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“Gon’ get’chu!”
Lemonade giggled while he chased his favourite blue ball around his saferoom. He had to be careful not to run over his blockies, though. They were in the middle of the room, half-stacked together. Just thinking about his blockies made Lemonade abandon his ball to continue stacking them.
“Wub bwockies!” He sat on his rump and grabbed a block between his soft hooves. Now, where should he stack it?
Just as Lemonade was about to decide, the saferoom door opened and in walked Daddy! Lemonade was so excited he dropped the blockie and ran to the saferoom door. “Daddeh hewe! Wemonabe miss yu su muchies, Daddeh!”
Parker knelt to give Lemonade some pets and hugs. “I missed you too, buddy! What did you do all day while I was at work?”
Lemonade regaled Parker with all the things he had done: Watched FluffTV, played with his blockies, made good poopies in the litterbox, played with his ball, played with his blockies again, had a nap with his stuffy friend Sammy…
Parker couldn’t help but laugh a bit. “Sounds like you had a busy day.”
“Wemonabe hab fun, bu’ wan’ hab mowe fun wif Daddeh hewe!” He hopped out of Parker’s loose grip to run to the middle of the saferoom. “Pway bwokies!” His little body wiggled with excitement. He could hardly contain himself.
Parker stayed in the doorway. “Can we talk first? I have something important to tell you.” They pat their lap.
Lemonade was a bit disappointed, but he came back to his Daddy and sat on their lap. “Wha’ Daddeh wan’ tawkies ‘bout?”
Parker gently scratched behind Lemonade’s ears. “We have something important to do tomorrow to make sure you’re healthy. It might feel scary, but I’ll be with you.”
“Huu, why scawy? Nu wan’ gu tu scawy pwacie.” Lemonade shifted nervously in Parker’s lap.
Parker reassured Lemonade with a soft smile. “I know, I know. But sometimes we have to do things we don’t want. You were living outside for a long time, so I want to make sure you won’t have problems later from that.”
“Bu’… am feew gud! Wemonabe aww bettew wif daddeh nao,” he said half-heartedly. Deep down he knew his protests wouldn’t get him anywhere.
Parker hesitated. They knew Lemonade wouldn’t like what they had to say next. “I know, buddy.” They gave him a few more scratches behind his ears. “And we’re gonna have to get you neutered.”
Lemonade looked up at Parker in horror. He knew that word from his old daddy! “Nu! Nu wan wose wumps!” He leapt from Parker’s lap and kept his back end away from them, his little body shaking. “W-Wemonabe be gud fwuffy! Wan’ be daddeh an’ hab spechew fwien’! Wan’ famiwy!”
It broke Parker’s heart to see Lemonade that way. “Oh, buddy… I’m so sorry, but we don’t have a choice.”
“Huu huu huuuuu!” Lemonade stomps his hooves on the soft carpet, tears already wetting his cheek fluff. He was absolutely crushed. “Nu wan’ wose wumps! Nu wan’! Wan’ hab babbehs! Wan’ hab spechew fwien’!”
“I really wish you could have that too, but I only have room for one fluffy.” Parker reached for Lemonade to try and comfort him, but the distraught fluffy backed away.
“Nu! Hatchu, Daddeh! Hatchu! Gon’ wun ‘way!” Lemonade stomped his hooves again. “Gon’ fin’ spechew fwien’ an’ hab wots an’ wots ob babbehs!”
Parker sighed heavily and got up off the floor. They weren’t about to deal with a tantruming fluffy, so they left the safe room and closed the door behind them.
Lemonade sobbed while tapping on the door with his front hooves. “Meanie Daddeh, huu huu! Wemonabe gon’ wun ‘way!” He ran around his safe room looking for a way out but tripped on his blockies. The two-blocky tower broke apart, some of them rolling across the room. Lemonade fell forward and smacked his chin on the carpet which sent shockwaves through his teeth. He felt his entire head rattling for what felt like a forever. It was so much that he didn’t notice the blocky directly under his ribcage.
“Uuuu huuuu huuuu! Owwies! Wowstes’ owwies!” He laid on the floor for another forever while he cried his little heart out. He had so many owwies and heart hurties it was all he could do. He eventually pulled himself up and wobbled to his bed, his legs weak from using so much energy crying. He curled up in a tight ball and buried his nose under his front leg to try and hide from the world.
After what felt like a forever of forevers, Parker came back into the safe room with a bowl filled with Lemonade’s dinner. They saw Lemonade curled up in his bed. “Hey buddy, how are you doing…?”
Lemonde looked up, his face drooped in misery and exhaustion. “Uuu huuu, hab su many owwies an’ heawt huwties…”
“Okay, let’s talk about it.” Parker said softly. They set the food bowl down by the door and took the few steps to Lemonade’s bed. They picked him up, cradling the little fluffy close while carrying him back to the door. They sat down on the floor, resting Lemonade in their lap.
“Nu wan’ wose wumps…” It came out weakly, almost a whisper.
Parker gently rubs Lemonade’s belly. “I know, buddy. I really do, but there’s too many fluffies and…” They think for a moment, trying to think of a way they could explain the law to a fluffy. “Remember what I said about your old daddy not having permission to have so many fluffies? I need permission too, and I can’t afford it. If I let you have a special friend and babies, I wouldn’t be able to feed you all, and we’d all be very hungry.”
That elicited a small gasp from Lemonade. “Nu mowe nummies? Nuu, Wemonabe wub nummies tu…”
“But there’s other ways for you to have babies.” Parker smiled and gently massaged a soft hoof with their fingers. The texture was oddly pleasing. Firm, but with a small amount of give. “There are so many babies already out there who need homes.”
“Weawwy? An’…Wemonabe can hab awweady babbeh…?” Lemonade looked up into Parker’s eyes, giving his best puppy-dog look.
Parker chuckled a little and gently pet Lemonade’s mane. “Not right now, but maybe someday, okay? I still only have enough money to feed you and me.
“Otay, Daddeh! Wemonabe be bestes’, gudest fwuffy fo’ Daddeh su can hab an aweady babbeh!” Lemonade’s little body wiggled in excitement, joy in his eyes again.
“Good. Just one more thing, though. Saying mean things when you’re angry is very hurtful. It made Daddy very sad to hear you say you hated me and that you wanted to run away.”
Lemonade gasped and his front hooves came to his mouth, like he was trying to cover it. “Oh nu! Nu mean tu made Daddeh hab heawt huwties tuu! Wemonabe sowwy, huu huu…!”
Parker gave Lemonade some reassuring pets. “It’s okay this time, buddy. I know you were upset. But saying hurtful things when you’re upset makes things a lot harder. We could have talked it out a lot sooner.”
“Otay, Daddeh…” Lemonade sniffled a little. “Wemonade nu say meanie fings nu mowe. Nu wan’ Daddeh tu hab heawt huwties.”
“That’s a good boy. You must be really hungry after all that, though. I’ve got your kibble right here so you can eat, okay?” Parker pets Lemonade one more time before setting him on the floor.
“Otay Daddeh. Fank yu fo’ nummie kibbew.” Lemonade laid down in front of his bowl to eat, his body still weak from his emotional outburst. Parker left the safe room to give him privacy but kept the door open. They pulled out the fluffy fence they had installed on the door frame, then went into the living room to rest on the couch. With a sigh, they thought about the vet appointment tomorrow, hoping it would go smoothly.
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Author's Note
I took a summer class so I had zero time to write anything, but now that I’m done this next part is finally out! I drew a lot during my downtime the last few weeks so I’ve got a bit of a backlog to get caught up with. Hope you enjoy!
