Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Y'know I wonder why humans decided to play with dna" 

John Doe said out loud while feasting on an egg sandwich, the contents of it nearly spilling out. I watch in disgust at his improper manners, especially the mayo that dripped down his hand, to which he promptly licked clean. I doubt his finger was clean.

We sat on a park bench waiting for a client, my car parked nearby. The afternoon heat was not too bad, though the air was humid which I did not like at all. My trench coat felt heavy under the weather and I do not want to risk myself by removing it, lest the dog beside me sees my bushy tail.

"Humans are always curious, that and of course in pursuit of science" I sipped from the paper cup of the bland coffee I ordered together with the dog earlier. I wonder why the beverage tasted like cardboard and he on the other hand is munching on the sandwich as if it were a three course meal.

"Science...I don't remember much back I gradeschool what I learned, but all I can say is math was a headache" He shifts the conversation, I find it tiresome trying to match his pace with these subjects. "Say Sonnellino, were you a smart kid?"

"Why would I ever answer that"

"I mean, I'm just trying to make conversation here" His eyes dart away awkwardly, after all this time he could never find himself in a comfortable chat with me.

Which I'm glad for, I'm not the talkative type.

"You want me to remind you why we're sitting under a tall tree in a park or has your IQ gone down in the duration of our drive here"

"Hey I may be a muzzled dog but I'm not that stupid" That pissed him off, I could already hear the growling and the snarling of teeth.

I learned that over the course of two weeks running errands with him that he really does not like how him being a dog is brought up in the topic of our conversations, especially when intelligence was mentioned.

"You forgot to mention you got that shock collar" I take a sip of my coffee again, eyes staring straight at the busy downtown avenue.

"I try being nice with you and you just dumb me down to a stupid dog" I could see him pouting in the corner of my eye. Maybe I should stop with the teasing.

"I apologize, I was just teasing you"

"That wasn't teasing at all" He's still pouting, which I dislike, a dog like him shouldn't be pouting like a beaten child.

I sigh, setting down the paper cup beside me as I look at him straight in the eyes. "You're awfully sensitive"

"Sensitive?" 

"Is there any other word I could describe you"

"I don't know, capable?" John Doe answers for himself thinking it was the right choice, little did he know that just fueled the other man's criticism.

"Capable- pfft, since when?"

"Now you're just hurting my feelings"

"And that's why I said you're sensitive" I took another sip from my tasteless coffee.

The dog turned away from my line of sight, ears pinned down, tail flat, indicative of a foul mood. I sigh to myself, it seems that I have to shower him with praise again before he even makes a single move out of the bench, either that or he won't be able to help me with our current client. 

I may have the brain of a human but I lack the veracity and strength that this Doberman has. 

"I'm sorry" The apology feels forced, I hope he doesn't notice how it barely has any sincerity.

His tail began wagging again, those ears perked up high as he looked at me with excitement. I chuckle to myself not because I find his cheerfulness amusing, but because of his naivety. I don't understand why I find it such, maybe because I haven't toyed with the concept of having a predator under a prey's hold rather than the other way around.

But it was entertaining.

"Don't sulk again, I need you for this commission"

"What was it again?" He asks, eager to learn and jump at his feet to move. I could still see his wagging tail.

"Says on paper-" I pull out a folded piece of paper from the inside of my coat, unfolding it as I read it quietly. "I want you to run a background check on this dog, I also want you to go through their computer...what is this handwriting" 

I complain as I fold the paper back into my coat, it seems as though I can't read any further lest I conjure up a migraine. 

"Here's the gist, investigate then grab files from the computer" I say as I raise a finger for each task, totaling to two.

"Okay, okay" The dog repeats, as if memorizing it. 

A few seconds later a truck carrying a load of tree logs crashed into a park tree. I grabbed the Doberman out of the way from where we sat on the park bench. Thankfully the tree logs didn't fall out, or else we'd be having more than just one accident in the park today. A crowd of onlookers came to see what had happened. Being the curious creature that I am, I went near the driver's seat and tapped the glass.

"Hey, are you drunk?" I ask, tapping on the glass once more. I can sense John Doe already scampering near me, saddling up to my side.

The door opened and out came a man- or rather an american bulldog hybrid, he had dark eyebags and a tired posture to match. "Sorry I..." 

A hard hat fell out of the seat and he went to grab it, donning the construction accessory. "I probably didn't have enough sleep last night"

"You ruined the tree"

We three looked to where the sound came from and looked down. A human child had his arms on his waist, dressed in denim overalls, as if ready to complain to the manager. "I was playing with my dad!"

"Uh...kid I'm sorry alright? company will pay for it"

Problems and issues are fine, especially if it's casualties like this, but the moment humans are involved it becomes a bigger issue. Maybe that's why the bulldog is wary, I could hear the complacency in his tone. It's reprehensible how we animals immediately turn to being compliant whenever a human appears within our vicinity, though maybe I should ought to remind myself that the bulldog didn't see me as a Rabbit but a human. Probably the reason why he looked even more careful.

"I'm gonna tell dad!" The child ran off, I wonder why he had such bright red hair, though it's possibly one of those temporary hair spray dyes children are into nowadays.

I heard the bulldog sigh, I turned to him once more. " Don't worry, I won't tell the city office"

I'm not all cruel and maleficent, I understand the fear animals have when a human appears and just causes more trouble.

"Thank you" He whispers, he flashed me a smile before backing up as he reversed the truck, the poor tree completely snapped in half.

"Why'd you just let him go away? you didn't even ask for his name" The doberman behind me said, he probably expected for me to report the bulldog.

"I'm not that kind of person"

"Oh so you're nice to other dogs but not to me?"

"Don't dwell on such things" I say as I begin walking.

But then, I stopped. 

I remembered something crucial, I opened the folded paper again wondering why the bulldog earlier looked familiar. I dug deeper in the inside pocket of my coat and took out a photograph. Now I know why.

"John, this may sound stereotypical but can you follow that bulldog's scent?" I turn to the Doberman and he's already gone, running after the truck.

"J- John!" I shout, hoping he'd stop running, I grumble then folded back the paper. "This stupid dog!"

"Don't run off like that again" I reprimand the dog, taking a turn in an intersection, my hands on the wheel of my car.

"I'm sorry"

"Stop saying sorry, apologies won't get you far" A sound of annoyance escapes me, the car drove along the road smoothly, barely any bumps met my path.

"You're being mean again"

 He states the obvious, I'm aware I'm occasionally mean to him but I have my boundaries, I'm his boss. I should act like one. 

"It's called criticism"

"Criticism doesn't come with a mean attitude" He counters, I ought to make him read the dictionary because he can't seem to know what criticism is.

I stop the car, stepping harshly on the brakes making the Doberman nearly hit his forehead on the dashboard as he is jolted forward. I grab on the brakes, pulling it back as the car stills, the engine shuts off as I grab the key. I stepped out of the vehicle, but before closing the door I ducked my head in and spoke with the Doberman.

"Should I further elaborate and argue with you or do we actually do our work"

"No..." He was still throwing a fit over my choice of words, it was always obvious when he's in a foul mood, with the ears and tail that is. It's a dead give-away.

"Was that no to not arguing or no to not doing our work"

"I don't know, guess, since you're so smart" John Doe crossed his arms, turning his head away from me.

I sigh to myself, then promptly shut the car door leaving him inside the car. If he wanted to throw a tantrum then so be it. I stood in front of a construction company, the shoddy design of the hanging sign that I could barely read and the rusting warehouse made me mutter quietly about the possibility that it was old enough to rival my antique car. I went around the warehouse and heard the sound of sawmills working loudly, the grinding and cutting of logs made me wince, my ears weren't used to such loud sounds, thankfully the fedora could muffle it slightly but it was still unpleasant.

Behind the warehouse were trees being converted to planks, it's most likely being shipped to be sold or used in the construction process the company is being commissioned for. Taking a few more steps through the area I found a trailer, it looked better off than the warehouse itself and the equipment being used. I went up the trailer's stairs and knocked on the door, before I could knock a second time it opened and I was met with a face I've seen before.

This was bad, really bad. The animal that stood before me was the same chicken hybrid I punched the light out of a few weeks ago during a hostage situation.

He spoke, cheery and unaware as to who he was actually talking to.

"Hi! welcome to- Uh, no that sounds weird" He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, the clean white feathers that lined his entire neck stood out under the bright lights of the trailer. His eyes looked away from me monetarily as he tried to form a sentence to greet me.

"The name's Shedletsky, if you're trying to find Builderman he isn't here right now he's out delivering some shipment" His eyes met mine, and he realized something.

"Wait a minute you look familiar-"

"I'm sure I do" I narrowed my eyes. I did not expect to see someone whom I've met in my past work to appear once more in another commission of mine.

He noticed the lack of animal features on my face and held himself back from talking further, he swore to himself as he straightened to his posture. Gone was the carefree and confident attitude. It seems that he immediately changed his personality believing I'm human. 

"Sorry I...I shouldn't have talked like that. You must be a busy guy, do you have some important stuff to talk over with the C.E.O.?" His tone sounded more professional, he also fixed his attire which, for the lack of better understanding shouldn't be the kind of clothes you should wear working under a construction company.

He's wearing a loose shirt and a pair of shorts.

Shorts.

Who in this god-forsaken economy would decide to wear shorts to a construction company.

The way I looked him up and down probably made him realize I did not like how he looked. He excused himself, apologizing for his attitude. "You can wait in here if you want" He tried to sound amenable, it was no use to me now though, I only took one look inside the trailer and it made no sense for me to keep on lying and to sit inside.

"It's fine, it seems that he isn't here at this moment, I'll return some other time" I turned away heading towards my car parked outside the warehouse but a familiar large truck was parked beside it.

I should leave now before I get dragged back inside the trailer by that underdressed chicken.

"So you inherited the company or you made it from the ground up?" I hear the doberman's voice, I swear to myself under my breath as I quickened my pace hoping he doesn't blow our cover.

"No, made it from the ground up, it was hard at first since I opened to company right after the animal rights law was instated, no one was trusting us with hard labor" 

I took a turn at the corner and saw the same bulldog from the park and John Doe himself talking with him. I stood where I was, I didn't intrude in their comfortable conversation and instead stayed put hoping the Doberman wouldn't expose the reason why we were here.

"Oh...right I remember that, I remember my dad barely able to find any work, even construction wasn't a choice" 

The bulldog, who's most likely Builderman that the chicken said earlier is their C.E.O. wore a tired expression, but he chuckled momentarily. "Yet here we are, though it's become a bit easier it isn't as bad as before"

"Tell me about it"

"There were other laws they still weren't able to pass and we had to fight our way through it, I still remember how we weren't allowed to work in factories producing food because-"

John Doe cut him off, face lighting up. "Because they told us we were unclean"

"Yes! oh god that was so stupid looking back at it"

"But it's better now, yeah?"

He fixed the hard-hat on his head, then spoke. "There's still some problems within the system, but we're managing"

"By problems you mean humans"

Deep inside I know I shouldn't be affected by such words, I'm only pretending to be one. Maybe it wasn't because I had some sort of twisted likeness towards humans that was hurt- no, it was the fact that what the Doberman said was true. After all this time the main problem was humans. The main reason why I mimic their mannerisms and look the way they look, they tower over us because they still reign superior in the food chain. 

Not once was there equality nor equity between us, it was a fake play meant to delude our society into believing everything is normal when clearly it isn't. Everyone continues on their day, eating our own kind, the laws are flimsy and we are still treated like domesticated pets.

I can see it in Eunoia, her indifference and almost childlike affection towards me. She pets my head as if I weren't her equal.

I may act, dress, and speak like a human. But I'll always be a Rabbit.

When we drove back I didn't realize I instinctively went to my home and not the office. The look of surprise on John Doe's face was obvious. I on the other hand was just blankly staring at the road not realizing I took the wrong turns. I only came to myself when he tapped me on my shoulder and asked in a worried tone.

"Hey...Sonnellino are you good?"

"What?" I answered back, letting go of the wheel then looked outside, we were in front of my house.

"You drove us to your house, not the office"

"Oh, I apologize I wasn't-"

"You heard what I said earlier didn't you?" He took note of my expression, changing it to one of discomfort. “I didn't mean what I said, I trying to make conversation so he could share some personal details with me”

“I'm aware of that”

“Then why do you look like you ate a lemon?” John Doe teased me, chuckling in my direction.

“I did not- I do not look like I just ate a lemon”

“Yes you do!”

“I will kick you out of my car and make you walk all the way home” I threatened him, though it was no use. I was too tired to bring him back to the office and I was drained from all the talking earlier at the construction company, the chicken was awfully talkative compared to the bulldog.

I grumbled exiting the car, shutting the door loudly as I went up to my door. Unlocking the house I hear the dog's steps coming near, his cold muzzle brushed against my nape.

“Are you letting me stay over?”

“What do you think?” I ask him, opening the door as I pocket my keys.

“Well I think Sonnelino would be kind enough to let me sleep in his house as a guest”

“I think I'm not nice enough for that at all”

“No please, I'll behave” He put his hands together in prayer, pleading for me to let him inside.

“Don't look at me like that”

The way he's looking at me right now feels like an abandoned dog looking for an owner. If it were to rain and drench him in water I might be hospitable enough to let him in out of pity.

I let him in anyway.

I had to take precautions letting him inside my house, this wasn't the first time he's been inside and having to lock the bathroom and bedroom all together just so that he couldn't get a whiff of my scent made me suffer a bit more wearing the heavy trench coat, it was becoming too warm.

“Aren't you going to take off your coat?” He took off his tie, placing it inside the back pocket of his pants.

“No”

I avoided the topic immediately, I knew he would press on for it, even make me undress. Though I hope he isn't too curious about what humans look like and grabs my coat off my body. He'd be sorely disappointed finding out I'm not what he perceived to be. 

“I forget you humans are all skin and bones”

“Be thankful you have fur in places you need it to be, all we have is our hair” I play along, heading towards a drawer as I pull out a comforter and blanket, then fix the insides the way they were.

“What shampoo do you use by the way?” The question was most likely out of curiosity and filling in the silence. I take it back this dog is more talkative than the chicken.

“Why would you want to know that”

“It's just that…the colognes and the things you use always smell of mint, I was wondering why you like using that” He plopped himself down the empty living room, I barely had any furniture and it made it seem as though I only just bought the house.

“I like it, it doesn't smell as strong as it does, better than citrus or fruity scents” Contrary to what I'm saying the only reason I'm using mint is to hide my smell, it's faint and unnoticeable.

“I like it too”

I heard the same familiar footsteps coming near me and the second I knew what was coming I felt arms wrapping around my waist, grabbing me as his cold muzzle met my skin, he breathed me in, the hold was tight.

“Let go of me!” I say, hitting him with the comforter.

“I'm sorry Sonnellino, I knew you wouldn't let me near you, even though you try to rebut my claims and make others believe you aren't what you seem-”

There was the sound of something being unlocked, I saw John Doe’s muzzle fall to the ground clattering. My stomach drops as I fear for the worst. I knew I shouldn't have let him into my home, I should have driven him back despite how tired I was. I feel exposed.

Vulnerable.

“You're not a human, I played along”

My breath quickened and I started to panic as I felt him behind me nudge his nose in my neck bordering near my carotid artery.

“You douse yourself in mint, hoping it'd erase what you are”

I didn't want to cry, that'd be a cowardly move. But that feeling deep inside me, that instinct to shriek and push him away clawed its way out. I'm scared, and I didn't know what to do.

As a last ditch effort I tried to punch him but he expected it, grabbing hold of my fist. My mind began to churn for ways I can escape this situation. 

I went still.

That confused the Doberman, wondering why I wasn't fighting back.

“Sonnellino?”

“Go ahead, bite me”

“What- no!” That made him take a step away from me, allowing me to calm my thoughts and think of something next.

I knew what I'd be saying right now would either break him or make him hate me- but he has to learn not to grab me like that again because his curiosity cannot be held back.

“Taking off your muzzle as if that wasn't a deliberate move, bite me like the dog that you are”

“I didn't want to bite you!” He argues, but he didn't sound angry, rather he sounded fearful.

“Are you sure? then what's that muzzle for all this time?”

“I…I can't tell you that”

“You're a feral dog”

“I'm not a feral dog” I could see him tighten his fists, I press on, talking about his shock collar.

“Then what about your shock collar? Last I remember you took your muzzle off and bit someone”

“I did that to protect you!, I'm sorry I just- I feel like there's something off with you and I just can't help but try to figure you out”

“Then stop before I call the authorities”

“You wouldn't do that”

“Why would you ever think I wouldn't do that” I ask him, making him come to the conclusion that I don't care enough.

“I thought you…”

“Whatever you thought of me, don't even, you're my employee first and foremost, if you thought we were friends we aren't friends”

“I'm sorry I won't do it again” He apologizes like the many times before.

“John” I say his name, warning him not to make the problem even bigger than it is now.

“I’m sorry, okay?”

I sigh sitting down the carpeted floor burying my face in my hands with my current dilemma. I hear his feet shuffling. I expected him to sit beside me but instead he grabbed his muzzle, locking it back in place and just stood there. Looking at me with guilt.

“Are you just going to stand there” I say, running a hand down my face as I look at him, tired.

What I didn't expect was for him to go down my level and sit in front of me, he then said these words.

“If it makes you feel better you could-”

“No, John just no, I don't want to do anything to you” I cut him off not wanting to even hear what suggestions he'd say to appease me.

“I want your hand on me”

“What?”

I thought I misheard him, but he repeated it again, and my face immediately felt warm.

“I want your hand on me, on my ears, tail, wherever you want it to be”

“You can't be serious” Earlier his teeth were near my neck ready to rip it off and now he wants me to pet him?

“I heard humans liked petting-”

“No! John, even I wouldn't do that. What kind of person do you think I am? you aren't a pet to me”

“But you did it once when we were at the office”

I swore inwardly, I forgot I did that. “That wasn't because I wanted to pet you, I was…I was merely boosting morale”

“I don't know how else I could make you feel better, my handlers did it all the time”

I tune him out not wishing to hear his experience within the training facilities, but hearing him say his handlers did it to him raised some concern within me slightly. But I pushed those thoughts away.

“Why would they do that”

He became eerily quiet, he went closer to me and grabbed my gloved hand forcing it to touch his ears. I could hear a shaky breath come from him as if he were carrying a heavy load and he was able to throw it all away. 

I felt the softness of the fur, how delicate it was, you could easily cut off his ears if you had a pair of scissors.

“John…are you alright?” I was met with silence, I don't know exactly what he went through in those institutes or what was done to him. He leaned closer to me as I began to pet his head, touching his ears every now and then.

Does he truly believe I'm human?

I had so many questions, did he find comfort in a human petting him? there's a possibility he finds comfort in such a thing because his handlers may have conditioned him to do so. Have I been deluding him this entire time so that I could find a way to control him. I'm unsure, at first the human act was a way to scare him into submission, but now my opinion towards this Doberman has changed. There's something clearly wrong with him.

I should have taken more caution pretending to be human towards him. He was right from the start about me, but I've evaded his curiosities so much that he had made himself truly think I am what I say I am. And now he's finding comfort in my touch.

I feel…disgusted towards myself.