My Very Best - Short Archie fic
Fandom: Once Upon A Time
Characters: Archie Hopper, Pongo, mention of Marco
Summery: Archie can’t sleep and discovers a stray roaming around outside his office.
It was another bad dream. It had started out good. Flying. He loved dreams where he could fly. He felt free. He felt like he could go anywhere, do anything… Sometimes they lasted or transitioned into something entirely unrelated. Sometimes he woke with a start, a plummeting feeling in his chest as he started to fall, the pit of his stomach dropping and waking him. Most of the time it was difficult to go back to sleep. Archie sat up, tossing the sheets from his body and took his glasses from the night stand. It was too warm. Maybe if he opened a window it might help him fall asleep. The night was quiet in this town, it was always quiet. Sometimes he thought that was a problem, too.
His eyes adjusted to the dim of his room as he fumbled with the latch to the window, the muscles in his fingers still too weak and relaxed from slumber. He gave it up, seeing the movement in the street from the corner of his eye. A dog was sniffing around outside of Granny’s Diner. He stood up, watching it was a curious frown. He couldn’t remember the last time there had been a stray in the neighborhood. Poor thing. Even from such a distance he could see the dog was rail thin. He thought, briefly, of trying to go back to sleep. The animal shelter would pick up the dog if they saw it in the morning. He’d call. First thing.
But he thought of the steak he had thawing in his fridge and imagined the dog’s tail waging in appreciation. He couldn’t just leave the poor thing. He had to do better. With one last look at the dog, a dalmatian he was sure of it, Archie put on pants and shoes, leaving on the teeshirt he slept in. He cut up one of the raw steaks, tossing the pieces into a sandwich bag, grabbed his keys and ventured downstairs, hoping the dog hadn’t moved on.
Archie had always wanted a dog. His parents moved around too much to ever have one as a child. A dog was a sign of stability, companionship, and love. A dog would certainly make the apartment next to his office less lonely. He could use the dog for pet therapy after a while, he was sure. He would have to research it more. And Dalmatians, of course. And… dog owning in general.
Archie crouched down, in the middle of the dark street outside of Granny’s Diner, holding his hand out with the piece of raw steak in his palm. He was getting ahead of himself. First, he’d get the dog to come near him. The dog didn’t have any tags, or even a collar. Archie was glad for that. The dalmatian was rail thin, ribs and hips much too noticeable. Even so, the dog was cautious of Archie and his gift. At least no collar meant he was less likely to have been neglected or abused. The dog sniffed the air, then shoulders hunched and head down, began approaching the human. Archie smiled, “That’s it, boy… I won’t hurt you.”
The dog stopped, to afraid to move closer. Archie tossed the meat gently towards him and took another piece from the sandwich bag. The dog had swallowed it before Archie had even looked up. He held out another piece, outstretched and the dog moved closer. He was still wary, tail between his legs and his hackles still slightly raised from growling at Archie before the meat had appeared. Archie tossed the piece closer to himself than the last one, leading the dog to him. The bag was half empty before Archie could finally touch the dog, slowly and carefully stroking his head. “See?” Archie spoke in soft, calming tones, though it wasn’t terribly dissimilar of how he normally spoke, “I only wanted to help. It’s terrible being on your own, isn’t it, boy?”
Archie sat down in the road, wishing he had brought a belt or rope of some sort with him for a make shift lead. He fed the dog another piece of meat, smiling as his palm was licked furiously for more while he petted the dog a bit more carefree. He stayed with the dalmatian, feeding it until the last of the steak had been devoured, scratching behind his ears, avoiding the ticks he could feel there, until the dog relaxed a little and his tail began to wag.
"I’m getting up now, so don’t run off…" Archie rose slowly, still scratching the dog’s head as he did so and picking up the bag with his free hand. He felt the dog tense, and he did momentarily as well, thinking the dog might bolt. Archie held the bag in front of the dog’s face, smiling again as his tongue flicked out towards the bag. "Yeah, there’s more where that came from…" Archie promise, walking backwards, slowly, towards his office door.
He kept his promise, letting the dog have the entire second steak once they were in the apartment. The dog now slept soundly in Archie’s bedroom on a blanket after taking a half hour to sniff every reachable surface of the apartment. The sun was rising and Marco would be awake in an hour or two. Archie would walk to his workshop and Marco would lend him some rope for a leash. He’d explain about the steaks as well. He could imagine Marco shaking his head with a smile, insisting the dog was more deserving of a good meal then the two of them.
Archie felt a stab of guilt, watching the skinny creature curled up in the corner of the room. To think he might have just left him. Unable to help himself, Archie moved beside the dog on the floor, waking him up as he stroked his head, “I’m going to take care of you from now on… Everyone deserves a good home and good friends. I promise I’ll do whatever I can for you. No matter what. I’ll do my very best.”
Characters: Archie Hopper, Pongo, mention of Marco
Summery: Archie can’t sleep and discovers a stray roaming around outside his office.
It was another bad dream. It had started out good. Flying. He loved dreams where he could fly. He felt free. He felt like he could go anywhere, do anything… Sometimes they lasted or transitioned into something entirely unrelated. Sometimes he woke with a start, a plummeting feeling in his chest as he started to fall, the pit of his stomach dropping and waking him. Most of the time it was difficult to go back to sleep. Archie sat up, tossing the sheets from his body and took his glasses from the night stand. It was too warm. Maybe if he opened a window it might help him fall asleep. The night was quiet in this town, it was always quiet. Sometimes he thought that was a problem, too.
His eyes adjusted to the dim of his room as he fumbled with the latch to the window, the muscles in his fingers still too weak and relaxed from slumber. He gave it up, seeing the movement in the street from the corner of his eye. A dog was sniffing around outside of Granny’s Diner. He stood up, watching it was a curious frown. He couldn’t remember the last time there had been a stray in the neighborhood. Poor thing. Even from such a distance he could see the dog was rail thin. He thought, briefly, of trying to go back to sleep. The animal shelter would pick up the dog if they saw it in the morning. He’d call. First thing.
But he thought of the steak he had thawing in his fridge and imagined the dog’s tail waging in appreciation. He couldn’t just leave the poor thing. He had to do better. With one last look at the dog, a dalmatian he was sure of it, Archie put on pants and shoes, leaving on the teeshirt he slept in. He cut up one of the raw steaks, tossing the pieces into a sandwich bag, grabbed his keys and ventured downstairs, hoping the dog hadn’t moved on.
Archie had always wanted a dog. His parents moved around too much to ever have one as a child. A dog was a sign of stability, companionship, and love. A dog would certainly make the apartment next to his office less lonely. He could use the dog for pet therapy after a while, he was sure. He would have to research it more. And Dalmatians, of course. And… dog owning in general.
Archie crouched down, in the middle of the dark street outside of Granny’s Diner, holding his hand out with the piece of raw steak in his palm. He was getting ahead of himself. First, he’d get the dog to come near him. The dog didn’t have any tags, or even a collar. Archie was glad for that. The dalmatian was rail thin, ribs and hips much too noticeable. Even so, the dog was cautious of Archie and his gift. At least no collar meant he was less likely to have been neglected or abused. The dog sniffed the air, then shoulders hunched and head down, began approaching the human. Archie smiled, “That’s it, boy… I won’t hurt you.”
The dog stopped, to afraid to move closer. Archie tossed the meat gently towards him and took another piece from the sandwich bag. The dog had swallowed it before Archie had even looked up. He held out another piece, outstretched and the dog moved closer. He was still wary, tail between his legs and his hackles still slightly raised from growling at Archie before the meat had appeared. Archie tossed the piece closer to himself than the last one, leading the dog to him. The bag was half empty before Archie could finally touch the dog, slowly and carefully stroking his head. “See?” Archie spoke in soft, calming tones, though it wasn’t terribly dissimilar of how he normally spoke, “I only wanted to help. It’s terrible being on your own, isn’t it, boy?”
Archie sat down in the road, wishing he had brought a belt or rope of some sort with him for a make shift lead. He fed the dog another piece of meat, smiling as his palm was licked furiously for more while he petted the dog a bit more carefree. He stayed with the dalmatian, feeding it until the last of the steak had been devoured, scratching behind his ears, avoiding the ticks he could feel there, until the dog relaxed a little and his tail began to wag.
"I’m getting up now, so don’t run off…" Archie rose slowly, still scratching the dog’s head as he did so and picking up the bag with his free hand. He felt the dog tense, and he did momentarily as well, thinking the dog might bolt. Archie held the bag in front of the dog’s face, smiling again as his tongue flicked out towards the bag. "Yeah, there’s more where that came from…" Archie promise, walking backwards, slowly, towards his office door.
He kept his promise, letting the dog have the entire second steak once they were in the apartment. The dog now slept soundly in Archie’s bedroom on a blanket after taking a half hour to sniff every reachable surface of the apartment. The sun was rising and Marco would be awake in an hour or two. Archie would walk to his workshop and Marco would lend him some rope for a leash. He’d explain about the steaks as well. He could imagine Marco shaking his head with a smile, insisting the dog was more deserving of a good meal then the two of them.
Archie felt a stab of guilt, watching the skinny creature curled up in the corner of the room. To think he might have just left him. Unable to help himself, Archie moved beside the dog on the floor, waking him up as he stroked his head, “I’m going to take care of you from now on… Everyone deserves a good home and good friends. I promise I’ll do whatever I can for you. No matter what. I’ll do my very best.”