“C’mon, Sam,” Rhody called, turning his key in the lock and holding the door open for the German shepherd as the dog trotted after him with his tail wagging.
The man had taken rather well to his new canine body, and had spent the short cab ride from the landing pad back to his apartment with his head sticking out the window. On the walk up to the building, Rhody had only just barely avoided being tripped with the leash as Sam bounded circles around him excitedly, exploring his new home.
Rhody watched as Sam wove through the doorway, pausing to sniff at a half-wilted potted plant languishing in the front hall that he really needed to get around to watering, before making his way inside. The entryway was bare save for the plant, a coat rack, and a little bench, which he carefully made his way over to.
Rhody had rather quickly figured out that too much clutter did not make for easy movement, and had recruited Tony and Vision (the latter of which had been infinitely more helpful than the former) to help him do some organizing. His house was now ordered, clutter-free, and stripped down to the barest amount of furniture he could manage with.
It felt a little model-home-y but it made getting around so much easier.
Rhody called Sam over to his side, bracing his hand on the wall for balance and bending over to catch hold of the dog’s collar.
“There you go, buddy,” he murmured, unclipping Sam’s leash and coiling it up. He let the dog go and set the leash on the bench, sitting down to unlace his shoes and shed his jacket.
Sam watched him for a moment before coming over and scooping his leash up in his mouth, glancing up at Rhody before turning and beginning to walk away with it.
“Don’t go anywhere with that,” he called after the dog, “I need it to take you out. The complex has a leash rule.”
Sam continued trotting away, tail wagging, but before Rhody could call him back a second time the dog stopped before the coat rack, looking up at it.
“What are you doing, bud?” Rhody called, prying one of his boots off a numb foot and setting it aside.
As he watched, Sam pushed himself up on his hind legs, hanging his leash over one of the hooks before dropping back to all fours and turning to Rhody with a tongue-lolling, open-mouthed grin.
“Hey, that’s a neat trick,” he smiled as Sam trotted back to him. He ruffled the German Shepherd’s soft ears when Sam rammed his head into him, his collar jingling with the movement. The dog turned away and began to poke around again as he waited for Rhody, sniffing at the walls and the sparse furniture.
Rhody leaned to unlace his other boot and glanced up barely a second later when he heard a snort, only to find that Sam had his muzzle stuffed in his shoe, sniffing curiously.
“Aw, man, get your nose outta that, that’s nasty,” Rhody said, catching him by the collar. “Come here, sit still for a minute.”
Sam obediently sat down at his side, head tilted imploringly.
Rhody made quick work of pulling off his other boot and stood again, making his way haltingly toward the kitchen. Sam trotted at his side, looking up at him every few steps. He could tell that the dog was itching to go look around by the way he stared into the rooms they passed, ears perked, but he remained by Rhody’s side.
His kitchen was decently sized, as far as apartments went, with a lot of counter space that went mostly unused and a large top-of-the-line fridge Tony had gotten him as a present looking jarringly out of place among the other practically antique appliances there. The tile was a black and white checkered mess that probably had been laid in the seventies, and a few of the cabinets had bad hinges that kept them from closing all the way, but it was homey and Rhody liked it.
“You hungry?” he asked his new housemate, pulling open the fridge and leaning heavily on the door as he looked over the bare shelves. Forgot to shop again. Damn.
Rhody pulled out some lunch meat, rolling up one slice and tossing it to a very eager Sam before rolling a second one and stuffing it in his own mouth. The first two cabinets he pulled open were fairly barren as well, and he sighed in defeat.
“Gonna need to do some shopping,” he muttered, looking around for his grocery list. “Need food. You’re gonna need pet stuff, too. Like a dog bed.”
Sam licked his lips and sat nearby, tail wagging.
Rhody finally spotted the notepad on the far side of the kitchen, by the phone, and he haltingly made his way over to it as Sam nosed open one of the lower cabinets to see inside. Halfway across the room, however, his brace locked up.
Rhody cursed as he stumbled, grabbing for the counter, and barely managed to catch himself before he hit the floor. Sam was at his side in a second, whimpering in concern as he nosed at him.
“I’m all right, I’m okay,” he panted, resting a hand on the dog’s head. “Just give me a second to get my feet back under me.”
The braces whined and clicked as he tried to straighten up, and Rhody used his fist to give a solid smack to the one that had locked up. Being good old American technology, the movement jarred the jammed part of the brace back into its proper position, and the machinery let out a soft whir as it straightened out.
Rhody braced one hand on the counter, the other on Sam’s back to balance, and slowly pushed himself upright as the dog pressed against his leg to steady him. It took him a moment to get balanced on his feet again, but it didn’t take as long as it usually did. Slowly, he was getting better at this.
“There we go. Thanks, man,” he murmured, patting Sam on the head. The dog barked, tail wagging, but didn’t lose the concerned look.
Ignoring the long stare he was getting, Rhody grabbed up the list and a pen, turning back the way they’d come.
“Need to get off my feet for a bit,” he muttered to the dog by way of explanation, making his way toward the living room. Sam turned and followed on his heels, watching his steps carefully.
The living room, like the kitchen, could have been newer. The curtains had probably been hanging in the same position since they’d gone up, and the blinds were more gone than there. The carpet was worn with foot traffic save for a little square in the corner where they’d taken out an end table and a large square by the window where he’d gotten rid of the recliner in favor of more floor space. Like most of his house, however, the old decor was dotted with new accents, mainly courtesy of Tony. The antique wooden entertainment center had a shiny new flat screen television set up in it, as well as about four different gaming consoles. The old, faded furniture was outclassed by the designer sofa that had been set up in front of the television, and the dusty nick-knacks on a shelf in the corner had been rearranged to surround a digital picture frame that scrolled through photos of his friends and family. Currently it was displaying a shot of him with some of the Avengers from after one of their early training sessions at the compound.
Rhody and Sam stood off to one side of the frame, laughing, as Natasha pinned a giggling Wanda in a gentle headlock with a smirk and Steve stood at the opposite edge of the frame, looking on with a soft smile. Vision had taken the picture, using Sam’s phone. It had been the only one out of about thirty that could be used because when Wanda had explained to the synth how to use the camera, she had forgotten to mention that he had to keep his fingers off of the lens. Even now, Rhody could see the hint of blurry red in the top corner of the shot.
Vision and Rhody had not really spoken since the airport, aside from a simple greeting or Vision asking how he was feeling. Things had been tense between them, and Rhody had been putting off the inevitable discussion about what happened in favor of spending time with Tony and getting his braces up and running. Eventually he would have to confront the synthetic man, but right now he had other problems that required his attention, so he once again put it out of his mind.
Rhody dropped down onto the couch with a groan, leaning his head back and closing his eyes before letting out a long sigh. His eyes snapped back open again, however, when he felt the cushion beside him dip sharply.
“Hey, no. Off,” Rhody scolded as Sam settled himself on the sofa. “No dogs on the furniture.”
Sam rolled over, talking back in a long, whining yelp as he settled himself more comfortably.
“Don’t sass me,” Rhody muttered, giving Sam a little shove. “You are covered in fur, and shedding. I don’t need that on my sofa. This was expensive.”
It took two more shoves to get the German shepherd on the floor, and Sam shook himself before turning back to Rhody with a pleading look and a bark.
“No.”
Sam wasn’t deterred, and stepped forward to lay his head on Rhody’s knee with a whimper, ears and tail drooping.
“Aw hell no, don’t give me that.”
Sam gave another long whine, this one accompanied by a slight head tilt and pinched brows, and Rhody let out a sigh.
“Break my heart, why don’t you? Fine. You can get on the sofa, but let me put a blanket down first.”
He went to get up but Sam was already bounding off, tail wagging and ears perked. The dog was back a moment later carrying a folded blanket from the foot of the bed, which he awkwardly tossed up onto the seat of the couch. Sam waited patiently as Rhody spread the blanket out, hopping up onto the sofa as soon as he was done.
Rhody watched with a smile as the dog turned around in a little circle and flopped down at his side, tongue lolling. “There. Happy?”
Sam barked, bobbing his head, and Rhody ruffled his ears before reaching over to the coffee table and grabbing the remote.
“Good. Now just stay there and keep out of trouble. And don’t even think about trying to get me to change the channel,” Rhody grouched, settling himself back and clicking open the pen as he started in on his grocery list.
FILL: Shifted (17/?)
The man had taken rather well to his new canine body, and had spent the short cab ride from the landing pad back to his apartment with his head sticking out the window. On the walk up to the building, Rhody had only just barely avoided being tripped with the leash as Sam bounded circles around him excitedly, exploring his new home.
Rhody watched as Sam wove through the doorway, pausing to sniff at a half-wilted potted plant languishing in the front hall that he really needed to get around to watering, before making his way inside. The entryway was bare save for the plant, a coat rack, and a little bench, which he carefully made his way over to.
Rhody had rather quickly figured out that too much clutter did not make for easy movement, and had recruited Tony and Vision (the latter of which had been infinitely more helpful than the former) to help him do some organizing. His house was now ordered, clutter-free, and stripped down to the barest amount of furniture he could manage with.
It felt a little model-home-y but it made getting around so much easier.
Rhody called Sam over to his side, bracing his hand on the wall for balance and bending over to catch hold of the dog’s collar.
“There you go, buddy,” he murmured, unclipping Sam’s leash and coiling it up. He let the dog go and set the leash on the bench, sitting down to unlace his shoes and shed his jacket.
Sam watched him for a moment before coming over and scooping his leash up in his mouth, glancing up at Rhody before turning and beginning to walk away with it.
“Don’t go anywhere with that,” he called after the dog, “I need it to take you out. The complex has a leash rule.”
Sam continued trotting away, tail wagging, but before Rhody could call him back a second time the dog stopped before the coat rack, looking up at it.
“What are you doing, bud?” Rhody called, prying one of his boots off a numb foot and setting it aside.
As he watched, Sam pushed himself up on his hind legs, hanging his leash over one of the hooks before dropping back to all fours and turning to Rhody with a tongue-lolling, open-mouthed grin.
“Hey, that’s a neat trick,” he smiled as Sam trotted back to him. He ruffled the German Shepherd’s soft ears when Sam rammed his head into him, his collar jingling with the movement. The dog turned away and began to poke around again as he waited for Rhody, sniffing at the walls and the sparse furniture.
Rhody leaned to unlace his other boot and glanced up barely a second later when he heard a snort, only to find that Sam had his muzzle stuffed in his shoe, sniffing curiously.
“Aw, man, get your nose outta that, that’s nasty,” Rhody said, catching him by the collar. “Come here, sit still for a minute.”
Sam obediently sat down at his side, head tilted imploringly.
Rhody made quick work of pulling off his other boot and stood again, making his way haltingly toward the kitchen. Sam trotted at his side, looking up at him every few steps. He could tell that the dog was itching to go look around by the way he stared into the rooms they passed, ears perked, but he remained by Rhody’s side.
His kitchen was decently sized, as far as apartments went, with a lot of counter space that went mostly unused and a large top-of-the-line fridge Tony had gotten him as a present looking jarringly out of place among the other practically antique appliances there. The tile was a black and white checkered mess that probably had been laid in the seventies, and a few of the cabinets had bad hinges that kept them from closing all the way, but it was homey and Rhody liked it.
“You hungry?” he asked his new housemate, pulling open the fridge and leaning heavily on the door as he looked over the bare shelves. Forgot to shop again. Damn.
Rhody pulled out some lunch meat, rolling up one slice and tossing it to a very eager Sam before rolling a second one and stuffing it in his own mouth. The first two cabinets he pulled open were fairly barren as well, and he sighed in defeat.
“Gonna need to do some shopping,” he muttered, looking around for his grocery list. “Need food. You’re gonna need pet stuff, too. Like a dog bed.”
Sam licked his lips and sat nearby, tail wagging.
Rhody finally spotted the notepad on the far side of the kitchen, by the phone, and he haltingly made his way over to it as Sam nosed open one of the lower cabinets to see inside. Halfway across the room, however, his brace locked up.
Rhody cursed as he stumbled, grabbing for the counter, and barely managed to catch himself before he hit the floor. Sam was at his side in a second, whimpering in concern as he nosed at him.
“I’m all right, I’m okay,” he panted, resting a hand on the dog’s head. “Just give me a second to get my feet back under me.”
The braces whined and clicked as he tried to straighten up, and Rhody used his fist to give a solid smack to the one that had locked up. Being good old American technology, the movement jarred the jammed part of the brace back into its proper position, and the machinery let out a soft whir as it straightened out.
Rhody braced one hand on the counter, the other on Sam’s back to balance, and slowly pushed himself upright as the dog pressed against his leg to steady him. It took him a moment to get balanced on his feet again, but it didn’t take as long as it usually did. Slowly, he was getting better at this.
“There we go. Thanks, man,” he murmured, patting Sam on the head. The dog barked, tail wagging, but didn’t lose the concerned look.
Ignoring the long stare he was getting, Rhody grabbed up the list and a pen, turning back the way they’d come.
“Need to get off my feet for a bit,” he muttered to the dog by way of explanation, making his way toward the living room. Sam turned and followed on his heels, watching his steps carefully.
The living room, like the kitchen, could have been newer. The curtains had probably been hanging in the same position since they’d gone up, and the blinds were more gone than there. The carpet was worn with foot traffic save for a little square in the corner where they’d taken out an end table and a large square by the window where he’d gotten rid of the recliner in favor of more floor space. Like most of his house, however, the old decor was dotted with new accents, mainly courtesy of Tony. The antique wooden entertainment center had a shiny new flat screen television set up in it, as well as about four different gaming consoles. The old, faded furniture was outclassed by the designer sofa that had been set up in front of the television, and the dusty nick-knacks on a shelf in the corner had been rearranged to surround a digital picture frame that scrolled through photos of his friends and family. Currently it was displaying a shot of him with some of the Avengers from after one of their early training sessions at the compound.
Rhody and Sam stood off to one side of the frame, laughing, as Natasha pinned a giggling Wanda in a gentle headlock with a smirk and Steve stood at the opposite edge of the frame, looking on with a soft smile. Vision had taken the picture, using Sam’s phone. It had been the only one out of about thirty that could be used because when Wanda had explained to the synth how to use the camera, she had forgotten to mention that he had to keep his fingers off of the lens. Even now, Rhody could see the hint of blurry red in the top corner of the shot.
Vision and Rhody had not really spoken since the airport, aside from a simple greeting or Vision asking how he was feeling. Things had been tense between them, and Rhody had been putting off the inevitable discussion about what happened in favor of spending time with Tony and getting his braces up and running. Eventually he would have to confront the synthetic man, but right now he had other problems that required his attention, so he once again put it out of his mind.
Rhody dropped down onto the couch with a groan, leaning his head back and closing his eyes before letting out a long sigh. His eyes snapped back open again, however, when he felt the cushion beside him dip sharply.
“Hey, no. Off,” Rhody scolded as Sam settled himself on the sofa. “No dogs on the furniture.”
Sam rolled over, talking back in a long, whining yelp as he settled himself more comfortably.
“Don’t sass me,” Rhody muttered, giving Sam a little shove. “You are covered in fur, and shedding. I don’t need that on my sofa. This was expensive.”
It took two more shoves to get the German shepherd on the floor, and Sam shook himself before turning back to Rhody with a pleading look and a bark.
“No.”
Sam wasn’t deterred, and stepped forward to lay his head on Rhody’s knee with a whimper, ears and tail drooping.
“Aw hell no, don’t give me that.”
Sam gave another long whine, this one accompanied by a slight head tilt and pinched brows, and Rhody let out a sigh.
“Break my heart, why don’t you? Fine. You can get on the sofa, but let me put a blanket down first.”
He went to get up but Sam was already bounding off, tail wagging and ears perked. The dog was back a moment later carrying a folded blanket from the foot of the bed, which he awkwardly tossed up onto the seat of the couch. Sam waited patiently as Rhody spread the blanket out, hopping up onto the sofa as soon as he was done.
Rhody watched with a smile as the dog turned around in a little circle and flopped down at his side, tongue lolling. “There. Happy?”
Sam barked, bobbing his head, and Rhody ruffled his ears before reaching over to the coffee table and grabbing the remote.
“Good. Now just stay there and keep out of trouble. And don’t even think about trying to get me to change the channel,” Rhody grouched, settling himself back and clicking open the pen as he started in on his grocery list.
Sam just gave him a troublemaking grin.