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[dyslexic-gremlin]

Goose is the Best Emotional Support [ch. 6]

Read on AO3!

Chapter title: Wanda Maximoff

Summary: Carol decides to leave Goose with Peter when she's needed for an away mission. During the weekend he has her, Peter shows Goose off to the other people at the Avengers Compound. Some of the reactions are mixed, but how can you not love such an adorable kitty?

Notes: Basically just a bunch of fluff with Goose and Peter hanging out with people.

Main characters: Peter Parker, Goose, Wanda Maximoff

Important tags: Fluff (that's it)

Word count: 947

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday, 3:45 PM

Wanda sighed to herself as she walked around the grounds of the compound after one of her bi-weekly meditation sessions. It had been almost three months since she started training with the Sorcerer Supreme, and along with traditional physical training she also had to suffer sit through meditation. Despite her complaints, however, she couldn’t deny the improvement she’d seen was impressive.

Even with the differences in their magicks, Doctor Strange had been successful in helping Wanda build her control. It was slow going and required a lot more self-reflection than Wanda had assumed, but if it was what she had to go through in order to do better, she would.

She had felt more in control than ever, and magical outbursts that happened due to emotions were almost non-existent (they still happened, sadly. On her really bad days when grief and guilt consumed her. But it took a considerable amount more than it used to). As her control strengthened, so did her output level. She was able to do more and more as each month passed.

The witch (now that she was doing proper training that title fit surprisingly well) stretched her arms above her head and continued her walk to work some feeling back into her limbs. Wanda knew she’d get used to how still one became during meditation eventually, but it was still a foreign enough experience that it lingered with her.

Just as Wanda rounded the side of the compound to enter from the front (she liked speaking with the receptionist– they were close in age and both came from Eastern Europe) an orange cat scampered through an open window. The woman stopped as the feline leapt to the ground and started to calmly lick themself in the middle of Wanda’s path.

“Oh, hello,” she absently greeted, still slightly out of it due to her previous engagement. It took a moment for Wanda to comprehend the situation and, once she did, she quickly did a double-take between the cat and window.

Well, it wasn’t the weirdest thing she had run into while at the compound (an alien that resembled a raccoon and a person that looked like he was made of rocks came to mind). She didn’t have much to do with Vision in his own training session and everyone else was similarly preoccupied, so Wanda decided to postpone her chat with Ana and instead settled near the cat.

With her legs bent so she was closer to the ground, Wanda slowly extended her loosely curled fingers for the cat to sniff. Her offer caught the tabby’s attention and, with only slight hesitance, the cat leaned over to sniff Wanda’s hand.

The close proximity coupled with her recent training meant Wanda was able to glean a basic telepathic read of the animal (which shouldn’t have been as easy as it was. While she had improved, Wanda still wasn’t as good at reading the minds of beings that had a lower cognitive ability than an average human). She could tell the feline was a female, and, surprisingly, was able to catch her name.

“Hmm, Goose, huh? A very interesting name for an intriguing cat.”

As Goose dubbed Wanda worthy enough and began to rub herself against the hero’s legs, Peter appeared from around the corner. He looked stressed and worried– the teen must have had something on his mind because Peter didn’t notice the two on the ground and stumbled over them.

Out of reflex Wanda threw strings of her magic at Peter to grab him before he fell to the ground. Even if she hadn’t, Wanda knew Peter would have been able to catch himself with his reflexes.

“Sorry!” the teen exclaimed once he was settled back on his feet. “I’ve been looking for someone and didn’t see–”

Once Peter’s gaze landed on Goose he cut himself off and lunged towards the cat. Wanda had expected his movements to frighten the animal (and she also hadn’t expected that kind of action from Peter, he seemed much better with animals) but if cats could look resigned then Goose did.

Peter scooped her into his arms quickly, “There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Bucky said you left him right after you ate and if I somehow lost you Carol would kill me!”

He stoked Goose’s back a couple of times before amending his statement.

“Actually, scratch that. If I lost you I would kill myself before Carol could get to me.”

Goose let out a quiet mrrow in what seemed to be comfort as she bumped her head against Peter’s hand.

Off to the side, Wanda watched the interaction in amusement.

“So she is yours?” the witch asked and reached out herself to pet Goose (who, thankfully, allowed her to).

“No,” Peter explained, “but I’m watching her this weekend.”

Wanda made a noise of understanding and then fondness as Goose started to rub her face against Wanda’s palm.

“Then we should move inside, so Goose doesn’t make another attempted escape.”

Peter nodded in agreement and shifted his hold on the orange feline as they quickly finished the walk to the compound’s entrance. For good measure, Wanda made sure to use her powers to close the window Goose had escaped from earlier.

“Were you able to watch those videos I sent you the other day?” Peter asked.

Wanda shook her head, “I haven’t. We could watch them now?”

A large grin broke across the teen’s face in excitement as he nodded vigorously and an extra pep was put into his step.

She might not have been able to do what she had planned, but Wanda was glad she ran into the strange cat.

Chapter index: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

[dyslexic-gremlin]

Goose is the Best Emotional Support [ch. 5]

Read on AO3!

Chapter title: Bucky Barnes

Summary: Carol decides to leave Goose with Peter when she's needed for an away mission. During the weekend he has her, Peter shows Goose off to the other people at the Avengers Compound. Some of the reactions are mixed, but how can you not love such an adorable kitty?

Notes: Basically just a bunch of fluff with Goose and Peter hanging out with people.

Main characters: Peter Parker, Goose, Bucky Barnes

Important tags: Fluff, light angst (like super light it's almost not there)

Word count: 1295

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday, 12:17 PM

It wasn’t a good day. Thankfully it wasn’t a bad day either, but it also wasn’t a good one (it was in some uncomfortable middle ground that made Bucky’s skin crawl). Unfortunately, everyone he usually went to during his not-good days was busy.

Steve was held up in an important Avengers meeting (it was about a threat assessment and possible recruitment for someone from the west coast) and Sam was doing something with Scott Lang. So the two people he could talk to weren’t around and like hell would he disrupt their days because he was having problems (not that he’d ever admit to Sam that he enjoyed his company).

Bucky was on his way back to his room to self-isolate when he caught sight of Peter leaving Steve’s room. The teen had a disgusted look plastered to his face and there was a foul-smelling bag in his hands. The ex-assassin knew instantly what he was doing.

“Hey, kid,” the man said in a way to greet and alert the teen he was there, “Stevie told me what happened in there this morning. Sorry about that, he’s never been good with animals.”

Peter shot him a look before he scrunched up his nose at the smell and rushed to the nearest bin to dispose of the trash.

“Not being good with animals doesn’t equal throwing a whole-ass cat out of a second-story window!”

Bucky patted the other hero on the shoulder once the bag of feces was thrown out, “I don’t condone his methods, but ya really should keep a better handle on your pet.”

At his words, Peter turned towards Bucky with a pout tugging on his mouth. It was a known fact that no one in the compound could truly resist Peter when he purposefully pulled those faces (Pepper was the best at withstanding it, but even she cracked under it in the end). If it had been any better of a day, Bucky would have caved right then and there and would have gone to stake out the meeting room so he could lecture Steve as soon as he left.

However, in his current state, Bucky was just too exhausted and felt no such need. His lack of reaction must have clued Peter into how Bucky was feeling because it took only a few seconds for the teen to come to a decision. Peter gestured for Bucky to follow him down the hall with an encouraging smile.

Even though he wasn’t on his (very short) list of people Bucky would actively search out on such days, Peter was good people. Despite not knowing all that Bucky had been through, the teen was still understanding and helpful in grounding. So Bucky didn’t need to think before he accompanied the teen.

The walk was short and Peter purposefully guided them around any other people that were in the halls. Quickly they reached a side room that, once they entered, Bucky observed to be some form of cat playroom. The door even had a cat door installed in it.

Cat trees were littered around the entire room and were accompanied by as many scratching posts. The floor was a mix of hardwood, carpet, and a small patch of fake grass. Strangely several large objects had been hung from the ceiling using Peter’s webs (he decided to not ask about those). There was also a lone, but quite large, litter box tucked into a corner.

Bucky was sure Peter had only been tasked with watching the cat yesterday, but he supposed this room might have already been converted before then.

Laying down on a fuzzy rug in the middle of the hardwood area was a cat (if memory served her name was Goose). She was rolled onto her back and had her hind legs stretched towards the ceiling. Peter made a quiet psst psst psst noise and Goose shot her head towards the two of them. In one fluid motion, she contorted herself onto her paws and lunged over to them.

One of Bucky’s deeply ingrained instincts was to slap the approaching creature away from himself but, thankfully, was able to hold himself back. This was just a cat, he reminded himself, and not a threat. Even if she did decide the scratch him it wouldn’t do much damage (again, she was a cat).

Peter must have been thrilled he got the feline to come to him because his face broke out into a bright smile once she reached them. And another aspect of Peter was that his smiles were contagious as hell. Almost against his will, Bucky was forced to crack a small one himself.

“Here, Mr. Barnes, can I see your hand?”

The request caught him off guard. Hesitation radiated from him and Peter was quick to clarify.

“I mean your right hand!” he explained (and Bucky was eternally grateful he hadn’t said ‘normal’). “Well, either would do honestly. But you’ll want to feel Goose’s fur. It’s super soft and she’s always so warm.”

“You, uh, want me to… pet her?” It was such an unusual situation and he was still in a weird headspace that Bucky had to process what was happening a few times. Instead of backtracking, as Bucky expected, Peter only nodded and held out his own hand in an invitation.

The teen was patient and didn’t rush the man even when it took close to a minute or so for Bucky to gather up the courage. Steve was the only one Bucky had recently participated in skin-on-skin contact with and having Peter hold his hand was an interesting sensation. While he didn’t dislike it, Bucky wasn’t completely sure he was comfortable with it. 

Thankfully, the contact ended after only a few seconds because Peter had gently guided Bucky’s hand to Goose’s orange fur.

The strands were soft. They didn’t flow like Clint’s dog Lucky’s fur, but Bucky couldn’t remember if he had even touched a cat before (there was a vague memory of seeing one before while out on a HYDRA mission, but Bucky was worried what he’d see if he dug too deep into it). So, without anything to compare it to, it was nice. 

Soon Peter removed his hand and Bucky’s own started to stoke Goose’s back automatically. The soft fur under his palm and the warm rumbled purr he heard were borderline hypnotizing. Slowly, and without having realized it, Bucky sank to the floor with his legs stretched out in front of him.

Equally as slow Goose crept her way onto Bucky’s lap, as if not to startle him and flopped down where his thighs and knees connected. He didn’t even flinch when one of her paws landed on his kneecap in a weird day (which he was thankful for).

“I’ll leave y’all to it,” Peter said and broke the silence that had fallen in the room. “Her toys are over in that corner, but she might want to eat in a bit. Don’t freak out when she does! I promise she’s completely harmless and it just looks kinda scary.”

Bucky finally dragged his eyes away from Goose to look at Peter like he was crazy. How does a cat eating look ‘kinda scary’?

“You’ll get what I mean,” was the only explanation the teen gave before he slipped out of the room with his phone in hand.

Once he was left alone with the cat, Bucky looked down at the animal with a questioning look.

“What the hell was that cryptic shit? Don’t transform into a giant alien monster, please.”

Goose didn’t answer (not that Bucky had expected one), she just looked up at him before breaking out into a large yawn.

Chapter index: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

[dyslexic-gremlin]

Goose is the Best Emotional Support [ch. 4]

Read on AO3!

Chapter title: Eddie Brock & Venom Symbiote

Summary: Carol decides to leave Goose with Peter when she's needed for an away mission. During the weekend he has her, Peter shows Goose off to the other people at the Avengers Compound. Some of the reactions are mixed, but how can you not love such an adorable kitty?

Notes: Basically just a bunch of fluff with Goose and Peter hanging out with people.

Main characters: Peter Parker, Goose, Eddie Brock, Venom

Important tags: Fluff, romance (ig?? kinda between V + Eddie)

Word count: 2127

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday, 11:00 AM

Food.

Eddie sighed as Venom complained, again.

Food, Eddie. We need food.

We’ve still got a few miles to go, love. We can eat when we get there, promise.

Venom’s growl reverberated throughout their being and Eddie pointedly ignored it. After all, their need to make a cross-country road trip on a motorcycle was because of the symbiote. While the reporter never liked flying (due to being forced into a contained space that was very far up in the sky) he used to be able to take some drugs that knocked him out for the duration.

Ever since their merge, however, medicines either refused to work for them or caused them other problems. He still would have put up with it if not for the pain generated by the frequencies an airplane would emit. So, a drive it was.

The fact they needed to have the trip in the first place was also Venom’s fault. Well, technically, it was Drake’s fault when it came down to it. After all, he was the one who introduced symbiotes to Earth. But they were the ones who had gotten contacted by the Avengers and were forced to head to New York. 

Why they couldn’t have had the meeting near their house was lost on the pair, seeing as there was an Avengers base on the west coast it could have been held at. But nope, they were told to make their way to New York for it. Damn self-entitled heroes.

To be fair, Stark had offered to comp the plane tickets or send one of his private jets to pick them up, but Eddie had to refuse. They had made decent time anyway with Venom taking the controls whenever Eddie needed to rest, and it was the beginning of day three when they pulled into the compound. Eddie was grateful for that fact because, while their motorbike was top-of-the-line (at least when Eddie had first bought it), it wasn’t comfortable to ride it for a long amount of time.

Eddie quickly parked their bike and jumped off it to stretch. He secured his helmet to the motorcycle and shrugged off his biker jacket. Without any prompting, Venom reached a tendril out and dug through the duffle on Eddie’s back to pull out a comfortable pullover. It probably wasn’t the best thing he should wear when meeting a group of superheroes, but neither of them cared enough (if they were going to drag them across the country then they can put up with his casual clothing).

He quickly tugged the hoodie on and eyed the cameras he could see warily. Even though there was a promise, after the threat of a lawsuit, that any recorded material of the pair would either be sealed or destroyed after the meet Eddie was still anxious. He begrudgingly trusted the Avengers, though, and strode towards the building. 

“Where the hell is the entrance?” Eddie muttered while he scanned the area and shoved his hands into the jacket’s pockets. There didn’t seem to be any signs or directionals so the pair resigned themselves to walking around until they came across someone.

We could break down the wall–

No!

Thankfully it didn’t take long for them to see someone. It was a sturdy-looking man with a larger build who eyed them in suspicion. Eddie waved a greeting and he ignored Venom’s grumble about how uncool it was.

The man swiftly approached them with a frown, “I’m sorry, this is private property and only preapproved personnel are permitted. If you would allow me to escort you back to your car–”

When he saw the hand reaching for their person, Eddie knew he had to do something before his other reacted in his hungry, annoyed state. The reporter took a few steps back and raised his hands in a non-threatening manner.

“Uh, sorry. I’m Eddie Brock. Tony Stark asked me here, so..?”

The man blinked and took a moment to check his phone. At least he stopped approaching and even gave Eddie more time to reel Venom back in as he spoke to someone on an earpiece.

He’s just doing his job! Exacerbation seeped into his mental exchange, He’s probably security or something, we can’t eat him just because he’s doing what he’s paid to do.

He is in our way, keeping us from food. I can smell chocolate in the air… so close…

Their mental conversation was broken by a throat being cleared. Eddie turned to look at the man who had his arms crossed and only looked slightly more receptive. 

“Follow me, please. Seems like you arrived earlier than expected.”

Without even a glance back to make sure he was being followed, the man started towards a glass wall. Well, he’s had worse welcomes. 

“Hey, we’re a little hungry,” Eddie sheepishly admitted as he hurried after the man, not noticing his slip-up, “would we be able to get some food?”

What looked like a window turned out to be an automatic door. As soon as the three of them got close it opened inward with no resistance and an accompanying blast of cold air. All the pair got in response was a nod (either he was naturally quiet or he just really disliked them. Or both).

“Thanks, Mister..?”

“Hogan.”

At least they finally got a name so they could stop addressing him as ‘the man.’

I liked it.

Shut up.

Mr. Hogan led them past a reception desk (where the receptionist didn’t even look twice at them) and into an empty sitting room. He soon left with a promise to come back with refreshments, leaving the two to their own devices.

Just as Eddie was assessing the space they were in a young man with an armful of cat and chocolate wandered in. He stopped halfway through shoving a chunk of milk chocolate into his mouth (and it was weird that they could identify the type of chocolate just by the smell) when his eyes landed on Eddie.

Out of an impulse rather than anything else, Eddie waved yet again. This time it was accompanied by a genuine smile.

The kid opened his mouth to say something (maybe to question why they were there) when the cat in his arms snagged the remainder of his chocolate and squirmed their way to the ground. As soon as their feet touched the ground, they bolted to the seated partners. A bewildered squawk escaped the stranger while he reached for the cat. 

“Goose! No! I don’t think you can eat that!”

Eddie had barely processed the situation when the cat, Goose, had bound up to them and deposited the lump of chocolate in their lap. Only a moment later did Venom shoot a tether out that consumed the chocolate whole. The pleased hmm the symbiote let out almost distracted Eddie from the literal child who was gaping at them. Shit.

“Oh. My. God!” the kid exclaimed. His tone sounded more excited than scared, which was surprising but good.

The only adult in the room stood up abruptly and he made sure to not hit the cat (Flerken, Eddie. She is a flerken)– made sure to not hit the flerken and flailed his hands, “Look, kid–”

Said kid had taken a few steps forward and absentmindedly supplied his name, “Peter. Not a kid.”

“Look, Peter,” Eddie would have taken a step back but their calves were already pressed against the front of the chair, “I’m sure there’s a completely reasonable explanation for whatever you think you saw! Lemme just think of one quickly…”

Venom never pulled his tether in from earlier and it swiftly morphed into the silky black ink of the alien’s head. Eddie saw Peter’s eyes widen at the display.

“For a reporter, Eddie, you are not good with words.”

“Okay, love, not what I need to be hearing right now, alright? We’re hungry and tired and now this kid– sorry– Peter here is probably in shock and his cat won’t stop rubbing our damn leg!”

Eddie ignored his other’s comment about how the correct species for the being currently pressed against them was a flerken. He didn’t have time to consider whatever that meant.

His words snapped Peter out of the daze he had been lulled into when he watched Venom materialize. He rushed forward and gathered Goose in his arms– then he began to struggle as the flerken tried her best to break free and reach out to the symbiote.

“I’m so sorry! Usually, she’s super chill and never jumps at strangers like that! Well, actually, she has been doing that more recently…”

Eddied paused the argument he had been having with Venom and turned towards Peter in confusion.

“That’s what you’re most worried about? Not the parasite oozing from my body?”

Venom growled at their partner, “Not a parasite.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Eddie placated and reached over to stroke Venom’s head soothingly, “y’know I mean nothing of it.”

The huff he got in reply would be the best he could get, so he took it. 

“Well…” Peter spoke up and drew the pair’s attention from each other yet again, “I’m used to weird shit. I mean, if someone has a gooey alien S/O who am I to judge? Might as well just roll with it.”

Eddie blinked at him while Venom reached a tendril out to pet Goose (an action that calmed the cat flerken down enough that she stopped her struggle). Something had to be wrong with that kid because not even Annie and Dan accepted their relationship that fast. Whatever, he could also ‘roll with it.’

“Okay then. Anyway, thanks for the chocolate. We’ve been pretty hungry and Vee says certain foods are better for us than others.”

Peter just waved them off, his gaze still locked onto Venom’s form in interest. “No worries. May says I eat too many sweets anyway. It’s nice to meet you two! What’re your names?”

“Idiot, stupid Eddie. Forgetting introductions.”

“I’m sorry I was too busy panicking! Anyway, I’m Eddie Brock, and you can call him Venom.”

That finally made Peter’s eyes shift to the human part of their pair, though the interest in them didn’t diminish at all.

“Eddie Brock? Like the Brock Report? Oh, man! I loved your show! It’s so great to meet you. MJ’s gonna be so pissed she had to leave early.”

Eddie couldn’t help but laugh at his enthusiasm. Teenagers would be teenagers, he supposed. And fans would be fans.

“Excuse me,” a voice spoke from the other side of the room. Eddie was the only one who jumped (Damnit Vee, give me a heads up next time!) and they all turned to see Mr. Hogan standing there with a platter in his hands.

“Hey-ya, Happy,” Peter greeted him with a wave and a smile.

Mr. Hogan nodded at Peter and returned his smile, “Hi, Peter. Boss asked me to tell you to ‘stop bugging our guests and clean up that mess in Steve’s room.’”

Peter groaned and gently squeezed Goose against his chest. “It’s not my fault Steve threw Goose out a window! He had it coming. Who the hell reacts to a cat in their room that way?!”

Regardless of his complaining though, the kid sighed and pulled Goose away from Venom (an action that made both of them react with sad noises) before he headed towards the exit Mr. Hogan was standing in.

“She holds a grudge, y’know,” Peter advised the man as he passed by, “Steve won't even see her coming when she decides to enact more revenge.”

Happy just rolled his eyes and made a shooing motion with one of his hands. Peter paused his grumbling to say goodbye to both Eddie and Venom before he continued his way around the corner and out of sight. 

“Now,” Mr. Hogan said as he turned to address the only people left in the room (he must have been briefed somewhat on their situation because the man didn’t even blink when he caught sight of Venom), “if you’d please follow me. Mr. Stark, Captain Rodgers, and Ms. Gamora are waiting to speak with you.

Before he turned to leave, Venom shot out a pair of tentacles to grab the platter from Mr. Hogan’s hands and pulled it close to them. Another tendril appeared and they started to shovel food into their gaping maw. That, at least, caused Mr. Hogan to pause for a moment in what was most likely disgust.

Eddie shrugged in a ‘what can you do?’ manner before gesturing for Happy to lead the way. After another second the man did, and Eddie followed. Hey, Vee, Eddie silently voiced to his partner as they walked and he kept eating, what’s a flerken?

Chapter index: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

[dyslexic-gremlin]

Goose is the Best Emotional Support [ch. 3]

Read on AO3!

Chapter title: Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds

Summary: Carol decides to leave Goose with Peter when she's needed for an away mission. During the weekend he has her, Peter shows Goose off to the other people at the Avengers Compound. Some of the reactions are mixed, but how can you not love such an adorable kitty?

Notes: Basically just a bunch of fluff with Goose and Peter hanging out with people.

Main characters: Peter Parker, Goose, Michelle Jones, Ned Leeds

Important tags: Fluff (that's it)

Word count: 1301

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friday, 7:25 PM

Every other week, when Peter would be at the Avengers Compound for the weekend, Ned and MJ would stay over for a night or two. The time would be spent doing homework, fucking around, eating a dinner Steve (and Tony, to a lesser extent) would frown upon, and then (hopefully) going to bed before three in the morning. Sometimes they’d focus on one task over the others, but everything would be done at one point.

That time around, Ned and MJ were picked up by the Black Widow and Hawkeye. It wasn’t as if the pair hadn’t met most of the team before, but it was the first time any of the heroes had picked them up. Normally, Happy would swing by around six o’clock to collect them from one of their homes and they’d arrive at the compound in around an hour. Because, like any normal person, Happy followed the rules of the road when not in an emergency.

Natasha Romanoff was not a normal person. The two heroes had arrived later than expected, but neither teen would complain over the free ride(s) they were getting and it was brushed off. After getting over the initial shock of seeing Natasha, MJ had begun to discuss whatever political situation was happening at the moment as soon as they got situated in the car. Ned himself did all he could to not spout all the random questions that popped into his head. 

The first red flag that caught Ned’s attention was when Natasha shifted from the parking gear to drive Clint had latched onto what he could. The second was when the archer turned to the back seat.

“I’d hang on if I were you,” was all the warning the teens got before Natasha peeled out of the parking spot and swerved dangerously around any stationary cars.

Ned braced himself against the door and clutched onto the assisted grip with a string of, “Oh god we’re gonna crash– oh my god, oh fuck– holy shit.”

Despite not being exceedingly religious, Ned repeated prayers over in his head and struggled not to retch when the car took a sharp left at an intersection. 

This is it, this is how I die! The teen screwed his eyes shut, I want Peter to inherit all my LEGO sets.

A snort to his left drew Ned’s attention and he looked over to see Michelle not fazed in sharp contrast to him. She wasn’t even holding onto anything except for the phone in her lap. Ned had always known the girl was a robot, and the current situation proved it. 

“Don’t be such a pussy, Leeds. My dad pushes 70 in 30 zones,” the dark-skinned teen stated simply and pulled out a book from her bag. She relaxed into her seat and cracked her book open to wherever she left off.

Clint shared a look of horror with Ned.

“Oh lord,” Hawkeye put his head in his hand that wasn’t still holding on for dear life, “there’s two of them.”

The bright side to the terrifying drive was it only took them around thirty minutes due to Natasha’s total disregard for speed limits and stop signs (later, when Ned brought it up to Peter, his friend shared that the police knew Natasha’s license plate by heart and had given up on pulling her over). Peter was waiting outside to greet them and give his friends his condolences for their car ride. After Ned was able to calm his racing heart to a more acceptable speed, the two boys took a moment to share their handshake. 

“C’mon, you guys can head to my room. I’ll be there in a bit, I need to track down Goose.”

No more explanation was given and Peter quickly ran off inside. MJ just pushed past Ned with faux annoyance when he didn’t move and they both started towards their friend’s room with little to no discussion. There weren’t any other people around other than the handful of staff they passed before arriving in the residential area, although they did catch sight of Mr. Lang out in the backyard with Wanda.

Ned liked Scott (he was like a fun uncle that didn’t have his life together but stayed funny and positive nevertheless) and Wanda was delightful to talk to, but all they could do was share a wave through the window before they entered Peter's room. 

“MJ… did Peter say he had to find a goose?” Ned questioned as he dropped his bag onto the floor and began to dig for his homework.

MJ followed suit as she claimed the only desk in the room and got comfortable in the computer chair. “Hell if I know. Parker’s a weirdo that swings around in pajamas, is him chasing down a goose that strange?”

She had a point, so he just shrugged in response and plopped down onto the bed to start on their science worksheet. Ned was only a few questions into his work when the door suddenly flew open and a cat scrambled under the bed. Running in after them was Peter with a squirt bottle clutched in his hand.

“I swear to god!” Peter exclaimed and crouched down to peer under the bed. “You better get out here and apologize for scratching up the curtains!”

Ned and MJ shared an incredulous look.

“Umm…” Ned crawled to the side of Peter’s bed to watch, “you okay?”

His friend didn’t give him an answer and reached an arm under the bed to pull the cat out by their scruff. If a cat could look remorseful, then Ned would say this one did. 

“So that’s Goose?” MJ inquired as she placed her worksheet into her textbook before she closed it and inspected the tabby cat. 

“Yup,” Peter confirmed and set Goose down on the bed next to Ned. Without hesitance, the cat climbed onto the boy’s lap as if it gave them a form of protection. Peter sent the cat a glare.

With heaps of hesitancy, Ned lowered a hand onto Goose’s head. The cat didn't seem to care and they even shuffled closer to Ned’s belly. With a smile, he started to pet them.

“Dude, why’re you chasing a cat around?”

Peter huffed while he continued to glare at the feline, “This jackass decided to scratch up the common room’s curtains! Like, I know you know better! Carol mentioned how flerkens have a better brain capacity than Earth cats.”

It took a minute for the puzzle to piece itself together in Ned’s brain, but the second it did the boy had bolted from his seat (sadly startling Goose whose tail fluffed up for a moment). He hugged a far wall and gapped at the cat– no, flerken (whatever the fuck that was) as they climbed their way onto the desk.

From what Ned had learned, anything abnormal was either dangerous or an alien. Or both, as it was a lot of the time. He could vividly remember the day Peter came to school with a snake hidden in his backpack that turned out to be the goddamn God of Mischief.

“Please don’t be a demigod, please don’t be a demigod,” Ned muttered to himself as Peter peeled the cat look-a-like away from where they’d settled next to MJ.

Peter (with his heightened senses) heard him. The teen spun around with the creature in his arms and faced his friend with a deadpan look.

“No, she’s not a demigod, trust me. Goose is harmless– well, to us at least.”

Ned let out a sigh and relaxed until MJ brought up the obvious. She tapped her pencil against the table to gain his attention, before telling Ned, “That does mean she is dangerous, though. Keep on her good side, Leeds.”

Chapter index: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

[dyslexic-gremlin]

Goose is the Best Emotional Support [ch. 2]

Read on AO3!

Chapter title: Scott Lang

Summary: Carol decides to leave Goose with Peter when she's needed for an away mission. During the weekend he has her, Peter shows Goose off to the other people at the Avengers Compound. Some of the reactions are mixed, but how can you not love such an adorable kitty?

Notes: Basically just a bunch of fluff with Goose and Peter hanging out with people.

Main characters: Peter Parker, Goose, Scott Lang

Important tags: Fluff (that's it)

Word count: 992

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friday, 5:30 PM

It was a rare occasion for Scott Land to visit the Avengers Compound, but Cassie was with her mother and Scott had followed Hope on a business trip to New York. She was currently in the middle of some big conference (he did his best to listen when Hope explained what she was doing, but business things often went over his head) and Scott was all alone. It’s what he expected when he agreed to go with Hope, but that didn’t change how lonely he felt.

Which was why Scott wandered around the common area like a lost puppy, in search of someone to talk with (or just sit in the same room with, he’d take anything). Clint was probably the easiest person for him to talk to, but Sam Wilson wasn’t that bad either (if you ignored any jabs at his height he often gave). He hadn’t interacted with many of the other Avengers, especially without Hope as a buffer. But he’d take whoever.

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your perspective) the only living being other than the compound’s AI JOCASTA that he’d run into was a single tabby cat.

Scott wasn’t against cats, per se. There were many times when he was riding an ant (like Ant-onio) and a stray cat would chase the pair down, but he didn’t hold it against the whole species. So, without a second thought, the reformed criminal reached out a hand for the cat to sniff and went to rub their head once the appendage was deemed acceptable. 

Ever since he was a kid, Scott had always wanted a pet of his own. Of course, he had the mentality of dogs being the absolute best animal for a long time so that’s what he wanted the most. That bias had slowly dropped throughout his life (and currently ants were a very strong contender for that spot), but he never had an opportunity to have a pet himself. The closest he had gotten was taking care of that ant that had been magnified, but Cassie had basically claimed them as hers. 

After a while, Scott moved to sit beside the feline on the main sofa and the cat crawled their way onto his lap. There was the overwhelming feeling of having been chosen by the animal, and Scott made sure to not jostle his new guest. A soft clink! drew the hero’s attention and Scott analysed the tag hanging from their collar with the hand not preoccupied with petting. 

“Goose, huh? What an adorable name for an adorable kitty,” Scott cooed and scratched under Goose’s chin. He watched in amusement as the cat tilted their head up approvingly. Well, he’d take any form of company he could get, Scott supposed. “Kinda wish you could tell me your gender though, I’m not good at discerning that.”

Soft footsteps dragged Scott’s attention away from the (now purring) cat in his lap to see one of the more recent Avengers additions. Spider-Man stood just behind the couch in his civilian clothing– which consisted of a loose zip-up jacket and baggy sweatpants– with a shy smile on his face.

They had met before, many times in fact, but never alone and it was often very briefly. They’d also never met without costumes on.

“Oh, hi Mr. Lang–” Scott sent Peter a look, and the teen quickly corrected himself, “I mean, Scott. I see you’ve introduced yourself to yet another person, Goose.”

Peter leaned forward to run a hand down Goose’s flank for a moment before he withdrew. Then, after a moment’s hesitation, he took a seat next to the ex-con. Scott sent him a smile and lifted both arms in an offer for Peter to take the animal.

“They’re all yours, Pete. I didn’t know you had a cat– didn’t expect Stark to allow one in here if I’m being honest,” an easy grin was sent to the kid in hopes to show that he was just trying for casual conversation. Thankfully, Peter laughed while he scooped Goose up.

The cat first made a noise of protest (that made Scott cringe back in worry) and even reached their paws out to Scott, but after recognizing their man-handler Goose went more or less limp. 

“She’s not mine,” the teen explained while he got situated with Goose climbing up his chest to lay across his shoulders, “Miss Carol, er, Captain Marvel– I’m not sure if you know her or not– asked me to look after her. I don’t have anything going on this weekend so I agreed.”

Scott shared a shrug with the kid, “I getcha. I don’t have anything to do either with Hope busy. That’s why I’m here, trying to pass the time. But, should Goose be left alone in an uncommon area?”

Peter shifted and Goose let out a noise of agitation (she also seemed to send a look of annoyance at Scott; which wasn’t something he thought animals could accomplish but what did he know?). Scott reached up and rubbed behind Goose’s ears in a soothing matter. 

“Well, I had to take my binder off and she didn’t want to leave the room with me. Which was dumb, seeing as Goose was the one being restless and kept pawing at me until I agreed to change,” Petter huffed and rolled his eyes while Scott chuckled.

“Man, Goose, you’re such a caring friend. Thanks for looking out for him,” Scott said as he ruffled Peter’s hair before doing something similar (but gentler) to Goose. The arachnid huffed and straightened his hair but didn’t comment. 

A handful of minutes passed with Peter on his phone scrolling through one of many social media and Scott was refreshing his magic knowledge. That gave the adult an idea; definitely not an idea fit for an adult, but it pulled a grin onto Scott’s face.

“Hey Peter, Goose, do you know any magic tricks?”

Chapter index: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

[dyslexic-gremlin]

Goose is the Best Emotional Support [ch. 1]

Read on AO3!

Chapter title: Tony Stark

Summary: Carol decides to leave Goose with Peter when she's needed for an away mission. During the weekend he has her, Peter shows Goose off to the other people at the Avengers Compound. Some of the reactions are mixed, but how can you not love such an adorable kitty?

Notes: Basically just a bunch of fluff with Goose and Peter hanging out with people.

Main characters: Peter Parker, Goose, Tony Stark

Important tags: Fluff (that's it)

Word count: 792

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friday, 3:00 PM 

Tony took one step into Peter’s personal lab (something the kid had desperately needed after the third web fluid explosion in Tony’s lab) and was quickly rendered speechless. Which was not a task easily completed, but witnessing Peter Parker (his son mentee) using a ball and string made of webs to play with an orange tabby made him stop dead. A cat that, not once in his very colourful lifetime, Tony had ever seen. 

“Peter… the hell is a stray cat doing in here? And why are you letting him prance around near sensitive materials?!”

The engineer couldn’t lie and say the view wasn’t one of the most adorable things he’d seen (and Tony made sure to make a mental note to ask FRIDAY for the footage to rewatch at a later date), but his anxiety continued to spike. Because here was Peter, someone he cared about, playing with a random-ass animal that could have rabies for all he knew.

It didn’t help that it was also a being he didn’t know invading one of his few safe spaces (even if it technically wasn’t his, it still counted as somewhere safe).

To his credit, the teen at least looked bashful. However, as soon as Peter saw the look of irritation Tony was eyeing the cat with, he pulled the unsuspecting feline close to his chest and the timid smile he was previously sporting fell from his face. The tabby didn’t even flinch at the sudden movement and kept his eyes on the ball of web– even going to the length of snagging a claw into it.

As defensiveness swam in his gaze, Peter gave his best (yet still adorable) frown before replying, “She is not a stray, Mr. Stark! Goose is Carol’s pet and she asked me to look after her this weekend.”

Tony couldn’t help but pinch the bridge of his nose. “Listen, I need to be told these things, Pete! Also, why the fuck are you on a first-name basis with Captain Marvel but not me?”

Peter just shrugged (the brat) and refused to answer. The hero heavily sat down on the sleep-worn couch that sat in the corner of the room (it matched Tony’s that was in his lab, both having been placed there by Pepper) and glared good-naturedly at the teen.

“Okay, fine. Don’t answer. Could you at least tell me who else knows about the ca– sorry, about Goose?”

Goose (what kind of name was Goose anyhow? Well– it could be a Top Gun reference, he supposed. Carol was in the air force) squirmed her way from the boy’s grasp and made her way over to Tony’s legs. A couple of sniffs to his grease-stained pants later, the cat jumped her way into his lap. The engineer’s arms rose in slight worry about how to approach the new situation. The cat didn’t seem to care much and just made herself comfortable on his thighs.

“Um, I think Dr. Banner knows? And Mr. Fury was with Carol to say goodbye to Goose when she was dropped off, so he knows–”

“Fury was here?” Tony ground out, more than pissed. His open hands curled into fists in annoyance, “That bastard won’t return any of my calls but he has the time to see off a cat?!”

His raised voice seemed to have disturbed Goose, seeing as she pawed at Tony’s lap to quiet him. Weird, did cats normally do that? The situation confused him enough that his previous anger quickly dissipated. After Tony had calmed down and before leaving his thighs to take a drink of water, the cat gave him a purr and what he would call a smile on anything other than a feline. 

“Mr. Fury said to give you a message,” Peter started and welcomed Goose back as she padded over to him, “he said that, after his interstellar mission, you could meet him at the ‘usual contact point.’ Wherever that is.”

That caused Tony to roll his eyes. Fury and his constant cryptic shit, why did he even try when it wasn’t hard to identify where he was talking about.

Tony sighed and stood, “Fine, I’ll make a reminder to head for a doughnut once he gets back in state.”

He sent a pointed look to the cat that was now lounging in Peter’s lap, “Don’t let her near anything breakable– well, unless it’s Capsicle’s. Actually, throw in everything that’s Batron’s except for his aids.

“I gotta go to a meeting, so make sure you eat something before I get back.”

Peter’s laugh and agreement followed Tony’s exit, and if the hero ran a hand down Goose’s spine on the way out, neither of them commented on it.

Chapter index: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]