Gift-Fic: A Man and His Dog
by: Flaming Trails

“Lightning! Lightning, c’mere boy!” Lightning looked over at Bonejangles, arfed, then pawed the earth in front of him eagerly. “Yeah, I know, I’m sure whatever’s under there smells great, but we gotta head home now,” Bonejangles said, loping over to the corgi. “I told Liz we’d be back in a coupla hours, and I don’t wanna keep her waiting.”

Lightning tilted his head up at Bonejangles, ears flopping to the side. “Because I promised her that I’d help her with the new song she’s working on for our next gig, that’s why,” Bonejangles informed him, booping his permanently-wet snoot. “And I take that shit seriously.” He clapped his hands twice, the bones ringing as they clacked together. “So yeah, come on, you – there’ll be plenty to smell on the way home.” He rolled his eye to the other socket and winked. “And there might be a treat in it for you. If you behave.”

Lightning’s ears pricked back up, and he ran circles around Bonejangles’s legs, stubby tail wagging. “Yeah, figured that’d get your attention,” Bonejangles laughed, watching him go. “But the treat’s at home, so if you want it...” Lightning barked, then turned himself homeward and started running. “Hey, whoa, whoa!” Bonejangles called, running after him. “Don’t leave without me! Heel, boy! Heel!”

Fortunately, Lightning turned and circled back to him, panting cheerfully. “There we go, good boy,” Bonejangles praised, scratching him behind the ears. “Finally getting the hang of that one, huh?”

Lightning barked again, doing a little doggy dance in front of him. “We’re getting there, anyway.” Bonejangles straightened up. “All right then, you stick by me, and we’ll go home together. And then treats, I promise.”

Lightning yapped his approval of this plan and parked himself by Bonejangles’s side. Bonejangles chuckled and started walking, the corgi trotting next to him and easily keeping up with his long-footed stride. “Look at us here – regular man and his dog, leaving the park and heading home to the – well, okay, she’s not officially my missus, but she’s one in spirit,” Bonejangles commented as they made their way down the path to the exit. “But anyway, heading home to her, to give her some help with her stuff before we have our dinner. Domestic as anything, ain’t it?”

Lightning wuffed, looking up at him lovingly. “What I thought,” Bonejangles nodded. “Gotta say, this was never the life I pictured for myself when I was actually alive. Thought I’d be on the road forever, just me and my music. Singing and dancing and making people smile until I couldn’t anymore.” His reached down and rubbed his leg, fingerbones scraping over the small cracks he’d long ago cemented up. “I mean – guess I was technically right...”

Lightning whined and nosed his fingers. Bonejangles shook his head, eyeball rattling. “Aw, don’t mind me – just thinking about the shit way I died makes me melancholy,” he admitted. “As does well. Thinking about how, if a couple of things had changed, shit could have been a lot different for us. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I like what we got here – I’m freaking thrilled to have a girlfriend and a dog and an awesome band backing me up whenever we go touring. I just think sometimes that...” He looked at his leg again. “That it might have been nice if that stupid horse hadn’t smashed up my leg in a thunderstorm.” His eye traveled over to the blue dog at his side. “If your old owner hadn’t dumped you in a river. And if Bumby...” He glared off into the middle distance briefly, fists clenched. “Well. If Liz had gotten to yank the tonker off Bumby a whole lot fucking earlier.” He sighed, the breath whistling through his ribcage. “Just saying – wouldn’t have minded going domestic like this while still alive, is all.”

Lightning whined again and pawed his foot before licking his shinbone. Bonejangles angled his jaw into a proper, brighter grin. “Yeah, I know, you love me – alive or dead,” he said, picking up the corgi and cuddling it. “And I love you, and Liz loves us both, and I should just be happy that we managed to meet at all. And I am. I’m pretty damn lucky, for a dead guy.”

Lightning woofed, tongue lolling out and tail wagging as he ran happily in the air. “You said – let’s not think about what coulda been,” Bonejangles agreed, putting him down. “Let’s get home and see Liz. Maybe I didn’t get this in life – but I ain’t wasting it now that I’ve got it in the afterlife.”

The End