You woke up to the sound of panting. Confused, you opened your eyes to see a dog!
"Good morning! Someone wants to meet you."
You looked at the man in awe.
"I told you I had a puppy didn't I little one?"
You nodded yes as you pet your new, real-life puppy friend.
"Be gentle with him honey. He's not fond of other people, but I'm here to watch him and keep his leash short. I won't let anything bad happen."
"What's his name?"
"Samson."
"Hi Samson!"
You placed light kisses on Samson's nose. There was a moment of tension as the man tightened the leash but in a matter of seconds, the dog flopped on the ground.
"Let him off the leash. He wants to get closer!"
"I don't know about that sweetheart."
"Please? I promise I'll be safe."
The man let the dog off the leash. Without skipping a beat, Samson laid next to you, resting his head on your lap.
"What the hell? I've never seen him do that before."
You patted the space next to you, inviting the man to sit. He obliged.
"You remind me of myself when I was a kid. I used to love magic, playing games, and building models for as dumb as that sounds."
"I don't think that's dumb silly!"
The man smiled. This time you were able to see it as he only wore the top half of a mask.
"Those things gave me pieces of a normal childhood. The rest of it was filled with not very nice things."
"What happened?"
"You shouldn't have to hear such things bunny."
"You can tell me! I've been told that I'm a good listener."
The man chuckled.
"My dad wasn't a good man. He would hurt me at any given opportunity. When you're a kid, it's normal to act out, but when I did my dad made sure I learned my lesson."
You could tell that this was difficult for him to talk about. In order to help, you handed him your puppy stuffed animal. The man held him as he admired you.
"I've never felt compassion for another person until I met you Y/N. You're unlike anyone I've ever met. So kind, so gentle. Don't let anyone take that away. People like you are a rarity and I promise that I'm going to take care of you. No more scary things."
You rested your head on the man's lap and placed your hand in his, feeling comfortable that he was being open. You looked up at him and touched his face.
"Why do you wear a mask?"
The man shifted his weight, apprehensive to give you an answer, but mustered up the courage.
"A person's face can tell you a million things, the masks help me hide that. I don't want people to see me in such a vulnerable way."
"If I can't see your face, can I touch it?"
"You're cute, you know that?"
You took your stuffed puppy and put him over your face, shying away from the compliment.
"If I let you do this, you have to promise not to look."
You raised your pinky in the air as you used puppy as a blindfold. The man interlocked his pinky with yours. You heard him take off his mask as he guided your hands onto his face. His breathing was staggered, anxious about the venture, but it soon calmed when you touched the wrinkles of his forehead, eyebrows, lids, lashes, nose, textured cheeks, lips, and chin. As you were about to put your hands down, he guided them back to his lips, grinning and kissing your thumbs. He took your hands away from his face and put his mask back on.
"You can open your eyes now sweetie."
"Thank you for letting me do that. Your face feels nice."
Both of you laughed at your phrasing.
"Thank you doll, that's very kind!"
"Can we take a nap with Samson? I know it's morning, but I'm comfortable."
"How can I say no darling? Sleep now, I'm here. Nothing can hurt you."
