Scout: Love and Leisure

[Amazee Dayzee]

You would think that Eddie being around Slim a lot would change his personality for the better but he still is kind of stuck-up and has the superiority complex to Scout. I swear Autumn needs to do more attitude adjustments on him.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Nah, he's only like that to Scout. Just doesn't like dogs.

[Amazee Dayzee]

I do have to say it is a bit of a reversal to have a cat be racist to a dog. Usually it is dogs being racist to cats like in the comic proper with Bino.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Well, no, Max gives back as good as Bino does. He's just not a jerk in other aspects of his life so it comes across as teasy snark instead of racism.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 20: Gifts

Eddie barely waited for Scout to stop the scooter before hopping off the back and huffing. “Get your butt up off the seat so I can open the cargo box.”
Scout chuckled and turned off the scooter, leaning back in his seat. “Who, me? You want me to move mah butt?”
Eddie grumbled and pushed at Scout, trying to dislodge him from the scooter. “Come on! Move! Your! Big! Butt!”
Scout snickered and waited for him to give up before hopping off his scooter and popping open the cargo space, snatching up both bags before Eddie could get his hands inside the scooter. He held up the bag with the tractor hose up in the air and smirked at him. “Come on, let’s go see th’ kittens b’fore you get back t’ work.”
Eddie huffed and gave a frustrated growl as he started to follow Scout across the yard toward where the kittens were spread out on the grass, trying to walk, playing with fistfuls of grass, or crawling after early butterflies. Scout grinned and shook the hose bag in front of his nose like a tantalizing treat to tempt him forward.
Eddie snorted and swiped for the bag, glaring at Scout when he pulled it just out of reach and plopped down on the ground next to Cheddar. Cheddar leaned in for a quick nuzzle of greeting, looking curiously at the bags. “Ooh, what’cha got in there?”
Scout grinned and shook the bag a little. “Ah took Eddie t’ th’ tractor store an’ got goodies fer th’ kittens.”
Cheddar purred a little. “Let’s see them, then.”
Scout grinned and reached into the bag, coming out with one of the stuffed mice he’d bought. “Ta-da! Ah thought th’ kittens would like t’ play with these, so ah bought four of ‘em!”
Cheddar took one and looked it over, then grinned and tore the tag off. “Oh, they’re going to love them. Watch.” He tossed the mouse in Benedict’s direction, and Benedict crawled over to it curiously, plopping back on his rump and picking it up to examine it before popping its head in his mouth.
Scout grinned and plucked another mouse out of the bag, ripping its tag off and tossing it toward Marmalade, who eagerly tackled the toy and started tossing it in the air with squeals of delight. He grinned and offered one to Eddie. Eddie glared at it for a moment before snatching it away and ripping the tag off, standing up and walking over to Stilton to offer it. Stilton took it quietly and examined it before hugging into it and purring, letting himself fall over.
Cheddar waited for Eddie to come back before speaking up. “By the way, Eddie, I love the bandana. It looks good on you.”
Eddie blinked, his hand going up to his neck, then he scowled. “I forgot I was wearing it. Stupid dog put it on me.” He glared at Scout, then snatched up the bag with the hose and stomped off, grumbling. Scout took note that Eddie didn’t take the bandana off, despite acting like he didn’t want it.
Cheddar chuckled, watching him go. Scout tore the tag off the last plush, then frowned, looking around. “Where’s Autumn an’ Mittens?”
Cheddar glanced around. “Oh, it’s time for Mittens’ medicine, so Autumn’s trying to get her to take it. They’ll be back in a few moments.” He peeked into Scout’s bag, then grinned and held up the yellow bandana. “I know who this is for, eh?” He jabbed his elbow into Scout’s ribs playfully. “It’ll look good on her, I bet.”
Scout gave a nervous smile. “Ah was thinkin’ about it on th’ way home. Ah’m worried it’ll jus’ make ‘er look like a bruised banana.”
“Nahh… Well, maybe a little, but I bet she’ll like it anyway. It doesn’t so much matter WHAT you got her, so much as it does THAT you got her something when you didn’t have to. It’ll show her you care about her.”
Scout gave a little nod, taking the bandana and carefully pulling off the tag. “So ya think she’ll like it? Ah thought she would, on account of she keeps stealin’ mine if she catches me not wearin’ it.”
“Well, I think that’s more of a ‘she wants your bandana because it reminds her of you’ thing than an actual ‘she wants a bandana’ thing, but I think she’ll appreciate the thought. She’ll probably wear it, at least for a while.” He tilted his head, then took the bag of empty wrappers and mouse toy from Scout. “Here. I’ll make sure Mittens gets her toy, and take care of the garbage. You just go be with your girl, and give her your present.”
Scout nodded and clutched the bandana in his hand, standing up. “Wish me luck.”
Cheddar grinned after him. “You’ve got this, Scout. Go woo your lady. Just don’t woo her too hard.” He chuckled. “Not if you’re not ready to be a daddy.”
Scout gave a nervous smile and turned toward the barn. His eyes set on Slim’s trailer in the shade next to it, and he started walking. He pushed down the butterflies in his stomach as he practiced what he was going to say. “Coco, ah saw this an’ thought of… no, that’s dumb. Coco, ah was at the store an’...” He shook his head and frowned, slowing to a stop. “No, no, that’s all wrong. What’m ah gonna say t’ her? Ah don’t know…” He stood in silence for a few moments, then started walking again.
He didn’t know why he was so nervous; he talked to Coco almost every day, even if it was just a greeting in passing as he got home from work. This would be no different; he would see Coco and say hi to her. The only difference was that now, he had a gift for her.
A burst of cold air rushed past him as he opened the trailer door, and he quickly stepped inside so as not to let too much warm air in. Adam was leaning back on the couch bench with his paws up on the table; Coco was sitting next to him on the back of the bench, watching him play video games. Scout couldn’t help but notice that most of the dirty laundry had been gathered and stuffed onto the bed; he chuckled. That was definitely Coco’s doing.
Coco’s ears perked when she heard Scout chuckle, and she turned to face him. Her eyes lit up, and she jumped to the floor, running over to Scout and giving him a big hug. “Hey, you’re back! How was going to the tractor store with Eddie? Buy any tractors?” She grinned playfully.
Scout gave a chuckle. “No tractors, just hoses. Got Eddie a soda, as a special treat. An’ ah got you somethin’- ah mean, ah saw this an’ thought of- er, ah was lookin’ fer…” He stumbled over his words, then blushed, his ears heating up, and held out the bandana for her, looking at the floor. “This is fer you.”
Coco stared at the bandana for a moment, then took it from him. She smoothed out the wrinkles from where he’d been holding it, then turned to lay it flat on the table before folding it in half to make a triangle. She picked it up again and put it around her neck, carefully tying it so it was loose like his, then smiled and leaned in to kiss his cheek. “I love it, Scout. I bet it looks great.” She nuzzled into him. “I love you, too.”

[Amazee Dayzee]

Awwwwww. Looks like Coco has now publicly said that she loves Scout and I am sure Scout will be next if he hasn't already done it. Guess its time for a proposal!

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 21: Packing Up

Scout frowned in concentration as he stared at the cargo compartment of his scooter, checking if he had everything. Coco came up behind him and kissed his cheek. “You’ve checked six times, Scout. We have all our stuff.”
“Ah know, ah’m jus’ worried we’ve forgotten somethin’.” He turned and nuzzled into her. “We’ll be ready t’ leave first thing in th’ mornin’.”
She smiled. “That’s good. Sorry for asking you to leave early. I think I’m all farmed out.”
Scout took her hand. “Anythin’ fer you. Ah could prob’ly use a little bit o’ home, too.”
She gave his hand a squeeze. “It’ll be dinner soon. We should go help set up the kittens’ food.”
He nudged her with a little smirk. “Gettin’ a bit attached t’ the kittens, are we?”
“Okay, maybe just a LITTLE bit. They ARE pretty cute.” She leaned into him. “I wouldn’t mind some little ones of my own relatively soon. Not NOW, but… soon.” She grinned at him and nudged him. “Maybe after your next shift.”
Scout felt his ears warm up a little, and then he started walking back toward the barn. “Oh look at th’ time, ah think we better hurry!”
She chuckled and followed him. “Okay, okay, I get the idea, you’re not ready to talk about that yet.” She grinned at him.
Cheddar looked up as they entered. “All packed and ready to leave?”
Scout nodded. “Ah checked a few times t’ be sure.”
“Gonna miss having you guys around, and not just because you were so helpful with the kittens.” Autumn purred softly, carrying Benedict in her left arm and Mittens in her right. “As far as I’m concerned, you can visit anytime.”
Scout grinned. “An’ ah bet Eddie feels th’ same.”
There was a round of snickers, and then Cheddar spoke up. “I don’t know, he hasn’t taken off that bandana you got him in days. Maybe he’s warming up to you.”
Coco snickered. “I have a feeling he’ll never quite stop acting like he doesn’t like him.”
“True.” Cheddar smirked. “He’s just a little guarded. He doesn’t really hate you.”
Scout grinned. “Ah know. He’s jus’ actin’ how he thinks he’s gotta t’ protect th’ kittens.”
Autumn set down the kittens and started preparing their sippy cups. “He’s normally such a sweetheart, when you two aren’t here. It’s actually kinda funny watching him try to scare you off.”
“Knock, knock.” Adam’s voice sounded outside, and then he let himself in. “Hey. My parents are here to pick me up. Just wanted to say goodbye. And… thanks for dragging me out of that trailer a few times. I had fun.”
Cheddar darted across the stall to give Adam a hug goodbye, purring. “Don’t be a stranger. Come and visit some time. The kittens loved you.”
Adam chuckled and ruffled Cheddar’s ears. “I might just do that. Your kids are pretty cute.”
Scout reached out to shake Adam’s hand. “See ya in a week fer work?”
“Count on it.” He grinned. “And- hey- don’t let that pretty girl of yours keep you up too late. We have work to do, and you’re no good when you’re dead tired.”
Coco smirked. “You say that like he has a choice.”
Scout squeaked and blushed, covering her mouth with a hand. “No, no, it’s fine, ah’ll be sure t’ get some rest.”
“Between rounds.” Coco snickered, tilting her head to get her mouth out from behind Scout’s hand.
“Okay, okay.” Autumn snickered and started distributing sippy cups to the kittens. “Let’s be appropriate while kittens are nearby. They’re starting to learn to talk, and we don’t want them repeating anything less than child-friendly.”
Adam grinned. “All right, they’re waiting for me. I gotta get going.”
Coco walked up to Adam and kissed his cheek. “Hey. Take care of my Scout for me, okay? Keep him safe while you’re on patrol?”
“Of course.” He chuckled and let himself out, stepping aside to let Eddie in on his way.
Eddie glanced around. “Oh good, you’re still here. How lucky for me.” His voice was dripping with sarcasm as he gave a tired groan and sat against the wall. Scout plopped down next to him. He glared at Scout.
Scout grinned. “Tell me about yer day, Eddie. Anythin’ interestin’ happen?”
Eddie rolled his eyes. “Well, there were a couple of tail-chasing chuckleheads out in the cow pasture earlier, petting the cows. Again.”
Scout smirked. “Aww, that sounds nice.”
He snorted. “Other than that… not much of anything. At least Adam’s leaving, so there’ll be one less dog to worry about.”
Scout licked Eddie’s cheek. “Don’t you worry your head none. Coco an’ ah are leavin’ first thing in th’ morning, so’s we can get back home b’fore it gets too hot.”
For a moment, Eddie’s gruff act cracked. “Wait, really?” After a second, he recovered himself and nodded approvingly. “I mean, good. We don’t need you around.”
Scout nuzzled into Eddie’s shoulder. “Aww. Ah’m gonna miss ya, too. Don’t worry, ah’ll visit. Maybe not fer multiple days, but ah’ll pop by t’ say hi now an’ then an’ spoil mah grandnieces an’ grandnephews.”
“No, really, feel free not to.” Eddie snorted, then looked up when the door to the stall opened, and Hannah came in with everybody’s dinner. She smiled around at everybody and started distributing bowls. “It’s nice to see you all together in one place one more time before Scout and Coco go home. Like one big, happy family.”
Eddie grumbled and took his bowl, handing Scout’s to him with his ears held back. Scout grinned. “Thank ya fer havin’ me, Hannah. Tell Sam ah said so. It was nice visitin’ an’ pretendin’ t’ be back in Wyomin’, even if it was just fer a few weeks.”
She ruffled Scout’s ears and chuckled. “Honestly, Scout, it was our pleasure. And Coco, it was very nice to meet you. You’re very sweet and polite.” Hannah ruffled Coco’s ears, then started to leave. “I’ll be up to see you off in the morning, okay? Don’t leave without saying goodbye.”
“Ah promise.” Scout put a hand up in the air and crossed his heart with the other one.
“And I’ll make sure he doesn’t forget.” Coco added in through a mouthful of kibbles.
Once Hannah was gone, Autumn snickered. “Sweet and polite? Try hyper and raunchy. You really know how to act around humans, Coco.”
Coco smirked and tossed a kibble into the air to herself, catching it in her mouth and smirking. “It’s a gift.”

[Amazee Dayzee]

Seems like Scout is starting to grow on Eddie so maybe he will stop being a pompous jerk to all dogs and start to be nicer. I figured that working with Slim though would have softened him but it looks like it hasn't done that enough just yet.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 22: Return Home

Coco dug into Scout’s collar until she found his house key, then hopped down off the scooter and ran ahead, letting herself in through the side door and activating the garage door opener, opening the garage so Scout could pull his scooter in. There were no cars in the driveway, nor was Coco’s mom’s truck in her driveway, so they were alone.
Scout dismounted the scooter and hugged Coco quietly. “We should prob’ly shower right away so we don’t track dirt all over th’ house.”
Coco gave a little smile and flicked her bandana, causing a cloud of dust to float in the air. “I’ll have to wash this, too. Meet in your living room after? Say, about an hour?”
Scout nodded. “Sounds good t’ me.” He reached for a goodbye hug, and Coco happily obliged, her tail wagging gently. After a moment, she let go and let herself out the side door again, pausing at the road to check for cars before walking across the street to her own house.
Scout watched her go, feeling butterflies in his belly, and put his ears back as he started upstairs. He washed off his bandana in the bathroom sink, rinsing it until the water ran clear before wringing it out and hanging it up to dry.
As he started to shower, watching the water turn black as it pulled weeks of built-up dirt from his fur, he thought about Coco. He remembered her smile as he introduced her to the cows, how she’d looked happy near the end of the trip as she played with the kittens, how she’d laughed as they splashed in the pond. He thought about what he could possibly do to make her look like that again, LAUGH like that again.
She knew him well. She spoke his language. He knew that because of how she had reacted to his gift of a bandana, and she hadn’t taken the bandana off since he’d given it to her, not even to sleep. He wondered if she would know what he meant if he bought her another gift. Would she know he was buying it for her as a way of telling her how he felt about her? Would she get annoyed if he bought her things more often?
He turned off the water and shook some of the water out of his fur before he opened the shower curtain to grab his towel, frowning. His brain worked overtime as he strained to think of what he could possibly give her that would convey that he more than loved her, that he wanted her to be the mother of his eventual pups, once he was ready. He thought back to before the trip, how Shade had given Sunny a bracelet to show his love. Scout didn’t think marriage was his style- after all, he was a natural-born dog, and natural-born dogs didn’t really do the human custom of marriage.
As Scout scrubbed the towel against his fur to draw out most of the water that was left, he frowned and fretted. He wasn’t very smart; he knew that. He had too much farm dog in him; he’d grown up on a farm, had no real education, not like the city dogs like Coco had. He could read, but he could barely write. He had no idea about how city dogs played together or lived together, or how to fill time without work to do. But he knew one thing: he loved Coco with every strand of fur in his pelt, every ounce of muscle in his body, and every drop of his blood, and he wanted her to know it.
He clipped his collar back on and added the still-damp bandana on top of it, wandering down the stairs and sitting at the kitchen table. He could still smell the remaining scent of last night’s dinner; it smelled like Ma and Paw had had steaks and mashed potatoes last night. His stomach gurgled, distracting him from his thinking; he suddenly remembered that he and Coco had been getting very little food while staying on the farm. He wondered if Coco would be hungry.
With twenty minutes until Coco would be back, Scout pulled out Ma’s plastic serving tray and set it on the counter. He wasn’t allowed to use the nice trays that Ma used for human guests, so this one would have to do. He got out a pitcher, which he filled with iced water and set on the tray, then added two glasses before going to the fridge. There was some cheese; he took a few slices and broke them up into smaller almost-squares, laying them out nicely on the tray before adding some deli ham he’d rolled up and cut into smaller rolls, trying to make it look fancy. He added biscuits- not the regular biscuits that he used for everyday snacking, but the EXPENSIVE ones that he’d gotten for Christmas, that were really gourmet. Coco was worth it, he thought to himself.
He stared at the tray of snacks and adjusted the rows, trying to make them look nicer, before adding some dried apple slices and white chocolate chips from Ma’s baking supplies. He looked over the tray again and gave a satisfied nod. Now THERE was a snack fit for the prettiest girl he’d ever met. He carefully carried the whole tray to the the living room, bringing the pitcher separately rather than risk spilling it, and arranged it nicely on the coffee table.
Scout stood back and examined his display of treats, wondering what else it needed for a moment before his eyes were drawn to the television. He grinned and darted over to Ma’s meager collection of movies on DVD, looking through it for a few moments before he found a disgustingly sappy romance movie, one of Coco’s favorites. He slipped the disk into the player and turned on the TV, letting it cue itself up to the menu so it would be ready to go when Coco got there.
He looked over the display one more time, then rushed upstairs to the storage closet, digging through it for a moment before he found what he was looking for. It was technically a Christmas decoration, or rather, two Christmas decorations; a pair of plastic candlesticks. He rushed back downstairs and set them on either side of the tray of snacks, twisting the base to turn them on. The light bulbs at the top flickered with fake fire, and he grinned, drawing the blinds closed to dim the room and make it appear candlelit. This felt right.
The door opened, and Scout gave a panicked squeak, looking over his display for what it was still missing before he rushed over to a shelf in the corner between the two couches and pulled out a blanket, quickly laying it out on the couch in front of the coffee table. There: Snacks, a blanket for snuggling under, candlelight, and a romance movie. It was perfect. His tail wagged as he looked up at Coco just coming in.
She looked over Scout’s display, then gave a little chuckle and moved in, putting her arms around him and kissing him, her tail wagging. “You did all this to try and impress me? Oh, Scout…” She chuckled and pulled him toward the couch. “Thank you… but you ALREADY impress me every day. You’re a police officer. You’re already amazing.”
Scout smiled and nuzzled into Coco. He could smell her shampoo in her fur, peaches and honey. It smelled nice. “Ah wanted t’ remind ya that ye’re amazin’, an’ that ah’d do just about anythin’ fer ya.” His tail wagged, and he sat down next to her.
She looked over the tray and gasped. “Are those your good biscuits? The ones you were saving for a special occasion? Scout-!”
He leaned over and kissed her, cutting her off before looking her in the eyes. “Of course it’s th’ good ones. Because ye’re mah special occasion.”

[Amazee Dayzee]

Even if it took Scout a very long time to realize that Coco was into him in the beginning he has made up for it by being extremely romantic now that they are a couple. Once you spell something out for him, then he realizes what is happening and goes about and beyond to achieve his goals.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 23: The Pet Shop

Ma looked at Scout through the rearview mirror and gave a little smile, watching him eat for a moment before speaking. “So, Scout, how was the farm? Did you have fun?”
Scout looked up from his burger and nodded. “Ah had a great time. It was almost like ah was back in Wyomin’, excepting it was cows instead of sheep, and ah had Coco with me. She loved goin’ out an’ pettin’ th’ cows. You shoulda seen ‘er, her face would light up an’ she would wag ‘er tail so hard. Just the purtiest thing ah ever saw.”
Ma chuckled. “I saw you got her a bandana when you went to the tractor store. It looks good on her.”
Scout nodded. “Ah wanted t’ get ‘er one because she keeps stealin’ mine- wait a moment, how’d YOU know ah went t’ the tractor store?”
Ma popped a fry in her mouth before answering. “Two ways. One, I saw the charge on your bank account, and two, Sam called and let me know he was sending you.”
“Oh.” He looked down at his burger, then looked over at Paw for a moment, watching him drive before speaking again. “How was havin’ th’ house t’ yerselves? Ya have fun?”
“It was lonely and quiet.” Ma spoke up. “I missed you a lot. I almost drove out to visit a few times, but I didn’t want to get in Sam’s way. He’s got a farm to run, after all.” She glanced over at Paw. “Your Paw won’t ever say so, but he missed you, too. We’ve gotten used to having you around the house.”
Paw gave a little grunt. “Kinda quiet. Was nice fer a bit. Got too quiet after a while.” He turned the truck and parked it. “Finish yer food. We’re here.”
Scout craned his neck to see where ‘here’ might be, and frowned as he read the sign of the building they were outside of. “Th’ pet shop? What d’ we need at th’ pet shop? Ah’m not runnin’ low on kibble.”
Ma chewed her bite and swallowed before answering. “Well, while you were gone, I remembered that I promised to take you to get some toys, back when we moved into the house, and then we never did. So, I figured that we would just do it when you got back. And since we were already out, I thought it was the perfect time.”
Scout frowned and finished the last bite of his burger. “Ah don’ really NEED toys. Ah’m almost never home t’ play with ‘em in th’ first place.”
Paw started getting out of the truck, and Ma followed suit, popping open the back door for Scout. “Oh, nonsense. You’re home plenty enough to get bored. Anybody can see that you get bored by the time your break ends. I know you don’t really much care for normal toys, but I’m sure they have SOMETHING that’ll keep you entertained for at least a little while.”
Scout climbed out of the truck and watched Ma close the doors before turning to follow Ma and Paw inside. Ma grabbed a shopping cart. “Besides, you ARE running low on biscuits, and we were thinking of getting you a special treat because your birthday’s coming up soon.”
Scout went quiet and followed Ma as she started wandering the store in that meandering way of hers. She went through the treats aisle and picked up Scout’s usual biscuits, then found a big juicy knucklebone that she tossed into the cart. It still had some dried meat on it, and smelled really good, making Scout’s mouth water.
She stopped at a basket of multicolored tennis balls, picking out a couple red ones- Scout’s favorite color- and dropped them into the cart before pointing into the toy aisle. “Get in there and pick out a couple toys, Scout. I know you don’t really WANT to, but I need you to do it anyway.”
Scout sighed and wandered into the aisle. There were the standard options he’d learned from Coco- ropes for playing tug of war, rubber bones for chewing on, squeaky toys for… he still wasn’t really sure WHAT squeaky toys were for, other than making lots of noise- but there were also options he hadn’t even considered, like frisbees, little robots that would run around to be chased, or combinations of the other types, such as ropes with tennis balls strung on them like big beads.
He contemplated all of these, but didn’t really see anything he could see himself playing with- he was a working dog, not really a ‘playing’ type of dog, after all- so he wandered up and down the aisle, pretending to be interested in some stuff and hoping Ma would get tired of waiting and pick for him. Instead, she smiled patiently down at him, watching him. He could tell that she could tell that he wasn’t really interested, but she didn’t say anything, just letting him look.
He sighed in defeat and started picking things out, covertly checking the price tags to be sure they were cheap toys, and bringing each selection back to Ma to place in the cart. Every time he did, she would nod approvingly and tell him to go pick another, leaving him to go find something else that she would be convinced he would play with. He kept hoping she would say it was enough, but ten toys in, she still told him to go pick out another. He frowned. “Ma… ain’t that enough? That’s so many toys, that’s six balls an’ ten other toys. How can ya afford all this?”
“Scout Edwards, don’t you worry your cute little head how we’re going to pay for this and go pick out some more toys. I want you to have at least twelve different ones to keep yourself occupied with so you don’t get so bored sitting at home.” She pointed back into the aisle firmly.
Scout gave her a sour look and went back into the aisle. He’d already picked over the most basic of all the toys there; everything else was more expensive. He picked up a plush salmon and frowned at it as it jingled at him, then tossed it back into its bin with the other bell-fish.
It took Scout another fifteen minutes to pick out enough toys to satisfy Ma, and she nodded at Paw before turning to go toward the registers. Scout followed, staring at the cart full of stuff for him that he’d hoped never to actually own any of. He was still a farm dog at heart, and toys were the stuff of housepets- not that he really minded housepets anymore, but he still didn’t want to consider himself to BE one.
While Ma was checking out, Scout found his eye drawn to the big box engraving machine against the wall. It was used to engrave tags for pets to wear on their collars; Scout had one on his own collar. He stepped toward the machine and stared through the glass at the collar options. This one had cheap tags, mostly basic shapes instead of the fun, customized ones sold at an engraving shop downtown, where virtually all the pets in town had gotten their tags, but there was one in particular that drew his eye.
His tail wagged as his mind began racing, and he looked around for something he could stand on to reach the touch interface. There wasn’t anything handy; fortunately, Ma was done checking out now, and walked up to him.
“What’s the matter, Scout? You already have a tag. You don’t really NEED another one.” She knelt down next to him to follow his gaze.
Scout’s tail wagged overtime as he turned to face Ma, opening his mouth to tell her his idea.

[Amazee Dayzee]

If Scout were to get Coco a very fancy custom tag then she would love him forever. She might be so grateful she would want him to ask her to marry him.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

That about wraps it up for this story. Thank you all for reading, and don't worry- Scout WILL return.

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Chapter 24: I Give You My Heart

Scout led Coco into his room and gestured at it. “Ma an’ Paw moved mah stuff in here while ah was gone. Apparently it was always th’ plan t’ have me have mah own room, but then ah wasn’t doin’ well after th’ move so they let me sleep in th’ livin’ room.”
Coco grinned and looked around. The room didn’t have a lot of furniture; Scout’s basket was centered on one wall, and there was a bench chest centered on an adjacent wall, across from the closet. The walls had been painted red, and there was a bookshelf with only a couple books on it sitting next to the bench chest. She opened the bench chest and looked inside. “Oh! They finally took you to the pet shop for toys!” She started digging through it.
He gave a shy little chuckle. “Ah kinda jus’ picked out whatever was cheap. Ah didn’t really think ah needed anythin’ like that.”
Coco’s tail wagged as she came out with a squeaky toy in her mouth, snickering. “Aww, you’ll be FINE. You’ll end up using them more than you thought you would.” She squeaked the toy at him, then tossed it to him.
He caught it and looked at it quietly. The butterflies were back in his belly, and he wished they would calm down. After a moment, he tossed the squeaky toy back to her. “Coco, ah gotta say somethin’ to ya.”
Coco paused in tossing a ball to herself and looked at him. “Uh-oh. That’s never good. Are you breaking up with me?”
“No! No, nothin’ like that.” Scout put his ears back and stepped closer, closing the lid on his chest and sliding up onto it, patting the seat next to him. When she clambered up to sit next to him, he took her hands and looked in her eyes.
She looked back at him, frowning. She seemed worried. “You’re so serious. What’s the matter?”
Scout took a deep breath, trying to settle his nerves, then spoke. “Ah’m not th’ most romantic dog. But ah wanted t’ do somethin’ fer ya. Somethin’ t’ bring us t’ th’ next step. Ah’m not ready fer pups yet, but, if ye’ll have me, ah want t’ have ‘em with you someday.” He reached into his collar and pulled something out, fidgeting with it in his hand.
Coco leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Of course I’ll have you, when we’re both ready.”
He gave a weak smile. “Paw says that humans’ll give each other rings… class rings, or jus’ some cheap ring they bought… as a promise that they’ll be faithful fer their partners, before they get married, or before they get engaged.” He put his ears back nervously and looked down at his hand. “Ah don’t have a ring ah can give ya, so ah got ya somethin’.” He put out his hand, fist closed and palm down.
Coco frowned and put out her own hand to accept the item, watching Scout drop it into her palm before pulling it close to look at it. It was a cheap collar tag, shaped like a heart. She flipped it over to see what it said, then gasped and put a hand to her mouth. The engraving read: “Scout’s Heart.”
Scout nervously cleared his throat and spoke up. “Coco Brown, ah give ya mah heart, to hold as yer own, as a promise that ah’ll be yer very own guy until such time as we get separated by death, our folks movin’, or acts of God, an’ ah promise not t’ put mah eyes on another girl as long as ah have breath in mah body.”
Coco stared at the tag for a few more moments, then leaned in and hugged Scout, her tail wagging overtime. “Oh my gosh, Scout! That’s SO romantic!” She unclipped her collar and started clipping the tag on, right next to her name tag, smiling happily. “I’m going to wear this FOREVER.”
Scout felt his ears heat up a little as he watched. “Ah hope it’s not too sappy. Ah’m no good at this wooin’ purty girls stuff.”
She kissed him and grinned. “Don’t you worry one little hair on your coat about it. It’s SUPER sappy, and that’s what makes it the best.” She took his hand and pulled him toward his bed, grinning. “Come on, let’s snuggle, and then we can go show all our friends how you gave me your heart.”

THE END

[Amazee Dayzee]

Definitely was a great story and I am glad we got to see the farm again after all of this time. Though I am kind of hoping we will see Slim again in all of his muscular, cowboy glory because I always liked big strong hands.