A/N: This is a one shot that popped into my head the other day and I've been slowly working on all week. For all of you who don't know much about my OC, my other story is called Shifter. Hopefully this makes sense enough to be a stand alone! Just a little bit of humor mixed with daily events. There are a couple references to the first story though. Hope everyone enjoys it!

Disclaimer: Marvel reserves all rights to these characters except for Gunnar.

Facts to know before reading:

Agent Gunnar Wells is a 22 year old half human, half Asgardian warg. He shifts into a chocolate colored German Shepherd when he pleases and can still understand conversation, but he can't talk when in dog form. He is Captain America's partner and buddy. He's not quite as tall and bulky as Steve and Thor, but he's agile. When he's in dog form, he can't always control his behavior and likes when they throw balls and being around his teammates. Agent Coulson found him as a puppy and his two handlers died before he was assigned to Steve.

BEGIN.

It was a dreary January Wednesday afternoon in New York City. It had rained heavily that morning. Tony, Pepper, Clint, Steve and Gunnar were temporarily the only occupants in the penthouse suite of Avengers Tower. Natasha and Bruce were on separate missions and Thor was with Jane.

"Clint, do you happen to know where Gunnar's leash is? I have an errand to run and it's just around the corner so I thought it would be nice to take him out for some fresh air." Pepper asked the archer sitting in the living area. He was busy concentrating on cleaning his bow.

"Did you check his room?" He asked.

"That was the first place I looked." She answered.

"What about Cap's room?" He inquired, not looking up from what he was working on.

"Right. Why didn't I think of that! Thanks Clint!" She said as she walked off. Her voice echoed slightly due to the vaulted ceiling.

"No problem." He said snickered to himself as he refocused on the task at hand.

Pepper opened the door to Steve's room and didn't even have to go in. She saw the leash and collar with an American flag print on the in table just inside the entry and grabbed it. She closed the door behind her and walked back down the hall.

A few minutes later she had donned her fitted pea coat and purse and headed to the elevator. She would have to stop on one of the lower floors where Steve and Gunnar were training in the gym.

During the elevator ride she inspected the collar more closely out of boredom. It had a silver bone shaped tag that said SPANGLES etched into it. She smiled with amusement recalling the story that Tony told her about how he earned that cover name. Although later she would find
out that it also doubled as a tracking device.

The elevator doors glided open smoothly and she arrived at the gym. She immediately looked up and spotted Gunnar and Steve on the boxing mats.

"Gunnar! Steve!" She yelled over the music. Gunnar turned his attention to her and galloped over to greet her. Steve trailed behind.

"Hi Steve, I was wondering if you would let your partner here escape for a little bit. I have a small business transaction nearby that I want to do in person. I figured he would love to go and get out of the tower for a quick walk." She smiled as she talked.

Gunnar wagged his tail and howled in response.

"I'm guessing that's a yes." Steve chuckled.

Gunnar looked up at Steve with pleading eyes and even gave him a soft whimper.

"Alright, go have fun." He said as he waved his hand in a shooing motion as a sign to stop begging.

"Take care of Ms. Potts though, okay?" Steve crouched down and snapped the collar around his neck. Gunnar licked his hand in compliance. Then he handed the end of the leash to Pepper.

"Thank you, Steve. We won't be gone long." She replied.

"It's not a worry. Stay warm!" He said as he got back to his workout routine.

"Jarvis, tell Tony that Gunnar and I are going out and we will be back in an hour and he is to meet me upstairs for a late lunch. He needs to get out of the lab for a little while."

"Certainly. I have notified him and he agreed with only the slightest protest." The A.I. replied.

"Thank you Jarvis." She said.

"As always, Ms. Potts."

The duo stepped out onto the side walk in front of tower and Pepper shuddered through her thick jacket. She suddenly was missing the Malibu house and California weather. The streets were slightly wet from the rain and there were mud puddles where the cement was uneven. She headed down the street quickly towards their destination with Gunnar next to her.

45 minutes later:

Tony and Steve had joined Clint in the living area to wait for them to get back to eat lunch. The men were lost in conversation when the elevator beeped and Gunnar came flying out, dragging his leash.

"THAT'S RIGHT, YOU BETTER RUN!" Pepper yelled. She came around the corner with her front and lower half drenched, covered in thick mud. Her arms flailed as she slowly walked in.

Steve and Tony stood up and the Asgardian cowered behind them.

"What happened?!" Tony asked.

"I am NEVER taking him on another walk again." She said angrily.

"I forgot to mention... he likes to pull." Clint said trying to control his laughter.

"It's not funny!" She practically shouted.

Tony stepped up to her and put his hand on her arm.

"Usually I'm in the dog house. No pun intended. But seriously. Are you okay?"
He said with his usual Stark - Ness.

"Other than being extremely cold and my whole outfit needing a dry cleaning, I'm fine." She said glaring slightly at Gunnar who was still hiding behind Steve's legs.

"I didn't think he pulled that bad! I promise I would have warned you if I knew." Steve said still focused on his partner.

"I'm not a super soldier either!" She retorted sarcastically.

"He's sorry Pepper, look at him. He knows he was bad." Steve said leaning over to pet him but he kept his head tucked and lowered against his calf. "It's okay buddy..." Steve said.

"Well your partner has the attention span of a goldfish." She said matter of factly.

"What happened exactly?" Tony asked.

Gunnar looked up slowly and made eye contact with everyone.

"Well, after I delivered my paperwork for a clients account, I took him across the street to park for a few minutes and that's when he saw a couple of birds across the field." She explained.

"Really Gunnar? Birds?" Clint asked looking incredulously at the furry Avenger.

Gunnar put his head back down in shame and whined.

"Better watch out Hawkeye, he might come after you next." Tony smirked.

"Anyway, before I could react I was being dragged through the mud!" She continued to explain.

"Well I can assure you that it won't happen again. To anyone. Right Gunnar?" He said with his most serious tone.

Steve sat back down next to Clint with his legged propped out as far as he could and Gunnar laid down behind them as flat as he possibly could and let out a indefinable noise.

"I'm going to go get out of this mess and then we can have lunch." Pepper said and gave Tony a quick peck on the cheek.

As soon as she disappeared down the hallway the three men started howling with laughter.

"Man! I can't wait to tell Natasha and Bruce!" Clint smiled. "I wish it was videotaped…"

"Why didn't she just let go of the leash?" Steve laughed. Clint nodded in agreement and wondered the same thing.

"From now on, I'll just walk you." Steve declared while grinning. "What am I going to do with you, bud?" He asked while ruffling the fur on his head.

"You can come out from behind Cap now Gunnar. The mad lady is gone." Clint said still laughing.

Gunnar slowly emerged into a sitting position next to Clint. He rested his head on the couch between them and looked at them back and forth a few times.

"Is human Gunnar going to apologize?" Steve asked the dog.

Gunnar gave a short grumbled woof.

"You can't go around chasing birds when you're attached to a woman. No matter how funny it might be. Be a gentleman." Steve said while stroking Gunnar's chocolate brown fur.

"Gentleman?" Tony snorted.

Gunnar ran down the hallway towards his bedroom and when he reappeared in the main area he was in human form and Pepper was back.

"Pepper, I am so sorry. I get carried away sometimes. The dog in me just takes over." Gunnar rambled quickly.

"I'm not angry anymore and I accept your apology." She replied. "Now who wants lunch?"

END.