Thank you everyone for reading! This is my first multi-chapter story. I already have a ton of ideas so there should be more content up shortly!

Enjoy!

Chapter 2

Peter turned off the water hose and ducked as Thor the German Shepherd gave a mighty shake, spraying soapy water all over the place.

"Aww Thor, come on, bud," Peter groaned. The soap had gotten all over the side of Pepper's red Audi. Peter hurriedly wiped it off with his shirt tail and hoped it wouldn't leave a mark on the shiny wax.

Thor seemed tired out by his shaking and plopped back onto the ground.

"Ok bud, so how are we going to get to keep you?" Peter pondered as he rinsed the soap off of the enormous dog. The amounts of black water rinsing down the driveway was astounding, and Peter wondered how long this dog had been on his own for. "Can you do any tricks? You're a cop dog, right? Can you sniff out stuff? Cause if you could sniff out supervillans and bad people then Mr. Stark would have to keep you."

Thor's only response was to roll over onto his back and beg for scratches, to which Peter obliged.

"You're awfully skinny, bud," Peter ran his hands over the dog's visible ribs. "I think we should have something for you in the fridge, but you've got to stay out here since you're wet."

Peter bounded inside to search for dry towels and a snack for the dog. His head was stuck in the fridge when he heard the unmistakable sound of Happy's car driving up the driveway. "Oh, no.." Peter grimaced. He hurried outside to meet Happy before he could get to the dog.

"Happy, I'm really really sorry," Peter started as the older man opened the car door. Happy silenced him with a hand up.

"It's fine. I overreacted. They're just sunglasses."

"Pepper said she's gonna get them rebuilt. They'll be good as new, Hap. But I really am sorry. He probably hasn't had anything to eat in a while."

Happy stepped out of his sports car, glaring at the animal. To both of their surprise, the dog jumped to his feet and moved straight for Happy, wagging his tail. Happy grunted and moved away as Thor approached him, but the dog was surprisingly happy to see the man. Thor stared at Happy for a moment and then gave another mighty shake.

"GodDAMMIT Peter!!" Happy howled as water sprayed himself and his car.

"Shit! He's clean! It's clean water!" Peter hurried the dog away from Happy as he continued to throw a fit in their driveway.

"Maybe you can be Happy's personal security assistant, and he'll learn to like you." Peter said grimly as he grabbed some towels.

Thor seemed to smile at him and drooled a little on the concrete.

...

Pepper blew out a breath as she pressed the end button on her conference call. What a day. She knew she was supposed to be on vacation, but the emergency situations that the company came up with on a daily basis never ceased to astound her. Finally, she could relax.

She kicked off the heels that she only really wore out of habit and leaned back in her chair. Only then did she glance at the chewed up sunglasses on her desk and process what had happened thirty minutes earlier.

A dog. An enormous, smelly dog. Peter had dragged it in with him. She smiled softly at the kid's antics, and was suddenly grateful for the presence of a young one in their lives. Peter kept them on their toes, that was for sure. However, this presented a large problem. She knew Peter was going to want to keep that dog. It looked like it had been living on the streets for some time, and apparently even the rich areas of Florida weren't kind to the wildlife. The animal was probably beautiful at some point, but now it looked...sick.

She wondered what Tony had told Peter to do with it. They couldn't keep it. Maybe if it were smaller it would be a possibility, but she had never seen a German Shepherd that large before. It's lanky paws were the size of Pepper's palm. It was simply too big to cart around with them. Peter could have a pet if he wanted one so badly, but did it have to be this one?

She sighed again, standing up and stretching. She pushed her office door open and went to find Tony. She was surprised to see him standing in the kitchen with a cup of coffee, watching his unofficial son through the window.

"It's going to the pound," he insisted to Pepper as she approached. He took a swig out of his cup and shook his head. "He's not winning this one. It looks like a werewolf. Ross probably bugged it and sent it out here."

Pepper grinned and wrapped her arms around Tony. His view out the window showed Peter and the dog sitting on the pavement, Peter hand-feeding it an entire package of lunch meat. The dog seemed to spew drool as he chewed and waited patiently for more. They could hear Peter chattering excitedly to his new friend as he fed him.

"What did he name it?" Pepper asked.

"How did you know he named it?"

"I know Peter. He named it."

Tony paused. "Thor."

A giggle escaped Pepper's mouth and she raised a hand to suppress it. "Thor? Oh lord. Like he doesn't have a big enough head as it is."

"I know. We're lucky he didn't name it 'Steve' though."

The pair watched Peter talking animatedly to the dog, who listened to the chatter very attentively and tilted his head back and forth. Pepper felt her resolve melting despite her best efforts. Oh lord. The dog was going to stay.

"Aren't we past this stage?" Tony whined. "He's supposed to beg for a dog when he's like, ten."

"Mmm, well we didn't have him for that stage," Pepper countered, burying her face in her partner's back.

"He's going off to college in a couple of years. What happens to it then?"

"Mmm."

"And what would May think? She has no time or space for a dog. So it'd just live at the tower."

"Mmm."

"The city is no place for a dog."

"Mmm."

"And what would the rest of the team think? It's gonna get neglected and pee on the floor. No, it's going to the pound." Tony downed the rest of his coffee and placed his cup in the sink, never taking his eyes off the window. He marched for the door, gearing up for the conversation.

Pepper stood and watched through the window as Tony walked outside to Peter and..and Thor. She watched Peter's face drop as he saw Tony approach, and he crouched to hug his new friend. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but by Peter's expression and the way Tony was waving his arms in the way he did when he got frustrated, it wasn't going well.

She watched Thor approach Tony and sniff at him thoughtfully. Tony paid no mind and kept fussing at Peter. He was interrupted, however, when Thor stood on his hind legs and planted both of his feet firmly on Tony's chest. Tony stumbled under the unexpected weight and couldn't stop the big animal from planting a lick right on Tony's mouth. Pepper giggled. The damn dog stood as tall as Tony. Tony sputtered and backed away, and she could hear him start to holler. "That's it! Pound! And it's not riding in the Audi!"

"The dog's not staying." Happy commented, walking up beside Pepper with his own coffee mug. His over-the-top Hawaiian shirt was damp, but Pepper didn't question it.

"Bet." Pepper said.

"There's no way. Tony doesn't do pets."

"Tony doesn't do kids, either. Yet here we are."

Happy sipped his coffee. "You sure you don't want to go back on that bet? Looks like you already lost."

A small smile passed Pepper's lips. "I checked the pound. It's closed on Fridays. Doesn't open back up til Monday."

Tony seemed to realize the same thing as he checked his phone, as his face fell and shoulders slumped.

"One weekend!" They could hear him fuss through the window. "Monday morning it's gone! It does not come in the house!"

Peter jumped up excitedly, chattering and grinning. Thor pranced excitedly around him, happy because his new owner was happy.

Happy groaned. "It's not riding in my Audi."

Please let me know what you think!