Tony had known something was wrong the moment he took the first bite of his steak, but by then it had already been too late. The drug worked fast and Tony had problems maintaining his form.
He stumbled out of the restaurant, desperate to get away, before someone came to get him, but he was panicking and not thinking clearly; the drug itself seemed to slow down his thought process considerably as well.
He knew he had to get somewhere safe and the tower was too far away to make it there before he fully lost it.
He tried to wreck his brain for somewhere to go, somewhere he could lay low for a while until the drug wore off and there was only one place that came to mind.
He hadn't been often to Sam's place, only two or three times, but something about Sam made him feel relaxed; he seemed to radiate safety and warmth and his flat did as well.
Tony wasn't sure he would be welcome, it was late at night after all, but that was where his feet brought him.
He wasn't able to maintain his form any longer, the shift had taken place a few blocks away, and now the way seemed to go on forever.
Even in his cat form Tony was skittish and sluggish, not quite knowing what he was doing; the only thing he knew for certain was that he had to get to that one place and then he could rest.
When he finally reached the flat, he was ready to keel over, no matter his form, and he barely made it up to the ledge of the window. The window was open and he could see Sam lying in his bed, head half lifted and turned towards the window.
Tony fell more into the room than he jumped and Sam was ready to get up by the time Tony had made it to the bed.
Even his cat body hurt everywhere and he was clumsy, needed a few tries to get up on the bed at all.
Sam was only half awake and he extended a hand towards Tony.
"Hey, little one. What brings you here?" he lowly asked and Tony let out a meow that sounded more like a breathless sigh, before he plopped down next to Sam and nestled into his warmth, purring contently.
This was safe.
Tony had a restless night, changing forms rapidly now that the drug was wearing off and during one of these changes he ended up half on Sam, who had both arms around him, Tony's face smashed into his neck and nestling in even closer.
It was enough to wake him up, but he only took one look at Tony, squeezed him harder, mumbled "Wow, this seems to be a nice dream" into his hair and then fell asleep again.
Tony thought about leaving right then and there, but the many changes had used up all his energy, his brain was still a little sluggish and he was pleasantly warm, even happy with his position, so he stayed right where he was.
He woke up to Sam saying "Huh, not a dream then."
Tony pretended to be still asleep, just so he could continue to enjoy the warmth and sleepiness, but Sam poked him carefully in the side.
"Tony. Tony, get up," he insisted and Tony sighed before he got up and out of reach of Sam.
"I'm sorry," were the first words out of his mouth and Sam frowned at him.
"Are you alright?" he asked and Tony snorted.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"Because you were a cat when you came here last night."
Tony cringed at that. Right. He had hoped Sam wouldn't make the connection, he had been half asleep after all, but it seemed like his secret was no longer a secret.
"Yeah," he vaguely said, hoping he could skip the whole explanation thing.
"Did someone do that to you last night?" Sam asked him, concern clear in his voice.
"No! No. It's...I've been a shifter all my life."
"What happened last night?" Sam questioned, but he stayed in bed, giving Tony his space.
"Someone drugged me. I had a hard time staying in one form and I am very vulnerable in my cat form."
"And you came here?"
"I didn't think straight. I knew I needed somewhere safe to go and your place came to mind. I'm sorry. And I am especially sorry you had to wake up to this, I know you wouldn't want this."
Sam sat back against the headboard of his bed before he gave Tony a once over. "Are you okay now?"
"Yes. The drug mostly wore off and I'm peachy."
"Good. Then I can tell you that I have been flirting with you every time we met and waking up to this was certainly not the worst that ever happened to me."
"Eh...what?" Tony managed and tried to think back to their previous encounters.
Sure Sam had been nice and maybe even flirty, but Tony had never believed that it was directed at him. But then again Tony had always been a bit dense when it came to genuine feelings, so it was very likely that he just hadn't picked up on that.
"I thought I was clear, but obviously you didn't pick up on it. I like you, Tony."
Tony hadn't dared to think about this, about Sam maybe feeling the same as he had, and so this threw him for a loop.
Sam patiently waited for Tony to say something but Tony had nothing to offer him but a shrug.
"Still the drug affecting you?" Sam asked with a worried frown and Tony took that excuse.
"Most likely. Might be best if I slept it off."
"Good thing there's a bed in this room then," Sam gave back and lifted the covers to invite Tony back in.
"No funny business, Wilson. I might have to change a few more times," Tony told him, already feeling the familiar tug at his limbs. It seemed like the drug wasn't completely out of his system yet.
"As if you in cat form are such a hardship to endure," Sam teased and laid back down, Tony safely tucked into his arms and snuggled into his side.
"I can be annoying. In both forms," Tony mumbled and Sam kissed his head.
"We'll see about that when we wake up again," Sam said into his hair and Tony closed his eyes.
He was safe and warm and well protected. Hopefully this wouldn't turn out to be a dream.