Lucky’s Pet Spa - Brody
[First off, holy smokes! That is all. Now for the pet boi. This one is “soft” “whump” but Brody’s life isn’t/hasn’t/won’t always be so nice. Oh no no no no.]
CW: Dehumanization [big, systematic, full dehumanization.], Pet whump (muzzle, restraints, collar mention, implied human trafficking), referenced non-con drugging, touch starved whumpee, fully broken whumpee, lady whumper,
Word count: ~2,600
[Masterlist]
Samuel was greeted by a young woman when they entered the storefront.
“Hi! Welcome to Lucky’s Pet Spa. What can I help you with today?” He stepped up to the counter, Brody mere steps behind him.
“Hey. A friend recommended this place; do you guys take walk-ins?” She smiled and nodded at him.
“Yeah, I actually have an opening right now. Here, I’ll get you started. If you have the info of the friend who recommended us, you can get a free nail cleaning,” she said as she handed over a clipboard. Samuel grinned and took it.
“Hey Brody, give me your hand.”
The blond pet quickly obeyed, laying his hand on Samuel’s waiting one. Samuel held it up to examine his nails, twisting it around.
“Can I use that on this visit?”
“Yep!”
Samuel turned his attention to the clipboard, the leash loop sliding down his wrist and jiggling with the movement of his handwriting. The clip made a soft clinking sound as it swung against the pet’s tag and collar. The girl’s eyes shifted over to Brody, and he tried to hide behind Samuel.
“Hey there little guy. I’m Emma. I’ll be the one taking care of you today, Brody. Hmm?” She looked the Pet over more thoroughly.
Hmm, it clearly hasn’t been groomed in a while; maybe never, she thought as she surveyed the sandy blond hair falling over his eyes and around his ears. The muzzle was just the basic one, but the collar was nice; looked like it might have come from one of those boutiques. It was a saddle tan color, and looked well made. She smiled at the name-brand tee shirt and coral shorts Brody’s owner had put him in. “Brody” fits well.
His eyes were wide, and he looked terrified of her, still trying to sneak away from her gaze and hide behind his owner.
“Is this the first time its been to a groomer?” Samuel looked up blankly.
“Uh, I don’t know. It’s still pretty new.” He shrugged and finished up the last of the boxes. There was a sign on the wall with the different styles by length, and he stepped back to look at it.
“That’s okay, I’m pretty good with the new ones. Just a heads up, if we need to sedate it for some reason, there’s an extra charge and a fee.” Samuel reached over and grabbed Brody’s chin tightly, forcing eye contact.
“Brody, Behave. Got it?” The pet nodded frantically; eyes still wide. Samuel dropped his chin and Emma watched as Brody started to wind his hands into the hem of his shirt.
“How long is it going to take?” Samuel asked as he signed at the bottom and handing the clipboard back over. Emma looked it over, double checking everything was complete and which boxes he had checked. Thank god he didn’t want a bath. Those showers are a pain to clean.
“Should be less than an hour. You’re more than welcome to hang out in our waiting area and grab a cup of the free coffee.” Samuel waved his hand.
“Nah, I’ve got errands to run.”
He took the leash from his wrist and handed it over. Brody made a whimpering noise for the first time and looked desperately at Samuel. Emma took the leash and made a soft, comforting sound.
“Shh, Brody. It’s okay,” she said as she crossed around the desk and led the pet through the little white gate. “We’ll give you a call if we need anything.”
Samuel waved and mouthed be good one last time to Brody before he walked out.
Emma led Brody over to her salon chair, his head turned to the door the entire time, and sat him down. She clipped his collar onto the short lead on the headrest, and by the time she had turned around there were tears falling from his eyes and a soft whining sound coming from the back of his throat.
“Aw, Brody,” God it’s so cute. “Shh, it’s okay; he’s coming back. He just needed to run some errands.”
The Pet looked up at her with such big eyes, an expression that just screamed a pitiful, wordless, you promise? Emma awed again and put Brody’s wrists on the armrests so she could secure them. He didn’t fight or move, just let her place his hands however she wanted. She snapped the little plastic cuffs in place and gave him a pat on the leg.
“Good boy, Brody.”
Ugh, Emma thought as she rummaged around in her drawer, I hate this part. She took out her prod and hid it behind her back. She stood in front of him and waved one had off to the side.
“Hey Brody, can you be really still for me?” He nodded; eyes distracted by her fingers moving in the side of his vision. When he was looking at her hand, Emma pulled the prod from behind her back and poked it into his calf.
Brody’s eyes widened and his muscles jolted as he froze, but he didn’t move a fraction of an inch. Emma smiled and put the prod away.
“Good boy! Sorry honey, need to know if you can stay still on your own.” She made sure to keep her words light and her voice toned high; that always helped with the skittish pets. But honestly, it was easy with this one. It just has one of those faces that you have to babytalk to. God, its so cute. No, Emma, you know the deal with Ashley; no pets. No. Pets. But she would love this one.
She reached behind his head and unbuckled the muzzle. He obediently opened his mouth to release the bit when she pulled it away, and she dropped it in the little baggie by the armrest.
“There we go! Now I can see your little face,” she cooed as she rubbed his jaw and wiped away a couple tears. The second she touched his face, Brody melted into her touch and tried to rub his face into her palm. He didn’t get far, his neck secured to the headrest, but he still tried, and Emma couldn’t handle the cuteness.
She squished his cheeks and cooed at him as she reached into the pocket of her apron and pulled out one of the clear plastic mouth guards. She pulled the adhesive strips off and lined it up with his top lip.
“Keep your mouth closed, sweetheart.” She could hear the little click as he shut his teeth and it made her smile. She pressed the sticky part to the space above his lip and kept it taunt as she stuck the one side under his chin to the base of his neck. She folded the clear plastic sides around his chin and pressed the other sides down until it was stuck around his mouth. He could probably work it off if he tried hard enough, but she knew he wasn’t even going to try.
Brody’s eyes were wide and confused as he let out a tiny whine, the guard keeping his lips sealed. She combed the hair out of his eyes, feeling him relax in her hands.
“Sorry honey. I know you’re not going to bite me, but its an insurance thing.” She kept combing and let out a little laugh as his eyes closed and he let out a little contented huff. This is it. This is how I’m going to lose my job; I’m going to steal a pet. Brody? No, no this is Cody. Emma laughed to herself and pulled out her phone.
“Brody! Brody can you look up at me?” He looked up, and she snapped a quick picture. What was the point of working in a Pet salon if you couldn’t put the cute ones on your insta story? Plus, the owner liked pictures of before and after, and she knew his mop of hair would make a great example.
She mussed up his shaggy hair for the last time and scratched as his scalp as she posted the story and saved the pic. When Emma looked up, Brody’s head was circling slowly with the movement of her hand, eyes unfocused and droopy.
“You like that, huh? I think you’ll really like this then.”
She was right. By the time she had wet his hair and shampooed it, she had the sneaking suspicion he had fallen asleep. When she was done with the conditioner and the final rinse, she toweled up his hair up and knew she was right. He was entirely asleep, head rolling freely on his neck. She laughed and grabbed one of the supports they used on the sedated pets. As she placed it around his shoulders, his eyes slowly blinked open.
“Hey there, sleepy boy. Guess you really liked that, huh?” It took him a moment to wake up fully, and a few more for his words to register. He looked up at her blankly.
“You fell asleep for a second there, sweetheart,” she said has she moved behind him and started to dry off his hair. When she reached over for her blow-dryer, she heard a small sniff and glanced up in the mirror. Brody was crying. His face looked defeated; guilt bright in his eyes.
“Aw, honey, do you need permission to fall asleep?” Emma knew some pet owners did controlling stuff like that, although Samuel didn’t seem like the type. Brody nodded miserably and Emma wanted to scoop him up and take him home; angry girlfriend or not. She leaned down until she was in his line of sight and winked conspiratorially.
“I won’t tell if you won’t.” He looked up at her, eyes still brimming with tears. I won’t tell, but you’re going to the second you get home, aren’t you? She booped him on the nose and grabbed her blow-dryer.
Emma could tell that he was trying, hard, to keep his head up and neck straight. She didn’t want to make it any harder on him, so she didn’t tempt him with any more scratches or pats, just blow dried his hair and combed it out.
His owner had wanted a style that was much shorter; nearly buzzed on the sides with the top section a bit longer. Made the pet fit the name “Brody” even more than the clothes. She finished and brushed some of the stray strands away before she pulled off the little black cape. Emma scratched on the side of his face, and he leaned into it again.
“Good boy, Brody. You did so good for me! Here, let’s take another picture. We can even show your owner, so he can see how good you were.” Brody perked up and looked up even before she had her phone out. Oh, yeah, the boss is going to love this one.
Brody didn’t seem to like his nails being done as much as he had liked his hair, but he didn’t squirm or disobey. Emma talked to him as she cleaned out his nailbeds and clipped them, telling him about her day and what she and Ashley were planning for dinner.
Soon, she was done, and she opened the plastic restraints around his wrists and unclipped his collar from the lead. Shorter hair looked good on him, opening up his face more. Emma help him stand and clipped the leash back on. She brought him out to the waiting area, but Samuel was nowhere to be seen. Emma heard a little whimper from behind her and turned to see the pet’s fallen expression.
“Brody, it’s okay. We’re just done a little early. Here, you can wait in the play area,” she offered, petting the side of his face lightly. That seemed to help. She led him over to pen A, or as the groomers called it, the “good pen”. It had some cushions on the ground, along with a couple toys and a picture book. There was another pet in there, a girl one, who quickly looked up then away as she led Brody in. She unclipped his leash, and he sat down next to one of the cushions. Emma gave him one last pat before she left to clean up her station.
It’s funny, really, she thought as she looked over her shoulder at the waiting pens, there’s toys and cushions, but none of the pets touch them. I wish the owners would give them permission before they leave. When she was done, she took another glance as she returned to the counter. Brody and the girl pet were snuggled together now, a striking contrast to the pets in the pen next to them that pulled and yanked at the floor anchors, growling through their muzzles.
Emma stood on her tiptoes to sneak another picture through the plexiglass. She would crop it later.
~
Samuel took a swig of his iced coffee and checked his watch. Today had been productive. He took Brody to the groomers, returned that shirt that had been his car for months, stopped by the pet store, and even grabbed a coffee. Nice.
He walked back into the pet spa and saw the same girl at the counter. She waved to him.
“Hey! We’re all done. Lee, can you get the blond from pen A?” she called to another worker. Samuel put down his coffee and pulled out his wallet.
“How’d it do?” he asked as he handed over his debit card. Emma smiled.
“A perfect angel. Seriously, its so sweet!” She swiped the card and handed it back. “Please know, if you take it to another groomer, I will be jealous and cry myself to sleep.” Samuel laughed.
“Duly noted.” Emma handed over the little baggie with Brody’s muzzle and a complementary trial size of pet shampoo.
Brody was led out only a second later, excited eyes and smile pulling at the mouth guard.
“Well, well, well! Look at you. All nice and clean,” Samuel said as he took the leash back. He picked up one of Brody’s hands to examine his freshly cut nails.
“Oh! I almost forgot. We take pictures sometimes and I thought that you’d like to see.” Emma turned the monitor around, a split screen of Brody’s before and after photos. The first where he seemed a little scared and teary eyed, and the second where he looked much more comfortable and alert. Great promotional material.
“I can send them to you, if you want. Also, can we get your permission to use them on our website or promotional material?” Samuel smiled wide.
“Of course! I’ll make sure to tag you guys online and send anyone who asks your way,” he said as she ran his hand through Brody’s much shorter hair. The style was perfect; looked well cared for with no daily maintenance or product. “Say goodbye, Brody.”
Brody lifted one hand shyly before he tried to hide behind Samuel like he had in the beginning. Emma just laughed.
“Bye sweetheart. See you later!”
Samuel walked him over to the waiting room and sat down. Brody kneeled in front of him, laying his chin on Samuel’s knees.
“Here, we’ve got to put your muzzle on before we go outside,” he murmured as he ripped the plastic guard off the Pet’s face. Brody winced and gave a little whimper, but he didn’t pull away. The skin where the adhesive had been was already turning red and irritated. Samuel pulled out his muzzle, and Brody didn’t resist, opening his mouth automatically for the bit. When it was buckled back on, Samuel pulled out something else from his shopping bag.
“Here! I got something for you today.”
He clipped the little bell onto the ring that held Brody’s tag. It jingled softly as it rolled against the boy’s clavicle. Samuel smiled at the noise and flicked it.
“Let’s go home.”
~~~
ALL THE NAMES. @poisonedbymagic @sola-whumping @haro-whumps @deluxewhump @whumpzone @castielamigos-whump-side-blog @simplygrimly @whumpsy-daisies @whumptywhumpdump @crys-whump-sideblog @welcome-to-the-whumpfest @pineapple-heartache @whumpiestofthemall @much-ado-about-whumping
