Back with another update Lately I've realized that I haven't written much about them in Los Santos before everything went wrong, so I decided to do this chapter! This one is based off of the picture of a dog in the De Santa's mansion, and involves how they got the dog. Enjoy :D (P.S. I might write more about this certain dog if enough of you like it because this is one of my favorite ideas!)
"We're not getting a dog." Michael crossed his arms and frowned down at his children. They had been trying to persuade him for at least half an hour and what little patience he had back then was gone now.
"But, dad…" they whined in unison, looking at him with pleading eyes.
He rolled his eyes in exhaustion. "No buts. We're not getting one. End of discussion."
Tracey pouted. "You're no fun…" she muttered under her breath.
"Hey, I'm fun," he defended himself. "I just don't want you two to sit there while I walk the dog, play with it, pick up the sh-" Halfway through his curse, Amanda elbowed him in the side, cutting him off. "Ow!" he snapped with a pointed glare at her.
Out of options, the kids turned to Amanda, who had been standing there neutrally the entire time. She just held her hands up as if to avoid another twenty minutes of arguing. "Hey, I think it's a great idea," she said with a soft, reassuring smile. "But it's up to your father…"
Michael barely had time to shoot her a betrayed look before they started arguing with him again. "Come on, dad! It's not like we can't afford it," Tracey gestured around the large mansion that they'd moved into only a few months ago. "We'll go for walks every day and we'll take really good care of it! And you know that we won't stop until you say yes!" she said with a mischievous look in her eyes that reminded him of himself. His daughter did most of the talking because they both knew that she could convince him in a way that Jimmy never could.
And damn it if it didn't work. "Fine," Michael said shortly, his sigh masked by their cheers of excitement. "...on a couple of conditions. First, you two gotta learn some responsibility and help take care of it. And number two, I get to name it. And you won't argue with me on this because I'm buying you this dog," he said before they could protest. "Now, uh, go wait in the car while I talk to your mother."
They nodded eagerly and ran outside to the car. "Thanks for that," Michael said sarcastically to his wife once the kids were out of earshot.
"It worked, didn't it?" Amanda smirked triumphantly. "A dog will be good for them, babe. Teaches them responsibility. Besides, I think you can handle the trouble a little puppy can cause."
"...I guess," he admitted unconvincingly as he grabbed his car keys.
She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "You're a good man, Michael," she said before going out to the car.
The German Shepherd was built like a truck. It was all coiled muscle and power and probably weighed as much as Michael did. It was badass. He smiled down at it in admiration and the dog happily wagged his tail at him. The dog looked intimidating, but looked up at Michael with gentle eyes. Nothing bad can happen to the kids while walking this dog…
Amanda sauntered up to him and watched him starting to pet the dog through the bars of the kennel. "Hate to break it to you, darling, but I think they made up their mind," she said, gesturing to where their children were playing with a scruffy, undersized Labrador puppy.
Michael sighed. "Sorry, big guy..." he told the giant dog, giving it one last pat on the head before walking over to the kids.
"Dad, can we get this one?" Jimmy asked him quietly, looking up at him with wide, pleading eyes. The puppy was shaking with excitement and let out a few high-pitched barks when he saw Michael.
"Well, it's your dog, bud," Michael said gently, kneeling down to his son's height . "As long as your sister is okay with it, I don't care what we get."
"Oh, I'm definitely okay with it," Tracey said as she pulled it into her lap, where the dog happily licked her face and barked in happiness.
Despite his earlier words, Michael looked at the massive German Shepherd from earlier and hesitantly back to the tiny runt of a dog squirming in his daughter's arms. "Well, I guess this is the one."
Many adoption papers and a hundred dollars worth of dog toys later, they were home. Michael immediately grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat down on the couch, exhausted by the whole process. He hadn't even had the damn dog for a day and was already tired of all the work.
Just as he'd started drowning his sorrows, the sound of paws skittering across the tile floor filled his ears. He couldn't even see the dog until it appeared below him in front of the couch. Michael could swear that the puppy was smirking at him as it jumped up into his lap and pawed at the beer in his hand. "Ah, ah, no…" Michael said, gently trying to keep the dog at bay. "This is mine."
Amanda and the kids appeared in the doorway, arms loaded with bags from the pet store. His wife raised an eyebrow at the beer in his hand but gave him a knowing smirk instead of making some snarky comment. "I think he likes you, babe," she said instead.
"Or maybe he's just looking for a drink," he muttered, watching as the puppy licked the condensation off of the bottle.
The kids immediately swarmed around the dog, fighting over who got to hold it. Tracey eventually won, using the timeless I'm older excuse. The dog squirmed happily in her arms, but his eyes still darted over to Michael's drink almost longingly.
Jimmy sighed in defeat, glaring at his sister. "So, Dad…" he started.
"Hm?" Michael asked as he turned on the TV and started flicking through the channels before settling on an old movie, earning a content sigh from him.
"Have you thought of a name yet? I mean, we need to call him something…" his son said, trailing off hesitantly.
"You know, I haven't decided myself, Jim…" Michael said with a contemplative look on his face. His eyes wandered over to the movie on the TV. Ah, an old favorite. Hell, even Amanda likes this one, he remembered fondly before turning his attention back to his son. "How about Orion?"
Amanda laughed. "Really, Michael? From Shoulder of Orion?" she asked in disbelief, gesturing to the TV.
"Uh, two, babe," he corrected her. "This is the sequel, which is way better if you ask me…"
"Well, it wasn't the worst movie I've ever seen…" she admitted hesitantly before sitting down next to him on the couch and resting her head on his shoulder. "Kids? What do you think?"
Jimmy shrugged indifferently and looked over to his sister for guidance. "Dad could have chosen a worse movie, Trace…" he admitted.
Tracey sighed in frustration, no doubt upset that she couldn't choose a girlier name, but relented anyways. "...fine."
Michael smirked in triumph as he looked at the dog. "Orion it is, then."
Surprisingly, the kids kept their word. Every day after school, they came home with nothing more than a "Hi Mom, hi Dad!" before they slipped out of the door, leash and Orion in hand.
Michael hated it. He hated the idea of his too-young kids wandering through the Los Santos streets with only a dog that was barely six months old to protect them.
He sat on the couch, pouting after they had left on their latest walk. Amanda, who had been walking past him into the kitchen, caught sight of him and frowned. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Darling, why do you get like this every time they go out?"
"It's Los Santos, babe. That alone gives me plenty of reason to worry," he sighed. "I mean...hell, me of all people should know how fucked up people can be."
"Relax, honey…" she murmured, continuing the kisses along his cheek. "This is the safest neighborhood in the city-"
He scoffed. "That says a lot in this fuckin' town," he snapped, causing Amanda to pull back and glare at him. "Shit...sorry, 'Mand. I...I'm just worried, okay? Tracey's not even 14 yet, and Jimmy's only 11..."
Amanda relaxed a little at that and sat down next to him. "If you're so worried, then why don't you go with them?"
"Believe me, I've tried and they always say no," he said in a defeated voice. "Maybe I'm not the cool dad I thought I was…"
"If it helps, I think that you are," she smiled at him, gripping his hand reassuringly. "I don't know...maybe they're growing up, babe-"
"Ahhh, don't say that," Michael interrupted her, groaning and throwing his head back against the couch. "Makin' me feel old…"
"You're barely 36, darling," she laughed, allowing her hand to reach up and run through his dark hair. "I think being old is the least of your worries."
"Yeah, maybe-" he had just started to say before the front door opened.
"See?" Amanda whispered, nudging him in the side playfully. "No problems."
That had turned out to be a little bit premature as they quickly heard Tracey yell, "Daddy, we need your help!"
"Ah, shit…" Michael muttered under his breath as he got up from the couch and walked to the front door, where he saw a very sheepish Jimmy and Tracey and Orion, whose normally golden fur was covered in mud. The dog just looked up at Michael and wagged his tail excitedly, sending bits of mud flying against the floor. "The fu-"
Amanda quickly interrupted him. "Kids…" she started gently, but firmly. "What happened?"
Jimmy shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. "Uh...we were walking him and Tracey kinda lost control of the leash-"
Tracey punched him in the arm, practically fuming in anger for getting into trouble. "Hey, you traitor!"
"Tracey Townley-" Amanda started to scold her before Michael cut her off.
"De Santa, babe. It's been three months now," he reminded her before leaning down to his daughter's height. "Now, I'm sure that you know that wasn't very nice, Trace. So I'm gonna ask you again: what happened?"
"Well...he kind of got a little excited and found a mud puddle. I'm sorry, Daddy…" she said in panic.
"Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Michael asked with a smile. "And don't apologize to me; apologize to your brother."
"Sorry, Jimmy…" she muttered hesitantly to her brother, who was still clutching his arm in pain.
"Thank you, Trace," Michael said as he took the leash from her hand and started leading the dog up the stairs to the bathroom. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go fix the mess that you made…"
"Alright…" he muttered to himself, looking in between the puppy and the bathtub. "Shouldn't be that bad, right? Just like giving the kids baths when they were little…"
Michael picked Orion up with relatively little protest aside from licking Michael on the cheek. Carefully, he lowered the dirty dog into the soapy, lukewarm water.
That was where things went wrong. Orion immediately barked in panic and scrambled out of the water, splashing muddy water all across the bathroom and Michael himself.
"Okay…" Michael said slowly, wiping the water from his eyes and trying his best to stay calm. "C'mon, bud, a bath isn't that bad…"
He tried again and again, with the same result and Orion (and Michael) growing more restless each time.
After about his fourth or fifth attempt, Michael was about to lose it. "Oh, for fuck's sakes…" he exclaimed, trying to reach for the dog before slipping on one of the puddles of water that covered the bathroom floor.
Next thing he knew, he had landed face first in the tub, the water rushing into his eyes and mouth. After realizing that he had fallen on his ass into the bathtub, Michael sat up, sighing and spitting out the water that tasted of what he could only describe as wet dog, and glared at Orion.
The dog just looked at him with his tongue hanging goofily out of his mouth before happily jumping in the bathtub himself and sitting on Michael's lap.
"Of course…" Michael muttered as he allowed Orion to splash even more water on him.
After managing to muster enough courage, Michael left the bathroom with Orion in tow. The kids immediately gathered around the dog, petting his newly shiny fur and paying no attention to Michael, who was standing there sulking and dripping water onto the floor.
Amanda finally stumbled upon the scene and couldn't help but burst out laughing at the image of her pouting, soaking wet husband. "Sure looks like you 'fixed their mess', babe," she managed to say in between laughing her ass off.
Michael rolled his eyes as he swept the wet hair back from his forehead. "The dog's clean, isn't he?" he asked, gesturing to the Labrador puppy.
"You on the other hand…" she said, eyes wandering along him. "I need to know something, honey: who washed who in that bathroom?"
He set his jaw in barely concealed annoyance and gently pushed past her into the bedroom. "Don't," he muttered in embarrassment as he headed towards his own bathroom to wash the wet dog smell off.
"You never answered my question," Amanda said to him that night when they were laying in bed. She looked at him, eyebrows raised in question and a teasing look on her face.
Michael scoffed as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. "For the record, I totally had it under control."
"Right, babe," she smirked, resting her hands on his chest. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."
"Hm..." he started, trailing off before allowing his lips to meet the side of her neck. "I dunno about you but... I can't sleep tonight."
"And what are you gonna do about that?" she whispered in his ear, watching as he started to position himself above her.
"Well…let me show you…" he said, grinning down at her almost hungrily.
He had just started kissing her when they heard the whimpering of their dog from outside the bedroom. Michael hung his head, sighing in defeat, and looked to his wife almost pleadingly.
"You better go check on him, honey," she said with a sad smile.
Michael opened the bedroom door to the sight of their puppy sitting right outside the door, pawing sadly at where the door had been. Once the door was open, Orion perked up and immediately sprinted in between Michael's feet into the bedroom before swiftly hopping onto the bed.
"Well, I guess he's staying in here for the night," Amanda said, smiling as the puppy licked her in greeting.
"I guess…" Michael conceded gruffly, shutting the door behind him and getting back in bed. Orion happily greeted him, too, before curling up and swiftly falling asleep in between him and Amanda.
"He must be tired from dealing with your ass all day," she said playfully, starting to pet the sleeping dog.
"Yeah, probably…" he said with a low laugh. Despite his indifference and lingering anger towards the dog, his hand wandered over to Orion and lightly ran over the soft fur of the dog.
"You know, Michael, I think you kind of like him," she said, noting his shaky hand gentleness as he pet their puppy.
Michael shrugged, but smiled at the tiny runt of a dog, anyway. "Yeah...he's alright."