Chapter Text
The oven timer chimed just as Est finished replying to a work email. He let out a tired sigh as closed his laptop and stretched his neck a little. “Coming,” muttered to himself.
He had spent most of the day working from the couch, taking advantage of the few moments of peace that existed in a house shared with a seven years old boy.
Before he could even get up from the couch, a pair of tiny bare feet rushed across the living room, heading straight for the kitchen. “Papa! The cookies!”
“Don’t run, Wesley,” he called out, though the words seemed to be spoken into the void.
By the time Est reached the kitchen, the little boy was already pressed up against the oven, bouncing excitedly on his feet as though he were waiting for the most important event of his young life.
A bit of flour still smeared one of his cheeks, his hair was messy, and the shirt he was wearing had a suspicious stain of dough on it.
Est smiled softly.
There were exhausting days, days when he barely managed to balance work, household chores, and raising a child practically on his own. But there were also moments like this, when Wesley got excited over something as simple as chocolate chip cookies they had baked together, and suddenly everything felt worth it.
“Can I eat three, papa?” the boy asked, holding up three fingers without taking his eyes off the oven.
Est chuckled and took his son’s hand, lowering two fingers until only the index finger remained, “Only one.”
“Two?”
“One.”
“One and a half?”
“That doesn’t even make sense, Wes.”
“Then two.”
“Wesley.”
The boy let out a dramatic, loud sigh, “Fine. At least I tried.”
Est laughed softly, ruffling his son’s hair, “But dinner comes first.”
Wesley turned around with an offended expression, like his father had just said the most terrible imaginable thing, “But papa, the cookies will be very sad if I don’t eat them right now!”
“Cookies don’t have feelings, Wes,” Est said as he moved around the kitchen to start serving dinner. He set the plates on the table and watched his son slowly make his way toward him.
“What if they do?” Wesley tilted his head up to look at his father, pouting slightly.
“Then they’ll have to wait anyway.” Helped him sit down in his chair and pressed a quick kiss to his hair before taking the seat beside.
“Life is so hard…”
Est burst out laughing. “Who taught you to be so dramatic?”
“You.”
“That’s a very serious accusation, you know.”
“But it’s true.”
Dinner passed with stories about school, complaints about vegetables, which Wesley insisted were humanity’s worst creation, and a lengthy discussion about why dinosaurs probably hated broccoli too.
Later, they ended up curled up on the couch watching cartoons, with a plate of cookies resting between them. In the end, Wesley had managed to eat more than one.
The boy’s head rested against Est’s arm while he absentmindedly stroked his hair, “Papa.”
“Mmh?” Est looked away from the TV and turned to his son.
“Can we go to the park tomorrow?” Wesley shifted slightly, seeking more of his father’s gentle touches. “It’s been forever since we went.”
Est narrowed his eyes at him. That was clearly a lie. They had gone just last week, but Wesley tended to use the concept of “forever” rather loosely. “Yeah, sure. We can go tomorrow.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Yaaay!”
After his little celebration, he grabbed another cookie and happily returned his attention to the cartoons.
⸻
The next day, just as Est had promised, he and his son went to the park.
It was full of children playing, bicycles rolling by, and families enjoying the beautiful weather.
Est sat on a bench, holding an iced coffee in one hand and his phone in the other while watching Wesley run straight toward the swings, “Don’t go too far!”
“Okaaay!”
And it only took a couple of minutes for Wesley to do exactly that. “Liar,” Est muttered with resignation.
He shook his head slightly and spotted Wesley farther away from the swings.
But before long, he saw him running back, puppy was running and bouncing around him.
A golden retriever, according to Est’s knowledge. He had fluffy golden fur, far too much energy for his tiny body, and such a cheerful expression that Est couldn’t help smiling.
“Again, again!” Wesley laughed loudly.
The puppy barked and chased after him once more, the two of them now running circles around the bench where Est sat.
Est glanced around, searching for the puppy’s owner, no one seemed to be watching them. He wasn’t wearing a leash or a collar, and he didn’t even have a tag.
When Wesley finally returned, his hair was messy and a huge smile spread across his face. He plopped down beside Est on the bench while the puppy remained glued to his legs, “Papa, look. He’s my new friend.”
“I can see that, Wes,” Est said softly as he reached out to pet the dog’s fur, laughing quietly when he saw his tail wag.
“Papa, I think he likes me,” Wesley said proudly.
“I don’t doubt it. He hasn’t left your side.”
“I like him too,” The boy slid down onto the grass and wrapped his arms around the puppy.
“I’m sure you do. But it’s time for him to go back to his owners, and it’s time for us to go home, little guy.” Though Est was talking to his son, for some reason, the puppy’s gaze seemed incredibly attentive, almost as if he understood what was being said. “Come on, Wes. Say goodbye.”
Both of them turned their heads toward him, Est could swear they had exactly the same sad expression, their eyes even looked alike.
He shook his head and watched his son hug the puppy tightly.
“Bye bye, puppy. I really liked meeting you. I hope we see each other again.”
“See you another day,” Est added softly.
The puppy let out a small whine, and once again Est had the strange feeling that the animal had actually understood.
He shook his head and smiled when Wesley took his hand, and together they started walking back home.
⸻
The next week, they went back to the park.
Once again, Est had fallen victim to Wesley’s definition of “forever” and those pleading eyes of his.
“PUPPY!”
Wesley let go of Est’s hand and ran when he spotted the same golden-furred puppy racing toward them. He dropped to his knees with his arms wide open, and the puppy practically launched himself at him.
Est blinked in surprise, he was really there again, “I guess you remember us, huh?”
The puppy barked happily and wagged his tail from side to side.
Because yes, he remembered them, and he felt so happy at that moment. After wandering from one place to another for so long, this was the first time someone had genuinely been happy to see him again.
⸻
Their third visit came only three days later.
Wesley was carrying a ball and a chew bone that he had begged—pleaded—for his papa to buy. “In case my friend comes,” he had answered seriously when Est asked why he needed them.
Est, who still didn’t understand why his son talked about the puppy as though they had arranged another meeting, simply nodded, “Sure.”
And, to everyone’s surprise except Wesley’s, as soon as they reached the park, the little ball of golden fur came running out from behind a couple of trees and headed straight toward them, “What the…?”
The puppy skidded to a stop in front of Wesley and started spinning around him, wagging his tail with so much enthusiasm that it looked like it had a life of its own.
“I was waiting for you,” Wesley told him, wrapping his little arms around his neck.
The puppy barked once.
“I know. I missed you too.”
“Wes, dogs don’t miss people after three days.”
The puppy froze for a second before walking over to Est and gently bumping his head against his leg.
“Did he just… hit me?” Est asked in disbelief, watching the puppy trot right back into Wesley’s arms.
Wesley let out a long sigh while cuddling with the dog, “Papa, of course he missed me… and you too.”
“Yeah, sure, sure.”
“He says you’re mean.”
“Now you talk to him?”
“I do,” Wesley answered seriously before standing up, the ball was in one hand and the chew bone in the other, “Let’s play!”
And that was the last thing Est heard before watching Wesley throw the ball, the puppy run after it, and Wesley run after the puppy.
⸻
As the weeks passed, their visits to the park became part of their routine.
Est tried to finish his work early, and Wesley made sure his homework was done before his father finished working so they could spend time together at the park.
Wesley and the puppy chased each other around, played hide-and-seek, and shared the snacks Est brought for them.
And Est enjoyed those moments, he loved seeing his son so happy.
He usually sat on a bench watching them, thinking they were like two little puppies overflowing with energy.
Without even noticing, his phone gallery began to fill with pictures of the two of them.
Wesley hugging him, the puppy asleep in Wesley’s lap, the two of them chasing bubbles, the two of them covered in grass.
They had become best friends.
⸻
The three of them were sitting on the grass, Wesley was holding an ice cream cone three times bigger than his hand, Est had an iced coffee, and the puppy had a new chew bone Wesley had brought for him resting between his teeth.
“Papa, why does Willy live here?” Wesley asked, placing some ice cream on the palm of his hand and not-so-subtly holding it out for the puppy, who happily licked it.
“Willy? You already named him?” Est asked with a laugh, his son simply nodded, “Wes, we don’t know if he already has an owner and a name.”
“He doesn’t, papa.”
“And how do you know that?”
“He told me.”
Est closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and nodded, “Of course he did.”
“His name is Willy, he doesn’t have a home, and sometimes he’s scared of being here all alone.”
The smile on Est’s face softened as he watched his son cuddle a little closer to the puppy, “He told you that too?”
“Mhm,” The little boy hugged the puppy tightly, burying his face in his fur, “Papa, I don’t want him to be all alone.”
The puppy lifted his head, his dark eyes were fixed on Wesley. Attentive, calm, with an oddly gentle expression, “Papa…”
“Wesley…”
“Please?”
And Est made the mistake of looking directly at him, those pleading eyes were staring right at him, “Wes, we can’t adopt every animal you find.”
“Just this one.”
“You said that about the cat from the supermarket.”
“This is different, papa!”
Est laughed softly, “Dogs cost money and require a lot of care.”
“I’ll share my nuggets with him and I’ll take care of him,” Wesley put on his best expression.
The one he had been perfecting since he was four, the huge eyes and the trembling lower lip, the one that screamed, I’m little and adorable and I know you love me.
Est narrowed his eyes, “No.”
“Papa…”
“No.”
“Daaaad.”
“No.”
“Daddyyyy.”
“Wesley.”
“Pleeease, please, please, please?” The boy hugged the puppy.
And the puppy—the traitor—rested his head on Wesley’s shoulder and looked at Est with eyes just as big and bright as his son’s.
“You two, stop looking at me like that.”
The puppy’s tail started wagging, and Wesley dropped to his knees, clasping his hands together dramatically.
“This is emotional manipulation.”
“Papa said yes!!”
“That’s not what I said—”
“Your face said it!!”
Est rubbed a hand over his face. He was doomed, completely doomed.
Because sitting in front of him were two pairs of pleading eyes, one belonged to his son, the other belonged to a puppy who looked like he was holding his breath, “O-Okay.”
Wesley froze for a couple of seconds before letting out a scream so loud that a few people turned to look.
“YEEEEES!”
The puppy jumped so enthusiastically that he tripped over himself and rolled across the grass and Wesley threw himself after him, wrapping his arms around him tightly.
“We need a bed,” Est began listing everything they would need for the newest member of the family.
“And toys!”
“A collar and a leash.”
“And another ball!”
“Food and water bowls.”
“And a superhero cape, papa!”
“Wes, he doesn’t need a cape.”
“What about a hat?”
Willy walked beside Wesley as they headed to a nearby pet store. Even without a leash, the puppy stayed glued to the boy’s side, looking perfectly content.
Est noticed that whenever strangers got too close, Willy would hide his head against Wesley’s legs, or even against his.
“Willy is still very shy, papa,” Wesley whispered, making sure only Est could hear him.
Inside the store, things quickly turned into chaos.
Between Wesley wanting to buy a dog bed almost the size of his own bed, insisting on taking home every animal plushie he found, and the puppy happily following him around with his tail wagging like he agreed with every suggestion, Est was beginning to wonder how they had gotten there in the first place.
In the end, Willy left the store with a brand-new bed, a blue collar with a personalized tag engraved with his name and Est’s contact information, a dinosaur plush toy, and far more snacks than Est cared to admit.
“You’re spoiling him,” Est told Wesley.
“No, papa. I’m loving him,” the boy corrected.
⸻
By the time they reached the apartment, Wesley rushed inside after taking off his shoes, “Welcome home, Willy!!”
Willy stepped inside carefully, his tiny paws moved slowly over the floor as he curiously took in everything around him, the living room, the kitchen, the couch.
“This is the living room,” Wesley explained with complete seriousness, spreading one arm dramatically. “This is where we watch cartoons.”
The puppy’s ears perked up.
“And this is the kitchen. This is where papa and I make cookies,” the boy continued the tour while Willy followed closely behind, his tail wagging happily.
Wesley picked him up and continued introducing him to every corner of the apartment, explaining what each thing was, what he wasn’t allowed to chew on, and which toys he was allowed to play with, “And that’s the bathroom, but you’re not allowed to drink water from the toilet. Papa says that’s gross.”
Est followed behind them, unable to stop smiling at how responsible his son was trying to be with his new pet.
“And finally…” Wesley threw open a door dramatically and set Willy down. “This is my room. This is where we’ll sleep.”
“You sleep here,” Est corrected, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed.
“Now both of us will do!”
Willy immediately began exploring the room, sniffing everything he could reach, the bed, the stuffed animals scattered across the floor, the rug, eventually, he settled down right in the middle of it.
“I think he likes it, papa,” Wesley whispered excitedly, immediately gathering his plushies and toys around the puppy so he could introduce everyone properly.
⸻
After dinner, and after an argument over why Willy could not eat chicken nuggets, it was finally bedtime.
Wesley insisted that Willy sleep in his room, “He’ll feel lonely if he doesn’t sleep with me, papa.” And Est simply couldn’t say no to that.
He watched as the puppy followed the boy everywhere around the apartment, he sat beside while Wesley brushed his teeth and patiently waited while the little boy changed into his pajamas.
He curled up beside the bed, and when Est turned off the lights, he saw Wesley lean down toward the puppy.
“Goodnight, Willy. I love you.”
The puppy let out a small sound, and his tail gently thumped against the mattress.
“Goodnight, papa. I love you.”
“Goodnight, my little boy. I love you too. Sleep well.”
A few minutes later, when Est came back to make sure Wesley had fallen asleep, he was met with a sight that made his chest tighten.
Wesley had moved and Willy had abandoned his new bed. Now the two of them were curled up together beneath Wesley’s dinosaur blanket.
Est stood there quietly for a few seconds and in the darkness, he smiled.
After a long time, the house felt a little more alive, Wesley looked happier than usual and nothing in the world made Est feel better than seeing his son happy.