𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐨𝐧𝐞 ─── shelters

New York, 8th March 2008

"𝔖top being slow! Luke, come on!" Ellie grinned at her husband as he locked the car doors and hurried back to her side, immediately threading their hands together. "I'm so excited."

"Really? I couldn't tell," Luke replied, sarcasm laced heavily into his tone, as Ellie practically bounced around him in a circle. "I'm excited too."

"Great!" She replied, bouncing up to kiss on the lips, before dragging him over to the doors of the animal shelter. "I'm so glad that we're doing this. I always wanted a dog, but my parents were super strict about it."

Luke dug his feet in to stop her before they could get through the door, staring down at his smaller wife. "Remember, we're just looking. Not adopting, only looking."

"Got it," She grinned, before he held the door open for her to enter. The receptionist looked up at the pair, smiling at the sight of them.

"What can I do for you today?"

"We're here to look at the dogs," Luke smiled down at her, wrapping his arms around Ellie's shoulder once more, as the receptionist nodded and began to give them directions to the kennels. 

"Come on, Ellie, let's go and look," She nodded, still vibrating with excitement, as they entered the kennels. Immediately, the sound of barking was heard, as the scent of dog filled the room. Ellie grinned once more, before releasing her hold on Luke, and running off to look around the kennels, her husband following along behind her.

He was being slow, meandering past each kennel as he read the description, smiling down at the furry animals.

"Luke, look at this one," Ellie cooed, her eyes wide as she looked down at the dog in the kennel ahead of her. "He's called Cai. Look at his floppy ear! Look at it! It's so cute!"

"Ellie, remember, we're just looking."

∘☽༓☾∘

"You are so whipped," Ethan stood next to Luke, as they watched Ellie cuddle the German Shepherd puppy to her chest, grinning widely. "Completely, and utterly whipped."

"Shut up." Luke pushed the man causing Ethan to slap him on the shoulder in return.

"You brought her a dog."

"She's my wife," Luke replied, smacking the boy over the back of his head. Ethan couldn't reach the top of Luke's head. "Plus, have you tried saying no to her?"

"It's not that hard." 

"Ethan, can you get me a drink please, and one for Cai too." Ellie's voice floated over to the pair of boys.

"Sure thing, Bella," Ethan replied, before turning to look at Luke with narrowed eyes. "Shut up."

"I didn't say anything," Luke snickered, leaning back against the wall as he watched his wife with soft eyes. Ellie had this quality about her that made you fall for her in an instance. Even Cai was enamoured with the girl, and he'd only been theirs for a grand total of three hours.

Ethan appeared once more, placing the bowl of water in front of the dog, and handing a glass of apple juice to Ellie, before retreating to stand by Luke.

"I've been meaning to ask," Ethan murmured, as Luke glanced over at him. "How the hell did you afford this house? It legit looks too expensive for you, and Ellie's broke."

"Thanks, Ethan, I brought it," Ethan turned to look at him.

"What did you do? Rob a bank?" 

"Yes."

"Really?"

"No." Luke rubbed his forehead, shaking his head with a grin. "I got paid."

"You get paid?" Ethan stammered out, confusion plastered across his face.

"You don't?" Luke shot Ethan a concerned look, an eyebrow raised. "Well, sucks to be you, man."

"Why is everyone loaded?"

"Look, my father literally runs every mail service and the internet, he gets a lot of money. Most of it he gives to us demigods as a way of saying sorry," Luke replied, rolling his eyes. "I've got more than enough to live comfortably for all eternity, but I don't want to use it, so I gave it to Ellie in a sense."

"So Ellie's now a millionaire?"

"Put it more towards billionaire and you might be correct," Luke replied, as Ethan's jaw dropped.

"What is this bullshit? Why wasn't my godly parent loaded?" Ethan complained, as Ellie glanced over at them with a raised eyebrow. Luke shook his head. There was no need for her to know what they were talking about. "By any chance do you have a sibling that would be down to marry me and give me their inheritance?"

"Even if I were on speaking terms with them, I would still say no,"

"You are no fun," Ethan growled, as Ellie walked over with the puppy in her arm, leaning into Luke's side as he pressed a kiss to her head.

"Takeout and movie night?" 

"Sounds like a plan,"

"You'll be glad to know, I already ordered Chinese, but Luke, you're paying."

"What?" 

"Hey, you're the one who's loaded." Ellie laughed, as Luke took off after Ethan, cuddling the dog closer to her chest as she grinned. This was perfect, having both Ethan and Luke close with her.

∘☽༓☾∘

Ellie curled further into Luke's side, pressing a kiss to his bare chest, as Luke soothed her hair and traced circles onto her back.

"You all right, baby?" She shifted, curling closer to him as their legs tangled together. "Why are you awake?"

"I love you," Luke opened an eye sleepily, brushing her hair from her face, as he glanced down at Ellie with narrowed eyes. That was never a good way to start off a conversation.

"Hey, hey, what's going through that pretty, little head of yours?" He leant down to press a kiss to her head once more, waiting for her to say something.

"I don't know. I just..." She sighed, shaking her head and burrowing further into Luke's chest. "I don't want to talk about it."

"That's all right, baby," He murmured. "Whenever you want to, I'll be here to listen."

"Is it weird that I miss the apartment?"

"There were a lot of memories there," Luke replied, pulling the covers up around them, protecting them from the cool air. "But it's all right. We'll make new memories here. Me, you, Cai and maybe some mini-yous."

He didn't add the 'if I live long enough' clause to that sentence.

"Mini-mes?" Arabella opened her eyes, an eyebrow cocked in confusion.

"Yeah, mini-yous. They'd have the good looks and brains of their mother."

"With the smoothness of their father, no doubt," She replied, pressing a kiss to his lips with a grin. "But I think I'd prefer mini-yous. They'd be super cute."

"You betcha," He grinned. "It's cause I'm super cute."

"You'll be a great father," Ellie laughed, patting his chest drowsily.

"I will." He replied, as Ellie fell back to sleep, before he froze at her words, mulling them over in his head. "I will be a great father?"

∘☽༓☾∘

Hiya,

So, Ellie and Luke got a dog called Cai, Ethan and Luke are both absolutely whipped for Ellie and make of that last sentence what you will :) I'm excited to hear what you come up with.

Let me know what you think,

Love Li xx