"Okay what about this one?"
"He's cute...just, too small."
"You never specified size was important."
"Babe, size is always important."
"Wally!" Artemis yelled as she threw a small pillow across the room at him. He laughed as he caught it with ease. "You're disgusting! And you're making dog adopting so much more difficult than it needs to be!" To this the redhead rolled his eyes, still smirking.
"As if. You're the one who's picky. I said let's get a German shepherd but you said that's too much hair, then I said let's get a Jack Russell terrier and you said they're too hyper," he argued.
"I was all down to get a corgi and you said they're too tiny, and then I said Great Dane and you said they're too big, so you know what? It's coming from both ends," retorted Artemis. "We're never going to adopt a dog, this is hopeless."
"Hey! It isn't hopeless per say, we just need to find one that fits us," Wally reassured her as he plopped down on the couch next to her. Their struggle to find the perfect furry friend had been ongoing since the idea of adoption came to light about a month prior. "Come on, let's keep looking at the shelter's website."
Wally pulled Artemis' laptop from her arms and placed it in his lap. Once he was comfortable and began to slowly scroll down the adoption page, Artemis shifted so she was leaning against his arm, her legs tucked underneath her as she looked over the page too. The two remained like this for the next few minutes, making comments about what they thought every few seconds or so.
"Oh! What about him!" Artemis pointed to the screen. Wally stopped scrolling to look. The dog pictured was absolutely adorable like the others they'd seen but different. His face was full on beagle, but he was big and stocky like a boxer, with a brown and white coat of fur. The dog had a lopsided smile on his face. Instantly, Artemis was in love.
"He is cute..." Wally's voice trailed off. He clicked the link for the dog's biography and he quickly began to read through it. "His name is Meelo, he's two-years-old, they don't really know what he is. He was brought in a few months ago from an abandoned household, a neighbor found him just sitting in the backyard. He's friendly, good with kids, and has a lot of energy."
"Wally he's meant to be ours." Artemis was serious, no tones of doubt plaguing her voice. There would be no arguing with her on this, and Wally chuckled.
"Are you sure you don't want to keep looking?" He asked cautiously, not wanting to blow her fuse. She rapidly shook her head, signaling her answer. "Then looks like we found our pup." He flashed his trademark grin.
"Okay, so we're going to get him tomorrow, right?" Artemis asked as she excitedly looked up at her boyfriend who nodded in agreement without hesitation. "I wish it wasn't so late so we could just go now."
"Don't sweat it, babe. We'll go in the morning, get him, take him to the pet store for some treats and toys. It'll be a good day. Meelo's perfect, although he needs a better name. What about Dash?" To this Artemis rolled her eyes.
"As if, I like Meelo, he looks like one," Artemis countered. Wally shrugged his shoulders, signaling it wasn't the biggest deal. They could work out the logistics once they brought him home.
"But promise me we'll wake up early and go get him?" Artemis asked again to ease her nerves. Wally nodded again.
"Cross my heart, babe. Tomorrow we'll go get Das- I mean, we'll go get Meelo!" He promised with a grin before closing her laptop, leaning over to put it on the coffee table. Immediately, they both stood up from their spots on the couch.
"Good, then let's get some sleep. We need to get up bright and early for this," Artemis instructed as she began to make her way to their bedroom. They'd only been living together for about a month and a half, but the couple agreed it was getting lonely in the apartment. An animal would liven things up.
Growing up, Wally always had a pet. At one point, the West household had two dogs, a cat, a dwarf hamster, and three turtles. Both of Wally's parents loved animals and he naturally gained the trait. It'd been quite some time since he'd had a dog, however, but there was no time like the present.
Artemis always dreamt of getting a puppy. She loved the idea of bonding with an animal. As a little girl, she always drew herself holding the leash to a dog she never owned. Her dad, while still living at home, claimed they were too much work. Once her mom was out of prison, she was not fit to take care of a pet, even if Artemis did almost everything. The apartment setting didn't help her cause either. She gave up on the dream long ago, but now it had resurfaced and with a vengeance.
The couple slept soundly that night. Both had visions of puppies in their dreams, happy as can be to go adopt and bring another family member into the West-Crock household. They'd already cleared it with their landlord a few weeks prior, the only thing left to do was find their forever friend.
Artemis naturally woke up when the sun was shining through the sheer curtains hanging over the window. She groaned, burying her head in her pillow. Wally heard this and rolled over to face her, throwing an arm around her waist and pulling her close to him. That was her favorite thing, and it made it ten times harder to get up.
"Arty," Wally mumbled, "I never want to leave this bed."
"Ditto," Artemis grumbled. She lifted her head for a moment, catching a glimpse of the clock on the wall. She laid her head back down as her eyes fluttered closed once again. It took a moment for the time of 11:30am to register, but once it did she bolted up, eyes wide open. "Wally!" She exclaimed as she jumped out of bed. "We need to go, like now!"
"What time is it?" The redhead groaned. He lifted his own head to answer his question and his eyes grew wide as he too bolted up. "Shit!"
The duo quickly got ready; they got dressed, brushed their teeth, and ran out to the car. The shelter was about a fifteen-minute drive. They wouldn't get there until almost noon.
Artemis would've been lying if she claimed her stomach wasn't tied in knots. She felt guilty. How could she forget to set an alarm? How did the two of them sleep so late? Wally noticed the frazzled look on his girlfriend's face and he frowned, extending one arm over to her and taking her hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze to calm her down.
"Babe, it's fine. How many people are really going and planning on adopting a dog today? Let alone the dog we want?"
"Maybe I spoke too soon," Wally said in shock as he and Artemis walked up to the shelter entrance. Today just so happened to be their adoption fair. Of course, it did. Artemis looked like she wanted to scream, but Wally was determined to stay positive.
"I swear to whoever the hell is listening if my dog isn't in there..." Artemis grumbled as the couple walked into the shelter hand in hand. Wally wanted to keep his girlfriend calm, but there was no stopping her when she was this ticked off.
"Hi! Welcome to Tails Adoption Center! Can we help you today?" The woman at the counter asked once she saw them walk in. Artemis didn't say anything, so Wally began to speak.
"Hi, uh, we were looking to adopt a dog today, but specifically Meelo, he looks like a beagle mix of some kind.". If he wasn't holding Artemis' hand, Wally would've crossed his fingers that their dream dog was still there.
"Let me go check, it is our adoption fair today and tons of families have been in and out all morning," the woman said kindly. "Please, have a seat," she gestured to the chairs on the other side of the room. The couple did so, anxiously awaiting their answer.
"I feel like we're waiting for the gender reveal of our child or something," Wally mumbled. Artemis cracked half a smile before playfully elbowing her boyfriend.
Before Artemis could make a comment back the woman from before emerged. Artemis couldn't read her facial expression, which caused her whole body to tense.
"I'm so sorry, but Meelo was adopted earlier this morning. However, there are tons of other friends who are adoption ready and waiting for a good home," she said apologetically, giving the pair a sweet smile before returning to her post behind the welcome desk..
Wally frowned and looked over at Artemis, who looked devastated.
"Arty, what are you thinking?" He asked softly.
Artemis was quiet for a moment. She had everything set on Meelo. He was everything she wanted. Did she want to even try going in there? She didn't want to get her hopes up, again. However, her heart knew that there was a room full of animals who were in desperate need of a forever home. They needed to be saved and she was a hero. That triumphed over her disappointment.
"Yes," she said as she stood up. Wally blinked for a minute.
"Yes you want to go in or yes you want to go home?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. She smiled as she looked over at him.
"Let's go find us a dog." Without a second thought, she grabbed Wally's hand and headed into the adoption fair area.
The room was about the size of a high school gym. To the left was an area with all sorts of cats, the center had all of the smaller critters, and to the right were the dogs. Artemis instantly took off toward the right side of the room with Wally in toe. Today, he was more than thankful for his super speed. The couple wove their way through the crowd. There were families with small children crowded around even smaller puppies and elderly couples looking at the older dogs. So many people wanting to help give homes to animals who needed it; it was so heartwarming to Artemis.
As she and Wally walked hand in hand down the few rows, no dogs were really jumping out at them. Most of them had families interested in them, other cages and crates were empty. Artemis sighed. When Wally noticed, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
"Turn that frown upside down, babe. We'll find our dog," he said softly. She shrugged her shoulders in response. She opened her mouth to answer but she heard a woman begin to yell.
"Brucely! Knock it off!"
Both Wally and Artemis turned their heads. A woman, no older than Artemis herself, was struggling to hold back an all white pit bull puppy. He seemed extremely hyper like his senses were on overload from all the smells and sounds in the room. He was tugging her arm in all different directions. The woman had clearly dealt with enough and she tugged extremely hard on the dog's leash, causing him to let out an ear piercing bark.
"Hey!" Artemis yelled, running over to the woman and the dog. She was not happy with what she saw.
"Oh no," Wally mumbled as he ran after her.
"Be gentle with him! He's just excited!" Artemis snapped at the woman as she leaned down in front of the dog. He slowly inched toward her stretched out hand, licking it to signal he clearly wanted her attention.
"He's ridiculous! We should have never picked this dumb dog in the first place! Doesn't listen, chews up our furniture, jumps all over our guests. He is the dumbest excuse for a dog we have ever owned."
Artemis had enough.
"No dog is dumb, blame the owner," Artemis pointed out, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. The woman glared at her before tossing the dog's leash at the ground.
"You want the be that dumb owner? Fine. I'm done with this oversized oaf of a dog." With that, the woman turned on her heels, walking toward the exit. The few bystanders disbursed after that, leaving Wally and Artemis with the dog.
Artemis was sitting on the ground, scratching the pit bull's head right behind his ears. He was smiling almost, his tail happily wagging back and forth. He sat down in front of Artemis, moving his head closer and licking her face. She laughed and continued to pet him as Wally cleared his throat.
"Your name was Brucely right? You're such a good boy," she mumbled as she leaned over, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. He was absolutely adorable, and a total sweetheart. The woman clearly didn't know how to handle animals, at least that's what Artemis believed.
"So..." his voice trailed off, "did we find our dog?" Artemis didn't even answer. Brucely's ears perked up when Wally said that. He left Artemis' side and ran the few steps, jumping up on his back legs to be nearly eye level with the redhead. He was barking happily, tail wagging back and forth, trying to lick Wally's face. To this, Wally chuckled.
"I guess that's your answer," Artemis laughed as she stood up, holding Brucely's leash in her hand.
"Well, welcome to the family Brucely West-Crock," Wally grinned, gently pushing the dog down. Artemis rolled her eyes.
"Pretty sure it's Brucely Crock-West. I'm the one who found him."
"Only because you were going to pick a fight."
"Oh please," Artemis rolled her eyes with a smirk, "I would never."
This caused Wally to burst out laughing as he, Artemis and Brucely made their way toward the lobby to make sure Brucely could come home with them. When the woman at the desk gave them the clear, they hurried to get home, but not before stopping at the nearest Petsmart to get all the necessary things. Artemis was basically treating Brucely as her child, and Wally wasn't too opposed.
Although their day didn't go quite as planned, both young adults were over the moon. They'd finally found the pup to call their own.
long time no update, am i right?
this has been written for like, the last 6 months, i just kept forgetting to post. i have some more that are also ready to go up (i'll get there eventually).
anyone else HYPED for season 3? i need a new disclaimer now, lol. i cried watching the trailer and it makes this fic extra special.
as always, please read and review, fave and follow! i love you all dearly!
