here me out... hybrid puppy Dennis 👀 I will leave you with that
Okay so hear me out.
-Duke absolutely knows he's got a big chance of dying and also that there's an even bigger chance of Robby straight up killing himself if he does. He managed to get through to him once, somehow, maybe, but seeing Robby with his brittle grasp on recovery guide him at his appointments, he's not sure anything will get through to him if he dies.
So he pulls some strings with some contacts and a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-biker-gang sets him up with this sad, broken little hybrid rescue. He's got the saddest big blue eyes you've ever seen, the fluffiest soft ears and tails, and sometimes a glimmer of surprising sass when you least expect it. Robby loves a project, and from what he saw at the hospital, the guy needs to feel needed.
"Robby man, I will get the surgery but you need to promise you'll take care of something for me, whether I make it or not."
-Robby says yes, because of course he does. He's thinking maybe it's a bike or his house or Duke's garage, but he's got all that under control. No, Duke cheerfully drops off a sad-eyed hybrid boy with a sob story about how if Duke didn't take him, he'd end up in a fighting ring again and the kid deserved a break but now with the surgery he wouldn't be able to take care of poor Dennis.
-Hybrids are usually just as smart as humans, they just don't get treated as such. Dennis had been a great help on the farm, even if his brothers treated him more like a pet than a little brother. But then he'd started to get sassy. And have opinions. And think for himself. And sooner or later they decided he wasn't worth the troubles and he'd been given up to a shelter.
His life had been rough after that. Returned several times, for back speaking, for the family cat not liking him (the family cat didn't like anyone, Dennis was pretty sure that was just an excuse when the family realised there was a whole thinking person behind those fluffy ears), for biting (well then don't try to force a dick in his mouth).
The last one was a death sentence, he got a stamp on his file that said volatile, and nobody at the shelter would listen when he tried to explain. The dog fighting ring hadn't been a joke, that's where he'd been found, trying to hold his own. He was wiry and pretty tough, but they started putting him up against guys twice his size, and well, he was going to die there, he was pretty sure.
-The biker that went all John Wick and rescued him didn't say much, but did show him a picture of a little boy and a dog with soft ears and a curly tail just like Dennis', and then he understood. He offered to let the guy pet his ears and very wisely kept his mouth shut when he saw the tears.
Dennis wasn't meant to be a biker gang dog, though. Sure he was scrappy and he could be sassy, but he was also a shit liar and not that intimidating, even in a leather jacket.
Which was how he ended up with Duke, and later Robby. And he was determined to make this work.
-He’s been briefed by Duke about what Robby needs, and he’s been reading up on therapy hybrids on Duke’s rickety old desktop computer from the moment he got there to the moment he was dropped off at Robby’s. Robby looks flustered and unsure of what to do, because he did promise, and Dennis just looks at him with big, sad eyes and asks him very seriously: “What colour is your motorcycle?"
-It breaks the ice, which is exactly what Dennis intended. They talk, and slowly but surely, Robby seems to accept him as less of a massive burden he needed to take on to help his friend and more as a weird house guest that won't need too much attention. Which is fine by Dennis. He knows The Plan.
-He’s there when Robby gets home from therapy. The house is spotless, dusted and vacuumed and even mopped. There's laundry going, and the entire place smells like banana bread. Because well, those bananas looked ready to grow legs and move out.
Robby laughs when he says as much, which he feels is a good sign he's not going to be sent back for having a smart mouth, at least.
-Dennis learns Robby's rhythms. When to be a distraction, asking question after question about Doctor Stuff or Motorcycle Stuff or about anything he can think of. Robby seems to like teaching people, and Dennis likes learning new things, so it works.
He also learns how to gently bully Robby into taking care of himself. Taking a shower, going on walks ("Robby, you promised you'd show me what a city bodega looks like!"), actually resting. It was pretty hard to be stressed about needing to answer e-mails when you had a hybrid who just so happened to tip over and fall asleep on your lap in the evening.
-The first time Robby absentmindedly scritched Dennis' ears during one of his faux naps, he nearly melted.
-But then there's a thunderstorm. Big and loud and he's fine, he's totally fine. He manages to keep his whines low and quiet, manages to hide his flattened ears by putting the hood up on the hoodie Robby had given to him (when he found out Dennis did not actually enjoy dressing like a biker, that's just the clothes that were given to him). His tail was tucked between his legs, yes, but if he sat just so, it'd just look cozy. He couldn't look scared, that wasn't what a not-a-therapy-dog was supposed to be.
Except then there was another flash of light, and the power went out. Before Dennis could respond, the thunder crashed, and seemingly went on forever, and he was curled up underneath the couch, shaking.
-Robby finds him there, whining and panting, and gently pulled him out and into his lap. Dennis kept apologising, shivering, but also pressing closer, seeking comfort in the now-familiar scent and warm arms around him.
-He ends up getting to sleep in Robby's bed that night as the storm rages around them, in the light of some battery-powered candles. He only feels slightly better about his failure when Robby wakes up from a nightmare and he's there, ready to return the favour.
-He doesn't sleep in his own bed often after that.
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