The next day was Sunday, and Jason decided to stay in all day and spend some quality time with Cherry. She wasn’t overly demanding and didn’t constantly beg for him to play or give her “huggies and love.” She was pretty chill and was happy enough just having a nice, warm, safe place to live, and to have a human who actually cared about her.
Jason woke up a little after eight and dragged himself into his office to check on her. Cherry was awake, but but she was still snuggled up in her nest. She perked up and smiled when she saw him. Her tail was peeking out from under the blankets and it started to swish back and forth, almost like a dog’s tail.
“Hewwo, daddeh,” she beamed.
“Hey there, Cherry. Did you sleep well last night?”
“Yus, daddeh, Chewwy haf gud sweepy-time pictuwes. Nu haf dawk-scawies. Daddeh haf gud sweepies, tu?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I actually did.”
“Dat am vewy gud, Chewwy am su happies!” She waddled out of her nest, stretched, and stood at the baby gates. “Daddeh wan huggies?”
It was first thing in the morning, and her first concern was whether or not he’d slept well. Then, instead of asking for food or what he was going to do for her, she asked him if he wanted a hug. People kept telling him that fluffies were selfish, but with Cherry he just wasn’t seeing it. At all. Her primary goal seemed to be making sure that he was happy.
“I’d love a hug,” he said, reaching down and picking her up. He held her to his chest and let her hug him as he hugged her back; she cooed with happiness and nuzzled her face against his shirt.
“Wuv daddeh,” she muttered. “Wuv huggies wif bestest daddeh.”
“I love you too, sweetie.” He ran his fingers through her soft fluff and scratched her head affectionately. “So, do you want some breakfast or what?”
“Nummies soun gud, daddeh. Chewwy wouwd wuv some nummies, pwease. Haf kibbow?”
“I sure do have some kibble.” He set her back down on the floor, then removed the baby gates. “I think you’re okay being able to wander around while I’m here. You won’t do anything dangerous, will you?”
“Nu, daddeh.”
“Promise you won’t try something that might get you hurt?”
“Chewwy pwomise, daddeh.”
“Okay, then.” He grabbed her bowl. “I’ll be back with some kibble for you in a minute.”
“Otay, daddeh. Fank yu.” She waddled back over to her nest and burrowed into it, her tail swishing happily as it stuck out from under the blankets. Jason couldn’t help but smile at her happiness as he watched.
He headed to the kitchen and filled the bowl with kibble. As he walked, as he poured, he thought about the previous day and all the shit that Candace had tried to start. First, she hadn’t actually seemed sorry about what she’d done. Not at all. She seemed angry that he wasn’t giving her a second chance, that he wasn’t just blindly forgiving her and taking her back. She seemed pissed off that he didn’t seem to WANT her back. And she REALLY seemed like she wanted to hurt Cherry. He’d never realized just how nasty Candace could be He also understood that some people had really negative, sometimes violent reactions to fluffies. But just assuming the worst about Cherry immediately, scaring her, and talking shit about her? It gave him even less incentive to even consider taking Candace back.
Although he had to grin at the memory of Cherry saying that Candace could eat fresh shit right from an asshole. She hadn’t expected to have ANYONE insult her. And to have the insult coming from a fluffy, when she clearly thought of them as worthless? Priceless.
He took the food back to Cherry and sat down at his computer while she ate. He checked the news, then started browsing Reddit. He started browsing through memes, got distracted, and lost track of what was going on. So he didn’t hear the shuffling sounds or the grunts of exertion that Cherry was making until she was pretty close to him. He turned around to see what was going on. He found that Cherry had pulled all the blankets out of the fluffy bed, probably to make it lighter. She had her mouth clamped down on one corner of the bed and was dragging it closer to his computer desk.
“Uhhhh, Cherry?”
She dropped the bed and looked up at him with concern. “Yus, daddeh?”
“What…what are you doing?”
“Chewwy wan be cwose tu daddeh, buh no wan bover daddeh. Su Chewwy dwag nestie cwose tu daddeh! Daddeh pway on pwetty pictuwe boxie an Chewwy be wawm in nestie!”
Okay, now that was just weird. He appreciated that she loved him so much and that she wanted him to be happy. He appreciated that she wasn’t demanding, that she seemed determined to always make good poopies and peepees in the litterbox. He appreciated her kindness, her good nature, and the fact that she wasn’t spoiled at all. But this was bordering on clingy, and it made him a little uncomfortable.
He knew that fluffies craved human companionship more than anything and that they always wanted to be near their owners. They’d freak out when their humans had to go to work, and some of them would panic or develop anxiety, thinking they’d been abandoned. Her shitty treatment at the hands of her previous owner, plus all the time she’d spent alone and all the shit she’d put up with from other fluffies…well, he guessed it probably made her crave that closeness even more. She didn’t have another fluffy to play with. Jason was all she had, and she wanted to be as close to him as possible whenever she could. Maybe it wasn’t weird. Definitely bordering on clingy. But weird? Maybe. Maybe not.
“Cherry,” he said. “You don’t always have to be near me, you know. You can play with some of your toys, if you want to.”
“Chewwy knu dat, daddeh,” she giggled. “Buh daddeh am hewe, an Chewwy am hewe, an Chewwy nu wan pway wif toysies wight nao. Chewwy wan be neaw daddeh.” She paused, suddenly looking worried. “Am…am dat otay, daddeh? If daddeh wan Chewwy tu be in safe woom, den Chewwy gu back to safe woom. Nu wan make daddeh maddies.”
“No, no, it’s fine. Just…” He sighed. “I’ll be honest with you, okay? It seems a little clingy to me. Like, you know that you don’t have to be close to me all the time, right?”
“Chewwy knu, daddeh. Daddeh wiww haf tu weave fo wowkies, wight? Daddeh nu awways be hewe.”
“You know about work?”
She nodded. “Owd daddeh haf wowkies an weave Chewwy aww da time. Chewwy unnastan. Chewwy nu mine bein awone. An Chewwy nu mine pwayin awone. An Chewwy wiww awways gif daddeh, uh, wha dem wowds owd daddeh says…pewsunah spacies? Chewwy du dat, pwomise. Buh if Chewwy can be neaw daddeh, Chewwy wan be neaw daddeh. Am dat otay?”
Jason felt like a dick. She just wanted to be close to him because she hadn’t had that closeness in forever, and now she was going to maximize it until he went back to work. It wasn’t clinginess. She just wanted to chill and be near him while she did it.
“That’s fine. Here, let me grab that for you.” He stood up and walked over to her; she’d managed to drag the bed most of the way across the room. He picked it up and carried it over to the computer desk, sitting it a foot or so from his chair, right in front of the filing cabinet. Then he went to the closet and grabbed the blankets, setting them in the bed so that she could have a little nest again. She watched him the entire time, a soft smile on her little fluffy face.
“Fank yu, daddeh. Chewwy wiww nu make tu much noisies. Wiww be su quiet fo daddeh.”
True to her word she let him browse in peace; she burrowed underneath her blankets and stayed there for at least an hour. At first he thought she was going to sleep, but she wasn’t. She left her head peeking out from the blankets, and she was staring through the open blinds of his office window, just watching. He’d hear people walking by every now and then, hear them talking, and he’d look over to see Cherry’s gaze following them. She kept staring at a nearby tree, her head moving rapidly to watch whatever was moving through the branches. She never noticed that he was watching her, and she never bothered him. She seemed happy, content. The smile never left her face. Jason guessed it must have been a nice change for her, being able to see things happening outside, but from the safe comfort of a warm bed.
“Cherry?” he asked quietly.
“Yus, daddeh?” She turned to look at him, cocking her head slightly.
“Are you enjoying yourself?”
“Yus, daddeh. Watchin dem wingie-fwiends an bushy-taiw fwiends wunnin awound in dem twees. Dey nu can twy to steaw Chewwy nummies nu mowe! Chewwy nummies am AWW fo Chewwy nao!” She giggled, then turned back to the window and blew a raspberry at the squirrels and birds.
“That’s right, they can’t steal anything from you anymore. So you’re happy here, then?”
She turned back to look at him and nodded. “Yus, Chewwy am suuuuuu happies nao, daddeh. Chewwy haf bestest housie an bestest nummies an bestest nestie an bestest daddeh. Am su safe, am wawm an su happies. Chewwy nu fink dat anyfing am bettah. Dis am bestest.”
“I’m so glad. I’ve never had a fluffy before so I, uh, I guess I really didn’t know what to expect. This is all new to me, so I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Daddeh am doin su gud. Owd daddeh haf fwuffies fo su many bwight-times. Owd daddeh knu bout fwuffies, knu bout wha fwuffies nee, wha dey wike an nu wike. Buh owd daddeh nu am gud, am wowstest daddeh evah. Tweat fwuffies su baddies.” Cherry wiggled her way out from under the blankets and tumbled out of her bed, waddling over and looking up at him. “Buh nao-daddeh am bestest daddeh. Tweat Chewwy su gud, gif nummies an toysies an gif huggies an wuv. Mebbe nao-daddeh nu haf fwuffies befowe, buh nao-daddeh haf gud heawt an knu wha am bestest.” She nuzzled her head against his leg and cooed. “Ex…exp…expewience nu am wha mattah, daddeh. Wha mattah am if hoomin am gud hoomin.”
Jason lifted her up and cradled her in his arms, scratching her head and eliciting more contented coos from her. He was surprised at how smart she was. He’d heard that alicorns could be pretty smart, but that most fluffies were pretty stupid. But not Cherry, apparently. He was really realizing just how lucky he’d been to find her. “Thank you, Cherry. I’m really glad you’re my fluffy.”
“Chewwy am su happies, tu.” She rubbed her face against his arm; the soft fluff felt incredibly comforting. “Aww ouw heawt huwties am gon gu way an we gon be su happies aww da time.”
“I really hope so. I really, really do.”
They sat like that for a while, just quietly enjoying each other’s company.
===
Playing games with a fluffy was, as it turned out, incredibly easy. It required a minimum of effort and very little focus; pretty much all you had to do was show up, do very little, and sometimes pay attention to what the fluffy was saying or doing. Cherry loved playing with her ball and her blocks, but Jason didn’t have to contribute much to the playtime.
“Daddeh roww baww su Chewwy can haf chasies!” she exclaimed, her tail eagerly swishing behind her.
“You’ve got it, girl,” he said, rolling the ball down the hallway.
That’s all it took. Cherry dashed down the hallway, exclaiming that she was totally going to catch that ball, that it couldn’t possibly escape her. Every time she’d catch it the ball would slip out of her soft, leathery hooves and roll away from her. The chase would begin anew; she’d swear that THIS time she was going to catch it. Did she think the ball was listening to her? Or did fluffies just not have the ability to have an internal monologue? Either way the result was the same - an ongoing commentary about catching a ball that would apparently never be caught. Beyond the initial roll down the hall, Jason didn’t have to do anything but sit and watch.
“Chewwy am gon catch dat baww, daddeh!” she exclaimed breathlessly, knocking the ball past the coffee table and toward the kitchen.
“You sure are!” he said, trying to cheer her on.
“Nu gon get way fwom Chewwy, baww!” she shouted, giggling as the ball bounced off the wall and flew past her head. She chased it again, tackling it and sending it rolling down the hall. This went on for a good hour; finally she collapsed at Jason’s feet, exhausted.
“Had enough of the chase?” he asked.
“Yus, daddeh. Dat baww am twicksy, buh Chewwy twy suuuuu hawd. Wiww twy 'gain aftew haf westies.” She reared up and placed her front hooves on his knee. “Haf upsies, pwease?”
“Sure thing.” He lifted her up and set her next to him on the couch; she curled up against his leg and rested her head on his knee. “Maybe it’s time for some TV.”
“Teebee soun gud, daddeh,” she said quietly. It was clear that she’d worn herself out.
He decided to try some FluffTV out to see whether Cherry liked it or not. The programming was weird as hell and all over the place. There were shows like Babies, which mostly featured foals frolicking and playing and babbling about dumb shit. There were mares who were watching over them, and they’d offer important life lessons like “nu babbehs am poopie babbehs” and “wingie-hown babbehs nu am munstah babbehs.” Then there were shows like Wheel of Nummies, which almost seemed like a punishment for the fluffies involved. They had to eat all kinds of disgusting things, and if they threw up or shit outside the litterbox they lost. The owners all seemed like assholes, too, getting mad if the fluffies didn’t win them any money. All in all it was a strange mix of programming that seemed designed to be educational for fluffies combined with borderline abuse, designed to entertain humans and scare fluffies into behaving.
Cherry seemed to like it just fine. She enjoyed watching the babies having fun and didn’t seem upset that she’d never have any babies of her own. She even enjoyed watching Wheel of Nummies, offering her own commentary as to whether or not she thought she could eat the things that showed up on the wheel. She seemed pretty sure that she could eat almost anything, but when poopies showed up she absolutely didn’t think she’d be okay with that.
“Chewwy nu evah num poopies,” she insisted. “Nu pwize am gud enuf to num dem poopies.” She turned to him, concerned. “Daddeh? Pwease nu make Chewwy num poopies on da teebee, otay? Pwomise?”
Jason laughed. The idea of taking her on one of these awful game shows didn’t appeal to him at all. And if he did, he sure wouldn’t get mad at her if she refused to eat a pile of shit. “I promise, Cherry. I won’t ever make you eat poopies on the TV. Or off the TV. Okay?”
“Fank yu, daddeh.” She seemed relieved and turned back to the TV, just in time to see the fluffy throwing up after eating durian. “Ewwwwww,” she said, her face scrunched up in disgust. “Fwuffy make dem sickie wawas! Nu am pwetty! Poow fwuffy!”
She wound up falling asleep next to him, and he quietly changed the channel so he could watch a movie. Halfway through he realized he really needed a drink; he gently moved her head off of his leg so that he could get off the couch. He stood up slowly, doing his best not to disturb her. Cherry was, as it turned out, a very heavy sleeper. She didn’t wake up at all, even when he came back and sat down on the couch again. A brief stirring and some mumbled sleep-words were her only reaction. He settled back in, enjoyed his soda, and finished the movie without waking her.
Cherry woke up as the credits rolled, yawning and rolling over on her back, stretching her legs out as far as they’d go. He looked down, the first time he’d really given her a once-over from this angle. Yep, she really did have weird little crotch tits. They were barely poking out from beneath her fluff, but they were definitely there; he knew they’d be a whole lot bigger and more prominent if she were pregnant. He was kind of glad that he wouldn’t have to see that. Tits on a fluffy were just…weird, man.
“Hewwo, daddeh,” she said, pulling her legs up against her body in an adorable pose.
“Hey there, sweetie. Have a good rest?”
“Yus, daddeh. Fank yu. Gif Chewwy bewwy wubs pwease?”
“Absolutely.” He reached over and rubbed his hand all over her belly fluff, which made her giggle and wiggle her legs around.
“Bewwy wubs tickwe, daddeh!” she yelled between giggles, squirming and kicking her legs wildly. “Wuv tickwes!” After a couple of minutes of tickling she rolled away from him and squirmed her way to the other side of the couch until her laughter died down.
“Had enough, huh?” he asked.
“Chewwy suuuuu tickwish,” she informed him, huddled against the arm of the couch. “Wuv tickwes, buh nu wike tu much tickwes!”
Jason laughed. “Okay, okay, we’ll have to find the right balance, then.”
“Otay!” Cherry stood up and looked at the floor. “Nu fink Chewwy can get down on fwoow, daddeh. Nu wan weg huwties. Pwease hewp Chewwy?”
“Of course.” He lifted her and carefully put her on the ground. “Did you need more food or something?”
“Nu, nu nee nummies tiww dinnah-time. Wan pway wif bwockies if daddeh nu mine.”
So he sat at his computer and alternated between playing City of Heroes and watching Cherry play with her blocks. He’d bought her multiple sets of three, all of which amazed her to no end. Apparently fluffies were used to only having three blocks at a time to play with. Cherry, on the other hand, had twelve. It was far higher than she could count.
“Chewwy make thwee-bwockie stackie, daddeh!” she exclaimed, a proud expression on her face.
“Very good! That’s very high!” Jason tried his best to not sound condescending, reminding himself that he was basically dealing with a small, fluffy child.
“Fank yu, daddeh!” She sat on her haunches and lifted another block with her forelegs, carefully leaning forward and placing it on top of the awkwardly-stacked trio. They looked like they were on the verge of toppling. But somehow she managed to get the fourth one on there and the stack remained intact. “DADDEH!” she shouted, beaming. “Chewwy stackie am FOUW bwockies nao!”
“That’s a lot! Do you think you can add one more? How many would that be?”
“Uhhhh,” she wondered, looking around at the blocks and trying to do math in her head. “Dat wouwd be, uhhhh…mowe dan fouw bwockies.”
“Fair enough.”
The fifth block didn’t make it, after all. The stack toppled before Cherry could even add the fifth block to the top. She laughed. “Bwockies faww down,” she giggled, then started stacking them again. It went on like that for a couple of hours, way longer than Jason thought it would. Cherry seemed endlessly fascinated by the simple, repetitive actions of stacking blocks. Stack, stack, fall, giggle, stack, fall, giggle, repeat over and over again. Every now and then she’d call out to him, wanting to get his attention so she could show him how neatly she’d managed to stack three or four blocks. He always congratulated her on her architectural prowess, and she seemed incredibly happy to have his praise.
“Daddeh?”
“Yes, Cherry?”
She’d quietly waddled over and was standing beside her bed. “It am gettin neaw dawk-time nao. Can Chewwy pwease haf mowe kibbow nummies? An pwease daddeh move nestie back in safe woom fo when am time fo sweepies?”
Jason didn’t know if he’d ever get used to having a fluffy who asked for things while saying “please.” He fed her and, while she ate, he moved her bed and blankets back into the closet. She stopped eating long enough to thank him - apparently she was going to thank him every time he did anything for her - and then went right back to eating. As he watched her eat, it suddenly hit him that she hadn’t asked him for sketties. She knew he had sketties, or she at least knew that he could provide them. She’d promised not to ask for them and she’d delivered on that promise.
I’ve got to post about her on the fluffy forums and see just how normal this is, he thought to himself. This just…it doesn’t seem normal at all. Too many horror stories for this to be normal.
The rest of the evening went pretty much the same way the day had gone. They sat on the couch and watched some more TV, opting for more cartoons instead of FluffTV, and she watched with her head resting on his knee. That seemed to be her favorite spot. Eventually she got tired and asked to be put down on the floor so she could waddle off to bed. Jason complied, following her so he could go shut off his computer.
“Daddeh?” Cherry muttered sleepily, her back to him as she burrowed into her blankets.
“Yes, Cherry?”
“Daddeh pwease stay hewe tiw Chewwy haf sweepies? Daddeh can pway on pwetty pictuwe boxie, nu gon keep Chewwy from hafin sweepie-times.”
“Will you feel safer if I’m here when you fall asleep?”
“Yus, daddeh.” She peeked her head out from beneath the blankets. “Wuv daddeh. Daddeh make Chewwy feew su safies.”
“Okay, sweetie. I’ll stay in here until you fall asleep.”
“Fank yu, daddeh.” She closed her eyes and laid her head on her forelegs. “Wuv yu, daddeh.”
“Love you too, Cherry.”
She fell asleep pretty quickly. He finished up a quick mission in City of Heroes, then turned everything off and shut off the light. He’d left a night light glowing for her just in case the dark bothered her. Not that he expected her to complain either way, really. Complaining didn’t seem to be her style; she’d just suffer through whatever without wanting to annoy him.
Before heading off to bed he considered taking out the trash. He decided he didn’t want to deal with it; he’d take the trash out in the morning before he went off to work.
If he’d gone outside he would have seen Eddie’s car sitting in front of his building. If he’d gone outside that night he would have almost definitely managed to avoid the worst of what was going to happen. At least Cherry wouldn’t have been involved.
But he didn’t go outside. Instead he fell asleep, blissfully unaware of what was waiting for him. And for Cherry.