Chapter 2
Nappy was a 9 year old bloodhound. When you first adopted him, he was scared of everybody and everything. It took many months for him to warm up to you and even now he rarely hung around with people. He was familiar with the staff and could tolerate when children touched him. However, he treated most adult like they were his mortal enemy, which in his mind they probably were.
So to see Nappy curled up in this strange mans lap was a surprise to say the least. You were tempted to go over and say something. As you were heading over however, you noticed how serene and content both of them were. They were stuck in their own world of comfort and it would be rude to interrupt.
You let them be and the man stayed for quite a while, just sitting in silent contemplation as he pet the bloodhounds head. Two hours later and the man was about to leave, even though he seemed reluctant to do so. Before he was able to slip out, you grabbed the puppy pen and reservation book and made your way toward him.
“Would you like to make a reservation sir?”
“Reservation?” He posed it as a question and so you answered truthfully.
“Well you seemed to really enjoy being with Nappy and he enjoyed you as well so I thought maybe you'd like to reserve a time with him individually without so many other animals around?”
He gave a slow nod and I beamed at him. It had been so long since Nappy had had another close adult companion.
“Well you just sign your name here, pick a date and time, and then give your signature riiight here.” Your smile was stuck on your face as you waved him goodbye.
You were a nosy little shit so the first thing you did when he was out of sight was check his name. There, in small chicken scratch handwriting, was a short but unique name you were sure you'd seen before.
Bucky.
After that first day at the cafe, Bucky would come at least twice a week. He became a regular customer and all of the employees warmed up to him, though most of the time he specially requested you to serve him.
It had been about a month and a half since then and you and him had grown quite close. Albeit you only knew each other's names and random little facts about one another.
Well that wasn't entirely true.
Bucky didn't know much about you but you knew all about him. When you first learned his name it was too familiar to just let it go. So of course, after the cafe closed and you were upstairs on your couch, you looked him up. When you realized he was the winter soldier your blood went cold. For a minute you were considering asking him not to come back but a weight on your leg made you look down. Nappy sat there with pleading eyes and soft whines and you let out a loud groan.
“Really? You like him that much?” More whining. “Oh my gosh Nap what the fuck.” But thinking about it, Bucky had never seemed hostile or dangerous. In fact, when he was around Nappy, he'd have this childlike innocence about him.
So you sighed, gathered Nap up onto the couch, and covered him in kisses and pets. “Okay okay fine I'll let you keep your weird ass friend. I hope you know how much I love you, ya spoiled shit.” He barked in return, pleased with his triumph and settled down onto your lap.
So now Bucky was always welcome. Today he'd reserved a room with everyone’s favorite bloodhound and, once again, you were serving him. There were 2 reservations rooms filled with toys, treats and pillows and blankets of all kinds. There were 3 cameras that worked 24/7 though there was usually nothing to report. Most people went in there to fall asleep with the animals or have small moments that they would otherwise never get to themselves.
It was a rule to always knock before entering a reserved room to give the guest time to compose themselves. When you knocked to bring Bucky his herbal tea and plum muffin, you were greeted with his face buried in the dog's hair. Bucky didn’t even stir when you whispered his order and set it on the tall navy table in the corner. Figuring he was sleeping you decided not to make too much noise as you made your exit.
You were so close to being gone when Bucky lifted his head. You waited for him to say something, understanding that maybe it was hard for him to speak what he needed to. One - no two minutes later he finally spoke up.
“Why’s his name Nappy?”
Letting out a sigh of relief, you smiled and said - with the utmost confidence, “It’s short for Napoleon.”
“The hell? Why?” His bewildered and disbelieving glare made you bite your lip hard. But not even that could stop the laughter that bubbled out of you. It had been a while since you laughed so hard and something so simple and it felt damn good. You didn’t care enough to answer at the moment and made your way out the door.
“I guess you’ll just have to figure it out!”
Your coworkers and customers must’ve thought you were fucking insane when you left Bucky’s room, cackling like a witch who’d just cursed her first princess.