Connor was eleven years old when he decided he couldn't go on living without a pet dog.
Markus was the one who had first brought it up one day when he, Connor, and Kara were playing on the old monkey bar set at school during recess. The other kids were running throughout the playground, screaming and laughing as they played tag or hide and seek with each other. Besides the occasional kid who wandered over to them to play in the sandbox that sat below them, they were pretty much apart from everyone else.
But, they did that on purpose. There were two sets of monkeys bars on the playground: the new, vibrantly colored one that had been built to accompany the new jungle gym that had replaced the wooden, outdated one; and this old, monkey bar set that Connor and his siblings had unofficially claimed during recess. No one wanted to mess with the old looking, steel aluminum bars of this wooden set anyway, and so it had made it the perfect place for the three of them to get together when they wanted to have one of their secret meetings.
Markus had passed both Kara and Connor notes during lunch telling them to meet him at the monkey bars because of "urgent business!" and now here they sat, Connor and Kara taking turns trying to make their way across the bars while Markus sat on the top of the bars and looked out over the blacktop.
"Guys, listen up," Markus started. "Remember how we went to the park last weekend and we saw that lady on the corner who had a box full of puppies she was selling?"
How could Connor forget? It was when they were on their way to the grocery store with Hank, and right on the corner was a woman who had a box full of puppies she was trying to give away. They'd all stopped to look and gush at them, but they knew they wouldn't be able to get one; not with Hank's "no pet" rule.
But, Connor's heart just couldn't give up on the idea. They were all so cute and cuddly, and Connor had started to slowly lose himself to the idea of one day getting a dog.
Kara went for another bar now and almost made it, but as soon as Markus started talking about dogs, she yelped excitedly and dropped gracefully to her feet. "Of course, I do! They were so cute! I really wish Hank would let us have one, but..."
Connor averted his eyes from the others and hastily started to climb up the ladder to start his trek across the bars.
"But, somebody is allergic," Markus finished, speaking the words Kara hadn't wanted to.
Connor huffed and slipped to the ground, his sweaty palms unable to carry himself past the third bar. "It's not my fault I'm allergic. I want a dog just as much as you two do! And, I told Hank that it didn't matter because I could just take my allergy medicine."
Kara looked uncomfortable as Markus continued to rip into Connor unfairly. "You think Hank has money to just spend thousands of dollars on allergy medicine for you all the time?"
"I don't think it's thousands of dollars," Kara said, but Markus continued as if she hadn't spoken.
"Anyway, it doesn't matter because I've already figured it out."
Kara's face lit up, and a tiny ball of anxiety began to knot itself in the pit of Connor's stomach. "What do you mean?" Kara said, looking hopeful. "You mean you know how we can get one?"
Markus glanced down at Connor and Kara and smiled at them like a true hero. "That's exactly what I'm saying."
Kara still tried to gather all the facts. "But, how—"
"Listen," he said and hopped down from the top of the bars. He landed on his hands and knees and sprung up like a tiger in front of them. Connor reeled his head back as Markus came up to them and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "I just wanted to know if you guys still wanted a dog."
"Of course, we do!" Kara said, and the happiness in her tone and face was infectious. It spread to Markus until the two of them were grinning expectantly at Connor.
Connor wanted a dog more than anything in the world. He wanted someone to hold and pet, someone to play frisbee in the yard with and not get tired, someone to crawl into his bed at night until Connor fell asleep. The idea had rooted itself into his imagination until all he could think about was bringing a dog home to love, allergies or not.
Markus squeezed Connor's shoulder to get his attention again, and the slightly older boy raised his eyebrows, waiting.
Connor glanced at Kara and couldn't keep the smile off his face any longer. He was still a little nervous at how they were going to convince Hank to let them keep a dog, but they could figure it out later.
"I really, really want a dog," Connor said.
Markus grabbed his bottom lip between his teeth as he smiled and lightly patted Connor on the cheek once. "Don't you worry about a thing. I got this one. Just one thing, and I'm talking to you when I say this, Connor."
Markus turned to Kara, and then they both faced Connor down with raised eyebrows and amusement in their eyes. Together, the two of them said, "Don't tell Hank."
Connor's cheeks heated up at the implication as he smiled sheepishly. "I promise this time."
The whistle signaling the end of recess blew then, and the three of them split off to their class lines as Markus yelled after them to be ready to leave after they got home.
He spent the rest of the school day in a furry induced haze thinking about all the things he was going to do when he got a dog. He didn't know how Markus planned on getting Hank to agree, but Markus was crafty, and when he put his heart into something, he never failed to get what he wanted.
Connor felt a little guilty when they told him not to tell Hank because that was something he tended to do without really meaning to. Over the past year, Connor had gotten his secret wish: he'd formed a close bond with Hank. He used to be jealous of Kara because Kara and Hank knew each other the longest, and he seemed to have a soft spot for her, but after what happened that day with the guy who held Connor hostage in the shed, his bond with the man had taken off.
Now, Connor was the one who seemed closest with Hank, and that wasn't always a good thing. Not when his siblings had secrets they didn't want to share with him. Connor never meant to share their secrets with Hank, but the man was a detective! It didn't seem to matter whether Connor told Hank or not, he could always just tell when Connor knew something juicy.
But, for this, for the ultimate gift of a dog, Connor was going to try his absolute hardest to conceal this.
After school, the three of them rushed to Hank's car in the pick-up lane, buzzing with excitement. Hank noticed their energy and chuckled to himself as he drove out of the school zone.
"What's got you three in a pickle?"
Markus was drumming his hands on the dashboard to the heavy metal music Hank played. Markus was the only one who liked the music Hank played.
"Is it cool if we go to Jake's house after school?" Markus said.
Hank gave a once over to all three of them, and Connor fisted his hands so tight to keep from giving anything away.
"Jake Peterson? I thought you guys didn't like going to his house anymore."
"Well," Markus said, dragging the word out as he turned to face Connor and Kara in the backseat. When he looked at Connor, his eyes widened slightly, and he wondered what showed on his face to make him react like that. Was he accidentally going to give them all away again?
But, then Markus must have thought of something because he suppressed a sudden smile that had threatened to take over and turned to Hank with a blank face once more. "Jake has a cousin who comes over on Fridays for the weekend. She and Kara are friends, and also," he said, leaning over to whisper conspiratorially to Hank. "I think she has a crush on Connor."
"What?" Connor said, voice high, heat bursting in his cheeks. Kara stifled a giggle beside him.
Hank chuckled and looked at Connor's distraught face through the rear view mirror. "That so? Well, Connor, looks like you've got yourself an admirer."
"I do not! Markus is—"
Connor broke off as Kara kicked her shoe against his. She shot him a look that said shut up! and he closed his mouth, folding his arms across his chest as he pouted.
Connor seriously hoped this was all a part of the ruse.
"Aw, don't be a spoil sport, kid, I was only teasing," Hank said, mistaking the reason for his sour attitude. "All right, you guys can head on over if you want. Are you gonna eat dinner over there, again?"
"Maybe," Markus said. "Probably. Only if his mom makes those chicken nuggets that taste really sweet."
"His mom puts that chicken in pickle juice before she cooks it," Kara said, wrinkling her nose. "It's so gross."
"I like them," Connor said quietly and to no one in particular.
"Yeah, but that's what makes it so sweet. It's the best kind of chicken nuggets," Markus said.
Kara rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm only staying if she makes literally anything else."
Connor heard Hank sigh from the front. "I don't want you guys splitting up later because I might be getting in late. I've got some more case files to look over and they was just handed to me today, so I really want to get a move on with those. If one of you goes home, I want you all to go home. Understand?"
All three of them mumbled their agreements in unison as Hank pulled up to their house. He stopped at the curb to let the three of them out, and they lingered by the driver's side door to hear out Hank's farewell.
"If you guys don't end up staying at Peterson's, then there's some microwave pizza in the freezer. You know the drill."
"Yes, we do," Markus said, already running up the pavement to the house. He waved behind him. "See ya, Hank." Hank tipped two fingers to his head in a goodbye salute.
Kara reached up to the rolled down window and tapped the car door. "Bye, Hank. Be safe."
He gave her a fond smile. "Always am," he said, then she ran off after Markus.
Connor was the last one standing there, and he was beginning to feel awkward. He didn't know exactly what the three of them were about to do, but whatever Markus had planned, it was something Hank had no idea about. He didn't like the feeling like he was lying to the man by being silent.
But, he'd promised this time.
"Why you looking so nervous?" Hank said, narrowing his eyes at him. Connor could feel that he'd tensed in place, his shoulders hunched and locked, and he deliberately tried to loosen himself up.
"I'm just tired."
Hank scoffed. "'Just tired'," he said, not believing him for a second. He dropped his wrist onto the top of the steering wheel as he gazed onto the road. Then, before he had the chance to turn back to Connor for more questioning, Connor ran off toward the house hoping to make it before Hank could notice.
He only made it three feet before Hank called out to him, voice gruff with confusion. "What the hell? Connor!"
He didn't turn back. He only ran faster, as fast as his little eleven-year-old feet could take him. Then, he slammed the door shut as he ran inside his house, silencing the man's calls for his name. He hurriedly ran to the window to peek out the curtains. Hank was still in the car, and for a second Connor thought he just might follow him into the house. But, he was lucky today. Hank just shook his head exasperatedly and started the car once more. He was out of sight within seconds.
Connor barely had time to breathe a sigh of relief before he jumped as a voice sounded behind him.
"What are you doing?" Markus said, walking out of the kitchen with half a banana stuck in his mouth.
Connor was still huffing and puffing from his escape, and he let his backpack fall to the floor as he skimmed past Markus and into the kitchen.
"I was about to crack, so I ran," Connor said. Kara was standing on a chair to reach the snack cabinet, and Connor nudged her knee. "Can you pass me a pop tart?"
"Hold up," Markus said, making a U turn back into the kitchen. He held the banana in one hand as he stared after Connor, confused. "What do you mean you ran?"
The pop tart fell into Connor's waiting hands as Kara dropped it down, and then proceeded to crawl her way back down. Connor ripped the package apart with his teeth and glanced at Markus. "I mean I ran. I couldn't take it if he asked me another question, so I took off. You guys, I feel so guilty lying to Hank. He's gonna be so mad at me when he finds out."
Markus smacked his forehead and groaned. "Great going, idiot, now we're gonna get even more heat when he gets home. You don't think that was suspicious just taking off like that?"
"Quit that, Markus," Kara said as she pushed the chair she'd been standing on back up to the table. She had her own pop tart in her hand, but it sat unwrapped in her grasp as she placed her hands on her hips and scolded Markus. "Connor isn't used to lying to Hank. Go easy on him."
Connor ate his pop tart in silence, feeling guilty once more. "Maybe you guys shouldn't have told me," he said. "You know I can keep a secret, but it's really hard when it's one I have to keep from Hank."
He was the one person Connor couldn't lie to. Not because he wasn't able to, but because he didn't want to. Hank had always been good to him, and he didn't deserve anything less than honesty from Connor.
Markus sighed and ran a hand over his head as he thought. Kara came to stand beside Connor and placed an arm around his shoulders. "Connor," she said. "No one's mad at you."
Markus raised a hand in the air. "Uh—"
"No one's mad at you," she said, glaring at Markus. Then, she faced Connor with a look that had his stomach sinking. She was trying hard to conceal it, but he could tell she was a little disappointed. "I guess if you really don't want to help us, then you can stay here. Markus and I will do whatever it is he has planned, and we'll be back before dinner."
"But, Hank told us not to split up."
"'But, Hank said'," Markus said, exaggerating Connor's high voice. "Look, stay if you want, but I asked you because I needed all three of us. You're gonna be letting us down if you back out now."
As if Connor didn't already feel like the worst brother in the world, Markus's words were like a slingshot to the stomach.
Before he could respond, Markus grabbed up his jacket that had been laying over the back of one of the chairs and started for the living room. "I'm leaving now and whoever wants a dog should come."
Kara jumped up, but before she could run off after him, she tried one more time with Connor. "Come on," she said, grabbing his hand and tugging on it. "We can't do this without you, and I know you want a dog just as much as the rest of us. You can even name him!"
Connor's heart sparked at the idea, and a small smile came to his face. "Really?"
Kara beamed, knowing she'd won. "Yes! Now, come on!"
And, then the three of them were off. Markus grinned when he saw Connor come out of the house hand in hand with Kara, and when he was close enough, he grabbed Connor around the neck and ruffled his hair with his other hand, everything that happened in the kitchen forgotten about.
They walked, or more like ran and chased each other, the half mile it was to Jake's house. Truthfully, Connor never liked Jake and that was because Jake was friends with Gavin and Gavin was the scum of the earth.
But, Gavin was last year's problem. After that day with Hank, he had taken the man up on his suggestion and had confided in Markus and Kara about what had been going on with Gavin.
Surprisingly, Markus had been the one to shut down the bullying. Kara and Markus had started walking with Connor to his classes, and for a week, Gavin had left him alone with only a seething look as they passed. But, then Markus had been late to walk him one time, and Gavin seized the opportunity. He'd tripped Connor and started mouthing off to Kara when she got in his face and tried to push him. Gavin was bigger than her, so he wasn't very scared, but then all of a sudden Gavin was on the ground beside Connor, and he was holding his nose and groaning. Connor was amazed because Kara was pretty tough, but had she really done that?
But, when a hand reached down for Connor's hand, it was Markus standing there with a look of fury on his face. Connor had taken his hand and was pulled up quickly, and Markus had told Gavin that if he ever touched Connor again, there was more where that came from.
Markus had gotten suspended for that incident, but he didn't care. And, when Hank had gotten the phone call to come pick him up, he'd high-fived Markus and told him he was proud of all three of them for sticking together.
Gavin hadn't bothered Connor since that day, and when they passed each other in the hallways, Gavin was always the first to look away.
Connor thought he had the best siblings in the world.
The three of them slowed their game of tag now as Jake's house loomed before them. The yard was pristine as always with the grass cut short, and it looked like his parents had added more little lawn gnomes to act out scenes. The gnomes were so creepy in his opinion. They followed his every move as he crept up the sidewalk with his siblings.
Markus rang the door bell, and for the first time since recess today, he looked nervous. He had his hands clasped respectfully in front of him and held his head down. Connor wanted to step up to him and ask him what was wrong, but the door opened to Jake's mom in that moment.
Mrs. Peterson was a tall, blonde woman with a tired face more often than not, but she smiled at the three of them as she greeted them. "Hey, kids. Jake mentioned that the three of you would be stopping by. Here to take home one of those puppies, no doubt. They are such a feisty bunch, so I hope Hank is ready. Come on in," she said, opening the door wider.
As the three of them walked in, the first thing Connor heard was the rich sound of puppies. His heart started beating in double time as the reality finally hit him: he was going to get a puppy!
They followed the sound all the way to Jake's bedroom and found the boy kneeling on the ground in front of a huge dog lying down with a bunch of little puppies running around in front of her belly.
A rush of warmth spread through Connor's chest at the sight. He'd never been allowed to have a pet back at the orphanage, and for all his life, he'd thought he'd never get to have one. He'd thought he'd just have to wait until he was an adult, and then no one could tell him what he could or couldn't do.
When he'd first arrived at Hank's, he remembered one of the first thoughts he had was whether or not he could have a pet. A cat, a dog, he'd even take a goldfish, just any type of animal Connor could care for would have been enough. But, when they visited a pet store one time, Connor went near some of the dogs who were getting groomed in the back, and he'd just started having the worst sneezing fit. That's when Connor and everyone else realized that he was allergic to dogs.
Hank had then enforced a "no pets" policy because of that very small detail even though no one knew if he was allergic to other kinds of furry animals; Hank had decided that he didn't want to test that theory.
But, Connor absolutely loved animals, and he would do anything to make that dream a reality.
Connor sunk down to the carpet next to Jake and immediately one of the pups bounded over to him. The little brown and white dog ran up the length of his thighs and tried to paw his way up his stomach while Connor giggled and grabbed a hold of him. It wasn't very big, but it was still big enough to where Connor needed both his hands to pick him up. He brought the puppy to eye level, and the dog wasted no time in trying to sniff and lick Connor all over the face.
"They're so adorable," Kara said, falling to her knees on Connor's other side. She reached for the puppy in Connor's hand, and he reluctantly gave him up only for another pup to immediately take his place in his lap.
All of the puppies looked the same as the mother, brown all over with a white stripe down the middle. As Markus joined them on the floor, most of the other puppies had noticed the new arrivals and bombarded the siblings with wet licks and painless clawing.
"My dad said we have to get rid of all of them, which sucks," Jake said, petting the biggest puppy in his hand. "So, you can have whichever one you want."
How were they supposed to pick just one? Connor almost felt like scooping all of them up and taking them home, but it was going to be hard enough to convince Hank to keep one.
Markus had a mischievous gleam in his eyes as he watched the puppies bounce all around them with energy. Markus had always talked about getting a dog for as long as Connor knew him, and he could only imagine all the fun things Markus planned to do.
Connor glanced over to Kara and saw that she was laughing and giggling as she spread herself out on the floor and let the puppies roam over her, their tiny presses to her ticklish stomach making her squeal harder.
When she noticed Connor looking, she rolled over into her stomach and said, "Go ahead and pick one, Connor."
Connor glanced at Markus because this was his idea in the first place, and they wouldn't even have made it this far if Markus hadn't known about Jake's puppies. His heart soared as Markus nodded his head at him in affirmation.
Picking which puppy to bring home was easily one of the top five hardest things he'd ever had to do. They were all so cute and they all demanded his attention, but none of them really stood out to him.
Instead, there was another pup who was walking in circles around the mother, and Connor felt his heart skip. He turned to Jake. "What's wrong with that one? Why isn't he running around with these ones?"
Jake glanced at the big dog lying down, and once he noticed the small puppy beside her, he furrowed his eyebrows. "Oh, that one? Nothing's wrong with him. He's just more calmer than the rest. I think he's lazy, I don't know."
Jake turned his attention back to the other dogs, the more exciting ones, but Connor couldn't stop watching the one cuddled up with its mother. Jake had said all the puppies had to go, and Connor couldn't help feeling sorry for this one. All it wanted was its mother, and it had no idea that they were going to be torn apart soon. And, who knew what kind of owner the puppy would get? Jake's parents would probably give the poor pup to another family, but Connor couldn't bear the thought that this puppy might get stuck with a bad owner.
So, in the end, the decision was pretty easy.
Connor gently scooped the relaxed puppy up into his hands and felt relieved when the puppy let him. He felt even more elated when the dog licked at Connor's hands and nuzzled his face against Connor's.
"We'll take this one."
All four of them left the bedroom then, and while Kara and Connor sat on the couch and played with their new puppy, Markus followed Jake into the kitchen—where his mom had two full bowls of chicken nuggets, just the way Markus liked it.
Kara was holding the puppy, letting the dog rest in her lap as she ruffled his neck with her nimble fingers. Then, she suddenly stilled her hands and faced Connor with an expectant look. "Have you thought of a name for him?"
"Ummm, I don't know," he said. He'd never had the pleasure to name anything in his life, and it suddenly occurred to him that in all his time of imagining having a pet of his own, he'd never thought of any potential names. Maybe in the back of his mind, he'd never honestly believed that he'd ever get one. Or, maybe he thought he'd always just decide on a name when he saw them for the first time.
Looking at the puppy now, as he played a game where he tried to push back against Kara's hand with all his little strength, he had trouble finding a name fitting for the little one. But, the more he watched the pup continually push Kara's hand away from him only to have her place it right back in front of him, sparked an idea in his head.
"You know what he reminds me of? That show Hank watches sometimes. The one with all those people who wear those funny red and blue bodysuits, and they fight each other to knock each other down into the water?"
Kara squinted confusedly at him before recognition took over, her features loosening with excitement. "Oh, yeah! Where the people look like sumo wrestlers with all that padding they wear."
"Yes, that one! Doesn't he act like one of those sumo wrestlers? He keeps fighting against your hand like a tough dog."
Kara studied the pup as he nosed her hand again, and this time when he won the fight against her hand, she kept her hand away. The puppy seemed to feel victorious because he nestled himself into her lap once more and rested on his paws.
Her eyes softened as she gently petted his smooth, fine hairs. "Yeah, he acts like them, and he's a big softy."
Connor nodded to himself and was glad that the name could come to him easily. "Then, he should be called Sumo."
Kara shot Connor a beaming smile, and he felt a flutter of pride deep in his stomach at her approval.
After Markus decided to clean half of a bowl of chicken nuggets all by himself, Kara was able to pry him away from the remaining bowl before he could eat too much to give himself a stomachache later. Kara then explained to Jake's parents that Hank was still at work and didn't have time to get food for Sumo, so they were kind enough to put some extra dog food in a huge zip lock bag and gave it to them until Hank could go to the store.
The walk home was way more exciting than the walk there. Now they had this tiny puppy who ran alongside them and tried his hardest to keep up with the children. Markus scooped Sumo up and ran him the rest of the way home when the little dog started to lag a bit from the exertion.
The house was dark when they got in, and all three of them were beginning to feel the weight of the days events wear on them. Kara and Markus flopped tiredly onto the couch and flipped the TV on while Connor went into the kitchen with Sumo. The little dog was nipping at Connor's legs, and he figured the puppy was probably hungry.
"You guys," Connor said, starting for the living room once more. "Where are we gonna—"
He stopped talking when he found his siblings asleep on opposite sides of the couch. He sighed and tried not to panic as he scratched at his messy hair. What was he supposed to do now? He didn't want to wake them, and anyway, he could handle this on his own; that's what they would do.
So, he grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and spread it out over Kara, then he ran into his room to get Markus' blanket before placing it over his sprawled form on the couch. Sumo trailed behind him patiently, and it was such a comfort to Connor because even though Markus and Kara had already fallen asleep, Connor didn't feel alone.
"Come on, Sumo," he said and grabbed the dog food bag as he guided Sumo to their backyard. It was messy, and Hank never cleaned out here. Technically, it was Connor's and his siblings' job to tidy up the backyard, but they hardly ever came out here anyway, and Hank was never on their case about it, so it pretty much sat abandoned and untouched.
There wasn't much out here besides a small shed that was packed with stuff from Hank's past, and a few broken down lawn ornaments that used to sit out front now sprawled haphazardly over the backyard here.
The only place Connor could think to put Sumo where he wouldn't be found was the shed. It made Connor's heart burn with guilt at the very thought, but he tried to comfort himself and Sumo by reminding both of them that it was only temporary. Hank wasn't home much whenever he first started a new case, so that bought them some alone time in the house for a few days since Hank had just told them that evening how he'd gotten a new case. He only hoped Markus came up with an idea in that short window of time.
He creaked open the door and flicked on the light. Luckily the light still worked, albeit dimly, because Connor was starting to feel his eyes droop, and he knew it was only a matter of time before he would go to bed, as well.
Tons of boxes were lined up on top of each other all throughout the shed, and a few bags were gathered to the side. He found an empty bucket that was turned upside down, and he flipped it upright and placed it near the front where it was less crowded. Sumo still followed at his heels, and he even started to let out little yelps. They weren't quite full on barks yet, which Connor was grateful for.
"You're gonna need to keep quiet if you wanna stay, Sumo," Connor pleaded with the dog as he filled the empty bucket up halfway with dog food. He accidentally spilled a few, but Sumo wasted no time in slurping them right up off the wooden floorboard.
Connor backed away and watched fondly as Sumo sniffed the crumb trail to the bucket and started eating.
Sumo was so cute and innocent. How could Hank turn him away once he saw him? There was simply no way in the world lovable Hank, who was the best father figure in the world, could turn away a pup with no home.
As Connor zipped the bag closed and placed it on the floor by the shed door, a slight tickling took root in his nose, and before he realized it, he sneezed.
Oh, no.
He guessed there was one thing that might keep Hank from agreeing.
Connor sighed forlornly as he closed the shed door behind him and headed back inside. No matter how hard he tried to keep his siblings secrets, he always, always, ended up accidentally giving them away in some capacity. And, even though Connor always tried his hardest to prevent that, it just seemed to be in his programming to always slip up somehow.
He didn't think this time was going to be any exception.
When Connor awoke the next morning, it was because someone was forcefully shaking his shoulder with urgency.
But, it was so early.
Connor groaned and rubbed at his eye, which felt a little weird, and swatted whoever it was away. Then, he rolled onto his side to get away from them. That didn't even help.
"Connor," they said, and he still couldn't tell who it was.
"I don't want breakfast," he mumbled, because that was probably the only reason anyone would be shoving him awake this early.
"Get up!" they whispered harshly and reiterated their words with a hard smack to Connor's face.
"Owww," he said, swinging his arm back in blind retaliation because now he knew it was Markus.
Connor still hadn't opened his eyes, but when Markus grabbed onto his shoulder and flung him around to face him, his eyes shot open.
It was still dark in the living room with the curtains still drawn, but the light from the kitchen was enough illumination for him to see that Markus was facing him with a look of pure panic that only fueled Connor's anxiety. "Where's Sumo?"
As the dreamy haze of sleep began to recede with each word Markus spoke, the events from last night flooded to the forefront of his mind until he scrambled to sit up.
He was laying on the floor in front of the couch, and he remembered how he grabbed his blanket and pillow from his room so that he didn't have to sleep alone. There was no more room on the couch, so he'd just made up his bed in front of the couch and called it a night.
But, as he remembered even further back to before that moment, he remembered setting up Sumo in the shed for the night.
He faced Markus and whispered with urgency. "He's in the shed out back."
He could see the confusion in his older brother's face in the deep furrow of his brows. "The shed?" Confusion quickly gave way to relief as Connor's words sunk into him, and the other boy relaxed the tense grip he had on Connor's upper arm. "Good thinking, bro."
Connor's heart started to beat erratically, thumping wildly at the praise, and he barely had time to smile before Hank's voice called out to them.
"You kids awake, yet? I made blueberry waffles, so you better come and get'em before Markus gets his butt in here and eats them all."
Connor and Markus eyed each other intensely for a moment before Connor pushed him aside into the blankets and ran for the kitchen. He flew into a chair and started to pile his plate just as Markus reached the threshold to the kitchen.
"You cheater," Markus said.
Markus joined him at the table, and before Connor could retort, Kara came whizzing around the corner and into the kitchen, the same stricken look Markus had faced Connor with earlier now on her face.
Unfortunately, Hank chose that moment to turn around with his hands filled with another plate of waffles, and when he noticed her wide-eyed gaze, he immediately became concerned.
"What's wrong, hun?" he said, setting the plate down on the table before walking around to Kara. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and Connor could see her cringe slightly in guilt.
Connor nodded at her subtly to let her know that everything was fine on the puppy front, and she relaxed a little. She gave a breathy laugh as she walked further into the room and sat down at the table.
"Nothing," she said, and her voice never trembled. "I was just … looking for them. Because I woke up and they weren't there and … yeah."
Connor noticed Markus close his eyes briefly as if he were in pain, before he shook his head and continued to plow into his meal.
As the three of them ate their waffles in silence, he'd suddenly noticed that Hank never joined them. He was still standing where Kara left him, but now he eyed the three of them with suspicious eyes. Connor quickly averted his gaze and focused on his breakfast.
"So, guys," Kara said, oblivious to Hank, "remember those chicken nuggets we brought home last night? Where exactly are they?"
Connor wanted to tell her to shut up because he didn't think Hank was as oblivious as they all thought, but Markus answered her.
"Connor put them away. They're in a safe spot."
Connor tried not to widen his eyes when the attention flitted to him. "Oh, good," she said, and then he heard her gasp softly as she gazed at him. "Connor, what hap—"
"Do you guys think I'm stupid, or what?" Hank said, and all three of them froze. Even cool and collected Markus looked affected by Hank's tone and words.
Hank began a slow and calculated walk around the table as he eyed the three of them with intensity. Connor never looked up from his plate, but that didn't mean he couldn't feel Hank's eyes burning holes into the side of his head.
"Something's up, and one of you three is gonna tell me." He paused, and Connor felt fire in his veins and his heart sink as he noticed Hank's feet had stopped right beside him.
He dropped his heavy hand onto his shoulder, and Connor jerked himself straight up.
"Connor? I know you have a tendency to have a loose mouth, and I'd like to hear what you have to say about everyone acting so weird."
Why was it always Connor?
No, he thought vehemently, and the steely resolve felt like the very first definitive decision he'd ever made for himself. No, it wasn't going to be him this time. He'd been the one to let his siblings down more times than he could count because he was afraid to lie to Hank, but he was tired of it. He was tired of being the loose canon in the bunch, and this time, if Hank was going to find out anything, then it wasn't going to come from Connor's lips.
Feeling high off the confident buzz, he looked Hank dead in the eye, totally ready to tell him that no, he knew nothing about their weird behavior, but Hank suddenly frowned at him and hit him with a question that knocked Connor off base.
"What in the hell is wrong with your eye, boy?"
"My eye?" he said, and once again rubbed at his irritated eye with the heel of his palm. "Nothing. It just itches, that's all."
The man scoffed and bent down on one knee to examine Connor more closely. "That's not all, it's as red as a tomato. Let me see," he said, and Connor dropped his hands to his lap. Hank angled Connor's chin between his hands so he could see his eye more better under the kitchen light. The direct light on his eye made it start to sting and water, and he groaned as he tried to escape Hank's grip.
"Looks like you've got yourself some nasty pink eye," Hank said. He let go of Connor, and it was a good thing because not a second later, Connor sneezed into his hand.
Hank's eyebrows rose. "Or, maybe it's allergies."
Everything was quiet, and Kara and Markus were still watching them with nervous glances, but the real trouble didn't start until Connor stood up to wash his hands. As soon as he got to his feet, everyone heard it: tiny little yelps were coming from the backyard.
Hank threw his hands up in exasperation as the three of them quietly shared nervous glances. "Great, now what?" he said and started for the backyard.
Once he was out of ear shot, they all gathered in close with their hands on the table. "What are we gonna do?" Kara said.
Markus' fingers were drumming along the tabletop anxiously as he thought. "I don't know, I don't know! I thought we'd have more time."
This whole thing was not working out the way they imagined. Markus was the mastermind, he always thought of a way out of these messes. But, he looked just as stumped as Kara looked and Connor felt.
They were going to end up right back where they started if someone didn't do something.
"Well, well, well," Hank said, and they all watched with dread as their foster father walked back into the house with Sumo cradled to his chest with one arm. "Look-y what I found running around in the shed. Now, I wonder how he got there?"
His tone made it very clear that he knew exactly how the puppy ended up in there.
Hank glanced at the three of them with disappointment dragging down his eyes, and Connor couldn't even look him in the eye, he felt so bad.
"Do you kids know what I do for a living?" No one answered, but Connor didn't think he expected an answer. "I look for the clues. I find them, and I analyze them, and I piece them together until I can make sense of the bigger picture."
Sumo was wrestling around in Hank's arms, and as he crawled up his chest and tried to lick at his face, Hank was having trouble keeping the stern look on his face.
Connor didn't want to say that hope bloomed in his chest at the small action, but something told him that maybe convincing Hank to keep Sumo wasn't going to be as hard as they all thought.
Markus stepped up to Hank with his hands folded behind his head. "Hank," he started, but he didn't seem to know what to say.
Kara tried to take over the apology train. "Please don't be mad," she said, and Connor noticed that she put on her extra sweet voice, the one that had Hank weak and to her will. "We all just wanted a dog so bad, and Connor said he didn't care about his allergies, so we thought if we could show you that we could handle a dog on our own, then you'd finally let us have one."
Hank listened to them as Sumo continued to lap at his neck and hands and arms. "I hear ya, kids, but you guys started this off all wrong. You started it off with a lie, and that's where the trouble started. Maybe if you guys had come to me before with this, I would have eventually let up and gave in. But, you guys lied; and more than that, you kept this poor thing out in the shed all night. I have so much junk in there, so many heavy boxes, anything could have fell on him through the night, and who would have known?"
Connor hadn't even thought about that. All he knew was that he had to buy Markus some time to get a plan together, which had turned out wonderfully.
"I'm sorry, but he's gotta go."
Markus balled his hands into tight fists as he slumped, and Connor knew he wasn't going to fight Hank when he sounded so resolute.
Beside Connor, Kara had started to whimper, and when he glanced over at her, he saw fresh tears in her eyes that hadn't spilled over yet. She wasn't one to make hysterics every time she got upset, so the fact that Hank's hard no was enough to have her crying unabashedly in front of them hurt Connor and made his chest burn with a sudden wave of protectiveness.
Kara had always done everything in her power to make Connor feel included and to make him as happy as he could. From when he'd first arrived and she'd made him feel like a part of the family right from the start, to when she stood up to Gavin for him, she'd always had his back.
Connor thought it was his turn now.
He still had some leftover confidence from his earlier resolve that he wouldn't tell Hank anything and wanting to make Kara happy again gave him the extra strength he needed to walk over to Hank now and stand as tall as he could before him.
"Hank," he said, keeping his voice as steady as he could. "I knew when we decided this yesterday that maybe we shouldn't have. I didn't like lying to you, but it really felt like our last chance to have a dog of our own. We'll take good care of him, and we'll give him a lot of love, and he won't be any trouble to you, I promise. And, you don't have to worry about my allergies because maybe the doctor can give me medicine so I won't be sneezing all the time. We're really sorry for lying, and we'll make it up to you somehow. We'll clean the whole yard, or we'll make dinner for a week, and we'll get all A's in our classes, but please, please, don't make us send him back. He has nowhere else to go; and plus, we already named him. His name's Sumo, if you wanted to know."
Speaking to Hank in such a way took a lot of courage from Connor, and once he got his words out and his point across, he let out a deep cleansing breath, feeling like he just took on the world.
Sumo was still wiggling around in Hank's arms, and Connor scooped him out of his arms and let Sumo bounce around in his own arms. If this was the last time he would get to hold him, then he wanted Sumo to know just how much he was loved.
A presence behind him had him looking to the side, and he smiled at Markus who had come up beside him to rub Sumo on the back. Kara came up on Connor's other side and let Sumo lick on her hands. She still had tear tracks rolling down her face, but she spared a sad smile for the little puppy.
The three siblings were huddled together and rubbing all over Sumo, when Hank said, "You named him Sumo? What the hell kind of name is Sumo, anyway?"
Connor glanced at him, and when he saw the slow forming smile on the man's face, his heart burst into a thousand different rays of happiness. He'd actually won.
Hank agreed to let them keep the dog, but only under one condition: they took care of Sumo on their own as long as Hank provided them with what they needed. All three of them eagerly agreed.
The allergy situation Hank still wasn't very pleased about, but he figured it wouldn't end up killing Connor, so as long as Connor didn't care that he had to take extra care of himself around Sumo, then Hank was okay with it.
It might not have seemed like a big deal to anyone else, but this had been a huge victory for Connor. He was there for his siblings when they were fresh out of ideas and defeated, and he rescued Sumo from being taken. Everyone thought Connor was going to end up ruining it for them all by blurting their secret out to Hank, but he showed everyone wrong, including himself, and he didn't think he'd ever been more glad to be proven wrong in his whole life.
If anything, this experience showed Connor that he was capable of being the hero once in a while. He wasn't just someone who needed protecting, and from that point on, Kara and Markus looked at Connor as someone they could rely on.
Their time was then filled with long days at the park with Sumo and fun nights in playing tag, and it wasn't very long before Sumo was half their size and almost as tall as they were. He grew bigger by the day, and Hank had joked that he now had four big mouths to feed.
And, despite all of his protesting, everyone knew Hank loved Sumo. He looked after the dog when they were in school, and during Christmas time, he bought Sumo just as many toys as he bought Connor, Markus and Kara.
Sumo was the perfect addition to their little family, and whenever Connor gazed at the dog while he padded around the house, he couldn't help but feel a certain attachment to him; Connor had saved him. Who knew where Sumo would have gone if he hadn't gathered the courage that day to fight for his right to stay?
He'd grown up thinking that he would never have a dog, and it had never occurred to him that he might have to fight for that dream. But, that's exactly what he did. And, if he was able to save one little dog from oblivion, then the world could only tell what Connor would be capable of going forward in life.
I thought Sumo deserved his own origin chapter.
Just so it's out there, fluff isn't really my forte, so this chapter was a bit difficult to navigate, but I like how it turned out, and I hope it's okay :)