(If this first part about television seems out of place, that’s because it is.)
Your not so average fluffies have taken to their new lives very well. They’re about a month old now, by your estimate. Johnny is walking much better with the help of his wheels, and Magnum has really gotten the hang of his car. You added a brake for him that he can activate by biting down on the nozzle. You also gave Nebula her gift, a crown you made yourself out of pipecleaners and dollar store art supplies. She loves it, but you told her that you would make her a better one later. Her eyes lit up at that.
You don’t play Fluff TV for them, since it’s been proven to be detrimental to fluffy development, but you do let them watch TV with you. You built a ramp for them to use to get onto the sofa, but Magnum likes sitting in the floor. Must be like a drive in movie theater for him. They mostly watch shows from your childhood, like Thomas and Friends, Code Lyoko, Ed, Edd, and Eddy, stuff like that. You also let them watch less ideal shows with you, like JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure or Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Some “hugboxers” (you hate that term) might object, but you were raised on Aqua Teen, and other than being a complete moron socially, you turned out fine. Plus, if Philly was able to grow up watching it, then it isn’t bad. Besides, you really wanted to show Johnny his namesake. He’s been asking for a huggie toy that looks like Tusk act 1 since.
You decide that it’s about time for them to have a check up. You should have taken them for one as soon as you got them, but you’re a forgetful person when it comes to things like that. The vet has an opening for you today at 12pm, which is 40 minutes from now. The vet is about 15 minutes away from you, and it takes you 15 minutes to get ready, so you decide to leave as soon as possible. You put the fluffies in a much more comfortable carrier than the one you found them in, and head out for the vet.
During the walk there, you explain to your little friends that they’re going to get a check up, and afterwards you’re going to take them to get some ‘nummies’. “The vet might be scary, but be brave little fluffies and I’ll take you all to a nice restaurant near here, okay?” The fluffies look at you through the carrier, smiling. “Otay daddeh! Wiww be bwave fwuffies!”
You’re still a bit groggy from last night. Playing Metal Gear Rising until 4 AM wasn’t your best idea. You ended up falling asleep in the waiting room for about 5 minutes. Rather embarrassing that your fluffies had to wake you up when the doctor called. The doctor is a bald man, about 40, glasses, a small face, and a very large forehead. Almost looks like Doktor from Metal Gear Rising. Sounds like him too, but that’s probably the exhaustion talking.
“3 fluffies, in various states of ‘wholeness’. You have fun doing this to them, you sick bastard?” The doctor looks at you angrily. “W-what? No no no you got it all wrong doc, I found them like this!” The doctor proceeds to stare at you angrily, before laughing and patting you on the shoulder. “I’m just messin’ with ya kid, but you should have seen the look on your face!” You chuckle slightly. The doctor is certainly weird, but then again so are you.
He examines all 3 of them, poking and prodding and asking them to ‘say ahhhh’ and looking in their ears and all the good stuff doctors usually do. The fluffies don’t complain, mostly just giggling at the ‘tickwes’ that the doctor is giving them. He turns to you after he’s done.
“Well, they are all healthy. Nebula has no problems, Magnum seems especially happy for a pillowfluff, and Johnny doesn’t have any problems with his remaining legs. Sometimes the added stress of supporting their entire body on two legs leads to long term nerve damage. Always a damn shame having to cut the legs off of a fluffy to save it.” Johnny overhears this and lets out a little squeal. “EEE! N-nu huwt Johnee! Hewp!”
You shoot the doctor a look, who’s rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “Sorry! Forgot they were there!” He turns around and talks to Johnny. “D-don’t cry little guy, your dad is doing a very good job taking care of you. The wheels that your dad made for you are doing a wonderful job of preventing any long term nerve damage. We won’t have to amputate your legs, so don’t worry!”
Johnny just looks up at him, bewildered and suckling on his hoof. You push the doctor out of the way. “W-what he means is, Johnny, you’re gonna be okay! Daddy won’t let anything bad happen to you.” You pet Johnny, and he calms down.
“Very interesting device you have Magnum in, by the way. Where did you get it?” You pick up the car (Magnum is currently sitting on the examination table talking to Johnny about ‘meanie doctahs’) and fiddle with the wheels. “I actually built it myself. I had seen pillowfluffs before that were positively miserable, constantly talking about how much they missed, well, being mobile. Some people want to do prosthetics, but every attempt has led to the fluffy being worse off. Every material strong enough has led to it just weighing the fluffy down, and weaker materials can’t keep the fluffy up.”
The doctor sighs. “Yep, a fluffy isn’t exactly built to have robot legs. One guy brought his fluffy in here once, tried giving it cybernetic replacements. Only that guy wasn’t very mechanically inclined. Just a fluffy with four metal arms attached to it. Had to put it down.” You wince slightly, hoping your little friends didn’t hear it. Thankfully, they’re all preoccupied talking about lunch.
"Yeah, well, I figured that even if they couldn’t be as mobile as they were before, they at least deserved to have some mobility. “Magnum here loves his fluffymobile though. He can do some pretty neat tricks on it!” Magnum looks over and smiles. The doctor picks up Johnny’s wheels.
“I’ve seen these on the market as well, but never ones like these. Two wheels to act as legs, and then a third wheel in the middle to help keep balance.” You shrug. “Yeah, it’s something I came up with, pitched the original to a company, then pitched this one. Works much better, the old model led to fluffies falling down a ton.” The doctor chuckles. “Very clever!”
“Now, I will need to give them some vaccinations, and I would advise getting them fixed sometime. Of course, it’s entirely up to you. I can understand wanting to breed them, considering Nebula and Johnny have good colors, and there is a market for brown fluffies.” You rub your neck. “Maybe some other time, but the shots are alright for today.”
The doctor prepares the three shots for the three fluffies. “Now, I would like you to talk to them as I do this, and move your hands. Fluffies can only concentrate on so much, and someone they know takes priority to minor pain like a shot.” You do as he asks, talking to the fluffies about how they’re gonna love lunch after this, doing the finger trick where you take off your thumb, and it’s all done relatively quickly. The fluffies didn’t even realize they got their shots.
“Now, if you need anything, this number goes to my office. Good luck!”
You take your fluffies down to your favorite restaurant in Philly, Old City Pizza. You’re a regular here, and you used to bring your old fluffy here all the time. It has a cozy atmosphere, and despite the name, you’ve never actually eaten the pizza here. You’re a picky eater, usually just sticking to DiGiorno or home made when it comes to pizza. The wings here, however, are phenomenal. They do pasta as well, whether it be normal spaghetti or baked ziti. Plus, it’s fluffy friendly. Contrary to popular belief, abusers aren’t nearly as in the open as they’re made out to be. Usually doing their business at home, or in secluded areas. Ferals in the city are treated better than you would expect, and are even used to help move small packages from building to building. (worldbuilding hehe)
“Hey, Jack! Woah, I thought you were done havin’ fluffies after Philly.” You smile at Sal, the owner. “I ended up changing my mind. It’s been nice having someone to watch King of the Hill with.” He laughs heartily. “Take a seat, I’ll be over there to take your orders in a sec.”
You sit your fluffies down in little booster seats, except for Magnum who simply sits in his little car. “Daddeh?” Magnum says, looking up at you. “Smeww pwetty in hewe, smeww wike nummies!” You ruffle his fluff. “Yeah, it does smell great in here. You guys want some pasta?” They all three look at you, confused. “Wha’ pasta?” You forgot that you’re basically talking to three year olds. You decide to put it in a language they can understand. “You guys want some sketties?” They all immediately smile and start cheering. “YAAAY! Wub sketties!” You chuckle. “Alright, since you guys were so good at the vet, I’ll get you some. Whatever you don’t finish, we can bring home.” The fluffies are smiling and cheering at the wonderful news when Sal walks over.
“Alright, what can I get you guys today? I assume the regular for you, right?” You laugh, putting the menu down. “Yeah, just a bunch of wings for me, and a small plate of ziti, some lasagna, some ravioli, and a big plate of spaghetti. All with the normal stuff on it, if you don’t mind.” He laughs. “Of course I don’t mind, Jack! You don’t have to be so formal here! Your family, man!” He leaves, stops in his tracks, realizes he forgot to take drink orders, then remembers your usual drink order (lemonade) and turns around again.
A short wait later, and Sal is back with the food. “Enjoy!” he says, setting the different plates down. The fluffies stare in awe at the mountains of pasta before them. “Alright little guys, just point to the one you wanna try first, and I’ll give you some. The spaghetti goes last though, I don’t want you guys to be as picky as I am.”
Magnum can’t exactly point, so you just show him the different pastas until he lets you know which one he wants to try. He lets out a happy little laugh when you bring him to the ziti. “Magum wan twy toobie sketties!” You give him a tiny plate of ziti. For him, however, it’s a veritable feast!
Nebula ended up picking ravioli, or “puffy sketties” as she put it, and Johnny picked lasagna (bwockie sketties!) They eat til they’re as round as tennis balls. You ask for a couple boxes for the leftovers, pay the bill, and begin the walk home. Your fluffies are exhausted after their long day, and frankly so are you. When you get home, you play with them for a bit, and decide that tonight’s gonna be an early night. They agree with you (Magnum had already fallen asleep 30 minutes into playtime) and they each wish you goodnight and say they love you, except Magnum who simply mumbles “Wub daddeh” in his sleep.
You go to bed, watching the sun set over buildings through your window. Today was a pretty good day.
