Trigger warning. This part contains mentions of past sexual assault and trauma.
Loud.
That was the first thing she could think of when woke up. It was loud in the house today. The dogs were barking, two people were yelling, someone was crying. Patting around the bed, Natalie's heart instantly sunk in her chest to her stomach to see Brandy wasn't with her. Quickly sitting up, despite the pain in her back, she got dressed and ran downstairs, the woman silently praying everything was okay.
She was terribly wrong.
Infront of the house on the porch stood Chuck, yelling his head off at a woman with bleach blonde hair, her roots already starting to show through her shitty dye job. Champ and Sadie were growling and barking at a white pitbull this trashy city barbie had on a chain leash, pink collar straining to keep the dog back.
Amidst this all, sat Brandy, crying his eyes out. There was smudged lipstick on his lips, the same shade of what the woman wore... Instantly, it clicked with Natalie who this woman was. Carrie Maymen, the woman she had hated since the moment she was told about her. Gently having Chuck step back, Natalie stared Carrie dead in the eyes for a moment before backhanding her through the face, causing the woman to stumble back.
Carrie seemed completely shocked as she held onto her stinging cheek, before glaring at Natalie who simply glared back, tense silence between the two women. Champ and Sadie seemed to relax a bit now that Natalie was there, the dogs sitting down on either side of her like guard dogs.
"Finally, I meet the bitch who ruined Brandy's life."
"I didn't ruin his life, I made him into a man!-"
"If raping someone and spreading rumours about them turns them into a man, I'd hate to know what your concept is of love."
The air was tense again before Carrie scoffed and stepped back, clearly a bit uneasy of Natalie's dead pan stare and blatant words. She'd beaten many people in arguments, but this woman infront of her made her nervous. She looked almost powerful as she stood on the top step of the porch, hands resting lightly ontop of the heads of two big, strong dogs. "I didn't rape Brandy" Carrie finally managed to say, her gaze defiant.
This however was the reaction Natalie had been searching for. Natalie slowly started to smile, her laugh starting out low, before growing louder and louder, the ex-soldier wiping away a tear of laughter as she took one step closer.
"Oh, really? You crack me up! You think that wasn't rape? Then please, enlighten me! What else would you call it when you get a minor drunk out of his mind by spiking his drink, stripping him of his clothes and having sex with him despite how much he was begging for you not to in his half drunken state? Tell me, what else do you call it when you take someones innocence when they beg, sob for you not to, hm?!" What was initially a soft sentence turned into yelling as Natalie walked closer and closer, Champ and Sadie starting to growl again as they followed by her side.
Carrie stumbled back a bit as Natalie advanced forward, falling into the dirt, eyes darting around like a cornered rabbit. Her hands clenched for a moment before opening again, her grip on her dogs leash gone. The pitbull launched itself towards Sadie, yet Champ beat him to it, large jaws clamping down hard against the smaller dogs neck and starting to shake, as if this pitbull was just a ragdoll in his mouth. He only dropped it when Chuck yelled at him to let it go, the big usually goofball of a dog slowly licking the blood off of his muzzle as the pitbull lay whimpering at his paws.
"Sickening. Letting your poor dog fight your fights for you... I personally love pitbulls. It's because of people like you that they have a bad name" Natalie said with a sigh to Carrie as she rolled up her sleeves, Carrie backing up some more with fear in her eyes. This only made Natalie smile as she watched Carrie stumble to her feet and try back up more, a sharp whistle then coming from Natalie. This gave Sadie the go ahead, the dog sprinting forward and biting hard onto Carrie's ankle which only made her scream out in pain, hands flailing to try get the dog off, though there was a sudden sickening crack and silence...
Carrie had kicked one of her high heeled shoes right into Sadie's ribs, squarely breaking two of the ribs. Natalie's smile dropped almost instantly when she saw this and bent down to Sadie who now lay whimpering in the dirt, Champ whining with worry as he walked over, gently nudging his snout against Sadie's neck. Natalie took a slow, deep breath as she stood up again before she grabbed Carrie by the throat and slammed her head first into the side of the parked pickup truck. She did this repeatedly, only letting go once the woman crumpled limp to the ground.
She took a moment to stare at the unconscious Carrie before going inside and grabbing a dog bed, putting it in the back of the pickup truck before she carefully picked up Sadie and placed her in the dog bed, Champ jumping up in the back as well to comfort his best dog friend. "Chuck, get rid of this Carrie bitches body for me please. She ain't dead, but give her a nice spot to have a rude awakening in. Brandy, honey, with me" Natalie stated simply as she closed the back of the pickup truck and stepped over the unconscious body, getting into the drivers seat as Brandy wordlessly climbed into the passenger side.
They were both silent as they took Sadie to the vet, Champ not once leaving her side as she was taken care of... While the dogs were inside, Natalie and Brandy silently sat together in the pickup truck before Natalie gently took a piece of her shirt and wiped the lipstick off of Brandy's face, then bringing him into a hug. He was slightly hesitant at first but slowly sank into the hug, burying his face in her neck as he started to cry.
They sat like this for a good two hours, just wordlessly holding onto one another as Natalie let Brandy cry, her hand softly rubbing up and down his back while she held him. Eventually, she softly pressed a kiss to his forehead before having him look at her, caressing his cheek. "You're safe now Brandy, I promise... She'll never touch you or even see you ever again, as long as I live... We keep each other safe. I love you, Brandy."
His gaze softened a bit as he heard her comforting words and let his head rest in her hand as he gazed at her, giving a small nod. "We keep each o-other safe... I love you too, Natalie. A-Always will" he replied softly, smiling at her before softly kissing her cheek, then sitting up. Natalie knew when he went through an episode like this, he wasn't very big on kissing, which was fine with her. As long as he felt comfortable, that's all that mattered to her.
"That poor pitbull... N-Never seen Champ do that before."
"Really? He'd the farm gaurd dog after all, its a surprise you haven't."
"W-Well yeah, but he's only ever s-scared off coyotes and w-wolves, not actually sunk his teeth into another living, breathing thing... You did bring that p-pitty to the vet too right?"
"Of course I did. It was only that aggressive because of that bitch, I'm not letting it die just because it had a shitty owner."
"W-We keepin' it?"
"Damn right we are."
Together, they got out of the pickup truck and went inside to check up on Sadie, though the sight that greeted their eyes made them laugh a bit. Champ was refusing to let anyone come near Sadie after she had her operation, growling at those who came close as he lay curled around the female dog, though his ears did perk up a bit when he saw Brandy and Natalie, tail wagging softly while Sadie slept off the anesthetic.
Brandy chuckled a bit and went over, gently patting Champ's head before he glanced at Sadie. "Well done on keepin' ya l-lady friend here safe C-Champ. Seems ya found ya self a g-girlfriend huh?" This earned a laugh from Natalie who went and sat down with the dogs aswell, rolling her eyes a bit.
"Champ, get Sadie pregnant, I'm getting you neutered."
A fake gasp came from Brandy as he covered Champ's ears, the dog blinking a bit up at the two of them as he panted. "S-Sugar, you can't say that to m-my baby! Champ is a good boy and a g-gentleman, he ain't gonna deserve that!" Brandy said in a fake offended tone, earning some more giggles from Natalie who rolled her eyes and lightly yet playfully punched Brandy in the shoulder, her boyfriend chuckling a bit.
Sadie was eventually booked into the vets for a night, atleast till her cast was fully set, Champ refusing to leave her side. Figuring he was in good hands, the couple let him stay there before walking out to the pickup truck, Brandy now taking the drivers side while Natalie climbed into the passenger side. They sat there for a quiet moment before Brandy started up the engine and reversed them out of the parking lot, driving them away from the vet, yet not driving them back home.
Instead, he drove them out to a flower field where he parked his car and helped her out, silently holding her hand as he started to walk with her up a hill. "Brandy, where are you taking me?" She giggled as she walked with him, smiling a bit more as she saw him simply wink and put a finger to his lips.
"A s-secret, sugar. You'll see."
She walked with him a bit longer before they finally reached the top of the hill and turned to look at the view, letting out a happy sigh. No matter where you went in Fae Valley, the view was always spectacular, yet this sight was especially beautiful. "It's beautiful sweetheart" she said softly, smiling a bit more as she felt his arms slowly wrap around her waist, Natalie letting her hands rest ontop of his arms.
They stood together like this for a moment before finally sitting down together, shifting around a bit to lay together amongst the flowers, eyes locked in a loving gaze. In moments like these, they knew they didn't have to say anything. Simply the presence of one another being there was enough.
Gently, they intertwined their fingers together in a firm hand hold, hearts beating as one as they lay there. This moment, right here, right now, felt like true peace...
"Chucks g-giving Lucy a cow."
"What? There's no way."
"Y-Yup. He ain't really the big romantic type and h-he knows she likes fluffy cows, so h-he's gonna give her a calf from one of our highland cows."
"That's... Actually really cute. Does she know yet?"
"Nope."
They stared at one another for a moment longer before starting to laugh, resting their foreheads against one another. Brandy carefully pulled her closer to him and softly kissed her forehead as they cuddled up together in this peaceful moment, a gentle breeze blowing over them, bringing along the sound of faint music in the distance with it.
"We going to go see what that musics for?"
"S-Soon... Let's just... Lay here for a m-moment longer."
"Anything for you, my love."
"And anything for you, my dear."