Chen/Lay/Baekhyun-centric
Continuity-Pre-Chapter 1
Warning: Bit of angst, tissues may be necessary.

#13: Keen

Lay staggered away from the Supermarket, clutching a half-squished loaf of bread and a half-gallon of grape juice. He had a bag of grapes at one point, but he gave it to a little girl who looked ready to eat her own hands, she was just that hungry. Everyone was hungry these days. There just wasn’t enough food for everyone, and the trucks that carried it were often looted en route to needy towns like this one. He’d overheard a few people say that there was more food in Tianjin, which was about 20 miles away. Lay had just come from there though and he knew that those rumors weren’t true, but he didn’t have the heart to say so. Not when he saw how hopeful the people were at the prospect of something better than what they had here, which was hardly worth mentioning. Lay had been lucky to get away with what he had in his hands, and now he had to figure out how to make it last.

He stuffed the bread and juice under his jacket and tugged the collar up. It was raining harder than it had been when he’d gone into the store and it was friggin’ cold, but luckily it wasn’t too windy just yet. He kept his head down as he walked, it wasn’t good to draw attention to yourself on these blocks. He sincerely hoped that Baekhyun and Chen had managed to stay inside, because there had been some suspicious looking people lurking outside their apartment that morning.

Lay turned a corner and got a shock when he saw a small creature come trotting up to him. For a moment he panicked, thinking it was a young wolf, until he realized that it was white (just a little dirty) and a bit stockier than a wolf. Lay calmed down and made to step around the creature, but it followed his movements.

“Shoo,” Lay muttered, waving his hand at it. He now recognized it as something he’d seen many times around this world. They were called ‘dogs,’ and often they were kept as pets, though now they were more often abandoned since people could scarcely afford to feed themselves, never mind animals.

The dog whined and looked up at Lay, sniffing at the air. It must have smelled the bread. The dog was pitifully thin and looked like it was still a baby. Lay felt his heart break a little but steeled himself. This was not the time for his bleeding heart.

“Get lost,” he ordered. The dog whined again and laid down on top of his feet. Lay could feel it shivering and wondered how much longer the creature would last if left on its own. As if sensing his weakness, the dog looked up at him and damnit all, it looked like the saddest thing on the planet. Lay was instantly reminded of Chen when he was younger, how his eyes would get when he was about to cry.

“Oh damn it all to hell,” Lay muttered as he bent down and quickly scooped the dog into his arms. It snuggled into him and his hands. Even as his heart melted into a puddle of goo Lay cursed himself all the way back, knowing that Baekhyun would kill him for this.

Sure enough when he got back to the apartment and Baekhyun saw him, the first thing he said was “You’re such a softie.”

Lay shoved the wet and shivering dog at him and pulled the food out from under his jacket. “He looks like Chen, how could I leave him there?” He demanded. Baekhyun rolled his eyes and held the dog at arm’s length.

“It’s soaking wet, dirty and possibly flea infested. Clearly, it’s the spitting image of Chen.”

Chen poked his head out from under his blanket. “Whut?” He muttered sleepily.

Lay snatched the dog back and dropped it into Chen’s lap. “I got you a present.”

Chen took one look at the pathetic thing and started crying. “Poor little baby!” He sobbed, hugging it close to his chest. The dog picked it’s head up and Chen’s neck. Chen cried even harder.

“I don’t understand,” Chen gasped between sobs, “How anyone could abandon these animals!”

‘Because they’d rather do that than watch them die,’ Lay thought sadly. Baekhyun Lay and gave him a murderous look.

“So help me,” he growled, “If that thing dies tonight you will be the one who keeps Chen from jumping off the roof in depression.”

Lay winced but didn’t argue. He also doubted very much that the dog would be strong enough to last through the night.

Chen spent the rest of the day coaxing the dog to eat, feeding him little bits of bread and trickling rainwater into his mouth. At night Chen zipped the dog up in his hooded sweater and covered them both with the blanket. To Lay’s surprise, the dog was still alive the next morning, and the morning after that, and soon two weeks had gone by and that dog was still with them. Chen had named him Keen, and now that he’d been fed and was gaining his strength back, he was turning out to be quite the rambunctious puppy.

Chen grew more and more attached to ‘his baby,’ as he dubbed him. Lay would come home with food and Chen would give at least half of his portion to Keen, sometimes more. He argued that he didn’t really need to eat, Keen needed it more, but Lay worried. Chen was already so thin, and even if he didn’t need to eat that didn’t mean he shouldn’t. Chen wasn’t getting proper nutrition, and that could greatly harm him in the long run.

By the end of their second week in that town, Lay had decided they’d been in one place for too long and it was time to get back to searching. He reluctantly told Chen that it was time to let the dog go.

“What?!” Chen shrieked, clutching Keen close. “You can’t be serious!”

“Are you really intending to take him across Asia?” Baekhyun demanded. “We don’t know where we’re going or how far it is!”

“So what?” Chen growled, his eyes shining with tears. “I don’t care if I have to carry him on my back, I’m not leaving him behind! He’s already been abandoned once, and I won’t—”

Here Chen got choked up, and he had to fight to get his next words out. “I won’t leave him all alone. I can’t leave him alone.” His voice turned pleading. “It’s our job to help, and he needs our help. We of all people know what it’s like to be alone. Don’t make me do that to him.”

Lay shivered and bit his lip. He glanced over at Baekhyun and saw that Chen’s words had hit home with him too. On the one hand, they really didn’t need this added burden. Dogs were a lot of work and responsibility, they would need to get food and water for him, not an easy thing to do when some parts of the country that they needed to cross were pretty arid. On the other hand, Chen made a very good, very clear point.

“If he gets sick,” Baekhyun muttered, “Or if he runs away, you have to let him go.”

Chen nodded fervently. “He won’t though. He’ll be fine.”

They set out the next day, and Keen trotted along next to Chen the whole time.

“Look he’s smiling!” Chen cooed. Lay looked over and yes, it did look like the puppy was grinning. He kind of had a goofy face, with tufts of hair sticking out of his head and making it look huge and his silly smile…actually, he kind of looked like a cross between Chen and—

Wham. The memory hit and Lay actually stumbled a bit. The image of Chanyeol’s huge grin, all teeth and laughter, rolling around on the ground at something Xiumin had said. Lay pulled his hat low over his eyes to hide his sudden tears.

His memories came and went, and by the end of the day he could no longer remember who the dog had reminded him of, only that he missed that person terribly. Lay pulled his knees up to his chest and cried as quietly as he could—Chen and Baekhyun were sleeping three feet away, and he didn’t want to wake them.

He felt a nudge on his arm and quickly wiped his face, thinking he had woken the others, but instead he saw white fur and big black eyes.

“Hi, Keen,” he said lowly. The puppy put his paws on Lay’s knees and sniffed his face.

Lay patted his head distractedly. “Why aren’t you with Chen right now?”

Keen whined and Lay’s cheek before nosing him gently. Another memory burned in Lay’s mind, this time of Kris leaning over him after he’d fallen out of tree. Just like that Lay fell onto his side, crying again.

Keen yelped in alarm and Lay’s face fervently. Lay uncurled his legs and Keen laid down next to him, snuggling in close. Lay buried his face in Keen’s neck, fur hiding his tears.

“I miss them so much,” he sobbed. Keen whined lowly and rested his head on top of Lay’s.

Lay cried himself to sleep, and when he woke up in the morning Keen was still lying next to him, calmly waiting for Lay to stop using him as a pillow.

“Good dog,” Lay whispered, patting his head.

The next time they went into town, Lay asked around until he found a pet store. He filled a small bag with dog treats and toys. When he came back to their campsite, Chen grinned at him smugly.

“And you didn’t even want a dog,” he reminded Lay as he threw something called a ‘tennis ball’ for Keen to chase after.

Lay grumbled but otherwise said nothing. When he woke up the next morning it was to find Baekhyun curled around Keen, tear tracks still visible on his face.

“I don’t understand,” Baekhyun said one night as they watched Keen gnaw on a rope toy. “How do dogs know when you’re upset? Or when you need something to cuddle?”

Chen shrugged and snatched the toy away from Keen, growling playfully. When he sent Keen running after it, he answered.

“They’re smarter than people give them credit for. I think it’s because they’re not self-oriented. Like, people spend a lot of time thinking about what they need, and 90% of the time they need ‘better’. Better clothes, cars, houses. People always want to move up. Animals don’t think like that. All they need is food and water, and I think that makes them more open to other creatures, you know? By being less focused on themselves, they can focus more energy on people around them.”

Keen came scampering back and dropped the toy at Lay’s feet. He crouched down, tail waving around in the air, and grinned happily.

Lay threw the toy behind himself. Keen looked momentarily dumbfounded before he realized what had happened and went careening after it.

“I don’t know,” Baekhyun said loftily. “He doesn’t look smart enough for all that.”

They all laughed, but they knew that Chen was right. Lay was very glad that Chen had basically forced them to keep Keen. Lay thought he made their time on the planet that much more bearable.

Oh my god my mom and my sister are watching Glee in the next room and this version of ‘Americano/Dance Again’ is making my ears bleed.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this drabble! I teared up a little bit, but I enjoyed writing it.