Work Text:
He was born in darkness.
His father was unknown, one of the many strays that roamed the streets; orphaned either by being on the wrong side of the dome or losing their family to the growing plague befalling the humans.
But the sickness was not restricted to humans alone.
They were the first victims; the birds, the fish, the animals who had unwillingly come along when Argo City broke free of Krypton.
His mother was such a victim, dying a few months after giving birth to him. She taught him what she could; how to hunt among the growing piles of garbage, to be careful of where he went - the sickness was all around them, but some places were more deadly than others.
When she died, he cried for days.
There was no one to play with - if there had been other dogs around, they had either been hidden away by their owners, or taken by the scientists to experiment on in an effort to figure out what was wrong, and what was the cure.
Hunger forced him out into the streets - there wasn’t a lot of food in the garbage, but enough to keep him alive.
Along with some fun sticks to chew on.
It was on one of these trips that he saw her.
He’d seen plenty of funeral marches in his short life - they marched to the center of the room, did their thing, and left. He didn’t usually go out to see the humans because they would throw things at him, curse and swear. Like it was his fault.
But she…
She was in pain.
He saw that in her eyes.
So he did what his heart told him to do.
He ran to her.
As soon as she picked him up, he knew it was the right thing to do.
“If you can, find someone to love,” his mother had said before she died.
He had.
And now he would defend her to the death.
In this world, and the next.
***
A few notes: Yes, I am the author with one of the oldest fanfics on ff.net. Yes, I married a man who sent me a fan letter based on my X-Files fanfiction. Yes, I do original work. If you like romance, check out my stuff. If not, well... keep on reading what you love!
Yes, I am that old. Usenet old. So bear with an old crone as she returns to her first love... I love to write drabbles, missing scenes that just fill in the gaps.
So there.
*creaking noises*