dogman

The night had been long. Petey, as usual, had locked himself in the back room with Lil Petey, where the heat was gentle and the darkness helped him forget for a few hours everything that tormented him. He didn't want to see Dogman. Not tonight. His heart felt too heavy, and the memory of his last words still burned in his throat.

Lil Petey had fallen asleep immediately, nestled in his father's arms. Petey, on the other hand, took longer. He stared at the ceiling, his eyes half-closed, listening to the silence of the house and Dogman's slight panting in the next room. Every sound the dog made irritated him… and called to him at the same time.

But the night passed, and with it his defenses slowly dissolved. The fear. The pride. The rage. The need was stronger.

In the morning, Dogman slowly opened his eyes. Light seeped through the blinds, softly outlining the chaos of the room. He blinked once… and then he felt it.

A warm weight on her chest. A soft purr vibrating against her ribs. Petey.

The cat was asleep on top of him, its feline body stretched out confidently, its cheek resting on Dogman's neck, rubbing slowly even while asleep. Its ears trembled slightly with each muffled snore. Its lazy tail curled around one of Dogman's legs as if claiming it, as if it had always been there.

Dogman stood completely still. A soft, muffled bark escaped him, almost like a sigh. His cheeks—already hairy, already marked by the hard life he led—turned red. His breathing became shallow, trembling. He didn't understand why, he couldn't explain it, but he felt something tightening inside him.

He didn't try to wake him up.

He didn't even move.

*She just looked at him… and for the first time in weeks, she closed her eyes with a small smile, feeling Petey's warmth on her chest, safe, purring, claiming a place that always…