“What isa dog doing in my bed?”
“His name is Zero,” Boogie said, as I woke up, still holding onto Ally.
“He’s your Christmas present,” I mumbled into her shoulder.
Zero took that moment to leap up onto her shoulder and lick her face. She squealed and I could see a hint of a smile on her face..
“What use do I have for this slobbery creature?” She tried pushing him away, but he made it his mission to lick her
It seemed Zero was also obsessed with Ally.
Same, little dude.
“He’s a good breed for protection,” Boogie said, leaning away from her. “We can ship him to Shepard in a few weeks and get him trained. Make him a killer.”
“Seriously?” Ally asked warily, as she petted the dog. “I should just get an army of you, so you don’t let in two back-stabbing assholes into my bed.”
“Ally,” Boogie sighed.
“Not today,” she whispered. “I was going to give you a call today to come and visit, but that's all this is. A visit. Nothing is happening from this.”
I clenched my jaw in anger. “Why invite us if nothing is going to happen?”
“It’s Christmas,” she stated, like that was a reasonable answer. “No one should be alone for Christmas.”
“I thought if I hid you away and fought all your wars for you, then I could keep you safe,” Boogie said softly.
“Boog—”
“I thought as long as you were alive then I could live with your anger because at least that meant you were still breathing,” he continued. “Losing you wasn't an option, and you were so hellbent on running into the fire that maybe saving you from yourself was the best course of action.”
“Boogie,” Ally snapped.
“I never in a million years thought you would walk away from us.” He kept talking as Ally’s wrath grew and I could practically feel her anger vibrating off of her. “It never occurred to me you would actually do it until you didn’t open that door, or snuck out of Doc’s or kept us out of Christmas town.”
“You locked me in a room, what the fuck did you expect Boogie? That I just roll over and open my legs for you?" She sat up.
“No, I just didn’t think you would shut us out completely,” he snapped, sitting up too. “I know I fucked up.”
“We fucked up, Ally,” I said, sitting up, wincing, my body still feeling like shit.
“Goddammit, King, please don’t tell me you rode your bikes here,” Ally sighed, pushing me on to my back.
I shook my head. “I might be an idiot, but no, Boogie drove us here.”
“You should be resting,” Ally scowled as she looked me over.
If I looked anything like how I looked this morning, then I know it wasn’t pretty. I still looked a little gauntly like I needed to sleep for a few weeks.
“Rest with us.” I pulled her back with me.
“Sounds like a great idea,” Boogie said, laying down too. “You can yell at us afterwards.”
“Guys,” Ally huffed, but didn’t resist us as we held her down to get comfortable.
“Consider this truce our Christmas gift,” Boogie mumbled.
“Too late, I've had your Christmas gift for weeks,” she huffed. “It was a red negligee with a bow on my ass and nipple clamps.”