I HAVE RETURNED! Missed me? Sorry about the long wait. Finals. Bleh

So anyways, thanks to those who have decided to read this far. It's great to know you guys enjoy the story. So i've recieved some suggestions of adding in more of the characters. And just so you know, it undeniably, completely, TOTALLY ruined my carefully laid out plans. I hope you're happy.

But now, I think it might be more interesting, so thanks. I'm not sure if I've got the 'Joey' down, so be nice.

Disclaimer: Did it, done it, done

Enjoy!

Chapter 14

The sunlight fought valiantly through the dark wall of clouds, trying to bring its warming rays down to the people on Earth. At least, it tried to. But with the big storm still hovering over Domino City, it barely made an appearance before it was smothered by clouds.

Serenity smiled in her sleep, Tristan's song resonating in her ears, long after he had finished humming it. She snuggled deeper into his chest, feeling the warmth it provided. The arm resting on top of her fell to her side, exposing her back to the cold stormy air.

The little puppy shivered at the loss of warmth. She tried to seek out another nook to sleep in, one that would leave her much less exposed as she was now. But then again, that would require action, and action required movement, which required energy, which Serenity didn't have.

It was weird how a night full of rest made one even more tired and lazy than before. At least, it did for Serenity.

She shivered again as her ambivalence left her vulnerable to the cold air. Well…there really wasn't any cold air per se, since the storm was outside and she was inside. So therefore she –

Serenity cut herself off. Way too much thinking at way too early in the morning.

But, being the lucky dog that she was, her predicament was taken care of as Tristan's other arm came over his chest to rest on the complacent puppy once more.

"sigh That's more like it." Complacent, most definitely.

Serenity could smell Tristan very clearly, what with her hyper-sensitive nose and all. He smelled nice…very nice. It was a pleasant, sweet, but not flowery smell. It was gentle and warm, like hot apple cider and vanilla.

Serenity couldn't but help shake her head at herself. Who would've thought that the combination of apple and vanilla would smell so good? She inhaled deeply, falling back into a gentle sleep when suddenly…

BANG BANG BANG!

Serenity yelped at the unexpected loud noise. She jumped up in fight, rousing a sleepy Tristan.

Serenity couldn't help but make herself calm down and enjoy the sight, even if she didn't want to. But she did, so all was right in the world.

Tristan's hair was a mess, nowhere near the usual spike shape but a tousled sea of wild tuffs sticking out every which way. His eyes were half-lidded, just barely open enough to take in the sights before him. His voice was low and husky from just waking up. He ran his hands over his face, rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even more as he took in what was going on.

Serenity couldn't help it, he just looked too cute. Him in his sleepy-pajama state was irresistable. She climbed up his chest and gave him a good morning lick. Or two.

Tristan immediately woke up completely, as Serenity's warm and wet tongue licked at his cheek in an affectionate gesture.

Tristan chuckled, a deep rumbling from his chest.

"Good morning to you too." Tristan's greeting was low and soft, voice still husky with sleep.

"TRISTAN! Open this door NOW!" A barely audible voice called out. It sounded vaguely familiar. Tristan frowned as he looked out the window. The storm had let up, but there was still a continual drizzle coming down.

Reluctantly, Tristan sat up and removed Keiko from himself. He rubbed his eyes to remove the sleepiness and started downstairs, Serenity trailing not far behind.

The banging grew louder as the two neared the door, along with the yelling behind it.

"HURRY UP! I'M GETTING SOAKED!" And just as predicted, a very wet Joey came barreling through once the door was open enough for him to fit through.

"Geez, took you long enough." Joey grumbled as he took off his coat. Serenity ran up to him, perching her two front legs on his wet jeans and gave him a bark as her greeting.

"Oh, hey there girl." He bent down and ruffled her fur in a friendly pat. Serenity inwardly frowned at the lack of reaction from her brother.

"Joey, what are you doing here right now? Actually, even better question: What are you doing up so early? It's not even noon yet." Tristan asked as he shut the door.

"Haha, my best friend's a friggin comedian." Joey remarked sarcastically. "Seriously though, my dad's gone for a while on some business thing."

"And? That's never caused you to come here this early before." Tristan reasoned.

"Well if you would let me finish…." Joey gave an exasperated sigh and plopped down on the couch, Tristan and Serenity following close behind.

"I'm so sorry, please continue." Tristan replied dryly. He sat down on the armchair adjacent to the sofa while Serenity moved to sit next to her brother. Joey just pet her and stroked her fur nonchalantly as he talked.

"So anyways. I woulda normally survived by myself with whatever grub I can find. But, it turns out that we're all out of food and I've got no money to go grocery shopping, so…."

"So you thought you'd come over here and free-load," Tristan finished for Joey.

"WHAT?! How could you even think of me in such a…a…demeaning matter?" Joey had a look of utter disgust and outrage on his face. Serenity never knew her brother had such a melodramatic side.

"Demeaning?" Tristan raised an eyebrow, a gesture that made Serenity feel weird.

"Word of the day calendar. Tea got it for me last Christmas." Joey elaborated. Tristan merely nodded in understanding.

"Makes sense now. Well, since you're here already and after that heart-wrenching story of yours, I'm assuming that you want breakfast."

"Thank you! Finally! I mean, how many clues do I need to drop for you before you get it?" Joey threw his hands up in the air. Tristan just rolled his eyes.

Serenity couldn't help but giggle. She had never seen her brother interact with his friends like this before. Whenever she was around, he put all his attention on her and didn't really respond to his friends. It was…refreshing to say the least.

As Tristan bustled around the kitchen making breakfast, Joey flipped on the TV and started flipping channels.

"So…How do you like it here?" Joey asked the puppy quietly. Why and when he started talking to dogs, he had no idea. But he just thought he should fill in the silence in the living room.

Serenity looked up at Joey, an amused look on her face.

"You talk to dogs too?" Joey, as if sensing her question immediately explained himself.

"Don't get any funny ideas. You're the first dog I've ever talked to." Joey looked away for a moment, as if he was too embarrassed to look at the puppy directly. Serenity never realized how funny Joey could act.

"So anyways, like it here." Serenity nodded her head vehemently. Joey smiled in return.

"Good. So how long djya plan on staying here?" Serenity looked up at him once again. What kind of question was that? Joey was not looking at her, but staring at the TV screen. How was she supposed to answer?

"But how long am I going to stay?" Serenity thought. After spending so much time with Tristan, all thoughts of going home completely left her mind. Serenity looked away to a blank spot on the wall. What was she going to do? She couldn't just stay with Tristan forever, could she?

Joey looked down to see that the puppy looked as if it really was thinking about his question. Joey frowned. The fact that she clearly understood his question missed his mind, as he was distracted with the thought of the puppy actually planning on when to leave.

"Ya aren't going to leave are ya?" Keiko's eyes stayed averted form his gaze. Joey sighed. This was one weird dog.

"Look," Joey's voice deepened in a threat. Serenity was rather startled. She never thought Joey would ever speak to her in that kind of tone. But then again, she never thought he would be speaking to her in this circumstance at all. "if you're planning on leaving, then do it soon. Cuz each day, Tris is getting more and more attached to you, and if you just one day decide to get up and leave him, it'll hurt him a lot." Serenity couldn't avoid his gaze, forced to look up at him in confusion.

"He may look tough and independent on the outside, but he gets attached easily, emotionally and all that crap. So it'll hurt him a lot if you run away. So if you're not planning to stay for a long time, then leave now." Serenity was taken aback by this information. She didn't know what to do.

Joey sighed again when he saw the indecision in the dog's eyes.

"Look, just go with your gut okay?" Serenity took his words to heart as she closed her eyes in concentration. She focused hard, trying to decide what to do. Her already super-sensitive ears seemed to pick up even more than normal. She could hear the mindless droning of the television. She could hear Joey's breathing. She could hear the noises in the kitchen as Tristan made breakfast. She could hear Tristan.

He was softly humming to himself. The same song he sang to her last night. Warmth filled her heart as she concentrated on him. The other noises faded away, leaving just Tristan's near presence. She heard him plate the food and start walking back into the living room. Suddenly, the decision just didn't seem that hard anymore.

Serenity's eyes snapped open and she jumped of the couch in one quick motion, startling Joey who was watching her closely. Serenity ran across the room to where Tristan was and sat right in front of him, tongue hanging out and tail wagging furiously. She waited for him to place the plates down and to take a seat before jumping into his lap.

Tristan was slightly taken aback by her sudden affectionate attitude, but accepted her doggy love anyways. Hey, dog love was better than no love.

Joey rested against the couch comfortably, a wide smile on his face. She made the right choice.

It's official. My head is now empty. How did that chapter seem? Retarded? cuz that's how it felt. I wasn't sure how to work it out nicely. Please, some feedback would be great.