It was a dark and stormy night in the Duchy of Eternia. Which, as all the locals knew, meant it was just an average night. Probably some time in June.

Edea Lee was attempting sneak back into Central Command this particular night. Sneak! As if she didn't own the place. She did. But what she wouldn't own was peace and quiet if word were to get out what - who - she was trying to sneak inside.

Using all of the skills she had learned while borrowing the Ninja Asterisk, she pressed herself against the wall, holding her breath and counting down the steps of the guard… she knew their schedule like the back of her hand. She had written, after all, with a little help from Alternis. Well, a lot of help. But she also knew that the night guards hated night duty, especially in the time of peace, and they would soon break formation to go play cards in one of the rooms to the side. Then, she could book it to the secret passage that led to her room.

All this time and they still hadn't boarded it up.

Everytime she disappeared from a boring meeting, Alternis certainly threatened to.

She heard a soft whimper and tensed.

"Shh," she managed to whisper under her breath, lifting a hand to comfort the tiny bundle in her coat.

"Who are you talking to?" a voice behind her said.

Edea gasped and jumped, whirling around to see Alternis himself standing behind her. The man was, as always, shrouded behind his helmet, even though it was so late at night that normal people would be asleep. When she was younger, she had doubted that Alternis knew what sleep was. Now that she was older and wiser, she was certain of it.

"What… nothing. I was talking to nothing," she said unconvincingly.

Her shirt whined again.

They both went quiet.

Damn his helmet! She was sure that he was staring at her chest - her coat - but with his helmet covering his face, she couldn't accuse him.

"What was that?" he finally asked her. Then the man jumped when her coat began to squirm. Seeing his hand drift to his sword, she reached out to grab his wrist.

"Settle down!" she hissed, not wanting to draw any more attention than was necessary. "Follow me!"

There was no point in being stealthy when she'd already been caught, after all. Alternis attempted to protest, only to cut himself off as she dragged him away to the secret tunnel. She could hear him grumbling behind her as they climbed up, empty threats of pouring concrete through it bouncing off her.

As soon as she emerged back in her room, she dusted herself off and collapsed onto her bed with a loud sigh.

Alternis righted the portrait back into place for her, his hands careful on the old frame. When he turned around, the Dark Knight stopped in place to stare, then propped his hands on his hips.

"Absolutely not," he said. "You have to take it back."

From within her coat Edea had produced a small bedraggled puppy. Now she held it against her chest, letting the puppy lick her face frantically.

"I can't," she insisted. "It's snowing."

Alternis approached the bed now, clanking with every step. "Then when it is not snowing, you need to take it back."

She huffed. "When is it ever not snowing?" she asked him, rolling over onto her side, the puppy flailing about. "You wouldn't just leave a poor, defenseless animal out by himself, would you? Look at him!"

Again, with the helmet, Edea couldn't be sure of exactly where Alternis's eyes were. But he was silent, and that was good enough for her. The puppy was surely a pitiful sight to behold. His light gold fur was dirty and grayish, deserving of a good bath, and he seemed too skinny for a puppy that she guessed was at least a couple of months old, judging by how she'd seen him run around earlier before catching him.

"I'm sure there are others who are willing to take him," Alternis said, conceeding somewhat. "Barras and Holly have been - "

"We're not giving my puppy to them," Edea interrupted, rolling her eyes. "Barras wants something bigger and you know it. Like a wolf."

"Well yes, but…"

"Come on, Alternis," Edea pleaded, unsure as to why she was even pleading about owning a pet in her own home, to her own subordinate. Who was the boss here?! "He's just a little guy, and we can train him to be a great guard dog!"

"And who's going to look after him?" the man asked, sounding annoyed. "I remember those pets you got when we were children. I don't have the time to walk your animals anymore."

"That's different!" Edea replied, shocked that he remembered those times. "I was a child then, and you were so much bigger than me! I couldn't walk them by myself."

"And you are the Grand Marshal now," he so helpfully reminded her. "You have very little time as it is, and - "

"I am the Grand Marshal," she said, and a sly smile broke out over her face, cutting him off more than her words. "So what I say goes! And I say it's practically illegal not to allow me to have a pet in Central Command."

"Edea…" Alternis started, but she cut him off again.

"I declare today National Adopt-A-Dog Day," she decided. "I'll announce it in the morning, after we give this little guy a bath and some food."

"We?" he asked, successfully distracted.

"I think you need to get to know him. Bond with him a little." And, she privately added, he already smelled like wet dog. She didn't want to smell it much longer. "Now take off the Asterisk."

"… why?"

Edea scowled at him, enough for the man to take a step back. "You can't pet a puppy with those gloves on! You might hurt him."

Alternis stared at his hands, then looked up at her. She nodded fiercely.

"Off with it! Now!"

With no further argument, he obeyed, his armor dropping away from his form with a flash of white. Edea braced herself for the little jump that her heart did every time she saw his face, which was more and more frequent these days as they worked together, getting comfortable with each other as they had been as children.

Then she laughed.

She'd expected him to be wearing a bodysuit, or perhaps one of the military uniforms as "casual" wear. She was not expecting his pajamas, a fluffy black set that her mother had gifted him a few years ago. It seemed a bit small on him - she could see his wrists and ankles - but otherwise it suited him well.

His pale cheeks were mottled with pink. "Some of us were trying to sleep before they got a report of someone sneaking in the corridors."

She waved her hand away. "You liar. I know you don't go to sleep this early." Then a rare feeling of guilt hit her - he'd been staying up more and more late recently, perhaps he was actually attempting to go to bed at a reasonable time for once?

The guilt was harshly squashed down as she picked up her new puppy and held it out. "Here you go. He needs cuddles." Alternis needed cuddles too, she added silently. He hadn't gotten enough as a child.

Alternis shot her a look that clearly begged for help even as he accepted the dirty puppy, holding it against his chest as the puppy wiggled and yelped excitedly, attempting to reach the new human's face. Edea grinned.

"What should we name him?" she asked. Alternis sat down on the edge of the bed, scrubbing his hand through the puppy's rough fur in an attempt to settle him down and prevent any face licks. It didn't seem to be helping, judging by the way the puppy rolled and twisted around on him, his legs flailing about.

"How about Blacky?" Alternis suggested lamely. Edea rolled her eyes at him.

"Alternis, he's got gold fur."

"Goldy?"

"You are not allowed to name anything," she decided, recalling exactly what he'd named his sword and airship. What had he been thinking? What had she been thinking, giving him the power of naming their - her - new pet? "Oh, how about naming him Alternis? His fur is almost the same color as your - "

He gave her withering look that only made her grin harder. "If that's the case, why don't you name him after your - "

"Brutus," she said hastily to change the subject, swallowing.

"I think that's the name of Holly's hamster."

"Wait, why does… okay, how about the name Spot?"

"He doesn't have spots," Alternis helpfully pointed out, and the puppy was calming down enough that Alternis could turn him around a bit to double-check for that. He paused. "He also doesn't have - Edea, this puppy is a girl."

"Oh," she said, then added. "How about Annette?"

"Annette?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "That's an odd name for an animal." The puppy barked.

"Says the man who named his sword Darkbringer. Besides, I've always like the name for a daughter."

"Duly noted," Alternis replied. He paused for a moment, then shook his head. The puppy went back to laying on his arms, tuckered out from trying to lick his face. "She doesn't look like an Annette. How about Lucky?"

Edea made a face. "Lucky? Why Lucky?" Though, if she thought about it, it didn't like sound like that bad a name… surprisingly good, given his standards.

"Because, she's lucky that you found her tonight," Alternis said, and he gave her one of his rare, genuine smiles that made her heart beat painfully in her chest. She resisted the urge to touch her hand to it.

"Alternis…"

"And lucky that I was not the one who found her instead," he finished, and Edea made a face, stucking her tongue out at him.

"Even you wouldn't leave a defenseless puppy alone tonight," she said. "I remember that time you found an injured bear in the mountains, you know. You and Barras both got weeks of punishment for smuggling it in."

He flushed deeply. "You really remember that?"

Edea sighed softly, looking down at his hand and where he'd been slowly petting the puppy's back. The puppy sighed as well, her eyes closed. "Of course. We're family." She paused, then added. "And it was the first time I'd ever seen you mess up so badly. I thought Father was going to have a heart attack." It had been nice to see that Alternis could make mistakes occasionally.

His cheeks reddened even further. "E-even I wouldn't leave an injured, defenseless animal outside," he managed to stammer out.

"I know!" Edea said cheerfully, and she touched his arm for a moment before leaning into him so that she could pet the puppy. Her puppy, even if she worried that Alternis might steal her away, given how much he was petting the dirty fur. "So… Lucky it is?"

Alternis had stiffened up when she leaned against him, and it was a few long moments before he let out a resigned sigh. "I suppose… Lucky she is." She couldn't see his face, but she was certain she could hear the smile on his lips.

"Great! So tomorrow, you and I are going to have to go shopping for puppy supplies. She'll need a bed, and a pretty collar - I'm thinking pink - and we'll need to get brushes for her fur and puppy food, of course, and I really want her to have some nice food dishes…" Edea listed off all the items she'd need to shop for on her fingers, then turned to Alternis, who stared at her with wide eyes.

"Edea…"

"And she needs a bath. Alternis, would you be so kind?"

His eyes immediately narrowed. "Is she not your dog?"

"No," Edea corrected him. "She's our dog. And if I take her on walkies, you can give her the first bath. Besides, she likes you so much. Look at her!"

He looked down at the puppy, who looked up at him, her eyes innocent and wide. Edea held her breath before Alternis let out his own. "Very well," the man said. "I'll give her a bath tonight, and she can sleep in my room."

Edea grinned. Truthfully, she really didn't want the puppy sleeping with her when she still smelled a little too strongly like the outside.

Alternis then turned to her. "And tomorrow, we'll sit down and write down your schedule for taking her on walks, making sure that we fit them in between meetings."

"Deal," she replied, lifting a hand so they could shake on it. That didn't mean that Alternis couldn't take her on walks outside the schedule.

"And I want her collar to be blue," Alternis added in. "It fits her better."

"Whose dog is this, again?" she asked him, frowning with her hands on her hips.

"Ours," he reminded her, the corner of his lips upturned.

She would never hit a man with a baby in his arms, but a man with a puppy in his arms could at least get a gentle tap to the shoulder.