You adopt a dog while Gwilym is away shooting for a movie and forgot to tell him an important piece of information.
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A/N: Hey guys! This is one of my first tries at writing fan fiction. I’ve written some in the past but I’ve never really posted it. So, here we go! I’ll be sure to add a continue reading thing in the morning/next time I’m on my laptop since I’m on mobile right now. Xoxo
You were sitting up in your shared bed, reading a book you had found at Barnes & Nobel. Okay, not found, you had gone in looking for it. It was Marley & Me and yes, you saw the movie when it came out and knew how it ended but you had been putting off reading the book for years because of that. You set the book down in your lap, looking over at your newly adopted friend, Argo. He was a black lab mix, his muzzle greying from age. He had been in the shelter for a while and one of your Facebook friends had shared his “mug shot,” as you liked to call it, the shelter pleaing for someone to adopt the old boy before he was to be “destroyed.” The thought made you shudder, your eyes watering a bit. Argo looked back up at you, shuffling closer at hearing your shudder, nosing at your hand. You smiled, petting him before hearing the front door click, signaling someone had come home. Gwilym hopefully, you thought, a wave of nerves hitting your gut for a second. You tended to watch too many true crime shows when you were on your own, okay you did in general, and it put you on high alert.
Argo’s head snapped up and he let out a deep woof, scrambling off of the bed and standing at the door of the bedroom in a protective manner. You had adopted him a few weeks ago and the two of you were already almost inseparable. There was just one thing-
“What the hell?” You heard Gwilym almost yell from the living room. “Y/N?” He called, his voice carrying through the shared flat.
“In here!” You called over Argo’s rather angry barking, scrambling up from your spot on the bed to grab at the dog’s collar. You pulled him away, telling him to sit. Argo obliges, a growl escaping him as he sat between your legs.
Gwilym opened the door, letting out a surprised shout at the rather large, black dog in front of him. “Y/N, what the hell is-“ Argo started to bark again, moving standing guard in front of you, though you still had a tight grip on his collar. “-that!”
“Argo?” You offered, the dog glancing back at you at the mention of his name. “Argo, down!” You all but snapped, the dog suddenly quieting down. Huh, the training worked, you thought proudly to yourself before coming back to reality. “Gwilym, I need to tell you something-“
“Tell me something?!” He all but laughed at the absurdity of that statement because yeah, you obviously had failed to tell him something, that something being a damn dog. Argo growled once more.
“Gwil, calm down, he doesn’t like men..” You tried to calm down your boyfriend, patting the black dog’s rather blocky head as you spoke. Argo leaned his head up into your touch but kept his eyes trained on Gwilym.
Gwilym took a steadying breath, wearily staring back at Argo before his blue eyes looked up to meet yours. “Why is there a dog in our bedroom?” He asked now, his voice now calmer but it still had a stern undertone.
You grinned sheepishly, a small shrug leaving your shoulders. “I missed you? I was lonely? And he- he was going to die, Gwil!” You tried to play in to his emotions. You knew it was manipulative and you know you should have told him, at least ran the idea past him so if he came home to a dog here he wouldn’t be completely caught off guard.
Gwilym thought for a moment before he moved to set his suitcase down. He crouched in front of the dog, sticking his hand out towards him. Argo leaned forward, well, as much as he could with your hold on him, sniffing at the tall man before he calmed down a bit, his tail starting to wag. “See? I’m okay.” He said rather softly, his tone completely different than just a bit ago. He looked up at you again, now petting Argo, and you let the dog go with a relieved sigh. Gwilym looked between you and Argo, and you felt a tear slip down your cheek. You hadn’t even realize your eyes had been welling up during the whole encounter. He sighed, standing back up now. “Y/N..” he started but you cut him off.
“I know.” You said, your voice cracking. You cleared your throat, nodding as you sniffled, more tears starting to fall from your eyes. “I know, Gwil.”
“Know what?” Gwilym frowned now, hesitating a moment before he reached over, wiping the tears from your face. “Y/N, all I’m going to say right now is that we have to talk about this. I’m not saying..anything else yet.” He finished, glancing at the now releaxed dog. Argo had wedged himself next to you again, his head under your hand. You almost held onto it, the presence of the normally quiet dog calming you.
You looked up at him, your eyes hopeful. “Not yet?” You cracked a small smile, moving to hug your boyfriend as you sniffled. “Also.. welcome back. I missed you.” You said after a moment, Gwilym shaking his head as he returned your embrace.
“I missed you too.” He returned, pulling away and moving to sit on the edge of the Queen size bed. You moved to sit next to him, Argo watching you both with interest before he laid at your feet, once again sniffing Gwilym with interest. “Now, please tell me why you,” he looked at you, “adopted?” He questioned, and you gave a nod, before he continued, “ah, Argo.” The dog perked up at his name.
“From the beginning?” You asked, and Gwilym gave a small sound of encouragement. “Well, Tracie, she shared him on Facebook and-“ You crawled over to where your phone had been charging, set on your bedside table before returning to Gwilym’s side. You felt yourself relax as he wrapped an arm around you once you sat back down with your phone. You went to Tracie’s page, letting Gwilym read Argo’s post.
“Argo, 7 years old, Black Lab Mix
Meet Argo! He’s one of our oldest residents (in both age and time here) which means his time is almost up here (he will no longer be available after the 17th of May). He is a sweet boy with a checkered past, which makes him unsure of most men so a home with a woman would be best. He is Heartworm Negative, has been neutered, is up to date on all shots and because this boy is 7, he qualifies for our Adopt A Senior program! Will you be this big guy’s new best friend?” Below the text was a picture of Argo, his eyes empty of all hope. He was laying in a cage with a cement floor and matching walls.
Gwilym cringed a bit while reading the text of the post before he tapped on the photo. He looked between it and the now very much happy dog before him. “They don’t even look like the same dog, Y/N.” He said, his voice soft. “When did you get him?”
You reached up to Gwilym’s hand on your shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. “The 17th.” You said, petting Argo with your foot. “I got there before they opened and the second they unlocked the door I said I wanted to meet him, and twenty minutes later I left with him.” You smiled down at the black dog and he opened his mouth, seeming to smile back up at you. “They said I was the only person to have shown interest in him, can you believe that?” You looked back up at Gwilym. “Apparently black dogs don’t get adopted as easily, and him being older didn’t help either. Seven isn’t even that old!”
Gwilym’s eyebrows furrowed as you stated the statistics you had found out before letting out a soft chuckle. “Okay.” He said after a moment, nodding.
“Okay? Okay what?” Your grip on his hand tightened.
“Okay. We can keep him.” Gwilym stated, leaning over to kiss your forehead. You opened your mouth but nothing came out. You found yourself letting out a relieved sob. He smiled fondly down at you, wiping away your tears with his free hand. “But you have to take care of him! Clean up after him and-“ he started to tease you but you cut him off, leaning up to smash a kiss against his lips. A surprised sound escaped Gwilym before he returned the kiss a second later, letting out a muffled laugh.
You pulled back from the kiss before hugging him tightly. “Thank you, Gwil.” You all but sobbed, your tears wetting his shirt. You felt him press a few more kisses into your hair.
“You’re welcome, love. Just tell me next time, yeah?” He joked before moving to get up, and you let him go. “I’m going to get ready for bed.” He nodded towards the attached bathroom.
You shuffled yourself back towards the top of the bed, patting the bed to signal to Argo for him to come up. The dog groaned before hopping up. “Hey, Gwil?”
“Yes, love?” Gwilym looked over at you and Argo, digging his pajamas out of the dresser.
“I love you.” You gave him a teary smile, giving Argo a pat before you picked up your book. “Thank you.”
“I love you too.” Gwilym smiled before he cast a glance at Argo. “Obviously.” He mumbled, moving towards the bathroom, causing you to let out a laugh.
