Page 126 of Should the Sky Fall

They make a stop atLost and Ground,since Dawson is certain they allow dogs. Gabe is, of course, beside himself when he sees Donut, cuddling him and letting him lick his face. Zeke has to ask him to come back and wash his hands several times. Dawson looks guilty for disturbing their workflow, but Gabe waves him off, saying they can bring their new pup any time.

As promised, Dawson buys Cal a bag of donuts, begging him not to eat them all at once. Cal promises he won’t. Dawson doesn’t look like he believes him.

Later, Donut lounges on the sofa with them while they watch a movie. The little devil strategically uses his body as a barrier between Dawson and Cal, and he growls menacingly every time Cal tries to move closer to Dawson. Cal ends up banished to the end of the sofa. Dawson mouths ‘sorry’, but doesn’t do anything to remedy the situation, so Cal just makes peace with his fate. He will no longer have the luxury of having all of Dawson for himself.

After the movie, he watches Dawson clean Donut’s eyes and put the treatment in it for the first time. It looks uncomfortable, especially when Dawson runs a Q-tip around Donut’s eyelids, but Donut holds perfectly still. If it was Cal doing this to him, he’d lose a finger or two.

That evening, when Dawson goes for a run (which he didn’t manage that morning) he takes Donut with him. ‘To tire him out’, as he put it. It turns out that Donut likes exercise and running, which, according to Dawson, is usually hit or miss with dogs of his breed. At least now Dawson has a running partner, since Cal isn’t quite ready for that yet. He would only slow Dawson down.

When they go to turn in for the night, they find Donut spread out on their bed. They exchange a look, Dawson silently asking him if it’s okay. Cal rolls his eyes and nods. The bed is huge, it will fit a smallish dog easily.

“So much for the dog bed,” Dawson says with a grin as they climb under the covers. Instantly, Donut gets up and walks up to Dawson, snuggling into him.

“It’s okay,” Cal says. “He just wants to be close to you.”

How relatable.

“Stay,” Dawson orders when Donut continues to squirm. He doesn’t quite manage to pull off that stern voice, but Donut looks up to him with worship and drops down on his hunches, then lies down. “Good boy.” He gets a scratch for that.

“Thank you,” Dawson says after a while. “I know I’ve said it a million times already but thank you.” He has an arm thrown over Donut and inches his hand towards Cal.

Cal takes it, squeezing it gently. “I just want you to be happy. Donut makes you happy. It’s quite simple.”

“And donuts makeyouhappy.”

Cal chuckles. “They do.”

“Oh, I forgot to tell you. I booked a Paint ‘n’ Sip session for us. It’s on Monday.”

“You did?” It’s been in the back of Cal’s mind since they passed by the studio, but since Dawson has never brought it up, Cal hasn’t either. “What are we painting?”

Detaching his phone from the charger, Dawson browses through it, the light from the screen illuminating his face. Once he’s found what he’s looking for, he offers it to Cal.

“It looks simple, but there’s a reason why the sessions are three hours long.”

“Believe me, simple is good. But you might get bored.”

Dawson’s definition of simple is vastly different from Cal’s. The painting is one of a desert with dunes of different shapes and sizes. The setting sun paints the sky different colors and casts shadows over the sand. There’s also a camel and some cacti.

Simple, his ass.

“Nah,” Dawson says. “It will be…interesting to hold a brush again.”

Cal gives him the phone back. “I’m looking forward to it.” Even if his painting will be unrecognizable from the original.

Dawson reaches for his hand once more. “Me too.”

Cal’s bladder wakes him up in the middle of the night. He pulls the covers back and climbs out of bed, careful not to wake Dawson. Donut is pressed up against him as he was when they fell asleep, snoring lightly. Cal’s heart does a little flutter at the sight, even though he wishes it was him pressed against Dawson like that.

After relieving himself and washing his hands, he returns to bed. Or attempts to.

“Um…hello?” Donut must have seen an opportunity and rolled over to Cal’s side of bed, giving him a look of utter loathing. “Sorry, can I have my spot back?” he whispers, trying to nudge Donut gently out of the way and nearly losing his hand in the process. “No? That’s fine. Can I have my pillow at least?” If he lies down the other way around, keeping close to the foot of the bed, he might fit in.

Donut lets out a hellish growl when Cal touches the pillow.

“Okay. Alright. All yours.” He holds his hands up, backtracking slowly.

Admitting defeat, he goes to sleep in the guest room instead, leaving the door open wide in case Dawson starts looking for him. The mattress feels pretty much the same, but it will be strange not to sleep next to Dawson. What if he’ll have to sleep here from now on? What if he’s not allowed in his own bed anymore?