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“Bjorn?” Askeladd called out as he stepped into the apartment, hanging his jacket up as he scanned the vicinity for the man in question. He found him curled up on the couch, a stuffed lamb tucked under his arm, still wearing his pajamas, though now he was also wearing a black leather collar that Askeladd had gifted him for his last birthday, complete with a little bone-shaped tag with his name on it. Bjorn sure did know how to spend a day off.
Askeladd smiled warmly and ambled over to greet Bjorn properly with some gentle scratches behind his ear, making the larger man hum happily. “Did my puppy have a good day being sleepy?” He cooed in much the same tone one would use when speaking to a real dog. Bjorn nodded and gave a hum of affirmation as he sat up to stretch, yawning while he did so.
“How was work?” Bjorn asked, leaning into Askeladd’s hand as he continued petting his hair.
“Oh you know, boring as always, and just as stupid.” He then turned to make his way towards the bathroom so that he could shower, and Bjorn gladly followed right behind him. He sat himself on the bathroom floor and simply watched as Askeladd stripped down, folded his clothes despite the fact that they would soon be tossed into the wash anyway, and then turned on the water. He noticed how much clingier Bjorn could be when he was having a dog day, but like hell he was going to say a damn thing about it. That man made a fantastic pet.
Once the water was warm enough, Askeladd stepped into the shower, immediately sighing with relief as he felt the stress of the day wash right off. He took his time washing up, humming to himself and taking a short moment to fully appreciate the fact that he was home now. Meanwhile, Bjorn was almost falling back asleep, slumped back against the door. The warmth of a steam-filled bathroom and the soft sound of Askeladd humming some tune he didn’t quite recognize were just too soothing. Maybe it didn’t help matters that he was woken up from a nap only moments prior.
When he heard the water shut off, Bjorn immediately perked back up and stood to retrieve Askeladd’s towel for him. He patiently waited right on the other side of the curtain for Askeladd to accept the towel, rewarding him with a “Good boy,” and grabbing his collar to pull him down for a kiss before securing the towel around his waist and sauntering to their bedroom to dry off and get dressed. As loyal as always, Bjorn followed, only to curl up in bed to watch Askeladd pick out some clean house clothes.
“Lazy dog,” Askeladd playfully scolded as he threw on a pair of boxers and then sweatpants, electing to leave the outfit completed there, “Have you eaten yet?” He approached the bed to reach under the larger man’s shirt and rub his stomach.
“Not yet.” Bjorn answered, stretching his limbs and making no move to get up while Askeladd was still petting him. If he were being honest with himself, Askeladd wasn’t only doing this for Bjorn’s benefit. The belly rubs were merely a good excuse to stay put and admire his puppy’s stomach. Thick, muscular, and covered with a nice layer of fat. Plus enough hair to keep the both of them warm at night. After another few moments of petting, Askeladd leaned down to place a few kisses on Bjorn’s belly, then stood back up to make his way to the kitchen, leaving Bjorn to whine at the loss of his touch.
Bjorn stretched once more before standing up to join Askeladd in the kitchen, choosing to sit on the floor to watch as the other man prepared the leftovers of the dinner Bjorn had made the night before. He typically did most of the cooking around their apartment. Not because Askeladd couldn’t, they simply agreed by now that Bjorn was better at it. Askeladd picked up a slice of carrot and held it out for Bjorn to sniff, only to pull it away when he tried to eat it from his hand, smirking down at him teasingly.
“Speak.” Askeladd ordered, holding the carrot slice in Bjorn’s sight and out of his reach. Bjorn let out his best Bark! and looked up at the other man with an eager sort of hope, as if to silently ask, “Didn’t I do good?” .
“Good boy,” Askeladd sweetly praised as he fed the morsel to his pet, chuckling when Bjorn lightly bit his finger. He gave the larger man a pat on the head before turning his attention back to reheating their food. While he waited for the microwave, he reached into the cabinet to retrieve a plate for himself, as well as a metal bowl with Bjorn’s name intricately engraved on it. Not that he would ever admit it, but Askeladd was nothing if not a doting dog dad.
Bjorn whined in anticipation when the microwave beeped, and Askeladd smiled just ever so slightly as he divided the food up between them. He set Bjorn’s bowl down on the floor next to the table as he himself took a seat to begin eating, though first he took a moment to simply watch the other man eat, kneeling over his bowl and not bothering to use his hands. It was honestly rather impressive that he could eat like that and not get his face too dirty, or even the floor for that matter. He reached down to pet him once more before turning his attention to his own plate.
As usual Bjorn was the first to finish eating, no matter how many times Askeladd had warned him to slow down. He then yawned and rested his chin on Askeladd’s thigh to continue begging for scraps and attention, while Askeladd pretended to not notice him until he let out a pathetic little whimper.
“I know, I know.” Askeladd softly laughed as he gave Bjorn more ear scratches before feeding him another piece of food from his plate.
Once Askeladd had finished eating as well, he continued to rest in his seat for another moment before standing up to put his and Bjorn’s dishes in the sink to wash later. He then made his way back to the living room to relax, and found Bjorn’s stuffed lamb right where he left it, on the floor in front of the couch. Upon kneeling down to pick it up, he was reminded that his knees just weren’t quite what they used to be. Damn this aging body of his. Holding up the plushie, he whistled to draw Bjorn’s attention.
“You want it?” He asked in that puppy-talk tone that he reserved specifically for him, “Hm?”
When Bjorn let out an excited Arf! , Askeladd tossed it across the room for him to fetch. “Go get it, boy!” Of course, the little stuffed lamb didn’t travel very far, considering the size constraints of their apartment. They both often wished they could have a nice, big, fenced-in yard to do this in. While Bjorn went to fetch his lamb, Askeladd picked a book off of the shelf and laid down on the couch to settle in and wind down and do some reading.
After only a moment, Bjorn approached to drop the stuffed toy into Askeladd’s lap, grinning at him proudly. “Good boy!” He praised, holding his hand up for Bjorn to lean down and accept some scratches under his chin. “You’re such a good boy, aren’t you? My good puppy!” He affectionately babbled, sitting up to continue scratching his chin and ears. Bjorn practically melted into Askeladd’s hand, giving him a dopey little grin. Askeladd then pulled his hand back so that he could pick up his book again.
“Sit.” He told Bjorn firmly, pointing at the floor by his feet. Of course, Bjorn was quick to do exactly as told, earning him another pat on the head. With a contented sigh, Askeladd leaned back and cracked his book open, moving to rest his feet in Bjorn’s lap as he did. He knew he was a lucky man, having such an obedient dog who loved him as much as Bjorn did. They were the only two people who would ever get to know these sides of each other, nobody else would ever know what it was like to be Bjorn’s owner, or Askeladd’s dog. That felt pretty damn good.