Puppy
By: Dragongoddess13
Steve stopped walking; his hands in his brown aviator's pockets, sunglasses in place and turned to look around behind him. There was nothing but pedestrians, bundled up against the late October air. He could feel it though, even as he turned back and continued walking, eyes watching him. It was tingling at the back of his neck, an itch in the back of his mind. A nagging feeling that was driving him crazy. The sixth sense he developed in combat had only been honed further since his originally planned short stay with S.H.E.I.L.D. had turned into an extended and, to be honest much enjoyed stayed with the Avengers. And right now, that sixth sense was going off like alarm bells.
There was however, the distinct feeling that whoever or whatever was watching him was not a threat. The thought that someone may have recognized him, crossed his mind but he quickly put that thought aside. If someone had recognized him, there was no way he'd not have been surrounded by press and various fans already. He vaguely thought about Tony testing out a new batch of tracking bots, he seemed to think it was good idea to send invasive technology after the more suspicious of Avengers i.e. Natasha, Clint and himself, once even Coulson but that ended with Pepper pretty much grounding him. He dismissed the idea, remembering how he and Pepper were both occupied planning this weekend's Halloween Party.
Steve let out a sigh, stopping once again, this time outside Avengers tower. He turned back the way he had come looking around once again. His eyes scanned the crowds, taking in the faces around the area. There had to be a reasonable explanation as to why he felt like he was being watched, and yet here he was looking around and seeing nothing of reasonable explanation. He was just about to give up on the whole thing when a soft little whine drew his attention to the ground. He starred down wide eyed, two big brown eyes staring back up at him. "Well hello." He mumbled to himself, earning a squeak of a bark in return. He looked around curiously before looking back at the little Golden Retriever puppy before him.
Steve knelt down, taking in the puppies' appearance. He reached down carefully, slowly inching his hand toward the animal. When he was sure the dog wasn't going to bite him he gently pet him, urging him to come closer until he could see him clearly. The young pup didn't look to be any more than a few months old, and had dirt streaked here and there across his puffy golden fur. Upon closer inspection he could see he wasn't wearing a collar and he looked hungry, not that you could see the state of his weight through his fur. "Where did you come from?" he asked himself, finally making the decision to pick the dog up.
The puppy seemed to like the attention because he perked up when he was off the ground, his tail wagging and tongue hanging out. With one last look around, Steve shrugged and headed into the tower, making his way to the elevators.
"That's not what I'm saying." Clint said as he helped Tony hang banners. "All I'm saying is just because your one half of a couple doesn't mean you have to coordinate your Halloween costume."
"Have you met Pepper?" Tony commented as he descended his ladder. He grinned in response to Pepper's glare.
"Don't let him fool you Clint; the costumes were his idea this year." Pepper replied. "And besides, of all people to go all out for Halloween I would put Darcy on the top of that list."
"Yea, well she's been working a lot of over time this month because of the internal audit. I see her three times a week and usually only long enough for her to eat before falling asleep." Clint replied. "If I see her any more than that it's usually because Coulson called and ordered me to bring her food or take her home to sleep."
"She really loves this new job." Jane added from the table where she and Natasha were showing Thor how to carve a pumpkin. "The only way I could ever get her to work on a weekend was with a box of pop tarts and the promise not to wake her up before ten A.M. for a week." Clint nodded.
"The point is, I don't even know if she has a costume yet. She told me not to wait for her so I got my own."
"Poor Darce, she loves Halloween." Jane replied as the elevator doors opened.
"It's about time, where ya been Cap." Tony called as he noticed the older man. They all looked to him, noticing what he was carrying immediately.
"What is that?" Clint asked seriously.
"Awe it's a puppy." Pepper cooed as Steve got closer. She walked up to him looking down at the little dog. "Poor things all dirty what happened?" she asked.
"And where did he come from?" Natasha added.
"He followed me home." Steve replied. "He doesn't have a collar, so I have to assume he's been living on the streets."
"Which is probably why he's dirty." Bruce finished the thought as he looked over the animal.
"What are you gonna do with him?" Clint asked, his tone a bit frantic, one might even say scared. Natasha looked at him strangely.
"Don't you like dogs?" she asked confused.
"As much as anyone else could like dogs. Puppies however, are a different story." He explained. "Puppies are cuter, and will undoubtedly attract Darcy's attention ten-fold. And do you know what will happen when she finds out you found a puppy abandoned…homeless…" he didn't give anyone a chance to answer. "She's going to want to adopt it, that's what. And then we're gonna have a puppy running around the apartment, chewing up shoes and pissing on the carpet."
"Then if she asks tell her no." Bruce replied. Tony snorted in laughter.
"The day Clint Barton tells Darcy 'no' will be the day the world ends." Natasha said. Clint scowled.
"I don't give Darcy everything she wants. And I'm definitely not going to let her have a puppy." He replied defensively.
"I do believe the Midgardian word it whipped." Thor added, ignoring what Clint had said all together. Tony burst into laughter. Clint scowled.
"Steve you should definitely keep him." Clint told him. "I mean you found him, and he seems to like you, he's almost asleep in your arms." Steve shook his head trying not to laugh. He'd never seen his friend and team mate so frantic before.
"We can't keep him." Natasha said, and Steve nodded.
"She's right, between the two of us, we could be called out for a mission and there wouldn't be anyone to take care of him for days at time." Steve replied.
"Plus, my shoes are designer." Natasha added the hint of a smirk on her lips. Clint's scowl deepened.
"You've got to be kidding." He replied. "I mean come on. If you take him you could, you know, practice." His argument fizzled out near the end.
"Practice?" Steve asked confused unaware of Natasha's glare.
"Well, yea, puppies are like babies." Clint replied. Steve nearly choked, while Natasha's glare shifted dangerously from 'Watch what you say' to 'I'm going to killing you'.
"Wow, you're really desperate aren't you?" Bruce questioned.
"Like a starved man." Clint replied seriously, never taking his eyes of Natasha. Meanwhile Steve's initial embarrassment had ebbed away, leaving only an unusual need for revenge. His chance came in the form of a young brunette administrative assistant as she came around the corner from the rear service elevators.
"Huh, you don't say." Steve added a mischievous glint in his eyes. Clint looked at him uneasy, not yet having noticed his approaching girlfriend. "Hey Darcy, you won't believe what followed me home." Steve said drawing everyone's attention to said woman. From the corner of his eye he could see the color drain from Clint's face. He almost felt bad until he noticed the amused and impressed smirk Natasha was sending him.
Darcy gasped. "Oh my god, a puppy." She gushed walking up to Steve. He gladly handed him over to her. "He's so cute." She cuddled him. "Awe the poor things all dirty." She continued. "Doesn't he have a home?" she asked. Behind her Clint was waving frantically, begging him to call off his little game. Steve was far from convinced.
"No, there was no collar." Steve explained.
"Oh, baby. That's not right." She cooed cuddling him closer.
"Hey, here's an idea." Tony jumped in, ignoring Clint's glare. "He needs a home, and well he seems to like you." He continued as the little pup licked her face lovingly. "Why don't you take him in?" Darcy smiled.
"Of course I will. Awe he's going to be a great edition to the family." she said turning to face Clint with a big smile. He tried his best not to cringe at how happy she was. As if something had just occurred to her, Darcy turned back to Tony. "I definitely like how you designed the acoustics on this floor." She told him. He looked at her strangely.
"Thank you?" He replied confused. Her sudden change of topic wasn't unusual for the strange woman, but still unexpected. She smiled.
"Now," she began talking to the puppy. "Let's get you a bath. And then maybe later you can piss on the carpet and chew on Clint's shoes right in front of the couch," she looked up at him. "Where I'm going to let him sleep tonight." With that she turned on her heels and headed for the elevator.
When she was gone they all looked to Clint, amused. "I hate you all." He grumbled, stalking away.
Clint sighed as he looked at himself in the full length mirror of Darcy's closet. Darcy was evil, pure evil. Clint Barton was not a big fan of Halloween. Sure when he was kid before he lost his parents, he and Barney would have a blast, dressing up and going trick or treating. Halloween in the circus had been special Horror performances for the locals and in the army and S.H.E.I.L.D. it was nonexistent. But now he was an Avenger and his girlfriend, well she never seemed to lose holiday spirit as she aged. In fact, Darcy's own enthusiasm was the reason he found new joy in any holiday these days. So when Tony had made plans to throw a Halloween party, Clint wasn't against the idea and had even found a costume for both his and Darcy's amusement.
Since Darcy found out about his special skill set, she made it her personal pleasure to tease him regularly with little nicknames here and there and it only seemed to compound since they started dating. One of her favorites had always been Robin Hood and so for Halloween this year he had found a Robin Hood costume. (A little something to make Darcy smile after her month of hard work). It was a pretty awesome version too, more Russell Crowe rather than Mel Brookes, with leather and armor instead of calf skin and tights. But of course, he hadn't counted on pissing Darcy off with his attempt at saving his machismo, and if there is one thing he knew better than anyone it's that a pissed off Darcy was a vengeful Darcy.
And so, here he stood, in front of the full length mirror, a deep scowl on his face as he looked himself over. His once awesome Russell Crowe replaced with Cary Elwes. He looked ridiculous. A fact he had no doubt Darcy had intended. He could only imagine what everyone was going to say, and of course he couldn't, not go. He had already promised to be there and he knew if he didn't show up Darcy would feel guilty for getting back at him and then he would feel guilty for making her feel guilty.
Clint sighed again as he left the closet. He guessed he should just be thankful Darcy hadn't actually let the dog chew on his shoes and while she did make him sleep on the couch that night, he had managed to mend fences with her the next morning with a bear claw and a hot chocolate hand delivered to her office. Despite regaining his bed privileges, Darcy still saw fit to replace his original costume with one more…amusing. He should have known better then to let his guard down with her.
Clint grabbed the wooden bow and the quiver of arrows he fashioned himself and strapped them on his back. He then grabbed his hat, put it on and headed out the door.
"Humphrey Bogart and Ava Gardner?" Steve guessed as he looked over Pepper and Tony's costumes. Pepper smiled and nodded.
"Indeed. One of Tony's favorite movies growing up was The Maltese Falcon." She explained looking over at said man as he dictated orders to his robots.
"Well, you both look great." Steve told her. She looked back to the man before her with a smile.
"You're looking pretty great yourself John Wayne." Steve smiled tipping his cowboy hat at her.
"Why thank you ma'am." He jokingly replied with a twang. They laughed as Natasha approached. The redhead was dressed in a formal ball gown, with her hair pinned up in tight curls. "Your majesty, Anastasia." Steve greeted her, earning himself a rare smile from Natasha.
"You're really enjoying yourself today." She noted amused. He smiled, wrapping his arm around her waist, and throwing caution to the wind. Normally Natasha had a rule about Public Displays of any kind but Steve was in such a good mood tonight, better then she'd seen him in a long time, so she let it slide. Besides, she'd never admit it out loud but it was a nice feeling knowing he wanted to "display" their 'relationship'.
"Yea, I don't know what it is. I'm just really into Halloween this year." He replied. The two women smiled at him.
"What the hell?" they heard Tony behind them, before bursting into laughter. "Oh that's great." He continued as the three friends turned to see what he was laughing at. They turned to see Thor and Jane stepped out of the elevator dressed as Superman and Wonder Woman.
"Wow, lookin' good guys." Pepper told them as she walked up to Tony, standing next to him.
"Why thank you lady Pepper." Thor replied. Jane smiled
"Glad you approve." She added.
"I must say I was a bit apprehensive to wear such flimsy garb, but my Jane assures me these are indeed the clothes of the Man of Steel, a most fierce warrior's name." Jane bit back her laughter.
"Oh yea, tights are wicked fierce." Tony mumbled through a smirk as Pepper elbowed him in the side.
"Especially on an archer." Natasha added holding back a chuckle. They all followed her line of sight to see Clint stepping off the elevator. "I thought you said it was the Russell Crowe version." She continued amused as he stopped among the group.
"It was." he scowled. "Darcy however, seemed to think this," he gestured to his costume. "Would be better. She replaced everything."
"So you're saying she let you wear that?" Natasha questioned feigning curiosity. Clint scowled. He glared as Steve held back his laughter.
"You know what, this is your fault." Clint told him. "You and Steve." Steve's amusement slipped off his face, giving way to confusion.
"What?" Steve questioned. Clint smirked, an evil glint in his eye.
"Oh, haven't you heard?" Clint asked snottily. Steve scowled.
"Just spit it out Barton." Natasha replied. Clint's smirk widened defiantly.
"She named the puppy Steve." He finally replied. Steve blushed.
"W… what?" he sputtered. Clint nodded noticing Tony's manically amused grin. The American hero was never going to live this down.
"Yep, she said he reminded her of you."
"What, blonde?" Tony asked almost ready to burst with laughter.
"That, and he was really well behaved." That sent Tony over the edge as he doubled over in laughter.
Darcy smiled at her reflection in the mirror as she straightened her costume and fixed her make up. "I really am a genius." She thought to herself as she looked herself over. The bright metallic blue, tank dress she wore stopped just above her knee and was accent with a red and white stripped shield crest belt. She also wore bright metallic red knee high, high heeled boots and a silver domino mask reminiscent of the design on Captain America's cowl. She'd even managed to find a replica shield. She had to admit she looked hot as Captain America.
She heard a squeak at her feet and looked down with a smile at her new little roommate. The cute little golden retriever puppy, which she'd so lovingly named Steve, looked even cuter wearing a bright blue captain America dog costume, complete with a shield strapped to his back and an aviator cap.
Loving Halloween as much as she did it was unusual for her to still be without a costume a week before the holiday itself, so it was very fortuitous that little Steve had followed big Steve home. The minute she figured out what to name the little pup she knew exactly what her Halloween costume would be.
It wasn't hard to find given the world's newest fascination with the Avengers. And so, with a quick stop at the costume shop and then the pet store on her lunch break, Darcy was ready for Tony and Pepper's party.
With one last quick check in the mirror, Darcy picked little Steve up and headed out the door, making her way to her car and then, Avengers tower.
The party had been going well for the first hour; even Coulson had shown up, wearing his suit and a weird hat he claimed Darcy had made him wear. At some point Thor and Clint had become entangled in a competition center around bobbing for apples, though how they were going to decide the winner was still a mystery to all involved. Rhodes finally showed up dressed as Mal from Firefly a costume that garnered much attention from Jane who Darcy had managed to get hooked on the prematurely cancelled show. He proceeded to join Steve, Natasha, Tony, Pepper and Bruce in carving pumpkins.
Darcy's arrival was heralded by the ding of the elevator and the squeaking bark of an adorable puppy. Said puppy ran up to his name sake sitting happily at his feet, his tail wagging. The tint of pink that stained Steve's face only grew darker as Darcy stopped in front of him, saluting him. Steve looked between Darcy and the puppy as his feet fully aware that everyone in the room was waiting for his reaction. It took a minute to realize the laughter he was hearing was coming from him. The rest of the group followed suit.
Steve stoop down and scoop little Steve up off the ground. He squeaked happily, licking big Steve's face. "Now, now soldier, there's no licking in the army."
"You look great." Clint told her as he stood beside her. He wrapped his arm around her waist, bringing her in closer. She smiled at him, pecking him on the lips.
"Thank you, you look ridiculous. I thought you said you got the Russell Crowe Robin Hood."
"Ha ha, very funny." He replied unamused. Darcy looked up at him confused.
"Why is it funny?" she asked, looking around at her group of friends. They were all watching her equally confused.
"Because you switched out my costume." Clint finally replied looking between the group and his girlfriend.
"No I didn't." she shook her head. "Why would I do that?"
"Because of what he said, about the dog…right?" Jane added, Clint nodded agreement. Darcy shook her head.
"Babe, I swear, it wasn't me. I was actually looking forward to seeing the other version on you." She told him. Clint opened his mouth to reply but closed it when he realized he didn't know what to say.
"If it wasn't you, than who did?" Steve questioned. A bark was his reply. Collectively they all looked down at the puppy in his arms.
"You don't think?" Natasha left the question hanging.
"No, it couldn't be." Pepper murmured, looking over at Tony. He shook his head.
"Not possible, calling it now. There is no way." He announced.
The debate continued slowly around the group. And if no one noticed the small smile playing across Coulson's face as he slowly made his way toward the elevator, well he wasn't about to tell them otherwise.