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"Absolutely not," Clint said, voice firm.
The dog just stared up at him, his one eye big and brown and watery, not saying a word.
"Of course he's not gonna talk back, he's a dog. Get it together, Barton," he muttered to himself. "Pizza dog, I got you a bed, it's in the living room. It's soft and purple and cost me a hundred bucks. Use it."
Instead of following orders, the dog laid down on the floor, pillowed his mangy head on front legs still bandaged from his close encounter of the asshole kind, and let out a soft whuff.
Clint scrubbed his hand over his face and sighed. "Fine. You... stay," he commanded with a harsh point. "Stay."
He swore the damn dog laughed at him as he pulled off his shirt and crawled into bed. "I'm not kidding! No dogs in bed! Despite what Tony might tell you, I have standards."
When he woke up in the morning with a dog-shaped weight on his chest, Clint rolled his eyes. "You're lucky I don't hit dogs," he muttered and reached out to ruffle the fur on the top of the dog's head. "Very lucky."
He hummed thoughtfully as he slid out of bed and got dressed, both of them limping slightly as the dog followed Clint into the kitchen. "What do you think of Lucky, dogbreath?" When the dog barked happily, Clint couldn't help his grin. "Alright, Lucky it is. Better than Arrow, anyway."
--
"You got a dog!" Kate screeched, dropping to her knees as soon as she stepped into Clint's apartment. "Oh, come here sweetie, aren't you a good dog? Yes you are! Such a good dog!" Lucky, the little traitor, snuggled up to Kate, his tail wagging like crazy, barking and snuffling happily. "Oh, you're a pretty boy, aren't you? Such a pretty boy. And so sweet, yes, yes you are! Not like your daddy at all!"
"Good to see you too," Clint muttered.
Kate grinned up at him, her cheeks flushed with amusement. "When did you get a dog?"
Clint wrinkled his nose. "He's not my dog."
Kate arched an eyebrow at him as she stood. "Your name is on his tag, dummy. He's your dog."
"Oh. Right."
She cocked her head at him, one hand on her hip, the other making a 'go on' motion.
"Couple weeks. He got hit by a car and I felt bad. And this place is too big anyway," he added, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously.
"You felt like a kindred spirit, you mean," she said, eyeing his still-bandaged arm.
Clint shrugged. "You want some coffee?"
Kate smiled, rubbing Lucky's ears one last time. "Yeah, coffee is good."