Chapter Text
Frank growled at the puppy. It had been a playful growl, an invitation for roughhousing, but the other pup immediately backed off, trying to press closer to their handler. Other than Frank, they were wearing expensive gear, puppy mask and all; just another spoiled pet.
He should have known better than to go out today. The monthly puppy party organised by the local kinksters took place in rotating locations and the parties at this specific club usually sucked. It was always kind of clammy down here, even though the floor was padded with mats for the occasion to prevent fucking up the puppies’ knees. Even Anthony had cancelled on him and Anthony never missed a puppy party, he should have taken the hint. But Frank had gone out anyway, hoping he’d be able to turn off his brain at least for a couple of hours. His life truly sucked ass at the moment and he could have needed a little escape into pup space, but things weren’t working out in his favour today and after the incident with that jerk, he’d half made up his mind to just go home. He should probably start looking at job offers or some shit anyway, before Tucker kicked him to the curb. The couch in his living room practically had Frank’s name on it at this point.
“Hey, pup,” someone called out. It was a surprise Frank had heard them over the surrounding noise at all, because their voice was tiny – not authoritative or stern; yet not exactly shy either. It was just sweet, hardly caring if it was heard at all. It seemed completely out of place at this club.
Frank turned around, not sure if he had even heard correctly. But the person who had called out to him was hard to miss. They were crouching down by the side of the playing field, the only person in the room who had brought themself down to eye-level with the puppies.
Frank instinctively checked for their neck, but they weren’t wearing a collar or anything else to identify them as a puppy, so they had to be a handler. A strange handler though, one who spoke in such a small voice and didn’t mind getting down onto the floor. The most irritating thing was their eyes, though: they were so large that they made Frank think of an insect for some reason. They stayed very focused on Frank, too, and most of all, they were kind. There was a warmth to them, as if they were only seconds away from getting teary with affection. Frank felt something soften in his chest and he immediately tried to push it down. He wished he had an owner who looked at him like that, like he was special, like they cared. But there was no way a guy like that wasn’t already spoken for.
Because even aside from the eyes they were attractive – the face a little round, but with a sharp bone structure underneath, strong brows, but long lashes and a cute, pointy nose that softened the overall impression. Their hair was shaggy, and Frank couldn’t help noticing the greying temples and the deep laugh lines around their eyes. He’d always had a thing for men who aged well. Other than almost everyone else at the club, the stranger hadn’t dressed up at all. They wore a baggy camo jacket and loose jeans that were coming apart at the knees.
Frank crawled closer, staying just out of reach.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Gerard.” They extended their hand, doing it right, with their palm up, so Frank knew they weren’t trying to touch him yet.
He got just close enough to nudge Gerard’s hand with his nose. It smelled of soap.
“And what’s your name?” Gerard didn’t pull back their hand.
Frank considered for a moment, then he let out a short bark. He wasn’t too far gone to speak yet, but he chose not to. It tended to take him out of the mindset and if he’d finally found someone willing to play with him even just for a bit, he wanted to indulge in it as much as possible.
“Okay, no talking then,” Gerard said. They really had a sweet voice, almost like they were sing-songing to themself. Frank betted they were great at lullabies.
Gerard reached for his chin and Frank immediately pulled back, growling, not playful this time, but low and menacing. He’d had some asshole choke him with his collar at one of these parties before and he wasn’t going to let it happen again.
“Okay, okay, my bad.” Gerard pulled back immediately and held up their open palm for Frank to inspect it. “I wanted to look at your name tag, but I shouldn’t have tried to touch you without permission. I’m sorry.”
Frank lowered his head, looking up at Gerard and waiting what they’d do next.
“You wanna play, pup?” Gerard lowered their hand to reach for a yellow chew toy shaped like a bone they had apparently brought with them.
Frank barked enthusiastically. He hoped that fucking thing was clean, because if some other puppy had chewed on it before, he ran the risk of catching mono or something immediately because of his shitty immune system. Still, he wasn’t going to pass up on the chance of finally playing with someone.
Gerard lowered themself to the floor completely, sitting down cross-legged like they were getting comfortable to stay for a while.
“Here, sweetie, come and get it.” Gerard waved the toy in front of Frank’s face and he snapped at it, managing to catch it between his teeth. It gave a small squeaking sound and tasted – thank fuck – like disinfectant.
He tugged, but Gerard didn’t let go. They didn’t pull hard, since the chew toy was slightly too big for Frank’s mouth and his jaw wasn’t as strong as that of an actual dog, so they would have been able to take the bone away from him if they had really wanted to. Instead, they clearly just wanted to give Frank the opportunity to wrestle for a bit. He threw his head around, trying to free the toy from Gerard’s grip, who laughed at Frank’s eager attempts. He growled in the back of his throat, but the sound was playful again.
Gerard waved the toy around some more, but Frank refused to let go. He sometimes engaged in playfights over toys with other puppies, but it was the first time a handler was actually humouring him like this, getting down on the floor to scuffle with him. Frank decided that he liked Gerard.
He dropped the toy and nudged Gerard’s hand with his forehead instead.
“Oh, okay,” Gerard muttered and dropped the toy as well, immediately taking the invitation to ruffle Frank’s hair. They petted him just right, too, not too hesitantly, but quite gently. Frank felt his knees growing a little weak under the touch. It had been way too long since someone had touched him this affectionately, he felt almost starved for it.
“Now, that’s a good boy,” Gerard cooed. “Such a good boy.” He’d felt starved for praise, too.
Frank looked up and realised he’d gotten quite close to Gerard unintentionally. He could smell sweat and perfume on them and he noticed how warm their hand felt. Up close, he saw that their eyes were hazel. For a second, he wanted to flinch back, because this closeness had come about too fast and he felt too vulnerable all of a sudden, but then Gerard smiled at him and they looked so kind, that he instantly felt at ease again.
“I’m gonna look at your name tag now,” Gerard announced, articulating their words very precisely and keeping their voice even as if they didn’t want to startle him. “Is that okay?”
Frank tilted his head to the side to grant Gerard better access to his neck.
Gerard’s warm fingers brushed against his throat just above the collar, trailing down to his Adam’s apple, where they lifted the small tag off his skin.
“Frankie,” they read out. Frank shuddered ever so slightly at the sound of his name being spoken this softly, but he didn’t feel embarrassed, because puppies weren’t embarrassed and it was just so much easier to be a puppy than being a human. If he’d felt too human, he would have pulled back earlier to avoid eye contact as well. “No owner?”
Gerard dropped the tag again. It felt cold against his throat.
Frank growled very quietly. He felt a vague sense of shame for not being claimed.
“Hey, nothing wrong with that,” Gerard said as if they’d guessed Frank’s thoughts immediately. “I was just surprised no one has snatched a good puppy like you yet, Frankie.”
Frank let out an encouraging whining sound.
Gerard chuckled and stroked down his shoulder, clearly less hesitant to touch him already.
“You like being praised, huh? Good puppy, such a good puppy.”
Frank let himself fall to his side, his shoulder hitting the mats hard as he rolled onto his back in a motion that was sudden and violent enough to scare most people away. Even most of his fellow puppies took their distance once Frank started thrashing.
“Careful there, pup,” Gerard warned, but it sounded concerned rather than scolding.
Frank looked up at them, arching his back enough for his shirt to ride up and expose the tattoos right above the waistband of his criminally low sitting jeans. He fluttered his eyes and let out a small whine, putting on an obscene show. Gerard hadn’t seemed especially interested so far, they hadn’t asked any weird questions or tried inappropriate touching, but it surely couldn’t hurt to ham up the act just in case. Frank doubted that someone like Gerard cared for pursuing anything more serious with someone like Frank, but if he got their attention, they might invite him for a weekend of playtime or something. Frank could really need that, just a handsome guy allowing him to stop thinking for himself for one or two days and maybe also railing him until he forgot his own name.
“Belly rubs, so that’s what you want, isn’t it?” Gerard teased and rubbed their palm against Frank’s stomach. Even through his shirt, he could feel how warm their hand was. They stayed just above his belly button though, making sure not to touch any of the skin Frank was exposing. He felt disappointed by the rejection, but the sensation itself was still amazing. Frank didn’t know what it was, but he had stopped questioning himself years ago; he simply liked to be touched as if he was a dog.
The sound of footsteps nearby startled him, even though Gerard did not stop rubbing his belly. He raised his head only to find a pair of long legs standing next to Gerard. The fuck was that person thinking? He’d finally found someone to grant him attention, he wouldn’t let anyone distract Gerard now.
He rolled back onto his stomach and got onto all fours again fast, lowering himself like he was ready to jump. He growled lowly. If it was just another jerk handler who thought he could make a move either on Frank or Gerard, Frank was going to scare him away in no time with his attitude; he had practice at that.
“Hush, pup, it’s alright,” Gerard said, their eyes still fixed on Frank, which soothed him a little. At least they were not distracted just yet.
Frank stopped growling. He wanted to scare away the intruder, not Gerard after all. If they thought Frank was a bad puppy, they might decide to rather play with someone else instead.
“Sit with me,” Gerard said, but it was clearly directed at the person standing next to them.
Frank kept his eyes on the man, who now sat down next to Gerard, cross-legged as well and like it was no big deal to lower himself onto the floor like a puppy. He was tall and although his outfit was simple as well – clean jeans and a white shirt that brought out his pecs nicely – he looked more put together than Gerard. His long, gorgeous hair was tied up in a loose ponytail and his scruff showed streaks of white already. He looked vaguely familiar, though Frank wasn’t sure if maybe he only got that impression, because he’d always fantasised about a guy just like this without being quite aware of it. His eyes were dark and kind as well, his lips were full and everything about his features looked large, just like his arms looked strong and his hands seemed like they’d fit perfectly around Frank’s throat. If anything, he was even more handsome than Gerard.
Frank had no idea where those two had been hiding so far, because if they’d shown up to these parties before, Frank and his friends would have been all over them for sure.
“Ray, this is Frankie. He’s a very good boy,” Gerard introduced. “Frankie, this is Ray.”
Ray extended his hand for a head pat, but before Frank could even remember to start growling, Gerard had already caught Ray’s wrist midair to hold him back.
“Don’t,” they warned. “He bit a guy earlier.”
Frank froze. He hadn’t thought that Gerard had witnessed the incident. They hadn’t seemed on guard around him in the least and they had even called him a good puppy.
“He bit a guy?” Ray repeated incredulously. The shock in his voice was more like the reaction Frank’s behaviour usually earned him. Gerard was still holding on to Ray’s wrist, not allowing him to pull back.
“I’m sure he deserved it,” Gerard said, their voice light, nonchalant, cocky even.
Frank barked with relief. He couldn’t quite believe that Gerard was not just giving him the benefit of the doubt but actively siding with him. The guy had tried to touch Frank’s crotch without even introducing himself first.
“See, Frankie agrees,” Gerard said and let go of Ray’s wrist, who still kept his hand in the air indecisively. They turned their full attention back on Frank.
“Ray is my husband.” Frank tried to swallow the unpleasant taste on his tongue. Of course they were fucking married. That was just his fucking luck. “And he gives really amazing head scritches, I can tell you that.”
Frank hesitated. He didn’t like sharing. That was what having an owner was all about in his opinion – being special to someone, being cared for and caring for them in return. But on the other hand, Ray was attractive, too, and he hadn’t pulled back his hand yet, seemingly waiting for Frank to make his decision patiently. And Frank did like head scritches.
He hung his head and Ray reached over slowly, placing his hand on his hair carefully. Then he started scratching him just above his ear and Frank had to admit that Gerard had been right, because Ray was fucking great at giving scritches. He used more pressure than Gerard had, hitting just the sweet spot that made him want to roll over onto his back again and maybe start howling. Frank allowed his eyes to fall shut.
“Ah, you really are a good boy, aren’t you?” Ray coaxed.
Frank decided that getting attention from two people was actually better than just getting attention from one person after all.
He nudged his head against Ray’s hand, who thankfully did not seem to grow tired of petting him yet.
“Frankie doesn’t have an owner,” Gerard said.
Ray’s hand stilled in Frank’s hair.
Frank opened his eyes.
“Gee,” Ray said and pulled back his hand. There were a lot of unspoken words hidden within the syllable, Frank could tell. For the most part, his tone sounded like ‘We’ve been over this’.
“I know we said we’d come here only to play with the pups,” Gerard said.
They were looking at each other now. Frank let out a small whimper. He didn’t like the tension in the air. It made him feel stressed.
“We don’t even know if he’s looking for an owner,” Ray pointed out.
Frank considered speaking up, but the unresolved tension made him forget all words. He would have liked to hide somewhere, underneath a table maybe.
“I know some of the people looking for partners leave their information at the front. You could go and check.”
Another long moment passed in which they silently held eye-contact. Then Ray sighed. His wide shoulders relaxed visibly.
“Is he even trained at all?”
Frank immediately felt calmer. Being active in the scene had taught him to recognise clearly when a struggle for power was over.
“I don’t know,” Gerard confessed and turned back to Frank. “Frankie? Sit.”
Frank barked.
Gerard laughed.
Frank would have liked to be able to wiggle his tail.
“Great,” Ray muttered. “Not trained then.”
“I can train him,” Gerard said lightly. The cocky note had returned to their voice. “You know I fucking can. Frankie, sit.”
Their voice sounded different this time. It wasn’t unfriendly, not yet, but there was a sharp edge to it that made it very clear that the usual kindness in their voice wasn’t weakness but a conscious choice and a privilege that could be revoked any time.
Frank sat down on his heels immediately.
“Good,” Gerard said and a warm sensation spread through Frank’s stomach.
“Fine.” Ray sighed again. “I’ll go and ask if he left his information.”
“You’re a darling,” Gerard said as Ray got up. He really had long legs, in perfect proportion to the rest of his body.
“Don’t worry, he acts a little grumpy sometimes, but he’s a sweetheart,” Gerard whispered as they turned back to Frank and held out their hand for him to rub his cheek against. “He’s just too reasonable for his own fucking good most of the time. You should see his face whenever I do online shopping.”
Gerard laughed and Frank barked, glad to see Gerard more relaxed again.
He didn’t dare to think about the implications of their words too hard though. It sounded like they were considering to adopt a puppy. Not just any puppy, but Frank in particular. But Frank would not get his hopes up, he couldn’t imagine these two being anything but self-sufficient. Fuck, if he was married to either one of them, there’d be no time for other people, they’d never make it out of the bedroom, he’d be able to go like ten times a day. They were probably just talking on a whim and would change their mind about Frank soon enough.
Ray returned with the survey in hand that Frank had left at the reception earlier. His stomach fluttered with nerves. So much for not getting his stupid hopes up.
“Found it,” Ray announced and sat down next to Gerard again, before looking down at the papers with a frown. He had a sexy frown, forming deep creases on his forehead.
Gerard didn’t lean in to look over his shoulder, instead they kept their eyes locked on Frank.
“So, apparently he’s tested and doesn’t have any STDs,” Ray stated dryly. He seemed a little judgemental to find that particular information on top of the page.
“Well, that’s good to know,” Gerard said matter-of-factly and Frank’s stomach took a small jolt. So far, they hadn’t gotten overly physical, but the acknowledgement seemed to imply that fucking Frank was at least an option that was on the table. Frank hoped to fucking god that it was on the table.
“Long list of previous owners. Like, a full page of them, all male it seems. Not a single one who left their contact information though.”
Frank whined. He knew that it was part of the etiquette for former handlers to stay available to share advice or warnings about a puppy they’d worked with before. But Frank had never been owned for long enough to really form a serious bond with anyone. He’d always been passed on pretty quickly, because people tended to lose patience with him as soon as they realised how difficult he was to train. He knew that it was a bad look for him. A lot of handlers also preferred to train their puppies themselves, without having to undo the misdoings of someone else first – and the longer the list of previous handlers, the messier and more inconsequential the training. When he’d first entered the scene a few years back while he was still in college, Frank had been wildly popular. By now, it became harder and harder to find someone who wanted him for more than a single session, because he was considered damaged goods at this point. And a hot couple like Gerard and Ray would be able to pick freely, they wouldn’t have to settle for second-rate quality.
“You know those wannabe Doms though,” Gerard said. “They get into pet play because they think it means they get to fuck a much younger guy way out of their league whenever they like. And then they realise what it takes to actually be responsible for someone, or the thrill of the new toy just wears off, and they quit. Can’t stand the type.”
Frank stared at them. Gerard had spoken casually, like it wasn’t a big deal at all, when the statement felt absolutely earth-shattering to Frank. He couldn’t quite grasp that someone would believe that it wasn’t Frank’s fault, that someone might think he was actually good. He also couldn’t believe that Gerard had spoken of responsibility, like they were willing to take over just that responsibility for Frank, not just using him for a fun time, but actually caring for him.
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Ray muttered and turned the page.
In spite of himself, Frank realised that he was hoping that Ray wouldn’t find anything in his survey that would speak against him.
“Ah, shit,” Ray said and held the survey out to Gerard. “He’s only looking for a single partner, no couples.”
Frank wanted to say something, but he felt too stressed to remember which words would be the right ones. He didn’t want to blow his chance by choosing the wrong ones.
It was true that he hadn’t picked the couple option, because he’d always been against entering an established relationship. He didn’t want to be anyone’s plaything; as sappy as it sounded and as hopeless as it probably was in this setting, Frank wanted to be loved. He wanted to dedicate his entire being to just one person and be special to them in return.
That didn’t mean he would pass up on an opportunity to get spit-roasted by Ray and Gerard though, he was neither blind nor stupid. It certainly wouldn’t develop into a long-term thing anyway. He could go looking for love another day.
“That was before he met us,” Gerard pointed out, sounding awfully smug. They were right, though.
Ray snorted. “Sure, dude.”
“Why don’t we just ask him?” Gerard had stayed focused on Frank this whole time, but now they leaned in closer. “What do you think, Frankie? Would you maybe consider the two of us as your new owners?”
Without even searching for words to express his feelings, Frank flung himself forward to jump straight into Gerard’s lap. He had his hands on their knees, putting too much of his weight onto them as he leaned in and licked a broad stripe up their cheek.
“Ugh.” Gerard put their hands on his shoulders to push him off. They were laughing though. Their laugher was a little bigger than their voice. “Gross, Frankie. I take that as a yes, though.”
“Jesus, he’s a handful,” Ray observed and Frank leaned over to rub his face against Ray’s chest. He smelled more masculine than Gerard did, like the kind of body wash that used edgy logos. Frank hoped the affection would change his mind. It was clearly Ray he needed to win over.
“There, there, pup,” Ray muttered and patted Frank’s shoulder.
“Here, Frankie, look at me, look at me.” Gerard patted their own knee to get Frank’s attention.
Frank had the vague feeling that something important might be about to happen, so he pulled back, although he’d prefer to just tempt Ray into giving him another one of those awesome head scritches.
“Listen, sweetheart,” Gerard said, once they’d made sure they held Frank’s attention again. “I’m going to leave our phone number at the front, alright? That’s Ray and Gerard, okay? And if you want to, you can give us a call. Please take your time, though. I don’t want you to rush into anything. We’re not just looking for a quick hook-up but a serious arrangement, so just think about it for a while. We’d be happy to hear from you.”
Frank let out a short bark to signal that he had understood. It seemed safer than actually speaking up and risking to ruin it at the last moment.
He would let a couple of days pass, maybe even a week, if he managed to hold out that long, so he wouldn’t look desperate and like he was prone to making rash decisions. But really, he’d made a pretty rash decision already.