Prompt: "We're not going to steal someone's dog." + something involving Bickslow.

Edit: In response to a guest review on Chapter 7 that read, "What's with the weird pairings?" Honestly, I thought the answer was pretty fucking simple. It's because I like them. Really, it's not hard.

A New Friend

"He's miserable!" Bickslow shouted over the whining of the neighbour's dog. "Listen to him!"

"It's hard not to listen to him…" Evergreen mumbled.

Ever since they'd all moved into that house together a few months earlier, they'd had to put up with their neighbour's dog howling and whining almost the entire day. The owner of the dog, as they had all quickly come to realise, was a Grade A asshole. His yard looked like a junkyard for starters, and on more than one occasion, Bickslow had actually seen the man kick the white labrador hard enough that he'd yelped and limped afterwards. They'd lived there long enough to know that he was forced to stay outside all the time as well, and for the most part, Bickslow was surprised he hadn't actually frozen to death after the winter they'd just had.

Still, Bickslow hated it. He hated having to listen to his neighbour's dog whine all the time. He hated knowing that his neighbour was neglecting the animal and hurting him. Bickslow had half a mind to hurt the pathetic excuse for a man that called himself the dog's owner, but alas, he wasn't that kind of person anymore, no matter how tempting and fair it would be.

"It's horrible…" he said softly, sinking into the lounge as the howling grew louder.

"I know it is," Freed said. "But there's nothing we can do about it." They'd already tried talking to the council about it to see if they could get the dog taken off him, but since it wasn't a stray animal, there really was nothing they could do either.

"Why can't we just… I don't know… Break the fence a little bit so he can be free?"

"Because then he'll be a stray and the council will catch him a put him down," Evergreen pointed out.

"You don't exactly want that, do you, Bickslow?" Freed asked.

Bickslow shook his head. "No…" he mumbled. He was inclined to think it would still be better than being abused and neglected, but he still didn't want him to be put down. "Well… Well, can we just take him and give him to someone else?"

"Are you suggesting stealing him?"

"Yes."

"Bicks, we are not going to steal someone's dog," Freed insisted. That was just obsurd.

"But he's miserable! We have to steal him!"

"It doesn't matter if he's miserable. It's theft. Plain and simple."

Bickslow pouted, crossing his arms across his chest. "I don't care," he muttered. "I'm stealing him."

Evergreen rolled her eyes and turned to retreat down the hall where her brother's insanity couldn't reach. "Well, good luck with that," she mumbled on her way.

Freed, on the other hand, only proceeded to offer Bickslow some kind of advice. He knew Bickslow all too well, and when he was set on something, there was no talking him out of it. If he was going to steal a dog, then he might as well do it somewhat right.

Evergreen slowly descended the stairs as she rubbed at her eyes, hand sliding along the railing so she didn't fall. According to her clock in her room, it was a quarter past two in the morning, but someone was making an awful racket downstairs and it was interrupting her sleep.

"What on earth are you–" She rounded the corner into their living room to find Bickslow sitting on the floor with the neighbour's white labrador trying to climb over his lap and lick his face. "Are you fucking kidding me right now? You actually stole his dog?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Freed sighed.

"She's so happy now!" Bickslow laughed while being attacked by the furry friend. "All she wanted was a bit of love!" Originally, Bickslow had thought that the neighbour's dog was a boy, but she just so happened to be a girl dog instead.

Still, he had been just a little scared when he'd jumped over the fence to rescue the dog. Knowing that the owner had neglected her, Bickslow had half expected to be bitten, but thankfully, he hadn't. He'd gone armed with treats, and once she'd realised that he was a friend and not someone to hurt her, she'd slowly come out of her cold kennel with her tail between her legs to gentle take the treat from Bickslow's hand. After that, it had been a little difficult getting her over the fence and into their own yard, but... They'd managed. Somehow.

Evergreen shook her head. "So what now?" she asked. "Are you going to find someone to adopt her?"

"Maybe..." He shrugged a little. "I might just keep her, actually. She's so nice, Ever! Look at her! Look at that widdle face!"

She watched as Bickslow took the dog's head and held it to show her. It didn't last long before the dog escaped from his grasp and just collapsed down on top of his lap. Sure, the dog was cute, but Evergreen was tired. "Great. But you can't actually be serious, right?"

"Oh, he's serious," Freed chimed in.

"How on earth are you going to have a pet? You do remember that we're mages, right? We take jobs that can last weeks. Who's going to look after her then? And does she even have a name?"

Bickslow frowned for a second. He hadn't considered that. "W-Well... Lucy might look after her!"

"Do you really think your girlfriend will want to look after a dog you stole?"

"Eh, don't be pedantic. I'm sure it will be fine." She'd been dropping all kinds of hints lately anyway...

Evergreen refrained from going upstairs to fetch her fan. Sometimes, it just wasn't worth arguing with Bickslow. "Well, you still didn't say if she has a name or not. I'm assuming you don't know the name her owner gave her," she said.

Bickslow shook his head. "Nope." He'd never once heard the owner call the dog anything other than 'useless mutt' and he really hoped that she hadn't assumed that was her name. Still, she needed a good name. "What about Snow? Her coat is white, after all."

After a moment, Freed shrugged, his version of agreeing without words, and Evergreen nodded. "I like it," she said.

"What about you, huh?" Bickslow looked back down to the heavy creature sprawled across his lap in a way that just had to be uncomfortable and rubbed her belly. "Do you like Snow?" The dog only sat up quickly to lick Bickslow's face again. He took it as a yes.