This is my gift exchange drawing for lilsi100!
She works with guide dogs so I decided to draw one of my universal headcanons for Mr. Wrench, that he loves dogs and never passes up the opportunity to pet them (especially golden retrievers). I adapted one of my fics that I wrote over the summer about Wrench meeting a dog into Wrench meeting a guide dog. (the dog in the drawing is not on duty so she isn't wearing her harness)
Wrench had always loved dogs. When he was little, his dog was his only friend. None of the kids at school would learn sign language for him, so he taught his dog simple commands in ASL. Wrench felt like he could see into the souls of the furry creatures, and there was only pure love and good, quite unlike in most humans. Numbers, on the other hand, never particularly liked animals. He didn’t have anything against them, he just didn’t think they were cute the way most people did.
One day, the two hitmen were at a rest stop on their way back to Fargo when Wrench spotted a woman with a dog at a nearby picnic table. While they were on a case, Wrench was a professional. He didn’t let cute dogs distract him. But the job was over, and god dammit, he was going to pet that dog.
He nudged Numbers’ arm excitedly. Numbers rolled his eyes as he signed, How can a man who kills people for a living be an actual five-year-old?
Wrench jabbed his arm lightly as they walked up to the dog. He smiled as he watched Numbers ask the woman if it was okay if they pet it. Wrench saw her reply, sure, go ahead, and he eagerly kneeled down to pet the happy golden retriever. Numbers looked down at Wrench and laughed. The dog was now busy licking Wrench’s face.
Wrench could see out of the corner of his eye that Numbers had stricken up a conversation with the dog’s owner, but he would rather concentrate on how cute the dog was than look up to read their lips. He paused from petting the dog when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Wrench looked up to see Numbers sign, That’s a guide dog. The owner is blind, he’s over there with his kids.
Wrench craned his neck to look over where Numbers was pointing. The man’s children were taking a turn leading him around to give the dog some time off. Wrench smiled. He knew that if he wanted to he could get his own service dog, to alert him when someone was at the door or if a fire alarm went off. But with his job, there was no way he could keep a dog. Besides, those were the things he kept Numbers around for.
Numbers usually didn’t like petting dogs- he hated how oily and dirty his hands felt afterwards. But Wrench looked so unbelievably happy hugging and kissing the thing that Numbers had to try it. He kneeled down next to his partner and gave the dog a pat on the head. Wrench beamed as he looked over at Numbers. They had been together for a few months now, but it was few and far between when Wrench saw him do anything so vulnerable, so human. Numbers smiled back at Wrench as he scratched behind the dog’s ear.
Before Numbers knew it, the dog was licking his face. He stood up quickly and wiped the slobber off with his sleeve. Wrench followed and gave the woman a smile and a nod as they walked back towards the car. He looked over at Numbers, who was still getting the last of the dog’s drool out of his beard.
So, when are we going to get a dog?
Numbers blushed and gave Wrench a playful shove. But after his partner had continued the walk towards the car, when Numbers was certain he wasn't looking and couldn't see his lips move, he said to no one in particular, "Maybe someday."
