luce

[luuce]

Bowie's sitter

Part 2

wordcount: 5,832

summary: walking your dog really does make you meet new people. When in search of a new sitter for your dog, he seems to have chosen it himself. 

warnings: none, just fluff. 

part 1

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You didn’t know the impact Harry had on people or how famous he truly was until you received a text from your little cousin, who lives all the way in Italy, who had texted you a picture of Harry walking with your dog just next to him, followed by a message, “Just saw this picture of Harry Styles and he’s walking a dog who look just like Bowie! What are the odds? Maybe you should meet up and try to get a playdate for them, and who knows, with those resemblances, maybe they are siblings?”

She follows on telling you how there are also pictures of him last week with the same dog doing some shopping at a pet store, and she follows to send you a picture of Harry carrying two bags full of things and Bowie is walking beside him with a ball in his mouth.

That would explain why Harry told you there was no need of you sending Bowie with food, toys and treats to his house, that he only needed his blanket. He truly was knocking this sitter job out of the park and doing more than what it was required.

It has been a couple of weeks since this new dynamic started, and you nor Bowie couldn't be happier. Your camera roll has been filled with the update pictures that Harry sends you every time he’s taking care of your dog while you’re on a shift, and after your first date that happened last week, there started to appear many selfies of Harry and Bowie enjoying their time together.

He took care of everything about your date. Told you to dress casual and that Bowie was invited too, of course. He picked you up in his car, and drove about thirty minutes until you arrived at an open field full of lavender. He opened the car door for you and held your hand before opening the back door to let the dog out, who ran around happy of his freedom. You both just stood there, admiring the view and taking it in. He had prepared a picnic for you three, because yes, he had thought of Bowie too and had brought a few snacks for him too. 

It was the perfect day, just you, him, and Bowie. You talked hours on end about literally anything you could think of, even into a very deep level. You told him about your family, how your mum’s side of the family was Italian and that you were born in Italy, but moved to England when you were three because of your father’s job. 

“Do you see yourself living more here or in Italy?” He had asked really curiously.

“I don’t know, actually. I love living here, but also a big part of me would love to live there, closer to my family. Maybe I will buy a house there in the future, work a few months here and a few months there, but I don’t know, seems like could get tiring all the back and forth, but what I would really love is to settle down and have children and for them to have a home, whether that is here or in Italy.” 

He told you a bit about his life on tour, how he understands the need to settle down in one place and build a home. He also surprises you by speaking Italian, and you end up having most of the conversation in that language. He talks about his love for the country and how he travels there often, telling you also about the end of his last tour, which had taken place in Italy, and how special it was.

You were truly mesmerized by him, by how quickly you’ve fallen comfortable with him, by how much he cares about your dog, because you’ve met people previously who barely tolerated him, and for you, your dog was like your child, so treating him poorly would make you dislike anyone quite fast. But with Harry, everything felt easy, perfect.

You were on your morning walk with Bowie when he started to decide which way you would go, and seeing as you had no plan, you decided to just follow him to see where he would lead you to, although you were not expecting him to just sit down in front of a door and start barking. 

“Hey, no, don’t bark.” You try to shush him but he doesn’t stop, “Bowie, stop. What are you doing?”

You try pulling on his leash but he just laid on the floor, making it much harder for you to move him. He suddenly stopped barking and started wagging his tail, and just when you thought he would comply and follow you, he jumped and ran behind you. His leash rounded your feet and the next thing you know, you’re falling down. But just as you’re about to hit the ground, somebody catches you.

“Woah, are you okay?”

It 's Harry. You’ve been saved by Harry. 

“What happened, Bowie? You almost made your mum fall.”

Bowie just wages his tail as he looks at him, tongue out. 

“I don’t know what’s wrong with him,” You say “he dragged me here just to stop at that door and start barking.”

Harry just started laughing. “That’s my house, actually.”

“Oh, that would explain it all.” You laugh with him.

It’s in that moment when you really look at him and take him in. He’s all sweaty and wearing a cap and sunglasses as always, along with his short shorts and a short sleeve t-shirt. 

“Would you like to come in? I need a quick shower, but after I could make you coffee, if you’d like.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to impose, really.”

He shakes his head “Not at all. Come in. Unless you had plans for the day, if that’s the case then we can do it on another day.”

“Oh, no plans, no. I was actually going to text you and see if you would like to spend the afternoon with Bowie and me.”

He smiles and leads you towards the door. “There’s no need to text me now, I would really love to spend time with you both.”

You smile and follow him. Once the door’s open, you both go inside and Bowie barks happily. Harry reaches down and unleashes him and he holds his hand out for you to hand him the leash. Bowie just runs towards the door of the house and sits patiently waiting for us to arrive there.

“I’ll just take a quick shower and will be right back. In the meantime, you can look around if you like. I can give you a tour after, or just follow Bowie around, he knows where most things are now.” 

You laugh at that, because that’s probably true. 

“Okay, yes, don’t worry. I promise not to snoop around too much.”

“Oh, please do.”

He smirks and leaves to go upstairs and shower. You look around the entrance of the house and see a few portraits. You get closer to look at the pictures of who you imagine are his family and friends. You take notice of Bowie’s leash that’s hanging on the wall, and how it looks so in place within this space. Suddenly your dog barks at you and starts walking, as if to tell you to follow him, and you do. He takes you into what looks to be the living room and he goes straight into a corner, where there’s a box filled with dog toys and balls. He picks one up and starts walking through a corridor, and you can’t help but follow him. He takes you through the kitchen where he stops at the glass door at the end of the room and sits, waiting for you to open it. 

“You’re sneaky, huh? You knew from the beginning what you were doing, didn’t you?” You tell him as you reach him and open the door. 

It takes you to a huge backyard where Bowie runs happily. After a few laps around, he drops the ball from his mouth into your feet and runs back. You throw the ball at him and watch him run around until he brings it back and you throw it again. You play catch for a while, all while taking in your surroundings. He has a little garden in the corner which you get closer to so you can see what flowers he has. It looks really well taken care of, and it looks so beautiful. 

“It seems you have found Bowie’s favourite part of the house.” You hear Harry say.

You turn around to look at him and you see him walking towards you, not before throwing the ball for Bowie to run after. 

“Hm, yes, he brought me straight here to play. I love your garden.”

“Thanks, love. I take full pride in it.” He smiles at you and he reaches for your hand. “Would you like some coffee?”

“Would love one, thank you.”

He pulls at your hand and takes you back inside. He pulls at one of the stools from the kitchen and motions for you to sit down. 

“How do you take your coffee?”

“With milk it’s perfect, thank you.”

He moves around the kitchen while he gets everything ready.

“How was your walk this morning?” He asks while the coffee machine starts.

“Short.” You laugh. “Bowie brought me straight here. I think he was onto something.”

“I may have told him to bring you.”

“I don’t think he’s that smart yet.”

You both laugh at that and he puts your coffee in front of you. You both look at Bowie through the glass to see him running around.

“He loves it here, I can tell. Thank you for taking care of him for me, it means a lot.”

“It’s my pleasure, I love having him here.” 

He invites you to drink the coffee outside on the porch, where he has a swing bench that you both sit on. As soon as Bowie sees you, he starts running towards you and jumps on top of you, making you almost drop your coffee. 

“Hey, careful my love.” You tell your dog who decides to sit between you two.

“He 's so sweet. Always wants to be close to one.” Harry says as he pets him.

“Yes, I actually love it. People have told me how annoying it is that I spoil him too much, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“I would prefer a clingy and loving dog who gives you kisses and is always happy to be with you rather than one who prefers their space and would never get close to one.”

You gasp at that. “That’s what I always say!”

The way you both look at each other is something you haven’t experienced before with anyone. You both look so happy, so content with your space. Before you know it, you both start leaning towards each other, he looks down to your lips and then into your eyes, as if silently asking if this was okay. You close the gap between you as you put your lips on his. The hand that isn’t holding his coffee cup goes to your cheek as he kisses you, falling into the feeling of you both involved in a kiss. You lean more into him, trying not to squish Bowie who’s still laying down between you two, although with the movement he seems to prefer going down to the floor than be there between you. 

Time moves differently when you are just enjoying your moment. You’ve wanted to feel closer to him, almost ending up sitting on his lap, careful not to spill the coffee cup you’re still holding. You separate to take some air, smiling at each other as you take it in. His hand moves from your cheek to your lower back, leading you to sit on his lap, which you do, sitting sideways and with your legs laying onto the bench you’re both sitting on. You lean your head on him, as you both watch Bowie play around, who, as soon as he spots you, runs back again and jumps into your lap.

“He’s the sweetest boy.” Harry says as he pets his head.

“And you’re the sweetest man.”

He grabs both your empty coffee cups and leaves them on the table next to him. Then one hand goes to pet Bowie again and the other goes to your cheek, bringing you into another kiss. This time, it doesn’t last long as Bowie tries to interfere and get some kisses to himself, to which you both laugh. 

“He wants some loving too” You say as you bring him closer to you both.

Harry wraps one arm around you and another around Bowie, folding you two into a group hug. Bowie starts showing how happy he is by filling your face with kisses and he then does the same to Harry. Laughter fills the air as you three spend time together, almost like a little family. 

“So,” you say when you recover from the laughter. “It's our boy’s second birthday next Tuesday.”

“Oh, is it? Why didn’t you tell me, buddy?”

Bowie just barks at him. 

“I work the night shift that day but I was thinking of taking him to the park and maybe baking him a dog cake so he can eat it, I don’t know the specifics yet, but I was wondering if you would like to spend that day with us, celebrating the birthday boy.”

“There’s nothing I would love more than to spend that day with you both. And, can I be honest?”

You sit a little bit better to be able to look at his eyes clearly. “You can always be honest with me.”

“I like you. A lot. And I also love Bowie, I don’t know what I would do without him. And the more time I spend with you, the more I want to keep doing so. So yes, I would love to spend that day with you, and also any other day, if you would have me.”

“I would love that.”

You lean over to kiss him again. Spending more time with him is something you are dying to do, almost as if you were craving it. Doing life alone can be rough, that’s why you adopted Bowie, with him everything feels nicer, but since meeting Harry, you have felt as if you were in a bubble of happiness and giddiness and you were hoping it wouldn’t pop off ever.

You lay there with Harry for what feels like hours, until he asks if you’re hungry so he would make lunch. You follow him back to his kitchen and you can’t help but admire everything around it.

“I think this would be my dream kitchen. I love cooking, and this kitchen would keep me trapped all day, I love it.”

Harry laughs. “You can come use it anytime you’d like, door’s always open for you.”

“That’s so nice of you.”

“I mean, as long as I can accompany you and I get a portion of it.”

“Oh, so you would use me.”

You both laugh and he hands you a plate of food. He then grabs his and sits next to you on the kitchen island. 

“No, but seriously, you can use it anytime. I have everything you may need, and if I don’t, just tell me and I’ll buy it.” 

“You don’t have to do that.”

“But I want to.”

You smile and nod. “Okay, then. Can I make you dinner?”

“What were you thinking of making?”

“Pesto Pasta. But I’m making it all from scratch, you’re going to love it.”

“Sounds delicious, I’ll help. I don’t know if I have all the ingredients, but we can go later and grab some.”

“That would be perfect, yes.” 

You both enjoy your lunch and then you casually grab some paper he has near and a pen and start writing down the ingredients that you need. Harry is looking around the kitchen looking for things you’re going to need and letting you know what other things you should write down. It’s a good dynamic that you have going on. Later, with your bellies full of food and after some rest along with Bowie, you three go out on a walk to the park.

Beautiful day out, sunny weather which leads to more people to be out on the streets. The park is full of life, some kids running around playing, some having picnics, and even people just enjoying the sun. There’s an area full of dogs and Bowie, once he’s free, runs towards them and starts smelling them, on his way to make new friends. He starts playing with a dog a little bit smaller than him and you can tell that he’s being careful while playing, not trying to scare him off. 

“He’s so good with other dogs.” Harry says as he casually puts his arm around your shoulders and drags you more towards him.

“Times like this make me want to consider getting him a sibling, but I don’t know if I could deal with two dogs all on my own.” 

“I think we could make it work.”

“Hm, would you like shared custody?” You laugh.

“I would like to do it together, if you’d like.”

You turn a bit in his embrace, rounding your arms around his sternum and hugging yourself closer to him. He throws his other arm around your neck and looks down at you. 

“Don’t you think we’re going too fast? I mean, we’ve known each other for a few weeks and we’re already talking about getting a dog together.”

“I think that when you know, you know, and I really want to see us together moving forward.”

“I would love that too. But I would hold on getting another dog for a bit, though. I want to enjoy a bit of us time before we have to involve ourselves into taking care of another puppy.”

“Okay, that sounds perfect to me.” 

He leans down and kisses you. You end up holding each other while looking out for Bowie, who seems really happy running around with the other dogs. Harry seems to go rigid for a moment in your grasp, and he moves the both of you around and drags your head closer to his chest.

“I’m sorry, there’s someone taking pictures of us.”

“Oh, um, okay? Sorry, I don’t know how to react to that.”

“Don’t be sorry, it’s not your fault.”

“It’s not yours either, you know?” You make him look at you. “It’s not your fault that people think they have the right to take pictures of you just because you’re a public figure. Just because you decided to be a singer, doesn’t mean you have to accept that invasion of privacy.”

“Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me.”

“You can always lean on me, you know?”

Suddenly you start feeling more pressure since he’s, quite literally, leaning on you. You wobble a little bit and move your leg back to hold both your weights. 

“But not quite literally!”

You both start hysterically laughing and you almost fall to the ground, more so when Bowie comes running towards you and crashes on your legs. He barks happily as a way to be included into what’s happening. Harry seems to recover a bit faster than you and holds you closer to him again, one of his hands now holding the small of your back, the other pushing your hair a bit back from your face.

“Shall we head back?” He asks you.

“We shall.”

He puts the leash on Bowie and holds your hand, interlocking your fingers with his as you three start walking towards the shop. You banter a bit about who’s going into the shop, and Harry insists that he should, that since it’s his house he should be the one paying, but you reply back, telling how since he’s putting the house, you’re paying for the food. It took you a bit, but finally he agreed and he was the one who stayed outside of the shop with Bowie. He catches on the corner of his eye the same paparazzi from before, taking pictures of him. He acts indifferent to it as he grabs his phone to distract himself while he waits. 

“Baby, do you want white or red?”

He’s caught completely off guard when he hears your voice, mostly because you called him baby, which makes his heart beat a bit faster than normal. He looks up from his phone at you, and he sees you smiling back at him at the door, holding two different bottles of wine.

“I think white goes better with pesto, what do you think?” You ask him again.

“Uhm, yes, that’s perfect.”

His response comes back a bit quiet, but you get to hear it. You smile at yourself and go back into the shop. You’ve left Harry feeling like quite a mess outside. Once you have all you need, you pay and go outside to meet your boys. Harry is smiling and makes you swap Bowie’s leash he’s holding with the bag you’re carrying, so that he can, with his other hand, hold yours. You both head back to his house in silence, and you can feel how Harry is holding something back. You can tell that Bowie is getting excited and knows where he’s going when you turn the corner, and his steps come a little bit faster to make him arrive sooner. 

As soon as you arrive, you take off his leash, and put it in the spot you know Harry has reserved for him, and next, you follow Harry to the kitchen where he has left the bag on the counter. When you open the bag to start taking out things, you can feel how Harry comes from behind and wraps his arms around your waist, his head on your shoulder.

“What did you call me just back there?”

“Oh?”

“Hm, you know, when you came to ask me about the wine. What did you call me?”

You smile. Because yes, it may have slipped when you called him that, but it had also come natural to do so, and you don’t regret it, much less now that you know the impact it made on him.

You leave the bag and turn around, wrapping your arms around his neck. 

“Oh, I don’t know. Baby?.”

He nods and smiles. He leans down and kisses you.

“You like it when I call you baby?” You whisper before going for another kiss.

“I love it.”

You talk between kisses. One hand going to the back of his head. “Baby, my baby.”

You feel some pressure on your shin and then a cry. Harry and you separate and look down to see Bowie crying between you two.

“Oh, my sweets, you’re my baby too, don’t worry.”

Harry leans down and picks him up, bringing him between you two for a hug and kisses.

“You will always come first, Bow” Harry tells him, and it literally melts your heart.

After a cuddle of all three of you, you decide that it’s time you start elaborating dinner. You decide to start first with the pesto so it can later rest a bit in the fridge while you’re making the pasta. Harry insists on helping you, but you make him sit back with a promise that he could help out later, as long as he plays good music while you’re cooking.

“I was born for that job” He says as he gets up and leaves the kitchen, only to come back a few moments later with his laptop in hand. “Any preferences?”

“I’ll let you choose, you’re the expert.” 

He starts playing music, and it’s no surprise, Fleetwood Mac. That man truly listens. You ask him to show you where he keeps everything, and once you’re a little familiar with it, you feel as if you were in your own kitchen. You first start by squeezing the juice out of a few lemons and then put that, alongside the nuts and garlic into the food processor. You wash all the basil first before putting it into it too, and then while it’s processing, you add the olive oil little by little. Once it’s all done, you add the grated parmesan and process it again, finishing it up. 

“Okay, this is done. Now to the fridge.” 

Harry helps you clean up what you’ve already used and then helps you by getting all the ingredients and utensils you will use for the pasta. Now, making the pasta together is quite fun. You both end up with flour all over you and laughing like there’s no tomorrow. You don’t think you have laughed as much as you’ve done today. You take a few dance breaks in between, Harry making you spin around the kitchen and you, in turn, make him do a few spins too, which makes you laugh all over again. 

Once you finish, you let the pasta just sit there until it’s time to cook it, and in the meantime, Harry opens up the bottle of wine and serves you a glass. You thank him, taking a sip of it while looking around.

“Where’s Bowie?” 

Harry looks around too and doesn’t see him either. “Maybe he’s taking a nap.”

You both leave your glasses on the counter and start looking around. You went to look outside but he didn’t seem to be there, so you followed Harry into the living room but you didn't see him there either. 

“Maybe I can take you on a tour of the house while we’re at it.”

He holds your hand and leads you to a closed door. He opens it and steps aside so you can go in first. You can see a piano in the corner, a few guitars around and tons of other instruments, along with some microphones.

“This is my little studio at home. Doesn’t have much but it helps me when inspiration strikes. I usually rent studios once I know I’m fully going into something.”

“This is really nice, Harry. You’re gonna have to play me something sometime.”

He leads you back to the main room and shows you a small guest room, also the small laundry room and the garage he has, which is connected to a small gym which has the basic necessities for him to train at home. He then leads you upstairs showing you two other guest rooms with their respective bathrooms and lastly his room, which you can see one of the two doors open. When you both go in, you find Bowie sleeping in the middle of the bed by the pillows.

“This is my room, as you can tell.”

“He looks so comfortable there, my heart.”

He hugs you from behind as you both take a moment to admire the sleeping dog. After a bit, you both go down and he tells you to sit on the sofa while he gets the wine. You end up sitting there for a while, all until your phone starts ringing all the way from the kitchen.

“Just leave it. I’ll call back.” You tell him as you try to relax back. But once it stops, it starts ringing again and you groan. “Okay, let me see who it is.”

You get up and leave your glass on the coffee table while you go into the kitchen to grab the phone. You see that it’s a facetime call from your cousin, and you decline it and go to text her, but before you can do so she texts: “PICK UP!!!”, so you do so the next facetime she does. 

“SONO LO STESSO CANE?!” It’s the first thing she says as soon as you pick up. (They are the same dog?)

“Nessun saluto? Come stai?” You reply before you hear Harry’s laugh from the other room. You start walking back to your seat. “E che significa che sono lo stesso cane?” (No hello? How are you? And what do you mean they are the same dog?)

“Ci sono foto di te, Bowie e Harry Styles in un parco?” (There are pictures of you, Bowie and Harry Styles in a park.)

You immediately look at Harry who is picking up his phone and looking it up. “Are there?” You specifically ask him. He nods and shows you his screen, where you can see the both of you hugging and then a few more of you outside the shop, hand in hand and with Bowie.

“Sei con lui?” (Are you with him?) 

Harry nods his head at you, and you turn your phone so she can see him, and as soon as she does, she hangs up. You both laugh.

“Who was she?”

“My little cousin. I think she’s a big fan of yours, she sent me a picture of you and Bowie the other day and she thought you had adopted a sibling of his. I just told her I had to find you and see for myself.”

“And find me you did.”

He pulls you into a kiss and you smile. You lay there together for a little while until you hear the sound of paws hitting the floor, and you can perfectly hear how he’s coming down the stairs. A moment later Bowie appears in front of you and he stops, takes a big stretch, and when he’s done he jumps into Harry’s lap.

“Hey buddy, how was your nap?” Harry asks as he starts scratching behind his ear.

Bowie just cuddles more into him, looking for more affection. You grab your phone and use it to snap a picture.

“Come here you too. Let’s take a family picture.” Harry says and opens one of his arms so you can get closer.

You put the phone on selfie mode and take a picture of you three. You love it. You look so happy, and you are. 

“Should we make dinner?” You ask after being in that position for a while now.

“Yes, I’m starving, can’t wait to try your pasta.”

Harry takes the lead back to the kitchen and starts by getting out a pot and filling it with water. You both start preparing dinner together and while the pasta is boiling, Harry tells you that you can play music from his laptop if you want and that he will feed Bowie. You grab his laptop and press play on the music from before as watch him open a cabinet where he takes out a bag full of food and he prepares it into a bowl. You’re falling, it’s inevitable. You’ve never felt the way you’re feeling with Harry, and how he does not only take care of you, but he also takes really good care of your dog.

He puts the bowl down on the floor for Bowie to eat and brings back the bag into the cabinet, and you can’t help but meet him in the middle, wrapping your arms around his neck and smiling at him, which he returns to you.

“Thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

He kisses you as you both sway in the middle of the kitchen to the sound of the music. You stay there, enjoying your moment until the timer goes off for the pasta. Harry tells you to sit down and that he will take care of the rest and you do as told. He brings both of your wine glasses back full, and then he comes back carrying two plates full of pasta.

“Buon appetito.” He tells you when he puts your plate down.

“Anche per te.” (You too.)

He had turned down the music a bit and now it was more of a background noise as you both dig in and make conversation. 

“I feel this might be the best pasta I’ve ever had.” He says after a few minutes.

“Thank you, baby. Teamwork.”

“Oh no, baby, this was all you.”

Now, hearing him calling you baby made your heart beat ten times faster. Harry can’t help but enjoy the effect those words caused on you, because it was just the same he had felt earlier in the afternoon. 

You both finish your dinner, and you can’t help but think back to the amazing day you have spent together with him. You’ve never felt the need of being closer to anyone this fast, you’re feeling as if you have met your match, and you’re scared that he would slip away any moment, although his words today have shown you just the opposite, just reaffirming that what you have right now, is it. You’re both in it, completely, no fooling around, no beating around the bush, no. You’re both in it for the long haul, having made a connection truly unique, unlike any other before, and you can only see yourself moving forward, creating more memories, learning new things from one another, because yes, you may not know each other for that long, but a connection like the one you have, shouldn’t be looked over or ignored, no, it should be explored, and you can’t wait to start doing so, can’t wait to fall, can’t wait to laugh, can’t wait to learn, can’t wait to love. Because you’re both in it, and you wouldn’t have any other way.

When you realise that it’s getting late you start to collect your things, along with getting Bowie ready. Harry seems a little sad you’re both leaving, he would have asked you to stay, but he thought he might be pushing it too far and wouldn’t want to scare you off. He walks you both to the door, and he can’t help but reach for a kiss goodnight.

“How about you come over tomorrow for breakfast? After your run? I think it’s my turn on the house tour, although don’t expect much, it will be much shorter” 

Harry can’t help but laugh at that. “Okay, sounds like a plan. I’ll see you tomorrow, goodnight.” 

“Goodnight, baby”

A groan comes out of his throat before he can help it, bringing you back into a kiss. And another one, for good measure. After one last kiss, he kneels on the ground to also give some kisses to Bowie, who immediately returns them and starts liking his face, which makes you laugh. After some really long goodbye, both Bowie and you start on your journey home.

“Text me when you arrive.”

You look back at him and smile. “Will do.”

There’s a skip on your step on your stroll back home, the smile on your face permanent, and the happiness inside is completely full. Both Bowie and you are really lucky to have met him, and you can’t wait to see what the future holds for your little family.

[luuce]

wordcount: 5,105

summary: walking your dog really does make you meet new people. When in search of a new sitter for your dog, he seems to have chosen it himself. 

warnings: none, just fluff. 

part 2

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Sunny days only come every once in a while here in rainy London, so it is no wonder you and your furry companion take advantage of that and take a walk, although with him walks are required at least twice a day every single day, no matter the weather. His tail is up high and swinging side to side as he vigorously stops to smell every few steps, happy trotting once he's satisfied with himself. It takes you a bit to arrive at your regular café near the park and you quickly spot the only free table there is and tug Bowie towards it. You easily tie his leash to one of the chairs and take out a treat for him.

“Sit” You tell him and he immediately looks up to you, does as told and eats the treat you give him. “Good boy. Now, mama is gonna go inside to order coffee and a treat, and you are gonna stay here guarding our table, okay? No singing while I’m gone, I know you have a beautiful voice but we don’t want you turning famous and leaving mama, what would I do without you?” 

He looks at you and sways his tail as if he’s completely understanding every word you are saying. With a quick pat on his head you go inside the café to order. There’s a bit of a queue so that leaves you with time to think what you want to order, even though you will probably end up ordering the same thing you always do. You look at the croissants and then turn your sight to the left where you spot the pain au chocolat, okay, maybe you are leaning towards chocolate today. Just as you see that it is your turn, you hear howling coming from outside. You turn your head to see Bowie with his head tilted back howling, or singing, as you like to put it. You quickly look at Marg, the lovely barista and smile apologetically.

“Sorry, you know how he gets” you tell her.

“Oh, it’s totally alright, there’s nothing that furry ball could do to make me mad” She laughs and proceeds to take your order. “The usual?”

“I’ll take the pain au chocolat today, instead”

“Perfect, coming right up”

You pay and move to the side to wait for the order. After another peek outside you see Bowie doing more of his singing while the man sitting on the table next to him seems to be talking to him. As soon as you hear your name called from another barista, you grab the tray and head outside to your artist of a dog. As soon as he spots you, he stops howling. The man beside you laughs.

“I’m sorry if he bothered you. He tends to miss me when I’m not on sight” You begin to apologize to the nice man.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s completely understandable. What 's his name?”

“This is Bowie, and he has attachment issues.”

“Oh, that explains the singing.” He laughs and reaches to pet him. “Nice to properly meet you, Mr. Bowie. I have to say that I’m a huge fan of your singing”

Bowie proceeded to bark at him as an answer. You both laugh as you take a seat on the closest chair, which is diagonally to his and a bit separated.

“I believe he said thank you” 

You take a moment to look at the guy and your breath stops. You can only see his side of the face since he’s leaned down to pet the dog. He’s wearing a cap and sunglasses which doesn’t let you see much of him. He has a nice mustache and he’s wearing a short sleeve shirt that lets you take a peek into a few tattoos that take over his skin. The shorts that he’s wearing are so short that you can see more ink on his thigh. You are absolutely captivated by the stranger man with the mustache and the tattoos that you don’t take notice of him turning to you and speaking.

“Sorry, what?” You ask and shake your head as a way to get rid of your thoughts.

“Did you name him before or after he started with his singing?”

“Oh, I actually named him Bowie because of his eyes,” it’s true, he has one blue eye and one brown, “but then he started his singing sessions while I was at work. I only found out because my neighbour complained about it and had to install a camera to see for myself. I often think he’s trying to make a living out of it so he can help with rent”

The man laughs and you follow. You take a sip of your drink and look around, seeing people walking around, seeming to be enjoying the nice weather. The conversation seems to quiet down as he looks at his phone and starts typing, so you take out your book and throw another treat to Bowie to keep him entertained for a while as you enjoy your moment. Your mind starts to wonder as to why the stranger sitting across from you looks familiar, but you can’t seem to put your finger on it. You might have seen him before here in the café, or around the area. Yes, that must be it. You watch him put his phone in his pocket and get up from the chair.

“Have a nice day you two. Bye, Bowie, it was so nice to meet you” He leans down to give a final pet to his head and then looks up to you.

“Have a nice day!” You wave at him and he does the same before he turns and walks away.

You watch him leave towards the direction you came from and you come to the conclusion that yes, you probably knew the man from the area. You finish your breakfast and leave the café so you can take Bowie through a walk in the park and maybe throw the ball around a bit.

You get back home a few hours later and you can’t help but think about the handsome man you crossed paths with today. Something inside you hopes you will meet again, but London is quite big, so you don’t know if that would be the case.

The next day, you wake up early to get ready for your shift at the hospital. You do your normal routine of preparing everything for Bowie to eat, and refill his water before putting on his leash and taking him for a very early walk. You don’t like leaving him alone for the very long hours of your shift, but you are looking for pet sitters that are able to adapt to your shifts so they can take care of him while you’re gone, but so far you haven’t found anyone. 

It’s the day after when you find yourself in the park with Bowie, throwing the ball at him so he can run around and tire himself up before your night shift. You usually do this every time you have a night shift so then he can sleep all night and not worry that you are gone to work. 

You throw the ball and he runs to catch it, and as soon as he has it in his mouth he drops it and runs in another direction.

“Bowie!” You yelled and ran to see where he went.

When you finally catch up to him, you see him lying on the ground belly up and getting pets from a man. 

“I’m sorry! He jus- Oh, hi!” You immediately recognize the man as the one you saw at the café just two days ago.

He looks up at you and smiles. You see dimples popping out and you think you could just melt. He’s wearing a cap and sunglasses again, and he’s wearing a cardigan that covers his tattoos.

“Hello there. How are you?” He politely asks while still petting your dog.

“I’m great. Trying to tire out the beast before my shift tonight.”

“Oh. What is it that you do? If you don’t mind me asking, of course.”

“It 's alright. I’m a pediatric nurse. I do twelve hour shifts at the hospital. I worked yesterday and now I work tonight, so I’m trying to spend the most time with him before I have to leave him at home.”

Bowie gets up to look for the ball, and once he finds it he brings it towards the man and leaves it at his feet. He barks and steps back waiting for the ball to be thrown. The, at this point, less stranger but still nameless guy, picks up the ball and throws it way farther than you usually do. Bowie sprints away in search of it.

“Oh wow, I think you are going to get me out of my job with that throw. I don’t think mine could cover even half of that” You tell him and can’t help but laugh.

Bowie comes back again with the ball and leaves it again at the man’s feet. He picks it up while laughing and he throws it again.

“He is such a nice dog. I wouldn’t mind doing this all day”

“I don’t think you would say that after a few throws”

You both look at Bowie, who brings back the ball only to be distracted by a butterfly that flies by. 

“I was on my way to get some coffee. Would you like to join me?” His question takes you by surprise. You would have never expected it.

“Oh, yes, that would be perfect, actually”

You whistle for Bowie to come back and he does so. You put on his leash and walk besides the man towards the same café you met at. You both make some small conversation before you arrive and tie Bowie to one of the chairs. 

“We’ll be right back, okay, bud?” You throw him a few treats and go inside. 

“What would you like? It 's on me.”

“Are you sure you want to pay for my coffee? We don’t even know each other’s names”

He laughs and throws his head back. “Touché.” He then reaches his hand out. “I’m Harry”

You shake his hand with a smile and introduce yourself.

“Beautiful name. Now that we have introduced ourselves, what would you like?”

You laugh and tell him your order, he then proceeds to order for you both while you take a look outside to see Bowie sitting and looking through the window to you two. When you turn back to look at Harry, he’s already looking at you with a smile. You immediately blush and look down. You don’t know how you ended up here, one minute you are meeting a cute guy thanks to Bowie’s howling, the next you are on your way to get some coffee with said guy thanks to Bowie’s run towards him in the park. You will have to give some more treats to the fluffy dog later.

“Here we go. Let’s head outside before the boy begins singing” He has both of your drinks in hand and he’s nodding so you can start walking.

Once you are both outside you sit across from each other and have Bowie on the ground between you two.

“I hope I’m not taking too much of your time before your shift.” It’s the first thing he says once you are both sat.

“Oh, no. I still have a few hours before it starts, don’t worry.”

The truth is, you usually take a long nap before your night shifts, but there is no way you are going to tell him that. It wouldn't be the first time you don’t take a nap before your shift, and it probably won’t be the last.

“Do you enjoy your job?” He asks before taking a sip of his coffee.

You nod your head while swallowing the bit of coffee you had in your mouth. “Yes, I do for the most part. It’s obviously a hard job when it comes to see sick children, but it helps a little when you are involved in their healing and can get them to smile”

“I can’t imagine. It must be hard.”

“There are days where everything can go as planned, and there are days that don’t. Honestly, it’s part of the job, but I don’t think I would change it for anything in the world.”

He smiles at you and nods. He has taken off his sunglasses and now you can see his eyes clearly. They are the most beautiful eyes you have ever seen, soft emerald green that could trap you in if you let it.

“Now, enough about me. What do you do for a living?” 

He looks down trying to hide his smile and starts petting Bowie as a way to distract himself. 

“I’m a musician, actually.”

“Oh, that’s so nice. What instrument do you play?” You ask with genuine interest.

He shakes his head and looks at you. “I can play a few. Guitar, piano, a bit of drums, but I mostly sing”

To say that you are in shock is an understatement. You would have never guessed.

“Oh, wow, that’s impressive. Do you have music out? Something I might have listened to?”

He smiles and takes out his phone. He can’t actually believe that you have no idea of who he is, and honestly, it’s refreshing. He taps a few times and music starts playing out of his phone. He can’t believe that he’s doing this. You can hear the piano play for a bit and then finally singing.

“Just stop your crying, it’s a sign of the times.”

“Shut up. This is you?” You ask, completely surprised. Your mouth opens in complete shock as you continue to listen to the song.

You thought the man looked familiar, but you never would have thought it was because he’s a famous singer. Your dog barks next to you and that snaps you out of your surprise moment. Bowie swings his tail from side to side happily.

“Did you know that?” You ask your dog as if he could reply to you, “Is that why you showed him your singing? So he could help you out?”

Harry laughs next to you and reaches to pet Bowie's head. “Artists are always able to identify each other. Isn’t that right, Bow?”

“I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you, I’m embarrassed. To be fair, I have always been bad at names and faces, and I really don’t pay attention to new artists. I’m an old soul who likes old music, I’m sorry” You laugh and shake your head. You can’t believe what is happening.

“There’s no need to be embarrassed. Honestly it’s quite a relief that you didn’t know who I was.”

You don’t reply, because honestly, you don’t know what else to tell him. Your cheeks are flushed with embarrassment as you try to take some sips of your drink to distract yourself. 

You take a look at the time and realize that you should probably think of trying to tire out Bowie a bit more before going home.

“Would you mind going back to the park so Bowie can play a little bit more? He needs his bit of exercise before going home to sleep.”

“Of course, let’s go.”

You both stand up and pick both of your drinks, taking Bowie with you back to the park. As soon as you enter the park, you unleash him and throw him the ball. Harry can’t help but laugh.

“Hey. No making fun of my throw now, you were warned.” You point at him with an eyebrow raised. 

He laughs as he pulls his arms up. Bowie comes back and leaves the ball at his feet. Okay, it seems he has a favourite thrower. He barks and starts jumping around while waiting. The ball is thrown far away and he sprints to get it.

“I know this may come a little bit forward, but I could look after him while you are at work.” 

That’s the second time he has said something that has taken you by surprise. Or should you say three? Honestly, everything has been full of surprises since meeting him.

“Are you sure? You are not just saying that, are you?” 

He shook his head, “Of course not. I would really love to, he’s a really nice dog, and I wouldn’t mind the company.”

“But I’m sure you are busy with your job, there is no need to take care of a dog who’s not even yours.” 

“I’m taking a break from my job, there’s nothing I would love more than to look after him when you are working.” He’s very persistent.

“We just met and you are already asking for half custody of my dog?” You joke and he can’t help but laugh.

“I know it sounds crazy, but maybe Bowie and I can look after each other. It would be a mutual thing.”

You look at him trying to decipher him. You really don’t think he knows what he’s talking about. But on the other hand, you would really like for Bowie not to spend so much time alone. What are the odds of this going wrong? He’s a famous musician, he couldn’t afford to have bad press like failing to look after a dog. 

“Are you sure? He tends to be a little bit needy. He likes to play a lot and when he gets tired he demands cuddles. You would have to take him on a walk at least twice a day. Oh, and he likes to sleep on the bed, and I’m sorry if this is not to your liking but he’s a great cuddler and I don’t think I could ever say no to him.”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

 “Okay.” You nod your head and look at Bowie. “Okay.”

Harry throws the ball again and Bowie runs after it. He’s the perfect boy, and although you are a bit shocked still, you are happy that you are leaving him with someone he gets on well with. You take your phone out to look at the time.

“Would you like to walk us home so I can give you his things? Unless that’s a problem and you would prefer to meet later so I can drop him off.”

“No, it’s okay, we can go to your place first.”

“Okay, let’s go Bowie!”

Bowie comes trotting with the ball in his mouth and lets you put the leash on. You grab the ball and put it in your bag and start leading Harry to where you live. You both start talking a bit about music and about what you often listen to. You tell him about your deep love for Fleetwood Mac and how much you would have loved to have seen them live.

“I love Fleetwood Mac too. Stevie is one of my closest friends and she has taught me a lot.”

“You know Stevie Nicks?” You were yet again surprised.

“I’m surprised you even know who she is.” He elbows you and when you look at him he winks. 

“Ha ha, just because I had no idea of who you were doesn’t mean I don’t know who the main singer of my favourite band is.”

“Okay, okay. That 's fair.” 

You both continue talking while walking until you reach your building. You fumble to take out your keys and Harry seems to stand there just awkwardly. Just as you get the key into the keyhole, he receives a call. 

“Sorry, I have to take this, it’s my mum. I’ll wait for you here.” He says apologetic. 

“Okay, no problem. We’ll be right back.”

You tug Bowie with you and walk towards the elevator. You take your time to make a mental list of all the things you have to prepare for his little extravaganza. As soon as the door to your flat shuts, you can’t help but share your thoughts aloud.

“What the fuck?”

Bowie just barks as an answer. 

You start by taking his food and putting it into a bag, along with some treats and more poop-bags just in case. Some dog bowls for his water and food and a few of his toys. You also take his bed, even though he probably won’t sleep in it, but just so he has something familiar in a foreign house. 

“Do you want to bring something else?”

As soon as you ask, he goes into your room and comes back dragging his favourite blanket. Okay, he’s so smart. You take it from his mouth and fold it so you can put it into the bag, and then take a look around to check if you’re missing something.

“Okay, Bow, I think that is all. Now, a talk before your first night away from mama.” He sits expectantly looking at you. “I know that you are a really good boy, so you’re gonna behave. Make sure to listen to Harry and don’t do much barking, okay?”

He barks as a response.

“Yeah, that’s not what you’re gonna do.”

You take all of his things and go back to Harry, who seems to have finished his call and is just looking around the area curiously. You smile at him as soon as he spots you and he smiles back. Bowie runs towards him and almost makes you fall, making Harry take a step forward quickly and grab your arm.

“Woah, are you okay?” He grabs both of your arms then tries to stabilize you.

“Oh, yeah. I think someone’s excited for a sleepover.”

You both laugh and he reaches to take the bag from your shoulders and algo the dog bed. 

“Here, let me take that. Anything I should know?”

“You have his food and his bowls inside the bag. It’s usually one cup of food at night and another cup in the morning. I also put some of his treats in case you want to give him some, but don’t give him too much, even if he gives you the puppy eyes. There are also some toys for him to play with and his blanket, he’s really attached to it so he will probably want to sleep with it. And I think that would be it. Do you have any questions?”

“No, I think you’ve covered it all, actually. What time do you get off tomorrow? Just so I know when I can drop him off.”

“I’m usually back home at around 8:30, so if it’s not much of a bother you could drop him off around that time? Day Shifts are a little bit different, I usually leave home at around 7:15 in the morning and come back at around 8:30 at night.”

“Okay, no problem, I will bring him tomorrow at that time.” He makes a move to take Bowies’ leash “I will give you my number in case you need something from me, or I need something from you.”

You nod your head and look at Bowie, who looks way too happy to be there. You’re nervous of how he will act with a stranger, if he will behave or if he will miss you, because you know for sure that you will miss him. You know that this will be what’s best for him, he won’t be alone and Harry actually looks like he knows what he’s getting into, even if you gave him an out on this craziness. You squat down to be at the same height as Bowie and give him a kiss on the head.

“I promise I will give you updates on him. I can send you pictures so you won’t miss him too much. I promise I will take good care of him, as if he was my own.”

“Thank you so much, I don’t know how I will repay you.”

He’s shaking his head and you’re not even finished talking. “No, there’s no need to repay me, really”

“Of course, I do. There has to be something I can do.” 

“No, I’m not going to accept it.”

“Well, then I’m not going to accept that you won’t accept it.”

He laughs and continues to shake his head. “Then I guess we are both stubborn people who won’t agree on this. Come one, no need for anything, you will be late for work if we continue with this nonsense.”

“Okay, yeah.” You agree and lean again to leave a final kiss into Bowie’s head. “Behave, I’ll see you tomorrow.” You stand back up and look at Harry, “thank you, Harry, really.”

“It’s my pleasure. Here, give me your phone.”

You take it from your pocket, open it and give it to him. Soon he’s typing away and a bit later you can hear his phone ringing and then it stops. He returns your phone and you smile at him.

“Have a great shift.” 

“Thank you. I hope you have a good night with him, I will be waiting for those updates.”

He makes sure he has everything he needs and then he turns around and starts walking away with Bowie tagging along, who occasionally looks back to see if you’re following behind, and it breaks your heart in a thousand pieces. As soon as they turn around the corner, you turn back around and head back to your apartment. This is the first time you leave him for a long period of time with another person, and you’re scared of how he’ll react to it and how it will affect him. You try to busy yourself getting ready to head to work and try not to think about how the flat is completely alone and Bowie is not there. 

The first update comes one hour into your shift. You find it funny how he saved himself in your  contacts, as “Bowie’s sitter (Harry)”. He texts a picture of Bowie sitting next to a very clean food bowl and his tongue is out mid lick.

“Just got dinner!” is attached to the picture. You only have time to reply with a heart before you’re swiped into an emergency surgery, and by the time you get out, it’s well past 3 a.m. and there are three pictures of Bowie waiting for you. 

One of him lying on the sofa watching television. You can see a bit of Harry’s leg as he’s lying next to him. The message next to the photo is, “I’ve heard Bluey works wonders for dogs, although I don’t know who’s enjoying it more, me or him.” You react to that with a laughing emoji. 

Next is a picture of Bowie with a toy on his mouth, bum up as if he was playing, and it comes again with another message. “A little play before bed.”

And last one in one of Bowie lying in bed, probably Harry’s but you try not to go too deep into that thought, and he’s resting on a pillow and has his blanket wrapped around him. You smile at how relaxed he looked. “Goodnight mum, see you tomorrow, have a good rest of the shift. -B”

You truly miss him, but you can see that he’s been having a great time with Harry, and you could not be happier. 

You get back into your shift and focus on what’s in front of you. You don’t stop at all, and by the time the shift ends, you cannot help but sigh, it’s been a long one. You change your clothes and say goodbye to a few of your coworkers before making your way home. You receive a picture of Bowie with his leash on and waiting by a door. 

“Onto our morning walk just after having breakfast, see you in a bit.”

You smile and reply. “Just got out of my shift and on the way home. See you guys in a bit.”

By the time you arrive, you have time to leave your things at home and clean the dishes you took to work, and when you receive a text from Harry announcing he’s downstairs, you head down to see your favourite boy. 

Bowie sprints as soon as he sees you and you cannot help but laugh.

“Hi, my love. I missed you so much. Did you have a great time with Harry?”

You squat down and he starts giving you kisses all over your face. Harry laughs at the sight.

“We had a really good time, he’s such a nice dog. Zero complains, honestly.” 

“Thank you again for looking after him, Harry. You have no idea how nice it was to think that he was being taken care of instead of being alone at home, it made me stop thinking I was a bad dog mum.”

“Oh, don’t joke with that. You’re not a bad mum. You would be if you had no worries about him at all. Don’t think of yourself like that.”

You smile at him, and you get up from the ground and immediately hug him. When you realize what you’re doing you quickly step back.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to invade your space just like that. I just wanted to say thank you.”

He smiles and takes you back in to give you a proper hug. “You don’t have to be sorry.”

Bowie barks and that makes you break apart. Harry proceeds to tell you everything they did together and he’s returning everything he took with him. He tells you that he has already eaten, he did his business on his way home and will probably be okay until later for another walk. He tells you about how he took almost all the space in his bed and how Bowie had to sleep next to him all the time. 

“Thank you so much, Harry. I really don’t know how I could repay you.” You tell him as you begin to walk towards your door.

He stops and smiles. “Maybe you could go on a date with me.”

You blush immediately, and you smile shyly. “Okay, you’ve got yourself a deal.”

He smiled and shook his head. “Have a good sleep and good rest of your day. I’ll text you later.” 

You smile and wish him a good day too and head into the building with Bowie. You put everything in its place, put on your pajamas, and flop into your bed. Bowie is not much behind before he comes along tugging his blanket and takes his spot on the bed. 

You go to sleep with a smile.