Trusting Terry

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 19: Movie Night

Terry stood at the countertop on his tiptoes, watching the magic box glow and hum. Popping sounds came from inside, and the scent of imitation butter filled his nose. He wagged his tail excitedly. John chuckled and ruffled his ears. “You like popcorn, huh?”
Terry nodded eagerly. “The magic box makes good snacks.”
“Magic box, huh?” John gave an amused grin.
Terry nodded. “You put in the little packet, and a big bag comes out. You put in cold food, and hot food comes out. You put in a spoon, and it makes fire.”
John raised an eyebrow, glancing over at Barry across the way as he suddenly gave a little guilty duck out of the room. “A spoon makes fire, huh? I don’t remember showing you THAT.”
Terry put his ears back. “Oh.. oops. I wasn’t supposed to tell you about it. Barry said it would make the magic box stop working if I told you about that.”
John chuckled and stopped the magic box, opening it up and taking out the big, puffed-up bag of snacks. “He did, did he? I’ll have to talk to him about that later, then.” He inverted the bag over the trash can, shaking out the unpopped kernels, then opened the bag and dumped it into a bowl before discarding the bag itself. He passed Terry the bowl of popcorn. “Go ahead and go into the living room while I make mine. Remember, don’t eat all the popcorn before the movie starts, or you won’t have any to eat during the movie.”
“I remember!” Terry called back as he hurried out of the room, popping a few popped kernels into his mouth. John chuckled and turned back to the microwave, putting in another bag of popcorn.
Someone knocked at the door, and Terry paused to open it. Gideon grinned down at him, his scarf and mittens covered in slowly-melting snowflakes. “Heya, sport. Barry invited me over for movies. Mind if I come in?”
Terry put his ears back and stared at Gideon for a moment, and he was about to close the door in his face when Barry appeared behind Terry and blocked the door with his hand. “Hey, you made it. Come on in!”
Gideon stepped inside, and Barry let Terry close the door, stepping aside to greet his friend. “Dad’s just popping some popcorn, and then we’ll be getting underway.”
Terry scowled and cupped his popcorn bowl to his chest, stomping off to the couch. Gideon flinched, watching him. “Eesh. He still doesn’t like me, huh?”
“Guess not.” Barry frowned, watching Terry. “But I think he’s starting to warm up to you. He didn’t close the door on you right away this time.”
Gideon chuckled and took off his mittens and scarf, hanging them up on an empty hook by the door. “That’s true. It’s an improvement.” He nudged Barry’s shoulder. “So, what’s the playlist today?”
Barry grinned, leading Gideon over toward the couch. “We’re gonna start off nice and easy with that old stop-motion movie about how Santa Claus got started, and then we’re gonna watch the Brinch- the good one with Tim Barry- and then finally that one about the guy who turns into Santa.”
John came around the corner into the living room with his own bowl of popcorn clutched in his hands. “All aboard the movie express! We’re getting started!”
Barry grinned and climbed up onto the couch, patting the spot between himself and Terry for Gideon to climb up. He did so with a grin, causing Terry to scowl. John started the first movie on their watch list, and Terry hesitantly settled in with his popcorn.
Gideon leaned in toward Barry once the movie had been running for a while, and Barry frowned at him, whispering. “Dude, what are you doing? You’re squishing me.”
Gideon hesitated, then sat up straight again. “Oh, sorry. I just… never mind.” He whispered back.
“You’re weird sometimes, you know that?” Barry frowned at Gideon for a moment, then faced front.
Terry rolled his eyes without looking their way. “Would you two stop flirting for five minutes? I’m watching this movie.”
“We’re not flirting!” Barry whispered harshly.
“Sorry.” Gideon whispered at the same time.
There was an awkward silence, and then Barry cleared his throat. “Anyway, we should be quiet. Terry’s never seen this.”
They all fell silent as the movie rolled. Once the credits started to play, John got up and walked into the corner, pulling a folding table he’d set up earlier into the middle of the room. “The pizza should be here any minute. Barry, go and get some paper plates. Gideon, I got pepperoni, I hope that’s okay.”
“I love pepperoni.” Gideon grinned up at John, then turned to nudge Terry. “Hey, you like that movie?”
“Don’t touch me.” Terry grunted, putting his ears back and scowling at Gideon.
“Sorry, sorry.” Gideon held his hands up in the air, his stub tail wagging playfully. “I forgot, you’re VERY touchy about who can touch you.”
Terry scowled at him. “He has no idea, by the way.”
Gideon was quiet for a few moments, then frowned. “I actually have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Terry rolled his eyes. “Barry. He has NO idea that you’re flirting with him. He thinks you’re just his friend.”
Gideon put his ears back a little and hushed him. “Hey, hey, none of that! He might hear you!”
Terry grunted, watching John across the room switching out the disks in the movie player. “You’re never going to know if he likes you back if you don’t commit to making sure he knows you’re trying to find out, you know. You can’t keep backing out the second he notices.”
Gideon hesitated. “What do you even care? You don’t even like me.”
Terry shrugged. “It’s just sad, watching you start to move in and then back off all the time. You never know if you’ll have tomorrow. Keep avoiding the issue if you want, but don’t complain if he finds somebody else before you get around to making your move.”
The doorbell rang, and Terry’s ears perked. He looked over and watched John answer the door, accept a few pizza boxes from the delivery man, exchange a few words, and then close the door to bring the pizza over to the folding table. Barry finally returned with the paper plates and plastic cups, explaining that he’d had to open a new pack and the packaging hadn’t wanted to cooperate.
Gideon frowned down at Terry, then looked up when John offered him a paper plate with a slice of pizza on it and a cup of clear fizzy liquid. “Er… Thanks.”

[Amazee Dayzee]

I think Terry is starting to warm up a bit towards Gideon now and trying to get him to tell Barry how he feels about him since he likes him more than just a friend. I honestly could really see Terry being a shipper for Barry and Gideon. LOL

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 20: Grandma Returns

Terry sat on the couch, idly squeezing his plush and watching the tree cycle through colors as the lights slowly pulsed on and off in sequence. Barry was playing his game, as usual, beeping and dinging and booming through the tinny, small-sounding speakers on the device itself. John was in his office, typing away at his computer. Outside, snowflakes gently drifted to and fro as they made their way past the window, the tiny little flakes illuminated by the light filtering through the window and the dim sunlight filtering through the gloomy dark gray sky.
Terry wasn’t bored, really, but he did wish that it wasn’t so quiet. The quiet was a little unnerving; Terry could almost hear his own heart beating in the near-silence. After a long time of watching the lights: Blue, yellow, red, green; blue, yellow, red, green: Terry slid down off the couch and wandered into the kitchen. He opened the freezer and helped himself to an ice cube, putting it in his mouth and pushing the drawer closed as he sucked on it.
The ice cube melted slowly, moistening Terry’s tongue, and he pushed it into his cheek as he wandered to the door to John’s office, watching him type for a few moments before walking away. He didn’t really need anything, so he shouldn’t disturb John while he was working. After a few moments, Terry wandered back to the living room again, holding his plush against his chest and tucking its head up against his chin. Motion outside the window drew his eye, and he glanced that way, expecting to see some snow falling out of a tree, or maybe someone walking past with a sled in tow.
Instead, what he saw was a small red car slowing down in front of the house, then turning into the driveway. He put his ears back and glared at the car. It wasn’t a car that he knew, so it wasn’t one he wanted parked in front of his house the way it was. “Stranger.” He mumbled, which got Barry’s attention.
Barry looked up at him, taking his eyes off his screen for the first time all morning. “You say something?”
“Stranger.” Terry repeated, pointing out through the window and leaving a little fingerprint on the glass.
Barry set his game aside and slid down off the couch, walking over to the window on the other side of the tree to look through. “Oh. Huh. I wonder who it is.”
An older woman, not elderly but certainly past her prime, climbed out of the car, and Terry felt his hackles raise as he watched her potter around the outside of the car, opening the back door to take out a big suitcase. He set his teeth and opened his lips, hearing a little growl slip free.
Barry leaned around the tree to bop Terry on the back of the head with an open hand. “That’s Grandma, don’t GROWL at her!”
Terry rubbed the back of his head, glaring at Barry. It hadn’t hurt, but it was a little annoying that he had bopped him. “Don’t hit me.”
“Then don’t growl at Grandma.” Barry snorted and looked out the window. Grandma had started walking carefully up the icy sidewalk toward the house, and she grinned at them through the window, giving a little wave. Barry’s tail wagged, and he rushed to the door to let her in.
Grandma came inside and set her bag to the side before kneeling to give Barry a hug. “Hi, there’s my puppy. I missed you, did you know that?”
Barry’s tail wagged excitedly as he hugged and nuzzled into Grandma. “Grandma! I didn’t know you were coming this early, dad said you wouldn’t be here until this afternoon! How long are you staying this time?”
“Aww.” Grandma gave Barry a little kiss on the head. “I’m only staying for three days this time, I head home the day after Christmas.” She turned and put her hand out for Terry. “Hey, Terry. Gonna let Grandma give you a hug this time? Hmm? Or are you still feeling too shy?”
Terry hugged his plush for a moment with his ears held back, staring at Grandma for a few moments, then stepped forward, ducking his head and letting Grandma give him a hug. “Aww, there’s my big brave puppy.” She hugged him, then rubbed his back for a moment before patting it. “Thank you for letting me give you a hug. Now…” She stood up and looked around. “Your dad is working right now, I assume?”
Barry nodded. “He’s in his office. He said he’ll be done at lunchtime, and then he’ll be done working until after Christmas.”
She smiled. “Perfect. Who wants to help me surprise him with one of his favorite lunches?”
Barry grinned excitedly and threw his hand in the air. “Ooh! Ooh! I do!”
Grandma chuckled. “All right, all right, follow me to the kitchen. Let’s get it all set up.”
Terry put his ears back and followed Grandma and Barry as Grandma started bustling around. She put a pot on the stove and got some carrots and celery out of the fridge. “Barry, be a dear and rinse these real good for me, please?”
She pulled a baggie of chicken out of the freezer, setting it in the microwave to start defrosting quickly before accepting the carrots and celery from Barry and laying them on a cutting board. With a quick flurry of a knife, she chopped the vegetables and tossed them in the pot with some butter and garlic from the fridge.
After a few moments of watching, Terry stepped forward and stood on tiptoe to try and see into the pot as Grandma stirred it. She smiled down at him and set up a stepstool next to the stove so he could climb up and look inside. The vegetables were cooking nicely, and smelled nice and fragrant. Grandma offered Terry the spoon. “Wanna stir this for me so it doesn’t burn?”
Terry nodded and took the spoon, awkwardly stirring the vegetables and watching them as Grandma went to get the chicken from the microwave. What felt like only a few seconds later, she came back with the cutting board, the chicken already chopped into tiny bits on it, and used the knife to scrape it all into the pot. Immediately, the smell changed from the smell of vegetables to the smell of meat cooking.
Grandma chuckled as she washed her hands, then ruffled Terry’s headfluff as she watched him stir. “You’re doing a great job, kiddo. Your dad’s going to love this.”
Barry’s tail wagged, and he rushed to the cabinet to start pulling out little boxes of chicken broth. Grandma laughed. “Oh, you’ve done this before, have you? What else goes in, then, mister smart?”
Barry grinned. “Noodles! Salt and pepper! And a little cream.”
Grandma chuckled, taking the chicken broth from Barry. “Well, then. Hop to it! We need to get those noodles cooked before your dad comes out for lunch.” She grinned and turned to peek into the pot. “Ooh, looks like that chicken’s just about done cooking. You’re a good helper, Terry.” She started pouring in the broth, one container at a time, as Terry’s potful of chicken and vegetables quickly turned into a pot of chicken and vegetable soup. Once all the broth was in, she patted Terry’s back. “Good job. You can stop stirring now. We need to let it boil, and then add the noodles.”
Terry shyly gave the spoon back, then climbed off the stool. Grandma grinned and waited a few moments. When the pot was bubbling merrily, she turned down the heat and poured in the box of noodles that Barry offered her. She waited a bit longer, stirring the pot every few moments, then went to the fridge and got the cream.
John walked out of his office, taking a deep breath. “Mmm, I smell Grandma’s famous creamy chicken noodle soup, my favorite!” He put his arms out and hugged Grandma. “Hi, mom. You’re early.”

[Amazee Dayzee]

I'm starting to get the feeling that Terry is gonna become closer to his grandmother rather than his father as time goes on. He is slowly letting her in as he lets his guard down around her which is always great to see as he continues to acclimate to becoming a house pet.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 21: Christmas Day

Terry yawned and sat up, rubbing his eyes sleepily. He could smell something sweet baking in the kitchen. When he looked around, he suddenly became aware of Barry standing next to his bed, grinning widely. “Oh, good, you’re awake!”
“B-YAAAH!” Terry yelped, startled, and jumped up, nearly banging his head into Barry’s nose. “Barry!” He sputtered, putting his ears back. “What are you doing in my room?!”
“Oh, I was awake and I wanted to see if you were awake. Dad’s making breakfast.” He grinned, then lowered his voice. “Santa came.”
Terry yawned and looked down at his bed on the floor, poking through the blankets with his paw until he found Kendra and picked her up. “That’s nice.” He turned and walked out of the room, going straight to the bathroom, then wandered into the living room. Grandma was folding up the magic bed that popped out of the couch, turning the couch back into a couch. There were packages under the tree; lots of packages wrapped in colored paper with little pictures on it. Terry scanned them briefly before giving a disinterested shrug and wandering into the kitchen.
John glanced over at Terry, then grinned. “Oh, hey, bud. Good morning. Merry Christmas.”
Terry gave a disinterested shrug and took his seat at the table, laying his head down. “Morning.”
John chuckled and walked over to ruffle Terry’s head. “Heh… still a little sleepy, I see. Don’t worry, I’ve got something in the oven that’ll perk you right up.”
“Mm.” Terry mumbled idly. “That’s nice.”
John chuckled and opened the oven, taking out a baking sheet and setting it aside. While he gave whatever he was cooking a chance to cool, he got to work making up the plates; onto four paper plates, he placed an apple each, already sliced up, a generous portion of bacon, and a fresh crescent roll fresh out of the oven. He drizzled some honey over the roll and the apple and set one at each place at the table before calling into the living room. “Breakfast is ready.”
Barry rushed into the dining room and plopped down at the table excitedly, followed by Grandma, who walked in and paused to help herself to some coffee from the single-serve coffee machine before sitting down.
Terry hesitantly picked up the crescent roll and took a bite, surprised to find it stuffed with crushed walnuts and more honey. “It’s good…” He mumbled through his mouthful. Truthfully, it was a little too sweet for him, but he decided it was good enough to eat anyway. He wasn’t one to turn down food, after all.
John chuckled and nodded. “I’m glad you like it. It’s grandma’s recipe. She’s been making it every year for my whole life. It’s better when she makes it, but I like to think it’s pretty close when I do it.”
Grandma chuckled. “Oh, hush. You do just fine. It’s delicious.”
“I love it.” Barry grinned, his muzzle and hands covered in honey. “It’s one of my favorite parts about Christmas.”
John chuckled and sipped his coffee. Once everybody was finished eating, John suddenly clapped his hands and stood up. “All right, boys, off to the bathroom to wash your hands and faces. You’re all sticky; get all the sticky off and meet in the living room for presents.”
Barry gave a little whoop of joy and jumped up, rushing off to the bathroom, while Terry carefully climbed out of his chair, leaving Kendra sitting on the floor next to his seat, and walked down the hall. Barry was splashing his face with water and scrubbing at it with his hands. He grinned at Terry in the mirror when Terry entered. “Hey. You ready for the main event?”
Terry shrugged and leaned back against the door. “It’s whatever. I don’t really understand what’s happening.”
Barry grinned and climbed down off the stool to let Terry at the sink. “It’s Christmas. We’re doing Christmas.”
Terry sighed and climbed up to wash his hands, then splashed his face to scrub out the honey. “So you’ve said, but I don’t know what that IS.”
“Well, it’s a holiday. Humans are celebrating something… I don’t really know what. I don’t really care. The point is, it’s a whole day of just FUN.” Barry grinned, practically bouncing in place. “Come on, hurry up!”
Terry sighed and dried his face off. “I’m coming, I’m coming.” He climbed down off the stool and followed Barry down the hall toward the living room.
John was sitting on the couch, with Grandma sitting in a chair she’d dragged from the dining room. He grinned and patted the couch next to him when Terry and Barry appeared, and Terry obediently walked over and took a spot on the couch. Once they were both seated, John got up and took the socks off the hooks. Terry noticed for the first time that they had been stuffed full of stuff. He gave one to Barry, one to Grandma, and one to Terry, then took one himself.
Terry peeked inside. Small packages wrapped in the same brightly colored paper as the stuff under the tree filled the sock almost all the way to the top. Terry frowned and looked up at John. John grinned back down at him, then looked at Barry. “Barry, why don’t you go first, show Terry how it’s done.”
Barry eagerly took a package out of his stocking and ripped the paper off, triumphantly holding up a really nice dog biscuit in its own little box, decorated with frosting to look like a little cookie man. “I got a biscuit!”
John grinned. “Ooh, Santa’s starting off strong this year, huh?”
Terry frowned and stared at the discarded scrap of paper on the floor. John grinned and nudged Terry. “Terry, why don’t you give it a try? You open one, and then someone else has a turn, and we go round and round and round until everybody’s stocking is empty.”
Terry hesitated. “This is why there’s so much paper in the trash this time of year? This kinda seems… pointless.”
“It’s not pointless! It’s fun!” Barry grinned, setting his biscuit box in his lap and looking over at Terry expectantly.
Terry frowned and pulled a package out of his stocking, staring at it. He gave it a stealthy sniff; he couldn’t smell any ‘Santa’ on it, only John. “So I just… take the paper off?”
John nodded and gave him an encouraging nudge. “Go ahead.”
There was a pause, and then Terry hesitantly tore off the wrapper, letting it fall to the ground and looked at the biscuit shaped like a reindeer in its own little box. “Oh. Wow. Fun.” He mumbled unenthusiastically, holding it up.

[Amazee Dayzee]

It seems Terry needs to learn that Christmas is fun and you need to be excited for it. I also need to get back to feeling happy and excited about Christmas which I haven't been able to do since about 2013.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 22: A Quiet Talk

Barry looked up from his Switch and glanced around. Terry was sitting on the couch next to him, his eyes vacant and his ears covered by the headphones attached to the MP3 player he’d been given for Christmas. It wasn’t anything fancy, but John had preloaded it with a variety of music, and Terry had hardly taken it off since he’d received it the previous day. John was in his office, doing some last-minute work for some work project that was due by New Year’s. Grandma had left that morning to catch her flight home.
Overall, it was pretty much silent in the house. Barry frowned; he was sure he had heard a noise. Before he could ponder this too much, there was a knock at the door. He slid off the couch and walked over to answer it, then grinned at Gideon and stepped back to let him in. “Hey! Good morning! How was your Christmas?”
Gideon stepped inside and undid his scarf. “Hmm? Oh, it was fine, fine.” He seemed a little distracted as he hung up his stuff.
Barry closed the door and frowned at his friend, tilting his head. “Is something the matter? You seem… off.”
Gideon shrugged. “No, no, I’m fine, nothing’s wrong. Well… maybe SOMETHING. But… never mind, never mind.” He looked around. “Oh, hey, there, Terry.”
Barry glanced over at Terry, then chuckled. “Oh, he can’t hear you. Dad- er, ‘Santa’ got him a music player for Christmas, and he’s a little obsessed. I think he slept in those headphones.”
“Oh.” Gideon glanced over Terry, at the big headphones that covered his ears and the cable going down to the device held clutched in one hand while his other held his plush. “So, he can’t hear us?”
“Not a word.” Barry snickered. “We’ll have to physically shake him out of it for lunch.”
“Good.” Gideon took a seat on the couch and gestured for Barry to sit next to him. “I wanted to talk to you in private.”
Barry moved his switch aside and took the seat, frowning at Gideon. He’d never seen the doberman look so serious before. “Something IS wrong.”
“Not… seriously.” Gideon hesitated, looking for where to begin. “I’m… I wanna say something, but I want you to promise that if things don’t go like I hope, we can still be friends. Okay?”
Barry frowned at Gideon again, looking him up and down. “Of COURSE we can still be friends! We’re best friends, nothing’s gonna change that.” His face turned to a playful smirk, and he nudged him. “You’re STUCK with me.”
Gideon gave a snicker, and then his face turned serious again. “No, I’m serious. What I need to say to you… you might not like it. It might be… weird, I guess? You might not like it.”
Barry laughed. “Gideon, just SAY IT. Whatever you have to say, I promise it’s nothing that’s going to make me not want to be your friend anymore.”
Gideon nodded. “Okay. I just wanted to be sure before I said anything. Let me just… where do I start?” He looked down at his hands, fidgeting nervously as he considered.
“You could start at the beginning.” Barry nudged him helpfully.
“Yeah, I could… um… except, I don’t really know where the beginning IS. It happened slowly, over the past couple years.” He cleared his throat. “Well, I guess I should just come right out and say it, then. Barry, I like you.”
Barry chuckled. “I should hope so, we’ve been hanging out together for years.”
“No! That’s not what I…” Gideon trailed off, then took a deep breath. “What I mean is, I LIKE like you. Like… I’d really like to… I’m saying ‘like’ an awful lot. Sorry, I’m just nervous. It’s…” He trailed off again, thinking, then turned to look Barry in the eye. “I wanna be your boyfriend.”
Barry blinked and stared at Gideon for a few moments, giving what Gideon had said plenty of time to process through his mind. “You… want to…”
“I wanna be your boyfriend. Hold hands, snuggle…” Gideon hesitated, looking at the ground shyly. “... Make smoochies…”
Barry was quiet for a few moments, then spoke, a single question. “How long?”
“What?” Gideon asked nervously.
“How long have you felt this way?” Barry clarified.
“A while.” Gideon admitted. “At least a year. Before that… I wasn’t really sure. But I didn’t make a move because you were already seeing somebody, and I didn’t want to ruin what you had going, and then I wasn’t sure what to do when you WEREN’T seeing her anymore, and then…” He trailed off, taking a deep breath. “Sorry, I’m panicking a little bit.”
Barry gave a little crooked smile and took Gideon’s hand. “Well, I think I’ll let it slide just this once. Saying something must be difficult for you.” His face fell. “I almost feel guilty saying it, but… I’m not INTO you. Not like that, at least. I love hanging out with you and doing stuff together, but not in THAT way. We’re good friends, but I’m afraid that we’re not more than that.”
Gideon’s face fell, and he nodded. “That’s what I was afraid you’d say. That’s why it took me so long to say anything. Don’t get me wrong, I’m okay with us just staying friends, but I had hoped for something… more.”
Barry gave his hands a squeeze. “I’m sorry to disappoint you. I’ll let you know if anything changes, how’s that? In the meantime… Wanna go out and play in the snow?”
Gideon hesitated, glancing over at Terry, who was still sitting there with his headphones on and his eyes forward. “Er… with Terry?”
Barry shook his head. “No, not this time. Just the two of us, like old times. We can build a snowdog in the front yard and dress it up in my old scarf.”
Gideon snickered, his eyes sparkling. “You know what, that sounds like fun.” He stood up off the couch and walked toward the door to start putting his scarf back on, followed closely by Barry.
Barry grinned. “See? Still friends, just like I promised.”
“Still friends.” Gideon grinned, grabbing an extra scarf off of Barry’s hook and holding it up. “Oof, this is worn thin. No wonder you got a new one.”
“Yeah, but I asked Dad if we could keep it. It makes a great snowdog scarf.” He opened the door and gestured for Gideon to exit. “You first.”
Gideon chuckled and walked outside, pausing on the porch to watch Barry close the door before the two of them darted out into the yard together, starting to gather up some of the snow to pack it into large balls.
Back on the couch, Terry leaned back and opened his hand, looking down to press the play button on his music player. “Finally.” He smiled as music started playing through his headphones again. “Took you long enough.”

[Amazee Dayzee]

Seems like Barry and Gideon are on the road to becoming more than just good friends. I also can see Terry eventually becoming a shipper for the two of them. LOL

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 23: New Year’s Eve

“You mean we get to stay up as late as we want to?” Terry bounced excitedly at the edge of the counter, watching John chop up a big sausage and lay it out on a platter with the cheese he’d already sliced and some crackers.
“As late as you want. At least, until I go to bed. It’s New Year’s, so you can stay up and ring in the new year with us if you want. But if you fall asleep, I’m gonna put you to bed.” John chuckled. He put the end piece of sausage in his mouth, then turned his attention to a plate of pickles, covering it with plastic to go back into the fridge until dinner time.
Terry’s tail wagged excitedly. “And we’re gonna play games all night?”
“All night.” John confirmed, poking his nose playfully. “We’ll play games, watch movies, maybe even snuggle.”
He grinned and bounced in place a little. “That sounds like a lot of fun!”
John chuckled and put plastic wrap over the cheese, tucking it into the fridge next to the pickles. “I even got some soda for you two to drink. Won’t that be fun?”
“Eh.” Terry waggled his hand back and forth. “It’ll be okay. Not my favorite.”
John grinned at him and motioned for him to follow. “This’ll be the last holiday for a little while, so you’ll be back to the normal rules after tomorrow.” He led him to the living room and grinned, sitting on the couch and patting his lap.
Terry eagerly climbed up into John’s lap, and John turned on the television, leaning back and pulling Terry with him to settle against his chest. “Here, I want you to lay down for a while for now while we watch a movie together. You don’t have to sleep, but I want you to rest, okay?”
He nodded up at him and snuggled in close, watching as John cued up a movie to watch. Once the movie was running, John put his arms around Terry and ran his fingers idly through his fur. Terry’s tail wagged gently, and he closed his eyes.
The next thing Terry knew, he was being gently set down on the couch. He opened his eyes and gave a confused little sound, and John chuckled. “Oh, I’m sorry, Terry. I tried not to wake you up. I just needed to get up for something.”
Terry yawned and sat up, rubbing his eyes and looking around. Barry and Gideon had appeared on the couch next to them. “‘S’okay….” He mumbled sleepily.
Barry snickered and nudged Terry. “You were OUT. We’ve been sitting here for an hour, did you know that?”
Terry gave a sour face and climbed off the couch, staggering for a moment before he took off in the direction John had gone. John was in the kitchen, mixing up a pot of something hot and creamy. Terry stood on tiptoes to try and see over the edge of the pot.
John chuckled. “It’s just some sauce for meatballs, Terry. I’m going to put it in the crock pot, and we’ll let it simmer all night while we snack.”
“It smells good.” Terry backed away from the stove so he wasn’t in the way, and John chuckled.
“It’s just from a jar. I’m gonna mix in a little cheese and make sure it melts before I mix it with the meatballs, and then we’ll give it an hour or two for the meatballs to get hot before we start in on dinner.” He stirred with his spoon for a few moments before turning to get out the crock pot, setting it on the counter and plugging it in. He poured in a whole bag of meatballs, then turned to Terry. “Why don’t you go sit with your brother and friend? I’ll be right back in to start another movie.”
Terry shook his head. “No, I think they need some time alone. Besides, I wanna help with dinner.”
John chuckled as he added some cheese to the sauce and started stirring. “You got the cooking bug from your grandma, did you? I heard you did a good job helping make that soup the day she got here.”
Terry nodded happily. “I stirred the pot while she was chopping chicken. She said I did a good job.”
John laughed. “You did, it was VERY tasty. Unfortunately, there’s not much you can help with for this, I’m just melting some cheese into this sauce and then pouring it over the meatballs to cook. It’s not very exciting.”
“Okay. Well… I’ll just keep you company, then.” He walked over to the table and sat down to watch.
John glanced over at Terry with a frown. “Terry, is there a reason you don’t want to be in the room with Barry and Gideon?”
Terry shrugged. “Well… Gideon’s a little scary… but mostly, it’s just because he’s more Barry’s friend than mine. He tries really hard to get me to like him, but really I just wanna be left alone.”
John chuckled and poured the sauce into the crockpot, setting the pan on the stove to cool while he stirred in the meatballs. “I get that. Sometimes, I need my space, too. Have you tried telling them that you want some space?”
He shrugged. “I don’t think they really care all that much. Barry likes to hang out with me, and Gideon likes to hang out with Barry, so Barry wants me and Gideon to get along. I don’t… NOT like Gideon, I just don’t really want to spend more time with him than I have to.”
“Gideon and I.” John corrected, then put the lid on the meatballs and grabbed the pot, taking it to the sink and starting to wash it. “Maybe you should try telling them that. I’m sure Barry will understand that you’re not really in the mood for people. As long as you’re not getting into trouble, I see no reason why you should have to play TOGETHER when you go to the park.”
Terry nodded his agreement. “But at the same time, I don’t want to hurt their feelings by not hanging out with them when they’re HERE, so now Gideon’s gonna be HERE all the time.”
“Because he wants you to like him because you’re his friend’s brother.” John rinsed off his washed pot and set it aside to dry.
“Exactly.” Terry nodded.
John chuckled. “I’ll hint to Barry that he doesn’t need to spend all his time with you, okay? In the meantime, let’s go back to the living room and pick another movie.” He finished drying his hands and set the hand towel back on its hook.
Terry nodded and climbed out of his seat, waiting for John to meet with him in the kitchen before walking back to the living room with him and climbing back up in his seat next to Gideon.
Gideon grinned at Terry and raised a hand for a high five. “Welcome back, sleepy dude. Can I have some skin?”
Terry stared at Gideon for a moment, then hesitantly raised a hand and touched it to Gideon’s. Gideon grinned and turned toward Barry.
Barry snickered and nudged Gideon. “I told you so, you just have to have patience and he’ll warm up to you.”

[Amazee Dayzee]

After helping him out with Barry I am pretty sure Gideon doesn't have to worry about Terry not liking him because if he didn't he would happily let Barry and Gideon's friendship dissolve so he wouldn't have to see Gideon. Terry is just the introverted type which I can relate with.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Well, that about wraps up this story. I hope you enjoyed it! We'll be back on our Monday slot next week with a new story involving some old friends, some new friends, and some young friends. Thank you for reading!

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Chapter 24: Ringing in the New Year

John checked the wall clock, then sat forward. “It’s about ten minutes to the new year. Who’s ready for the countdown?”
“Not Terry.” Gideon chuckled, looking down at the pup asleep against his shoulder, drooling slightly. “Should I wake him up?”
John shook his head and stood up, gently scooping up the sleeping pup and transferring his head to his own shoulder. “No, that’s fine. I’ll just put him to bed. Honestly, I’m surprised he lasted as long as he did. He’s had a really big couple of weeks.”
Barry climbed off the couch and ran ahead of John to open Terry’s bedroom door for him and kick toys out of the path between the door and Terry’s bed.
“Thank you, Barry. Can you go see if you can find where he left Kendra? He’s going to want her if he wakes up in the middle of the night.” John spoke in soft, hushed tones as he slowly lowered the pup down to the dinosaur-printed pillow that served as his bed.
Barry nodded and rushed out of the room, pausing in the dining room to check for the plush before going back to the living room. “Hey, Gideon, have you seen Terry’s plush? Dad wants me to find it for him.”
Gideon chuckled and picked up the stuffed dog, holding it up. “Here it is. I’m glad that he felt comfortable enough to fall asleep on me.”
Barry chuckled. “I think it was less he was comfortable enough, and more that he was too exhausted not to.” He took the plush from Gideon. “I’ll be right back out as soon as we’ve tucked him in.”
Barry started to leave the room, then paused. “Hey… If you promise not to read too much into it, I wouldn’t be entirely opposed to giving you a New Year’s kiss. You know…”
“On the cheek, because we’re only friends?” Gideon raised an eyebrow playfully.
“Yeah, exactly. Just bros kissing each other on the cheek, like the French.” He smirked.
“I’d be delighted.” Gideon snickered.
Barry grinned at him and walked back to Terry’s room, holding up the plush and speaking in a loud whisper. “I found it. He left it on the couch.”
“Perfect.” John took the plush and carefully tucked it under the blanket with Terry. The pup mumbled in his sleep and hugged it close.
“He looks so cute when he’s sleeping.” Barry tilted his head with a smile.
John smiled and started making his way out of the room. “Yeah. Even more so than usual.”
Barry slowly closed the door and smiled. “I’m glad you brought him home. Even if he is a little annoying sometimes.”
John smiled and patted Barry’s shoulder. “You know, I’m glad I brought him home, too. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He glanced at the clock. “Come on, let’s go count down to the new year together. To our first full year as a family.” He turned and walked back down the hall toward the living room with Barry in tow.

THE END

[Amazee Dayzee]

I really did love reading this story and I am s glad that you shared this update on Terry with us! I am happy to see that he is adjusting well to living in a family!