#this is silly!!!!

Calum wanders back into the kitchen where he’s left Duke with a bone while grabbing the remaining bags from the grocery and pet store from the car. (It’s a bit of a bribe but of course, there’s no way the pup knows that.) He puts away the groceries and smiles brightly when Duke lifts his fluffy ears at the sound of a new food bag being tossed into the pantry before returning to the task at hand.

Calum pulls the bag from the pet store closer and does a short whistle to get Duke’s attention. “Alright here’s the deal, little dude,” he start while pulling a bag of treats out and Duke’s tail starts wagging like crazy, “you can have some of these if you let me put this guy on your head for a picture. Mom and Luke both want holiday cards this year and you’re much cuter than me so it’s gotta be a picture of you.”

Of course Duke has no idea what he’s saying (though Calum has got into fights with Ashton many times over how he swears Duke knows what he’s saying) but his tail waves around a bit more when Calum rips open the bag of treats and tosses one to the floor while he pulls out a tiny dog-sized beanie from the bag and rips the label off. 

“See?” Calum asks rhetorically while holding up the little red and white hat. “I bought you a beanie! Isn’t the pompom cute?”

Rather than waiting to see the silent response from the dog, Calum bends down to the floor and attempts to tuck the hat over Duke’s ears. The treats on the floor are immediately abandoned in favor of growling (whether at Calum or the hat, he can’t really tell) and Duke shakes his head, his collar tags jingling, until the hat falls to the floor. Calum returns to standing and lets his hands fall to his hips, a pout resting at his lips as he starts considering other options for a photo that’ll bring a smile to his family and friend’s faces. But then an idea hits him.

He reaches into the bag and tosses a couple more little treats to the floor. “Be right back.”

Calum wanders off to the hall closet where he knows the photo booth decorations from last year’s Christmas party have been waiting for their annual return to his living room. He pulls a box down and digs through it until he finds what he’s looking for. He heads back for the kitchen, this time digging his phone out and opening the camera app to have it ready since hats apparently are not Duke’s most favorite thing. (Which is weird, Calum thinks. He hadn’t been that opposed to the gator costume.)

“Okay, let’s give this another try, buddy.” Calum pulls the adult size Santa hat out from under his arm as he bends down again to the dog’s height. “What do you think? Is it too early for Santa hats?”

He tucks the hat onto Duke’s head and adjusts it so it’ll stay in place for the five seconds that he needs to snap a clear picture that would be appropriate to print fifty or so copies of with some cheesy holiday message written across the front of.

Before Duke has a chance to shake the hat off again, Calum reaches up onto the counter for his phone and snaps a picture, the tiny dog’s head tilted slightly to the side, the hat just barely falling over one of his eyes. Absolutely adorable and very on theme, Calum thinks. He plucks the hat off and tosses it up onto the counter before settling onto the floor of the kitchen and pulling his tiny, furry best friend into his lap to show him the picture.