"What's Diesel doing?"
"Huh?"
"Diesel, he's rubbing himself all over the grass. What's he doing?"
"What, he's...Diesel! Diesel no, stop that!"
Steve levered himself out of the extremely comfortable couch and over to the open door, earning several curious glances from the room's other occupants. Outside, the big black dog was having the time of his life, wriggling around on the lawn and pressing his neck and shoulders into a particular patch of grass. He looked up as Steve approached (small girl in tow), tail wagging with lethal force and pink tongue lolling.
Urgh! The smell hit the moment Steve was in range, super soldier senses not quite declined enough to not make it intensely unpleasant. As the dog trotted up to him, the stink only increased and Steve found himself scrambling backwards as Diesel made to rub himself against his legs. Of course Diesel read this as a game, damn dog, and immediately bounded after him.
"Nope, not a chance you giant waste of kibble, stay back! No Morgan, don't touch him!"
Seeing the girl go for the dog, Steve did the only thing he could in that situation and grabbed Diesel's collar as he turned his attention to his favourite playmate. He winced as his hands contacted the sticky fur. Oh well, it would come off his hands easier than out of Morgan's clothes, though the smell might take some vinegar.
"Shit, Diesel!"
"Language," Morgan scolded, withdrawing her grasping hands now and crinkling her nose, "but Diesel, you do smell like poo."
Diesel just panted and licked his own nose before twisting in Steve's hands to lick at any part of his owner he could reach. Steve held him at bay.
"That's 'cos he found himself a nice patch of it to roll in. Hey Pepper!," he called as the redhead appeared in the doorway, drawn by the commotion, "Some cat left a you present in your garden, and it's all over Diesel, and starting to get all over me. Can we use your hose?"
Pepper laughed, sounding a bit tipsy, and said "Yes, of course. It's around the side, there behind the rosemary. Do you want me to check if Devon has something for you to change into?"
Steve? Fit into Devon's clothes? The man was a string bean, though still shorter than Steve, and Steve doubted he'd be able to get one of his shirts on over his shoulders, withered as they were.
"Nah, it's just on my hands. Your boyfriend can keep his fancy shirts. Some soap wouldn't go amiss though."
"I'll see what I can find." Pepper sipped from her glass of Rose as she turned and headed into the house, only for her spot to be taken by a smirking Sam and Bucky. Their eyes followed him as he dragged his excited dog over to the rosemary bush, refusing to give them any sort of satisfaction. At least, that was what he told himself. Chances were, they were having a great time watching him suffer.
Almost immediately, he found the hose, coiled behind the bush like Pepper had said. Diesel tried to wiggle away as water started flowing.
"Oh no you don't," Steve said, taking a firmer hold on his protesting pet, "you wanna roll around in cat crap? These are the consequences. So you stay put and let me do this."
Morgan had followed him to the faucet. She watched with guarded fascination has he carefully wetted Diesel down, being careful to keep it out of his eyes.
"Why'd he do that?" she asked, a little standoffish.
Steve smiled at the scowling child. She loved Diesel unconditionally. Him? That was a little up in the air.
"Dogs like strong smells, and they like getting them all over themselves."
"Why?"
"You'd have to ask them."
Before Morgan could reply, Pepper reappeared, pushing past the two gloating idiots in the doorway. She handed him a bar of soap and a bottle of shampoo.
"Thanks," he said, before eyeing the shampoo, "what's that for?"
"It's for Diesel," she said, "surely you don't want to mess up his coat with soap?"
Steve eyed the bottle. It looked expensive. Without releasing the dog, he picked it back up, popped the cap and sniffed it. It smelled expensive.
"I can't use this on a dog."
"Of course you can. It's all natural, all organic, one hundred percent safe, nothing that could harm him at all..."
Steve sighed. The issues with relating to the ridiculously wealthy were many, though she was definitely better than some.
"What?" she asked, slightly indignant at his reaction
"That's not what I meant Pepper. This stuff is far too nice to go anywhere near this." he gestured down to the filthy dog at his feet.
"Oh don't worry about that," she said, sipping her Rose, "we don't have anything much cheaper, well unless you count Morgan or Devon's shampoo, but Devon's is medicinal stuff, and I wouldn't suggest using Morgan's unless you want your dog to smell like a blueberry."
Just about anything would smell better than what Diesel did now and Steve was rapidly deciding that being fussy wasn't worth it. So he shrugged and squeezed a small amount of the iridescent pinkish goo into his hand.
Diesel didn't seem to care that the shampoo being lathered into his coat probably cost more than did. Now having realised that playtime was over, the dog settled down and bore the bath with resignation.
He was just finishing up with the shampoo and had begun rinsing when Peter walked out to join the others on the porch, pocketing his phone.
"Sorry that took so long," he said, and then paused, taking in Steve pouring water over his mutt, "what happened here?"
"Diesel happened," Steve said with a grimace, "and these chuckleheads decided to stand around gawking instead of helping me."
"Hey man," Sam cut in, "you already got shit on your hands, we don't. Don't give us that."
"Respect your elders."
Peter laughed, "Shame on all of you. Mr Rogers, I'll help."
"Peter!" Morgan dashed forward and latched onto the young man's legs. Peter scooped her up and deposited her on his shoulders.
"Woah, you're getting really heavy kiddo!" he said, "Pretty sure I won't be able to pick you up at all soon."
He carried the girl over to the dog before depositing her on the wet grass.
Peter looked different. He was still slim and athletic, built like an acrobat, but there was a weight to his jaw and a new set to his shoulders. He'd grown up in the four years since he'd returned from dust. Tony would have been proud.
Steve rinsed the last of the shampoo out of Diesel's fur and set about making sure his own hands were scrubbed clean. "No need Peter, I'm just about done here. Though if you could find a towel and dry him off that would be great. My back's starting to hurt, bending down like this."
"Sure thing. Here boy! Woah, buddy, you smell great!" Peter patted his thighs and the dog loped over to him, stopping just within range to let off a huge shake, spraying water everywhere. "Agh no! Shame on you too Diesel, and for making Mr Rogers clean you off on his birthday."
Diesel did not look at all remorseful. Now that the unpleasantness of his bath was behind him, he seemed to be basking in being the soggy centre of attention. His tail whapped against the ground with alarming force, continuing to send droplets flying with every pass.
"Hey Morgan?"
"Yes Peter?"
"Can you run into the house and grab a towel for me? I'm all wet too now."
With a "Sure!" Morgan dashed back to the large house, pushed through the growing audience on the porch(which now included Clint, Laura and their kids, Wanda and Rhodes) and through the door.
"So," said Steve as they waited, "who kept your attention for so long? Someone we should know about?"
Peter looked up from the wet mass of canine in his hands, "Who...oh, you mean the phone call? No, that was someone in my mentoring group."
Steve raised an eyebrow. "You have a new mentor?"
"I am the mentor."
Steve smiled, "Of course you are."
"Yeah," Peter began scratching behind Diesel's ears, "turns out, tutoring from Tony Stark's underling is in pretty high demand. Parents will pay a lot for it. Might even be able to pay off my car before the end of the year."
Steve turned off the faucet and flicked his hands before wiping them off on his jeans. He stood up, bracing against the house and wincing as his knees cracked.
"Isn't Stark Industries…"
"No...yes. Mr Stark's estate, well, Ms Potts has been covering my scholarship and any Avengers business. But I don't want to live my life on their dime, you know? I need to be my own man. And this car...well...its the first really big thing I've done for myself, I mean, aside from the whole becoming a superhero thing, and...getting into MIT but you know what I mean. I want this to be mine, yeah?"
Steve grinned approvingly and raked a hand through what was left of his hair. He'd watched the kid's progress from afar and been nothing but pleased. He had adamantly no interest in matters of the Avengers these days, but that didn't mean he couldn't keep an eye on the boy Tony had taken under his wing. He'd soared through the levels at MIT, possessing all of Tony's brilliance and none of the arrogance, terrible attitude and ruthless ambition that had made the tech giant such a controversial figure for so long.
"Tony would be proud of you, son. And don't let Pepper hear you call her Ms Potts. She thinks of you as part of the family."
Peter beamed and then tried to hide it, ducking his head and giving Diesel a rub under the chin. Just then Morgan burst out of the house and pushed through the legs of those lingering and chatting in the doorway. Over one small shoulder was sling a large blue beach towel with several holes in it.
Peter caught it as she threw and looked it over, taking in the ragged gaps in the plush texture. "What happened to this?"
"Oh," Morgan giggled, "Peanut and Popcorn got hold of it."
"Ahh"
Pepper's long suffering sigh carried over all the way from inside the house. She'd been skeptical when her daughter had decided she wanted pet rats, and the scourge of destroyed property that followed had done nothing to endear the little creatures to her, but her daughter clearly loved them and so she did her best to as well.
Before long Diesel was mostly dry and thoroughly enjoying the rub down from Peter and Morgan. Steve pulled up a deck chair and plopped himself down on it in the shade. He'd thoroughly enjoyed 110th birthday, considered himself beyond luck to reach that age and still be fit enough to enjoy it, even if he had to do so without his beloved Peggy. He mourned her death, of course, how could he not. But every minute he'd spent with her had been a gift, far more than he had any right to and he knew she would not want him to spend his remaining years pining. So he had a dog, and a small house outside the city, and kept friends and sometimes they threw birthday gatherings for him in their fancy houses.
At some point the others joined him. Devon and Sam discussed a recent football game. Steve didn't really keep up with football anymore. The kids played with Diesel on the lawn. Drinks were passed back and forth. Wanda and Bucky didn't talk much, but sat with them in companiable silence. Pepper and Devon curled up together on the large loveseat. When the shadows began to lengthen, Clint and Laura excused themselves. It was not surprising that they were the first to leave, the surprise had been Laura actually managing to cajole Clint into agreeing to come. Since Natasha's death, the archer had wanted absolutely nothing to do with any of them. It was understandable, and Steve was just grateful he'd had another chance to see his old friend after so long. He hoped he would again soon. Clint had actually seemed to enjoy himself once the initial awkwardness had worn off and Laura was never anything short of delightful.
It was as the Bartons were pulling out of the driveway that the peaceful afternoon was drawn to an abrupt halt. Five pockets buzzed in unison and the five active Avengers winced. Peter was the first to dive for his earpiece and settle it snugly over the shell of his ear.
"This is Spider, what's happening?" he asked as the others followed suit.
"Sorry to break up the party," Fury's harsh burst through the earpiece, "but something's come up that requires our attention. Get down to HQ, now."
"On it Sir." Peter said, already rushing to get his keys.
"Aye" said Wanda
"Loud and clear," said Sam.
"We're heading out" said Bucky
"Director," Rhodey interjected, "may I ask what's happening?"
"So long as you get your ass down here quickly you can ask whatever you like. Thor and the Guardians have just turned up. They brought news."
"Not good?" asked Sam.
"Understatement of the century, Falcon."
"Shit. Okay, we're on our way. You want me to contact the others?"
"Already done. I'll see you all in fifteen."
The call cut out. Wanda, Bucky, Rhodey, Sam and Peter apologised to their hosts and the birthday boy and prepared to leave. Morgan hugged Peter while Pepper and Devon told them not to worry. Steve wished them luck.
They all piled into Sam and Peter's cars and roared away. As they disappeared around the corner at the end of the driveway, Devon gently curled his arm around Pepper's thickening waist. She rested her head on his shoulder.
Steve called Diesel to his side. The dog nudged against his leg. Morgan headed inside to play with Peanut and Popcorn. Just like that, the party was over.