#ben-bcrnes

Sure, maybe her best friend was a little suspicious of Dominic, but Elena was suspicious by nature and Mika had learned long ago to just roll with it. After all, they were twenty-one, nearly done with uni, and she was in love. Real, honest love, where she thought that they would be together longer than just a few months. Dominic was different; he made her laugh, and he held her when she cried, and he was there for her when her sister died. He was the all in kind of love. 

She crawled out of his bed, finding her underwear and shorts and pulling them both on. Her bra and shirt were tangled together and she didn’t feel like undoing them, instead grabbing Dominic’s discarded tshirt and completing her outfit. He was still passed out on the bed, sprawled on his stomach and snoring softly. 

Mika couldn’t cook to save her life, but she did have some money and know the whereabouts of the best coffeeshop in the area. She slipped on her shoes and left the apartment, walking down the street in the warm late-morning. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and she was happy. 

“I like your shirt.” the barista at the coffeeshop said. Mika looked down, forgetting which one Dominic had been wearing the night before. It was the tshirt he made for his “band” that he and his buddies tried to form last year. The music went nowhere, but this one-of-a-kind shirt was pretty cool. 

“Thanks.” she said, smiling. “It’s my boyfriend’s.”

“Boyfriend?” the barista asked, an odd look on her face. Mika cocked her head to the side.

“Yea?” she said, wondering what conversation she was having. 

“Oh, sorry. I knew a guy that had a shirt like that. But he definitely never mentioned a girlfriend.” she laughed awkwardly. “Guess they made more of that shirt.”

“Wh...what?” Mika asked, her mind not willing to fill in the blanks. She’d been there the day Dominic made this shirt. He still bragged that he had the only one. The girl blinked a few times before shaking her head, plastering on an obviously fake smile.

“Well, it looks better on you.” she said, her voice strained. She handed over the coffee and bag of breakfast treats. Mika took them numbly, handing over her cash and not bothering to wait for change. She didn’t register walking back to the apartment, and was surprised to find Dominic up and moving when she got there.

“There you are.” he said with a grin, laying a lingering kiss on her cheek. “Did you bring breakfast?”

“Yea.” she said distantly. She looked at him, watching as he smiled and took the food from her. He wasn’t acting any different. He would act different, right?

“Did you steal my shirt again?” he asked, obviously glancing down at her chest before dragging his eyes up to hers. She blinked, still waiting for something that wasn’t going to be there.

“It was the first one I found.” she said. “The girl at the coffeeshop...said she knew someone with the same one.”

“That’s impossible, I’m the only one who has it.” he said. He sounded proud for a moment...then his face changed, ever so slightly. The smile was more forced, the muscle in his cheek twitching. “What was her name?”

“Orla.” she said, the nametag sticking out in her brain. Orla had been pretty, and seemed to have just a bit of an edge to her. His type, before he started dating Mika. 

“Oh, well, I don’t know an Orla.” he said, his laugh too high, too fake. 

“She said you didn’t mention a girlfriend.” Mika found herself saying. Silence filled the space between them, her waiting for a confession and him trying to come up with an excuse.

“I can explain-”

“Why would she be surprised you didn’t mention me?”

“It’s not what it looks like-”

“Why didn’t you say anything about me?”

“It was a mistake!” he said. He was laughing again, like this ‘mistake’ was forgetting something at the store, or turning in a paper late. “Just a silly, silly mistake.”

Mika’s jaw dropped, and she’s glad that he took the coffee from her because she probably would’ve dropped that too. “Did you...sleep with her?”

“Baby, it was a long time ago-”

“We’ve been together that whole time, and you - you -” Mika couldn’t breathe, her heart felt like it was splitting in half. “You cheated on me.”

“No, no baby that - that’s not what -”

“I have to go.” she said, going into his room and picking up her other clothes. She tore his shirt off and exchanged it for her jacket, not bothering with anything else. He followed her around, trying to close the space between them, but she wouldn’t let him.

“Look, it was just the once-”

“We’re done.”

“No no no - Mika, baby, stop, listen to me-”

“We’re done!”

“No! We’re not!”

“You cheated on me!” she rounded on him at the door. She wasn’t crying, but she could feel her heart breaking. “I loved you, and you cheated on me.”

“Mika...” he started, trying to find something, anything, to make her stay. She felt the tears building, but was determined that he wouldn’t see her cry.

“Yes!” Elodie exclaimed, sending a grin across to Steve as they followed the owner of the dog charity into the back “Well I couldn’t say no could I,” she said, leaning across to Steve as he sent her a look “We’re just looking! You want to meet some of the dogs we’re helping right?”

“Right,” he agreed, unable to stop himself from smiling down to her as she stopped at each kennel to listen to Sally, the owner of the charity, explain about their stories.

“Now, these two,” Sally said, pink scattering along her cheekbones as they reached two curly haired, fluffy brown dogs. They were clearly excited, the two of them jumping up at the kennel door with their tails wagging “They came in together, they’re litter mates...brothers if you like,” she explained, her eyes wandering over to Steve once more “They came in through no fault of their own...their owner had to move on when everyone came back,” she said, continuing quickly when she noticed Steve glance away “They were big fans though! Their, uhm, the dogs' names...they’re called Rogers and Barnes.”

Elodie’s eyes lit up as she clapped her hands over her mouth “Oh my god!” she exclaimed “Can I go in with them?”

“Of course!” Sally exclaimed, plucking a key from her belt “They’re excitable but safe,” she explained as the dogs both began to bark.

Steve stepped closer to the door as he watched Elodie immediately sit down on the floor between the two dogs, a laugh was alive on her face as they rushed toward her. She gathered the two of them up in the same way he had seen her deal with the kids she had taken in during the blip, pressing kisses wherever she could as they excitedly climbed all over her.

“Steve, look!” she exclaimed over her shoulder “They love me!”

“So they do,” he answered, his hands pushed into the pockets of his trousers.

“Have they had much interest?” Elodie asked as she pushed herself up onto her feet, letting out a laugh as one of the dogs dropped a toy at her feet.

Sally let out a sigh “Not really,” she admitted “Labradoodles are the perfect family pet, they just need more training and exercise than people expect and want to give them. It’s the smaller, fluffy ones who seem to get the most interest recently.”

Elodie’s bottom lip jutted out as she reached down to pick up the toy once more, throwing it to the other end of the kennel and watching as the two dogs raced after it “We could take them.”

Steve’s eyebrows arched and he let out a laugh of amusement “We could?”

“They’re called Rogers and Barnes Steve! They’re only homeless because you brought everyone back!”

“Which we are very grateful for Mr Rogers,” Sally injected quickly.

Elodie rolled her eyes “Yeah, yeah, he’s a hero,” she said before crouching down between the two dogs, ruffling the curls on the tops of their heads “Look at them!” she exclaimed, those puppy dog eyes she’d promised wouldn’t make an appearance staring up to him “And they’re siblings so we can’t let them be separated!”

Steve let out a sigh before he turned to Sally “Do you need to come and inspect our house before we take them?” he asked, unable to say no to Elodie or the two dogs’ puppy dog eyes.

“You’ve made a very generous donation to our cause Mr Rogers,” Sally said, the blush back “But we do have to check...I could follow you back to your place with the dogs in my car?”

“That sounds perfect!” Elodie exclaimed, slipping out of the kennel and lacing her fingers through Steve’s “And we could help you with a campaign, take some photos?”

“That would be amazing, thank you both so much,” Sally said as she made sure the kennel was closed properly “I’ll just go and get their harnesses and leads,” she said, sending them a grin before disappearing back toward the office.

“You promised.”

“I know,” Elodie whined, leaning her head on his chest for a second before glancing up to him with a smile “But come on. The names? We can’t leave them behind!”

Steve let out a laugh “And they are very cute.”

“Just like you and Bucky!” Elodie grinned, hopping up onto her toes to press a kiss to his lips “Thank you.”

He smiled down to her, cradling the side of her face and running his thumb along her cheekbone “I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist,” he said as she squeezed her arms around his waist “I did only order one dog bed this morning though, I’ll have to order another.”

She shook her head “You know me more than I know myself sometimes,” she said with a chuckle “I wonder if they have one called Wilson…”

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