A/N: Hello, all! So, if you've read my Rosie Banner story, you know I'm slowly making stories where each Avenger has a kid. This is Clint's.

Disclaimer: Don't own anything Marvel, only own my OC Allie.

Clint was the one who spotted the puppy. It was raining hard that day, and there was a miserable wind that cut through all jackets and froze your bones. Clint was walking home from the bakery with three dozen doughnuts, checking alleys as usual, when he saw the little ball of sodden fur, shivering. His keen eyes picked out a black collar, brown fur, and two sad green eyes. His quick pace slowed, and he stopped in front of the puppy. "Hey buddy," he said gently, looking down the dog.

It whined pitifully and let out a little 'woof.' It was shivering so hard, it could barely stand, but it stood, and reached out one little paw to touch his shoe, its little tail wagging weakly.

Clint's heart melted. He pulled a doughnut from the top box and tore off a piece, holding it out to the puppy. He noticed it was a girl pup. "Here you go, girl," he said coaxingly. "Not very nutritional, but it's warm."

The puppy reached out hesitantly, nipped the doughnut, and scampered back a couple paces to chew, tucking itself into a little ball as another freezing blast of wind cut through the alley.

Clint shivered and glanced at the Tower. Only a couple more blocks. He looked back at the puppy. If he left the poor thing here, it would be dead by morning. He sighed and made a choice. "All right, come on. It's not like Tony will actually kill me." He knelt down and reached out for the puppy. "C'mon," he coaxed, holding his hand out for her to sniff.

She sniffed suspiciously, and licked his palm. She woofed again and pushed her head into his palm.

"Good girl," he praised, picking up the puppy. She was small, able to fit in his two hands, and he tucked her into his jacket, zipping it up. She settled into his hold with only a small woof and bopped his chin with her wet nose. Clint smirked. "We've got to sneak in before you can thank me."

He made it to the elevator before someone caught him. "Agent Barton," JARVIS's calm voice said, "why is there a small canine in your jacket?"

Clint sighed. "Because if I left her out there she was going to die, please don't tell Tony."

There was a long pause, and then the elevator began to move upwards. "Tell Sir what, Agent Barton?" JARVIS asked blandly.

Clint grinned. "Thanks, J. I owe you one. Is anyone in the kitchen?"

"Not at present."

"Okay, good." He got off at the common floor, dropped the doughnuts on the table, and went back down to his level. He unzipped his jacket and pulled the puppy out. "Bath time," he said.

The puppy's ears flattened, and she tried to lick his nose.

Clint laughed and carried her into the bathroom. He filled the ridiculously large sink with warm water and placed the pup in it. He wasn't surprised that the puppy practically melted into the warmth of the water. "Nice, isn't it?" he asked, smiling.

He washed her with some shampoo and conditioner and dried her with a thick towel. She was still shivering, and as he was drying her, he noticed the poor puppy was nothing but skin and bones. "Poor baby," he said, wrapping her in a thick sweater of his and plopping the hood over her head.

She gave him an indignant look and started to chew on the corner of the hood. Her teeth weren't very sharp though, so he let her.

"At present there is no suitable dog food in the Tower," JARVIS announced.

"She's too malnourished for solid food, anyway," Clint said critically, "I'm going to give her some water and maybe blend up some chicken soup."

The puppy fairly pounced on the food, drank all the water, ate all the chicken soup, and then passed out on the tile floor, her little tail wagging till the last second.

Clint chuckled and picked her up, wrapping her back in the sweater. "I really should give you a name," he said, stroking the soft brown fur, "your collar is tag less and I can't keep calling you puppy."

The puppy nuzzled his hand and let out a little doggy-huff.

"How about Allie?" he asked. "I mean, I found you in an alley."

Big green eyes blinked open, stared up at him, and a tiny pink tongue licked his hand.

"Allie it is then," Clint decided, kissing the puppy's head. He put her in a corner of the couch to sleep, but as soon as he put her down, Allie started to whine. "What?" he asked.

There was a reason they called them puppy dog eyes.

He picked her up again. The eyes stopped, and she nestled into his arm. "All right, fine," he said, amused. "I won't go to breakfast with the others." He started his coffee machine.

His absence was noticed, however, and Natasha came down to get him twenty minutes later. "Clint, get your lazy- what is that."

"A puppy, Nat." He pulled back a corner of the sweater. "Isn't she cute?"

Not even hardened Russian assassins could resist a sweet ball of fluff with floppy ears. "She's cute," Natasha admitted, smoothing the puppy's head gently. "Where'd you find her?"

"An alley," Clint said. "I named her Allie."

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Punny."

"I thought so." He beamed at her. "JARVIS said I could keep her."

"Permanently?" Natasha asked, raising an eyebrow. "Who's going to take care of her on missions? And you know Tony's going to flip his lid when he finds out you've got a stray dog."

"She's not a stray," Clint protested, "she's totally clean."

Allie suddenly sneezed, her little body spasming in the sweater and her eyes blinking open, startled. She saw Natasha and let out a whine, burying her face in the sweater.

"No, hey, it's okay," Clint cajoled, "Natasha's a friend. She's nice." He shifted Allie and Natasha held out a hand.

Allie sniffed it curiously and licked her fingertip delicately.

"You've been accepted," Clint said, grinning.

Natasha smiled and rubbed the puppy's belly. "I feel so honored," she deadpanned. "She's so thin," she said after a second, her hand pausing on the tiny ribs.

"Yeah," Clint said, re-wrapping his puppy burrito to let Allie sleep. "We'll fix that though."

"Are you seriously going to try and keep this from Tony or are you going to introduce your new baby to the team?" Natasha asked, only partly teasing. She knew her partner's penchant for picking up strays of all shapes and sizes.

"I probably should get it over with, yeah," Clint said, sighing. "All right."

He and Natasha headed to the common floor. Everyone else was already there, eating doughnuts and coffee and talking about Shakespeare in the Park.

"We're going in the summer," Steve decided.

"If you really want to go see Shakespeare I'll fly you to London and we can do the West End," Tony suggested instead.

"Morning Clint," Steve said, pointedly not answering Tony. "What's that?"

Clint straightened, reassured by Natasha's presence flanking him. "My new puppy."

Tony stiffened and pointed at the archer. "I will not have dirty mangy animals in my Tower," he said firmly. "It messes up the circuitry and clogs the air vents. Tell him, JARVIS."

"This puppy does not shed enough to impair systems, sir," JARVIS replied placidly.

Tony stared up at the ceiling, betrayed.

"He's so cute," Steve cooed, reaching out for the bundle on automatic.

"She," Natasha corrected, slipping around Clint to make herself a coffee.

Clint let Steve hold the sweater. "Her name's Allie," he said.

"Hey Allie," Steve said, gently running his fingers over the downy back. "Oh, she's so sweet."

"A creature so tiny is a sight to behold," Thor said, equally mushy-eyed.

Tony was staring at them, horrified. "No, guys, stop, we're not keeping that thing." He looked at Bruce. "C'mon Brucie, don't let a mangy mutt infest our Candyland!"

"You can lock her out of R&D," Bruce said firmly, reaching out to touch a tentative finger to the puppy's little paw. It twitched and he smiled.

Tony groaned. "Traitors, all of you."

Steve held out the puppy. She looked even tinier against Steve's bulk. "C'mon, Tony, she's cute. She's like a little mascot."

"And pet therapy is very helpful for winding down after missions," Clint added.

Tony eyed the puppy like it was a Doom-bot. "No." He pointed at her. "This thing is not-" he faltered as Allie's eyes blinked open and she stared at him. "Staying." He froze as she licked his finger and started to wag her tail. "In the tower," he finished weakly. He sagged against the back of his chair. "Fine. Fine. But take your magic puppy out of the kitchen."

Clint gave Steve a high-five and scooped up his puppy. He wrapped her back up and put her on the couch in the living room. "Stay," he said firmly.

Allie closed her eyes and put her head on her front paws.

"Good girl," he praised, and went to eat breakfast.

"Already trained," Steve observed. "Where'd she come from?"

"The alley two blocks away," Clint said frankly. "Smart, isn't she?"

Tony groaned and held out a credit card. "Go. Buy supplies. And figure out where it's going to do its business. There will be no stains on anything or Pepper will have all our heads. And no chew marks."

Clint smirked. "No problem Stark."

They finished breakfast and Tony made a beeline for his lab.

"Can you watch Allie while I go get stuff?" Clint asked Steve.

"Yeah, no problem."

Clint clapped him on the shoulder. "Cool. Be back in a bit."

Steve glanced over at the puppy. She was staring at the elevator with soulful eyes. He went over and sat on the couch. "He'll be back," he assured the puppy, feeling silly for talking to an animal like it could understand him.

She tugged her way out of the burrito sweater and climbed up on his lap, resting her head on his stomach to look up at him with limpid green eyes.

"Hi," he said, amused.

"Woof." She licked her nose and stared at him some more.

He pet her while he watched a morning news show, and during commercials, he play-wrestled her very, very gently. She loved it, and nibbled at his fingers happily. But as soon as the program started again, she would sit quietly on the couch and wag her tail.

Clint was back by the end of the program, arms full of bags. "Well someone's gonna be spoiled," he said, snickering.

Steve had the puppy cradled on his chest like a baby, rubbing her belly. "She's really well-behaved," he said. "She only makes noise during commercials."

"A TV dog," Clint said, surprised. "Cool." He set his bags down on the living room table. "I brought puppy dry food, bowls, a doggy bed, and a lot of diapers. Also, look." He held up a small fake-grass square.

"Genius," Steve said dryly.

"Yeah. I'm going to put them both in my bathroom, since it's huge, and a diaper over here in the corner, since she's going to be here a lot." He brought over a small chew toy. "And, a duck, because you can't chew on anything else."

Allie eyed the soft toy contemplatively, and squirmed out of Steve's hold. She accepted the duck and chewed on it. She looked up at Clint and yipped, and then went back to nuzzling the duck.

"Did she just thank you?" Steve asked, snickering.

Clint smirked and fondled her ears. "Good puppy."

Steve went away to get started on his work for the day, and Clint put on a video game. Today was a slow day, and he could keep an eye on Allie at the same time.

Bruce wandered into the common room an hour later to find Clint on the floor, building an empire in Minecraft. Allie was walking back and forth in the living room, the duck in her mouth. "What are you doing?" he asked the puppy curiously.

"She's been doing that for the last twenty minutes," Clint said, shrugging. "I have no idea."

Bruce got himself a snack and decided to take a small break. He sat on the couch and extended a hand to Allie. "C'mere, Allie."

The puppy yipped and raced over to him, nuzzling his ankles and placing the duck on his shoes.

He scooped her up onto the couch with him and she scrambled onto his lap, exposing her belly. "You just want cuddles don't you," he said, obliging with a belly rub. He felt himself relaxing the longer he pet the puppy, and decided to try pet therapy more often. The Hulk was very calm inside him, almost completely silent.

Allie stared up at him adoringly and wagged her tail.

He pet her for a few more minutes and then reluctantly picked her up. "Back to work," he said, placing her on the floor. "Thank you for the break."

Allie yipped at him and raced over to Clint to curl up next to his leg.

Throughout the day Clint was amused to see each of the remaining Avengers wander casually into the living room and pick an excuse to play with the puppy. Even Tony came down, curiosity piqued by Bruce's peaceful experience.

"So what's your secret?" Tony asked the puppy, lifting her up so they were eye to eye.

She licked his nose.

"Ew." He put her down and wiped his face. "That's disgusting." She snuck her head under his hand, and he patted her gently. "You're soft though," he mused, a tiny smirk on his face as the puppy wriggled happily. "And kind of cute."

She climbed into his lap and put her paws on his chest. She dropped her head forward onto the arc reactor and let out a small whine.

"Yeah, you can probably hear it running, can't you?" he asked, rubbing her tiny head.

She stayed like that for a few minutes and then curled up in his lap. He picked up his tablet and with the other hand pet her absently.

To Clint's infinite amusement, though he showed nary a speck of it on his face, Tony stayed on the couch petting Allie until Pepper came back from the office. "Hi Pepper," Clint said casually.

"Hi Clint. Tony," Pepper said cautiously, wondering why he wasn't getting up to greet her.

"Mrs. Stark," he replied, giving her a wink. They'd gotten married in a quiet ceremony a few months after the Battle of New York, but they'd kept separate surnames to keep things professional. The only ones that knew were the Avengers, Fury, and Pepper's parents.

Pepper walked closer and gasped. "Is that a puppy?"

"Yep. Clint found her. This is Allie." Tony held her up proudly, like Rafiki with Simba. "Say hi, Allie."

Allie held out a paw, tail wagging madly.

"She's so cute," Pepper gushed, shaking the proffered paw, delighted when Allie licked her finger tip. "Let me hold her." She took the puppy from Tony and cuddled her in her arms. "She's so small and thin," she said, worried.

"We rescued her," Tony said.

"AHEM."

"Clint rescued her," Tony amended.

Pepper kissed the puppy's soft head. "She's adorable. Are we really going to keep her?"

"Yep," Tony said. "But if she makes a mess blame Clint."

That night Clint took Allie back to his room and plopped her on the floor to play while he showered. "Time for bed," he announced, once he'd gotten out. He put her on the puppy bed next to his bed, and turned off the lights.

A low whimper came from the floor.

"No way," he said. "Dogs sleep on the floor."

There was a gentle tug on the end of the sheet.

He rolled over to look, and found Allie tugging at the sheet, her eyes wide and beseeching. She whimpered again, and he sighed. "Fine." He pulled her onto the bed and she curled up on his chest. "I see how it is," he said. She didn't weigh enough to hamper him, so he closed his eyes.