1578. You knitted a hat for my dog? Marry me.
This was prompted by the lovely @sparklingrainbowdragon! First I asked myself why the phck would someone knit a hat for a dog? Because of fucking this. Enjoy absolute fluff with cute doggos!
Fandom: Detroit become human
Ship: Jerralph
Warnings: None
Many humans had fled Detroit during the last days of the revolution. It was a small comfort knowing the majority of the people afraid enough to resort to violence weren’t walking the streets anymore. But a lot of the people fleeing had also been normal people, just as afraid for their family as androids had been. And most had left without thinking about consequences. Pet shelters in the districts of the strongest protests had been deserted and some pets left at home, thinking they would be home again soon, had increased the number of strays in the city enormously.
And Jerry had always had a soft spot for the lost.
Having multiple units all over the city meant they were the best person to care for the strays. Buying huge amounts of dog and cat food, he had started feeding them in central places. Jerry hoped that people would see them and take them home again. It had happened a few times, but mostly they met people that wanted to help them. Food was donated to their units more than a few times and it filled Jerry’s heart with warmth to see they weren’t the only ones that remembered the other citizens of Detroit.
Maybe one day, people would greet them once more as parts of the family. Until then, they would be part of his.
Ralph rarely left the home. The outside world was scary. Too many humans, even if there were less than normal. And androids weren’t much better. Everything could hurt, everything could be a danger. But if he stayed here, yes, then he was safe. It was only him here, would only ever be him and that was good. If he was alone no one could hurt Ralph and – maybe the most important part – he wouldn’t hurt others.
His home was an old house, likely left in a hurry. Some things were gone, others stayed behind. Ralph feared the day they would come back. When he had to leave again and face whatever laid outside. The house had a garden. It had once been beautiful, but now it was slowly starting to look overgrown. He wanted to care for it, keep the plants neat and alive. But he would have to go outside. He had to go outside. So he wouldn’t do it.
Ralph’s days were coined by paranoia and walking up and down every room. He controlled the windows every few hours and kept the knifes in the kitchen sharp. Just in case, just in case. Ralph would not let them hurt him again, he would not! Even if he would regret it later, he would be safe. He had to be safe. He could not go out. Outside was scary.
And whining. Ralph froze on his twentieth run through the hallway for the day. A quiet whimper started and ebbed after a while. It came from the garden. Ralph stood there frozen hoping for the whimper to go quiet so he could pretend he was alone again – safe. But at the same time it sounded pained. And Ralph knew how it was to be in pain. He wanted to help. But he… To help he had to go outside. Outside was scary.
He inched closer to the door. Ralph had to help. He had to. So he opened the door.
His eyes fell on a black dog lying on the ground behind a bush, whimpering. He was next to him in an instant, approaching slowly. ‘Hey, big guy… It’s okay. Ralph is here. Ralph will help! Let’s get you inside, right? Come on.’
The dog was a giant, some kind of Great Dane mix, but Ralph lifted him up easily and carried him back inside. He seemed to have stepped into something sharp that was still imbedded in the paw and his fur was chequered with blank spots. Carefully, Ralph carried him upstairs to the bathroom, pulled out the shard of glass with one swift motion and started cleaning the wound. The dog didn’t even try to bite, just jerked up and whined. Ralph petted him gently and spoke to him and soon he had relaxed enough so the android felt comfortable bandaging the leg and carefully washing the dog. The skin at the blank spots was reddened, likely by parasites and although Ralph had no chemicals specifically for dogs, but he had lots of human soap and water and hoped cleaning and soaking the areas would suffocate whatever parasites there were.
‘It’s okay now’, Ralph cooed rubbing him dry. ‘It’s okay, Ralph will care for you. You are home now.’
Jerry knew all of the animals he fed. They had an extensive list of all of their faces. They knew when a new one joined them or there was a pregnant one. They also knew when someone was missing at the feeding times and if they were missing for more than a day, Jerry send a few units to search for them. So when the huge black dog was missing, a gentle giant if a tidbit slobbery, they were immediately worried. Winter was coming fast, after all. If he was injured, they had to find him soon.
Over the course of several weeks, they looked out for the dog. But never had they seen anything. Jerry was worried and just hoped he had found a home. If not, Jerry wouldn’t forgive himself.
It had been a month since then. Snow was falling and the coldness was getting to the animals all around. Humans liked to stay home in the warmth in this time and less of them on the streets meant the help Jerry had gotten until now was void. They basically had to hope for the sentimentality and generosity around Christmas, but until then, they had a lot to do.
The more his attention was caught by someone calling out.
‘Dog! Dog, come back, Ralph isn’t this fast! Stay! Ralph doesn’t know this area!’
A moment later a giant black dog was running around the corner wagging its tail and barking at Jerry.
‘Oh you are back!’ They crouched and let the dog run them over, licking their face. ‘Missed you too!’
With the huge dog in his face, Jerry couldn’t see how an android ran around the corner.
‘Oh, Ralph is so sorry! Ralph is so sorry. Dog, please leave them be!’
Immediately the colossus was off Jerry and ran back to the other android, who leaned down and cuddled him. ‘Good Dog! Be nice. Ralph is terribly sorry.’
‘It’s alright’, Jerry laughed and stood up. ‘Did you adopt him?’
‘Adopt?’ Ralph looked up and froze seeing the other person so close. They were an android, but still… Although Dog had liked him and he wouldn’t like someone who hurt people, right? ‘He hid in Ralph’s garden. He was injured. Ralph helped him until he was better.
‘Oh and what is that?’ Jerry crouched again what helped Ralph relax a bit.
‘You knitted a hat for my dog? Marry us.‘ The black dog was wearing a warm looking knitted hat of the shape of an Uschanka. The flaps at the sides warmed the ears and kept the cold at bay.
‘Your dog?’
‘Well, not really. He is- was a stray. We cared for him and others. Nice to know he found a home.’ Jerry petted the dog contently. ‘But why the hat?’
‘Dog had a lot of bold spots from a parasite. The fur grew back everywhere but on his head, and it’s cold.’
‘You can knit?’
Ralph squirmed a bit. This was a stranger after all. But Dog’s tail hit his side frequently while the android petted him. They were a good person, clearly.
‘Ralph was scared going outside. Still is. But Dog needed medicine. And food. And a dog bed. And blankets. Ralph couldn’t find blankets, so Ralph knitted one. And Ralph likes it. It calms him. And then Dog had to go outside every day. Ralph helped him get well and now he helps Ralph with his fears.
‘That’s amazing’, Jerry said grinning. ‘You found the perfect home, Dog, we’re proud of you!’
Then they stood up. ‘We are Jerry. We guess yours is Ralph?’
‘Yes.’ Ralph looked at the outstretched hand and tentatively took it. The interface was a shower of gratefulness and a lot of memories of Dog and several others. Then they parted again.
‘So you are caring for all the dogs?’
‘We are several units in a hivemind. But it’s still a lot of work.’
Ralph looked at all the other dogs running into the area now that they realised Jerry was there again. ‘Can Ralph help you?’
Jerry laughed. ‘You already did. But sure, you can help us!’
