6410/Two Dogs, A girl, and Their Boy

Two Dogs, A girl, and Their Boy
Date of Scene:	08 February 2019
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Skye takes Lucky and Lili for a walk, then spends time with Bucky. Clint drops in. The discussion opens up vulnerable topics, but it's all good. Skye and Clint go on the warpath on Bucky's behalf.
Cast of Characters:	Winter Soldier, Quake, Hawkeye (Barton)

---

Winter Soldier has posed:
So, that's an odd way to get a visit from someone who was trying to live out on his own (relatively speaking, with Steve giving him a place to crash). A Green Lantern showed up with his wounded body....and a gorgeous German Shepherd whose collar tag reads 'Lili'. The injuries are clearly the result of an explosion....and while the arm and its support structures took the brunt of the blast, which is why he's here and alive, he's still badly off. In a hospital bed, left side bandaged up from foot to ribs. There's even enough painkiller in the IV to overcome that hyped-up metabolism, leaving a faintly drugged slackness in his expression. He seems to be resting well enough, blanket tucked up to his chest. For once all the arm's on display, even the scarred edge of the graft usually hidden by clothes.

Quake has posed:
Skye, meanwhile, had lost the coin toss so to speak, and got to talk Lucky out for his walk - and since she was already taking Lucky..

"You are lucky I'm a nice person," she tells Lucky without irony. "We are not pet people." Clint so was a pet person. "I eat cup'o'ramen for fuck's sakes.."

Lucky, totally oblivious. As is Lili, who, culprit in crime, is happily following Skye bak to Bucky's room, her tail tagging just as furiously as Lucky's, both dogs happily certain Skye is showering them with affection, if not adoration.

Nurses station passed, Skye peeks in to see if Bucky is awake and available for a chat while she drops off Lili, or if he's out of it, which involves a little less socialization, but a lot more figuring out what to do with Lili before she can return to her own tasks for the day.

Winter Soldier has posed:
He is awake, and smiles when Skye shows up with the dog. Since when is he a dog owner? Since about a week ago, thanks, Steven.

There's a wan little smile from him as Skye appears with the Shepherd, and he holds out his normal hand to her, beckoning. "Thanks," he tells Skye, voice a bit rusty. "I owe you." Bucky Barnes, Winter Petsitter.

Quake has posed:
"Damn skippy you owe me," Skye returns effortlessly. It's a phrase she uses often, though most of the time it's meant casually and as a joke. In all likelihood Bucky is good on this front. "Seems I was already out walking someone else's dog. What I want to know is since when does a low level PI run into something that they can't come pick up their dog?"

It's only been 24 hours give or take. You'd think Skye had been left with someone's kid while the parents ran off to Tahiti for an undisclosed amount of time and no backup diapers.

"Since when did you get a dog? And man, you look like shit."

She quickly looks around in case Steve is somehow eavesdropping. Funnily enough, even the mere thought of Steve seems almost enough to self-censor 'Language!'. *Almost* enough.

Winter Soldier has posed:
That makes him start to wheeze a laugh, though it gets caught on some still-healing injury and he hiccups for a second. "You were looking for Steve. I spent years doing that. I enlisted long before he got into the war, and I came back from boot camp with a mouth like a sailor. You shoulda seen his face the first time I let 'goddamnit' slip." And he offers what is clearly meant to be twentysomething Steven's horrified expression, all huge eyes and parted lips. Lili looks over and makes a noise of inquiry, and he relaxes.

"About a week ago. She's actually a PSTD service dog, courtesy of Steve. And as for looking like shit - some maniac tried to off me with a Claymore mine in a public park, of all fuckin' things. There were civilians around there." He sounds disgusted at someone's lack of professionalism.

Quake has posed:
Skye flat out grins. "Yeah, he kinda does that to a person, doesn't he. I'm surprised Darcy doesn't follow him arouund taunting him on purpose. Or that he's not put in either a formal complaint or invested a serious amount of time in changing her potty mouth."

Skye takes Lucky and tells him to 'sit' just away from the bed. Of course Lucky doesn't sit, but lies down, which is good enough as far as she's concerned.

"Huh. An emotional service dog? Don't tell Clint. He'll want one." Or at least he'd joke about wanting one, knowing Clint. "She good to be let off her leash?" The young woman stands there looking slightly lost as to what you did with a service dog when their owner was in bed attached to that many machines. Then again, the nurses at the station had let her bring Lili in.

"Jesus, a fucking claymore, huh?" There's a wince from Skye. "You really need a new class of people to hang out with." Laughing as she has to admit wryly. "I guess I haven't much place to speak. That whole forest thing. Sorry about that, by the way. I'm getting better."

Winter Soldier has posed:
"Yeah. You can let her off. She responds to commands, though. Real class act," Proud of her, by the look of things. "Yeah. Steve's idea. He'd seen 'em with some of the modern war vets, the guys who've been to Iraq and Afghanistan, and figured I needed one."

By his expression, he's a little wry about yielding to Steve. "Yeah. This big guy. Was gonna finish me off with a rifle, but a Green Lantern showed up. And.....I can't blame you. I was trying to kill all of you at the time..."

Quake has posed:
"Oh, yeah. Figured she'd know commands," Skye agrees. "But all those things you're hooked up to."

Still, the nurses gave no warnings. Bucky seems fine with it... Skye lets Lili go and hangs her leash on the end of the bed for the next dog walker to claim.

"A Green Lantern, huh? Haven't met one of those yet. Clint and I got called out by Tony last night. Some girl with a nanite problem. No clue if they're an infection, or some mutation, but his timing could have been better." She shrugs. "All worked out in the end. She's here and safe. Tony owes us. Same old, same old."

Winter Soldier has posed:
"First one I remember meeting." His human hand drops to the side of the bed, just right to let Lili nuzzle her nose into his palm. They've already bonded, clearly.

He looks a little wry at the mention of Tony. "How're they a problem?" he asks.

Quake has posed:
Skye's brow furrows. "Nanites are like little computers, right? If you have control of them, or the right code, you can fuck things up spectacularly. Like if she could access our mainframe?"

Skye spreads her hands wide in a *BOOM* gesture.

"Anything from stealing information, to corrupting anything we have online, or in stored data. Not sure what else, or if she has any way to physically harm us, but that's what Fitzsimmons is for, right?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
"I take it she doesn't have control of her nanites? And I did know what they are," says the man born when 'computer' was a human job description and earth's total mechanical data analysis combined was less powerful than a broken Tamagotchi. Only a little deadpan. "I take it she's sealed up tight, for now? I mean, it's not like SHIELD ever gets handed a Manchurian Candidate." There's a distinct gleam of amusement in the frost-pale eyes.

Quake has posed:
Skye considers the question. "I don't know if she does. We didn't really get to talk to her much. I think she's not totally aware of what she's doing when she's using them? She did this thing - the other girl who was there shot a beam at her.."

Skye winces in memory. "I threw up this shield thingy. At least I think it was a shield thingy. I don't know. It was instinctive and didn't come up in time to fully block the beam. Our girl got knocked out. The other one we left for Tony to deal with."

Another of those wry grins. "And heh. You know something, we kind of have something in common with that Manchurian thing. Though I knew who and what I was. Could easily have chosen for Rising Tide as SHIELD at any point along the way. You helped me pick us, you know. Kinda made it important to return the favour when you had your thing going on."

Winter Soldier has posed:
Buck gets this odd look at that last explanation. Like he's trying to listen to several different sources of input at once. "I did?" he asks, finally, even as Lili continues to demand petting. She's apparently delighted to have him rubbing her ears with his normal hand, sitting as close to the bed as she can, and thumping her tail.

"You just keep producing new abilities, eh?"

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"This one?" the voice of Clint Barton calls from the hallway, "Thanks," then there is a knock on the doorframe and the lanky blonde archer wanders in.

"Hey,"' he greets Skye, then with a smile to Bucky, he adds, "Hey, so this is where they've stuck you, huh? Hey you've go a dog too?" he asks the man grinning before he quickly amends with an *ahem*, "We're just borrowing ours, right Lucky?" he asks the dog seated beside Skye. Yeah, Clint was defintiely a pet person.

Also, whatever task he'd come here on is pushed to the side for visiting time.

Quake has posed:
Skye nods at Bucky with a grin. "Not sure what memories you've kept since your little.. episode.." Yeah, they'll call it that. "But way back when I was still a trainee, May had be doing clearances for a bunch of folks, and you were one of them. A Hydra attack broke out within the Trisk. You and me were trapped in the breakroom while everyone else went trying to track down what was going on. You stood at that doorway and dared anything to come between you and me while I worked on getting the computer systems back in our hands."

She laughs softly, shaking her head. "There you were, someone they weren't sure they could trust, protecting this damned place, and me to boot, and it hit me, if you could do it, why couldn't I?"

It was true. That day, two folks that weren't even SHIELD proper, and not quite trusted by anyone around them, had forged something. Even if they'd not had many opportunities since then to solidify that bond.

She looks to say more, only Clint shows up. "Hey Hotshot. Checking up on Bucky here, or our other guest? By the way, next walk is yours, and Lili likes to play fetch."

Winter Soldier has posed:
That's the question, isn't it? "Things are....blurry. I've got my life before the end of the war. I remember my childhood and ...and Steve....but...the rest of it is a jumble. Images. I know about some of the things I did...." Buck gets that awful lost look in his face. Like things, even now, slide out of focus.

But there's Clint, and that's an anchor for the moment. "She really does," he affirms, more cheerfully. "Yeah. Steve got her for me. She's a PTSD service dog. Which I guess is what they call shellshock, these days."

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint gives Lucky a head pat and then grabs a peice of wall to lean against. "A little of both, came here to check on Samantha and they told me you guys were here so I figured I'd make a stop," he explains before turning his head to Skye. "What no new coin toss?" he asks her, teasing. He didn't mind, not even a little. "And sure, wonder if the gym has tennis balls."

"Nice, Steve's a class act. And yeah I guess a lot has changed with that sort of thing since, then, I mean, not the reaction, but how we deal with it," Clint says, he wasn't a historian. "Anyhow, probably a crappy subject to start in on, what were you guys talking about?"

Quake has posed:
"No new coin toss. If Kate hasn't picked up her dog, next walk is yours. And since Bucky here isn't able to walk Lili, guess who gets to do that too." Her eyes practically glitter with smug mirth.

It only lasts for a short while, that mirth, though, Skye sobering as she reiterates the discussion. "I was telling him about Samantha, and that other girl last night. I do hope Tony has her in hand, because we might need her, or at least want to talk to her about that beam of hers. And was saying how Bucky was responsible for my settling in here at SHIELD and it was nice to return the favour."

With a grin to Bucky. "And... a bit of an apology for that thing in the woods. Though to be fair, you were shooting at us." She relents, though, "But to be honest, my reaction was purely instinct. I had no clue what I could do then, or what triggered it. Still don't know evverything." As last night had proven. "Seems like in times of stress, things pop up. No more forest goes boom by accident, though. I'm pretty good on knowing what that feels like before it happens."

Winter Soldier has posed:
"Steve's the best," It's a flat statement of fact. The sun rises in the East. Steve Rogers is the best thing since sliced bread. "It won't be for long," he tells them, earnestly. "I heal fast...and none of the wounds got infected." A flicker of a grin. "Nothing to apologize for. I feel like my trying to murder you all kind excuses anything you might do, you know?" Lili rests her jaw on the side of the bed, heaves a big doggy sigh.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"So unfair," Clint says in mock disgust. Though the way he sneaks a glance at Lilli he'd go take the dogs for a walk now if he could.

"Yeah, was thinking the same thing about the other girl, Mini? Minoak? Anyhow she clocked that Samantha's nanites were trying to do somehting when she freaked and shot her with the beam. She'd be good to talk to, might help figure out what's up if she can keep from shooting her."

As for their past with Skye blowing up the woods and Bucky shooting them. "Hey, my knee's working, so it's all water under the bridge," he says of the shooting. "Or maybe bullets... whichever."

"And yeah, Cap's great," the archer agrees, being serious for once.

Quake has posed:
Clint's look is not missed by Skye. "No dog," she repeats. "We have enough trouble taking care of ourselves."

No. Really. The pair were probably the lest likely agents at being capable of taking care of themselves like normal adults.. and they'd decided to become a couple. Between the two of them it was a miracle they remembered to eat and get dressed daily. Though it could be argued Skye had lived just fine on her own (stealing wifi, and subsisting off of cold coffee, candy bars, and cup'o'ramen), and well, Clint's old apartment, next door to Gino's pizza, with his tab and longstanding order.. were testatments to the couple perhaps not quite yet ready for adult living.

But they were damned fine agents.

"Yeah, figure we'll talk to Tony and see if he can give us any more info. And you know, the girl, too." Samantha. "But say, Bucky, how long do they figure you're in here for? And did anyone catch the guy who tried to blow you up? That Lantern of yours, she someone we should talk to?"

Winter Soldier has posed:
"Nah. HE took off. He had some kind of van. I dunno if it was something personal, like I killed someone who mattered to him, or if they've got a bounty out on me now....or he was just some heavily-armed do-gooder." Because Buck's never met any of *those*. "Day or two more, at the rate I'm healing. Day or two more that that, before I'm fight to fight. And sure, if you can find her. Looked like a young human woman, didn't give her name beyond Green Lantern." Still rubbing Lili's ears - she's pinned them back in pleasure. "I guess....I honestly don't know what I should be up to when I'm better." He doesn't hold out much hope of being part of SHIELD again, that's clear. "Steve's outta town on a mission."

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint gives Skye an awww look when she tells him plainly, no dogs. And really, she was right they were a mess personally even if they were damn good professionally. A dog wouldn't fit in, saying nothing of them currently living at the Trisk.

Clint frowns though at the account of the attack on Bucky. "Sounds like he had some serious firepower, I can ask around, see if I can get a lead on what's up with this guy and if there really is a bounty on your head, I mean, that's something we probably want to take care of, right?"

Past shootings aside, to Clint's mind at least Bucky was SHIELD, so he wasn't going to let something like this just stand.

Quake has posed:
As far as Skye was concerned, Bucky was SHIELD, but she knows that look on his face. She's worn it, too. "Hey, anyone actually talk to you about your status here? Cause I gotta say.. Okay, this might be out of line for me" And really are any of us surprised at that, given this is Skye? "but you're family, Buck. One of us. They didn't turn me away. I'm not even human, and I'm still here. Fury went out of his way to make it clear that this was my home."

Her brow furrows. "I think we need to sit down with Agent May and have a serious talk." A pause. "That's if being part of SHIELD is what you want. I mean, you don't have to stay with us. Just.. I'd stand with you. I know who you are. You got my vote."

Winter Soldier has posed:
Apparently Lili votes, too...or Buck's reaction to that, try as he might to hide it, is broad enough to be obvious to the dog. For she puts a paw on his arm on the bed, looking intently at him like she's trying to communicate. "I....yeah," he says, after a hard swallow. "I just.....there's no sitting all of this out. I might as well be on the right side." Then his brow furrows. "What do you mean, not human?"

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint nods, "Yeah, you've got my support there too, Buck. You're part of the family, we've got your back."

Which means, without anyone having voiced protest he was definitely going to look into the guy who took a shot at Bucky.

When Skye brings up the not being human thing, he simply leans back against the wall, he knew this was a big deal.

Quake has posed:
As it turns out, saying it was a hell of a lot easier than she thought it would be - if only because she didn't think about it a whole lot before she said it.

"Yeah," Skye says, licking her lips and giving a negligent shrug that was anything but negligent. "Some folks are mutants? Some folks aren't. Turns out they're not actually sure what I am. We know I'm not a mutant. And not completely human either. That whole blow up the forest thing? Turns out my DNA isn't like yours.. okay. you're a bad example, say Clint's. My DNA isn't like his."

"SHIELD has known for a long time. Since I was a baby, actually. Turns out I'm an 084 - mostly means they have no fucking clue what I am, but they figure it's alien whatever it is. Just not an alien they recognize. And even that they're not 100% sure about. When I got kidnapped by Hydra, they experimented on me. Fixed the missing bits of my DNA, and yeah, that thing in the forest? That's what happened."

Another shrug. "That's me. So, yeah. If I'm still SHIELD, I'm thinking if you want to be us, you're still us."

Fury and May might kill her for that. Or, you know, Bucky might still end up out on the streets and disappointed, but Skye had to believe those were the people she worked for: People who saw through what had happened to the Bucky beneath it all, the Bucky who had stood and protected her so that she, an unknown agent in training, could get the job done when it counted.

She had to believe that.

Winter Soldier has posed:
He's silent for a moment, lips pinched. Quiet and still....until Lili apparently decides that this is what she's trained for. She rears up to put both paws neatly on the bed and leans in to lick his face urgently. It works as she might've hoped, for he's startled into laughter and ruffles her ears....then she gets back down and looks between Skye and Clint and Bucky, grinning. I am a good dog.

"A'right," he says, gruffly. "That's wild. Not a mutant, then. Huh," He shrugs. God knows he's seen enough craziness even in the time he does remember. "No one knows where you came from?"

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint notices what goes down with Bucky and how Lilli responds, he doesn't point it out, figuring that wouldn't help but there's a sigificant look thrown Skye's way. You know, the person with powers pegged to their state of mind through their heart rate.

Though Lilli's grin gets a chuckle from Clint. "Good girl," he says. "11 out of 10, hecking good dog." So what if Clint is about a decade behind on his memes...

Anyhow he falls back into quietly listening as Skye tells her story.

Quake has posed:
Skye? Oblivious. Probably just as well she's not caught on that Clint is thinking she needs a support dog. Besides, Lucky is *Kate's* dog.. and Kate really better come and get hime soon.

"Not a mutant," Skye agrees. "I was pretty shook up when I found out. And really angry with everyone and everything. We.. we took my dad into custody. Turns out I'm part human. That much I know. Not that he's a walking poster child for human. He's jacked up on some shit and a bit of a rage monster."

So yay, lucky her, right?

"I'm hoping he'll be able to share more about who or what I am now that we've got him here and he's willing to work with us."

Lucky, however, didn't get the memo that Skye doesn't want a dog, and certainly not Kate's dog - or maybe Lucky is just jealous that Lili is getting pets and he isn't - whatever the case, with a whine, he sits up and puts his head in Skye's lap. the young woman giving him a grimace even as she pets his head with awkward scritches. "Hey, not my fault she dumped you on us, buddy. And yeah yeah, Lili is getting pets."

She grins, shaking her head. "Go figure. He's jealous. Anyway, all I really know is I was born in China, and SHIELD rescued me."

She makes the story light, leaving out the bit where a large number of agents have died over the years protecting her. Little details like that.

Winter Soldier has posed:
Which is when Lili looks over. She takes in the situation...then delicately reaches to take Lucky's leash in her mouth, and turns to lead Lucky over to Bucky's bed. If one dog to pet is good for her human, surely two has to be that much better, surely. Lucky's puzzled but obedient....and Buck pets his ears, too. "I think she's training me," he observes to the two humans present.

He nods at them. "I hope it works like that. Don't think I've met your dad."

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint can't help but chuckle when Lilli takes over and hauls Lucky over to the bed.

"So, can we get two dogs?" Clint asks Skye with a smirk. "One to take care of the other?"

His eyes sparkle with amusement at that. "Barely have to do anything."

Riiight, becuase that's totally how things work.

As for Skye's dad? "Trust me Buck, even with everything you've gone through, you'd remember him if you met him, he makes an impression."

Quake has posed:
Clint just gets a *look*.

"We are not getting dogs. We are not getting dog. Can you imagine explaining to May why we have a dog?"

Even if May would have little to actually say once they'd been allowed to return to their home in Grenwich Village - though Skye suspected May would still have thoughts on the matter, given the pair had mutually agreed to budget for a housekeeper because neither of them were domestic enough to keep home adequately, even before you took their work schedules into account.

She agrees about her father, though. "You probably don't want to meet him. He.. gets angry. Really.. really.. angry. And breaks things." Like furniture. Walls. Vehicles. People...

But the dogs make her smile. "Hey, if you wanted, we could leave Lucky here until Clilnt's friend Kate comes for him?" She's hopeful. You have to give her that.

Winter Soldier has posed:
"Nah. Though....when I'm up, if I'm staying here for a while, I could take care of him if you need someone to," The idea doesn't seem to bother him much. He's used to taking care of scrappy little creatures. Just ask Steve. "Which I probably should do. If the guy after me's enough of a nut to use a mine in a civilian park, I don't want him wrecking Steve's apartment building trying to get to me."

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint sighs, "Fiiiine," though he's not really that mad. They were sort of hopeless when it came to the domestic side of life and a dog wasn't going to help that any.

He lets a real sigh go after. "Fine, we'll just visit our friend's dogs."

Though when Skye describes her dad he adds: "Maybe we should get him a dog."

There's a nod, for Bucky's housing plans. "Well, as folks staying here for pretty much the same reason, you're welcome to visit, even if we don't have a dog to walk."

Quake has posed:
"Visiting our friend's dogs is just fine." Noting to herself that Bucky's dog wasn't going anywhere, they'd have at least two dogs they could visit on the regular, and recognizing that Bucky could probably do with the periodic reminder that he was good people and they cared about him - regardless of the crap Hydra had stuffed in his head otherwise.

The thought of her father getting a dog does sound interesting, though. "That's actually not a bad idea. Heh. Maybe we can let him watch Lucky till Kate gets here. Something of a dry run."

However, Bucky is looking strained, and the nurses are tsking loudly outside the room.. and she still has her father, and their newcomer to check in on today, which means...

"Anyway. Busy day. Have a bunch of work to do. C'mere Lucky."

Skye takes his leash, lets Bucky give one last pat, and leads Clint and Lucky out so that Bucky can get his rest. "We'll pop in later. Ring if you want company sooner."

All the while thinking she and Clint needed to add looking up that Lantern, and finding van man to the mix of their already busy schedule... maybe she'd call in the Birds. More sets of eyes looking for van man would be an asset..