Rainbow Heart

Chapter 19

It was another rainy day in Washington. The cold, bitter kind of rain you hate to be caught in. But Red was enjoying it. It was the first time since the attack that Barney had let Red go out on his own. Red also loved the smell of rain. There was something therapeutic about it. Comforting. Almost... Tranquil. He was grateful to be outside.

Seattle was surprisingly quiet today. Everyone was in their cars on the road or cooped up inside. There was almost no one on the streets. Just a few joggers determined to get in their daily exercise. Red kept the hood on his rain jacket up, staying under his umbrella. Barney had been kind enough to buy him rain gear. Red knew that he'd be using it often.

To the right on him came a loud clattering from the alley. Immediately Red was on high alert. He whipped around, holding his umbrella up like a shield and bracing himself for an oncoming attack.

But the attack never came.

Instead he heard a pained whimper. Curious, Red peered over the top of his umbrella.

Over by the dumpster was a cowering dog. Red knew nothing about dogs, in fact, he had never seen one before now. So of course he was fascinated.

"Oh, hello!" Red called out. "Can you speak?"

The pup didn't answer. All it did was whine and cower back. It was afraid. Red was automatically concerned.

"Hey, hey. Don't be scared of me." Red said, more quiet and calm now. He approached the dog, who tried to back further into the corner. "Why are you afraid of me?" He asked the animal. It didn't say anything. It just looked up at Red with big, sad brown eyes. As Red looked it over he noticed how dirty it looked. His fur was matted and balding in some places. Through the balding patches he could see bloody wounds and ribs. A shock of sadness swept over Red and in an instant he turned into Blue.

"Has someone been beating you?" Blue whispered, tears in his eyes. All the dog did was flinch when Blue reached out to touch him. Tears ran free down his face. Blue knew exactly how this animal felt. It looked so... sad. Lost. An innocent creature. Blue knew what to do.

He held his hand out, not touching the dog. A wispy, opalescent blue light swirled around Blue's hand, spinning off his fingertips and reaching out in graceful branches of magic. Something in the air changed as this happened. The wind stopped blowing. For a moment, Blue could have sworn the rain froze in midair. A wave of warmth washed over them, and everything stopped all at once. The dog seemed to have relaxed. Now instead of backing away from Blue he seemed to give him a look that said "lead the way."

So Blue stood up and lead his newfound companion out of the alley.

–•❤️💛💚💙💜•–

Barney came home to lots of noise in the bathroom. He heard one of the colors talking to theirself.

"I'm sorry! Just try to stay still. We're almost done cleaning you." He heard a voice, the way he talked definitely suggested that he was Red at the moment. But Barney couldn't be sure. When Barney heard the things that Red was saying, he was concerned. Was he bathing Ross or something? What the hell?

But when Barney opened the door, he saw a dog. A big Burnese mountain dog in their shower being washed by Red.

"Red!" Barney shouted. The dog was startled, crying out in surprise. Red slipped, falling down and landing on his butt in the shower.

"UGH! BARNEY!" Red yelled. "Could you not?! Can't you see that I'm busy?!!"

"Why is there a dog in my house?!" Barney screamed back, not answering Red's question.

"What is a dog?!" Red asked, flustered and flushed. When Red said this, Barney remembered that Red didn't know bringing strays into the house was a bad thing. He took a deep breath through his nose and lowered his voice to a normal speaking level.

"A dog is that thing you're washing." He said, pointing to the mangy dog beside his boyfriend. "Listen, honey, you can't bring animals into the house. It could be rabid."

"Not this one!" Red insisted desperately. "This one is a good one!"

"How do you know that?" Barney asked, rubbing his temples and trying desperately not to lose his temper.

"Because Blue... communicated with it." Red said, looking confused. Now Barney's anger was completely gone. Forgotten. Replaced by curiosity.

"Blue can talk to animals?"

Red shook his head. "No, I don't think that's it." He admitted. "The... dog was nervous at first. But Blue stuck his hand again and made it trust him. I don't know what it was... But it was... Magic."

Barney was puzzled, but decided to focus on the issue on hand. "Okay, but we have to take this dog back to it's owner!"

Red screamed, throwing his arms around the dog and sobbing grossly. "DON'T SEND MY BABY AWAY!"

Barney hated to see Red cried, but they just couldn't keep the dog. "Red, that dog has a loving owner somewhere! They're probably really worried about him."

"Her!" Red spat. "And they aren't! They've been hitting the poor thing!"

Instantly Barney was by Red's side, checking over the dog. He realized that he was right. The dog was covered in gaping wounds and bruises. But no claw or teeth marks like a fight with another animal would result in. Just flesh wounds and starvation. The owner didn't care about this dog. It did have a collar on it. The tag didn't have any return information in it. No name for the dog either.

Barney sighed. He knew what this dog must mean to him. Especially because she was being abused. Red had first hand experience with abuse. Sending the dog back to a potentially abusive owner is something that Red would never forgive himself for. And since the tag had no return information....

"What have you been calling her?" Barney asked.

"Pudding!" Red said.

"Well alright. Let's go get Pudding something to eat." Barney said after a long pause.

===========================

Sorry I haven't updated in so long! Oh my god. My parents took my phone, I've been sick, and my internet at home is SO BAD I can't even write on my school issued laptop. Luckily I can still read fanfic for some reason so I've been on AO3 for a while. Shit's cray. Just stay with me. I'm sorry.

-💕 Bubblegum 💕