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The box in Clarke’s hand shook and yipped, vibrating with the tiny life inside.
“Quiet!” she begged to the cardboard, closing the door behind the Griffin clan with her legs as soon as Serah and the twins were inside.
“Can I hold it?”
“Did it pee?”
“We need a name.”
Clarke looked from Aden to Jake and Serah, all eager to hold the puppy they found in an abandoned box in the parking lot on their way back from the mall.
Hearing more voices, the scrawny mutt inside the box barked the tiniest bark, pushing his head through the opening in the box.
“Oh my God, quiet!” Clarke whispered to the little thing, which called the attention of the old cat sleeping by the mantle.
Quiet, the cat, raised her head, blinked slowly at the scene, uninterested, and stretched lazily.
“Do you think Quiet will accept it?” Serah, in all her teenage glory, went to the stoic cat and forced some love, hugging the old cat, who snuggled under her chin for exactly one second before trying to escape her hold. “It’d be fun if they played together.”
“Let’s try to introduce them slowly, alright?” Clarke tapped the dog’s head until he sat back inside the box, not risking him jumping out of it in the middle of their living room.
Especially on top of the rug Lexa had bought on Black Friday—she would strangle Clarke if the dog peed on it.
Clarke wasn’t sure if her neck wasn’t already in trouble just by the fact that she left home with the kids to give Lexa some needed peace—she was working hard in the office as they spoke, something about a new case—and came back not only with sugar-high pups, but apparently, a dog as well.
Said dog barked again, his caramel head peeking from the box once more.
“We need to feed it!” Aden declared, running to the kitchen and searching through cabinets with all of his eight-year-old coordination.
“Does he eat cereal?” Jake followed his brother, golden eyebrows knitted in concentration as he started to debate with his brother if Froot Loops or Frosted Flakes would be better for the dog.
“He doesn’t eat cereal,” Serah corrected her siblings, loosening her hold on Quiet so the cat could jump to freedom. “He needs meat.”
Clarke, who briefly looked at the office door and sighed in relief seeing it closed, walked into the kitchen. “We have some chicken for tonight. Serah, can you cut it in little pieces?”
“I wanna cut it!” Aden said with two cereal boxes against his chest.
“Can you two put the cereal back please,” Clarke asked, eyeing the boxes in Aden’s arms. “And let’s all try and be quiet for a moment. I need to introduce this”—she eyed the puppy who once more had his head poking from the box—“to your mom very delicately.”
The cat, always silent, strolled to the kitchen and started to rub herself against Clarke’s legs.
“Here, Aden, help me with this.” Serah had already gotten the chicken from the fridge, and both kids focused on preparing it while Jake was on his tiptoes getting the cereal boxes back in place.
Clarke scratched the puppy’s head with two fingers. It was not the cutest puppy; it was definitely underweight and had been through a lot.
A perfect addition to the family.
She looked around the kitchen, saw Serah cutting the chicken breast while Aden 'supervised’, and Jake was almost getting the boxes up on the shelf.
Things would be alright.
Funny how she actually thought that.
It all happened so fast Clarke would have a hard time trying to explain how it went down.
First, the predator of the house—the nine-year-old calico—jumped on the table with her huntress stealth, zeroing on the box and sniffing around it. Clarke thought about getting her down, but maybe it would be a good idea to let Quiet be introduced to the doggo.
It wasn’t a good idea.
The loud hiss from the cat made all the Griffins jump—not used to many sounds coming from her. The dog yipped, scared, jumping from the box at the sight of raised hackles, extended claws and dilated pupils.
Quiet jumped to one side of the table and the puppy to the opposite, both animals scaring the heck out of each other.
The puppy landed on the chicken tupperware, and chicken flew everywhere while Serah yelled, and Aden watched, fascinated, as the puppy grabbed the fattest piece and stuck his tiny teeth into it.
Losing his balance, Jake tripped and colorful corn flakes flew from the shelf, raining cereal all over the kitchen floor.
Clarke didn’t know who she should help first: Jake, who was now on the floor complaining about his butt; Serah, who still held the kitchen knife and took a step back to watch the dog go at it on what was supposed to be part of their dinner; or the dog himself who seemed so desperate eating it, he would end up choking himself.
“What is going on here?”
And then Lexa’s voice cut through Clarke’s mind, and Clarke knew she was in trouble.
Quiet, now protected behind Lexa’s legs, hissed with her ears back at Clarke but looked up lovingly at Lexa.
The little traitor.
“Babe!” Clarke first took the chicken out of the puppy’s mouth, her steps crunching cereal on the floor.
“Is that our dinner?” One perfect eyebrow rose at Clarke, Lexa’s jaw set and her arms crossed.
The dog barked his protest.
“Mom we got a dog!” Jake stood up from the floor, his blue eyes bright in excitement.
“He’s super cool,” Aden added, pointing to the culprit in Clarke’s hands.
“We found it in the parking lot,” Serah offered sheepishly, heat rising to her cheeks since, unlike her brothers, she knew Lexa wasn’t pleased with the situation.
“And what did mommy say about it?” Arms crossed, Lexa fixed her eyes on Clarke, and the alpha gulped. Green, steely and focused. Clarke had to think fast.
The dog chose that moment to pee, pee in Clarke’s hands, the yellow liquid dripping on the floor, his small tail between his legs.
“Ew!” Jake and Aden said at the same time while Serah offered her sire paper towel.
Lexa’s lips were in a thin line, and Clarke wasn’t sure if she was fighting back a smile or a frown. Quiet jumped on the window sill and stretched, her interest in the commotion gone.
Clarke—puppy at arm’s length from her body, cereal underneath her shoes and chicken on the floor—widened her eyes. “I can explain.”
Lexa hummed, adjusting her arms but maintaining them crossed. “I’m all ears.”
“We found it in a box,” Jake offered to help his sire.
“Is that the same box?” Lexa pointed to the battered box on the table. “Clarke,” she admonished. “You didn’t bring a flea-infested box into my kitchen, did you?”
Yeah, Clarke was in trouble.
“You’re all cleaning this,” Lexa pointed to the kitchen area. “Bathing the dog, making dinner…”
So far so good, Clarke thought.
“And bathing Quiet. She could have fleas already.”
Yep, that wouldn’t be as easy.
“When you’re done, you and me.” She focused on Clarke again. “At the office. To talk.”
Lexa stepped away from the kitchen, and they heard the office door closing.
“It wasn’t so bad,” Serah tried, tiptoeing her way to the laundry room.
Clarke gingerly put the dog back on the table. “Quite the raucous for such a little guy.”
After cleaning everything and showering, Clarke donned a red and green sweater and, with a deep breath, knocked on Lexa’s office door.
Lexa didn’t respond, but Clarke opened the door slowly. Lexa’s head was down, eyes on her notebook as she scribbled notes. She raised a finger in the air, and Clarke obeyed, silently taking the seat in front of Lexa’s desk.
Lexa finished her note and stared up at Clarke, one hand resting on her chin.
It was kind of cute.
“A dog?” Lexa asked, exasperated.
“It will teach them responsibility,” Clarke argued, her chin dimple showing. “They take good care of Quiet.”
“Serah and I take good care of Quiet,” Lexa corrected. “When was the last time you cleaned her litter box?”
Clarke was distracted by a sharp eyebrow rising, Lexa’s head turning to the side.
“The twins are getting older. They can handle it.”
“If we say yes today, we cannot take it back.”
“It will be their Christmas present!”
Lexa sat back on her chair, stretching. “So I can return the PS5?”
“No!” Clarke shrieked, clearing her throat and blushing when Lexa once more raised one eyebrow at her. “I mean, they deserved it.”
“Right.” With a deep breath, Lexa tucked a strand of hair that escaped her high ponytail. “If I see any pee, poop or things getting chewed, I’m taking it to the shelter,” Lexa stated, finger pointed at Clarke.
“Yes ma’am.” Clarke saluted, making Lexa chuckle.
“Was it really abandoned in a box?” Lexa stood, falling into the offered embrace when Clarke followed.
“Shivering like a leaf,” Clarke replied, kissing the side of Lexa’s forehead when she rested it on her shoulder.
“You better take care of it.” Lexa’s voice was muffled against Clarke’s collarbone.
“Yes ma’am.”
Snow fell lightly against the windows. At the bottom of the mattress, Quiet snuggled against the blanket and snored softly. Clarke had one hand over Lexa’s waist, who curled into a ball, enjoying being the little spoon on cold nights.
Without any warning, a small ball of fur jumped on their bed, small frame pawing his way over legs and blankets to stop on Lexa’s stomach, who had turned at the commotion.
“What’s going on?” the omega asked sleepily, her hair messy and everywhere.
Clarke, who realized what was happening pretty fast, turned to watch the puppy snuggle himself to Lexa’s torso.
“Dog’s here,” Clarke whispered, moving her hair out the way. “Don’t move.”
“What?” Lexa struggled to look down and find the cuddling dog making itself comfortable on her chest, right under her chin. “Clarke?” she whispered, not moving.
“That’s so cute,” Clarke cooed at the dog, scratching its back.
“Take it off!”
From Lexa’s feet, Quiet yawned and snuggled further away from the commotion.
“Look at it, Lexa.”
Lexa wiggled to look down, past her chin, and found the puppy breathing little puffs of air against her boob.
“He knows what’s good,” Clarke quipped, settling down on the bed once more.
“Clarke!”
The puppy opened its brown eyes to stare at Lexa, sleepy and vulnerable.
“Jesus Chirst,” the omega mumbled, one hand leaving the warmth of the blankets to pet the puppy. “He’s adorable.”
“Told you,” Clarke purred, one hand finding Lexa’s waist again.
“Just for tonight,” Lexa promised, enjoying the mini heater that fell asleep on her chest.
“Sure.”
It wasn’t just for one night.
It was a miracle that the Christmas tree was intact, what with the dog, cat and multitude of pups running around the living room.
Raven watched the chase, the light brown dog leading the line with Quiet hot on his heels, followed by Hannah, Jake and Aden. On the corner, Serah and Liam played UNO.
“So.” Raven sat down next to Clarke, offering her eggnog. “You got a dog.”
“Yep. Chicken Nuggets.”
“What?” the shorter alpha asked, taking a sip from her drink. “Chicken Nuggets?”
“Or just Mister Nuggets. Jake’s idea.”
“You let your kid name the dog. And he named it Chicken Nuggets.” Raven snorted into her mug.
Clarke made herself more comfortable on the couch, stretching her legs. “He made valid points.”
“Like what?”
“Like it’s hilarious,” Clarke said matter-of-factly as the train of dog, cat and pups came back from the kitchen to run another lap around their couch. The alphas barely flinched, and Lexa yelled something about cookies from the kitchen which made the entire entourage go back.
“Was Lexa okay with the dog?” Raven inquired, watching as Anya joined their eldests in the UNO game by the tree.
“The other day Lexa made me scooch to give the dog more space in our bed. Scooch away from her,” Clarke clarified, drinking her warm beverage.
“Look at you, already replaced,” Raven joked, smirk in place.
“Lexa has a soft spot for strays.”
“That she does.” Raven placed her arm around Clarke’s shoulder. “That big box under the tree.” She pointed to the arrangement of gifts. “PS5?”
“You bet.”
“I’m gonna kick your ass so bad.”
“You can barely shoot anything.”
“Just you wait.”
From her spot under the tree, Anya lifted her eyes from her cards. “Please,” she said to the alphas, her smile nothing but evil.
“I don’t play with you anymore, babe.” Raven raised both her hands in surrender.
“Count me out,” Clarke agreed, knowing Anya had a reputation for destroying them both in any game.
“Clarke!” Abby’s voice came from the kitchen, followed by laughter. “The dog puked in my kitchen!”
“Duty calls.” Raven smirked up at her friend. Clarke grimaced but stood up.
“I don’t know why you’re so happy,” she called back to Raven. “Your pups’ best friends will show them now how fun it is to have a dog.”
On cue, Hannah and the twins ran back from the kitchen, the dog—apparently recovered from indigestion—running along with them. Quietly, Quiet followed.
“I’m gonna kill you, Griffin,” Raven mumbled, following Clarke to the kitchen.
“With that aim of yours? Never.”
They heard more laughter from the living room, and Anya’s call of not under the tree!
And just like that, their little family grew a bit more.