LX
"Oh, my god, Axel!" I squeal and hug the puppy closer to me. "You got me a puppy! How did you know that I love dogs?" I ask him while still adoring the small fur ball in my hands.
It licks my cheek and I laugh.
"Because puppies are literally the only thing you ever post on Twitter." he chuckles and I grin at him. "I know you'd probably prefer like a Chihuahua or something but God, I don't even fucking want to imagine living with a small annoying dog like that. It just doesn't go well with me. So, I got us a Husky." he explains and comes to sit down on the bed next to me, petting the small dog. "Enjoy him while he's still small."
I grin at him and climb in his lap, pressing kisses all over his face, saying "Thank you" after each kiss and he just laughs at me.
"I'm taking you like the gift?" he asks and I nod enthusiastically, taking the small puppy in my hands.
"Yes! It's perfect! Is it a boy or a girl?" I ask while Axel runs his fingers up and down my back.
"A boy. I took him so that he won't have babies and stuff." he explains.
"He's gonna be hard to control, right?" I ask and Axel inclines his head on the side, slowly nodding. "A bit."
"That's okay." I say. "I have plenty of experience with beings who are incredibly hard to control." I smirk at him and he frowns.
"Hey! I got you a puppy and you're already mean to me?"
I giggle and kiss his nose. "Sorry, I just had to say that. It was too good of an opportunity to miss."
I lean back into his chest and take the puppy in my hands. "What should we name him?"
"He's your gift. Name him whatever you'd like, just let it be manly."
"Okay, what about a Cupcake?" I ask and he shakes his head.
"I literally just said that he has to have a manly name and the first think you suggest is Cupcake?"
"What's wrong with Cupcake?" I ask.
"He'll grow up to be bigger than you when on his back legs. His name can't be Cupcake. Plus, it's offending for him, he's probably gonna lose his balls anyway, I don't want him to lose his dignity too."
"Okay, fine. What about Wolfie? He looks like a wolf." I suggest.
"Okay, I like that. Wolfie. But he's gonna be Wolf when he's grown."
I roll my eyes. "You're such a dork. I don't even want to think about what naming a child with you would be like."
He stiffens up and I frown in confusion. "What's wrong?" I ask.
He opens his mouth, and closes it, then repeats. "Let's not talk about this right now, okay?" he finally says and I look at him for a few moments.
Somehow, I have a feeling this could be a problem for us in the future.
I let if go for now, though. "Fine."
And then my phone rings.
Axel stands up and goes to get it for me, looking at the Caller ID to see who's calling. "It's your mum." he says and looks at me, his mouth a thin line. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to."
"No, it's okay." I gulp and outstretch my arm. He hands me the phone and I answer, his hands on my thigh, watching me with worried eyes.
"Hi mum." I say and close my eyes.
"Hey, sweetie. Happy Birthday." she says, her voice sounding like she has aged 10 years since I've spoken to her, but it calms me deeply, and I realize just how much I've missed her.
"Thanks, mum. How are you?"
"I-um, I've been better." she answers, her voice breaking at the end. "Your father left, I have no idea where he is, I haven't seen him since the day after you left."
"What?" I exclaim. "He just left? Just like that?"
"Yeah, he didn't even say goodbye." She sniffs.
"I'm so sorry mum." I tell her, looking at Axel who's giving me a questioning look.
"I called to see if you wanted to come by today, to celebrate your birthday you know." she says. "At least for a few minutes."
"Um, let me just ask Axel, okay?" I tell her and she replies with a quiet "yes."
I put my hand over the speaker and look at him with puppy eyes. I really want to see my mum, but I have no idea if he's planned anything.
"What?" he asks.
"Mum asked if we would come by to see her a bit, to celebrate." I tell him and he purses his lips in thought.
"Your dad?" he asks and I shake my head.
"He left. Mum has no idea where he is. He won't be there today."
He exhales, visibly relaxing. "Okay, then. It's fine with me, if that's what you want. I was planning a little trip for us and Wolf, but we can go some other time." he tells me and I can see that he's disappointed because he wanted to go.
"No, we can go today." I quickly say, not wanting him to be sad. "It would be just an hour or so."
A grin spreads on his face. "Well, okay then."
I'm dying to know where he was planning to take us, so I quickly tell mum that we'll come by, her letting out an excited squeal, and then say bye.
As soon as I put the phone down, I look at him with expectant eyes. "Where are we going?"
He smirks. "It's a surprise."
"Noooo, don't do this to me. Please, just tell me where."
"Uh-huh. You'll see when we get there."
I groan and throw a pillow at his head, making him laugh. "You're such an ass." I tell him and he covers Wolfie's ears.
"Shhh, no cursing in front of the child."