Author's Note: The story is slowly getting to the events of the first Avengers film. Now I feel my fic is moving slow, so I apologize for that, but I hope y'all are still enjoying it.


Chapter Twenty-Eight

Going out grocery shopping with Clint was as intense as Remy imagined it would be. He put a range of junk food into the cart while Remy looked for things that she knew would be easy to take into work for lunches. Occasionally she would swap out a bag of chips for something healthier, but it was all for naught, because the chips would just end up back in the cart.

And apparently Clint made it a personal mission to pet every dog he met on their walk back to the apartment. Remy lost count after twenty dogs. She didn't realize that there was that many dogs in the few blocks from her apartment to the store. It was actually incredibly cute to see how excited Clint got when he saw a dog, calling them all puppies – even if the dog was clearly older. But each dog wagged their tail, excited to make a new friend with Clint. Remy almost wondered if she needed to apologize to the owners, but they were surprisingly friendly and happy to talk about their pets.

"I want one."

Remy glanced at Clint as they climbed the stairs of her building. "You want one what?"

"A dog." He replied, taking the grocery bags from her as she let them into the apartment. "I mean, I've always wanted one, but I know that right now it'd be a bad idea with being gone so much."

"Well, yea. They're like having kids, aren't they? Long term commitment and all." She said as she headed into the kitchen. "I've heard they can live up to 17 years or more."

"Do you want a dog?" Clint asked her as he began to put the groceries away. Remy poured them both a glass of water. "I mean, you like dogs, right?"

She nodded. "I like dogs, but I don't know if I'd ever get one. Maybe? I guess I want to see what's gonna go down with this crazy shit."

"Yea." He sighed, putting away the vegetables and other perishables. "I hope at some point I'll get one. It'd just be nice to have that extra companionship, you know. Dogs love you no matter what."

"Aw, well, I'll love you for now, how about that?" Remy chimed in, handing him a glass of water. He gave her a funny look as he took the glass and she sort of realized what she said. "Oh, well, I mean..."

"No, no. it's okay." He took a sip of the water. "I wouldn't mind you loving me for now, because I uh, I'll love you for now too." Clint looked a little uncomfortable; Remy felt the same.

"So, uh. Go sit and I'll make lunch." She insisted, shooing him out of the kitchen. "Relax and enjoy your little vacation, Clint."

He nodded and turned to head to the couch, but instead doubled back and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Hey."

"Hey?" She repeated, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"I... what I just said." He hesitated, looking down at his feet. "Love and all."

"Clint." She sighed. "Don't worry about it. I..."

"No. Don't, okay?" He cupped her face in his hands, looking back at her now. "I really like you a lot, Remy. And I love spending time with you whenever I can, because you make me laugh and, well, the sex is great." She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "And, well. I know we've only been together a few months now..."

"But we've known each other for practically five years, Clint." She pointed out, placing a hand on his chest. "You are right, though, because we've only been dating a few months..."

"Right? And I'm just hesitant to really say anything right now just because of the job and what could happen. I don't want to hurt you at all, Remy, just know that." He replied, sighing. "And because I don't want Coulson killing me."

"Phil would do worse than kill you." She retorted, shaking her head. "Look, Clint, say what you need to say. Don't dance around it. If you are about to say you love me, then say it. If it's to say that you really like me and wanna see where it's going, then say that. I'm a grown ass woman and for the most part I can handle adult topics like this."

He chuckled and leaned forward, kissing her forehead. "I think I love you, Remy, but I want to wait a bit longer before I really say anything, all right?"

"Okay then." She nodded, looking up at him. "I'm pretty sure I love you, but I agree, wait until you're done with whatever the hell you're doing before making any decisions. But for now, go sit your ass down and relax while I make lunch, okay? Maybe we can go for another walk and you can pet every dog you see again."

"Sounds good to me." He said with a nod. "I need to get some exercise before tonight."

Remy just rolled her eyes and started making lunch.


Clint had managed to pet every damn dog they came across on their walk. It was impressive, slightly embarrassing, but adorable when Remy watched how excited he was to pet them. She kept count this time, wondering if he broke some kind of world record when it added up to 40 dogs in the park.

"You really like petting dogs, don't you, Clint?" She commented after he finished petting an overly excited cocker spaniel. "You're kind of making me want one."

"Just pet the next dog we meet, Remy." He replied as he stood back up, thanking the owner. They walked a few more steps before he spotted a puppy ahead of them. "Go and ask if you can pet their dog. It's all you gotta do."

"Oh, no. No, no, no. This is your weird obsession." She said, shaking her head. "You are the one wanting to pet every dog. I'm just along to watch."

"Baaaabe, pleaaaaase?" Clint was pouting at her now, holding onto her hand and trying to get her to greet the puppy. She allowed him to beg for a few more minutes before she finally gave in and walked up to the owner. The young man smiled brightly at her.

"Hello!" He greeted, giving her a wave. "Would you like to pet my dog?"

Well, okay. That was a little weird. He must had overheard the conversation or seen Clint going from dog to dog in the park. Remy shrugged a bit and knelt down to greet the puppy. It was a retriever mix and happily jumped at her, the little paws leaving muddy prints on her legs. Okay, the puppy was incredibly cute. Remy was distracted by the puppy nipping at her fingers and trying to climb into her lap to have noticed another man approach her from behind. She pulled the puppy into her lap, only to suddenly be jerked backwards roughly by her hair. Yelping, she wrapped her arms around the puppy to keep it from getting hurt.

Remy lay flat on her back, staring up at the barrel of a gun. A man stood there, grinning widely while the puppy's supposed owner held another gun at her. Well, shit. Was this just because she was cuddling the puppy?

"Look, sorry, you can have your dog back..." Remy said as she started to sit up. "And I've kind of already been shot recently so I'd rather not have another bullet hole in me."

"Shut up." The first man hissed, pressing the barrel against her forehead. "We're taking you in. Our boss wants to talk with you."

"Uh... about the dog?" Shit. Were these some kind of Chimera Order goons? She was not expecting this at all. She didn't even think they ever came into the city, figuring they stayed closer to the rural areas. Not to mention this was D.C., but if Jameson was of the Order, it shouldn't be a big surprise for them to be in the area. "Uh, sorry for petting the dog to long. Go ahead and take it back?"

"Remy!"

She swore and turned. Clint was standing there, his own gun drawn and aimed at the first man. "Put the fucking gun away and I might let you live." Where the hell was he hiding a gun? She wasn't surprised at all by that, knowing he would always have some sort of weapon on him, but at the same time, where did it come from?

"We need her. She's more important to us." The man snapped, keeping the gun aimed at Remy's forehead. "We won't hurt her if she comes along with us." The dog's owner turned his gun toward Clint, grinning. "You'll get shot, though, no matter what."

Clint rolled his eyes, keeping the gun aimed at the first man. "You do know you'll be the one getting shot, right?"

"You think we're the only two here?" The man laughed. "We have several men around. All with ways to hurt the people around here." He smiled. "Would you really risk the lives of the people here? The children? The animals? I knew you SHIELD agents were violent, but I didn't think you'd allow innocent people to get hurt."

"Clint..." Remy winced as the barrel was shoved into her forehead. "Hey, asshole, watch it! God, you people are fucking idiots, don't you understand that by now?"

"Remy, stop." Clint warned, trying his best to keep eyes on both men. With one gun pointed at Remy, one at him, and the possibility of injures on other people, it was a little difficult to have a next step in his plan. She rolled her eyes, still cradling the wriggling puppy in her arms. It was getting more difficult to hang onto the creature.

"No, because these idiots don't seem to understand how I work!" She exclaimed. "Pointing a gun at my head? Are you serious? You know that if you shoot me in the head you're all fucked. Then what? No promotions for the idiot who killed me or made me into vegetable! And you know you can't hack my brain, right, so if you're gonna point the gun, point it at something that's not going to kill me!" She huffed in annoyance. "You boys are as dumb as Jameson! What, are you my half brothers somehow too? Does Robert Paterson only produce dumb sons?"

"Remy!"

She gave him a look as she continued on full rant. "And another thing. Using an innocent puppy as bait? If you want me to go with you give me food or something, not an adorable puppy. And in broad day light, really? There's so many damn witnesses here! Not to mention some lady screaming and hollering about who knows what!"

The two men looked at each other in confusion, or was it frustration?, as Remy continued. Now she went on to rant loudly about the weather and how these men were dressed poorly for it. Those black suits in the sun, really? They might get heat stroke. Clint realized what she was doing – creating a crazy distraction. How she was able to do this, he wasn't sure, but he used this moment to hit a panic button on his phone, one that would send a distress call to the Triskelion to send help immediately. He just hoped it would be soon enough. How much could Remy ramble on?

Apparently for a long time. She was going on now about how she hated the humid summers in D.C. and how she would prefer something mild, like the Pacific Northwest, and how that western Washington's climate was different from the eastern side due to the rain shadow effect. How this worked, Clint wasn't sure, but her talking kept those two idiots distracted as she then went onto the geological aspects of the Pacific Northwest next, the rantings of earthquakes and volcanoes loud enough for others to hear. The guns were still out and Clint wasn't sure if it was true that there were other goons out there, but he wasn't about to risk it as he kept his gun fixed on the two men.

Remy took a deep breath as she began to slow her rantings down, her attention moving between the two goons. She had stayed perfectly still during that whole rant, not wanting to risk having one of them shoot her. What was the next thing she could go on about?

Apparently they had enough, however, as the first man pressed the barrel of the gun back against her forehead. "That's enough of your ramblings, girly girl." He grumbled, clearly annoyed at the distraction. He looked at his companion. "Shoot the guy and we'll take her in."

Remy immediately turned to Clint. He was ready to fire his gun at the first man, but the second man was about to fire his own at Clint. She swore, setting the puppy out of her lap as she tried to stand up. Oh hell, she wasn't about to let them shoot her boyfriend.

"Don't, stop, don't hurt him!" She cried as she stood up, the first man grabbing hold of her arm. "Don't hurt him, no matter what, okay? Or the puppy. Don't hurt either of them or anyone else. I'll go with you."

"Remy!" Clint hissed. What was with this sudden daredevil act of hers? She hated guns and even being around them most of the time. She cried and vomited after firing a gun a few weeks ago, but now she was standing up to guys with guns and ready to go with the people she hated the most?

"No, Clint, it's fine. Really." She insisted, smiling at him. "Really. It's okay."

"No, Remy, it's n-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence. Screeching tires were heard a few hundred yards away from them, then the sound of doors opening and someone yelling. The goons turned and Remy ducked back down, collecting the puppy in her arms as the agents rushed forward, guns drawn and yelling for everyone to freeze. The first man swore loudly and reached for Remy again, but a gun went off and Remy felt something wet hit her face.

When she looked up, the man was dead beside her and Clint was lowering his gun. The agents stopped the other man, as well as several others who took off in different directions. She sat there in shock, watching it all unfold. This shit just got real now.


Closing Notes: Remy is essentially never going to be the bad ass kind of agent, just for the record. She's going to think quick on her feet but never take into consideration much of the consequences. That's kind of how she rolls.

And the dog conversation wasn't some sort of masked thing about having kids either. They were really just talking about dogs.