Peter & Bucky Are Pals

Chapter 47

A loud, repetitive sound pulled Peter from his sleep; he fumbled with his phone, but it wasn’t his alarm. It sounded more like… barking? Peter lurched into sitting position. Right. Quinn.

“D’you need to g’outside?” he asked her, rubbing his eyes.

She yipped in response.

“‘Kay,” he mumbled, slithering out of bed and pulling on pants.

It felt early, much too early to be awake in the summertime. His point was proven by the fact that it was still dark outside, which meant that it was before 5:30, which just wasn’t right.

It took him seven tries to buckle Quinn’s harness, four to get her leash on, and about two minutes to find his left shoe. Finally, he stumbled out the door to the elevator, his arm flopping as Quinn tugged in anticipation. He nearly fell asleep on the trip to the lobby and narrowly avoided braining himself on the front doors. Quinn’s tail swirled like a windmill as they stepped out onto the sidewalk; Peter smiled, his eyes drooping.

“Good thing you’re cute,” he told her. “Otherwise this would be a lot less fun.”

She led them a couple blocks down to Bryant Park, where the only other people around were early-morning runners and a few sleeping homeless folks. Usually, Peter would offer them a granola bar or a meal, but he didn’t want to bother them so early. He watched Quinn sniff around; he yawned into his hand, swaying a bit.

“I’m tired,” he informed Quinn, who didn’t seem to be listening.

To occupy himself, he pictured his bed in all its glory, warm covers, fluffy pillows, springy mattress. After nearly ten minutes with no bathroom-going, Peter lifted his hand to his face.

“You don’t even have to pee, do you?”

Quinn tried to lick a piece of chewing gum stuck to the pavement, and Peter groaned.

“C’mon, we’re going home.”

Quinn looked disappointed, but followed him back to the Tower, where they crossed the lobby and boarded the rightmost elevator.

“Mr. Parker,” said JARVIS.

Peter blinked up at the ceiling. “Hi, JARVIS.”

“Sergeant Barnes would like me to tell you that he’ll be making breakfast at six, if you’re interested.”

Peter blinked again.

“What would you like me to tell him?” asked JARVIS.

“Oh, um, yeah, that’s… that’s good,” Peter said. “Thanks.”

“Of course.”

Peter leaned on the side of the elevator the rest of the way up to his room; when he and Quinn entered, he fumbled to remove her harness and then launched himself into bed, burrowing under the sheets. To his relief, sleep came to him almost instantaneously.

----

A fantastic couple hours of not being awake later and Peter was heading to Steve and Bucky’s apartment, tapping on the door with Quinn in tow. Steve opened the door a few moments later, holding a batter-coated spoon and sporting an apron covered in heart-eye emojis.