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Mabosstiff’s head perked up when he heard the door handle jiggle.
It was probably Arven messing with his key. It always took him a few tries to unlock his door.
Which was fine, because it gave Mabosstiff just enough time to leap off the bed and scamper to the door. He sat on the floor, tail wagging back and forth with vigor. His tongue lolled out of his mouth, and he panted as he waited for the door handle to turn.
Arven stepped inside the dorm room, could barely close the door before Mabosstiff was on his hind legs and practically knocking his trainer over.
“Whoa, boy!” Arven exclaimed, laughing, trying to keep his balance. “Miss me much?”
Mabosstiff let out a low, gruff bark in affirmation. He licked Arven’s cheek.
Arven chuckled. “Alright, alright, down,” he said in an exasperatedly fond tone, patting Mabosstiff on the head. Mabosstiff conceded, dropping back down to all fours to let Arven properly into the room. His tail still wagged incessantly, and he followed Arven over to the counter where his trainer set a couple reusable bags full of cooking ingredients.
“You ready for dinner, bud?” Arven asked as he started emptying the bags onto the countertop.
Mabosstiff let out an excited bark. Arven always made the best dinners. And the best breakfasts. And the best lunches.
The best food all around, really.
Mabosstiff was a lucky Pokémon.
“What do you think, Galar-style curry sound good for tonight?”
Mabosstiff barked again. He started panting again, whining at the wheel of fresh MooMoo Cheese in Arven’s hand.
“You want this?” Arven asked with a smile. “Alright, cheese curry coming right up, Mabosstiff!”
Mabosstiff wandered over and hopped back up on the bed to watch his trainer go about making dinner. It was an extremely familiar sight, and a comforting one to Mabosstiff. Arven was in his element when cooking, and Mabosstiff was just happy when Arven was happy.
While Arven was cooking, Mabosstiff had dozed off a little. But when Arven whistled to get Mabosstiff’s attention, he was standing by the bed with two bowls of curry in hand. “Move over, bud, make some room!” Arven said, carefully kneeling on the bed. Mabosstiff shifted to give Arven some space, but excitedly eyed the bowl that he knew was his—the red bowl with the Dachsbun faces all over it.
“Here you go,” Arven said, setting the decorative bowl in front of Mabosstiff. The dog Pokémon immediately tucked into his meal, and it was delicious. As expected from his wonderful trainer.
Arven ate his own helping, leaning casually against Mabosstiff with the Violet Book open in his lap. He took a bite every few pages or so, studying the contents of the book with a keen eye. Mabosstiff finished his meal quickly and settled back down on the bed, letting Arven use him as a cushion.
And the pair stayed like that for the next few hours, quietly enjoying each others’ presence. Every once and a while, Arven would reach over and blindly scratch behind Mabosstiff’s ear, or pet him on his snout. In return, Mabosstiff would lick the palm of Arven’s hand until it was positively wet with slobber. But Arven didn’t mind. He never did.
Mabosstiff sighed happily and closed his eyes to sleep, with Arven’s comforting weight against him. He had the best trainer in the world, hands-down.