Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Franky was pleasantly surprised when he felt the warmth of the sun on his face as he stepped outside. It was quite unusual for Berlint to have such pleasant temperature at this time of the year. Thus, he stopped for a bit on the porch of the building, enjoying the soft sunbeam of light peaking through the leafs gently caressing his face. If he could, he would’ve stayed here all afternoon.

Unfortunately for him, this short moment of peace was quickly interrupted by a loud rackety bark. Franky snapped back at reality, it seemed that Bond was getting impatient.

Franky let out an annoyed groan.

“I’m Coming, I’m coming…”

He steadily walked toward Bond, already waiting for him downstairs. He approached the white dog, and tried to attach the leash, which turned out to be a surprisingly difficult task, probably due to the amount of fur. When Franky finally succeeded, the ecstatic animal rapidly began to march, dragging him along and almost making him fall down by the same occasion.

Franky cursed under his breath, once again, he made the stupid decision to accept to take care of Bond while the Forger’s family were traveling abroad.

A few days prior…

“Me and my family are going on a trip in Atilia.” said Loid, as he leaned onto Franky’s fake shop’s front desk.

“And what exactly does this have to do with me?” retorted Franky, unsure of what his friend was going to ask him once again. He then handed the blond man a juice bottle, which contained, discreetly written at the back of the label, Loid’s next mission instructions.

“I need you to take care of the house during my absence. I can’t risk anyone intruding into my home while we’re away…" said Loid ignoring Franky’s comment "Plus, I need you to look after Bond. We unfortunately can’t bring him with us."

"Hold up a minute..! You’re asking me to be your little house and dog keeper while you’re on your little family vacation… Again?!"  Franky crossed his arms and shaked his head in disapproval "No, no and no. I’m not doing it."

“That wasn’t a question actually” responded Loid as he read the directives on the container, unbothered.

“A-And I said I’m not doing it!” replied Franky, desperately trying to stand his ground. “By the way can’t you just… I don’t know…pay someone to do it instead?!”

“First, Wise is on a tight budget lately. Second, and most importantly, I’m not letting any stranger enter my residence like that anytime soon.” Loid proceeded to carefully tuck the small bottle inside his bag. He then squinted at his friend and raised an eyebrow.”Besides, you owe me one. That’ll make us even.”

Franky frowned. Loid did help him get out of some tricky situation with cops a few weeks prior… He thought for a few seconds, staring back at the tall man standing across the counter.

“Can’t Fio—-“

“No.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Franky acutely sighed “Alright I’ll do it…”

After a long and tedious walk across the city, Franky and Bond finally found an open dog park. In fact, the closest park they usually went to was closed for “maintenance”. And for some reason, so did the second one. And the third… In the end, they had to walk for at least an hour before finding one that could welcome them.

Franky collapsed onto the nearest bench. He then painfully removed his shoes and massaged the palm of his feet. It looks like his brand new loafers weren’t the best for long distance walks.

“Dammit! I knew should have worn a different pair… these one hurt when I walk for too long.”

After Bond relieved himself in a corner of the  park, the white dog cautiously approached Franky , probably curious to see if he was okay. The short man was still rubbing his hands and feet together, trying to make the discomfort disappear. A while after, he finally felt the pain slowly fade away and could relax a little. The gentle dog softly put his head onto Franky’s laps, probably trying to comfort his dog keeper.

“Don’t worry Bond I’m alright” said Franky with a soft smile while petting the dog’s chamfer.

When the pain felt completely gone, Franky leaned back and curiously looked around him. It seemed that they walked so much they ended up in a place of Berlint he never knew even existed.

The district was surprisingly beautiful: stunning red and white buildings ran along the streets, colorful flowers hanging from pots by the windows, not to forget the trees, whose delicate and intricate positions of their branches formed astonishing shapes.

“Wow, this place look really nice” said Franky as his eyes widened at the view of the scenery. It looked like they walked so much that they ended up in some kind of wealthy residential district… He then turned around to face the dog “Well, at least all this walk wasn’t for nothing… Right Bond?”

Bond answered with a joyful bark.

Franky longly stretched before slapping both hands on his laps. “Annnd I’m thirsty now. Umm…Isn’t there any food store nearby?” He was almost positive he saw a supermarket not too far down the street. He could use of some beer right now…

The twosome then decided to backtrack in search of some kind of supply store. Franky’s memory proved to be correct as they very soon found an open grocery store, just a block away from the dog park. As everything else in this district, the shop seemed refined and elegant. However, on the front door of the store had a poster reading "NO DOGS ALLOWED", clearly indicating that Bond was not welcomed in.

"Oh… looks like you’ll have to wait for me here buddy." Franky then proceeded to attach Bond to the nearest pole. "Don’t worry I’ll try to be quick!" He said heading toward the shop’s door.

As he entered the shop, Franky greeted the cashier, a very nice looking old lady, and directly went toward the drink section.

As he progressed into the store, Franky observed that the place was very beautiful. He couldn’t help but notice how everything looked so pretty, so well-put together, so… rich. Franky suddenly felt a small wave of uneasiness. It’s not that the place was weird in itself, it’s more that Franky didn’t feel like he belonged in here. He stood here, god knows for how long reminiscing about his past life, what’d lost and how he even ended up here.

A midly loud noise coming from outside the shop made him suddenly come back to reality. He quickly shook these feeling away. He wasn’t here to have an existential crisis but to buy a beer, remember? Franky quickly grabbed on of the small bear bottle and rapidly walked toward the register.

Bond must be waiting for him for quite some time now.

"7$ please!" said the old cashier. Franky frowned, 7$ for a small beer? Well, he definitely didn’t belong here.

As he stepped outside the store, Franky took a sip of his well-deserved beer. He felt so much better now. This shop somehow made some old unpleasant feelings of discomfort resurface, the same ones he felt the first time he stepped in Ostania.

But his past life in Westalis and how he felt when he started working with Loid belonged to the past. He could not go back and, as time went by, he was slowly but surely forgetting about his old life.

He stretched and let out a  sigh of relief "Aah! I really needed that! How about we go home now, uh, Bond! I’ll give you your favorite kibble and then we’ll—-"

Franky froze.

"Bond?"

On the ground, laid a leash and a black collar, but, most importantly, Bond, was nowhere to be found.

Chapter Text

Bond was calmly waiting for Franky outside the shop. This was nothing unusual for him, in fact, Yor would sometimes leave him outside stores while she goes grocery shopping as well.

"Stay there Bond, I’ll be right back!" She would say to him, as she would quickly head inside the supermarket. She would then come back about 10 minutes later, carrying paper bags full of groceries, and they would happily go home together.

Nothing unusual, nothing out of what he was used to.

So Bond was just quietly sitting next to the pole. If it takes about 10 minutes for Yor to go grocery shopping, Bond assumed it would probably take even less for Franky to buy a single beer.

About 5 minutes later, his dog sitter was still inside the store seemingly taking his time to make a single purchase…

Seeing that Franky was taking longer than expected, the large white dog closed his eyes for a few seconds. He could now hear the murmur of the wind gently caressing his face. The sound of children playing in the a park not far away or the purr of the cars passing by one by one. All familiar sounds that reminded him of home, and that made him feel some kind of safe.

As the cars passed by, the roaring of their engines started to feel… overwhelming. Not only that, Bond began to feel dizzy, and as the dizziness grew more and more present, flickers, close to the one you could see a tv make, slowly started as well. As the flickering intensified, Bond could see an image arise. Two middle aged men dressed in a blue costume slowly apeared in the frame. They were holding what seemed to be a net. And they were looking at Bond straight in the eye as one of them gained momentum. These men are not here to catch bugs, no, they’re pound workers catching stray dogs… And, they are targeting Bond.

Bond quickly opens his eyes, visibly shaken by what he just saw. He had already been taken to the pound one time, before the Forger adopted him. Horrible would be an understatement on how they treated him there, and Bond would do anything not to go through this hell again.

But why were the pound worker targeting him? He is a happy family dog now. Maybe the fact that his dog sitter was still nowhere to be found could make the mistake him for a stray? It must be it, right?

The white dog began to panic as Franky was still reportedly missing in this goddamn store for way too long than necessary. Did something happen to his dog sitter? Was he hold hostages? Worst, had he been kidnapped? It wasn’t a crazy thought considering his and Loid’s job…

Bond started to turn around in his leash. If Franky  doesn’t come out now, the consequences could be horrific.

While Bond was still thinking of what to do, the voices of two middle aged men rose in the distance.

Bond froze. The pound workers, it must be them, it can only be them right? And, to make things worse they were certainly coming for him. If he does nothing right now, they will surely catch him and put him back in this miserable place.

The two voices were approaching. And Franky had still not come out yet. Bond barked as loud as he could as a last ditch attempt to make Franky come out. Unsuccessful.

But the two voices were growing louder and louder. They were just around the corner now. If they saw him it was the end for the dog.

Run.

This was the last thought that Bond had as he came to the conclusion that nobody would rescue him at this point.

Run, run as fast as possible and go back home were he would surely be safe.

As dangerous this could be, Bond eventually managed to quickly free himself away from his leash. And Without thinking straight the dog started to sprint in the opposite direction of the voices.

Bond was running as fact as he could. He was looking for home, but the fact that he knew nothing about this neighborhood did not help a bit. He saw rows and rows of street that, to him at least, looked all the same. But bond kept going, hoping that hopefully he would find his way out.

But his running brought him to a square he had never seen before. The place seemed to be crowded to the brim. It had shops all other the walls that were selling all kinds of necessities and cafes were some people sat as they discussed and laughed. It looked like this place only had two entries, each at the opposite of one another.

Bond decided he needed to get out of this plaza. He tried to walk in between the people to reach the opposite exit but moving through the passers by turned to be quite difficult as he kept accidentally pushing some. Some looked annoyed, other just confused on what this large dog was doing alone here. Even if Bond was trying to be discreet, his size was betraying him.

But he kept going. Bond was finally about to reach the other exit when he heard two middle aged men voices.

"Hey! What is this dog doing here?" said the first man holding a huge net.

"Probably a family dog who got abandoned after his family went to vacation" chimed the second man with a grin on his face.

Bond froze. The pound workers. They had somehow found him. But how could it be? He did hear two middle aged man back at the store… were they not them? Stirred between confusion and fright, the dog took a few step back, only to realize he backed out into a corner.

"Let’s get it done quickly, if he tries to escape, you catch him okay?" Said one of them, while slowly approaching him.

The man with the net slowly approached the dog as he gained momentum.

The vision dog had seen a few moments  ago was becoming reality. Bond was now cornered and this time for sure, nobody was coming to save him. He was stuck. Will he be able to see his family again? What about Franky?

Bond closed his eyes, waiting for the fatal moment to come.

"Hey, that’s my dog."

The two men  suddenly stopped themselves. Bond opened his eyes in surprise. What…?

A person stood straight behind the pound workers. His height and voice suggested that the boy must not be older than thirteen. He was wearing an all black t-shirt paired with jorts and a cap that made it difficult to see his entire face. You could however still perceive his two piecing eyes through the shadow that made him look quite intimidating.

One thing was for sure, Bond never saw this child in his life.

One of the pound workers turned around to face the teenager, visibly annoyed.

"This is your dog, kid?" asked the man.

"Correct, sir." The boy did not flinch. His voice sounded monotone, assured and almost robotic.

"Care to explain why your dog was running around without a leash and causing chaos?" Interjected the second man.

"We were just strolling around the district when his leash broke down. I left him alone for a few minutes to buy him a new one in a nearby shop, I guess he unfortunately ran away. He’s not trained yet since I adopted him not so long ago." He then showed to the workers the brand new red leash he was holding.

Bond was impressed by how easily and confidentially the teenager could lie. He was retelling his story so surely that if Bond was not part of it he would have believed him.

But one of the pound workers  still looked suspicious to the veracity of the story

"What’s the dog name?"

"…" The boy looked at Bond for a brief moment and then replied "Ben."

"Ben? The dog is called Ben?" Said the pound workers as he raised an eyebrow

"Yes, Ben. A problem with the name choice, sir?" retorted the middle schooler.

"You see, this sounds like the name you’d give a newly found dog without thinking about it too much…" implied the man. He was not buying it.

"Don’t you think I have better things to do than trying to save every stray dog I come across?" hissed back the boy as he squinted his eyes. Somehow, this made him look even scarier.

The worker was speechless, he opened his mouth to retort but quickly closed. His coworker whispered "Let’s leave him the dog, this kid seems to be from a wealthy family, better not get in a fight, who knows what could happen… plus, he’s making me feel kind of awkward…"

The pound worker gravely sighed "I’m sorry, kid, you can take your dog back."

The teenager stood in triumph, a very subtle victory smirk appeared on his face. He gently approached Bond to put his newly bought leash on him. The dog did not fight back. He had no idea who this middle schooler was nor what his plans were, but Bond would rather go with him than the pound workers.

The boy and the dog just walked out the plaza. Bond wasn’t really sure of what he must do now, so he just followed, quietly and cautiously.

They took a turn and ended up in a small quite street, where nobody could see them. The teenager looked around to check if somebody may have followed them. After a minute the boy let out a relieved exhale.

"I hate crowded places…"

Bond glanced at him curiously.

The boy turned around and kneeled to face Bond, he patted the dog who’s tail wagged just a little more. The teenager softly smiled.

"You’re such a nice dog" he whispered as he quickly glanced at Bond’s well groomed fur "…you’re also way to clean to have been abandoned a long time ago… what happened, did you ran away because you were scared of something? Your family must be so worried I’m sure."

Bond joyfully barked, yes, finally someone who gets it. He wasn’t sure how this kid got all of these information just by simply looking at him thought…must be a very bright kid for sure.

The middle schooler softly chuckled and patted the dog’s muzzle.

The boy got up and smiled "Your owners must be looking for you know, let’s go find them."

Chapter Text

Franky was frenetically running through the different streets, hopelessly searching for Bond. He would go through every little streets, corners, even sometimes stopping passer by to ask them if they might have seen him.

"He- he’s a huge white dog, very fluffy and..uh, he also has black fur on his legs that looks like socks! Are you sure you did not see him?"

Most of them would apologize saying that they did not notice any dog that ressembled him, some straight up ignored Franky as they passed by.

"Please have you s—"

"I don’t have money on me" said one overly sophisticated looking man, while not only looking at Franky..

Franky blinked. He then frowned highly offended at the remark and muttered "I hate these fucking people…"

But Franky did not give up. One of them must have seen him, Bond is not the kind of dog to go unnoticed. He continued to interrogate people. And his perseverance was eventually rewarded.

"Oh? A big white dog you say? Uuh…Yes, I think I’ve I’ve seen one earlier…" Said a seemingly tired women in her thirties, she was holding a small toddler in her arms.

Franky jumped "REALLY?! WHERE! WHEN!!"

The poor women started, confused and probably a little too tired to deal with this "Uuuuh… let me think…"she continued as she pinched her nose, trying to remember the details " I think it was by the plaza a few blocks away, about thirty minutes ago maybe?"

Franky did not waste a second, and sprinted toward the square while waving the women and her kid goodbye "Thank you so much madame!!! Goodbye!!"

The women and the toddler waved back at him "Goodbye…?" She said still a bit shaken by the weird interaction she just had

"BYE BYE!!" Screamed the toddler a little bit too enthusiastically.

The plaza was filled with people either shopping or enjoying some small talks with their peers.

Franky looked around, however, Bond did not seem to be anywhere nearby. He sighed in desperation, where could he have gone? He decided to ask a waiter at one of the fancy cafés that longed the walls of the plaza. They work here, if a loose dog passed by they would have for sure noticed it.

"A big white fluffy dog? Yes one came by today, poor thing seemed so lost and disoriented… He even almost got caught by some pound workers I think."

"WHAT" Franky’s eyes widened.

The waiter reassured "Fortunately, the owner was able to clear the air and get him back so hopefully he is ok now!"

Franky relaxed and let out a relieved sight "Phewww…" He then froze in realization "Wait…. THE OWNER??"

"Umm, yes? It was a young boy wearing an all black attire if I remember correctly. He must have been in middle school, maybe the very beginning of high school?" Replied the waiter, startled by Franky reaction

Franky almost fainted "Oh. God."

Franky bit his lips in frustration and regret, not only Bond was missing, but now he had also apparently been kidnapped by some unknown teenager… And it was his fault. He should’ve never left Bond unsupervised for so long, and all of this because he decided to have a mild existential crisis in the middle of buying a beer…

The guilt skimmed his whole body and the fear of actually something happening to the dog sat in his stomach. He could only hope Bond was alright.

The distress Franky felt must’ve been visible because the waiter asked worried "Are you ok, sir?"

"I-I am thank you…" Franky uttered. He shook his head, even if things got immensely worse, he was not going to abandon so easily. "Do you perhaps remember where they headed?"

"They exited by the other way if I’m correct! They might have gone toward the lake." stated the waiter as he pointed out the opposite entry.

"Alright, thanks for the info man"

"Of course, sir."

Franky exited the plaza, in a state of desperation yes, but also determination. The lake was huge, dirt roads surrounded the still water while some ducks floated right at the surface of it. The scenery was beautiful, but Franky could not afford to stay here and admire. So his big search for Bond continued. Franky went throughout every single road he could find, searched in a park nearby while still interrogating passers. Nothing.

He decided that the best plan was to head back home. Maybe Bond had managed to escape and was currently waiting for him on the porch? Or maybe he would see the dog dragging the teenager to his home. Those were very plausible possibilities, Bond may be gentle, but Franky witnessed beforehand that he could also be particularly strong.

On the way back to the Forger’s home Franky still carefully checked every streets he went through, he still interrogated strangers, but no progress were made whatsoever. When he arrived to the front of the building, Bond was still nowhere to be found.

Franky collapsed on the porch, head in his head completely helpless. He raised his head only to realize the sun was setting and that the darkness of the night would only make his research harder. Bond was still missing and he had now officially lost hope.

Franky couldn’t stop thinking how big of a mistake he made.

He hit his forehead with the palm of his head "How could I have been so stupid…"

"Think Franky think…" He had searched everywhere he could, or maybe not? Did he miss a spot?

He tried to think as hard as he could of a place he could’ve missed, but some barks in the distance were not helping him conentrate. He had checked several regular parcs where he usually went with Bond, nothing. The barking intensified, it seemed like it was getting closer to him. The fountain they usually go to? Nothing. Every streets of this goddamn rich district? Nothing. The usual path they take on walks? Still nothing. Those stupid barks were becoming louder and louder and now added to that he must call Loid to inform him that— He could not think straight with all that noise.

Franky snapped "Oh come on what is all that n—!" But before he could finish his sentence a white bolt had jumped on him, licking every part of his face and bouncing around. It took a few seconds for Franky to realize that…

It was Bond.

Franky jumped on his feet "OH MY GOD BOND!! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!"

Bond was jumping on Franky in excitement while wagging his tail has fast as he could. Franky let out a laughter, the relief he could feel in that moment was unbelievable, Bond was here, and, most importantly, he seemed okay.

The dog then suddenly took a turn and headed in front of a teenager, visibly nervous. He was wearing an all black attire like the waiter described, paired with a cap that hid a part of his face. The teenager tilted his cap toward his face, and greeted Franky.

"…You must the the owner" he acknowledged.

Franky smirked and let out a few soft laughs "Oh no I’m just a family friend who plays dogsitter while they are away! And you… you must be the boy who kidnapped my dog huh?"

The boy tense and tried to explain "N-No I think there must be a big misunderstanding! I was just walking when I—"

He was cut by Franky laughs "I know I know I’m just playing with you!"

The teenager relaxed as he realized Franky probably knew of what happened at the plaza. He then proceeded to explain that he had been looking for him all afternoon and that him and Bond had actually roamed through many different streets and parcs. Eventually, Bond seemed to have recognized one of the streets and dragged him for an hour until they got here.

"You looked for me all afternoon?" Franky said in disbelief.

The boy sighed and added shyly "Yes… If I did not find anyone before this evening I was going to take him to the vet to see if he had a chip or something…"

Franky raised his eyebrows surprised, but then softly smiled at the kid "Wow… thank you so much of taking care of Bond, man, it means a lot!"

"Bond? Like from the cartoon Bondman?" Curiously asked the teenager.

Franky laughed and patted Bond "Yeah… his name is actually Bondman Peanut Forger but we just call him Bond for short!"

The boy suddenly startled "Forger?"

"Uuh yeah that’s his last name…?" Posited Franky.

The middle schooler kept quite for a moment before asking Franky again "You mean Forger as in Yor Forger or Anya Forger?"

Franky froze in surprise. How the hell did this kid knew of Anya and Yor?

"H-how do you know of…?" Franky was visibly a bit shaken. Was this kid a spy as well…?

The teenager did not answer immediately, he just stared at Franky for a few seconds. He then carefully grabbed his cap and slowly removed it from his head, reveling his full face.

The boy had curly dark hair that went up to his pale nuque. His eyes were wide and piercing, they had a rare golden tone that made him look even more intimidating than he already was.

Franky looked at him confused before freezing, eyes widening as the realization hit him.

The boy standing in front of him was not some random teenage boy.

It was Demetrius Desmond, son of Donovan Desmond, the direct target of Loid.

Chapter Text

Originally, Demetrius was not even supposed to enter the plaza, he hated how crowded the place was and would rather avoid it by getting around the long ranges of buildings. However when he saw this huge white dog, seemingly lost and afraid about to get caught by pound workers, he immediately knew he had to do something.

So he quickly ran in one of the store nearby bought a leash and got back to the scene.

"Hey, that’s my dog." He said trying to sound the most confident and relax as he could.

The two employees abruptly stopped what they were doing and turned around to face him. They looked clearly annoyed that some kid interrupted them while doing their jobs

"This is you dog, kid?" asked one of the middle aged man,.

"Correct, sir." Demetrius tried to sound as neutral as possible. It looked like the skill he had aquire to face his father were getting useful. He could feel the eyes, the crowd and the whispers forming around him, these made him uncomfortable, but he kept his calm.

"Care to explain why was your dog running around without a leash and causing chaos?" Interjected the second man.

Shit. That’s right he needed a somewhat believable story.

"We were just strolling around the district when his leash broke down. I left him alone for a few minutes to buy him a new one in a nearby shop, I guess he ran away. He’s not trained yet since I adopted him not so long ago." It was a very, almost too, generic story, but Demetrius used everything in his power to make it sound believable. He even showed the leash he just bought as evidence, crossing his finger that it’ll do the trick.

But one of the pound workers looked unimpressed and clearly suspicious on the truth of the story.

"What’s the dog name?" He asked suddenly taking Demetrius a little aback.

He stood there just a few seconds, eyes flickering between the workers and the dog. He didn’t think of that beforehand either. After some hesitation he tried to answer as confidently as he could " Ben." It was a stupid common name, but at the moment it’s all Demetrius could come up with.

"Ben? The dog is called Ben?" Suspicion grew in the middle aged man eyes.

"Yes, Ben. A problem with the name choice, sir?" Demetrius decided to start playing aggressively, if the polite route did not work he would make sure to make them understand he would not let go.

Unfortunately, it looked like one of the pound workers would not let go without a fight.

"You see, this sounds like the name you’d give a newly found dog without thinking about it too much…" Demetrius gazed intensified, all of this was truly beginning to get on his nerve.

"Don’t you think I have better things to do than trying to save every stray dog I come across?" Demetrius did not break eye contact as he squinted his eyes.

The pound worker tensed up. It looked like he wanted to reply but eventually didn’t, his colleague whispered something beside him.

The pound worker looked at him in defeat "I’m sorry, kid, you can take you dog back."

Demetrius smirked, he won.

He carefully approached the dog trying to gently attach the leash to him. To Demetrius’ surprise, the animal was calm and did not hesitate stand by his side when he began walking out of the plaza. He could feel the heaviness of people’s eyes and whispers when they left.

They headed toward a small  calm street nearby. He exhaled in relief, those kind of overcrowded places always gave him and ick. It was quite hard for him to understand how anybody could willfully go in these sort of places and have a good time.

He finally turned to face the dog, who was looking at him with curiosity. He slowly kneeled to get at his level and extended his head to caress the dog, whom happily accepted his pets.

Demetrius smiled. There was no way this dog was a stray, not did he seemed traumatized whatsoever. To nice, to gentle, and most importantly, too well groomed. Demetrius highly doubt that he was abandoned, the most logical explanation is that the animal must have unintentionally escaped and lost himself in the city by accident. By just looking at the quality of his fur, Demetrius could tell that he did not escaped for long and that his owners were probably actively looking for him as they speak.

Just like that, began the search of Ben’s owner (yes he kept calling him that way).

And Demetrius for sure went everywhere he could, around a lake, by a river, in between little streets even sometimes asking strangers if they perhaps recourse dog, alway receiving unsuccessful answers.

As the hours passed, he got more and more tired, in an hour the sun would be setting and they had made no progress whatsoever.

That’s when Demetrius considered taking Ben to the vet, maybe he had a chip that would help find his family? And if he had none, what was stopping him from just, adopting the dog? It wasn’t a crazy idea, after all, his family clearly had enough money to take care of another animal…

Suddenly Ben stopped at the view of a street, did the dog recognized it? His tail was wagging more and more as he dragged Demetrius with him. He followed him as fast as he could but the dog pace was becoming faster. As they walked, Demetrius noticed they changed district. This one looked simpler, but it was this sobriety that gave it a particular welcoming charm.

Suddenly, Ben sprinted toward something, which led Demetrius to let go of the leash.

The dog sprinted at a man barking. When the man noticed Ben he immediately jumped on his two feet and hugged the dog.

Demetrius stood nearby, a little awkwardly. He didn’t really know what to do at the moment so he just waited.

Ben suddenly turned around and headed towards him, rubbed himself on the boy’s leg as if expressing gratitude toward him. That’s when the man noticed him. Demetrius stood here nervously for a few seconds before breaking the silence.

"…You must be the owner."

The man smiled at him "Oh no I’m just a family friend who plays dogsitter while they are away! And you… you must be the boy who kidnapped my dog huh?"

Demetrius tensed, and quickly try to give his explanation on why the dog was with him "N-No I think there must be a big misunderstanding! I was just walking when I—"

He was cut of by the man’s laughter "I know I know, I’m just playing with you!"

Demetrius relaxed, thinking about it, he could’ve actually gotten in big trouble if the owner was not understanding…

"We’ve been looking for you all afternoon, we went around different districts until he (pointing at the dog) recognized one of the streets… he then just, you know dragged me here."

The man listened to him with great attention "You looked for me all afternoon?" He said, eyes widening.

Demetrius continued awkwardly "Yes… If I did not find anyone before this evening I was going to take him to the vet to see if he had a chip or something…"

The man looked more and more surprised. "Wow… thank you so much of taking care of Bond, man, it means a lot!"

Demetrius raised and eyebrow "Bond? Like from the cartoon Bondman?" hey he wasn’t too far off with the name he had given the dog…

The man laughed and joked "Yeah… his name is actually Bondman Peanut Forger but we just call him Bond for short!"

Suddenly Demetrius startled, did he hear correctly? "Forger?"

"Uuh yeah that’s his last name…?" The man answered, puzzled on Demetrius reaction.

Demetrius hesitated. Just to be sure he asked a second "You mean Forger as in Yor Forger or Anya Forger?"

The man in front of him froze. He looked confused, startled and maybe scared a little as well.

"H-how do you know of… What?"

Demetrius slowly took of his cap. The man stared at him before realizing who he had in front of him, opening his mouth in shock.

The man stared in disbelief "You-You are… A  Desmond?!!"

Demetrius exhaled and nodded "Demetrius Desmond, to be more exact. I’m the heir of the Desmond family and I do think the Forget daughter is currently at my same establishment.”

As the man kept staring in absolute surprise, Demetrius sighed. He knew the Forgers, not directly of course. Even if he had never met them, he had heard their names many times during conversations with his mother or when she was calling her friends from her little elite women society.

Yor Forger seemed to be… something. She was an apparently strong and nice women, apparently her strength exceeded the ones of professional athletes (he didn’t really believe that and just assumed his mother was exaggerating things, as always) She would also praise her at any given moment which sometimes annoyed him.

"Oh! Yor Forger is absolutely amazing! A very athletic women can you believe she is a mother as well ?" She would say enthusiastically " Yes I’m not joking! Her name is Anya Forger and guess what? She is in the same class as Damian in Eden! How amazing is that, right?"

There was also Anya Forger, her daughter. He didn’t know much about her, only that she had bright pink hair and that she punched the shit out his little brother during their first day at Eden. He had however brushed it off, knowing how a brat and annoying Damian could be at time, he probably deserved it.

However, there was also the Forger patriarch who Demetrius rarely heard about… His name was Loid Forger, and apparently he worked as a psychiatrist in an hospital nearby Eden.

"My mother, is friend with Yor Forger Im… and I also heard of Anya Forger because my little brother is in the same class as her." He sighed once again before adding "I guess it’s a funny coincidence that I stumbled upon their dog…"

The man looked at Demetrius for a brief moment before softly smiling at him and jokingly adding "This family really follows you all around it seems, uh?" He laughed again before  petting the dog adding "Typical Forger behavior!"

Demetrius stood here, feeling half surprised half amused.

"Anyway thanks again, man!" He looked up the sky "I’m not sure how old you are but I think it’s time you head home, bud! It was really nice meeting you and don’t hesitate to hit me up if you want to walk Bond or something, it looks like he really likes you" The dog barked, almost like he approved of the statement.

Demetrius agreed and waved back as he head back home. The man grabbed his key in his jacket, then raised his head and shouted at him "My name is Franky by the way! Nice to meet you Demetrius!" He waved back at him and entered the building.

Demetrius smiled, he didn’t do it a lot but when he did, it was genuine

Chapter Text

The back of the palace palace at this hour was quiet and cold. The normally colorful garden was submerged in darkness and you could sometimes perceive the half moon picking through the clouds.

Demetrius quietly opened one of the back doors and carefully entered the mansion. At this hour of the evening, the butlers should be taking their dinner break. He proceeded walk up the stairs, still looking around trying not to get caught. He eventually reached his room. He quickly closed the door behind him and exhaled.

"Good evening, young master Demetrius"

Demetrius startled and rapidly turned around, just to find Jeeves, his butler, sitting on his study chair, he had probably been waiting for him. Even if he had his usual neutral face, Demetrius could sense the mixed feeling in his eyes, something between disappointment, anger and relief.

"Good evening Jeeves." replied Demetrius, trying to look as unbothered as he could.

Jeeves continued, still keeping his professional calm "Could you perhaps enlighten me on where you have been all afternoon and evening?"

Of course he wouldn’t let it go so easily.

Demetrius explained in a light hearted tone what he had done, trying to minimize it as much as possible "I just went for a short walk in Berlint."

Jeeves raised an eyebrow "A short walk? You’ve been missing all afternoon and evening. With all due respect, I wouldn’t call this kind of walk as such."

Demetrius groaned "I just needed to go outside a little, that’s not a crime."

Jeeves looked at him for a few seconds "You should have told us."

"Told you just so you could follow me around all day? No thanks I’ll pass." Demetrius grabbed his cap and threw it on his desk in frustration. He sat on his bed and added "And I’m good! Look at me  I came home safe and sound no need to—"

"I fear that it isn’t the point young master—" tried to interrupt Jeeves. But Demetrius wasn’t listening, he just kept going.

"You guys always treat me like I’m a little child!"

"I don’t think you understand how—" Jeeves kept trying.

"This isn’t fair! I just wanted to-"

"Demetrius." Jeeves tone was grave, he had enough.

Demetrius gulped, Jeeves only called him like that in rare serious occasions, he understood that they had not taken his little escape so lightly.

Jeeves kept silent before adding "Your mother has been dead worried since you’ve gone missing. Do you know how much it affected her?"

Demetrius scoffed "Who cares about that. It’s not like she knows what she wants anyway." When he said it, you could perceive the annoyance and frustration in his voice.

Jeeves opened his mouth to retort but slowly closed it. He sighed, there was no need in arguing with a stubborn teenager.

"Get up." said Jeeves.

"Why?" asked Demetrius.

"We’re going to see your mother in the living room." explained Jeeves.

Demetrius caterwauled "What? No I don’t want to see her! I—" He stopped himself as soon as he saw Jeeves death stare. It wasn’t the moment to argue with him right now.

Jeeves and Demetrius headed in silence toward the living room. As they approached, you could perceive Melinda, clearly in distress discussing other the phone with someone.

"No he’s still missing…I don’t know! It really worries me and…" She was probably talking to one of her friend, bags under her eyes and pinching her nose in a mix of tiredness and worry "Yes I’ve contacted the police station they assured me they’ll do their best to find him… Something public right away? You know I’m starting to consider it even if it could affect—" She froze as she noticed Demetrius beside Jeeves.

"He’s here I’ll call you back." She hanged the phone and walk toward them, eyes finally full of relief to see her son doing alright

"Demetrius!" She said as she hugged him tightly before looking up and down. She pleaded for answers "Are you hurt anywhere? Do you feel alright? Please tell me where have you been all this time I was so worried!"

"I went on a walk" coldly answered Demetrius.

"On a walk? But, why didn’t you tell anybody? And… why are you back so late?" Said Melinda visibly confused.

"I just needed air without anybody watching my every move." huffed Demetrius

There was a silence in the room.

Demetrius broke the stillness "Can I go to my room now?"

"Not before you tell me where you were." said Melinda as she frowned and crossed her arms.

"I already told you"

"You vaguely referenced an action. I don’t call that explanations, Demetrius."

Demetrius groaned once again "And why should I tell you anyway?"

"Because I’m your mother."

"Oh really? Then why don’t you act like it when he’s there?" Hissed back Demetrius.

Silence filled the room.

Those words left his mouth like blades toward Melinda. The hurt slowly showed on her face as she stared at Demetrius. But at this moment he felt no remorse, not pity. Not only has she been mostly absent from his life those last few years but now she expected him to treat her like a well behaved son, and it infuriated him. 

"Go to your room. Now." Hurt visible in her eyes.

"On my way." dryly replied Demetrius.

He just turned his heels and headed to his room.

As Demetrius got to his room, he could feel the anger boiling inside of him. But he could also feel the heat of the tears in his eyes. He threw himself into his bed and looked at a family photo of himself, Melinda, Damian and him they took a few years back. At this point, Damian was two and things had already got difficult in the family.

Why does she act like the way she do? Why doesn’t she speaks what’s on her mind? Why is she so inconsistent on the way she treats him and Damian?

At that moment, he couldn’t help but think about the Forger. They were a recomposed family, yet, they all sounded so close…

Demetrius whipped the tears on his face.

He was tired now. But the night won’t erase the way Melinda acts. He knew that. And he would make sure not to make her forget about it.

Chapter Text

Franky was sitting on the sofa in the living room of the Forger’s flat, while Bond was in a corner happily ingurgitating his kibbles. The man was still a bit shaken, it had, in fact, been an… eventful day.

First, loosing Bond. This alone had been enough to give him multiple heart attacks. He had run what felt like miles which left him with an abomdance of bruises and open wounds on his feet (those damn shoes again). Not to mention to mention how exhausted he felt at that very moment. Not a super great afternoon, but at least, Bond was okay. In the end, it had caused him more fright than harm.

But then, he met Demetrius Desmond. First son and heir of Donovan Desmond, ex prime minister, but most importantly, the direct target of Loid and operation STRIX.

The boy ended up stumbling upon Bond and helping him completely randomly. Franky couldn’t help but think how crazy this was. Seriously, what are the odds that the son of the direct target of your spy friend help your missing dog find his way home? This just felt surreal.

Franky was wondering if he should tell Loid. Agent Twilight would surely be more than happy to have a new way to approach his target. If the kid decided to walk Bond from time to time like Franky suggested, it would be an easy way for Loid to get more information on Donovan.

However, Franky wasn’t sure if he truly wanted to tell Loid about it.

He knew his friend vices, how he could sometimes treat people only as assets, and he felt that it wouldn’t be a good idea to give him contact to Demetrius. He knew Loid could force the contact and bring more stress to the poor teenager than he needed.

In fact, the child looked… abnormally tired and anxious. Yes his natural feature did not make him look any more welcoming, but Franky could see the exhaustion in the teenager eyes. Was it because of school? Eden Academy have the reputation to be particularly difficult after all.

But Franky wasn’t sold on this idea, it felt like something more was going on… From what he had heard and read, the Desmond did not seem to have the most optimal family situation. The patriarch seemed to be mostly absent in the family life. The Mother, Melinda Desmond was also rarely seen in company of her children. But, some family issues could not be the sole reason on this stress that seemed to follow him, right? No, it felt bigger, like some kind of external force always applied pressure on him, like he always needed to be on his guard.

He may not know what pushed Demetrius to act that way, but one thing was sure to him, this kid did not need a full on interrogation session at the moment.

So the decision was made. Franky would not tell a soul about what happened, not that he met Demetrius, and even less that he almost lost Bond on walk (Loid would actually slaughter him if he did).

Bond sat beside Franky after finishing his meal. And Franky could feel his eyelids slowly becoming heavier. The exhaustion was getting to him and he did not feel like wondering anymore.

The night was calm, the full moon gave the sky a luminous atmosphere.

Franky let his head drop as he fell more and more asleep.

For once, Berlint felt particularly peaceful.