My Dream

🐍 Kisses and Presents

"Hey hey!" Ruggie called, laden with bags as he made his way through the crowd. "No standing in the middle of the road, move move!"

"Ruggie!" Gwen beamed.

"Kitten!" Ruggie adjusted the bags so he could pull her into a one armed hug.

"Bucchi... why do you have so much stuff?" Deuce asked. "You've got a backpack and three duffle bags plus a giant cooler."

"You mean all this? Shishishi." Ruggie snickered, gesturing to his cargo. "I got all the food that was about to expire from the cafeteria and school store. Right before long breaks like this I can get it all for free."

"What?" Ace looked skeptical. "There's no way you can go through all that."

"What're you talking about?" Ruggie asked. "Once I get home and pass this out to all the  neighborhood street rats, it'll be gone in no time. I've gotta make sure my grandma can eat her fill over the holidays. Oops, the frozen stuff's gonna melt."

"Wait, Ruggie, can you hold one more thing?" Gwen asked, digging through the sack. "This one's yours!"

"Aw, Kitten." Ruggie grinned, taking the present. "I'm gonna miss you!"

Gwen giggled, giving Ruggie a kiss. "See you next year, Scruffy."

"Shishishi! See you next year!" Ruggie readjusted his grip on the bags and left.

"There he goes..." Deuce said. "I wonder what he meant by neighborhood street rats..."

"I'm going to assume he meant children." Gwen replied.

"There are many families stuck in poverty in Ruggie's hometown." Jack explained, walking up to the group. "So during these long holidays, he brings back as much food as he can so the neighborhood kids can eat."

"Jack... why are your hands full of potted plants?" Ace asked. "Are you gonna become a gardener?"

"These are cacti I grow for fun." Jack said, looking down at the plants in his arm. "They'd wilt if nobody watered them over the break. Never mind me!"

"Aw!" Gwen cooed. "Oh, I've got something for you, My Alpha!" Reaching into the sack, Gwen pulled out Jack's present.

"Thank you Sirus." Jack said, his tail wagging rapidly. "I'll miss you over the break." Jack leaned down to kiss Gwen, mindful not to poke her with the cacti.

"I never expected Ruggie to be the type to share his food with others." Grim said. "He's a pretty good guy."

"Hyenas are the sort to share prey with the weak or sick without discrimination." Jack replied. "I'm sure Ruggie was raised like that too."

"Hmph." Leona walked up to the group. "Just thinking about handing out food to a bunch of brats makes my skin crawl. Just one is more than annoying."

Leona wrapped an arm around Gwen, pulling her in close to breathe in as much of her scent as he could before he had to go winter break without it.

"Oh, Leona... are you not going home?" Jack asked, noticing the dorm heads lack of bags.

"If only." Leona replied. "But if I don't I'll never hear the end of it so I'm going home. What a pain." He sighed.

"But you're not bringing anything." Jack pointed out.

"Huh? I'm fine with just my wallet and smartphone." Leona replied. "I've got plenty of clothes at home."

"This guy is the other extreme." Grim muttered.

"He's not even bringing his homework with him..." Ace realized.