we run, we run, away from you
Peter was definitely going to get a shot.
He picked up the phone, the sleek metal cold in his palm, and sighed. He stared at it for a couple long moments, before Thief nudged his leg. He hit answer, and speed-walked toward the elevator, the wolf-dog at his side.
He pressed the speaker.
“Parker?”
“This is she,” He joked, stepping out of the elevator and setting his gaze on the fridge. Holding the phone away from his face, he asked the dog, “Thief, you hungry?”
Thief barked, so Peter took that as a yes.
“Parker. I need you to come in today.”
“Awww, do you miss me, Fury? That’s so sweet.”
Fury growled, and Peter took out the dog food to refill Thief’s dry food. The wolf-dog sulked, and Peter gave him a look. “I already fed you this morning.”
The dog whined.
Fury sighed. “How soon can you be in?
Peter hummed a little as he sank down next to the doggy bowl, leaning criss-cross against the wall. “I can be over in thirty, maybe before if you really need me.”
“That's fine. Get over here, Parker.” And with that, he ended the call.
~
After showering and forcing himself into the standard SHIELD uniform, Peter grabbed Thief’s leash and set toward him, intent on jogging to HQ. Because of his little… meltdown that morning, Thief hadn’t gotten much exercise. That, and the two of them normally ran in the morning anyway.
“C’mere, boy,” he said, and the dog trotted up to him, pushing his head into Peter’s side. Peter clipped the leather onto his collar, scratching the dog’s head.
Swiftly walking to the elevator, the two started toward SHIELD.
~
I gripped his leash harder, clenching my fist around the thick strip of leather. The feeling grounded me, and I listened for my footsteps, clenching my teeth. Next to me, Thief brushed my thigh, making sure I was still present.
Sighing, I reached to scratch behind his soft ears, slowly slowing us to a walk. He whined, clearly hoping for a longer run, but kept pace at my side as we moved through the open doors, the guards gawking at him and I.
I reached my hand into my pockets, fishing out my keycard, but fumbled from the weight of their stares. I could feel them starting toward us. “Thief, block,” I murmured.
They were about halfway across the space before I pressed the keycard to the reader. It immediately dinged, and flashed green, waving me forward. Thief pressed into my side, warning me that the guards were still making their way over. I appreciated the warning, though Thief and I both knew I could still feel them coming toward us.
“Excuse me, sir,” one roughly called out when the pair reached about ten feet away. “We don’t allow pets in the building.”
Shit. I reached for his keycard, too, one that wasn’t required but was good in situations like these. Tugging it out, I held the card out to them. “Thief is also a registered SHIELD agent,” I told them. The dog held his head up higher, glaring at the man who spoke. After he took the card, I dug my hand that wasn’t holding his leash into the thick fur at his neck.
“I didn’t know SHIELD employed dogs. I’ll have to make sure. For now, you’ll have to stay in the lobby.”
“Uh, I really can’t wait-“ thankfully, Fury picked that time to call. I snapped my phone up and clicked speaker.
“Parker! What is taking you so long?” He demanded, and a blush crawled up my neck.
“I just hit some trouble in the lobby, Fury. The guards are a little confused about Thief.”
“Well, did you show them the keycard? I gave you it for a reason, Parker-“
The look on the two men’s faces was priceless. “Yes, I did. They said they needed confirmation. I’ll just wait until they’re finished. Robin Hood over here’s been eyeing up those leather couches.” Thief gave me a look of pure contempt at the nickname, and I snickered.
The guard who spoke’s phone dinged. Confirmation.
“You can go ahead, sir,” the other one said after checking his phone, face red.
I thanked them quietly and set off toward the elevators. Thief held his head up high beside me, obnoxiously proud and showing off like a purebred competition dog.
“Hush, babes. You’re not supposed to be proud of getting stopped by security.” I told him, and he snuffed at me.
We stepped into the open elevator, and pressed the floor to Fury’s office, looking out the glass walls. A man and a woman stepped into the elevator after us, too deep in their own conversation to hear me say, “block,” quietly to Thief.
One of them gasped when they saw the large dog, and so they kept their distance- as was intended. Out of the corner of his eye, I watched Thief give them a wide, tongue-lolling grin, tail wagging.
I stifled a laugh, shuffling around. I could basically feel the two’s discomfort. Reaching down, I scratched Thief behind the ears. I didn’t have to reach down much- he was tall enough that I was pretty much just reaching left. Honestly, I could understand why people would fear him.
The elevator’s door closed, and we shot up. I moved as close as I could to the glass without touching it, gripping the leash tight. The other people in the elevator resumed their conversation, though a bit more hesitant.
The elevator slowed to a close, and the man and woman hurried out, glancing back to us. When the doors closed behind them, I sighed, shoulders drooping. I turned to Thief. “Sit, boy.”
He sat, then rubbed his large, wolf-like head against my side. I scoffed, but smiled nevertheless. “You’re such a big, terrifying animal.” His eyes rolled back as I pet his head. “So scary.”
After a minute or two, the doors slid open. I rolled my neck, and let Thief go on in front of me. As we walked out of the elevator, people swerved out of their ways to avoid us. We got less than twenty feet before an annoyed voice from across the room called out, “Parker!”