Author's notes at the end!
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Puppy, puppy, puppy!" Dee bounced up and down excitedly, moving the hand she was holding onto animatedly. Jack looked down and smiled at his little sister.
Today was Dee's 4th birthday, he and Peter both agreed (after Dee made them promise) that they would get her a puppy for her birthday.
Jack was initially weary of the idea, not having had a dog since Sparky from his childhood. But, he hasn't seen Dee this happy in months, not since their parents had died.
At the thought of his parents, Jack shook the thought away, instead squeezing his baby sister's hand. He then suddenly swooped her up, putting her on his shoulders and joining in her chanting. "Puppy! Puppy! Puppy!" Dee giggles the whole way, feeling joy only in the way a small child could.
They soon arrive at their destination, laughing. It was a small, quaint store with big colorful letters on the front of it: PET SHOP. It had one large window filled with strange exotic birds and eye catching parrots. Jack saw Peter standing in front of the window, whistling.
Dee gasps in awe of the birds, and asks Jack to let her down. Jack nods and places her down gently before going over and chatting with his brother, who gives him an awkward guy hug.
After staring at the birds for a minute, she runs over to her brothers and they all go in together.
Dee immediately starts to dart around the store, saying hi to all the birds, and the rabbits, and the cats, and the lizards. Peter and Jack watch her, amused and sharing in her happiness, before walking over to the counter and greeting the shopkeeper.
They all chat momentarily before Peter asks about the puppies. The shopkeeper chuckles at the man's straightforwardness. The man walks out from behind the counter and leads them to the puppy pen.
Jack and Peter call out to Dee, only to find her staring in awe of the puppies, particularly one who is standing in front of her. Not sitting, it was standing, on its hind legs!
"Peter! Jack! Look!" Dee points at the puppy giddily. Jack and Peter can already tell she's fallen in love with it. "Aww, it's so coot! It thinks it's people!" She says near nonsensically, too happy and overcuted to speak. Jack and Peter can't help but chuckle at her, she really doesn't know how adorable or funny she could be sometimes.
They all look at the other puppies and play with them. They all learn that the first pup Dee met was the friendliest of the bunch. It also looked a lot like Sparky! Peter and Jack both wanted the Sparky lookalike, but let Dee decide for them.
"Alright Dee, do you know which one you want?" Peter asks, kneeling down. Dee scrunches her face for a moment, pretending to think before hurriedly running over and picking up the Sparky lookalike. Jack tries to repress a fist pump as Dee skips over to her brothers, the puppy cradled in her arms.
"I want this one!" She proudly decides, cuddling the dog in her arms. The puppy gives her an almost appreciative lick on the cheek, almost smiling as they left the room to buy it.
After they buy the dog, just as they leave the shop, Dee stops in her tracks. "Wait!" She yells in distress. Jack and Peter look back at her in concern. "What's wrong sis?" Jack asked.
"We don't have a name for him yet!" She says in a most concerned tone. Jack and Peter look at each other and at Dee, before Peter tries to calm her down.
"It's okay sweetie, we can name him when we get home." Peter tries to explain, but it works to no avail. "No! What if he gets lost! We should name him now, please?" Dee said the last part especially pleadingly, making Jack feel very guilty.
"Okay, okay! We can name him here. What do you have in mind?" He assures. Dee furrows her brow for a bit, before an idea shone on her face.
"I know! What about Sparky!" She exclaimed. Jack and Peter look at each other, unsure for a moment before Dee spoke again.
"I know it reminds you of mom and dad, and of our dog. But I really like the name and it feels like this dog is like Sparky, but fixed!" Dee looks up at her brothers, before finishing. "Like our family. Can we name him Sparky? Please?"
The brothers don't say anything, both smiling, a little bit sad, both beckoning Sparky over. "Sparky! Sparky!" They both said. The dog hopped out of Dee's arms and ran into Jack's.
Peter picked up Dee and carried her on his shoulders. Excited, she starts chanting Sparky's name, her brothers quickly joining in. Celebrating, the mending family left the shop and returned home.
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And that's a wrap folks! This was an idea I've wanted to write for a while but didn't have the motivation to. This is the last oneshot I'm doing for a while as I want to focus more bigger stories like "His Origins" and my secret project. Don't worry, as I will open requests for this book again some day, it just may be a while. Keep your eyes and ears open for other stories and such! Thank you for reading and enjoying these one shots. I hope you guys have a good day (er, night?) and a good reading!
