Fall Out Boy

Home (Andtrick)

Patrick had just planned to go for a quick walk. He never planned to get lost, to get in a fight with a monkey, or to meet his to-be boyfriend Andy in the middle of a forest.

He stepped down on the sidewalk, the ground warm under his paws and the summer breeze nice on his fur. He shook his back slightly, sniffing around on the grass. Pete stood by the doorway, letting his new puppy explore the backyard.

Patrick sniffed along the old fence, finding a beetle or two and a mushroom next to a hole in the fence. He pawed at the mushroom, hearing the door click shut and looked up to see Pete had gone in, probably for a drink. Patrick poked his head out the hole, seeing a huge blockage of trees and the fresh smell of oak.

He carefully squeezed through the hole, tail flicking wildly behind him in curiosity. He sniffed a nearby tree, picking up the scent of a cat. He dismissed it, padding forward. He looked back. Pete wouldn't mind, he was only going for a small walk.

He padded farther into the forest, fascinated by his new surroundings. He saw something flutter in the corner of his eye, turning to see a bright blue butterfly floating around. He giggled, pawing at it gently and careful not to touch it, chasing it as it flew around.

Before long it flew up and out of sight, and Patrick looked around. He couldn't see his fence anymore. He whined softly, trying to sniff it out. He only knew 3 scents so far: Pete, oak, and cat. He wasn't trained to sniff things out yet. Suddenly he stood up straight at the sound of rustling next to him. His head shot toward it, eyes wide with fear. He looked up to see something brown in the tree, dangling upside down and staring at him. Then it spoke.

"Name's Brendon. You new around here, pup?" It asked, poking Patrick's nose. Patrick took a step back, tilting his head slightly.

"What are you?" He asked, flicking his tail more. The animal- apparently called Brendon- just chuckled, swinging down onto the ground. He flicked his long and thin tail, then curling it behind him.

"I, young pup, am a monkey. And these are my woods...." Brendon said, lowering his voice and growling the last part. Patrick's eyes widened more, flattening his ears against his head, lashing his tail.

"Wh-what? I- I didn't know, I'm sorry!" Patrick whimpered. Brendon didn't seem to care for his apology. The monkey advanced on him, patrick stepping back and tripping on a tree root.

"You know what I do to trespassers, don't you?" Brendon growled, raising a hand. Patrick shook his head, earning a smirk from the monkey. "Beat 'em," he said, before slamming his hand down into Patrick's head. The puppy yelped, rolling away. He sprang up, and began limping away as fast as he could. But Brendon was much faster overhead.

He landed in front of the disabled pup, blocking his path and chuckling darkly. He raised his hand again, only to be cut off by something orange and brown slamming into his side. Patrick watched in horror as a small orange cat lashed its paws at Brendon's head, leaving scarlet drops on the forest floor. The monkey hissed, the cat hissing back and stepping off, batting it's paws at him more. Brendon lashed his tail before swinging away and leaving the two young animals alone.

"Are you alright!?" Patrick was snapped back into reality as he heard the cat's voice for the first time. He stared at the ginger cat as he lapped at his should to smooth the fur.

"I- are you g-g-gonna hurt me...?" Patrick whimpered, shrinking against the floor. The cat looked horrified at the idea, padding over to him immediately.

"No! Of course not- I'm sorry if I scared you...." He apologized, all signs of hostility he had shown so strong moments ago were gone. Patrick relaxes slightly as he looked into the cat's eyes. He felt comfortable with him. "That monkey is trouble and takes advantage of anyone he can get his hands on. He had no right to hit you. You're not bleeding, so I think he might've just bruised you or rocked your brain around. Can you see?" The cat asked, inspecting Patrick's eyes.

Patrick nodded softly, though his vision was altered. "It's blurry.... Who are you?" He asked, standing. His head didn't hurt too bad, his eyes stung though.

"I'm sorry! My name's Andy, I was kind of abandoned, so now I live here." The ginger cat explained, looking at Patrick's eyes closely. "You have dirt in your eyes. Come with me, I'll help you clean them."

Patrick stood, following Andy through the forest. "I dunno where my home is.... My owner is gonna be worried...." Patrick whined. Andy flicked his tail.

"I'll get you back home once we clean your eyes. Here, duck your head close to this water." Andy directed, gesturing toward a small stream. Patrick obeyed, ducking his head down. Andy splashed water in his eyes gently, shaking his paw off afterward. "Blink it away."

Patrick blinked rapidly, and surprisingly his eyes stopped burning and his vision became clear again. He shook his head to get rid of the excess water, looking at Andy. "Thanks," he muttered. Andy nodded, then padded forward and into the open sidewalk.

"Lemme sniff you, then we can get you ho-" Andy was cut off by a net being swung over him. Patrick was soon in the same place, yelping in surprise as they were locked in a cage in the back of a trick.

"Andy? Wh-what's going on?" Patrick asked, frozen in the corner. He felt Andy's soft fur brush against his own, and his soothing voice by his ear.

"It's okay, we're just in the animal catcher truck. They take us to a shelter, where we get adopted or reclaimed by our owners." Andy said softly, then jingling the tags on Patrick's collar. "With these, they'll call your owner and he'll come get you in no time. Don't worry, pup...." Andy wove around him, eventually nuzzling into his neck, then lapping at his shoulder.

This all seemed to comfort Patrick, so he just let it happen, even nuzzling back into him. "Thank you," he said quietly, getting a lick over the ear in response.

After a few minutes of this, they arrived at the shelter. The man this time carefully took them out, much gentler than the man before. He looked at Patrick's collar, called something Patrick couldn't understand to another, and lead them inside. He set them on the ground, looking at Patrick's collar and dialing the number on it. Patrick recognized Pete's voice on the other end.

"Your owner is coming to pick you up," Andy said once the man hung up. Patrick flicked his tail curiously.

"You can understand them?" He asked, shocked. Andy nodded, in the middle of telling him how easy it is to pick up when Pete walked in with someone Patrick recognized, but didn't know who he was. The curly haired man couldn't keep his curious eyes off of Andy either.

Pete rushed over, picking up Patrick and holding him right. He muttered something to him before covering him in kisses and hugs. Patrick wagged his tail and giggled, hugging Pete tight. He saw the curly haired man say something to the man who carried Patrick and Andy in, and Andy's ears shoot forward.

"What's up?" Patrick asked. Andy stared, shocked as the man smiled and picked him up.

"H-he's adopting me...." Andy said, a smile playing on his face. Patrick wagged his tail more. He heard Pete and the curly haired man exchange happy noises and smiles before they were taken away from the shelter.

Turns out, the curly haired man is a friend of Pete's named Joe, and he lives across the street. Patrick and Andy were now good friends, but little did they know it would become much more.