Compared to high school, life in college was no picnic. Their first semester had been filled to the brim with coursework, especially considering Persephone had taken high-level courses to please Ronald. Lucas had done the same for pretty much the same reasons. Jack and his mom still looked at him funny whenever they saw him lugging around ridiculous amounts of coursework. Now that it was mid-winter break, Lucas got to see more of Persephone and her family. The difficult coursework made it so damn worth the days he had to interact with Ronald — just so he could see that the asshole had no more words left. Ronald was either stunned into silence or feeling seething hatred; both worked.

Lucas's day started off normal — maybe a little mundane, even — until Persephone came over. He sat with her in his living room, movie playing in the background as they wound down and kissed on the sofa. It had been so long since he could relax; her in his lap, straddling him, hands all over his back, chest, and in his hair. He couldn't get enough.

Interrupting them, his mom's voice chimed in from the kitchen. "Lucas?"
Lucas pulled away and called back, "What?"
"Can you run down to the store for me? I need you to pick up a few things for dinner tonight."
"Sure, just gimme a list."

He rolled his eyes to Persephone who giggled in response. Adorable.

A few minutes after he got the list from his mom, he and Persephone were in the truck and out the front gates. Persephone kept the ride enjoyable, hand rubbing his thigh as he drove. Thank God his mom only needed a couple of things, so their jaunt into the store would be quick and he wouldn't need to quell his near-permanent arousal for very long.

Since they'd gone to a store his family didn't frequent, he had Persephone up against the wall in the back, kissing her neck and groping her body in front of several other patrons. He didn't give a flying fuck that people could see them. Actually, it kind of exhilarated him, but he stopped himself so they wouldn't get thrown out.

In the truck after shopping, Persephone remarked, "Did you notice Mrs. Tompkin in there? She saw us in the back."
Lucas laughed. "Been so long since we last seen her. Hell of a reunion."

Music blasted on the radio as Persephone tickled her fingers along his thigh. He couldn't wait to get back home, take her back to his room, and—

He had to stop thinking about it and focus on slowing down, otherwise he'd speed and get a nasty holiday ticket. They'd have the entire evening together, so there was no rush. He looked to her, then noticed her crane her neck to stare at something he'd passed. She said,

"Pull over."
"Why?"
"I think I see a dog out there."

A dog? Ah, Pers and her love of animals.

He pulled over onto the shoulder and they stepped out of the truck, following the side of the road until they came upon what Persephone had seen. Indeed, the ball of golden, dirty fluff was a dog, laying in a muddy ditch. The dog listlessly stared at nothing as she drooped her head across her single front leg and a lone puppy with its eyes still closed nuzzled into her for food. Momma dog seemed too skinny to have any milk left, though. Persephone approached the dogs slowly. Momma dog shivered but didn't do anything at all when Persephone knelt beside them.

Lucas's phone rang and he groped around in his pockets for it, engrossed by Persephone tending to the dogs. When he found his phone, he checked the caller I.D., then answered,

"Hey, Momma."
"Hey, sweetheart, I hope you haven't left the store, I forgot to put somethin' on the list."
"Sorry, Ma, kinda sidetracked right now."
"Sidetracked?"
"We found a dog on the side of the road."
"Oh dear, a dog? Is she a stray?"
Lucas looked the dogs over once more. "Seems it. She ain't got a collar on n' she's real skinny, with a baby."
"Oh, those poor things," his mom lamented. "Where's Persephone?"
"She's pettin' 'er now."
Persephone chimed in. "She's a real good girl — aren't you?"
"Well," his mom said with no hesitation in her voice, "you know I can't just let 'em stay out there. Bring 'em home — we'll keep 'em safe and fed."
"All right," Lucas agreed. "We'll be home in not too long. Just gonna load the momma dog n' baby up in the truck."

He hung up and went to Persephone's side, then knelt in front of the dogs. Wow, were they dirty, covered in marshy muck and practically colored black. He and Persephone tried to convince the momma to move, Persephone smooching at her and nudging her, but she seemed unable to do more than shake.

"Might have to pick her up," Persephone said.

Lucas did so — Pers probably could've told him to jump off a bridge and he would've — carefully putting his arms under momma dog and lifting her up. She weighed pretty much nothing, despite slumping in his arms as basically dead-weight. The momma dog whimpered as he walked her to the car so Persephone pulled down the collar of her shirt, showing the dog that her baby was safe inside. It quieted her down somewhat.

He loaded her into the passenger seat. Persephone squeezed in beside her and retrieved the baby from her shirt. The small puppy cried and fussed until it was put against the momma dog once again.

Once home, his mother met them at the stairs to the garage with blankets fresh out of the dryer to wrap the puppy and the momma dog. Persephone asked for a heating pad as well. Momma dog was positioned with her baby, heating pad under the pup to keep it warmer. Lucas watched Persephone coax the puppy to drink.

"Poor thing's really weak," she said. "I'm gonna see if I can convince my dad to help me pay for a visit to the vet."

Momma dog put her head on Lucas's knee and sighed deeply. He pet her, dirt and grime coating his palm and fingers from her muddy fur. His mom was going to hate the filth but obviously wanted to keep the dogs safe and fed, having given him a pack of lunch meat to feed momma dog. He reached over, retrieved a piece, and handed it to her, quickly dropping it into her snatching mouth. Momma dog gobbled it up like she hadn't eaten in her entire life. With how skinny she was, Lucas believed it.

He looked into momma dog's eyes and realized something very strange: he felt bad for her. Before Persephone showed up, he didn't know he could feel that way about others, let alone animals. Maybe Persephone was rubbing off on him — she had a way of making him say and do weird shit, after all. Lucas pet momma dog's head again to comfort her, and he felt Persephone lean against him as they watched over the dogs.

"Are you a good girl, momma dog?" She asked, rubbing momma dog's face, getting her nails in for a good scratch.
Momma dog leaned into her hand, chin still on Lucas's knee.
"Is that what we're callin' her? Momma dog?"
"I don't know what else to call her. Why?" Persephone snuggled closer to him, smiling cutely. "Did you want to name her?"

No idea. But he could surely think of a better name than 'momma dog'. So he tried. He'd never been fond of typical dog names — Spot, Fluffy — nor the more common names like Bella, Daisy, Maggie… But he did like the idea of a more human name, something believable. Not common but not ridiculous, either. Daisy had a nice ring to it. A name beginning with a D?

"Diane," he said.
"Diane?"
"Yep. It's a good name." He rubbed the top of Diane's head, name cemented in his mind.
"All right," Persephone said with a soft laugh. "Diane it is. Once we find out the puppy's sex, we can name him, too. Or her."

A couple weeks later, after classes had started up again, Lucas had taken a break from studying in his old room. He fondly regarded the small, still blind puppy as it fell asleep against his leg, Diane cuddling up behind it. Persephone was right — the puppy was so fragile and small, especially compared to the much larger Diane. And it was cute. He hoped the puppy was a boy. The name Hunter already settled in his mind, and what a masculine name for a girl that would be. Diane slept soundly, a tired mother who'd lost her right front leg, and probably her other babies. It was still strange how much he gave a shit about her. He pet her head but she didn't wake. Either she was too comfortable or in a deep sleep. Not even the violin screeching from the classic Psycho scene — Persephone's unique notification — coming from his phone woke her. He checked the text message.

'How are all my babies doing?'
Pers was too fucking adorable. 'The dogs are asleep. Diane ate all her dinner'
'That's great, but did you eat dinner?'
'Yes, mom'
'I just know how you get. Bout to drive my brand spanking new car up to see you tomorrow'
'Finally I won't have to chauffeur you'
'Fuck you'
He'd love to. 'We'll have plenty of time for that tomorrow'

Hunter then stirred, squeaking and chirping. Diane shot up, licking both him and Hunter. He set them up the same way Persephone had, laying the puppy on a blanketed heating pad so he could nurse. It took a minute to convince Hunter to latch on — how did Pers make it look so damn easy? — but eventually the pup did. Keeping up with the dogs had Lucas exhausted, but he still needed to study (and actually eat dinner so Persephone wouldn't get mad at him) before he could finally go to bed.

Unfortunately for Lucas, Diane and Hunter both came to be far needier over the weeks. They both needed to eat every few hours — and now Hunter would cry and scream until Diane nuzzled him onto her to nurse. By that point, Lucas was up and giving Diane extra food. His childhood bed was far too small for him to sleep comfortably, with 6 feet of body and only about 5 feet of bed, so the little sleep he did get was tumultuous at best. His aching body plodded through his days and studies were thrown on top of everything else, leaving him worn out.

Through all of that, though, he liked the dogs more and more each day. Diane really wanted to cuddle, so he bathed her in the family tub while Hunter napped with his mother in the living room. Unhappy with having water dumped across her, Diane showed her distaste by constantly shaking off and splashing the sudsy water all over him and the bathroom. It'd been difficult to clean her stomach but he managed. Bony Diane seemed thankful to be allowed on the couch.

Everyone in the house adored little Hunter. He'd even seen his old man doting over the puppy. Hunter was still blind, bright blue eyes squinting aimlessly, but he seemed able to smell him and Diane. The puppy would cry and yell when he left the room and he'd been allowed to eat dinners in the living room to keep Hunter quiet.

There was something about the dogs, something about the way he acted around them that seemed to impress Persephone. He certainly didn't mind the extra attention (and sex, thank God for that) — hell, he'd have gotten a dog sooner if he knew she would be all over him.

Two-month-old Hunter's fluffy paws kicked up at Lucas then landed softly on his mattress. He rubbed the pup's sides, picked him up, and flipped him onto his back, doting over him and blowing raspberries on his belly. Hunter nipped his ears and head, growling playfully. He laughed and backed up to rub where he'd been nipped. Hunter shot up, jumping at him again, nearly tumbling off the bed. Luckily, he seemed to be gaining what the old man called 'dad reflexes' and caught the pup's front legs. What a save.

"You two are so damn cute," said Persephone beside him.
"Who knew I'd actually like dogs." He gently smacked the bed to get Hunter to jump up and down.
Diane came in shortly after, leaping onto the bed. Hunter tried to nurse.
"Got his food ready downstairs." Persephone smiled and cradling the pup in one arm as though Hunter was a baby.

Puppy feeding time had to be done in the laundry room, as Hunter liked to wear his wet food while he devoured it. By the time he finished putting his paws in the bowl, it was mostly empty and globs of food clung to the floor. Lucas took to cleaning Hunter and Persephone cleaned the floor, while Diane cleaned what was left in the bowl. A warm rag was all he needed to get the food off the puppy. He sat on the floor with Hunter, but Hunter never wanted things to be that simple, biting and squeaking at the rag as it came close. Diane was on them quickly, nosing her baby.

Even in his safe home, Diane remained very protective. Hunter was still weak and sick. He and his probably deceased litter mates hadn't gotten enough milk from Diane because she'd been starving, leaving Hunter really tiny. They had to be careful how much they fed him — too much, and he'd throw it all up, but too little, and he wouldn't grow or get the nutrients he needed to prevent him from getting sick. At least, that's how Persephone explained it after they'd seen a vet. He'd never been to a vet's office before and the whole experience had been a blur of medical jargon. Even looking back on it, he didn't understand much of what had been said; maybe it was all still gobbledygook due to his exhaustion.

"Looks like you haven't slept in days," Persephone commented, rinsing the dirty rags and bowl in the utility sink.
Damn, could she read his fucking mind or something? "Feels like I haven't. Hunter is always waking me up for food."
"At least he's got an appetite."
"Eats like a hog every two, three hours." Lucas let the now clean puppy roam, rubbing his face on his sleeve in a fruitless attempt to stay awake.
Persephone leaned against his back, arms draped around his chest. She said, "You're so cute, Lucas. So sweet the way you dote over Hunter and Diane. But you need to sleep."
"I know."
"Why don't we go take a nap? They'll be falling asleep soon, so let's join them."

He couldn't agree more. Her suggestion was well-warranted — he could hardly pay attention as he trudged up the stairs and to his room with her. Persephone let Hunter down on the floor with Diane as he closed the door behind them. With full tummies, the dogs yawned and cuddled on Diane's toy-covered bed. He and Persephone cuddled, too, though the small bed cramped them together.

Napping turned into Lucas groping her breasts and ass, but that was to be expected. He could barely keep his hands off her and sleep deprivation wouldn't stop him from that. But he drifted off to sleep after their peaceful, calm lovemaking and exchanging of "I love you"s.

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