Work Text:
“This is their guard dog?” Eliot says.
The skepticism is evident in his voice. Hardison has to admit, he’s pretty surprised himself. “Looks like they’re going through some budget cuts.”
The dog–well, it’s a puppy–looks like some kind of German Shepherd mix. It can’t be more than a few months old and it blinks up at them, whimpering a little.
Hardison crouches down and holds out his hand. The puppy bounds forward and sniffs his hand, and then starts licking him enthusiastically. Hardison scratches its ear, and the puppy’s entire butt wags in happiness. “Aw, yeah. You’re a good boy, aren’t ya? You just need a little attention.”
Eliot’s looking around the yard, his glare growing progressively angrier. “Hardison, take the dog.”
Hardison snaps his head up, because he had to have heard that wrong. “You want me to what? Did you just say–”
“I said take the dog,” Eliot repeats, in the growl that both terrifies Hardison and turns him on. He has problems, he knows that. “I’ll meet you back at Lucille. I’m going to go have a chat with the guy running this place.”
Well, Hardison really doesn’t need to be told that twice. He undoes the chain and scoops up the puppy, who licks his chin.
Hardison sighs. “Yeah, you’re gonna be spoiled to within an inch of your life.”
***
It turns out the puppy is a she, not a he, and Hardison gleefully dubs her Baby. She becomes the pub’s mascot, and much as Eliot grumbles about having a dog around, he’s also the one sneaking her bits of steak and chicken after the kitchen closes. Because he’s a gigantic softy and Hardison tells him so, kissing his cheek when Eliot blushes and swears at him.
Baby’s favorite thing in the world is to snuggle up on the couch next to Hardison whenever they’re watching sports or doing a rundown of the marks, and her second-favorite thing in the world is chewing on Eliot’s hair.
And if it turns out she’s even more protective of Hardison than Eliot is, well, that’s just a bonus. A hilarious, hilarious bonus whenever two dumbass thieves break into the pub and get taken down by a furious 30-pound ball of fluff named Baby before Eliot can even get out of bed.