Lachlan's P.O.V.
For as long as I could remember, Mitch had begged our parents to get a dog of some sort. I had been largely indifferent on the matter, feeling as though I had more important to focus on other than a dog but Mitch was so insistent on it that I couldn't help but note it in the back of my mind.
The moment we moved in together I began planning to get a dog. We had never had one before and Mitch hadn't managed to convince our parents to allow us to have one, so now we were out on our own it was the perfect opportunity. Mitch turned 21 early on in June and my present to him was finally get a dog, an adorable one at that.
Puppies generally have to be 8 weeks old before they were separated from their mothers and I found a breeder who had a litter of golden retriever poodle crosses, born in early April, and they would almost 10 weeks old by Mitch's birthday. Without his knowledge, or at least possibly without his knowledge as I had hinted quite heavily about it, I bought one of them and asked the breeder to hold the puppy, a male, back until the day before his birthday, when I would go and pick him up.
I was ecstatic at the thought of surprising Mitch with this puppy, something he had been wanting for so long. I couldn't wait.
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The day before his birthday I drove over 4 hours, a little over two hours each way, to pick up the puppy. The breeders were out in the middle of nowhere. He was perfect in absolutely every way, happy, enthusiastic, energized and loving right off the bat and he bonded with me almost at one, yipping away in the back seat as we drove back home. Mitch was staying with our parents for the night, partly because of me, so he wouldn't know about the puppy until his birthday.
He was absolutely adorable and I fell in love with the yappy little golden puppy at once, so glad that he was the one I had chosen. Even though I had only known him for a day, I knew he was the one.
That night I called Rob, almost bouncing in excitement. He knew my plan but he never seen a photo of the puppy before- at least not until now. His jaw dropped as Otto jumped up onto my lap and he clapped his hands, laughing at the adorableness of said puppy.
"Oh my goodness! He's adorable! Mitch is gonna love him!" He crowed, laughing. "I think you made the right choice."
"I think I did too." I smiled, ruffling the fur around Otto's ears. He panted happily, his tongue hanging out. "I already love him so much and I can't wait to see Mitch's reaction!"
"Call me afterwards please! Pretty please?" I nodded, grinning.
"Of course I will," I smiled, "I can't wait!"
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When Mitch texted me the next morning around 10am to tell me he and Jake would be there in the next half an hour I started buzzing again, texting Rob to distract myself. When the doorbell rung I leapt to my feet, accidently scaring Otto, but I shut him in the living room until they got inside. I opened the door, jumping up and down.
"Mitch!" I yelled, throwing my arms around him. "Happy birthday!"
"Well someone's excited!" He laughed, a little bemused. Jake stood a little behind him, shaking his head at my excitement- he knew about Otto, I had told him the second I got confirmation that I could keep Otto.
I jumped all the way down the hall, approaching the closed living room door- I could hear Otto scratching the closed door. Mitch's eyes widened.
"Is that- is that..."
I didn't reply, only grinning as I opened the door. Otto ran through it, his claws skittering on the tiles, yapping happily and running around our legs. The look on Mitch's face was absolutely priceless and he gasped, dropping to his knees and squealing excitedly, giving Otto the attention he wanted.
"Holy shit Lachy!" He gasped, dissolving into giggles as Otto licked his face. "You got me a dog!?"
"Well you've been begging for a dog since we were kids and I figured... now is a good a time as any."
It took almost half an hour for Mitch to speak to me again, he was so enthralled and happy. Jake laughed and flopped down on the couch beside me until Mitch stopped playing with Otto and turned to fling his arms around me, spouting thank you and happy words. I laughed.
"Happy birthday Mitch, I hope you like your present."
He pulled away, his eyes shining with happiness.
"I do, I love him. Thank you Lachy!"
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Otto quickly became apart of our little family, me, Mitch, Jake and now him. Jake was around so often- I mean, why wouldn't you want to see your boyfriend- that I just counted him as apart of our family and to be fair he had been dating Mitch since they turned 18 so... he was a permanent attachment now. Otto was too.
As Otto grew from a puppy into a young dog it became immediately obvious he was attached to both Mitch and I. Even with my travelling to Canada or conventions all over the world Otto never left my side if I was home, unless Mitch was there. If Mitch was there, oh boy, Mitch couldn't go anywhere around the house without Otto following him, nosing at his legs or yipping happily behind him. It was adorable, honestly.
With a happy sigh I leaned back into the couch, groaning as Otto jumped up onto my stomach.
"Oof! Otto, you're too big for that." I grumbled, moving him so he wasn't completely lying on top of me. Across the room Mitch laughed a little, whistling to Otto so he clambered off me and lay his head on his chest instead.
"Leave him be Lachy." Mitch grinned. "He just wants cuddles."
"Oh I know." I laughed, closing my eyes. "He always wants cuddles, just like you do."
