This Means War

Bork

Ellie can be an asshole. That is a given. An established fact if you will. She is not a complete jerk, however. She is perfectly capable of being a kind and helpful human being.

The fact that she manages to still be a bit of an asshole at the same time is just a bonus.

It happened on a Saturday. Normally no one would be working, but Sebastian had a few reshoots to get through. Ellie, on the other hand, had nothing but time and a devious mind to keep her occupied.

Sebastian wasn't completely sure what he should expect when he saw Ellie loitering near his trailer. Had she filled his trailer with cereal this time? Did she have more firecrackers waiting? Had she combined them? Was he walking into a cereal explosion?

He heard something as he approached. It sounded like tiny squeaks at first. Ellie just shrugged and motioned for him to open the door. It's rarely a good thing when she doesn't speak. Especially when you know she's up to something.

He opened the trailer door and was filled with a mixture of disbelief and giddiness. Inside his trailer were around 8 puppies and ten dogs, all frolicking about without a care in the world.

"This is the greatest day of my life!" He laughed, scooping up the first pup to wander close, his friends quickly swarming around his feet. "Hi guys!" He cooed, crouching down to pet them.

Ellie shook her head, keeping the camera trained on him as the excited pups all tried to climb on him at once, causing The Winter Soldier to break out in giddy laughter.

"Wanna help them find homes?" Ellie asked over the noise of the wrestling canines.

"Does that mean I get to play with them more?" He asked hopefully, managing to wrangle a third puppy into his arms.

"Adoption fees are paid for, we just need your handsome face to help find them homes." Ellie explained.

"What?"

"Come on, pretty boy, we've got an adoption event to get to. Keep the arm on, I promised everyone The Winter Soldier would be there." Ellie laughed, scooping up one of the wandering pups.

It took some doing and the help of the volunteers waiting nearby, but they got the canines wrangled and loaded into the waiting vehicles, Ellie taking more pictures of her friend's ecstatic face along the way.

It came as no surprise when he planted himself inside the puppy pen at the adoption event, again letting the animals swarm over him. Ellie posted another video with the details of where they were, doing her best to contain her giggles as the normally intimidating Winter Soldier sat surrounded by puppies, laughing like a child that had consumed far too much sugar.

It took almost no time at all for people to start pouring in, some wanting pictures, others interested in the animals, all having a great time. One after another the canines found homes, Sebastian reluctantly handing off his new furry friend each time.

It wasn't until the last one was given to its new family that Sebastian finally climbed out of the puppy pen. He was covered in dog hair and slobber and the fluffy one had chewed his shoelaces into oblivion, but he still had a dopey smile on his face.

"You good?" Ellie asked.

"Thank you." Sebastian sighed, wrapping his arms around her in a crushing hug.

"Not the typical response for being turned into a chew toy, but ok?" Ellie wheezed, pushing against him to try and refill her lungs with much needed air.

"That was a good thing you did."

"You don't have to sound surprised." Ellie laughed, brushing the dog hair from her shirt.

"Well forgive me for not knowing you had a sensitive side." Sebastian chuckled, throwing his still costumed arm around her shoulders as they headed for the door. "The last time you did something 'nice' I ended up covered in glitter."

"If it's any consolation, you've still got glitter on you." Ellie pointed out, plucking the sparkle off his jaw.

"Is it weird that I want to do that again?"

"The glitter or the puppies?"

"The puppies. I've had enough glitter for one lifetime."

"Well, they're out of dogs, so you're going to have to wait. Unless you want to try with cats instead."

"Ugh, I wish, but I'm allergic." Sebastian sighed.

"We'll just pump you full of Benadryl and let you pass out on the floor."

"So a normal Friday night for you?"

"Rude and uncalled for, sir."

A/N: I have previously been uploading around every three days. I'm thinking about maybe changing the schedule to Monday Wednesday and Friday for consistency sake.