Work Text:
Wet nose touched warm hand. Dirk pulled his hand back as a look of surprise replaced the one of intense concentration. He smiled wryly and reached down to stroke the thick plush ears of the large white dog sitting next to him. The dog licked his hand, wagging his tail a little. As he pulled his hand back, he turned back to the work on the bench in front of him. His mind was lost in thought as he moved mechanically, fitting little electronic parts together under a magnifying glass. This dog had appeared on the room one day while Dirk was practicing with his katana. It sparked with a green fire or electricity. The blond boy wasn't sure which. What he did know was he had never heard of a dog like this and neither had Roxy when he had asked her. Dogs were rare enough no earth now, but a dog like this would most likely always be unique in any era. At first, he thought that the dog would just vanish like he had come, but he didn't. He followed Dirk around, watching him closely and sitting close to him. At night, he curled up on the foot of Dirk’s bed and watched over him. Whenever Dirk forgot he was there, the dog would do something to remind him. When he was drawing once for one of UU's “penalty games”, the dog barked at him until he figured out that the dog wanted him to draw the two of them doing what was happening in the panel, which in this case ended up being Dirk with his arms around the dog and kissing its snout. The dog even was a little jealous of his occasional rap-offs and sparring with the robots that had been built just for that purpose. Weeks passed and the dog was still there. Calling him “the dog” just didn't seem right after all this time. Any name Dirk chose didn't seem to stick, however. The fact that there seemed to be no solution frustrated Dirk.
Dirk’s pesterchum sounded off. It was from Roxy.
“yuo should totes wathc ths dirk ;)”
Dirk clicked the attached link. Roxy had sent him a movie called UP. It seemed to be a quirky animated film about an old man and a flying house. Dirk curled up on his futon, and the dog jumped up next to him. His arm moved around the dog without thinking and he hugged him closer. It was when the character Dug appeared that Dirk realized why Roxy sent this movie to him. Standing, Dirk moved back to his bench and started to work furiously. He barely ate and barely slept. The only reason he took any breaks was because if he didn't, then the dog would try to pull at his sleeve or climb in his lap. Finally, Dirk stepped back, rubbing his eyes and holding up his final prototype. He wouldn't know if it would work until he tried it. Dirk beckoned the dog over. He came over and sat up a little. It was almost like he understood what Dirk was doing. Dirk fastened the collar around the dog’s neck and sat back. There was a weird noise as he turned it on and then nothing. The blond boy waited for a few minutes. Still nothing. Finally Dirk said, “Speak.”
“W-…woo..oof!”
The reply was a bit staticy, but Dirk could understand it. The dog barked and jumped up at Dirk, trying to lick his face.
“Bec….happy! Bec lo…ove D…rk!”
Dirk laughed triumphantly. “Ah ha! So that’s your name! Bec!”
Bec’s tail wagged furiously and he seemed to flash that strange green fire-electricity even more. The dog bounced around barking.
“Dirk! Dirk! Di..k! D…rk! Dirk! Di..k! …irk! Dir…!”
All Dirk could do was stand with an amused smile while the dog showered him with love and barks. Of all the things he had created, Dirk knew that this was the best of them all.