HeartLESS (Fransykes)

10. No sign of moving on

CW: Mentions of vaccinations and medications regarding animals. For the humans, we have a few fears and anxiety: fear of heights and fears of communication kinda, it'll make sense when you get to it. LOTS of fluff and then later... we finally have some Fransykes SMUT!

A/N: Dialogue heavy at times, but I feel like it needs to be. Enjoy!

Oli's POV

The rest of the day in the shop passes by really quickly now that both Vegan and I are in better spirits. He's got a date with a cute girl; I've got a second date with a cute guy - nothing's shifting our moods now! I text Josh loads after work and our messages continue to be friendly and flirty, mostly just talking about how our days have gone, our families and pasts, and just generally getting to know one another.

I'm really looking forward to taking him out Wednesday. I have a plan for it, but I want it to be a surprise. I hope he likes it. He keeps asking for me to give him little hints but I don't budge except for telling him things that won't give it away. We'll be outside for most of the day and though it's still fairly warm, it does start to get a little chilly in the evenings, so I tell him to maybe bring a light jacket or something and make sure he has comfortable shoes.

The next day, I'm in the shelter again and Jordan is bouncing once I get there, excited for me to tell him all about my weekend. He's happy for me, as I knew he would be and around eleven, Lee comes in to assess Max.

Max was a bit annoyed with me this morning because he wasn't allowed to have any food yet, only water. His puppy teeth are a bit nippy and I've got a few scratches for my frankly horrible treatment of him, but I don't mind really. It'll be worth it and once he has these first vaccinations, he'll be ready to be put up for adoption.

Lee asks me to hold Max while he administers the drugs that will help protect the little pup. Considering how much he hated being denied his breakfast, Max is a complete angel, sitting perfectly and not even wincing when the needle pierces his skin. I set him back in his cage and he falls asleep quickly and Lee takes a look at Margie and Denver while he's here too. Margie is doing much better now and Jordan thinks that she'll be able to go to a new home pretty soon too. I will miss her loads, but she deserves a chance to be loved.

After lunch, Max is much more awake and alert and wolfs down his food quickly. Jordan and I spend some time taking pictures of the dogs for display and for the website and the rest of the day passes quickly again. Jordan promises to keep me updated for the rest of the week and I promise him the same.

I've actually planned to take some time off from the shelter this week. Jordan has a work experience kid in this week to help out, so apart from my regular time in the music shop tomorrow afternoon and at the weekend, I'm not planning to go in again until Friday.

Again, Tuesday passes fairly quickly and thankfully without issue unlike last week. I'm a little nervous to be left in the shop alone again, but I text Josh loads throughout the day and he keeps my brain occupied. I've asked him to meet me at the town centre bus station tomorrow at eleven am and Mat has planned to be away for the rest of the week too. When I fall asleep Tuesday night, I am ridiculously giddy. I have big plans for the whole day, I just hope Josh likes it!

Wednesday morning, I wake up at about eight-thirty. I take Luna for her morning walk and have a long shower. I'm kind of nervous still, but much less so than I was on Saturday. By ten-thirty, I'm ready to head out to the bus station and giving Luna a last check, making sure she has plenty of food and water, I set off.

I arrive at the bus station ten minutes early and the nerves start to set in. I have a rucksack with me with a few essentials in and it's pleasantly warm as I wait for Josh to arrive. Luckily, he doesn't keep me waiting too long and arrives about five minutes later, greeting me with that gorgeous grin, a hug and a sweet kiss on the cheek.