Avengers x animal reader

Steve: You're back?

As I had still hid around Katniss, I never missed how the man would pass by my peripheral every now and then, as if he was scared to confront me.

When I had seen this, I was skeptical. Of course he did not want to be around me, I was a simple street rat!

He was not scared, he was just being rude, knowing well that I was just some dog that had no business being anywhere near him. So why does he still come by?

I had a turmoil boiling within, and it was not unnoticed.

"What has you all fuming?" A female bark alerted me to the larger dog resting beside me.

"That guy, the blondie, has been walking by, but never stopping to see me. Almost as if he is gonna go for it, but chickens out!"

"And you're angry people wanna leave you alone?"

"...if he was gonna do something, he might as well do it! Not like I'm going anywhere."

"Well then why don't you go to him? Or show interest, maybe that is what he is trying to do, see if you like him?"

I stood there, and silenced my thoughts. I will just bark at him next time to get his attention.

~♡~

As the day drew on, getting kind pat's from strangers, the occasional look from toddlers, and barks from other dogs, he finnaly came back.

I saw him move with the crowd, and I allowed myself to gravitate towards him. Sniffing about his shoes and checking in that he was indeed familiar.

I felt his fingers slightly graze against the top of my head to navigate their way to by ears. A gentle motion appreciated by me. He was indeed kind and gentle. His sympathy was
not unrewarded as I moved to try and gauge his reaction to me approaching him.

He seemed rather stunned and happy, seeing a little friend actually be friendly. My tail moved ever so slightly and he ran with it. He crouched down, making sure to never be in the way of the passers-by, and he continued to try and win me over with physical affections.

It kinda worked. He didn't have anything fancy outside of simple praises and physical love for something like me. It was just him and me, inspecting one another, making sure we both knew and understood our own situations before we dared to ever go another step further.

He understood if I flinched or backed away after a while. He was still such a kind soul. He had the heart of a man who knew hardships, who knew what it meant to be loved and to love others and things outside of himself. It was the kind of thing that needed to be more abundant in the world.

But, until then, it was just me and him. Until, of course, he knew he had to step away. He can't sit beside me all day. He can't expect to pull me away from familiarity as well. It's either you let sleeping dogs lie, or you face the grumpy looks of a hound freshly woken up.

So, he stood. And I almost stood with him, until I knew I wasn't going to follow after him myself. He scratched at the top of my head before moving to start walking off. I didn't want this to be the last time I saw him.

I wasn't special, I wasn't some super dog that could fix every single problem on earth with a bark. I was just another thing living on the streets alongside other strays. I belonged to no one. Could I ever belong? Maybe not. I didn't need to belong anyways.

With him walking away, I hoped he didn't want to sever the ties between us, I hoped he wanted to grow whatever this was. But I wanted him to give me time. I can't just say goodbye to Katniss without actually getting to say goodbye. That wasn't fair. To anyone. Not to her, and not to me.

He was gone, into the crowd with only a hint of scent to follow if you were downwind enough. And here I was, hoping he'd come back soon enough with maybe some biscuits and be ready for these silent talks we had.

He didn't speak a damn word, but I still thought the silence was filling. Any smile he shot out, any small chuckle that faded in with every ambience in the world. It was fitting for someone like him, I thought. Gentle, quiet when needed. Perfection.

I strolled back over to where I usually sat with Katniss, we didn't speak. Who needed to. Not us. Our silence was also fitting as well for the situation. After all, I may as well have met the man who can be a home to me.

A/N: Guess who's back. Hi. I don't wanna talk about it, all I know is that I've grown a lot, including my writing. Expect longer stories but also expect crack mixed in. This is my welcome back party and I'm gonna throw it. Also, no update schedule. I do what I want, sorry. I procrastinate, don't rush me or I will prolong things to spite you :) Anywayyyssss, have a good morning, day, afternoon, evening and night!
-Zephpre, the living dead.