Off With a Splash

by Cheezit1101 (ao3)

Myles let out an exhausted sigh as he sunk into his car seat, covering his face in his hands and reaching them up to rifle his short brown hair. (Another long shift). A busy day at work had forced him to work an extra hour. (I hope this doesn’t mess up our scene). He quickly started his car and pulled out of the parking lot. (I’m so excited! We’ve been doing just puppy play for so long, it’ll be fun to try being something else for a change!). Myles enjoyed his pup personality, the loyalty, tricks, and treats, but he had wanted to combine it with his love of swimming. This led to an obvious, albeit niche, answer. A few diy-ed pieces of gear later, his spouse Ethan had managed to create an ensemble inspired by a sea lion. Myles had seen very little of the outfit in advance though, as Ethan wanted to keep it a surprise. Aside from some small specifications, Myles had very little idea what he was getting into. But despite this, he was very excited for the scene, and his work stresses were driven to the back of his mind as he neared Ethan’s home. Pulling into the driveway, Myles hopped out of the car and rushed to the door. After a quick knock, it didn’t take long for him to be welcomed in. “Hey, sorry I’m late, work was crazy today,” Myles said as he immediately pulled Ethan in for a hug. “Don’t worry about it Pup, it took me a while to get set up anyways.” He responded, holding Myles for a few seconds. “Shall we get started?” Ethan asked as he reached out a hand. Myles took his pale hand shyly and allowed Ethan to lead him into the playroom. The room had a stereotypical black and red aesthetic with velvet and leather accents with some furniture for storage or play.

As Myles walked in, he let out a small gasp at the quality gear that had been prepared. Black locking flipper gloves and shoes and a black latex muzzle with black-tinted swim goggles in the style of a sea lion had been carefully laid out on the red velvet-topped black dresser at the back of the room. (This stuff looks so fancy. I guess I wasn’t the only one excited to try this out) Myles thought to himself as he analyzed the quality gear. “Sit,” Ethan ordered, directing Myles to his place on the ground. Ethan first undressed him, leaving him nude. This part was intimate, but they both were focused on the main event. Ethan started with a pair of black latex boxers, then slipped the shoes onto Myles’ feet and locked them in place, then the gloves which he also locked on. Finally, he carefully picked up the muzzle and placed it on Myles’ face, making sure the goggles were in place and securing the locks in the back. Myles opened and closed his mouth, realizing the muzzle had a gap in the mouth for breathing and the insertion of treats. Facing forward and looking into the mirror on the back of the door he had entered through, Myles inspected himself. His latex flippers contrasted sharply against his tan skin and shined glamorously in the mood-lighting of the playroom. Besides his flippers, his black goggles allowed him to see yet covered his eyes, and along with his animalistic mouth, any sense of humanity he once had was revoked. As it took it in, the pup began to feel itself relax, the stresses of daily life slipping further away. Gear had always helped it slip into petspace, and this was no different. As the sea lion processed its appearance, Ethan doted on it. “Such an adorable rubber pup,” he complimented as he tenderly brushed the animal’s arms, “but let's see if it’s as beautiful in the water as it is on land.” Ethan took a simple collar and leash, placed them on it and allowed it to stand. Ethan walked slowly to make sure the sea lion didn’t trip as it adjusted to its flippers. The latex shoes *squeaked* and *sqrrked* on the wood floors of Ethan’s house. Even though it was unrealistic, it would have been impossible for it to traverse the halls on all fours. The humanoid walk slightly brought Myles away from his petspace, but it returned in full force as they stepped outside. Once Myles’ eyes had adjusted to the bright outdoors, he saw the glittering pool, and a burst of excitement rushed over the sea lion and shoved him firmly back into his petspace. “One moment pup,” Ethan said as he carefully unclipped the leash. The moment the pup heard the *click* of the leash unclipping, it broke out into a dash and dove flipper-first into the crystal water.

As it opened its eyes, an image of clear serenity entered the Myles’ vision. Puppy play was something it was familiar with, but this was an entirely new experience. Its vision was slightly shaded by the black tinted goggles, but the sunlight streaming through the water bounced off the white tiles and made a heavenly atmosphere. The flippers that had glimmered in the playroom gleamed in the pool as sun danced on the surface of the latex. As it began to swim, he found the flippers that had been cumbersome on land propelled it forwards and allowed it to make deft turns in the water. The sea lion zoomed around the circular pool, feeling the water rush past it in a deeply relaxing sensation. After a minute or so, it returned to the surface to breathe. Its brown hair was slicked back to its head and water dripped off his heaving, tan chest. “Such a graceful pup. You having fun?” Ethan asked. Myles gave enthusiastic nods, ending its response in a hearty bark. Ethan chuckled (This kind of play looks so natural for it. Its form in the water is impeccable, it's like it was meant to be here all along). The pup dove back under the water to continue growing accustomed to the abilities of its flippers as Ethan watched eagerly. Picking up a whistle that hung on his neck, Ethan gave it a short blow. The sea lion returned to the surface at the shrill noise and looked expectantly at Ethan. “When I blow this whistle, it means it’s time to listen to me, understand?” it responded with a nod and focused its attention on Ethan. “I know you’re already familiar with some tricks as a dog pup, but I want to train you as a sea lion pup as well, a smart pup like you can handle that, right?” The sea lion nodded obediently. At this, Ethan walked to a table nearer his house and picked up a red rubber ball. He held it in his hand for a moment, and then shouted “Fetch!” as he hurled the ball to the far end of the pool. Myles swiftly dove after it, weaving through the water, but soon found that getting to the ball was the easy part. It had no hands to pick the ball up with, and It couldn’t grab the ball in its mouth either due to the muzzle. Myles could feel Ethan’s authoritative gaze on it, and set out to please him. (I know this command, I can do this) it thought to itself as it puzzled how to get the ball back to Ethan. It circled the ball, eyeing it at every angle. Eventually, it gently pushed the ball with its nose, causing it to bob forwards in the water. A lightbulb lit up in its head, and it immediately began to nudge the ball back towards Ethan. The currents threatened to push the ball back, but the sea lion was determined to return the ball and complete its task. After a few minutes, the ball had been moved to the front of the pool where it idly floated just below Ethan. He reached down to pick it up, saying “good boy, I knew you could do it pup.” Myles grinned at the praise beneath the muzzle.

Ethan had puzzled over how to reward the sea lion. Food was an obvious choice, but stomach cramps would certainly ensue after swimming again, so he settled on simple praise, a tactic that had always worked on Myles. “So smart and pretty,” Ethan doted as he bent down to hold the side of the pup’s face, caressing it with his thumb. Myles pressed its wet cheek into the warm skin, calm drenching it at the touch. After the reward, Ethan rose again and administered more familiar commands. Speak, roll over, and stay were easily responded to given Myles' experience in puppy play, and Ethan rewarded each successful attempt. The sea lion’s proficiency in navigating the waters increased with every trick and its form seemed to meld with the currents as it expertly flowed through the pool.

Seeing its skill, Ethan decided to give the sea lion a challenge. “Let’s try something a little harder, something new,” he said as he walked to the table once again. Picking up a beach ball, Ethan shouted “Balance!” and threw the ball into the water. Myles swam towards the ball and investigated it. It circled it and thought about what Ethan wanted it to do. It knew a common sea lion trick was balancing a ball on their nose, so that’s what it sought out to do. Dipping its muzzle below the water, Myles placed its nose under the ball and slowly lifted it up. The trick was harder than it thought though, and the ball slipped off the smooth latex. The sea lion tried again and again with no luck. If its angle was even slightly off, the beach ball would roll into the water and the pup would have to try again. After about 10 minutes of failed attempts, it grew frustrated. Ethan studied the situation from afar (His muzzle is pretty smooth. Is this too difficult for it? Should we try something else?) Ethan walked to the side of the pool closer to Myles. “Here, we can try something else if this is too difficult for now,” he said as he reached out to take the ball. The sea lion, frustrated at its inability to complete the task, responded in sassy sea lion fashion and splashed Ethan with his rear flippers, snorting indignantly. Ethan nearly laughed but held it in to maintain his appearance as master. Picking up the whistle, he blew it sharply. Myles’ face changed instantly from that of sass to slight guilt. “Bad sea lion, come with me,” Ethan said curtly as he clipped the leash on to the collar and led it out of the water. It was now that the sea lion noticed the large, black metal cage next to the table. Knowing what came next, Myles stepped into it and bowed on its bottom, avoiding Ethan’s glare. “For misbehaving, I’m locking you in here for 5 minutes. Be ready to apologize when your time is up.” Ethan said, shutting the cage door and locking it with a harsh *chink*. He walked away to set a timer and remove the beach ball from the pool. As the sea lion sat in the cage, the water from the pool began to drip from its body, leaving him chilled to the bone. The sun shone warmly, but Myles’ soaking form shivered in the cage. As it sat, Myles reflected on the trick and what it had done. (In other scenes of ours, failure to complete a task would have resulted in punishment. But this time, he only tried to redirect me,) the sea lion looked up at Ethan mid-thought, (I shouldn’t have splashed him, he was trying to be nice).

The minutes bore on regardless of Myles’ internal revelations, however. But by the time they were up, the sea lion had readjusted to the warm summer air and no longer felt as cold. Ethan walked towards the cage, undid the lock, and motioned for it to come out. “Do you have anything to say?” Ethan asked. In their pet play scenes, Myles usually kept quiet, so when it was allowed to speak, what it said was important. “I’m sorry I splashed you, Master. I was frustrated with my inability to complete the task, but that’s no excuse for disobedience,” the pup bowed down, “I promise not to disrespect you again.” Ethan processed the words, then kneeled down to Myles’ level. “That's a good pup, I knew you’d come around,” he said as he wrapped the sea lion in a warm embrace. “Obedience befits you, pup,” he continued as he caressed Myles' face, helping it slip back into petspace after having spoken. “It’s such a shame to see such a beautiful sea lion out of the water, why don’t you hop back in?” Ethan added as he motioned to the waters. At this, the sea lion wasted no time in returning to the crystal blue pool. Its skin had adjusted to the air, so the water hit it with a chill, but the feeling only fueled its excited zooms around the pool. Ethan returned to watching its swimming (It looked so miserable in that cage, but we made a lot of progress today. I think I’ll just let it spend the rest of our time swimming around). Besides, Ethan was happy to watch it anyway. The current of the water flowed smoothly over Myles’ muscles, and Ethan could see its core relax and tense repeatedly as it powered itself through the pool. Its flippers dedicatedly propelled the sea lion forwards and every feature of its anatomy worked in perfect unison to meld it with the water. The experience was even more beautiful from Myles’ perspective. Every sensation and movement issued a wave of calm over its body as the quiet sound of water rushing past was the only noise to occupy it. The pup had a master, but it had never felt so free as it swam through the sun-streaked waters with its loving owner to observe it.

After about an hour and the sea lion swimming, Ethan began to notice the sun sinking in the sky and summoned Myles with a blow of his whistle. With a ripple, it poked its head above the surface to listen to its Master. “It’s getting late pup, time to get ready for bed.” The sea lion was crushed to hear that the scene was nearly over, but was still eager to please Ethan. It let out a single indignant snort, then obediently moved towards Ethan. The collar and leash were reconnected, and Ethan helped to dry Myles off. They walked inside and Myles sat dutifully in the playroom as Ethan carefully removed the flippers and muzzle. Stripped of his gear, Myles let out a dejected sigh. Ethan glanced up. “Hey, you ok?” he asked. “Yeah, it’s just…” Myles thought, “I’ve never felt so calm. I mean I always felt relaxed during our regular puppy play scenes, but this was just… something else. I kinda feel sad now that it's over,” he said, looking down at the ground. Ethan hugged him, placing one hand over his chest. “It’s ok, we’ll have another scene like that soon, I can tell you enjoyed it.”

Myles moved to hold Ethan’s hand.
“I’m sorry I acted out like that.”
Ethan held him tighter,
“Hey, you already received your punishment and apologized once, no need to do so again… Besides, it was… kinda cute.”
Myles glanced up to look at him,
“Really?”
Ethan returned the eye contact,
“Yeah, you don’t really get as bratty during puppy play, it was kinda fun seeing a new side of you.”
Myles looked back down,
“Even if that new side was disobedient?”
Ethan leaned in closer,
“Well, maybe that just means we can work in some funishment,” he flirted.
Myles smirked and turned to make eye contact,
“I wouldn’t be opposed to that.”

They held each other for a moment more, then Ethan broke the silence. “Let's get you cleaned up.” Ethan led Myles from the playroom to the bathroom and removed his latex boxers. Turning on the shower, Ethan carefully adjusted the temperature. After setting it to a comfortable temperature, Ethan welcomed Myles in and cleaned him with lavender soap and a soft loofah. Ethan then cleaned himself. Once finished, Ethan turned off the water and helped Myles dry off with a soft, fluffy towel and adorned him in comfortable pajamas. Stepping out of the bathroom, Ethan shut off the lights. With the aftercare completed, they both got ready for bed. Settling into the sheets, Ethan reached to turn off the light, but hesitated, “oh, before we go to sleep, I wanted to run something by you.” Myles looked expectantly up at him. “I know it's a little early to decide on names for your sea lion self, but your little bratty moment gave me an idea. How does Splash sound to you?” The adorable nickname threatened to send Myles back into petspace, and he responded by burying his blushing face in Ethan’s chest and hugging him tightly. Ethan chuckled. “Ok, ok then, goodnight Splash,” he said, kissing Splash on the forehead, turning off the lights, and holding him in his arms.