for bluflamingo: companion
A Gift From: krilymcc
Type Of Gift: Fic
Title: companion
A Gift For: bluflamingo
Rating: PG
Warnings: some language
Summary/Prompt Used: Clint wants a pet. Natasha doesnÆt. (Prompt: Adopting a kitten (or puppy))
Author's Note: Set sometime after Avengers but before WinterÆs Soldier.
banner by frea_o
They’ve had this fight a million times and like always Clint was the one to start it.
“Come on!” he exclaimed, “I think a pet would be good for us!”
“Not this again!” Natasha sighed leaning up against the kitchen counter. “We’re not pet people Clint! We’re gone way too much, it wouldn’t be fair to keep an animal here all by itself.”
“Kate could watch it.”
Kate looked up from the newspaper she was reading, and furrowed her brow, “I could what now?”
“Come on Katie, you’d love to have a dog wouldn’t you?”
“You’re not making Kate your dog sitter--”
“Our dog sitter!” Clint interrupted.
“Besides why would it have to be a dog?”
“Dogs are awesome. They’re loyal, and playful, and--”
“Big slobbery messes! We’re not getting a dog!”
“You said we!”
Natasha knew he meant that as a joke but she was tired of the whole conversation so she threw up her hands and headed towards the door, “I’m done! I’m staying at my place tonight.”
---
The next day Natasha filled Bruce in on all of this during lunch.
“So I’m confused,” Bruce said, “What’s the problem with getting a pet?”
Natasha found herself stumbling over her words as she tried to explain it to him. Finally she settled on just a simple, “It’s the commitment.”
“What are you talking about? The two of you are practically living together, that’s pretty committed.”
Natasha rolled her eyes. “That’s not what I’m talking about. With a pet I’m stuck here. If a mission goes wrong I can’t just disappear.”
Bruce began to nod his head knowingly, “And that scares you.”
“I’m not scared.”
“Then what are you?”
Natasha grabbed a menu, “Can you just pick something to eat?”
---
On her way back to Bed Stuy Natasha was taking a shortcut through an alley when she heard noises coming from inside a dumpster. Her first instinct was to keep walking, it was probably just a raccoon, but something inside told her to stop and look. So she lifted the lid and inside was a small, but very fat, calico cat.
“Well hey there,” Natasha said to the cat. The cat looked at her with wide green eyes, and arched her back. “You’re good. I’m not going to hurt you.”
She eyed the inside of the dumpster, it wasn’t very deep but it was empty and that could make what she was about to do a little more difficult.
She sat her to-go container from lunch on the other side of the dumpster’s lid and then as she hoisted herself into the dumpster she said, “Okay cat, don’t freak out on me.”
Her feet hit the bottom with a thud and the cat scurried back against the side. Natasha bent down and tried motioning for the cat to come her way. “You’re good cat. Don’t worry.” She was like this for ten minutes, which was ten minutes more than she would have liked in that smelly dirty dumpster, before finally the cat trusted her enough to come up to her.
“Okay cat remember I’m doing this to help you.” Natasha said as she slowly picked up the cat and placed it on the lid, “Good cat.”
The cat ignored Natasha’s words and scurried behind the dumpster.
Natasha sighed as she climbed out, “Don’t run off!”
She peeked behind the dumpster and saw the cat wasn’t alone. Beside her three kittens: a calico like their mother, a black and white one, and one that was full black.
“Well how about that?” Natasha whispered. The mother cat hissed at her and ran in front of her kittens.
“Don’t worry I’m not going to hurt you.” Trying not to move too much Natasha reached over and grabbed her to-go container. “I bet you guys are hungry aren’t you?”
She opened the container, there wasn’t much of her chicken ziti left, but she was pretty sure the cats would take pretty much anything at this point. Bending down she placed it behind the dumpster and then took a step back, “There you go.”
The momma cat stared at her and waited until it was sure that Natasha wasn’t going to try anything and then tentatively took a bite, and then another one. And then the kittens rushed over and began eating too.
“There you go guys.” Natasha whispered as she slowly began to back out of the alley and back on her way.
---
Natasha entered Clint’s apartment ready for him to bring back up the topic of getting a pet. But when she walked into his voice was loud and clear but he was no where to be seen.
“Come on, just try it,” she heard him say.
“Clint?” She called out.
“Shit!” He mutter which was then followed by a loud banging noise and him exclaiming, “Fuck!”
“Clint? What the hell are you doing?” She walked farther into the apartment and spotted him laying on the kitchen floor, surrounded by dog kibble, his hand clutching the top of his head and a scrawny golden retriever sitting beside him, licking his face while his tail thumped against the hardwood floor.
“You got a dog?”
“We got a dog.” He said pulling himself up.
“You got a dog even though you knew I didn’t want one?”
“Come on Nat! I watched as his owners tossed him out of a moving car! I couldn’t just leave Pizza Dog to try and fend for himself on the street. Just look at him.”
Natasha wanted to complain about how Pizza Dog was a stupid name but then she looked at the dog who by this point had wandered over and taken a seat next to her and was looking up at her with his big brown eyes and whining, scratching at the air his paws as if to say ‘Please pet me’ and she felt her heart melt, just a little.
“Look he likes you!”
Natasha tried to hold back a smile as the dog continued to whine at her but it didn’t last for long. “I guess.” She gave in and bent down and started scratching behind the dog’s ears.”if you’re keeping him you’ve got to pick a better name for him than Pizza Dog.”
“I can do that.”
---
That night Natasha couldn’t sleep. She kept thinking about the cat from the dumpster and her kittens. It had already started to get cold and before too long there would be snow. Where would they go then?
Finally she’d had enough with her mind racing and she climbed out of bed and threw on a pair of sneakers and headed out the door. She left with every intention of just taking a run to clear her head but before she knew it she was back in that alley.
“Momma?” She whispered walking up to the dumpster. “Momma cat?”
She walked around the dumpster calling for the cat but she was nowhere to be seen. Natasha was just about to give up hope when she spotted the black kitten crawl out from under the dumpster.
“Hey there,” She said crouching down. “Did they leave you? Huh?” The kitten hesitantly walked up to Natasha and began to sniff her out stretched hand. “It’s okay.” Natasha gently scooped up the ball of fur and petted behind her ears. “I’ve got you.”
The whole walk back to Clint’s Natasha was worried that the kitten would get spooked and try to run off so she kept it close to her chest, scratching under its chin and then before knew it they were back at Clint’s.
“Hey there you are,” Clint said as he flipped the switch for the coffee maker. “What are you doing up so early?”
“I should ask you the same thing.”
“Lucky kicked me out of bed.”
Natasha sighed. “I thought we agreed we’d keep the dog out of the bed.”
“I know but--” It was right then that Clint noticed the kitten Natasha was carrying. “Did you get a cat?”
“You got a dog.”
“Fair enough.” Clint walked over and began to scratch between it’s shoulder blades. “Does it have name?”
“I haven’t really thought about it.” That was a lie.”Maybe Liho?”
“Liho. Huh.” Clint bent down and looked Liho in the eyes, “Well Liho, you want to go meet your brother?”
Liho just stared at him.
“I think that’s cat for yes.” Natasha laughed.
“I think so too.” Clint slid his arm around Natasha’s shoulders as they made their way into the bedroom.
Type Of Gift: Fic
Title: companion
A Gift For: bluflamingo
Rating: PG
Warnings: some language
Summary/Prompt Used: Clint wants a pet. Natasha doesnÆt. (Prompt: Adopting a kitten (or puppy))
Author's Note: Set sometime after Avengers but before WinterÆs Soldier.
banner by frea_o
They’ve had this fight a million times and like always Clint was the one to start it.
“Come on!” he exclaimed, “I think a pet would be good for us!”
“Not this again!” Natasha sighed leaning up against the kitchen counter. “We’re not pet people Clint! We’re gone way too much, it wouldn’t be fair to keep an animal here all by itself.”
“Kate could watch it.”
Kate looked up from the newspaper she was reading, and furrowed her brow, “I could what now?”
“Come on Katie, you’d love to have a dog wouldn’t you?”
“You’re not making Kate your dog sitter--”
“Our dog sitter!” Clint interrupted.
“Besides why would it have to be a dog?”
“Dogs are awesome. They’re loyal, and playful, and--”
“Big slobbery messes! We’re not getting a dog!”
“You said we!”
Natasha knew he meant that as a joke but she was tired of the whole conversation so she threw up her hands and headed towards the door, “I’m done! I’m staying at my place tonight.”
---
The next day Natasha filled Bruce in on all of this during lunch.
“So I’m confused,” Bruce said, “What’s the problem with getting a pet?”
Natasha found herself stumbling over her words as she tried to explain it to him. Finally she settled on just a simple, “It’s the commitment.”
“What are you talking about? The two of you are practically living together, that’s pretty committed.”
Natasha rolled her eyes. “That’s not what I’m talking about. With a pet I’m stuck here. If a mission goes wrong I can’t just disappear.”
Bruce began to nod his head knowingly, “And that scares you.”
“I’m not scared.”
“Then what are you?”
Natasha grabbed a menu, “Can you just pick something to eat?”
---
On her way back to Bed Stuy Natasha was taking a shortcut through an alley when she heard noises coming from inside a dumpster. Her first instinct was to keep walking, it was probably just a raccoon, but something inside told her to stop and look. So she lifted the lid and inside was a small, but very fat, calico cat.
“Well hey there,” Natasha said to the cat. The cat looked at her with wide green eyes, and arched her back. “You’re good. I’m not going to hurt you.”
She eyed the inside of the dumpster, it wasn’t very deep but it was empty and that could make what she was about to do a little more difficult.
She sat her to-go container from lunch on the other side of the dumpster’s lid and then as she hoisted herself into the dumpster she said, “Okay cat, don’t freak out on me.”
Her feet hit the bottom with a thud and the cat scurried back against the side. Natasha bent down and tried motioning for the cat to come her way. “You’re good cat. Don’t worry.” She was like this for ten minutes, which was ten minutes more than she would have liked in that smelly dirty dumpster, before finally the cat trusted her enough to come up to her.
“Okay cat remember I’m doing this to help you.” Natasha said as she slowly picked up the cat and placed it on the lid, “Good cat.”
The cat ignored Natasha’s words and scurried behind the dumpster.
Natasha sighed as she climbed out, “Don’t run off!”
She peeked behind the dumpster and saw the cat wasn’t alone. Beside her three kittens: a calico like their mother, a black and white one, and one that was full black.
“Well how about that?” Natasha whispered. The mother cat hissed at her and ran in front of her kittens.
“Don’t worry I’m not going to hurt you.” Trying not to move too much Natasha reached over and grabbed her to-go container. “I bet you guys are hungry aren’t you?”
She opened the container, there wasn’t much of her chicken ziti left, but she was pretty sure the cats would take pretty much anything at this point. Bending down she placed it behind the dumpster and then took a step back, “There you go.”
The momma cat stared at her and waited until it was sure that Natasha wasn’t going to try anything and then tentatively took a bite, and then another one. And then the kittens rushed over and began eating too.
“There you go guys.” Natasha whispered as she slowly began to back out of the alley and back on her way.
---
Natasha entered Clint’s apartment ready for him to bring back up the topic of getting a pet. But when she walked into his voice was loud and clear but he was no where to be seen.
“Come on, just try it,” she heard him say.
“Clint?” She called out.
“Shit!” He mutter which was then followed by a loud banging noise and him exclaiming, “Fuck!”
“Clint? What the hell are you doing?” She walked farther into the apartment and spotted him laying on the kitchen floor, surrounded by dog kibble, his hand clutching the top of his head and a scrawny golden retriever sitting beside him, licking his face while his tail thumped against the hardwood floor.
“You got a dog?”
“We got a dog.” He said pulling himself up.
“You got a dog even though you knew I didn’t want one?”
“Come on Nat! I watched as his owners tossed him out of a moving car! I couldn’t just leave Pizza Dog to try and fend for himself on the street. Just look at him.”
Natasha wanted to complain about how Pizza Dog was a stupid name but then she looked at the dog who by this point had wandered over and taken a seat next to her and was looking up at her with his big brown eyes and whining, scratching at the air his paws as if to say ‘Please pet me’ and she felt her heart melt, just a little.
“Look he likes you!”
Natasha tried to hold back a smile as the dog continued to whine at her but it didn’t last for long. “I guess.” She gave in and bent down and started scratching behind the dog’s ears.”if you’re keeping him you’ve got to pick a better name for him than Pizza Dog.”
“I can do that.”
---
That night Natasha couldn’t sleep. She kept thinking about the cat from the dumpster and her kittens. It had already started to get cold and before too long there would be snow. Where would they go then?
Finally she’d had enough with her mind racing and she climbed out of bed and threw on a pair of sneakers and headed out the door. She left with every intention of just taking a run to clear her head but before she knew it she was back in that alley.
“Momma?” She whispered walking up to the dumpster. “Momma cat?”
She walked around the dumpster calling for the cat but she was nowhere to be seen. Natasha was just about to give up hope when she spotted the black kitten crawl out from under the dumpster.
“Hey there,” She said crouching down. “Did they leave you? Huh?” The kitten hesitantly walked up to Natasha and began to sniff her out stretched hand. “It’s okay.” Natasha gently scooped up the ball of fur and petted behind her ears. “I’ve got you.”
The whole walk back to Clint’s Natasha was worried that the kitten would get spooked and try to run off so she kept it close to her chest, scratching under its chin and then before knew it they were back at Clint’s.
“Hey there you are,” Clint said as he flipped the switch for the coffee maker. “What are you doing up so early?”
“I should ask you the same thing.”
“Lucky kicked me out of bed.”
Natasha sighed. “I thought we agreed we’d keep the dog out of the bed.”
“I know but--” It was right then that Clint noticed the kitten Natasha was carrying. “Did you get a cat?”
“You got a dog.”
“Fair enough.” Clint walked over and began to scratch between it’s shoulder blades. “Does it have name?”
“I haven’t really thought about it.” That was a lie.”Maybe Liho?”
“Liho. Huh.” Clint bent down and looked Liho in the eyes, “Well Liho, you want to go meet your brother?”
Liho just stared at him.
“I think that’s cat for yes.” Natasha laughed.
“I think so too.” Clint slid his arm around Natasha’s shoulders as they made their way into the bedroom.