Invisible String

Smiling wide, he pats his legs and says, "You ready princess?"

He's sure as hell is not.

He opens the front door, and as trained, she walks calmly down the driveway. Kiyoomi sighs in relief. Until it happens. The second she hits the sidewalk, she sprints. Caught off guard, Kiyoomi flails forward straight onto his face, his cheek scraping against the driveway. And as if in slow motion, he feels the leash slipping out of his hand. Desperate, he tried to slap the concrete in front of him to catch the leash but it was too late. She's already halfway down the street.

He stands up, and as quickly as he can, he runs after her. His feet hit against the sidewalk, the sound deafeningly loud. Please Barbie, don't run away. Please please pleasepleasepleaseplease.

He screams her name. "BARBIE! LADY BARBARA! COME BACK!"

As if deaf, she keeps running, leaving Kiyoomi to chase after her. She rounds the corner and he prays to anyone listening that a car doesn't hit her. He couldn't bear it. He rounds the corner not long after. "BARBEQUE!!"

And of course, that's the name that makes her skid to a stop and turn to look at him. He now realizes the blood along with the tears trailing down his cheeks. "Barbeque, please come back."

Surprisingly, she does. She trots back to him and when he bends down to envelop her in a hug, she nuzzles her head into his crown of curly hair. No longer risking it, he picks her up despite her large stature and flings her upper body across his shoulder.

As he walks back home, blood dripping on his shirt, hysterical laughter forces his chest to shake. "You are definitely your Daddy's girl, aren't you?"

He gets a happy bark in response.

A few hours later, Atsumu returns home to find his boyfriend sitting on the couch with Barbeque splayed on his lap (who was currently snoring up a storm), a large bandaid on his cheek. The setter rushes over to the pair. "Omi! What happened?"

"Let's just say that the walk started in disaster."

"She darted, didn't she." Atsumu grazes his hands over the bandage, Kiyoomi instinctually leaning into the touch.

"Yeah." He shamefully averts his gaze to the floor.

"Hey, it's okay babe. I'm surprised you caught up to her, she's real speedy. I bet she can give Shouyou a run for his money."

"Yeah, about that..." Kiyoomi trails off, and starts twiddling his thumbs. "Maybe she doesn't respond to Barbie and Barbara as well as I thought she did."

Atsumu grins, his hands moving to rest on Barbeque's back. "And why's that Omi?"

"She only ran back to me when I called out Barbeque..."

Atsumu stays stunned for a moment, but quickly he rolls onto his back, howling with laughter. "I was right!! Barbeque is her preferred name!"

The sound causes Barbeque's snores to cease and she wakes up slowly, her eyes widening at the sight of Atsumu on the floor. She jumps off Kiyoomi and pounces on top of the setter, licking his face.

Kiyoomi, aghast, replies. "That's not what I said!"

"But it's what you implied ."

Not bothering to argue, Kiyoomi jumps off the couch and flops down on the floor next to Atsumu. Barbeque had stopped her licking and instead rolled off of Atsumu onto his other side. Kiyoomi wraps an arm around his boyfriend, a face planted on his chest. Atsumu's hands rest, one in Omi's hair, and another in Barbeque's.