Claire stayed quiet as she watched the hybrid dog in front of them. Knowing he would have an explanation as to why he would come up with such an idea, she decided to hear him out before letting her prejudice dictate her response.
Although she already had an inkling as to why he would choose such a gift for her little flower.
Aiden saw her silence as a sign to continue so he did. "From the moment you told me her birthday was coming up I've been thinking of what to get her. Seeing as it would be the first ever birthday in her life that I'll be a part of, I wanted to get her something that equally represented how special the occasion was."
Claire felt her heart melt inside her chest. She could already sense where the conversation was going, but she couldn't help feeling warm and happy. He truly treasured Lily.
Not because he was trying to win brownie points with herself or because he felt obligated to get along with her, but because he truly had a soft spot for her in his heart. He was actively putting in efforts to take her into consideration with all the things he did. That alone was enough to make Claire take whatever he said seriously.
She looked up at him as he continued. Her expression didn't show much of what she was thinking, but after what he said, she felt an immense need to see his face.
"I know that all of you take amazing care of her." Aiden said as he looked down at her. Bringing one of his hands up to caress her cheek. "But considering the fact that she isn't ever going to be able to live a stereotypical normal and safe life, I thought of how a friend she could take along wherever she went could make her feel more at ease with her surroundings. With the added benefit of him being of protection and use to her." As he finished explaining the reason behind his idea, he lowered his head and gave her forehead a kiss. She was too close and too beautiful for him to keep resisting himself.
"You mean a service dog." She said as she enjoyed the sensation of his lips on her skin.
"Well, technically he can't be called a service dog because of his breed, but yes. In essence that's what he would be." He replied.
Claire looked back at the dog who was still laying on the ground a step away from them and fell into thought as Aiden kept talking. "We can train him to guard her and maybe even alarm her and those around her of any upcoming seizure attacks."
"Why a hybrid?" She asked him. Knowing they were much more difficult to train, Claire was curious on why he would pick such a breed.
"They're fierce." He replied in a heartbeat. "Princess looks delicate and fragile. And although I know that isn't necessarily the case, I wanted him to be the fiercest and most intimidating a dog could be. He may be harder to train, but once he's fully grown, I'm certain the pests wouldn't even dare get close to her with him around."
At that Claire giggled. She didn't have to see his expression to understand what he was referring too. It was peculiar how he didn't seem to be overly jealous with her, yet was very much so with Lily.
Little did Claire know that wasn't the case.
"Wouldn't that make it even harder for her to make friends?" She asked as she played with his fingers. Being as big as he was, his hands were giant compared to hers. And although they seemed rough, his skin was unexpectedly smooth.
"If the people approaching her have good intentions, they shouldn't have a problem." He said as a matter of fact. He was confident that his plan was fool proof. They fell silent once again for a while before Clare spoke again.
"Did you train your dogs yourself?" Her voice was low but tranquil. Aiden hadn't stopped looking down at her so he could tell she wasn't tensing up by bringing up Moose and Bear.
"I did, but not by myself. You wouldn't be able to guess by just seeing her, but Aurora is practically a professional dog trainer." He answered as he felt her snuggle into his arms. "So if you decided to let her keep him, you can use my house as a training ground and Aurora as a private trainer while Lily learns how to handle him."
Another long moment of silence between them passed until she looked up at him to speak again. His eyes were already meeting hers with a gentle and loving gaze. "I think Lily will love him."
Aiden's eyes lit up with happiness at her words. "Are you sure? I can arrange for something else if you're not comfortable with him. You don't even need to feel pressured into giving me an answer straight away."
"I'm sure. I know Colton hasn't suggested getting her a service dog because of me, but I've caught him reading about them more than once. And besides, you know how much Lily loves animals." Her voice turned almost sad as she continued. "She already has a hard time thanks to the life style she was born into. I don't want to be responsible of adding even more limitations for her just because of some stupid fear."
"Hey." Aiden's voice turned stern. "Let that be the last time you call your fears stupid. I may not know where they're born from, but nonetheless they've marked you and pushed you to turn into the person you are. I'll be more than glad to help you overcome it if that's what you want. But calling them stupid is not allowed from now on. Okay?" He stared at her intently until she replied.
"Okay." Her voice was soft, but her eyes were shinning by the way he didn't leave room for compromise when it came to her. She didn't feel scolded at all.
"Good girl." Aiden said as he pecked her lips with happy eyes again.
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After a while of talking and enjoying each others company, the couple made their way back into the house. When they didn't find Lucas and Lily in the living area, Aurora let them know where they were.
"Master Lucas took Miss Lily to open the presents." Aurora said as shook her head. She knew what was coming.
"Dammit Lucas!" Aiden huffed out as he ran his hand through his hair.
"The presents?" Claire asked with a confused expression on her face.
"You see Miss Claire, Master Lucas has been very excited to meet both you and Miss Lily. So he has been preparing gifts for when the occasion finally arrived."
"I swear he's going to need a wheelchair to move around for when I'm done beating him." Aiden mumbled to himself as he took Claire's hand and started walking out of the living area.
"It's fine if he got her a few gifts Aiden. I don't mind." She said to him as he guided her through the enormous house. Thinking he was mad about Lucas overstepping some kind of line, she thought it would be best to ease the situation.
"You don't know Lucas. He's a bit...over the top at times." Aiden said as he sighed. "Being overwhelming is in his nature, so I specifically instructed him not to be pushy when the time for you guys to meet came around. Yet here he is doing the exact opposite" His voice dripped with irritation as they reached a specific room.
"I still don't see how a few gifts are such a big-" As soon as Aiden opened the door to the room, Claire swallowed whatever words she was about to say.
'Over the top is an understatement.' She thought to herself as her eyes widened at the sight.