After a nice game of tag, Everest went to see Skye. The husky was curious about what Marshall had told her. The two went into Skye's puphouse so no one else would hear them. That and Everest's was still broken.
"So, Marshall told me that something happened, but that you should be the one to tell me. What is he talking about?" Everest asked anxiously. Skye normally would've teased her for hanging out with Marshall, but she had been very excited to tell the husky the news, so that could wait.
"Chase finally confessed to me! We're mates now!" She squealed. Everest immediately jumped up in excitement with her tail wagging. She always hoped the two would finally get together. Everest knew that Skye had liked the shepherd ever since she met him, so she was aware that this was a huge moment for her.
"Really?! That's amazing Skye!" Everest nearly screamed, causing Skye to giggle a bit at her reaction. In the moment, she almost seemed like she was a pup. Although, that might not have been the best comparison. No one really knew where she came from, or what she was like when she was younger.
I know, it's like a dream come true!" Skye exclaimed. After that, she proceeded to tell the husky all about the romantic date the two of them had earlier, making sure not to leave out any details in the process.
"Aw, that's so cute. I'm sure you two will have a great relationship with each other." Everest gushed once Skye had finished her story. The cockapoo agreed, she had wanted this for so long, surely their future would be bright.
"So, enough about me. How are you and Marshall going? Anything from him, or is he still as quiet as always?" Skye asked, hoping to hear something interesting. Knowing how he was though, she doubted she'd get anything new.
Everest knew this question would come up eventually. Despite his best efforts, she always was aware of the dally's love for her, and she naturally returned his feelings. That being said, like Skye and Chase, she wanted Marshall to make the first move. Unfortunately for her, he was on the shy side and seemed to lack the confidence to do so.
"Still looks like I'll be waiting a while. Do you really think he loves me? I mean I know how he acts around me, but maybe that's just his personality. He's kind and fun loving to everyone, am I really special to him?" Everest asked nervously.
This kind of caught Skye off guard. She didn't want to see her friend worried, so she was quick to comfort her. "Listen, I know for a fact that Marshall loves you with all his heart. I just don't think he has the highest self esteem. He probably just needs a confidence booster, that's all." She reassured.
"Yeah, your probably right. Thanks, Skye." Everest responded. Of course, Marshall loved her, you would have to be blind not to see it. Still, the husky had always been a bit nervous about becoming mates with the dally. It had nothing to do with him, she knew how kind he was, but there would always be that piece of her that said the past would repeat itself. Something she could never go through again.
"Hey, Everest?" The cockapoo called out, snapping her out of her thoughts. She turned her head to face her friend, who had a confused yet concerned look her her face. "Is everything ok? You seemed a bit on edge there. What's wrong?" She asked.
The husky froze in place. She wasn't sure how to answer, she hadn't told anyone about her past, not even Jake. She just wasn't ready to relive it and explain everything. "Uh, nothings wrong. I'm fine, don't worry." She reassuered.
Skye looked at her skeptically, but nodded. "If you say so. Welp, dinner is probably about ready, let's go eat." She said. Everest agreed, glad that she had gotten out of that conversation and the two joined the others in the elevator, which didn't take long at all to reach the top.
"Alright pups, dinners ready!" Ryder called out to them as they all walked out. Naturally, the second those words left his mouth, Rubble ran as fast as he could to his bowl, which gave everyone a good laugh.
"Hey Ryder, do you guys have any liver-flavored pup food?" The husky questioned once she walked over to her bowl. Not only was it her favorite, that's just what she was always used to since Jake always got it for her.
"Actually yeah, we do. Marshall said that I should get some for the next time you visited a while ago." The teen recalled. Although at the time it seemed like a bit of a random request at the time, now he knew why the dally did it.
"Awwwww, thanks, Marshall!" Everest told him as she gave him a light lick on the cheek to show her appreciation. Very caught off gaurd by her sudden affection, his face immedialty brightened. Everyone seemed a bit surprised, but no one decided to say anything.
"Uhh y-yeah, no problem Everest." Marshall replied, trying his best not to freak out. He had no idea if it was working though. The husky gave him a warm smile, and proceded to eat her food, as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.
Skye smiled, seeing that her friend was taking her advice. She was clearly trying to make him more confident in himself, making it obvious she had feelings for him. Then she turned her attention back to own eating her food with Chase. "Looks like things are going well for them, huh Chasey?" She asked.
"Yep, I get the feeling he'll tell her soon." The german shephered replied. He was aware it would take a bit more to get Marshall to confess though. He knew better than anyone that the dally had wanted to for a while now, he had just never found it in himself to actually make a move.
Once they were all done with dinner, they decided to watch the new Apollo movie that had come out, since Rubble had been dying to see it. They all brought their beanbags over and turned it on. Everest offered to share a beanbag with Marshall, to which the dally gladly accepted. Of course, Chase and Skye also shared one, while the others had theirs to themselves and Ryder just sat on the couch.
"Well pups, the movie is over, time for bed." Said Ryder once the film was over. In response, all he got was a bunch of dissapointed replies. "Yeah I know, but you guys can hang out more tomorrow."
Right before they went back down, Chase pulled Marshall aside. Unfortunately, the dally knew exactly what he was about to say, so he was already ready for this conversation. It was one that they have had multiple times now.
"Dude, you have to tell her. One of these days, it'll be too late. She just licked you, she clearly likes you. Now is your best shot, so don't waste it." Chase told him. Marshall blushed a bit remembering what had happned at dinner, but he was still quick to reply.
"Well, she could've just been doing that in a friendly way. But don't worry, I'm going to tell her as soon as possible." He replied, try to sound as convicncing as possible.
"Marshall, how many times have you said that would tell her soon? Come, on you got this, I did it and everything worked out great, just have some faith in yourself." The Shepard reassured.
Marshall only let out a sigh. As much as he hated to admit it, his brother had a point. "No, your right, I have to tell her. And I will soon, this time I promise that I will." He replied as Chase gave him a nod of approval as they went back to the group.
Everyone said goodnight and went back down to their puphouses. Well, all except one, which Ryder noticed. Knowing excatly what the boy was going to ask, she spoke up before he had the chance to speak.
"I don't have a place to sleep, my puphouse doesn't work." Everest stated. Ryder mentally cursed himself for forgetting to fix it. He had planned to at least start but ended up getting caught up by time.
"Ah oops, sorry about that Everest. Well, I guess you could use Skye's since she'll probably be sleeping with Chase. That or you could stay with one of the other pups I guess." That last sentence sparked an idea in the husky's head.
"Don't worry Ryder, I'll be fine. Besides, I think I can figure something out. Night!" She called out as she walked over to the elevator. The boy smiled, having an idea of what she might've been thinking.
Once she got down, she walked over to a very familiar red puphouse and knocked on the door. Quickly afterward, it opened, revealing a tired-looking Dalmatian. "Oh hey Everest, what's up?" He questioned while yawning.
"Well, since I can't stay in my puphouse, do you think I could sleep with you?" She asked. That question made Marshall even redder than earlier, which seemed nearly impossible.
"Y-you wanna s-sleep with me?" He asked, slightly embarrassed. He immedialty noticed a small frown appear on the husky's face, so he was quick to correct himself. "No no that's fine, y-you can stay i-if you want to." He said as he moved over, as the husky walked in and laid down next to him.
"Thanks, Marshall. Goodnight."
The next morning, since Chase was always the first one up, Skye also woke up early with him. "Alright Skye, let's get everyone else up." He said tiredly as his mate slowly woke up with a yawn.
"Ok, I'll go get Everest up." She replied and slowly got up and went to her puphouse where she assumed Everest slept, only to find it empty.
Before she could question anything, she heard Chase whisper yelling for her from Marshall's puphouse. "What is it, Chasey?" She whispered back.
"Come here, you've got to see this" He replied. Once she got over to him, he opened the door, revealing Marshall and Everest who had cuddled up in their bed. Skye smiled at the two, then knocked on the side to get them up.
The two woke up, looked at each other, and realized that they ended up cuddling with each other, then looked back at Chase and Skye who wore smirks on their faces. "Soooo, sleep well you two?" Chase asked teasingly.
"As a matter of fact, we did sleep pretty good, right Marshall?" Everest replied with a smirk, as they both stood up. Although he couldn't help but feel embarrased, he nodded in agreement.
"Haha, well, it's time for breakfast so we should head up. Unless of course, you two wanna cuddle more." Skye said deciding to join in on the fun.
"SKYE!" Both of them shouted. The cockapoo laughed at their reactions, then motioned for them to get up. They all knew it was breakfast time, so they all walked to the lookout for some food.
As they all went up for breakfast, Marshall decided that afterward, he would need to talk to Chase. After all this time, and with maybe just a little more convincing, he was finally ready to do what he had dreamed of for years.
He was ready to tell Everest, for real this time.
