A/N: Warnings for the following story are: Established Relationship, Implied animal abuse, Implied animal neglect, But overall a happy fic, I wrote this to cheer up a friend and also I just wanted these two to have a dog. I hope you enjoy!
Hernan knew the moment Kirk laid eyes on the beast, there would be no room for argument. Even if the beast had tried to sink his teeth into Hernan's leg only moments before, Kirk would take him. When the beast growled with his teeth bared, Kirk simply knelt down at eye level with the mangy mutt. Their eyes met, and the dog fell silent. Although his eyes were feral, Kirk saw something in them and the dog saw something in return.
'Maldita sea…'* Hernan's lips were drawn in a thin line but nonetheless said begrudgingly, "Let's go home."
The first few days, the wild dog hid from them. Like a cornered animal, he growled whenever Hernan tried to approach him, so Hernan left the dog alone. It was Kirk who left out bowls of food out for him, and water. After two week of this, the dog came out from hiding whenever he heard Kirk's familiar footsteps around the corner. A month later, and the dog was glued to Kirk's side.
However, no one could pet the dog yet. Not even Kirk dared to. Sometimes if Kirk made a sudden move, the dog would growl, and Hernan would swiftly move between Kirk and the dog.
"It's okay, Hernan." Kirk insisted, voice calm although the dog looked ready to snap at anything.
Hernan remained wary, "Careful, Kirk, he's not tamed."
Kirk said nothing, but returned to his work in the lab. The dog ceased his growling when he saw his new master move leisurely behind the wall that was Hernan.
Said man gave the dog one last look before saying, "Behave, Oso."
The dog's ears seemed to perk at this.
"Oso? I think he likes that name." Kirk remarked.
"It means bear, osito: teddy bear."
Kirk smiled. "I like it too, Oso."
Oso moved slowly around Hernan and settled back to Kirk's side. Hernan let them be.
The connection Kirk had with Oso bewildered Hernan. Did Kirk miss Becca? Was that why he had taken this dog in? Maybe Kirk always wanted a dog, but didn't trust himself in the condition he was in. Although if that were true, why not just adopt one from a pet store? Why take in this wild stray who snapped at any sudden movements?
It had been four months since Oso became a part of their home. He began to put on weight so his ribs no longer jutted out from his sides, and his brown coat grew thicker and shined when the dog trailed behind Kirk. Oso even seemed to finally have enough fur to spare for the furniture which Kirk tried to clean up. He knew Hernan liked the tower to stay clean, but Oso liked to shed like his name sake Hernan had joked.
Thankfully Oso remained flea-free. Hernan had made sure of that the first night. Perhaps scrubbing Oso to the very marrow of his bones caused them to start off on the wrong paw. Oso trying to bite Hernan whenever he could also didn't help, but then one morning as Hernan watched the daily news, he found his fingers running through Oso's soft furry ears to the dog's content. If Hernan stopped, Oso would look at him with large brown eyes that even Superman couldn't resist.
Was Hernan starting to grow fond of the beast?
One evening, as they walked side by side in the park with Oso running around and sniffing at the bases of trees, Hernan finally admitted, "Oso isn't bad."
Kirk blinked silently at the statement once, then twice, before laughing, "Oh, so you like him now?"
"I wouldn't go that far." Hernan smiled at the sound of Kirk's laughter. Even Oso seemed to pause his sudden chase of butterflies to look back at his master's joy. The sound made Oso's bushy tail wag to and fro and his large ears perk up.
"I see, but you do like him."
Hernan smiled, "I guess I do, although you never told me why you took him in."
"You don't know?" Kirk was surprised, but his smile returned a moment later as he said simply, "He was hungry."
Hernan paused at the phrasing, his own words thrown back at him as it all made sense now. What Kirk saw in Oso six months ago was himself. When everyone saw a beast, Kirk saw someone who only wanted a place to call home.
Oso barked. His tail was wagging even more now as he returned to Hernan's side, nudging the man's hand with his wet nose. Hernan obliged him, and began to softly scratch the back of Oso's ears.
"Good dog." Hernan praised. Kirk's smile widened, and the three of them continued their walk home.
Bonus:
Oso barked at the door, wagging his tail in earnest to get inside.
"Hold on, Oso." Kirk caught up to the dog. He usually wasn't like this, but then Oso barked again, and this time there was another bark that distinctly wasn't Oso's. And then another, and another.
'Is that another…?' Kirk finally opened the door, and Oso barged in. Both were immediately swarmed by loud barks, wagging tails, and curious wet noses.
"Hernan?"
"Welcome home." Hernan smiled at Kirk as if there weren't several dogs running around their feet.
"What is this?"
"This? Oh, you mean the kiddies? Well this is Rosa, Poco and Loco are siblings, Chica, Vito, Hector—"
"No, Hernan." Kirk interjected. "I meant what are they all doing here?"
Hernan paused, his dark brows furrowed in confusion as if it were the most obvious thing. "Kirk, they were hungry."
With that, they all barked at Kirk, jumping to be petted while Oso sat beside Hernan as if in silent agreement. Kirk seemed to be outvoted, not that he really had much of a vote to begin with.
Nonetheless, he knelt down and greeted the many dogs Hernan had brought home. "Hello Rosa, Loco, Poco, Chica, Vito, Hector, and…"
"Waller."
"Waller?"
Hernan nodded, "Yes, because she's a little put—"
Ignoring Hernan, Kirk smiled and said, "Welcome home."
*dammit
A/N: I'm sorry if some of this was upsetting since I know animal abuse/neglect is an upsetting topic, but I hope the ending made up for the heartache. As for the dogs, I tried to leave their breeds ambiguous, so you're free to imagine whatever cute and fluffy dog you want. Thanks for reading if you've gotten this far, and take care!