Nine is confused when, instead of leaving him at the end of the day, May ushers him into her car. It's a small car for a large dog so he takes up the entire back seat area. As she drives, she keeps glancing back at him with a sort of tired but hopeful look in her eyes. Nine glances out the window, watching the city pass by.
'Where is she taking me?' He wonders, 'Am I going to meet Peter? Who is he?'
Sometimes, he wishes he was a telepath rather than an empath. He wishes he could read May's mind as she drives, but after a few minutes she comes to a stop.
May parks the car in front of a pet store. She gazes at him for a moment, looking contemplative. Nine can sense that she's feeling very unsure of herself, but hope is driving her on, so she rolls down the window a bit and leaves him in the car. Nine watches as she walks into the store and begins talking to one of the people inside. His heart sinks a bit.
'Oh,' he thinks, 'She must be trying to find a new place for me. She must've confused the pet store with an animal shelter.'
May stays in the store for a long while. Eventually, Nine rests his shaggy head on his paws and lets out a long sigh. 'At least I can stay in the warm car for a bit.'
After what seems like ages, he hears May returning. He looks up and blinks in surprise when he sees her carrying a few big bags. One of the employees is behind her carrying a large dog bed. As they open the trunk and begin filling it up, Nine scrambles to his paws. He may have never been adopted before, but he's no idiot. He knows that this means.
'She's taking me home with her!' He thinks, 'She's… adopting me?'
Despite his anxiousness, his heart gives a little flutter of hope.
May thanks the employee and gets in the front seat. She turns and looks at him, smiling warmly. Reaching over, she slips a collar around his neck and clips it. Nine wags his tail. 'I've never had a collar before.'
The drive back to May's place can't go by quickly enough. Soon, they park underneath an apartment building and get out. May struggles to carry all the bags and the dog bed and Nine wonders if it would seem too suspicious if he carried one of the bags in his mouth. In the end, she manages by herself and he follows her into the elevator.
As it moves up, she notices him watching her and grunts, "Oh my God, I didn't put your leash on! Ummph!" She nearly loses grip on the bed and pants, "I'm so glad you followed me. Good boy!"
Nine wags his tail and pads after her as she exits the elevator. They enter her apartment and May sets down all the stuff with a loud grunt. As she gathers herself, a voice calls out from within the apartment.
"Aunt May? Are you home?"
"Oh, yes, Peter! Come here, please!" May says excitedly, coming to stand next to Nine. The dog is standing not far from the door, simply looking around the apartment. It's small, but has a cozy feel to it. Nine notices pictures on the walls and on desks, some of which include May, a boy, and a man around May's age. When Nine sniffs the air, however, he only smells two strong scents. There's a third, but it's an old scent, as if the person no longer lives here.
'Maybe that's who May lost,' he thinks, glancing up when he hears footsteps coming down the hallway, 'This must be Peter, then.'
A boy emerges into the living room. He looks young, probably fourteen or fifteen, and has brown hair and brown eyes. Said eyes widen when they see him.
"Surprise!" May exclaims.
"I don- is that- uh, what?" Peter stammers, staring at the dog, "Aunt May what? What's happening?"
May scratches Nine's head and explains, "He's the dog that lived in the alley next to work. I told you about him, remember?"
Peter gives her an incredulous look. "The one that lived in the dumpster?"
May rolls her eyes and says, "Technically underneath it, but yes, that one."
"Okaaaayyy, so," Peter says slowly, "Why is he here?"
May falters a bit but continues, "I just thought, maybe, a dog would be good for us." She meets Peter's gaze and there seems to be a moment of silent communication. Peter's eyes grow a bit darker and Nine feels his mood drop. May quickly says, "I mean, he's been very good at cheering me up, especially in the past couple of weeks. And a dog would liven this place up a bit. You know I work long hours sometimes- he could keep you company."
"May," Peter sighs, but his gaze lingers on Nine. He's annoyed and resigned, but overall there's just an overwhelming sense of sadness coming from him. Not the horrible, gut-wrenching sadness that May feels, but something more heavy and exhausting. Still, the boy continues. "May, he's huge!"
"But look at him!" May coos, rubbing Nine's cheeks and ruffling his fur, "He needs a home and we can give him one!" Her words seem to soften Peter a bit, but he still looks unsure. May lowers her voice a bit and says soothingly, "Look, just give it a chance. If it doesn't work out, I'll make sure he finds a good home."
Peter is silent for a few moments. He gazes at Nine with a mixture of curiosity and bitter sorrow. Nine tilts his head. 'He probably misses May's husband. He called her aunt, so he must've lost his… uncle?' The dog glances at May and then back at Peter, 'Am I supposed to make him feel better? How?'
Finally, Peter sighs, "Okay, fine… He is pretty cute, I guess. What's his name?"
May brightens up at his acceptance and then looks down at Nine. "Oh, I haven't named him yet," she says. She opens her mouth as if to continue, but then she just looks back at Peter.
The boy's lip twitches. "He looks like Chewbacca."
May groans, "Oh, please don't name him that. Give him a nicer name."
Peter lets out a short huff of laughter and Nine wags his tail, sitting down. May grimaces and glances down at him. "First thing's first- he needs a bath," she declares.
"Uh oh," Peter snorts.
Nine, however, is thrilled. 'A bath! Finally!'
May tells Peter to go fill up the bath while she gets the dog shampoo out of one of the numerous bags. Nine follows him and sits outside the bathroom patiently while the water is being filled up. The boy doesn't seem to notice him, but once he turns off the faucet, Nine brushes past him and steps into the water immediately. Peter steps back in surprise. "Whoa! Okay, he really likes water Aunt May!"
May walks into the bathroom, shampoo in hand, as Nine lies down in the water. She laughs and walks over to them, "Makes our job easier, then."
She and Peter kneel next to the tub and, together, begin lathering his body in soap and bubbles. Nine groans in appreciation, resting his head on the side of the tub. 'Pet life is off to a great start.'
Peter looks at him approvingly. "He's pretty well-behaved for a stray," he comments.
"Yeah, I know," May agrees, "Well, he might've had an owner before. He looks like he's been on the streets for a long time, though." She scrubs at a particularly dirty patch on his lower back. "Still, we'd better check for a microchip when we take him to the vet, just in case. Thank God it's Friday- we can do everything we need to get him settled before work and school starts up again."
Peter nods and continues scrubbing silently. He has a contemplative look on his face, but before May can ask what he's thinking, he says, "Darwin."
Both dog and aunt glance at him.
"Like Charles Darwin," Peter explains, "I thought we should name him after a scientist or something. You know, instead of a Star Wars character…" He trails off, but May smiles.
"Darwin it is."
The newly-named Darwin wags his tail, nearly splashing May with water.
It takes many towels, Aunt May's blow-dryer, and about twenty minutes to get Darwin's fur dry. With all the dirt and grime removed, it's now more of a dark grey than black. The bathroom is a bit damp and smells like wet dog afterwards, but May says she'll clean it up tomorrow morning.
Then, she sets the food and water bowls out and fills them up. Darwin has never been able to afford being picky when it comes to finding food on the streets, but the kibble that May pours into his food bowl is one of the greatest things he's eaten in the past nine years.
As he gobbles it down, May walks into the kitchen and begins cooking dinner while Peter goes to do homework in his room. Darwin takes his time eating, savoring every bite, but soon the food bowl is empty and the water bowl quickly follows. The Wolfhound licks his snout and looks up, glancing around.
May appears to be frustrated with the recipe she's attempting to copy. Darwin considers approaching her, but his curiosity about the rest of the apartment calls him to explore.
It doesn't take him long to walk around the whole apartment, since it's rather small. Peter's room is the last one he visits and he gently noses the door open. The boy is at his desk, writing in a notebook with a big textbook next to it. He glances at him briefly as he enters, but he soon turns back to his homework so Darwin continues to quietly sniff around.
His room is small and cluttered with pieces of technology and knick-knacks. What puzzles Darwin is that the familiar scent he smelled on May and later Peter is even stronger here.
'I must've smelled Peter before,' he thinks, 'But where? Why do I remember this scent?'
He snuffles at the unmade bed before glancing underneath it. In the corner, poorly hidden behind a stack of old books, is a red and blue onesie. Darwin recognizes it instantly.
'Spider-Man!' He straightens up and glances at Peter, 'He's Spider-Man! That's why his scent was familiar- it's Spider-Man's scent! Oh my, he's even younger than I thought he'd be!'
He then realizes that Spider-Man hasn't been seen in a couple of weeks. Usually he'd be out saving people everyday or every other day, but lately he's been missing. Darwin heard rumors spreading amongst the citizens, some wondering if he'd been seriously injured or dead.
Darwin tilts his head. 'Why'd you stop helping people? You made them very happy.'
As he gazes at Peter, he notices the way the boy holds himself. He appears both tightly wound and completely exhausted at the same time. Even though he's focusing on homework right now, everything about him feels sad. Kind of like May was, but worse. It's like a silent type of sadness that doesn't show in tears but in stiff smiles and long silences. The dog did notice that, even though Peter smiled and laughed occasionally while bathing him with May, he always seemed as if he was holding himself back.
Darwin's heart aches for him. 'He's grieving over his lost uncle and the city expects him to be looking after them. But what about him?' He thinks pityingly, 'He's just a boy.'
Turning back, he crouches down and snags the costume out from under the bed. Peter glances at him and his eyes widen when he sees what he has in his mouth.
"Hey!" He hisses, diving forward and swiping the costume away from him, "Give that back!"
The sound of pots clanging in the kitchen startles them both. Peter glances over his shoulder and flicks his wrist. Darwin watches in awe as a line of spiderweb catches the edge of the door and gently swings it shut.
Peter feels irritated. "Don't take this out ever again!" He whispers angrily, "Aunt May can't find out about this, she'll kill me!"
Darwin watches as the boy glances around, seemingly searching for a new hiding spot, before literally hopping onto the ceiling. He crawls towards a small square in the ceiling and opens it up. Quickly stuffing the suit inside of the attic, Peter hops back down onto the ground and Darwin is impressed at how graceful and silent he is.
Peter huffs and returns to his homework. Curious, the large dog sits beside him and peers at his writing. Darwin, being more intelligent than the average dog, can read the difficult math equations that Peter is solving and it soon becomes obvious that Peter is extremely smart for his age. He glides through the math equations easily, his eyes bright and focused. Occasionally, they briefly dart over to him and Darwin wonders if a dog watching a teenage boy do his homework is suspicious.
Before he can consider doing something else, though, May's voice calls out, "Peter! Dinner's ready!"
"Coming, Aunt May!"
Peter closes his notebook and Darwin follows him out of the room. Dinner smells good, although a little burnt. Darwin doesn't quite know what to do with himself as Peter and May eat. He figures they wouldn't appreciate him sitting close and watching them eat, so he walks over to a couch and flops down onto it.
Peter notices him first and glances at May with a hint of worry. May raises an eyebrow in confusion and follows his gaze. Rather than getting mad, she giggles when she sees Darwin.
"Oh, look! He's so big, he takes up the whole couch!"
"I've never seen such a big dog before," Peter says, "Do you know what breed he is?"
May shakes her head. "No idea. I figured we could ask the vet, which reminds me- I went online while the pasta was cooking and made an appointment at a veterinary clinic not far from here. It's at 5PM tomorrow."
"I hope he behaves well," Peter says, "Ned used to have a dog and he said that she would freak out every time his mother took her to the vet."
May pouts and coos at Darwin, "No, he's a good boy, he'll be fine. He was very calm in the car and when we gave him a bath."
Peter hums but doesn't reply. They soon finish dinner and begin washing the dishes together. As they do, Peter glances at Darwin and says, "He can't have been a stray his whole life, he's too well behaved. Do you think he knows any tricks?" May shrugs and Peter turns to approach Darwin. "Darwin, here boy!"
The dog pulls himself off the couch and pauses in front of the teenager. May smiles. "He learned his name very quickly."
Peter nods and commands, "Sit."
Darwin sits.
Peter looks a bit surprised. The corner of his mouth twitches upwards and Darwin wags his tail.
"Lay down."
Darwin obeys, but Peter has to take a couple steps back because of the amount of space he takes up. May puts away the last plate and walks over to them.
"What a good boy!" She coos. Peter snorts at her puppy-talk voice. "Shake!"
Darwin sits up and holds his paw out. May takes it happily and squeals, "Oh my God, you better not have an owner because I'm already in love with you."
Darwin wags his tail and licks her chin. Since he's so tall and May's somewhat short, he doesn't even have to stand up, he just stretches his head up and licks her. May giggles and hugs his large head.
"I guess we should put his bed in your room, then," Peter says.
Darwin's bed does end up in May's room. It's a bit cramped and some of it ends up being slightly under her bed, but the dog doesn't mind. Peter finishes his homework after dinner and the three of them hang out in the living room together for a couple of hours, watching TV and chatting, before they decide to go to sleep.
Darwin still can't quite believe what's happening. Just this morning he was a stray sleeping underneath a dumpster and now he's been adopted, he's clean, he has a full stomach and a warm bed to sleep on. And, most importantly, he has a family. He isn't hesitant to consider them that already. It's obvious May adores him, and once Peter warms up to him he's sure that he and the boy will become good friends.
The Wolfhound recalls all the times he passed by dog parks and saw dogs playing fetch with or chasing around young boys. There's something special about that bond there, something that's different than the bond a dog would have with an adult human. The adults have already grown up, but the young boys are still trying to figure things out. And their canine companions are always there to help raise them, to help guide them through their childhood.
A sound interrupts his thoughts.
Darwin lifts his head and peers through the darkness. The sound returns, seemingly coming from another room. It sounds like whimpering.
Quietly, the dog gets out of bed and pads into the hallway. He walks into Peter's room, where the teenager sleeps fitfully on his bed. He's frowning and clutching his blankets tightly, distressed sounds escaping him.
As Darwin approaches, he feels sadness and terror coming from the boy, the emotions much stronger than before. He realizes the boy is crying in his sleep.
"B-Ben, no… please," Peter whimpers, "Please… help…"
Darwin doesn't know what compels him to do so, but he finds himself climbing onto Peter's bed a moment later. His weight makes the bed dip under his paws, but Peter somehow doesn't wake up. Carefully, Darwin lies down next to him and presses his side against Peter's body. The teenager seems to stir slightly at this and his hands unclench from the blankets. Darwin can't see Peter's face, but a few moments later his arms hesitantly wrap around his body and his hands tangle in his wiry fur. Peter's breathing evens out and soon the dog can tell he's fallen asleep. Slowly, he turns his head and glances at the boy's face. He's no longer crying. In fact, the faintest smile appears on his face.
'I've never had a boy before,' Darwin thinks as his heart softens, 'But I'm definitely going to keep this one.'