New Avenger (A Steve Rogers love story)

Puppy

A/N: Here's another chapter! Comment! Enjoy!

Lucy folded our dry clothes and placed them in a waterproof bag, along with a few cans of dog food.

"Are you sure?" I asked for the hundredth time in a row.

"Yes. Keep them. They do me no good now, and you two just look so precious in them." Lucy smiled. It was a smile I'd always seen on my mother's face. I wished I could see it everyday like I did before the accident.

Lucy gave Steve a clear umbrella. "Now, you should get going before the storm gets any worse."

Steve nodded. "Thank you so much."

"Yes. Thank you, Lucy." I smiled.

"Oh, it's my pleasure. Don't forget this." She draped a raincoat over my shoulders.

"You are too sweet. I will repay you." 

"Don't worry about it."

"I will." I promised, pointing at her playfully as Steve held the door open.

Steve opened the umbrella underneath the awning, then he held his hand out for me to step underneath the umbrella with him. I held Abby close to my chest, the bag with our clothes hanging from my arm. Steve held the umbrella over us as we waved goodbye to Lucy and headed back toward the tower.

Giant rain drops continued to pour down on the city. Abby stayed happily in my arms, even though I could tell that she really wanted to play in the rain. 

Me too, Abs. Me too.

"Do you want to get a cab?" Steve asked.

"No. I love the rain, and so does Abby. Unless you want to?" I replied.

Steve smiled and we continued toward the tower on foot, enjoying the rain.

We went through the front doors, Steve folded up the umbrella and we got in the elevator, water dripping onto the floor.

"How do you think Abby will feel around everyone?" I asked.

"I don't know. If she's anything like you -- and I get the feeling she is -- she'll probably like to annoy Tony." Steve replied with a smile.

I laughed. "We'll be a little Tony Annoyance team!"

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. We walked into the kitchen and Steve put the cans of dog food into the pantry. I went into my room and took the clothes from the bag, then put them into the laundry basket. They were dry, but they hadn't been washed and they needed to be.

I closed the door and put Abby down, letting her get familiar with my room first, taking the tower one step at a time. It was a huge building. Even I wasn't used to it yet.

Abby wandered around, sniffing. She looked like she was about to pee on the floor. "Abby." I looked at her with a look that told her not to or she'd regret it. She stared into my eyes and whimpered. "Come on." I picked up her up and put her in the bathtub, sensing that she only needed to go number one. When she was done, I put her on the floor and rinsed the tub. She was going to be litter box trained, especially since the tower didn't have much grass or any other place for her to use the bathroom. I wasn't going to risk an elevator trip down to ground level, and trying to find an area for her to do her business.

"Alexx?"

I walked out of the bathroom. "Hey."

"What's Abby up to?" Steve asked.

"She was about to pee on the floor, but I warned her and she held it until I put her in the tub."

Steve looked at me, amazed. "Really? How?"

"I gave her this look." I repeated the stare I gave Abby, trying not to laugh.

"I wouldn't have peed on the floor either." Steve laughed.

"If you peed on the floor, we'd have a problem. "I laughed.

"Who peed on the floor?" Tony poked his head through the door.

"Tony, were you eavesdropping?" I asked, glaring at him.

"Noooo..." Tony lied.

"Tony, I can tell when you're lying. And you, sir, are a big fat liar."

"Whatever. Who's Abby?" 

Hearing her name, Abby's ears pricked up and she trotted to my feet. She noticed Tony cautiously approached him, her eyes fixed on his.

"What is that?" Tony asked, his eyes unable to move from Abby's.

"That's Abby. Don't move, and don't leave her eyes." I replied.

"Why?"

"It's a trust thing. If you move or take your eyes off of her, she can't trust you." 

Tony and Abby stared at each other for a minute. Abby moved her eyes to Tony's feet and she sniffed him. She looked back at me and we kept eye contact for a few seconds. I briefly looked at Tony, then returned to Abby. She locked eyes with him, then turned to me with a smile on her face, her tongue hanging out.

"She likes out." I smiled at Tony.

"That was a long, stressful process." Tony exhaled deeply, holding his breath since Abby first looked at him.

Steve knelt down as Abby sat at his feet. He picked her up and rubbed her head.

"Is that where you went?" Tony asked.

"Yeah. We got stuck at a pet shop when the storm started." Steve said, smiling at Abby, who was licking his chin.

"Let's go introduce her to everyone." I smiled.

"JARVIS, call everyone to the living room." Tony said.

"Yes, Mr. Stark."

Everyone was in the living room. I hid Abby behind my back as Steve and I walked in.

Ryan looked at me and smiled mischievously. "I know what this is about."

"Shut up, Ryan. No you don't." I growled.

"Are you two getting -- "I gave him the death stare, and he stopped. "Never mind."

"We want to introduce you to someone new." I brought Abby in front of me. "This is Abby."

"Abby? As in, Abby, Abby?" Ryan asked.

"Yes."

Nat ran toward us and I held out my hand. "No. She is a very intelligent dog, and she isn't quick to trust."

It took fifteen minutes for Abby to finish familiarizing herself with everyone. I could tell that she loved her new home.