Marshall and Everest were sharing a moment, one that they both craved for the longest time. They were alone, no one else to bother them. They were situated, comforted with food and the comfortable environment of the grand chalet that stood firmly on the mountaintop. Having a picnic outdoors may have been their original plan, but the weather outdoors still wasn't allowing. Water drops cascaded down the clear windows of the cabin, wiping them clean. They still made the best out of an indoor date, cherishing every moment.

Things may change, and that's okay. Doing things a different way wasn't a problem for neither pups. Everest insisted on them kicking their evening together off by playing a game of the latest version of Pup Pup Boogie. As soon as she proclaimed the three words, Marshall's mind couldn't help but flash back to the last time when he played the game. It was with Chase, and the experience wasn't pretty. 

The Dalmatian didn't want to let his experience interfere with the date, so he shook it off as he situated himself on the game board, a smile plastered over his face. "May the best win," he smirked before the game started, the theme song blaring on the speakers. 

"I'm up for a challenge," Everest nodded as her eyes focused on the screen, imitating every move the pup on the screen made. Dancing has never been one of her strong suits. It never will be. The Husky preferred gliding through inches of frozen-cold snow on a board during a winter day than to spend it inside dancing. With Marshall, however, it was a fun experience. It took a while for her to adjust to the game, since she only played it once, but she was determined to win, even though Marshall had way more points than her so far. 

"Looks like I'm winning so far," Marshall chuckled, his eyes fixated on the screen of the chalet's flat screen television. Not for long, though. He prepared to do a pup spin, which launched him to bump into the wall. He landed on his stomach, his back legs in the air. "I'm . . . I'm okay." 

"I guess I'm better than this tailspin thing than you," Everest teased as she reached for the remote control to pause the game before offering her paw to help the Dalmatian up. 

"Am not. I was . . . It's just, I didn't do a tailspin in a while," Marshall made an excuse as he stretched his paws out on the game board. He resumed the game and just like that, they got back to dancing. 

It was quite a workout. The dances sent them in all different directions and positions. At this point, the two pups' scores were a tie, Everest's score less than Marshall's. With a minute or two left of the current round, Everest was determined to beat Marshall's score. If only she knew that it would cost her more work than she thought it would. 

Her paws aggressively leapt on the game board accordingly, twisting together like knots. At one point, her paw ended up twisting, causing her to yelp with pain. The Dalmatian stopped dancing mid-sentence, his mouth dropping open. He didn't even bother to pause the game. He rushed to Everest, who laid on the ground. 

"Everest, are you okay?" He questioned as he observed her paw, his eyes widened. "Is your paw hurt?"

"Yes, it sort of hurts, Marshall," Everest frowned, regret boiling through her veins. What she did was without caution, leading up to her current situation. If she had been more careful, she wouldn't have been on the ground listening to the dance music instead of dancing to it. 

"I'll be right back," the Dalmatian proclaimed as he abandoned the living room to the front door. 

"Where are you going? It's still raining outside," Everest hollered as she slightly moved her head to see the window. Water was still cascading down the window, not as much as before, but he would still get wet from the rain. 

At this point, Marshall was digging into his firetruck, searching for his medical gear. He dragged them back into the chalet at the Husky's side, shaking his fur to free it from the rain after. 

"You've only been out there for like, a minute, and you already smell like wet dog," Everest fanned her nose with her free paw, mustering a chuckle. "But thank you for going out there."

"Anything for you," the Dalmatian hummed as he commanded his x-ray to turn on. He hovered it over the Husky's hurt leg. A large, red spot appeared on the bone, indicating a sprain. He wrapped it up with a cast, then ordered, "It's just a sprain, so take it easy for the next couple of days." 

"I definitely will. I'm so glad to have you, Marshall. Who knows what would've happened if you weren't here?" The Husky beamed as she attempted to get up on her harmed paw, but Marshall held it down.

"I'll help you get to the couch," the Dalmatian insisted as he held out his paw. "And don't mention it. It's my duty." 

"So what do you want to do now?" Everest questioned as she tenderly climbed onto the couch. 

"We can talk," Marshall stared out the window. The rain was finally calming down, but the dressed trees remained swaying. The dark, pillow-like clouds remained in the sky, as well, but cleared up to showcase the multiple-colored sky as the evening grew old. It was a beautiful sight, but not as beautiful as the soothing noises of rain pattering on the chalet's ceiling. "Even though the rain interrupted our original plans, I like it. I like the sound of it." 

"I love hearing it at night. It helps me sleep much better," the Husky added. "But it's nothing compared to a nice snow storm."

The feeling of being beside a burning fireplace with hot cocoa on a winter day while viewing countless unique snowflakes fall from the sky did sound soothing. Gliding through the snow until she fell on her back sounded always sounded satisfying to Everest, hence why winter is her favorite season of all. It would take several months until it would be winter again, but she was looking forward to it all. 

She smiled at the thoughts as she foiled her paw into a bag of liver treats. "Want one?" She offered as she snacked on one as she dug her hand into the bag for another. 

"Eh . . . No thanks," Marshall gulped as he nodded his head. "What makes you love those things so much, anyway?"

"I don't know. To me, it's addicting," Everest chuckled as she threw one in the air to catch with her mouth. "Once I have one, I just can't stop snacking on them." 

"I can see that," the Dalmatian nodded his head.

After that, it was silent. The Pup Pup Boogie theme song had finally simmered down, the rain wasn't pattering over the roof so crazy anymore, nothing could be heard. Everest's mind flashed back to the day prior, where she found the note. She wanted to bring it up to Marshall, but who knew how he would've reacted to it. Everest still wasn't completely sure that it was him who wrote it, but then again, she would never know who wrote it unless she brought it up. 

So she croaked, as she reached for the note, which was hidden behind a pillow, "Marshall, I found this yesterday." 

Marshall's eyes widened as he took the note, his eyes hovering over each and every word, written in his handwriting. His mouth dropped open, not exactly in relief. He found the note again, but opposing his original plan, Everest seen the note. His cheeks flushed with embarrassment, his eyes not once darting over to the Husky. "I . . . Everest, I uh—" he muttered, stumbling over his words.

"So you have a little crush on me, I know," Everest intervened with a nod after sneaking a liver treat into her mouth.

"It's true. I really like you, Everest. As cheesy as it sounds, you're everything to me," the Dalmatian shot his head up to look into the Husky's eyes. "Everything." 

Not a word came out of Everest's mouth. Not even a peep. Instead of adding on to the Dalmatian's response, she leaned into his face to plant a kiss on his cheek. It was brief, yet meaningful. It made Marshall's cheeks heat up like never before. 

He returned the favor by doing the same as Everest did to her, but instead, on her lips. Her breath may have smelled like liver treats, but he set that aside with no problem. 

When their lips parted, they both smiled. The day that they both waited for happened, and they were both looking forward to more days like this. More days where they would hang out. More days where they would endlessly talk about everything and nothing. It all felt like magic, special in its own kind of way. 

Their special moment was interrupted by the sound of keys jingling through the door. Jake opened the door, a plastic bag filled with various takeout plates in hand, alongside a small, paper cup of lemonade. "Hey, Everest. Hi, Marshall, dude. I have takeout," he proclaimed as he set the bag and lemonade on a small table so he could slip his boots off his feet. "You're more than welcome to stay here for dinner, man." 

"Thanks, but can you let Ryder know first? I've already been out and about long enough," Marshall insisted as he leapt off the couch, his tail wagging. 

Jake nodded before he disappeared into the kitchen, his phone on his ear as he dialed the PAW Patrol leader. Marshall exchanged an excited look with Everest, who had a relieved smile spread across her face.

They felt the same feeling someone would get when they accomplished a goal. Except this feeling touched their hearts. It was a feeling neither of them felt before, but they always wanted to love and cherish it. Today just so happened to be their lucky day. 

***

The following day was a sunny day in Adventure Bay, contrasting to the day prior. Ryder decided to take the PAW Patrol to the beach for a relaxation day. The boy was lounging on a beach chair, engrossed in a game he was playing on his phone, while the pups were all doing activities on their own. Marshall and Rubble were currently building a sand castle, not too far away from the calm shore. It was sort of childish, considering that they were both growing up, but there is nothing wrong with experiencing the happiness that comes along with growing up. 

"The weather today is extremely nice, don't you think?" Rubble admired as he spooned a handful of sand into a shovel, which was later dumped into its matching pail. 

"Yeah, it is," Marshall agreed with a nod as he gathered water from the shore so his sand could stick. It had only been a day since his confession to Everest, and he had no regrets. Prior to getting to the beach, they talked about everything and nothing through their pup tags. It was heartwarming to Marshall, a feeling he hadn't felt in a while due to his loss of friendship with Chase. 

Speaking of him, the German Shepherd was trotting around the beach. Him and all the other remaining pups were playing volleyball, but the beach ball they were playing with went out of bounds, so it was his duty to retrieve it. Even though the ball was as light as a feather, it managed to make its way to Marshall and Rubble's incomplete sand castle, making a dent through the highest layer. The sand castle was no masterpiece, but it was taller than an average sand castle that a young child could make. 

"Chase, watch it with that beach ball, for heaven's sake," Marshall frowned as he reached up to straighten the dent out. Instead, it deepened.

"Sorry about that," Chase briefly apologized before picking up the ball to return it to its original place. 

Marshall shook his head as he rolled his eyes, flashing a glare to the Shepherd before returning back to building the castle with Rubble, who looked dazed. He raised an eyebrow as he gathered yet more sand into his pail, shaking everything that just happened. It wasn't his place to get involved in their feud. Although he wanted everything to stop, there wasn't much he can do. It would be Chase and Marshall's decision of what to do with their broken, long lost friendship. 

It was a harsh reality that not only Rubble, but everyone else would have to accept. "Don't you ever miss being friends with him, Marshall?" The Bulldog croaked as he planted a seashell onto the side of their castle, his bright caramel eyes facing the Dalmatian's. "I know you two aren't friends, but all this fighting . . . isn't that good for the team. We can't operate if someone isn't on good terms with someone else to the point where it gets in the way." 

That's when it hit Marshall. 

Rubble was right. The performance of the team hadn't been the same since his feud with Chase. It wasn't not being friends with him, it was simply arguing. Would it exactly solve anything? Of course not. But did the two still do it? Of course. 

Thinking things through, Marshall still didn't want to make things up with Chase. It wasn't exactly his fault that they split, so did he actually had to be held accountable? Did he have to apologize? Questions like these invaded his brain, like a swarm of mosquitoes. They weren't sure to leave anytime soon.

They just sat there. 

//

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

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