Cherish || A Chase x Sweetie Fanfiction ||

(S3-C2) • Blending In •

The sound of soft clattering of tea cups happened to come into the ears of the Shepherd, who turned back to the door that slowly opened, waiting with a smile.

"You never told me you could make tea," he gave his expectations to the Terrier.

"I find your lack of faith in my talent disturbing. I hated how I was spoiled, resulting in my own ways of learning the crafts of a fine maiden. Applaud me for my resilience for all those dreadful years, Shepherd. Applause!"

Chase did give her a few claps and an accompanying giggle, Sweetie's face seen from the side with her eyes closed as she looked up, slowly opening her lids with a smile coming to join. She knew the pose was a bit awkward for anyone to see, wearing a small yet sparkling light green dress, but apparently, she was in front of not just 'anyone'. She was reunited with 'someone', and she was quite glad about it, despite striking a jab at him earlier out of reflex when he sat beside her to tell her the reason for his coming back. She excused that she didn't notice his sudden closure to her but Chase just laughed off the pooling pain on the side of his face, causing her to leave for some tea out of embarrassment.

Placing the easily breakable tray down, she went on to close the door with a kick, sliding back in front of the brown pup after a long jump, separated only by the tray between them. Noticing the metal on the floor, she wore an uncertain face, letting a paw to suspend in front of her which shook a little as she turned away.

"Eh... I didn't make two cups of tea, I accidentally made another one and felt pity for you so I decided to keep it. It's not like I would thoughtfully do it for you or anything."

"I'm sure you did, Sweetie. Thank you anyway."

Watching a small curve creep up the Terrier's face, Chase picked up his teacup and its saucer, taking a sip which indulged his body with the warm freshness of leafy nature with a hint of bitterness and sweetness. Delicious.

"Going back to your story earlier, you actually left your team and now they think you're dead?" Sweetie wanted to confirm, the other placing down his tea before nodding, Sweetie's cheeks suddenly becoming balloons, stifling her laugh. "You are laughable, Chase. I mean, perhaps it's karma for leaving me twice, and in fact, I'm on her side. After you hurt me, this is something I would gladly enjoy from the V-I-P seat."

"Jeez, thanks, Sweetie."

"You're welcome," she replied with a sarcastic grin. "But you haven't told me why you're here. It's illogical on my side, how and why you think staying here in Barkingburg would be the best decision."

Chase ran a paw across his nape, unsure himself now that they were talking about it. His conviction was set, orchestrating in his mind the pleasant life he would be able to live in the kingdom he currently was, staying as someone else than himself. A fresh start, although the guilt would soon come after him. In any case, he didn't want to lose focus from thinking of the inevitable future.

"I'm a police pup and that would forever be embedded in me from now and onwards. I want to find contracts or job applications for the many mysteries that exist in this kingdom, and the one I'm interested in the most is yours."

"Mine?"

Chase nodded at her once again.

"If you're talking about my parents, I don't want you to pry into that matter. They've been dead for as long as I can remember and finding their corpse, if they haven't rotten yet, would bring more harm than good."

The reply was quite cold. Perhaps telling her about her father wouldn't be good after all, Chase figuring that she'd only be furious of him when he was spoken of. Another reason was that Chase wasn't sure if he could even prove the existence of the almsgiver in the underground, unable to enter the same entrance he once went in which he checked before the yearly celebration the kingdom had.