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Chewbacca hadn’t ever really wanted a dog. Or a pet of any kind actually.
He wasn’t much of a pet-person, never had been. They were alright, he supposed, but he didn’t really care for them.
Having one himself? Not bloody likely.
For some reason though, dogs adored him.
Han often joked that Chewie could easily hide one or two beneath his mane of hair.
That with the way Chewbacca seemed to attract dogs from miles away, Han wouldn’t be surprised if one wasn’t already stuck under there, Chewie just hadn’t noticed it yet.
Chewie insisted that he wasn’t interested in a dog. That he never would be.
Han would reply with a smirk. »Buddy, I’m still not convinced you’re not a dog underneath all that fur.«
Chewbacca didn’t mind the teasing. It was good-humoured, and besides, it made Leia chuckle.
The girl owned the shop next door, selling everything from actually useful items to the hikers heading into the mountains, to useless run-of-the-mill trinkets. Chewie liked her.
She was sharp as a whip, and as pretty as a picture, and Han was head over heels for her.
Not that Han would ever admit that though.
Or listen to Chewbacca when he told his friend that »she likes you too, you dumbass.«
Instead the two of them would just fight.
They’d fight over the most ridiculous stuff, like the best way to rev an engine, or which author was objectively better than the other.
Honestly, Chewie loved his friends, he really did, but he’d much rather that they have a bit of a laugh at his expense than listen to them bicker.
Besides, even though Han tried very hard to play the cocky macho-type character, mostly for Leia’s sake, Chewie thought, his friend was a big softie. It really wouldn’t be too difficult for Chewie to make him stop if he really wanted to.
So yeah. Chewie was okay with the dog-jokes.
At least until there were actual dogs hanging around the garage.
Once Artoo and Threepio had taken to following him around everywhere he went, Han’s teasing only intensified exponentially.
Chewbacca fumed silently, valiantly trying to ignore the two dogs and their big puppy-eyes and soft whines for attention.
Maybe, he thought, if he just ignored Han’s jibes for long enough, his friend would believe him when he said that he Did Not Like Dogs.
Obviously, it didn’t work.
Han had caught Chewbacca untangling Threepio’s fur with careful, tender hands a few times too many for Han to ever believe that again.
»Buddy,« Han would say with a wicked grin. »Be careful or your dog’ll get lost in your beard.«
Truthfully though, they weren’t his dogs.
He hadn’t meant to accidentally adopt Luke and his two strays on his way home, but a while back, Luke’s car had broken down on the side of the road, and well… One thing had led to the other quickly enough.
It had been in the middle of winter. Icy roads, harsh winds, the whole nine yards.
Had it been up to Chewbacca, he would have stayed home with a strong cup of coffee. He’d be sitting in the most comfortable chair he owned, maybe playing a game of chess with Han, but unfortunately the bills wouldn’t pay themselves.
His rig was comfortable enough that he could keep warm easily, but driving in these conditions made his hair stand on ends.
One wrong turn of the wheel, one too-strong gust of wind… Chewie had rarely looked this much forward to being home safe and sound.
He cursed Han again. The bonehead had somehow convinced Chewie that he should go on alone and that Han should stay behind to take care of the garage.
How he let Han talk him into these kinds of things, Chewbacca would never understand.
It happened suddenly, and Chewie swore loudly as he swerved and spilled day-old coffee all over the dashboard.
The kid, maybe 18 or 19, Chewbacca thought, had run out in front of Chewbacca’s truck, his dark clothes drenched in rain and he was frozen half-way solid.
Chewie had barely been able to react before hitting the idiot.
Standing there in the rain, becoming wetter and colder by the second, Luke had looked so pathetic that Chewie had only had the heart to yell at him for his stupidity for a few minutes.
The tall, broad man buried his head in his large hands and groaned before shoving Luke into the cabin of the truck and dumping some old blankets on his stupid wet head.
Chewbacca had started his truck again and they’d very nearly left before Luke regained enough brain-power to stop him.
»Wait, my dogs!,« he’d shouted and bolted out the door before the truck stood still.
Chewbacca wasn’t too happy with the fact that he himself was drenched and that his truck now contained a soaked teenager with chattering teeth and two wet dogs who were very eager to meet the truck driver.
It would be a long way home.
Luke had fit right in with his easy smiles and friendly nature, happily introducing himself and his dogs to Han and Leia.
Han’s grimace when he heard Threepio’s constant whining made the entire thing worth it, Chewbacca thought and leaned back in his chair with a grin.
They went back the day after and fixed Luke’s truck, and Chewbacca felt himself bristle with annoyance at the two dogs yapping about.
Artoo was especially keen on almost tripping Chewie every time he took a step, and more than once, Chewie needed to take a deep breath.
Luke seemed oblivious to his predicament.
»They like you!,« he exclaimed cheerfully, not noticing that Chewbacca wasn’t enjoying the attention as much as Luke thought he was.
In the weeks that followed, Luke would pop in whenever he could.
He lived in the next town over, but the kid was grateful for their help, and he made a point of saying so more than a few times. Often with cupcakes.
After the third batch of cupcakes, Chewbacca began to suspect that Luke’s visits had less to do with Luke being grateful, and more to do with a certain someone in the shop next door.
Much to Han’s displeasure, it was clear that Luke fancied Leia and Chewie couldn’t help but groan at the development. Not another one!
Thankfully, the infatuation was short lived, and once Luke was past that, Chewbacca was pleased to discover that Luke wasn’t actually half bad with a wrench.
A shame the kid couldn’t be around more often, Chewie thought as Luke helped him fix an old bike. Kid had an easy-going manner about him, always willing to give a hand or tell some ridiculous story to pass the time.
He was easily distracted though. As soon as his dogs came running, Luke would drop whatever he was holding to scratch a belly or ask »who’s a good boy?!« in such a nauseatingly adoring voice that Chewie felt a bit sick.
Right until Artoo came sniffing at Chewie’s hands that was. There was just something about the mutt that made it difficult not to love him.
Not that Chewbacca would ever acknowledge that of course.
It quickly became obvious that Threepio adored Leia, much to Han’s frustration.
As soon as Luke parked his car in the driveway, Threepio would dart to Leia’s side, and Han would groan loudly at the sight of the dog.
Han didn’t really understand the fearful dog, but Leia did. She would stare daggers at Han if he didn’t watch his temper around Threepio and refused to engage in any of their usual bickering when the dog was around.
Chewbacca went about his work with a small hum. He liked this development. The neighbourhood was a lot quieter when Luke was around.
Sure, it meant that Artoo would be flitting around in the garage, but still. The silence was worth enduring an over-eager mutt for.
It had been a regular Tuesday.
Chewbacca had made his deliveries down the mountain, Luke had stopped by, and everything had been business as usual. It was such a nice day that Chewie was actually honest to god tempted to whistle.
He realised that it had started to go bad when Luke had wrung his hands and started his sentence three separate times in half a minute.
Sighing, Chewbacca rolled out from under the car he was working on and stared at the kid until he started talking.
»I, uh… I really don’t like putting my responsibilities on other people, but I’m in a bit of a bind with my landlord and uhh… Would-you-mind-looking-after-the-dogs-for-a-while,« the kid finally blurted out.
Before Chewie had really considered the matter, he’d grumbled out a »yeah, sure«, and suddenly Luke was talking about what dog food the mutts liked, and how many walks they should go on every day, and the kid was just so damn happy that Chewie didn’t have the heart to tell him that he’d changed his mind.
Han thought it was hilarious. Like, it had been funny before, but now — Chewie doubted that he would ever stop laughing.
And so what. Chewie was a bit surprised to find that he’d actually grown rather fond of the dogs, much against his better judgement.
Threepio was frightened of absolutely everything — leaves, loud noises, screwdrivers, and Chewbacca knew that, based on his past feelings for dogs, he definitely shouldn’t like this one.
It was too scared, too needy to be truly likable, he thought.
But he did.
Artoo was was a great help when Chewie was tinkering in the garage.
Somehow the mutt always knew which tool he needed next and brought it to him.
Covered in slobber of course.
The dog was still far more helpful than Han had ever been, especially now that he was always busy staring at Leia and sighing wistfully.
Chewbacca thought that it wasn’t a half-bad trade.
All in all, the arrangement wasn’t too shabby.
Chewbacca could take Artoo on his rides when he needed to make deliveries, and meanwhile Leia was happy to take care of Threepio.
The dogs didn’t like being separated at first, Leia told Chewbacca that Threepio whined for hours the first day they were apart, but after a few days they began to understand that they’d get back to their friend again soon.
They all fell into a comfortable routine over the next months.
Luke would drop by every other day with treats for the dogs and an apologetic »thanks, I’m real sorry about this« to Chewbacca.
Chewie finally waved off his many apologies with a gruff »it’s really no trouble. If you’re interested, we’ve got a spare room you could rent.«
Luke broke into a wide, radiant smile and nodded happily, and that was that.
Chewbacca wasn’t sure exactly when Beebeeate had slunk in, or how long it had been hiding in the garage before he noticed it.
One morning it was just there, circling his legs and rubbing its orange fur all over his jeans.
The cat looked up at Chewbacca with large eyes, meowed loudly, and he got the sense that it knew exactly how adorable it was.
Needless to say, Artoo and Threepio weren’t too pleased that they suddenly had to share Chewbacca’s newfound affections for furry creatures.