Even though Peter didn't cry much the previous night, he's still more withdrawn on Monday morning. Darwin can tell that the boy feels more sad than the previous day, not like he's about to cry, but just kind of tired and glum. May clearly notices, but she doesn't do much besides giving him pitiful smiles and long hugs. Darwin isn't sure she knows how to help Peter with his grief while also dealing with her own.

'This is where I step in, then,' he thinks.

He dutifully stays by Peter's side the entire morning, making sure he's always available for Peter to pet when he wants. Peter scratches him a few times but doesn't do much more than that. Darwin even goes as far to even put his head on the boy's lap while he eats breakfast, but Peter doesn't really appreciate that and pushes him away.

Then May's grabbing her purse and Peter's grabbing his backpack and they're out the door.

"Bye, Darwin," May says, "We'll be back later. I left plenty of toys out for you to play with so you don't get bored."

The door shuts and Darwin blinks.

'Huh,' he thinks, 'I did not think about this part.'

As soon as they leave, he begins getting an odd feeling in his chest. He doesn't know what it is and it's faint enough for him to ignore it, so he does. He glances around the apartment, wondering what to do. As a stray, he had much more stimulation during the day, walking around the city and scrounging for food. But now he doesn't have to worry about food, he just has to worry about his boy.

Peter's dejected expression floats into his mind and he shakes his head. 'Well, this isn't happening!'

He considers his means of escape. Even without thumbs, he could probably figure out how to unlock the door and walk out, but he wouldn't be able to lock it again without a key and would risk a burglary. Peter used to sneak out all the time when he would go out as Spider-Man, so there must be another way. Padding back into the bedroom, he peers at the window on the far wall.

'Bingo.'

He jumps onto the bed and gazes at the latched window. It takes a couple of minutes of gnawing and scratching at it before he can get it unlocked. Then, he noses it the rest of the way open. He hops out the window and onto the fire escape, the metal cold and harsh under his paws. He manages to drag the window down and close it slightly, but leaves a crack so that, if he needs to come back, he can nose it open again. Then, he carefully climbs down the rickety steps.

When he reaches the bottom, the odd feeling in his chest catches his attention again. He frowns. It feels… familiar.

Realization hits him like a truck.

'I've formed a bond with Peter!' Darwin thinks, 'Already? I've only known him for a few days- I haven't even formed a bond with May and I've known her longer! How?'

It's been so long since he's had a bond with a human that he didn't recognize the feeling at first. But sure enough, it's the same feeling he would get when April left him, albeit not as intense. Darwin has no doubt that the feeling will get stronger the more time he spends with Peter.

The dog straightens up, now even more determined to find Peter's school. 'I'm not going to spend hours in pain every day while Peter's away at school. Not this time. Not when I can do something about it.'

He decides to follow where the bond pulls him to, figuring it'll get softer the closer he gets. Turning, he makes his way out of the alley.

It's nice to be out again. As much as he appreciates the apartment, he'll never lose his love for the freedom that life as a stray gave him. The cold doesn't bother him much as he sets out at a brisk trot, appearing to all that see him as a dog that's clearly on a mission. A few other strays and even a couple of pets recognize him and greet him, but he only nods politely in return and continues.

It takes a little over an hour to reach the school. It's a very beautiful and pristine building with a large football field next to it. It's gated, of course, but the entrance is always open during the day for cars and buses to drive into or out of the parking lot. Darwin enters through here and approaches the steps leading to the doors of the building.

He knows it's not a good idea to go inside the school by himself, but he's content to wait for Peter outside. He glances around for a place to sit. There's grass nearby, but it's cold and damp from February's frost. The stairs, however, are flanked by thick concrete railing that look like they could hold a dog.

Padding up the steps, Darwin jumps up onto a flat part of the railing, closer to the actual building, and sits down.

He has a nice view of the football field from here. It stays empty for the first couple of hours, but then the track team comes and starts running around. Darwin watches them idly, laying down and resting his head on his paws. Eventually, they leave, but are quickly replaced by the football team. Darwin has never understood the appeal of this particular sport and he's glad his boy isn't a reckless jock like the ones he's watching.

As he waits, his mind travels back to his earlier discovery. Despite his previous anxiety, his newfound bond with Peter doesn't bother him as much as he thought it would. It's kind of… nice. Peter is nice, Peter is special- he can tell that already. It just spooked him because it's been so long since he's had a bondmate. He shudders at the painful memory of losing April and the emptiness in his chest that lasted for months afterwards.

'That won't happen again, not on my watch. I can do better this time! I'm not just some puppy trapped in a cage, I'm a full grown dog and I am going to protect my boy.'

The loud ring of the schoolbell startles him. Almost immediately, teenagers start pouring out of the building and down the staircase. Funnily enough, they're in such a rush to get out of school that the majority of them don't even notice the large Irish Wolfhound laying on the concrete railing and watching them with a bemused expression. They're too busy staring down at their phones, chatting with their friends, or both.

'Kids and their technology,' he thinks, rolling his eyes.

Darwin watches the crowd go by, keeping alert for any signs of Peter. He appears soon, but like the rest of the teens, doesn't notice him. He's already at the bottom of the stairs by the time Darwin gets to his paws.

A girl next to him squeaks in surprise at the movement and stares at him with wide eyes. Once one person notices him, others quickly follow and soon there's a small group of people staring at him.

"Whoa, where did he come from?"

"Has he been there the whole time?"

"Look at him- he's huge!"

"Is he a stray?"

"No, look, he has a collar."

Ignoring them, Darwin hops off the railing and pads towards Peter. Another person seems to be following his boy too.

"Where you running off to, Penis Parker?" The person jeers, his two friends flanking him laughing.

Peter falters slightly, but continues on, his eyes on the ground. "Not today, Flash," he warns, but sounds resigned.

Darwin narrows his eyes. 'So, this is Flash.'

Flash and his cronies continue following Peter, teasing him and snickering. Darwin quickly trots over them as Peter turns around and glares at the other boy.

It's odd seeing Peter's face devoid of emotion. It looks like he had a rough day; his hair is unkempt, like he's been running his hands through it repeatedly, and his eyes are slightly red and puffy as if he cried earlier. Not to mention the aching sadness and pain he's projecting onto Darwin.

"Seriously, Flash," he practically growls, "Not today."

Flash looks a little surprised at Peter's aggression, but before he can retort, Darwin lets out a loud bark. Flash jumps and whirls around, staring at him in shock. Behind him, Peter's eyes widen.

His deep bark also catches the attention of other schoolgoers, a few stopping to watch the scene unfold. Darwin glares at Flash and bites back a growl.

"What the hell is that?" The boy exclaims.

"Darwin?" Peter asks, bewildered, "How did you get here?"

Darwin pads over to his side and sits down, still glaring at Flash.

Flash's surprise fades and he sneers, "Darwin? What kind of stupid name is that? And since when do you have a dog?"

"Since Friday," Peter answers simply, already turning around. Flash scoffs and moves as if to continue following him, but Darwin bares his teeth in a silent warning. The teenager eyes him warily and even his cronies look nervous. In the end he just rolls his eyes, mutters a 'come on' to his friends, and leaves. Satisfied, Darwin turns around and trots after Peter.

The boy doesn't look back, keeping his eyes on the ground and walking purposefully. The Wolfhound follows him silently, wondering where they're going. Once they're about a block away from school, Peter turns into an empty alleyway, walks about halfway in, and then stops.

His breathing is ragged and erratic and he has his eyes squeezed shut. He even lets out a tiny whimper and Darwin gazes at him worriedly, sitting down in front of him. He gives his hand a lick and that seems to do the trick. Dropping down to his knees, Peter clings to Darwin and buries his face in his fur. He seems to struggle to get his breathing under control, gasping for air and letting out small whines. The dog can feel the boy's heart beating rapidly against his chest and the turmoil of emotions he's projecting.

'Is he having a panic attack?' he thinks, 'I am going to kill that Flash!'

He figures the best he can do is let Peter cling to him and lick him occasionally. It takes a few minutes, but eventually Peter's fingers relax their grip on his fur and he slowly pulls away. As he does, Darwin licks his face, making him let out a short laugh.

"Thanks," he says, still sounding a bit choked up. He rocks back on his heels until he's sitting on the ground. For a few moments, he simply breathes slowly and Darwin rests his head on his knee supportively.

'He needs help,' he thinks, gazing at the boy, 'He needs therapy. How am I going to get him to tell May, though?'

The dog doesn't have long to ponder about it, though, because soon Peter is standing up. He's a bit shaky, but he doesn't look like he's about to fall over. He is giving Darwin a contemplative look, however, but after a moment he simply smiles and pats his head.

"Thanks, bud," he expresses his gratitude once more before asking, "How the hell did you get out of the apartment, though? How'd you know where to find me?"

Darwin sneezes in response.

"Well, I'd better take you home. Aunt May's probably wondering where I am, anyway." Peter takes out his phone and, sure enough, he has three texts and two missed calls from his aunt. He calls her back as he walks out of the alley.

"Hey, Aunt May," he says when she answers.

Thanks to his canine hearing, Darwin can hear the woman's voice through the phone. "Peter?" she asks, "Are you okay? Where are you? You know I always want you to text me when you get home."

"Sorry, Aunt May," Peter says, walking towards the subway, "I got, uh, a little sidetracked. But I'm on my way back now."

"Are you okay, honey? You sound a little rough."

Peter glances at the ground and replies, his voice a bit more withdrawn, "Yeah, I'm fine, just… had kind of a rough day, I guess."

May is silent for a few moments. "Do you want me to come home? I only have a couple more hours, but-"

"No, no, Aunt May, it's fine," Peter says quickly, "Actually, Darwin helped me."

"What? Darwin?"

"Yeah, he showed up at my school." At May's noise of surprise, Peter says, "Yeah, my reaction exactly. He was just waiting for me and he, uh, ya know, cheered me up a bit, I guess. It's crazy that he knew how to get to school."

"Well, he was a stray for a while," May suggests, "He probably knows the city pretty well. You don't have his leash with you, right?"

"No," Peter replies, glancing down at Darwin who's padding by his side, "But he's walking with me. I don't think he even needs a leash, to be honest."

May hums and falls quiet. After a moment, she asks, "Are you really okay, sweetheart?" It seems like she wants to ask more, but she doesn't say anything else.

Peter hesitates too, glancing at Darwin again. Looking at the dog seems to reassure him and he takes a deep breath, replying in a soft voice, "I will be. I'll text you when I get home." He says goodbye and hangs up on her.

True to his word, he does text her when he and Darwin get back to the apartment after a short subway ride. Despite Darwin comforting him earlier, he still seems withdrawn, his eyes downcast as he trudges to his room to do homework. Darwin follows him and keeps his head on his lap the entire time, despite his stomach growling from missing lunch.

When May comes home around 6PM, she's carrying a large plastic bag. Concerned eyes dart to Peter's room and she calls out, "Peter! I'm home! And I brought take-out from your favorite Chinese restaurant!"

That does seem to perk Peter up a bit, at least enough to get him to leave his homework and walk into the living room. "Thanks, Aunt May," he says, giving her a small smile.

May hugs him. He hugs back after a moment. She asks him about school as they set up the table. He gives short, simple responses. As they eat, she tries to ask him about his friends, but when he doesn't say much, she starts talking about work. There are long, stiff pauses in which they both just eat and don't say anything, don't even look at each other.

Darwin watches the whole interaction and realizes two things. One: May does not like confrontation. She dances around the real problem with pointless small talk. She practically begs for the truth from Peter with her eyes, but never actually pushes him, never asks what's wrong even when it's blatantly obvious. It's probably one of the reasons she brought Darwin home; to have someone solve the problem without her actually having to face it.

The second thing he realizes is that both of them are ignoring the elephant in the room. That panic attack in the alley could not have been the first. Peter needs help and he knows it. May knows it too. And yet neither of them talk about it. And so the problem goes unsolved.

Darwin lets out a heavy sigh. 'Now what am I going to do about this?'

He finishes his dinner quickly and pads over to their table. He slips his head under and puts it on Peter's lap. The boy's hand finds his head and begins scratching.

Darwin's appearance seems to give May a new topic to talk about.

"So, you said Darwin showed up at your school?" She asks, "That must've been a surprise."

"Mmm hmm."

Pause.

"So… you said he cheered you up a bit. That's good."

"Yeah."

May wants to ask more. Peter wants to ask more. But neither of them say anything.

'I just have to get one of them to start talking,' Darwin thinks, 'Then the other will follow.'

Darwin lifts his head and stares at May while Peter picks at his food. She's worried stiff, gazing at her nephew with a longing yet unsure expression. Darwin meets her gaze, glances at Peter, then back at her. He tries to pour as much emotion into his eyes as he can. 'Please, just ask him,' he thinks imploringly, 'Don't be afraid.'

May takes a deep breath and looks away, lowering her eyes to her plate. Darwin sighs. To his surprise, however, she stammers, "So, uh, why didn't you head home right away?"

Peter is silent for a moment. Then, he shrugs, "Just, you know, got caught up."

May looks discouraged. Darwin leans against Peter's chair and puts his head down on the table next to his hand.

Finally, she seems to gather her courage and asks softly, "Is everything alright, honey?" When Peter glances up at her, a hint of surprise on his face, she adds, "It's okay, you can tell me anything."

Peter stares at her for a few moments. Then, he blurts out, "Can we get Darwin registered as a service dog?" He snaps his mouth shut, as if he didn't mean to say that out loud.

May blinks in surprise. "A service dog?"

"Or like an emotional support dog," Peter stammers quickly, "It's just, I- well, sometimes I just, I don't know, I just get a lot of anxiety over everything- or just sad, I don't know, ever since Ben- I mean, I-"

"Whoa whoa, Peter, honey, slow down," May says soothingly, raising her hands a bit. Once Peter quiets a bit, she asks, "Why do you want an emotional support dog?"

Peter curls in on himself a bit, looking down at his plate. It takes him a moment, but eventually he whispers, "I don't know why, but ever since… ever since Ben died… I don't know, everything's just been so hard. I'm sad all the time, even when I should be happy- I want to be happy, it's just…" He sighs, looking exhausted. "... And even before Ben, I've always had some level of anxiety, but, like, I could manage it pretty well, but now with… this on top of that, I just- I can't handle it by myself…"

May gazes at him with sorrow, but also relief in her eyes. Relief that he's finally talking to her about this.

Peter hesitates to continue. Darwin puts his head in his lap comfortingly and Peter automatically starts petting him. Takes a deep breath. Continues, "... And after school today, I went into an empty alleyway and… I don't know what happened. I mean, it's happened a couple of times before, but… It's like I just felt everything all at once. I felt like I couldn't breathe. But- but Darwin… he helped me. He just, like, knew what to do and I hugged him and pet him and I calmed down. So… yeah. I just figured- if he was an emotional support dog or something, then I could take him with me to places and- well, I don't know about that because I don't know the laws in regards to emotional support dogs in public places- I think it might be different than service dogs, but-"

"Peter, Peter," May interrupts with a small smile on her face, "You don't have to worry about that part. I can figure that out." She takes a deep breath and reaches across the table, gently taking his hands into hers. She looks saddened by what he told her, but still gives him a reassuring smile. "I'm glad you told me this," she says softly, almost whispering, "And yes, we can get Darwin registered as your emotional support dog. I don't know if the school will let you take him to class and stuff, but from what you told me today you can probably take him with you and let him hang around the campus until you're done. And… we can talk about anything else you need. Okay?"

Peter gives her a tired smile and nods.

"Okay."

Later that night, Darwin lies with Peter in his bed. It's too small for the both of them, but neither care. Peter doesn't cry, but he's silent.

It's still a sad silence. Darwin can tell.

Peter's fingers slowly curl and uncurl in the dog's wiry fur. It takes a while, but eventually they fall still. Peter sleeps with his chin resting atop the dog's head.

Darwin takes a deep breath and exhales. 'Okay.'

AN Btw this story is on ao3 and gets updated every tuesday on there. I usually only update on FF when I remember to.