sudoku. He had only written seven of the numbers in the right boxes before something nudged his leg again.
"What now?" Klaus frowned down at Hati, who wagged his tail furiously once Klaus looked at him. Klaus returned to the paper, and Hati grumbled, tapping his leg again.
Klaus dropped the paper in his lap and snarled at the little husky puppy, his eyes glowing golden. Hati retreated under the gaze of the alpha, going to sit in his designated spot on the pillow they had bought for him.
Klaus had a few more moments of pleasant alone-time in his armchair. He kept an eye on Hati this time, and the dog settled on his dog bed looking reproachfully at Klaus but otherwise making himself comfortable. Klaus was halfway through the Sudoku before he realised that there was a warm body next to his leg that hadn't been there before. He looked down to see that Hati had jumped up into the extra space of the arm chair and curled in a ball with the puppy's back resting against the side of his leg.
"We should have named you Loki." Klaus scoffed, thinking of the sly Norse god. Hati didn't stir, lost in puppy dreams. Klaus let him be, not bothering to move the dog's comforting touch.
When Caroline returned an hour later, she smiled when she saw Klaus with Hati sleeping like a lap dog perched ontop of Klaus' legs. Klaus raised a warning eyebrow at her.
"Not. A. Word."
"I didn't say anything." Caroline grinned. "Want me to move him?"
Klaus didn't get a chance to answer before Hati woke up at the sound of Caroline's voice, sleepily rolling off Klaus in a bid to get to his mistress. He also very nearly fell to the floor, but Klaus' nimble hands caught him and gently placed him on the floor.
"Hey Hati," Caroline murmured, ruffling the husky's thick dark coat while smiling at Klaus. "I'm guessing you're warming up to the idea of having a dog."
"He needs a proper alpha influence." Klaus said sulkily, and Caroline rolled her eyes at his attempt at a jab, kissing Hati between his pricked ears.
"Don't I get a hello too?" Klaus teased, and Caroline jokingly moved to ruffle Klaus' hair, giggling as he caught her hand and pulled her forward to fall into his lap.
"Hello." She murmured, not quite kissing him yet.
"Hello, love." Klaus murmured back against her mouth, catching her bottom lip between his teeth and revelling in the sigh it brought forth from her. Hati grumbled at the loss of attention, jumping up to rest his paws against Klaus' leg for balance. The couple broke apart, much to Klaus' displeasure, and Caroline scratched the puppy between his ears.
"Are you being a nuisance again?" She asked Hati. The dog looked at her like she was the sun, all loving blue eyes and adorable.
"I'm being a nuisance." Klaus murmured as he grazed his stubbled chin down Caroline's neck. She squirmed in response, her movement only causing more trouble as she ground into Klaus' lap. He hissed pleasurably before scooping Caroline up in his arms and walking towards the hallway that lead to their bedroom.
"Hati – "
"Will be here when we're finished. He's been fed, but I'm hungry."
The door closed behind them. Hati retreated to his bed with a little exasperated huff.
Sorry for the silence...final year of my bachelor, and its already kicking my ass!
Hope you all are having a lovely time wherever you are, and if you haven't already done so, GET A PET. ;)
xx
