shanachie_quill (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shanachie_quill) wrote2012-03-09 10:40 pm
shanachie_quill) wrote2012-03-09 10:40 pm
Entry tags:
FIC Taking a Chance
Title: Taking a Chance
Characters: Clint Barton, Darcy Lewis, Jane Foster, Phil Coulson, Smith
Fandom: Avengers
Series: Puppy Verse
Written For: illfindmyway and whogeek
Prompt: He’s a cute little puppy.
Summary: Darcy has had some weird occurrences in her life lately, but a disappearing puppy is really a new one.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Thor
Warnings: cuteness, nakedness, lying to each other
Disclaimer: No one recognizable belongs to me. Not making any money off this either.
Author's Note: So this is really all illfindmyway’s fault. And then whogeek started enabling. And it just kinda…snowballed from there. And I can pretty much guarantee that it’s going to be a verse because I am completely in love with Clint and Darcy and this whole idea. This is all because illfindmyway made the comment of calling Clint a “cute little puppy” one night…and then…then well…this happened. If you want to read The Legends are True (LJ) and The Legends are True (AO3), I’d highly recommend it and not just because she gave me a sneak peek (and let me steal part of it for this verse). It’s pretty awesome in its own right.
The first few days after they got their equipment back from the jack-booted thugs (Erik refused to call them anything else and Jane was much too busy barking orders to call them anything other than ‘you’), Darcy spent most of her time trying to remember what their set-up had been. Their makeshift lab had been augmented by some seriously high tech gadgets; although Jane had refused any assistance other than muscle. Darcy had to admit there was at least one nice side effect, all of the hauling meant the guys Coulson had left had ample opportunity to flex their not inconsiderable muscle. And that was much nicer to look at than graph points and star charts.
Around about the third day, one of the men caught her attention. Not because he stood out among the black suited men, but because of what happened. She’d noticed that one of the men carried not a rifle slung over his back, but a quiver of arrows and some type of bow. As Darcy was setting up the computer for that day’s graphing, one of the older men called out, “Barton!”
The man in question turned, replying, “Yes, Smith?”
Darcy stifled her giggle at the thought of a man in black called ‘Smith’ and Barton’s eyes flicked towards her, but he didn’t react in any other way. Smith crossed the floor towards him and held out a holster and sidearm. “You aren’t supposed to leave this behind.”
“I’m supposed to be armed.” Clint indicated the bow on his back. “Which I am. Nothing in the regs says anything about what I’m armed with.”
“How does Coulson put up with you on a daily basis?” Smith responded.
Barton grinned unrepentantly. “I’m a really good shot?”
“Well take your really good shot up onto the roof. And take the damn sidearm with you. Because regs may not require you carry it, but I do.”
“Sir, yes, sir!” Barton snapped as he took the holster and clipped it on his belt. He shuffled it around for a minute before heading out the door.
“Is there a problem, Ms. Lewis?” Smith asked when he noticed Darcy watching him.
“Nope. Not at all. How long are you MIBs gonna be hanging around?” she replied.
“Not really your concern,” he told her. “Don’t you have work to do for Doctor Foster?”
Darcy scooped up her bag. “Not at all. It’s time for me to make a lunch run.” Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she sauntered out of the building.
She was flipping through the playlist on her iPod, trying to find something she felt like listening to, and balancing the bag full of food when she spotted the dog the first time. Her second look showed that he was little more than a puppy; all floppy ears and big paws. Looking him over, she saw almost immediately that he was a ‘mutt of undetermined origin’ rather than a purebred and, as she shoved her iPod in her pocket, she tried to see if he was wearing a collar. “Hey, fella,” she called softly. “Did you break your leash?”
He cocked his head to the side, as if he could understand her, but danced out of her reach when she held her hand out. Darting towards her after a moment, he swiped his tongue across her fingers, backing off when she laughed.
“Hey, easy, boy. Did I startle you? I’m sorry. Come here.” She crouched down closer to the ground, making a clucking sound with her tongue. “I won’t hurt…” Stopping as he backed away, whining at her, she changed her tone, “Okay. Well, how about some food then?”
As she opened one of the boxes, his nose poked forward, trying to worm its way inside. “Hey, greedy. Lemme find something you can have okay? You can’t eat the box.” She picked through, pulling out a few French fries and distracting him with those long enough to break one of the hamburgers into smaller pieces.
For a few minutes, she concentrated on keeping ahead of him as he wolfed down everything she offered to him. Finally she stopped, afraid of overfeeding him, and reached out again, tentatively rubbing a hand across his head. His eyes fluttered closed and he leaned towards her as she stroked the rounded dome of his head. Feeling bolder now, she touched his ear and he jerked away; gracing her with an offended look. “Okay, clearly that’s a deal breaker.” Standing up, she brushed off the back of her jeans. “I hate to tell ya this, pup, but I need to get back to work. You’re welcome to come along though.”
He tilted his head, whining as she started to walk away. Taking a few steps towards her, he seemed to consider his options before sitting down again and watching her continue to walk away. After a few minutes, she seemed to realize he wasn’t following her and she turned back around, calling to him, “Well, come on, boy. Let’s see what we can find out about you.” Apparently making up his mind, he got to his feet and hurried after her; almost tripping over his too big feet. Darcy giggled in response, bending down to pat the top of his head. “I’d pick you up if my hands weren’t full,” she told him and broke into a full blown laugh at his disgruntled look.
Jane looked up from the pictures she was examining (it took Darcy a minute, but she recognized them as being from the Thor Incident) when Darcy and Puppy walked into the abandoned service station. “I thought you went to get lunch,” she commented. “We’re not in Vietnam.”
Darcy hefted the bag, proof that she hadn’t fallen through on her job. “Got lunch, boss lady. Puppy here followed me home. Can I keep him? Please? Pretty please?”
“You’re an adult, Darcy. That’s up to you. Just make sure he doesn’t belong to someone.”
“He doesn’t have a collar,” Darcy commented as she began to set out the food on the table. “I figured I’d put out some flyers and see what happens. He scarfed down the food I gave him pretty fast, but he doesn’t seem mistreated. I dunno if he slipped his leash or something.”
Jane considered the puppy who had plopped his butt down on the concrete and was studying them both almost as if he understood them. “I think you might have more luck just talking to the guy at the pet store. He’d probably know if someone was missing a dog. And I don’t think this little guy could have gotten far.”
“That sounds like a good plan,” Darcy agreed. “I’ll just…”
“After we get some work done,” Jane corrected. “I need you to finish these graphs and send them to SHEILD.”
Darcy rolled her eyes, but picked up the box with her hamburger in it and headed for her desk. “Come on, Puppy,” she called. “I have to do some work and then we’ll see about finding your home. Or getting you some supplies. And if I’m keeping you we have to figure out a better name than ‘Puppy’.” As she settled at the desk, she began offering him names; grinning as he continued to favor her with disgruntled looks at each outrageous name. He began to poke around under her desk as she continued to tell him more and more names. As she suggested “Chance”, he raised a cloud of dust from somewhere; causing him to sneeze and jolt back on his haunches, his ears flopping with the force of his movement. Darcy laughed out loud at his movements, reaching down and scooping him up. “Aw, poor thing,” she cooed. “Are you okay?” She brushed the dust off him, rubbing at his fur until he was clean. “I think Chance works. Now. Either you need to stay out of trouble or I’ll have to find a box for you because I need to get this work done for Jane.”
The now named Chance wiggled in her grasp until she let him go, leaping down to the floor; his legs going every which way until he got his feet under himself. He looked annoyed at his limbs not working before curling up under Darcy’s desk and laying his nose on his paws. She considered him for a moment before scooting her chair across the floor and fetching one of the blankets from their stargazing. Folding it over, she lay it down next to him, indicating that he could sleep on that. Chance edged over, finally flopping down on his side and watching her through cracked lids. When she returned to work, he allowed his eyes to drift closed.
Darcy found her eyes drifting down towards Chance as she worked. She really hoped no one was missing a dog because she’d already fallen a little bit in love with the goofy little mutt. She figured she could get him a collar and bowls and everything when she stopped into the store later to see if anyone was looking for him. Every so often, she reached down to scratch behind his ears, grinning at the expression of pure bliss that crossed his features at the touch.
Finishing up her work, she printed, saved, and collated with practiced hands before nudging Chance awake. “Ready to get outta here?” she asked him. He popped to his feet at her words, dancing around her legs as she gathered up her bag and iPod before leaning down and scooping him up, ignoring his indignant yelp. “It’s for your own good,” she informed him. “There isn’t much traffic, but I don’t want you running off.”
A quick stop at the pet store where Thor had demanded a horse netted her information and supplies. No one had lost a puppy so Darcy felt confident in taking Chance home to her little room. Although his paws proved he wouldn’t be little forever, for now he’d fit just fine.
Once they were inside, Darcy set him down and allowed him to explore while she set out the dishes she’d bought him and filled them with food and water. Chance turned his nose up at the food, but sloppily dove into the water bowl; almost emptying it as he swam in it more than drinking out of it. Darcy laughed at his antics as she made a container of Easy Mac for herself. Grabbing one of her older towels, she mopped up the mess, rubbing him down when she was done. He flopped onto his back and she rubbed his belly, giggling as his hind legs kicked when she hit a ticklish spot.
“You need to eat,” she told him, sitting down on the floor next to him and pointing at the food. “I know you had the hamburger earlier, but this food is…” she trailed off as he nosed at the container in her hand, finally succeeding in knocking it loose and sticking his nose into it. “Okay, that was not what I meant!” He grabbed the plastic container and ran under the chair, growling at her when she tried to retrieve it. “No, Chance! Bad puppy!” she scolded, but he only scooted farther back with the container. “All right, fine, but tomorrow you’re not getting anything but dog food.”
Getting to her feet, she got another container out and made a second serving for herself. Meanwhile Chance had gulped down his own helping and was chewing on the plastic. Darcy bent down, peering under the chair at him. “Hey, Chance,” she coaxed. “You gonna come out?” Digging through the bag of supplies, she found a beef rawhide and waved it at him. “Doesn’t this smell so much better?”
His head popped up, his ears perking up as much as they were able as he caught the scent. He started to belly crawl out from under the chair, then seemed to consider what he was being offered. Squirming around, he grabbed the plastic container again and sniffed at it, trying to see if there was any more cheese inside. There was a sharp crack as his jaws broke through the plastic. Darcy’s head appeared in the opening between the floor and the chair at the sound. “Oh, Chance,” she said. Reaching underneath, she tried to pull the container away from him, but he moved it out of her reach.
“Hey, Chancie,” she said, reaching for it again. “I know you’re enjoying playing with that, but you’re gonna make yourself sick. That plastic will cut you up inside if you swallow it. So come on, give it to me and…” she waved the bone at him again, watching his eyes follow the movement. “I’ll give you this.”
When he scooted himself out, she scooped him up, settling the bone between his jaws. His annoyed look turned to one of happiness as he realized what he had and she set him down out of the way so she could clean up. Darcy kept up a steady stream of patter as she tidied up the small room and Chance chewed on the rawhide she’d given him. It didn’t take her long before she was digging a t-shirt out of her makeshift dresser and exchanging her daily wear for the cotton shirt. Chance watched her as if curious as to what she was going to do next. When she slid into the bed, he padded over, looking up at her with a questioning look on his face. “I shouldn’t,” she told him, even as she was leaning over to lift him up. “It’ll spoil you beyond measure.” Chance licked her hand in response and turned around three times, curling up against her hip. “Yeah, you’re too cute,” she told him.
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Darcy rushed into the service station, almost dropping her bags in her hurry. “Sorry! Sorry, Jane!” she blurted out as she bumped into a chair and grabbed at the papers before she sent them all flying.
Jane raised an eyebrow at Darcy’s discombobulation. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this scattered.” She glanced at the clock. “Or this late. You know we have a lot of work to do. And people who actually expect timely reports.”
“I know, Jane, and I’m really sorry. But I woke up this morning and Chance was gone. And I know I locked my door last night!”
“Um…Chance?” Jane asked.
Darcy flailed about. “The puppy!”
“Well maybe he just…squirmed out…” At Darcy’s incredulous look, Jane shrugged. “I don’t know, but you fed him. He’ll probably be back.” She pointed at the computers. “Now we have work to do.”
Darcy huffed at Jane’s single-mindedness, but stomped off to do her bidding. It was what she was here for after all.
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Clint rested on the rooftop, ignoring the heat that seeped into his body from the concrete. His grey eyes skimmed the streets as his consciousness fell into the Zen of total alertness that allowed him to rest and still go from what appeared to be half-asleep to firing in a matter of seconds. He felt bad that he’d snuck out of Darcy’s early that morning, but he also knew that if he’d stayed as Chance; he’d be pushing the limits of how long he could stay in his alternate form. He didn’t often spend time with people he knew when he was shifted for a variety of reasons.
He shifted on the concrete, adjusting his bow to a better position, as his cell rang. Only three people ever had his number and they would only be calling him in an emergency so he dug the phone out of his pocket to answer. “What?”
“You didn’t check in this morning,” a voice drawled in his ear.
“I didn’t realize I had to ‘check in’ every morning,” Clint responded. “I thought it was only when I had something to report.”
“Did you have an incident last night?” Coulson returned.
Clint rolled over, gliding easily to his feet. “Even if I did, there’s nothing you could do about it, sir. You aren’t here.”
“You were left there on the condition that you would keep me updated on when and how long your incidents were.”
Clint rolled his eyes, secure in the knowledge that his superior couldn’t see him. “Fine. Yes, I had an incident last night. And I was fine. A very nice girl took me home and fed me and put me to bed with her.”
There was a pause as Coulson clearly digested that information. “Who. Took. You. Home?” he asked, gritting out each word.
“Relax, Coulson. No harm, no foul. Darcy found me wandering around town and scooped me up before I could escape. I slipped out before she woke up.”
This time the sound that carried through sounded suspiciously like a groan. “Please tell me you didn’t wander through town naked.”
“Despite what you think, I do have some decorum. I’ve got clothing caches all over town.”
“Good. So Darcy took you home? Your other half made a connection with her? You can use that then?”
“Not sure how you want me to use it,” Clint responded. “It’s not like I can turn my change on and off at will, sir.”
“Well, you’ve demonstrated that you have some control over when and where you…change. So you could decide to change.”
“Control. Yes. But it doesn’t exactly have an on/off switch,” Clint pointed out.
“How soon do you have to shift again?” Coulson asked and it wasn’t as weird a segue as it would have sounded to an outsider.
“I can wait a few days. But not much longer that that or…” Clint rolled his shoulders, his skin still not sitting right after being in his other form.
“But you could...? Before then I mean,” Coulson attempted to clarify.
“Control. No on/off switch,” Clint reminded him. “I can always shift.”
“Then you need to cultivate this connection with Ms. Lewis,” Coulson told him. “And continue to spend time with her in your alternate form. Especially when she’s with Doctor Foster.”
“Why so she can take embarrassing photos of me?” Clint asked. “I don’t think so. I’m paid to be a sniper, not Darcy’s plaything.”
“That wasn’t a suggestion, Barton.”
“Make it an order, sir, and I’ll consider it.”
“I didn’t know I had to make it an order,” Coulson replied. “Do what you can, Barton, or we’ll pull you out.” The phone beeped off before Clint could respond.
“Well, that makes me feel so much better,” Clint grumbled. He shoved the phone back in his pocket and flopped back down on the roof.
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Clint brushed the back of his head, trying to get rid of the crawling sensation on the back of his neck. When he felt it again for the third time in almost as many minutes, he realized what it was. Not the creeping sensation that someone was watching him, but the need to change from emotional stress. Normally it was a few days before he felt the pressure to change after he’d spent a few hours in his other form, but after the stress of bickering with Coulson, apparently his emotions were far enough out of whack that his control was off.
Pushing himself to his feet, he quickly grabbed up his bow and headed for the edge of the roof. He had a rope already established for a quick egress and he’d use it now, rather than waiting for the longer way around with the ladder. And although he didn’t want to, he’d search Darcy out once he changed. He’d let his instincts guide him in this. His other form felt safe with her and it would be better than wandering the streets and letting things end up in dire straits.
As he hit the street, he looked around, noting the location of the people walking by in relation to his nearest cache. He didn’t really want to change on the street, but he didn’t think he had enough time to make it back to his quarters. And he’d learned the hard way not to fight the change. It was more of a slow glide when he just let it flow, instead of the bone cracking pain he had to deal with when he fought it.
Ducking into the shadows, he made his way to the cache that was nearest Darcy’s room. He intended to shove his clothes into there and curl up on her doorstep, waiting until she got home.
He didn’t quite make it.
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Darcy had spent a productive day (in Jane’s eyes) and an unproductive day (in her eyes). She’d gotten all of the graphs and plots collated and faxed to SHEILD HQ in New York long before the deadline, but hadn’t seen any sign of Chance; despite taking numerous breaks to search the streets. Since they weren’t going out to stargaze tonight, they wrapped up before dinner. Jane cajoled her into joining them at the diner for food, but Darcy decided to swing by her room first.
She was about to climb the stairs to her room when she heard the whining coming from under the steps. Stepping back, she looked around to see if there was anyone else there. Seeing no one, she ducked under the wooden slats, letting her eyes adjust. At first she didn’t see anything, then something moved in the shadows and she knelt down. “What?” It moved again and she distinguished the black spots from the shadow. “Chance!” Reaching in, trusting that he wouldn’t lash out at her, she attempted to coax him out. “Come here, boy. Were you trying to find me? Chance. Come on, Chance.”
The puppy lifted his head at the sound of her voice, scrambling forward until he could reach her. “Good boy!” she praised. “Keep coming. Come on. Follow me out.” She backed out, continuing to call to him until he followed her. When they were both out and she’d stood up, she scooped him up into her arms, ignoring his indignant squeal. “Where did you go?” she asked him, pulling him up to kiss him on the head. “And how did you get out?”
His expression was a cross between disgruntled and blissful as she shifted her hold on him. “Come on. I have a dinner date with Jane. I’m not letting you out of my sight again.”
When Darcy walked into the diner, she wasn’t surprised to see Jane with her head buried in a book. She’d taken five minutes to run upstairs and get the collar she’d gotten for Chance, but left the leash. He hadn’t shown any inclination to run away from her, but he did raise a fuss every time she clipped the leash on. She’d spoken to him sternly in hopes that he’d stay with her when they were out on the streets.
Sliding into the seat across from Jane, she tapped on the book. “Hey. Food. Woman cannot live by knowledge alone.”
Jane looked up, blinking at Darcy. “What? Food?”
“Yeah, you invited me to eat dinner,” Darcy reminded her. “Did you order yet?”
“Um. I don’t think…Is that the dog?” Jane took a second look at what Darcy was cradling in her arms. “Why did you bring him here?”
“Because the last time I let him out of my sight, he vanished. So… Besides I figure he’s probably hungry.” Darcy set Chance on the floor with the directive to sit and stay. He scrambled for a minute, but got his feet under him and settled down at her feet.
"What are you going to feed him?" Jane asked.
Darcy shrugged. "He wouldn't touch the dog food last night so..." She looked up as the waitress stopped by their table. "Can we have a meatloaf platter and a second order of just the meatloaf?"
The waitress jumped as Chance's head poked out from under the table. "Is that a dog?" she asked.
"Noooo. It's a puppy. Why? Haven't you seen one before?"
"He can't be in here."
"Actually he can't be in the kitchen," Jane told her. "If he's possibly training to be a service dog, he can be in here."
"Is he?"
Darcy shrugged. "I just got him. I haven't figured out what I'm doing with him yet but look at him. He's a good boy. He just wants a good meal and I know he'll get that here."
The waitress sighed. "All right. Just for now. But keep him under your table and don't make a habit of it."
Darcy grinned at her. "Awesome. Thanks."
Jane shook her head at the younger girl when the waitress walked away. "You got lucky."
"Guess he's well named." Darcy reached down and rubbed the top of Chance's head, smiling as his eyes closed in bliss.
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Chance danced around Darcy's feet as she walked back towards her room after dinner. He'd gobbled down his serving quickly but neatly then flopped down on the floor and watched the surrounding area; keeping a close eye on anyone that ventured too near to the table. She'd been amused to hear a small growl (not very threatening with his size although he'd clearly intended it to be so) issue forth when someone had stumbled against the table. She'd patted his head and praised him when the man backed off, but made sure Chance stayed under the table.
Now she let them both into her room, giggling as Chance seemed to trip over his own feet. "Feet a little too much for you?" she asked.
He favored her with a disgusted look before heading farther into the room. Sniffing around, he checked out the corners as if making sure nothing had changed from the prior night. While he explored, Darcy stretched, working the kinks out of her body before heading towards her bed. "I don't know about you, Chance, but I am whipped. It's time for bed."
He studied her as she changed clothes, dashing over as she climbed in. "Yes. You can sleep up here," she told him as he put his paws on the edge of the mattress. He leaped up, licking the side of her face and surprising a giggle out of her. "Silly boy. Come on. Lay down now." She waited until he settled down, petting him until they both drifted off to sleep.
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“You have got to be kidding me!” Darcy exclaimed when she woke up the next morning and discovered once again that there was no puppy in bed with her. It didn’t take her long to search her room or to figure out that her door was locked, which didn’t explain how he’d gotten out. Grumbling over puppies who could apparently pick locks and vanish into thin air, she pulled on clothes and headed out for the day.
When Darcy walked into the filling station, she was surprised to smell fresh coffee in the air. Praying that Jane hadn’t attempted to make it again without supervision, she headed towards the kitchenette. “Jane, please tell me your head wasn’t in the stars when…” she started, then stopped at the sight of a black-clad figure standing by the counter. “What are you doing?” she demanded.
He spun around, his hand going to his hip where the holster resided, as he moved. His grey eyes widened as he caught sight of her and he seemed to shudder. “Oh. Shit,” he gasped. His hand clenched around the butt of his gun, then he bent at the waist; almost like he was going to throw up.
Before Darcy could take more than a step forward, Clint dropped to his knees, bowing his head. He almost seemed to pull in on himself and she blinked, shaking her head. When she looked again, there was nothing in front of her but a pile of clothes. “What the fuck?” she demanded. She darted forward, grabbing at the clothes and fell back on her ass as Chance’s head popped out of the shirt. “Whaaaa?” she gasped as he tumbled backwards in the opposite direction.
He scrambled out of the shirt, his feet getting tangled in the material as he moved and whines coming out of his mouth as he tumbled ass over teakettle onto the floor. He quickly fought his way free and took off towards the open doorway, yipping at his freedom, but Darcy was moving at the same time. She took advantage of her height and reach and scooped him up before he could make his break. “Oh, no, you don’t!” she told him. “You are going to stay right here with me, until…” she stopped. “Well, I guess until you can talk to me again. And explain to me what the hell is going on. Because a minute ago you were a jackbooted thug according to Erik and now you’re a PUPPY!”
Cradling him in her arms, she headed towards her desk, trying to decide what she was going to do with him. Then abruptly she realized he was going to be naked when he…whatevered back and she did an about-face, hurrying back to the kitchenette and finding his clothes. She gathered them into a pile and carried them with them into the main area. “I’m not mean,” she told him. “If you can warn me somehow that you’re gonna be a guy again, I’ll throw your clothes at you. Hot as you are, I really don’t want to see you naked right now. Mostly because I am pissed at you. I mean. What were you thinking?!”
Somehow he managed to look both disgruntled and abashed as he wiggled in her arms. She looked around, finally finding a crate that was big enough to contain him with sides high enough to prevent him from jumping back out. “You better hope you’ve got some way to let me know you’re going to turn back into a dude, puppy,” she informed him, “or that’s gonna be a really tight fit.”
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Jane looked up from her calculations when Chance started barking a few hours later. “Do you think he needs to go out?” she asked with concern.
Darcy pulled her attention out of her own work, looking across the room at the dog who was standing on his hind legs, dancing back and forth across the floor of the crate. “Um, no, he um…” She hadn’t explained to Jane what had happened that morning and she didn’t think it would be a good idea to do so now. For whatever reason, Clint hadn’t shared the knowledge of his ability with them and she didn’t feel that she could break that confidence. “I’ll just take him up to the roof,” she told Jane. Scooping up the puppy and the clothes, she escaped the room before Jane could ask any questions.
As soon as she realized that the puppy really was about to become Clint again, Darcy turned her back. She wasn’t sure how she felt about the situation, but she wasn’t going to compound it by staring at him. There was surprisingly a lack of noise and then, “Could I have my clothes?”
Darcy tossed them over her shoulder. “It would have been nice if you had said something. Ya know. Before I took you home.”
“So this is my fault?” Clint demanded. “I’m dressed.”
“You’re the one with the…the…the…” Darcy waved her hand as she turned around. “What the hell do you call it anyway?”
“You mean other than a pain in the ass?” Clint asked.
“Wouldn’t it be a pain in the tail?” Darcy replied.
“Bite me,” Clint shot back. “And no. It’s actually not that painful. Probably because I’m supposed to do it. Anyway…changing I guess. Or ‘the change’. I don’t really call it anything because I tend not to talk about it with people.”
“So no one knows about it?”
“Coulson does. My partner, Natasha. And now you. That’s it.”
“Why do I know though?” Darcy asked as they settled into the chairs Jane kept on the roof.
“The first night was an accident. I didn’t mean to run into you in town. And then…” He shrugged. “You took me home. It was nice to just…be.” He looked out across the town. “I didn’t mean for it to happen again.”
“How did you get out?” she asked. “And don’t think I’m forgetting that you saw me naked. We will discuss that. You are one pervy puppy.”
He smirked at that, ducking away from the smack she aimed at him. “Not my fault you changed in front of me!”
“I thought you were a dog!” she yelped.
“Well I am. Sorta. Well, kinda. I mean not exactly, but I am. It’s some instinct, but I do remember what happens.” He smirked again. “Nice ink.”
She hit her head on the back of her chair. “Pervert.”
“Dog,” he corrected. “Speaking of. Would you please stop fucking carrying me around?”
“Absolutely not! Because you’re cute and fluffy and because when you’re that little, I can!”
“I am not cute!”
“You really are,” she insisted. “Especially when you trip over your own paws.”
“I’m not cute,” he responded. “I can kill you and you won’t even see me coming!”
“Not when you’re a pup-py,” she told him in a singsong. Then she clearly thought of something as she sat up and faced him. “Wait…why are you a puppy?”
He slouched down in his chair, mumbling something, and she poked him in response. “What was that? I can’t hear you.”
“I said…” he started in a louder voice before trailing off into mumbles again.
Darcy leaned over and smacked him, not actually considering the ramifications of hitting a man who could kill her without breaking a sweat. “Clint!”
He rolled his eyes in response and moved a bit away from her. “Fine! I pissed off the wrong person, okay?”
“Oh, that’s a surprise. But it doesn’t actually tell me anything.”
He sighed, rubbing his face as he looked out across the town. "My other half was supposed to age at about the same rate as I do. I mean the seven years for one doesn't work with us or whatever..."
"But clearly that's not what happened," she interrupted him.
Clint shook his head. "No. No that's not what happened at all. My childhood wasn't exactly um traditional to begin with but after my parents were killed it was even less so. And then... Well like I said I pissed the wrong person off."
"So what you're a mutt who'll grow up slower?" Darcy questioned.
Clint let out a bark of laughter. "I wish. Okay well the mutt part is actually just me. Survival of the fittest and all. No the...curse I guess you'd call it is that my other half will always be a puppy."
"Well that's kinda..." Darcy leaned back on her chair and looked at him. "What the hell did you do to the witch?"
His ears turned red as he muttered something before clearing his throat and telling her, "Not really important. It can't be changed now anyway and no her death does not cancel it out."
"Well that...sucks."
"I am well aware of that."
For a few minutes they sat in silence as they each contemplated their own thoughts. Finally Darcy rolled onto her side so she could look at Clint as she asked him, "Now what?"
"Coulson wanted me to use the in I had to get closer to you and therefore Doctor Foster," Clint replied. "But since you know..."
"It's kinda hard to pretend to be stealthy puppy," she agreed.
“Your sarcasm is not appreciated,” he informed her.
“I thought it was pretty funny.”
“Don’t say it,” he warned when she opened her mouth. “I am not cute. My puppy is not cute. Whatever.” He banged his head on the back of the chair. “Fuck my life.”
There was silence again as he tried to figure out how to get Darcy to talk to him. She’d been suspiciously quiet after his outburst, playing with the cord of her iPod, and looking out towards the still half-destroyed buildings. The town had been rebuilding, but it was going slowly. Finally he couldn’t take the silence any longer and he asked, “Are you gonna talk to me?”
“Were you planning to do what Coulson wanted?” she replied.
“I didn’t really have a choice. He ordered me.”
She snorted at that. “And that’s why you shot Thor.”
“Okay, he never actually made the call on Thor,” Clint pointed out. “And I had a shot on him the whole time. I would have taken it if Coulson had given the word. That’s my job. Just like my job now is to protect you and the doc. Whom I also happen to like. I didn’t want to lie to you…it just kinda happened.”
“So you kept it to yourself?” she asked.
“I was planning to talk to you this morning. But you startled me…and you saw what happened…” He shifted on his chair. “It’s kinda hard to talk when I’m a dog.”
She giggled at that. “Well, you have a point. So what now?”
“I’m really hoping you aren’t going to tell everyone that I’m a dog. Literally.” He rubbed a hand across his hair, pushing the spikes into more disarray. “I want…I don’t know. No one knows. I’m so used to no one knowing that…I…”
Darcy reached out, resting her fingers gently on his arm where it was bare above his glove. “Isn’t it better to have somewhere to go that’s safe though? I mean you can just come when you have to change and be a puppy…but I’m not changing in front of you anymore. No more pervert puppy.”
Clint smirked at that, ducking the smack she aimed at him. “Aw, but that was the best part.”
“And you’re getting your own bed,” she added.
He actually pouted at that and she almost caved. “But I promise I didn’t stay in bed when I wasn’t…Never mind.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Depends.”
“Why ‘Chance’?”
“Because everyone, even a mutt, should have a chance,” she answered softly.
He reached out, squeezing her hand. “Thank you.”
Characters: Clint Barton, Darcy Lewis, Jane Foster, Phil Coulson, Smith
Fandom: Avengers
Series: Puppy Verse
Written For: illfindmyway and whogeek
Prompt: He’s a cute little puppy.
Summary: Darcy has had some weird occurrences in her life lately, but a disappearing puppy is really a new one.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Thor
Warnings: cuteness, nakedness, lying to each other
Disclaimer: No one recognizable belongs to me. Not making any money off this either.
Author's Note: So this is really all illfindmyway’s fault. And then whogeek started enabling. And it just kinda…snowballed from there. And I can pretty much guarantee that it’s going to be a verse because I am completely in love with Clint and Darcy and this whole idea. This is all because illfindmyway made the comment of calling Clint a “cute little puppy” one night…and then…then well…this happened. If you want to read The Legends are True (LJ) and The Legends are True (AO3), I’d highly recommend it and not just because she gave me a sneak peek (and let me steal part of it for this verse). It’s pretty awesome in its own right.
The first few days after they got their equipment back from the jack-booted thugs (Erik refused to call them anything else and Jane was much too busy barking orders to call them anything other than ‘you’), Darcy spent most of her time trying to remember what their set-up had been. Their makeshift lab had been augmented by some seriously high tech gadgets; although Jane had refused any assistance other than muscle. Darcy had to admit there was at least one nice side effect, all of the hauling meant the guys Coulson had left had ample opportunity to flex their not inconsiderable muscle. And that was much nicer to look at than graph points and star charts.
Around about the third day, one of the men caught her attention. Not because he stood out among the black suited men, but because of what happened. She’d noticed that one of the men carried not a rifle slung over his back, but a quiver of arrows and some type of bow. As Darcy was setting up the computer for that day’s graphing, one of the older men called out, “Barton!”
The man in question turned, replying, “Yes, Smith?”
Darcy stifled her giggle at the thought of a man in black called ‘Smith’ and Barton’s eyes flicked towards her, but he didn’t react in any other way. Smith crossed the floor towards him and held out a holster and sidearm. “You aren’t supposed to leave this behind.”
“I’m supposed to be armed.” Clint indicated the bow on his back. “Which I am. Nothing in the regs says anything about what I’m armed with.”
“How does Coulson put up with you on a daily basis?” Smith responded.
Barton grinned unrepentantly. “I’m a really good shot?”
“Well take your really good shot up onto the roof. And take the damn sidearm with you. Because regs may not require you carry it, but I do.”
“Sir, yes, sir!” Barton snapped as he took the holster and clipped it on his belt. He shuffled it around for a minute before heading out the door.
“Is there a problem, Ms. Lewis?” Smith asked when he noticed Darcy watching him.
“Nope. Not at all. How long are you MIBs gonna be hanging around?” she replied.
“Not really your concern,” he told her. “Don’t you have work to do for Doctor Foster?”
Darcy scooped up her bag. “Not at all. It’s time for me to make a lunch run.” Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she sauntered out of the building.
She was flipping through the playlist on her iPod, trying to find something she felt like listening to, and balancing the bag full of food when she spotted the dog the first time. Her second look showed that he was little more than a puppy; all floppy ears and big paws. Looking him over, she saw almost immediately that he was a ‘mutt of undetermined origin’ rather than a purebred and, as she shoved her iPod in her pocket, she tried to see if he was wearing a collar. “Hey, fella,” she called softly. “Did you break your leash?”
He cocked his head to the side, as if he could understand her, but danced out of her reach when she held her hand out. Darting towards her after a moment, he swiped his tongue across her fingers, backing off when she laughed.
“Hey, easy, boy. Did I startle you? I’m sorry. Come here.” She crouched down closer to the ground, making a clucking sound with her tongue. “I won’t hurt…” Stopping as he backed away, whining at her, she changed her tone, “Okay. Well, how about some food then?”
As she opened one of the boxes, his nose poked forward, trying to worm its way inside. “Hey, greedy. Lemme find something you can have okay? You can’t eat the box.” She picked through, pulling out a few French fries and distracting him with those long enough to break one of the hamburgers into smaller pieces.
For a few minutes, she concentrated on keeping ahead of him as he wolfed down everything she offered to him. Finally she stopped, afraid of overfeeding him, and reached out again, tentatively rubbing a hand across his head. His eyes fluttered closed and he leaned towards her as she stroked the rounded dome of his head. Feeling bolder now, she touched his ear and he jerked away; gracing her with an offended look. “Okay, clearly that’s a deal breaker.” Standing up, she brushed off the back of her jeans. “I hate to tell ya this, pup, but I need to get back to work. You’re welcome to come along though.”
He tilted his head, whining as she started to walk away. Taking a few steps towards her, he seemed to consider his options before sitting down again and watching her continue to walk away. After a few minutes, she seemed to realize he wasn’t following her and she turned back around, calling to him, “Well, come on, boy. Let’s see what we can find out about you.” Apparently making up his mind, he got to his feet and hurried after her; almost tripping over his too big feet. Darcy giggled in response, bending down to pat the top of his head. “I’d pick you up if my hands weren’t full,” she told him and broke into a full blown laugh at his disgruntled look.
Jane looked up from the pictures she was examining (it took Darcy a minute, but she recognized them as being from the Thor Incident) when Darcy and Puppy walked into the abandoned service station. “I thought you went to get lunch,” she commented. “We’re not in Vietnam.”
Darcy hefted the bag, proof that she hadn’t fallen through on her job. “Got lunch, boss lady. Puppy here followed me home. Can I keep him? Please? Pretty please?”
“You’re an adult, Darcy. That’s up to you. Just make sure he doesn’t belong to someone.”
“He doesn’t have a collar,” Darcy commented as she began to set out the food on the table. “I figured I’d put out some flyers and see what happens. He scarfed down the food I gave him pretty fast, but he doesn’t seem mistreated. I dunno if he slipped his leash or something.”
Jane considered the puppy who had plopped his butt down on the concrete and was studying them both almost as if he understood them. “I think you might have more luck just talking to the guy at the pet store. He’d probably know if someone was missing a dog. And I don’t think this little guy could have gotten far.”
“That sounds like a good plan,” Darcy agreed. “I’ll just…”
“After we get some work done,” Jane corrected. “I need you to finish these graphs and send them to SHEILD.”
Darcy rolled her eyes, but picked up the box with her hamburger in it and headed for her desk. “Come on, Puppy,” she called. “I have to do some work and then we’ll see about finding your home. Or getting you some supplies. And if I’m keeping you we have to figure out a better name than ‘Puppy’.” As she settled at the desk, she began offering him names; grinning as he continued to favor her with disgruntled looks at each outrageous name. He began to poke around under her desk as she continued to tell him more and more names. As she suggested “Chance”, he raised a cloud of dust from somewhere; causing him to sneeze and jolt back on his haunches, his ears flopping with the force of his movement. Darcy laughed out loud at his movements, reaching down and scooping him up. “Aw, poor thing,” she cooed. “Are you okay?” She brushed the dust off him, rubbing at his fur until he was clean. “I think Chance works. Now. Either you need to stay out of trouble or I’ll have to find a box for you because I need to get this work done for Jane.”
The now named Chance wiggled in her grasp until she let him go, leaping down to the floor; his legs going every which way until he got his feet under himself. He looked annoyed at his limbs not working before curling up under Darcy’s desk and laying his nose on his paws. She considered him for a moment before scooting her chair across the floor and fetching one of the blankets from their stargazing. Folding it over, she lay it down next to him, indicating that he could sleep on that. Chance edged over, finally flopping down on his side and watching her through cracked lids. When she returned to work, he allowed his eyes to drift closed.
Darcy found her eyes drifting down towards Chance as she worked. She really hoped no one was missing a dog because she’d already fallen a little bit in love with the goofy little mutt. She figured she could get him a collar and bowls and everything when she stopped into the store later to see if anyone was looking for him. Every so often, she reached down to scratch behind his ears, grinning at the expression of pure bliss that crossed his features at the touch.
Finishing up her work, she printed, saved, and collated with practiced hands before nudging Chance awake. “Ready to get outta here?” she asked him. He popped to his feet at her words, dancing around her legs as she gathered up her bag and iPod before leaning down and scooping him up, ignoring his indignant yelp. “It’s for your own good,” she informed him. “There isn’t much traffic, but I don’t want you running off.”
A quick stop at the pet store where Thor had demanded a horse netted her information and supplies. No one had lost a puppy so Darcy felt confident in taking Chance home to her little room. Although his paws proved he wouldn’t be little forever, for now he’d fit just fine.
Once they were inside, Darcy set him down and allowed him to explore while she set out the dishes she’d bought him and filled them with food and water. Chance turned his nose up at the food, but sloppily dove into the water bowl; almost emptying it as he swam in it more than drinking out of it. Darcy laughed at his antics as she made a container of Easy Mac for herself. Grabbing one of her older towels, she mopped up the mess, rubbing him down when she was done. He flopped onto his back and she rubbed his belly, giggling as his hind legs kicked when she hit a ticklish spot.
“You need to eat,” she told him, sitting down on the floor next to him and pointing at the food. “I know you had the hamburger earlier, but this food is…” she trailed off as he nosed at the container in her hand, finally succeeding in knocking it loose and sticking his nose into it. “Okay, that was not what I meant!” He grabbed the plastic container and ran under the chair, growling at her when she tried to retrieve it. “No, Chance! Bad puppy!” she scolded, but he only scooted farther back with the container. “All right, fine, but tomorrow you’re not getting anything but dog food.”
Getting to her feet, she got another container out and made a second serving for herself. Meanwhile Chance had gulped down his own helping and was chewing on the plastic. Darcy bent down, peering under the chair at him. “Hey, Chance,” she coaxed. “You gonna come out?” Digging through the bag of supplies, she found a beef rawhide and waved it at him. “Doesn’t this smell so much better?”
His head popped up, his ears perking up as much as they were able as he caught the scent. He started to belly crawl out from under the chair, then seemed to consider what he was being offered. Squirming around, he grabbed the plastic container again and sniffed at it, trying to see if there was any more cheese inside. There was a sharp crack as his jaws broke through the plastic. Darcy’s head appeared in the opening between the floor and the chair at the sound. “Oh, Chance,” she said. Reaching underneath, she tried to pull the container away from him, but he moved it out of her reach.
“Hey, Chancie,” she said, reaching for it again. “I know you’re enjoying playing with that, but you’re gonna make yourself sick. That plastic will cut you up inside if you swallow it. So come on, give it to me and…” she waved the bone at him again, watching his eyes follow the movement. “I’ll give you this.”
When he scooted himself out, she scooped him up, settling the bone between his jaws. His annoyed look turned to one of happiness as he realized what he had and she set him down out of the way so she could clean up. Darcy kept up a steady stream of patter as she tidied up the small room and Chance chewed on the rawhide she’d given him. It didn’t take her long before she was digging a t-shirt out of her makeshift dresser and exchanging her daily wear for the cotton shirt. Chance watched her as if curious as to what she was going to do next. When she slid into the bed, he padded over, looking up at her with a questioning look on his face. “I shouldn’t,” she told him, even as she was leaning over to lift him up. “It’ll spoil you beyond measure.” Chance licked her hand in response and turned around three times, curling up against her hip. “Yeah, you’re too cute,” she told him.
Darcy rushed into the service station, almost dropping her bags in her hurry. “Sorry! Sorry, Jane!” she blurted out as she bumped into a chair and grabbed at the papers before she sent them all flying.
Jane raised an eyebrow at Darcy’s discombobulation. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this scattered.” She glanced at the clock. “Or this late. You know we have a lot of work to do. And people who actually expect timely reports.”
“I know, Jane, and I’m really sorry. But I woke up this morning and Chance was gone. And I know I locked my door last night!”
“Um…Chance?” Jane asked.
Darcy flailed about. “The puppy!”
“Well maybe he just…squirmed out…” At Darcy’s incredulous look, Jane shrugged. “I don’t know, but you fed him. He’ll probably be back.” She pointed at the computers. “Now we have work to do.”
Darcy huffed at Jane’s single-mindedness, but stomped off to do her bidding. It was what she was here for after all.
Clint rested on the rooftop, ignoring the heat that seeped into his body from the concrete. His grey eyes skimmed the streets as his consciousness fell into the Zen of total alertness that allowed him to rest and still go from what appeared to be half-asleep to firing in a matter of seconds. He felt bad that he’d snuck out of Darcy’s early that morning, but he also knew that if he’d stayed as Chance; he’d be pushing the limits of how long he could stay in his alternate form. He didn’t often spend time with people he knew when he was shifted for a variety of reasons.
He shifted on the concrete, adjusting his bow to a better position, as his cell rang. Only three people ever had his number and they would only be calling him in an emergency so he dug the phone out of his pocket to answer. “What?”
“You didn’t check in this morning,” a voice drawled in his ear.
“I didn’t realize I had to ‘check in’ every morning,” Clint responded. “I thought it was only when I had something to report.”
“Did you have an incident last night?” Coulson returned.
Clint rolled over, gliding easily to his feet. “Even if I did, there’s nothing you could do about it, sir. You aren’t here.”
“You were left there on the condition that you would keep me updated on when and how long your incidents were.”
Clint rolled his eyes, secure in the knowledge that his superior couldn’t see him. “Fine. Yes, I had an incident last night. And I was fine. A very nice girl took me home and fed me and put me to bed with her.”
There was a pause as Coulson clearly digested that information. “Who. Took. You. Home?” he asked, gritting out each word.
“Relax, Coulson. No harm, no foul. Darcy found me wandering around town and scooped me up before I could escape. I slipped out before she woke up.”
This time the sound that carried through sounded suspiciously like a groan. “Please tell me you didn’t wander through town naked.”
“Despite what you think, I do have some decorum. I’ve got clothing caches all over town.”
“Good. So Darcy took you home? Your other half made a connection with her? You can use that then?”
“Not sure how you want me to use it,” Clint responded. “It’s not like I can turn my change on and off at will, sir.”
“Well, you’ve demonstrated that you have some control over when and where you…change. So you could decide to change.”
“Control. Yes. But it doesn’t exactly have an on/off switch,” Clint pointed out.
“How soon do you have to shift again?” Coulson asked and it wasn’t as weird a segue as it would have sounded to an outsider.
“I can wait a few days. But not much longer that that or…” Clint rolled his shoulders, his skin still not sitting right after being in his other form.
“But you could...? Before then I mean,” Coulson attempted to clarify.
“Control. No on/off switch,” Clint reminded him. “I can always shift.”
“Then you need to cultivate this connection with Ms. Lewis,” Coulson told him. “And continue to spend time with her in your alternate form. Especially when she’s with Doctor Foster.”
“Why so she can take embarrassing photos of me?” Clint asked. “I don’t think so. I’m paid to be a sniper, not Darcy’s plaything.”
“That wasn’t a suggestion, Barton.”
“Make it an order, sir, and I’ll consider it.”
“I didn’t know I had to make it an order,” Coulson replied. “Do what you can, Barton, or we’ll pull you out.” The phone beeped off before Clint could respond.
“Well, that makes me feel so much better,” Clint grumbled. He shoved the phone back in his pocket and flopped back down on the roof.
Clint brushed the back of his head, trying to get rid of the crawling sensation on the back of his neck. When he felt it again for the third time in almost as many minutes, he realized what it was. Not the creeping sensation that someone was watching him, but the need to change from emotional stress. Normally it was a few days before he felt the pressure to change after he’d spent a few hours in his other form, but after the stress of bickering with Coulson, apparently his emotions were far enough out of whack that his control was off.
Pushing himself to his feet, he quickly grabbed up his bow and headed for the edge of the roof. He had a rope already established for a quick egress and he’d use it now, rather than waiting for the longer way around with the ladder. And although he didn’t want to, he’d search Darcy out once he changed. He’d let his instincts guide him in this. His other form felt safe with her and it would be better than wandering the streets and letting things end up in dire straits.
As he hit the street, he looked around, noting the location of the people walking by in relation to his nearest cache. He didn’t really want to change on the street, but he didn’t think he had enough time to make it back to his quarters. And he’d learned the hard way not to fight the change. It was more of a slow glide when he just let it flow, instead of the bone cracking pain he had to deal with when he fought it.
Ducking into the shadows, he made his way to the cache that was nearest Darcy’s room. He intended to shove his clothes into there and curl up on her doorstep, waiting until she got home.
He didn’t quite make it.
Darcy had spent a productive day (in Jane’s eyes) and an unproductive day (in her eyes). She’d gotten all of the graphs and plots collated and faxed to SHEILD HQ in New York long before the deadline, but hadn’t seen any sign of Chance; despite taking numerous breaks to search the streets. Since they weren’t going out to stargaze tonight, they wrapped up before dinner. Jane cajoled her into joining them at the diner for food, but Darcy decided to swing by her room first.
She was about to climb the stairs to her room when she heard the whining coming from under the steps. Stepping back, she looked around to see if there was anyone else there. Seeing no one, she ducked under the wooden slats, letting her eyes adjust. At first she didn’t see anything, then something moved in the shadows and she knelt down. “What?” It moved again and she distinguished the black spots from the shadow. “Chance!” Reaching in, trusting that he wouldn’t lash out at her, she attempted to coax him out. “Come here, boy. Were you trying to find me? Chance. Come on, Chance.”
The puppy lifted his head at the sound of her voice, scrambling forward until he could reach her. “Good boy!” she praised. “Keep coming. Come on. Follow me out.” She backed out, continuing to call to him until he followed her. When they were both out and she’d stood up, she scooped him up into her arms, ignoring his indignant squeal. “Where did you go?” she asked him, pulling him up to kiss him on the head. “And how did you get out?”
His expression was a cross between disgruntled and blissful as she shifted her hold on him. “Come on. I have a dinner date with Jane. I’m not letting you out of my sight again.”
When Darcy walked into the diner, she wasn’t surprised to see Jane with her head buried in a book. She’d taken five minutes to run upstairs and get the collar she’d gotten for Chance, but left the leash. He hadn’t shown any inclination to run away from her, but he did raise a fuss every time she clipped the leash on. She’d spoken to him sternly in hopes that he’d stay with her when they were out on the streets.
Sliding into the seat across from Jane, she tapped on the book. “Hey. Food. Woman cannot live by knowledge alone.”
Jane looked up, blinking at Darcy. “What? Food?”
“Yeah, you invited me to eat dinner,” Darcy reminded her. “Did you order yet?”
“Um. I don’t think…Is that the dog?” Jane took a second look at what Darcy was cradling in her arms. “Why did you bring him here?”
“Because the last time I let him out of my sight, he vanished. So… Besides I figure he’s probably hungry.” Darcy set Chance on the floor with the directive to sit and stay. He scrambled for a minute, but got his feet under him and settled down at her feet.
"What are you going to feed him?" Jane asked.
Darcy shrugged. "He wouldn't touch the dog food last night so..." She looked up as the waitress stopped by their table. "Can we have a meatloaf platter and a second order of just the meatloaf?"
The waitress jumped as Chance's head poked out from under the table. "Is that a dog?" she asked.
"Noooo. It's a puppy. Why? Haven't you seen one before?"
"He can't be in here."
"Actually he can't be in the kitchen," Jane told her. "If he's possibly training to be a service dog, he can be in here."
"Is he?"
Darcy shrugged. "I just got him. I haven't figured out what I'm doing with him yet but look at him. He's a good boy. He just wants a good meal and I know he'll get that here."
The waitress sighed. "All right. Just for now. But keep him under your table and don't make a habit of it."
Darcy grinned at her. "Awesome. Thanks."
Jane shook her head at the younger girl when the waitress walked away. "You got lucky."
"Guess he's well named." Darcy reached down and rubbed the top of Chance's head, smiling as his eyes closed in bliss.
Chance danced around Darcy's feet as she walked back towards her room after dinner. He'd gobbled down his serving quickly but neatly then flopped down on the floor and watched the surrounding area; keeping a close eye on anyone that ventured too near to the table. She'd been amused to hear a small growl (not very threatening with his size although he'd clearly intended it to be so) issue forth when someone had stumbled against the table. She'd patted his head and praised him when the man backed off, but made sure Chance stayed under the table.
Now she let them both into her room, giggling as Chance seemed to trip over his own feet. "Feet a little too much for you?" she asked.
He favored her with a disgusted look before heading farther into the room. Sniffing around, he checked out the corners as if making sure nothing had changed from the prior night. While he explored, Darcy stretched, working the kinks out of her body before heading towards her bed. "I don't know about you, Chance, but I am whipped. It's time for bed."
He studied her as she changed clothes, dashing over as she climbed in. "Yes. You can sleep up here," she told him as he put his paws on the edge of the mattress. He leaped up, licking the side of her face and surprising a giggle out of her. "Silly boy. Come on. Lay down now." She waited until he settled down, petting him until they both drifted off to sleep.
“You have got to be kidding me!” Darcy exclaimed when she woke up the next morning and discovered once again that there was no puppy in bed with her. It didn’t take her long to search her room or to figure out that her door was locked, which didn’t explain how he’d gotten out. Grumbling over puppies who could apparently pick locks and vanish into thin air, she pulled on clothes and headed out for the day.
When Darcy walked into the filling station, she was surprised to smell fresh coffee in the air. Praying that Jane hadn’t attempted to make it again without supervision, she headed towards the kitchenette. “Jane, please tell me your head wasn’t in the stars when…” she started, then stopped at the sight of a black-clad figure standing by the counter. “What are you doing?” she demanded.
He spun around, his hand going to his hip where the holster resided, as he moved. His grey eyes widened as he caught sight of her and he seemed to shudder. “Oh. Shit,” he gasped. His hand clenched around the butt of his gun, then he bent at the waist; almost like he was going to throw up.
Before Darcy could take more than a step forward, Clint dropped to his knees, bowing his head. He almost seemed to pull in on himself and she blinked, shaking her head. When she looked again, there was nothing in front of her but a pile of clothes. “What the fuck?” she demanded. She darted forward, grabbing at the clothes and fell back on her ass as Chance’s head popped out of the shirt. “Whaaaa?” she gasped as he tumbled backwards in the opposite direction.
He scrambled out of the shirt, his feet getting tangled in the material as he moved and whines coming out of his mouth as he tumbled ass over teakettle onto the floor. He quickly fought his way free and took off towards the open doorway, yipping at his freedom, but Darcy was moving at the same time. She took advantage of her height and reach and scooped him up before he could make his break. “Oh, no, you don’t!” she told him. “You are going to stay right here with me, until…” she stopped. “Well, I guess until you can talk to me again. And explain to me what the hell is going on. Because a minute ago you were a jackbooted thug according to Erik and now you’re a PUPPY!”
Cradling him in her arms, she headed towards her desk, trying to decide what she was going to do with him. Then abruptly she realized he was going to be naked when he…whatevered back and she did an about-face, hurrying back to the kitchenette and finding his clothes. She gathered them into a pile and carried them with them into the main area. “I’m not mean,” she told him. “If you can warn me somehow that you’re gonna be a guy again, I’ll throw your clothes at you. Hot as you are, I really don’t want to see you naked right now. Mostly because I am pissed at you. I mean. What were you thinking?!”
Somehow he managed to look both disgruntled and abashed as he wiggled in her arms. She looked around, finally finding a crate that was big enough to contain him with sides high enough to prevent him from jumping back out. “You better hope you’ve got some way to let me know you’re going to turn back into a dude, puppy,” she informed him, “or that’s gonna be a really tight fit.”
Jane looked up from her calculations when Chance started barking a few hours later. “Do you think he needs to go out?” she asked with concern.
Darcy pulled her attention out of her own work, looking across the room at the dog who was standing on his hind legs, dancing back and forth across the floor of the crate. “Um, no, he um…” She hadn’t explained to Jane what had happened that morning and she didn’t think it would be a good idea to do so now. For whatever reason, Clint hadn’t shared the knowledge of his ability with them and she didn’t feel that she could break that confidence. “I’ll just take him up to the roof,” she told Jane. Scooping up the puppy and the clothes, she escaped the room before Jane could ask any questions.
As soon as she realized that the puppy really was about to become Clint again, Darcy turned her back. She wasn’t sure how she felt about the situation, but she wasn’t going to compound it by staring at him. There was surprisingly a lack of noise and then, “Could I have my clothes?”
Darcy tossed them over her shoulder. “It would have been nice if you had said something. Ya know. Before I took you home.”
“So this is my fault?” Clint demanded. “I’m dressed.”
“You’re the one with the…the…the…” Darcy waved her hand as she turned around. “What the hell do you call it anyway?”
“You mean other than a pain in the ass?” Clint asked.
“Wouldn’t it be a pain in the tail?” Darcy replied.
“Bite me,” Clint shot back. “And no. It’s actually not that painful. Probably because I’m supposed to do it. Anyway…changing I guess. Or ‘the change’. I don’t really call it anything because I tend not to talk about it with people.”
“So no one knows about it?”
“Coulson does. My partner, Natasha. And now you. That’s it.”
“Why do I know though?” Darcy asked as they settled into the chairs Jane kept on the roof.
“The first night was an accident. I didn’t mean to run into you in town. And then…” He shrugged. “You took me home. It was nice to just…be.” He looked out across the town. “I didn’t mean for it to happen again.”
“How did you get out?” she asked. “And don’t think I’m forgetting that you saw me naked. We will discuss that. You are one pervy puppy.”
He smirked at that, ducking away from the smack she aimed at him. “Not my fault you changed in front of me!”
“I thought you were a dog!” she yelped.
“Well I am. Sorta. Well, kinda. I mean not exactly, but I am. It’s some instinct, but I do remember what happens.” He smirked again. “Nice ink.”
She hit her head on the back of her chair. “Pervert.”
“Dog,” he corrected. “Speaking of. Would you please stop fucking carrying me around?”
“Absolutely not! Because you’re cute and fluffy and because when you’re that little, I can!”
“I am not cute!”
“You really are,” she insisted. “Especially when you trip over your own paws.”
“I’m not cute,” he responded. “I can kill you and you won’t even see me coming!”
“Not when you’re a pup-py,” she told him in a singsong. Then she clearly thought of something as she sat up and faced him. “Wait…why are you a puppy?”
He slouched down in his chair, mumbling something, and she poked him in response. “What was that? I can’t hear you.”
“I said…” he started in a louder voice before trailing off into mumbles again.
Darcy leaned over and smacked him, not actually considering the ramifications of hitting a man who could kill her without breaking a sweat. “Clint!”
He rolled his eyes in response and moved a bit away from her. “Fine! I pissed off the wrong person, okay?”
“Oh, that’s a surprise. But it doesn’t actually tell me anything.”
He sighed, rubbing his face as he looked out across the town. "My other half was supposed to age at about the same rate as I do. I mean the seven years for one doesn't work with us or whatever..."
"But clearly that's not what happened," she interrupted him.
Clint shook his head. "No. No that's not what happened at all. My childhood wasn't exactly um traditional to begin with but after my parents were killed it was even less so. And then... Well like I said I pissed the wrong person off."
"So what you're a mutt who'll grow up slower?" Darcy questioned.
Clint let out a bark of laughter. "I wish. Okay well the mutt part is actually just me. Survival of the fittest and all. No the...curse I guess you'd call it is that my other half will always be a puppy."
"Well that's kinda..." Darcy leaned back on her chair and looked at him. "What the hell did you do to the witch?"
His ears turned red as he muttered something before clearing his throat and telling her, "Not really important. It can't be changed now anyway and no her death does not cancel it out."
"Well that...sucks."
"I am well aware of that."
For a few minutes they sat in silence as they each contemplated their own thoughts. Finally Darcy rolled onto her side so she could look at Clint as she asked him, "Now what?"
"Coulson wanted me to use the in I had to get closer to you and therefore Doctor Foster," Clint replied. "But since you know..."
"It's kinda hard to pretend to be stealthy puppy," she agreed.
“Your sarcasm is not appreciated,” he informed her.
“I thought it was pretty funny.”
“Don’t say it,” he warned when she opened her mouth. “I am not cute. My puppy is not cute. Whatever.” He banged his head on the back of the chair. “Fuck my life.”
There was silence again as he tried to figure out how to get Darcy to talk to him. She’d been suspiciously quiet after his outburst, playing with the cord of her iPod, and looking out towards the still half-destroyed buildings. The town had been rebuilding, but it was going slowly. Finally he couldn’t take the silence any longer and he asked, “Are you gonna talk to me?”
“Were you planning to do what Coulson wanted?” she replied.
“I didn’t really have a choice. He ordered me.”
She snorted at that. “And that’s why you shot Thor.”
“Okay, he never actually made the call on Thor,” Clint pointed out. “And I had a shot on him the whole time. I would have taken it if Coulson had given the word. That’s my job. Just like my job now is to protect you and the doc. Whom I also happen to like. I didn’t want to lie to you…it just kinda happened.”
“So you kept it to yourself?” she asked.
“I was planning to talk to you this morning. But you startled me…and you saw what happened…” He shifted on his chair. “It’s kinda hard to talk when I’m a dog.”
She giggled at that. “Well, you have a point. So what now?”
“I’m really hoping you aren’t going to tell everyone that I’m a dog. Literally.” He rubbed a hand across his hair, pushing the spikes into more disarray. “I want…I don’t know. No one knows. I’m so used to no one knowing that…I…”
Darcy reached out, resting her fingers gently on his arm where it was bare above his glove. “Isn’t it better to have somewhere to go that’s safe though? I mean you can just come when you have to change and be a puppy…but I’m not changing in front of you anymore. No more pervert puppy.”
Clint smirked at that, ducking the smack she aimed at him. “Aw, but that was the best part.”
“And you’re getting your own bed,” she added.
He actually pouted at that and she almost caved. “But I promise I didn’t stay in bed when I wasn’t…Never mind.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Depends.”
“Why ‘Chance’?”
“Because everyone, even a mutt, should have a chance,” she answered softly.
He reached out, squeezing her hand. “Thank you.”