S01E14 - Soft Launch

"Soft Launch" is the fourteenth episode of Season 1 of We Can Fix Pawbert.

Synopsis

Nick and Judy discover Luther and Pawbert's relationship after catching them emerging from the same room. Dr. Fuzzby reminds Pawbert that pleasure without guilt is still allowed. The relationship becomes physical for the first time.

Plot

Pawbert wakes gasping from a nightmare. The dream is the same one—Milton's study, the contracts on the desk, Soren's face asking why—but this time there's something new. Luther stands in the doorway, and Milton says: "This one disappears next." Pawbert gets out of bed before he can talk himself out of it and crosses the hall. Luther's door opens before Pawbert can knock; Luther heard him moving. Luther invites him in, pulls him close, and holds him through what remains of the night. His paw cups Pawbert's muzzle—grounding him, anchoring him.

The next morning, they emerge from Luther's room together, careful to check the hallway first. Nick and Judy are already there with coffee, staring. Nick's teasing is immediate and relentless—he's been watching them circle each other for weeks, and the tension has been unbearable. He reveals he and Judy had a running bet; Nick said before Christmas, Judy said after the trial. Nick wins. He does a small victory gesture before pivoting to something serious: the professional risks of a relationship between a witness and his protection detail. He makes clear they won't report anything or complicate matters. Judy squeezes Pawbert's paw and tells him to get used to it—this is what pack looks like.

During a video call with Dr. Fuzzby, Pawbert describes feeling like he's falling. Fuzzby tells him falling can be progress, depending what he's falling into. She asks how he actually feels about Luther, and Pawbert admits he feels safe with Luther—but that scares him, because the last time he felt safe with someone, that person disappeared. Fuzzby identifies this as his father's voice, not his own, and delivers her key therapeutic statement: pleasure without guilt is still allowed. Connection without punishment. Love without cost.

That evening, after dinner and easy conversation with the pack, Luther and Pawbert sit on the porch under the stars. Luther tells Pawbert that Nick asked him three weeks ago if he was "planning to do something about the obvious situation." Luther had told Nick to mind his own business. Now it is Nick's business—they're pack, and what happens between Luther and Pawbert affects all of them.

That night, they cross from comfort into something more. Luther is methodical about consent throughout, checking in constantly, telling Pawbert they stop whenever he says. Their first kiss is soft and exploratory. As intimacy progresses, Luther tells Pawbert that he matters—that makes this different from anything else. Pawbert has never been touched like this, as though his pleasure is the point rather than a transaction. The release is both physical and emotional; Pawbert cries afterward, not from sadness but from relief. He tells Luther he didn't know it could feel like that—safe.

The next morning, Nick and Judy note that something has shifted. Pawbert moves differently—looser, less guarded. Nick tells them both he's genuinely happy for them, even if they're still emotionally constipated. Judy's verdict: about time.

In the tag, Pawbert speaks quietly to his mother's photo, telling her he thinks she would have liked Luther. Then he relocates his corkboard from his private room to the communal living room wall—visible from the kitchen, part of shared space now. The heist trophy goes on the bookshelf Nick built. The mother's photo will live on Luther's nightstand. The collection of kindnesses, once private, is now in a place where anyone can see.

Key Moments

• Pawbert has a nightmare in which Milton threatens to make Luther disappear
• Luther holds Pawbert through the night after the nightmare
• Nick and Judy catch them emerging from Luther's room the next morning
• Nick reveals the running bet he and Judy had about the relationship
• Nick acknowledges the professional risks but promises not to complicate things
• Judy tells Pawbert this is what pack looks like
• Dr. Fuzzby addresses Pawbert's belief that he doesn't deserve good things
• First kiss between Luther and Pawbert
• First physical intimacy—Luther methodical about consent throughout
• Pawbert cries from relief after intimacy, having never felt safe during pleasure
• Corkboard relocated from Pawbert's room to the communal living room wall
• Mother's photo moved to Luther's nightstand

Key Lines

Locations

• Site Two -- Pawbert's room, Luther's room, hallway, kitchen, porch, living room

Items

• Corkboard -- Relocated from Pawbert's room to communal wall (symbolic shift from private healing to shared life)
• Mother's photo -- Relocated to Luther's nightstand
• Heist trophy -- Moved to bookshelf

Notes

• This is the first episode with explicit sexual content.
• Fuzzby's line about pleasure without guilt addresses a core aspect of Pawbert's psychology -- his belief that he does not deserve good things.
• The relocation of the corkboard from private room to communal wall symbolizes Pawbert's healing becoming a shared, open process rather than a solitary one.