AN: The continuing support for this story is astounding to me. Still. You all have absolutely no idea. I am absultely so sorry about how long this took. It's actually really hard to write with one arm in a cast. So here is the next chapter. Due to popular demand, the Assassin!Tony story will be going up within the next two or so weeks. So Look out for that story, currently entitled "Sivaas".
There was screaming coming from the Were-wing of medical. Guards rushed down halls, weapons drawn as they head towards the commotion. As they neared, the low sound of snarling could be heard and and they rounded the corner.
The door to 34A, the room they knew to belong to Tony Stark, guarded viciously at all time by Pepper Potts and Agents Coulson and Romanov, was ajar. Sprawled on the ground right outside the door was a medic, tubes and syringes on the ground around her. Romanov was pointing a gun at the medic while Coulson, shifted, stood next to her.
The guards tromped up and the leader, set apart from the others by the re band tied around his wrist, stood next to Natasha, nodding sharply. "What seems to be the problem here, Ma'am?" He asked. Natasha looked at him sideways for a second before returning her gaze to the medic, lip curling in her own snarl.
"This...person, attempted to take samples of Mr. Stark's blood without permission. When I asked for identification, she attempted to run after striking Mr. Stark in the ribs. Were-Agent Coulson, who was already shifted at the time, used a takedown method to bring her to the ground." She reported rapidly.
The guard nodded to the men behind him, who walked up and pulled the woman to her feet before cuffing her and leading her down the hall. Only when they were out of sight did Natasha and Coulson relax. Everyone looked up as more feet came pounding down the hall and the guard had to smile momentarily.
Dr. Evan McKnight and his miniature medical team had become well-liked by the guards that were stationed in the Were-wing of medical. Though they were here to look after Stark, they could often be found helping out with the other patients of the wing. Now they looked like they had just pulled themselves out of their racks, hair everywhere, blurry eyed, but ready to spring into action.
Natasha waved her hand and stood back so the medical team could flood inside. They shut the door so they could have privacy and took up her guarding spot again, Coulson at her feet.
A few hours later, Natasha was still standing still outside of the room when Brice walked up, the rising sun casting his shadow long against the ground. The man had a tray in hand, which bore several covered plates and some mugs, as well as a bowl. The Avengers had avoided Tony's room since the debriefing last week, mainly at the request of Pepper and Evan, who wanted Tony to have peace while he recovered.
Today was the day Tony was scheduled to have his walking privileges restored and the team had agreed with the doctors that, after that, they would begin spending time with Tony again so he didn't go stir crazy and try doing something to hurt himself further, or set back his healing. The scientist smiled as he came to a stop in front of them. Natasha had to admit she had a soft spot for the shy scientist. He was kind and polite, but, after he'd gotten used to the team, he wasn't afraid to chime in on conversation and, according to Tony, his "Science Bro was a total troll!".
"Good Morning, Agent Romanov, Agent Coulson." He said. Natasha rolled her eyes, though her face remained impassive as usual. No matter how many times she'd told the man, he still insisted on calling her that.
"Dr. Banner." She responded in kind while the Werewolf curled up at her feet barked twice before grunting and slapping his tail on the ground. Bruce chuckled and handed Natasha a mug and placed one of the plates on the ground for Coulson, removing the cover to reveal a semi-deep dish, which was filled hot, rare steak drenched in what smelt like black coffee.
Brice shrugged his shoulders at Natasha's questioning glance. "I asked the cafeteria workers what Coulson's usual was when I was ordering and this is what they gave me. I guess Coulson usually eats this in this form." True to his words, both looked down to the see the back of a tan head while Coulson happily devoured the food Bruce had set before him.
"Are people allowed in now?" He asked. Obviously, everyone on the helicarrier had heard about the mysterious woman who had tried to sneak in to steal a blood sample from Iron Man. She nodded and stepped aside. "Dr. McKnight said she didn't hit him hard enough to cause any damage. It was more of pain thing, something to keep Tony in his nest and Pepper by Tony's side. They've both been awake for about twenty minutes."
Bruce nodded and opened the door, hoping he wasn't about to get mauled by an angry leopard inside.
Tony was sitting on the floor of the room, warm blanket draped over him as he groomed the fur of his chest weakly. In the chair in front of him, Pepper was reading and he was content. He liked when she read to him. Her voice reminded him of "den-safe-mate" and it eased the unnerving sensations brought on by the strange room he'd been in for the seven moon-rises.
His ears flickered and his head shot up as he heard the door open. He stood on unsteady legs and put his back to the nearest wall, body tense, fur on end, fearful trembling wracking his body with pain. Pepper stood up when he startled, obviously ready to defend him if necessary and he sighed heavily.
The door swung all the way open, bringing with it the scent of "Sand-bracken-fern" and he tensed. "Not-bad-Bruce". Two-leg-him supplied and he relaxed slightly, though he watched as the man approached warily. Bruce handed Pepper a plate and a mug and then paused as he picked the large bowl up off of the tray. Pepper smiled at him and turned the chair towards where Tony was crouched.
"Place the bowl a few feet from him and then sit a few feet from the bowl. Just sit still and don't make any loud noises." Bruce nodded and slowly moved forward. Three feet from Tony's position he set down the bowl and stepped back, sinking to the floor into a lotus position. Tony looked at the bowl, the scent of Hot-meat-warm-milk reached his nose and his stomach growled loudly.
He rose up and padded forward at a snail's pace, cast thumping against the ground, blue-gray eyes trained on the man behind the bowl. He seemed okay, Pepper seemed to like him and so did Two-leg-him, so he crept forward the rest of the way to the bowl and dug in. It was rare steak, hot milk and cornmeal, better than what he'd been given previously and he ate with gusto.
When he was finished, he sat back and used his good paw to groom his face and watch Bruce. The man hadn't moved a muscle since he'd sat down and now, feeling a bit braver, he limped forward. He paused when Bruce opened his eyes and smiled softly, but when the man continued to stay still, he crept forward again. When he was standing in front of the other man, he stretched his neck out and breathed deeply.
The scent was warm and comforting, it reminded him of his lab, his territory. He inched a little closer and then sat on his haunches. There was a moment of stillness before he leaned forward and rested his head on Bruce's shoulder, chuffing quietly. Bruce reached a hand up and froze when Tony tensed like a spring, jaws closing around the wrist.
Pepper tensed, fearing a Hulk out, but there was no destruction, no anger. Tony's teeth barely scraped against his skin, with no pressure and Bruce recognized the gesture. Tony wouldn't trust them if they didn't trust him. Hulk had done something similar with the rest of the team, often times picking them up after battles and holding them in his hands, well above the ground.
Bruce simply raised his other hand and stroked down the expanse of his back, murmuring quietly. Eventually, Tony relinquished his hold on the appendage and settled his head back on Bruce's shoulder, content to wait out the next while.
A few hours later, Evan came in to tell Pepper that, while Tony would have to stay on the helicarrier until his ribs healed, he was being given wandering privileges. Tony had perked up immediately when he heard the phrase "leaving the room", joy in his eyes. Everyone had laughed and Evan had scratched his name onto the discharge papers while Pepper secured the bracer on Tony's front leg.
Bruce had spent the morning with Pepper and Tony in the room and now, he could see the flickers of Tony in the big cat that sat before him. Tony was no different than he was, regardless of his Were-status. It had been a comedy to watch the leopard, who'd moved so gracefully during the battle, hobble out into the hall. But as soon as he got his first taste of freedom, Tony was off, limping quickly down the hall.
Pepper didn't even try to stop him, not that either could keep up with him, injured or not, and she smiled. "The osmotic pump was a good idea, Evan. Its like he can't even feel he's injured." The young doctor nodded and they followed after Tony at a much much more sedate pace. When they reached the main conference area, they were shocked, but pleased at the scene that met them.
Tony was laying on the floor in a beam of sun and, right across from him, Jane, Darcy and Thor were sitting. The girls were petting him and squealing of his "utter adorableness" while Thor skritched around his ears, booming something along the lines of "A great beast of war!". Tony was basking in the attention and Pepper laughed, the sound light and happy for the first time in a while.
Relieved that Tony was getting along with the trio, Pepper and Bruce pulled up chairs while Evan headed back to the medical wing. Tony rolled onto his back and Darcy renewed her scratching with vigor while Tony rumbled in happiness. They all talked to each other for more than twenty minutes before they were joined by Coulson and Natasha. The effect was instantaneous.
Tony was up on his paws and backing away from Natasha, lip curled to bare his teeth. But it was clear the move was born of fear and the assassin stopped still, as the room fell silent around them. Amidst the silence, Natasha sank to the ground. She reached to the holster on her hip, freezing when Tony snarled fiercely, but then discharged the magazine and slid it away. She slid the gun away from herself, well across the room.
Tony watched her from his spot under the table, injured leg tucked close to his chest, staring at her. Around them the room slowly reanimated, but neither assassin nor Were-Leopard moved, staring at each other. Natasha looked anywhere but at Tony's eyes and Tony looked at her with the laser intensity of a hunter.
Ten minutes later, Tony crept out from underneath the table slowly, creeping towards Natasha until he was face to face with her. The room as a whole jolted as he roared, directly into her face, but Natasha didn't flinch. When he quietened, he glanced at her, her unmoved visage and nodded once, grunted before he lowered himself to the ground and placed his head in her lap.
The corner of her lips quirking up, Natasha smiled and threaded her hands through the fur between his ears, noting absently the silken quality, the way it gleamed in the sunlight. Tony sighed contently under the ministrations, slumping against her and dozing off in the warm light.
Tony made himself comfortable in one of the conference rooms, Coulson in human form helping him drag in a multitude of blankets and pillows to make a nest under the table. A junior agent dragged in a cot for Pepper, who was staying with Tony until he could return to the tower in a week's time. Natasha and Coulson took turns bringing her the paperwork from the office every day.
On the second day of his release from medical, Clint and Steve returned from an assignment, tired but successful in their endeavours. Clint, who used the various conference rooms as access points to the ventilation systems, accidently stumbled on the one where Tony and Pepper had camped out.
The first thing that really registered was a terrific roar, and a massive foreleg striking out against him. The limb made contact, but the pain of talons ripping his skin never occurred and he was shocked still. He opened his eyes and smiled. Standing precariously on his back legs, front paws braced on the archer's shoulders and eyes alight, was Tony.
Clint hadn't wanted to leave on the assignment, especially so soon after Tony had been hospitalized. He and the engineer had gotten along like a house on fire when they'd first met and when he'd seen the injuries done to him, he'd been upset and pissed at Loki. More so than usual. Now to see his friend up and in good spirits lifted his own mood.
He had been surprised when Tony's Were-status had been revealed to the team, and in spectacular fashion if he said so himself, but he could have cared less. He'd done plenty of missions with Weres and plenty of Weres had saved his life in the field. They just had something a little extra in a pinch.
He placed gentle hands on Tony's head and used his fingers to scratch behind the big cat's ears, smiling brightly when he leaned forward and licked Clint's cheek, and the other man giggled aloud, much to the amusement of Pepper, who was catching the event on her Starkphone. After a moment, Tony eased down to the ground and grabbed the hem of Clint's shirt in his teeth, tugging him inexorably towards the nest.
Clint went willingly, blushing lightly at Pepper's constant giggling, and crawled under the table with Tony. After arranging a pillow and blanket for himself, Clint fell still and waited until he felt Tony curl up around his back before he drifted into a doze.
Hours later, both were woken by the sound of giggling. Clint cracked his eyes open, noticed the ring of women wrapped around Tony's and his resting spot and groaned. "Go 'way. We're sleeping." He growled before curling up tighter against Tony's chest. The leopard echoed his growl and Clint smirked before drifting off again.
Steve was sitting on the bridge of the Helicarrier, hunched in his chair as he drank from his mug and watched the clouds outside. Everyone had gone to see Tony already. Except for him. He felt terrible. He and Tony hadn't gotten along when the other man was human. How was he going to deal with him now that he was an animal?
He didn't think Weres were bad though, granted, he didn't understand how they lived with it. Steve was haunted by the look of terror that had shadowed Tony's eyes as he'd backed himself into the corner after the battle. What had happened to Tony that caused such fear to be the first thing he felt when his friends found out?
Was he afraid they were going to hate him? That they were going to hit him? Steve felt sick to his stomach just thinking about it. Were the Weres really treated so horribly that they were terrified to reveal to their loved ones what they were? Steve sighed as he scrubbed a hand across his face and placed his mug on the table. His shield was still sitting on the surface, next to his polishing kit, awaiting his attention.
Distracted as he was by his inner monologue, he never noticed when he was joined in the room, silent as his new companion was. He never noticed when his companion leaned up on the table and gently took the shield by a strap, pulling it down. He didn't notice anything until his companion nudged his chair forward with a hearty nudge.
He looked down and locked up for a brief minute, unsure what to do with himself. Standing next to him was Tony, who was staring back at him with blue-green eyes. Steve was about to get up and back away when he noticed the leather strap clenched in the vice of his jaws. His shield! Steve made a swipe for it, but Tony danced away, eyes narrowed playfully and dancing with mischief.
Steve scowled and stood from his chair, stalking forward and lunging for it again, only for Tony to prance towards the door, tail held high. Steve gaped, before rising to his feet and stalking over. For every few steps Steve took, Tony took just as many in the opposite direction, holding the shield out of Steve's reach.
For the next hour, Tony and Steve chased each other around the top level of the Helicarrier, Steve repeatedly lunging for his shield and Tony keeping it away from him. Soon enough, Steve found himself enjoying the game of keep-away and his annoyed grumbling turned into barely suppressed laughter.
Finally, Steve cornered Tony on the control deck between the conference table and the bank of Fury's screens. Even without somewhere to go, Tony held the shield strap in his teeth stubbornly and Steve crept forward slowly. "Tony." He coaxed the billionaire-turned-leopard. "Give me my shield. Come one, give it here." He crooned. Tony gave him a wholly unimpressed look, but lowered the shield to the ground and pushed it across to Steve with his muzzle. Steve lowered himself to sit on the ground and took the shield before setting it behind him and looking at the figure before him. Super-soldier and Were-Leopard regarded each other for a minute, before a realization hit Steve.
Tony was still Tony when he was like this. Still an extremely intelligent, bratty, pain-in-the-ass that everyone adored anyway. He reached a tentative hand forward, freezing when Tony did, remaining still. There was only a moment of hesitation before Tony reached forward and licked around his fingers. Steve chuckled brightly, the texture of Tony's tongue rough and ticklish at the same time. Steve reached up and threaded his fingers through the fur between his ears, marveling in the shiny softness.
Eventually, Tony got tired of sitting and stood up, walked over before laying down in Steve's lap. Surprised by the sudden addition of two-hundred plus pounds, Steve grunted before rolling his eyes and resuming his ministrations. "Brat." He hissed fondly.
Tony didn't deign to respond, as he was already asleep.
