CHAPTER FIVE
Summary: When Hermione's contract with SHIELD is sold to Stark Industries and she's traded like she's prized cattle, she is far from pleased. But then, she meets the notorious man for herself and she finds herself thinking that perhaps, it wasn't all that bad a trade.
Disclaimer: All original characters and canon events belong to J.K. Rowling and Marvel. Non-canon events and characters are my own. I am not making any profit from posting this fanfic. Characters are likely to be OOC. This takes place after Iron Man 2, and I will be taking liberties with the timeline/ canon events. Rated for language, violence and sexual content.
Q&A
Mandorakat- He won't find out about her being a witch himself, Hermione will tell him eventually.
DeathDagger – There's something about Hermione and Jarvis banding together against Tony that I just can't resist.
Kikagirao – I've had a few messages asking that this continues past the first Avengers movie, and although I don't wish for this to be a novel-length fic like the rest of my works and I want to complete it as quickly as possible, I am trying to figure out a way to continue further into the MCU timeline so more characters are introduced, but I won't and can't make any promises that it's my final decision. If I feel the story's ended and there's nothing more I can add to it, then I won't continue it further.
Page count: 15
"AHHH!" Hermione cried out. "Jesus Bloody Christ!"
She pressed a hand to her chest, feeling her heart pounding against her palm rapidly, trying to escape her ribcage and she glared daggers at Tony as she tried to calm herself.
Stepping into her lab at seven o'clock in the morning, she hadn't been expecting to walk straight into Tony Stark's chest. He stood before her, his arms folded over his chest, his eyes narrowed and his expression frighteningly blank.
"Don't do that!" She snapped.
He pursed his lips, his brow furrowing slightly. "Seven days."
"What?"
"Seven days!" His voice rose slightly. "You said you'd be gone a 'few days'. That's three, four at a push, not seven days!"
"You said to take all the time I needed," she reminded. Her eyes scanned his tensely wound form before she arched an eyebrow. "Were you worried about me?" She asked with a teasing tone.
He scowled before he lowered his arms and reached out, one hand encircling her wrist before he tugged her towards the lift, ignoring her splutters, indignation, questions and attempts to break free as he accessed his own floor of the Tower. Silently, he tugged her out of the lift and straight to his work station, dragging her behind him as though she were a disobedient child.
"What the Hell?!" She demanded unhappily.
"Stand there, don't move," he instructed, giving a slight shove until she stumbled back, right onto a metal platform that lowered further into the ground under her weight.
"Tony..."
"Shhh," he shushed her, stepping back and folding his arms over his chest, doing a remarkable job of remaining unphased by her terrifying glare. "Take it away, Jarvis."
Hermione blinked slowly when noise and light suddenly surrounded her, a red horizontal line appearing to be the most prominent as it started at her feet and slowly ascended past the top of her head before lowering once more, the process repeating several times.
"Wait? Are you scanning me?" She questioned in disbelief.
"Shhh... Jarvis, results?"
"Dr. Granger appears to be in perfect health," replied the disembodied AI, Hermione noting the slight movement of Tony's shoulders slumping in relief.
"Seriously?" She set her hands on her hips and arched an eyebrow, being thankful when the noise stopped and the lights disappeared.
"What were you doing?"
She rolled her eyes. "I can't tell you."
"You work for me now, not SHIELD."
"That might be true, but I signed an NDA, I can't tell anyone what I was doing."
"Where were you? Jarvis was able to trace your movements for only five blocks and then you vanished into thin air."
"I can't tell you that either."
"What can you tell me?"
"Nothing," she shrugged. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "You were worried about me, weren't you?" She said knowingly, without the teasing she'd used before.
"Well, you are my best British female friend," he muttered, turning and stepping out of his work station, leaving her staring after him in surprise at his admittance.
"Did you miss me?" She called after him.
"Not even a little bit!"
"Liar! I didn't miss you either."
"Liar!"
~000~000~000~
"Dr. Granger?"
"Yes, Jarvis?" Hermione answered the AI, her attention solely on the bubbling cauldron before her, a clipboard in hand as she took notes on the consistency, colour, smell and volume of smoke and fumes it emitted.
She was making some headway in one of her experiments and she was hoping that within a few weeks, she'd have finally found a workable solution.
"Mr. Stark requests your presence."
"Tell him I'll be there as soon as possible, I can't leave my lab unattended."
"Dr. Granger, Mr. Stark is very insistent that he requires your presence immediately."
"Merlin's Sake," she grumbled. "He better be bloody dying."
Setting her clipboard aside, she drew her wand from her pocket and cast a series of charms over the cauldron to stabilise it until she returned. Stepping away from her work station and pocketing her wand, she lifted her head, blinking in surprise when she saw the darkness outside. She looked to the wall, seeing the clock showed it was after nine o'clock. The last time she'd looked up, it had only been four o'clock.
Rolling her eyes at herself for losing track of time as she so often did, she headed for the lift, stepping out on the floor above.
"I swear, Tony, if you're not dying, I'll kill you for dragging me away from my highly volatile experiment."
"Care to explain this," he replied, looking at her over the back of the couch, his features pulled into a confused, unhappy frown.
Tipping her head, she approached and rounded the couch, her eyes widening and her mouth parting. The TV was switched on, supplying background noise, he was lying on the couch with his feet propped up on the glass coffee table and fast food wrappers sat in the empty bag. Given the food, his lounging position and his askew hair and clothing, Hermione believed he'd recently woken up.
But sprawled across his lap was a peacefully sleeping ragdoll, her white-grey fur a fluffy mass and her grey face buried beneath her white paws. Hermione knew piercing blue eyes were hidden beneath her closed eyelids and a pink bejewelled collar was hidden by the mass of fur.
If she was honest, pink wouldn't have been her first option but it had been a gift from James and Albus, her two Godsons having chosen it themselves for her familiar, who had been a gift from Harry for her birthday, and again, she'd been chosen by James. The half-ragdoll, half-kneazle was approximately five-years-old and had been her companion for almost four years, Harry gifting her to her on her twenty-eighth birthday. Her familiar, who'd she'd named Sally, was similar to Crookshanks in the way that she was untrusting of others and she was incredibly protective of her mistress as all familiars were.
However, unlike Crookshanks, Sally much preferred to use avoidance as a tactic, unlike his aggression. She was quiet, so quiet Hermione often forgot she had her. Sally was independent but that didn't mean she didn't enjoy a snuggle or that she wasn't affectionate with the people she trusted, and Hermione could list the names on only one hand. For her to be sleeping so peacefully and comfortably on Tony's lap, was something Hermione didn't think she'd see.
Usually, she was wary around unfamiliar people and wary around those she was familiar with, even her Godchildren who adored and spoiled her familiar and Hermione had yet to see her so comfortable with anyone but herself, until that very moment, that is. The cause of her suspicion and quiet nature? She was a rescue and had been abused by her previous owner and it had taken weeks for Hermione to earn her trust. Men, she hated men the most and so seeing her so comfortable with Tony was an incredibly rare sight.
"Granger," Tony drew her attention, his scowl darting between her and the cat sprawled on his lap.
"What? It's a cat," she replied.
He pursed his lips in annoyance. "I can see that. How the Hell did it get in here?"
That was a good question, Hermione thought. In order to leave her lab, a passcode, key card and confirmed handprint was required. That made it difficult for people to come and go, so how did a cat manage it? Hermione tipped her head thoughtfully, kneazles were known to be smart and were known to possess magic of their own, but it had yet to be discovered how that worked, why it did and what it was capable of.
"I don't know," she answered honestly.
"Take your damn fleabag and get it out of my building," he scowled.
"How d'you know she's mine?" She arched an eyebrow.
He glared before burrowing his hand beneath the sleeping cat's neck, digging through the mass of soft fur until he found the metal tag hanging from the collar. Surprisingly, Sally didn't wake, in fact, she shifted to get more comfortable, Hermione fighting back a snigger when Tony gave the slumbering cat a look of annoyance.
"Hermione Granger," he began, "And if I'm not mistaken, that's your number."
She shrugged and slipped her hands into the pockets of her lab coat, shifting on her feet until she found a more comfortable position of standing.
"Alright, she's mine," she admitted.
"Evidently, though I'm not surprised, you seem the type to be a crazy cat lady."
She scowled at him. "I have one cat," she argued.
"Now you do, give it a few years. What the Hell is it doing here?"
She shrugged before moving to sit on the couch, kicking off her shoes and tugging her feet beneath her as she leaned back into the cushions, propping her head up with her hand as her elbow rested on the back of the couch.
"There's no policy against animals being on the premises, I checked," she pointed out. "And I had nowhere to take her. This morning I was kicked out of my hotel."
"Wait, what?" His brow furrowed and he turned slightly to better face her, shooting a glance down to the cat that didn't move an inch at the movement, before he looked to her once more, his annoyance seemingly forgotten for the time being. "Your hotel?"
"Hmmm," she hummed. "I'm living out of a hotel."
"You've been here for almost two months, and you haven't found a place to live yet?" He questioned in surprise.
"No, I haven't," she confirmed. "When I moved from London to work with SHIELD, housing was provided for me and so there was no need to find somewhere to live. I was only made aware of my transfer to Stark Industries two days before I was expected, take into account the little time I had to pack up and travel time..." She trailed off allowing him to come to his own conclusion. "SHIELD footed the hotel bill for two weeks, and I've been paying my own way since," she shrugged. "Of course, I've been kicked out of four hotels in two months."
"Why?"
In response, Hermione gestured to the sleeping cat on his lap. "No pet policy. She's easy to sneak in and hide out of sight but after a couple of weeks, she's spotted by a maid or another guest, they snitch and I'm told to leave. And that happened this morning, which is why she's here. I haven't had time to check into another hotel and sneak her in because I came straight here. Honestly, she's no bother. She's so quiet I barely know she's there. She's been locked in the bedroom all day, she probably got bored or lonely so I'm not surprised she escaped and found her way up here. She's sneaky and very clever, hence..." She gestured to his lap once more. "And you should be flattered."
"I have a fleabag moulting on my sixty thousand dollar couch, why the Hell should I be flattered?"
She rolled her eyes. "Only you would feel the need to have a sixty thousand dollar couch, I can guarantee I can get an exact replica for a tenth of the price. What's it made from? Panda? And she doesn't have fleas and neither does she moult," she protested, "And even if she did, you wouldn't notice, she's almost the same colour as the couch. And you should feel flattered because she seems to like you."
He opened his mouth to argue before pausing, his eyes glancing down at the cat once more before lifting to her.
"It does?"
"She does," she sent him an annoyed glance.
"And that's odd?" He questioned, sensing her surprise.
"Exceptionally. She's very quiet and very shy. She's highly suspicious of people and spends most of her time hiding away and avoiding everyone. She was gifted to me on my twenty-eighth birthday and I named her Sally. She's a rescue, her previous owner abused and neglected her, she didn't have a name until I gave her one. She's highly suspicious of men, in particular, and despite her familiarity with my family and Godchildren, I have never before seen her as comfortable with them as she is with you, especially giving this being your first meeting. With me, she is affectionate, with everyone else, not so much. So for her to be so content and peaceful with you, to be willingly sleeping on you, is out of character for her. For some reason, she trusts you."
Tony hummed thoughtfully, his eyes darting down to the sleeping cat as he tipped his head slightly. He brought one hand up and hesitantly ran it through the soft fur on her back, waking Sally as she released a yowling yawn. Tony drew his hand back quickly and scowled at her when she sniggered, Hermione watching in amusement as Sally stretched and dug her claws into Tony's leg, the billionaire wincing in pain. When Sally was finished, she turned in his lap to face Tony before stretching up, settling her paws on his shoulders and collapsing onto her stomach on his chest, nuzzling her head affectionately against his chin.
"Erm..."
Hermione sniggered. "She likes you, be flattered," she reminded.
Bringing his hand up once more, he buried it in Sally's fur, earning a loud purr of approval.
"It seems she likes me more than you," he gloated, "She left your lab to be with me."
She rolled her eyes. "Don't be cocky, I said she likes you, I didn't say you were her favourite."
And to prove her point, Hermione reached out, lifted Sally from Tony's chest and before she'd settled her on her lap, Sally was already nuzzling against her neck and chin, her sandpaper-like tongue grazing over the skin of her cheek in a show of affection.
"See? I get kisses, you don't," she said smugly.
Scowling, Tony reached out and snatched Sally from Hermione, holding her up in the air and before his face, dark eyes meeting piercing blue.
"It's like she's staring into my soul," he muttered and Hermione snorted. "Where's my kiss?" He asked jealously before sending a smug smirk Hermione's way when Sally meowed and then bestowed a lick to his cheek. "Why'd you call her Sally?" He probed, setting the cat on the couch cushion beside him, only for her to climb back onto his lap, rubbing herself against his neck and face.
"She looks like a Sally," she shrugged.
"No, she doesn't," argued Tony. "I would've called her Roxy. She looks like a Roxy."
"She's not your cat, she's mine," she pointed out, amused by the sudden one-eighty turn he'd taken in regards to his feelings towards her familiar. "You want to call her Roxy, get your own cat."
"I hate cats."
"I believe you," Hermione snorted, seeing the way he was lapping up the attention of her suddenly affectionate familiar. "Anyway, I've hired a realtor to find me some suitable housing options, but he's come up empty so far."
"What're you looking for?" He asked curiously. "Renting or buying?"
"I don't see the point in renting, depending on how long I live in a property, I might've paid enough rent to buy it twice over, and renting's likely to cost more than my hotel bill. Buying's more permanent and if needs be, I can put it back on the market or rent it out," she shrugged. "And it's a pain in the arse finding someone willing to accept pets."
"Condo? House? Apartment?"
"I'm not fussed," she admitted. "I've done a bit of research into the property market in Manhattan and it took me a while to get over the shock, I thought London was bad..."
He snorted at her, settling Sally more comfortably on his chest, one hand running through her fur, the other propping his head up as he shifted to better face her, giving her his full attention.
"I knew purchasing property here wouldn't be cheap but I wasn't expecting it to be so expensive."
"So you want to buy, it'll be cheaper in the long run," he agreed. "And your requirements?"
"The basics, I suppose; kitchen, bathroom, living room, bedroom. And for reasons that are understandable, I want a place in a not-so-bad neighbourhood."
"And desirables?"
She looked to him questioningly, wondering why he was asking such questions but she answered anyway.
"If possible, space so I might have a library. I've an extensive book collection and it's killing me that they're all stuffed in cardboard boxes and have been for months. A terrace or balcony would be nice if I go down the apartment route, a fireplace, and more than one bedroom would be beneficial but isn't required... My Godchildren have been begging me to let them visit me for years, but I've never had the space," she explained.
"Budget?"
"I don't want to spend too much and again, I'm not a materialistic person, but I know I have to be realistic so, one and a half, two at an absolute push."
"Million?" He checked. "Because that's the kind of price were looking at for property 'round here, especially if you want something decent."
"Million," she confirmed, seeing his curiously arched eyebrow. "I've amassed a decent net worth over the years," she confessed. "Between my inheritance, free-lance projects, investments and refusal to spend money unless I absolutely have to... I'm well off. But I don't make my financial standing known, in fact, most of my family don't even know the extent of my wealth... Anyway, I'm not opposed to a fixer-upper, in fact, I think it might be nice putting my own stamp on something," she shrugged.
"Where are you staying tonight?"
She lifted her hand and pointed to the ground, indicating the floor below. "I'd planned on staying in my lab before I was kicked out anyway. I've made some headway on one of my projects and it needs strict observational intervals every two hours. I'll find somewhere to stay tomorrow."
"What are you working on?"
"I'm still not telling you, not until I've gotten the results I require. Anyway, I better get back to my lab, I've been away for too long and anything could've happened in that time."
She climbed to her feet before slipping her shoes on and then she reached out to lift Sally from Tony's chest, only to have her hands batted away for her trouble.
"She's comfortable, leave her where she is."
Hermione arched an amused eyebrow. "You hate cats," she parroted.
"She's had a hard life, if she's comfortable, I don't want to disturb her," he argued.
Hermione snorted. "You don't think she's spoilt? I've Godchildren who buy her more toys and collars than I can keep up with."
"What'd you do with her when you disappeared for a week?" He asked unexpectedly.
"Oh, someone I know from SHIELD kept an eye on her for me," she answered, thanking God that Natasha was a life-saver for cat-sitting for her.
It was perfect really; Sally and Natasha had an understanding. Sally stayed out of the way and didn't destroy any of Natasha's furniture and she fed and watered Sally and kept out of her way. They were quite similar in personality actually, both the cat and assassin being quiet and suspicious and they used and preferred avoidance.
"And I leave a window open and food out in my hotel rooms," she said before he could question her on the long hours she worked.
She reached to take Sally once more, again having Tony bat her hands away.
"Fine," she sighed. "But now you've got her for the night, and I should warn you, she hogs the blanket and snores. Don't be surprised if you wake and you can't see or breathe because you've got a mass of fur covering your face, she loves a good snuggle session... Be good," she warned.
"She'll be fine," Tony rolled his eyes, patting the purring cat's head and she pushed against his hand affectionately.
"I was talking to you."
~000~000~000~
"Granger!"
Hermione startled awake, her clipboard being knocked to the ground as she almost fell off her stool when she darted upright, barely stopping herself from drawing her wand.
Wide and alert, she did a quick scan of her surroundings, quickly realising she was in her lab and there was no threat of danger. She gave a groan of pain, both her neck and back aching from the odd angle at which she'd fallen asleep at her workbench.
"Really, Tony?" She grumbled, her eyes landing on the billionaire as he stood by the lift, an eyebrow arched amusedly as he took in her morning appearance.
"Wow! That is some hair," he exclaimed.
She scowled and reached up, running her fingers through the thick, tangled strands, trying to tame the large mass of curls but knowing it was useless. She hadn't washed her hair or applied her detangle oil the night before, meaning it would take far too long to attempt to get a brush through it. She couldn't be bothered, she'd just throw it in a bun and wash it later that night.
"Damn, I haven't seen that much hair since the 80s."
"Shut up," she scowled, folding her arms over her chest as he sniggered. "It's not my fault."
"Can you even get a brush through that?"
"Yes."
He arched an eyebrow in challenge.
"Sometimes," she admitted. "It takes a while. Besides, you should've seen me in my teen years, my awful neighbour used to call me an 'ugly duckling'."
Both of Tony's eyebrows lifted, his eyes slowly tracing her figure, barely noting that she still wore her lab coat and clothes from the night before, having fallen asleep before she'd had the chance to make it to bed.
"I don't see it."
She rolled her eyes. "Honestly, I had buck teeth, my ears were too big for my head and my hair..." She unfolded her arms and held her hands out on either side of her head, "Used to come out to here, it was like having a tangled cloud on my head. The weight alone gave me neck ache," she said. He snorted. "Thankfully, puberty was kind to me, once I graduated that is. My appearance made me a target for bullies," she shrugged.
She saw his brow furrow and his lips pull into a frown before he gave his head a quick shake, his expression falling back to neutral.
"Now that you're awake, breakfast's served," he said.
Her eyes were drawn to his hands when he lifted them higher, Hermione noticing for the first time that he held two containers, the plastic covering steamed slightly from the heat of the contents.
"Milo's?" She questioned.
"Of course," he replied, giving her a look of offence. "Where else would I order from?"
"Calm down," she rolled her eyes, "I was only checking, one of these days you might change your mind," she shrugged.
Part of their routine involved eating breakfast from Milo's, a diner a few blocks away, and for dinner, if they didn't order fast food or takeaway, they opted for Emma's, the same diner he'd taken her to for dinner during her first week at Stark Industries. They frequently ordered from both diners so often that they only had to give their names and the staff knew their orders without having to ask, and they also snuck an extra muffin or slice of cheesecake in for Hermione, something Tony often complained about as he cited it was favouritism. To shut him up, she always shared her extra treat with him.
She stood from the stool with a numb arse and she stretched with her hands above her head, her eyes closing in pleasure when her something in her back cracked and helped to ease the ache. During this, she missed Tony's eyes darting to her stomach, latching onto the pale skin that was revealed as her t-shirt rode up.
Groaning happily, she turned and headed for the empty workbench where they might eat without inhaling any fumes or risk interfering with one of her experiments. She drew the stool out from beneath the bench and took a seat, Tony doing the same opposite her.
He set both containers down before following it with a small brown paper bag and a tray holding two large drink containers, one coffee and the other hot water. Hermione always complained that they couldn't get the tea right no matter how many times they tried or how many times she gave strict instructions on how to make it, and so, they simply filled the cup with hot water and supplied the teabag and sachets of milk so she might do it herself.
Accepting the container from Tony as he pushed it towards her, her mouth twitched into a smile when she saw that he'd already removed the lid and squeezed the ketchup from the supplied packets onto her bacon, sausages and eggs, as well as cut her sausages in half for her so they might cool quicker.
Lifting her eyes, she spied Tony sipping from his coffee, his eyes locked on the second cup, a concentrated frown on his face as he absentmindedly prodded at the teabag he'd put in the hot water, stirring it with the plastic spoon. A moment later, he added two sachets of milk and stared down at the liquid, nodding to himself as it turned the correct colour. Happy, he removed the teabag, squeezing the remaining flavour from it as he pressed it against the side of the cup and then dumped the teabag onto the lid.
He barely looked at her as he pushed it towards her and then reached for his own breakfast, Hermione peering down to see it was perfect. Neither too strong nor too weak. Perfect.
"We'll make a Brit out of you yet," Hermione commented.
He snorted. "Nah, it's too cold over the pond. Last time I visited, I nearly lost a toe to frostbite."
"It's not that cold," she rolled her eyes. "You should try attending Hogwarts, it was almost unbearable in the winter..." He perked up. "No," she interrupted before he could question her further, Tony sulking as he speared a sausage with his fork. "So, how'd you sleep?"
"Your cat tried to kill me," he stated seriously.
She sniggered. "I tried to take her from you and I did warn you," she defended.
"Still, I wasn't expecting to wake this morning to darkness and the inability to breathe. I left her on the couch, I woke to her sleeping across my neck and over my face with her claws lodged into my skull."
"She likes to snuggle," Hermione shrugged.
"You mistake affection for attempted murder," he quipped. "And with all that fur, she's like a damn hot water bottle."
"I know, it's great in the winter," Hermione grinned. "Attempted murder aside, how'd you sleep?"
"Great," he sighed in admittance, "And you're right, she likes to snuggle. I managed to pry her off me and when I tried to get up, she just sprawled across me again."
"She's lazy," she nodded, "She loves a sleep in," she popped some eggs into her mouth.
"She's an odd one," Tony remarked and Hermione looked to him questioningly. "Breakfast, I figured she was hungry and I obviously didn't have any cat food, so I gave her some tuna fish in a bowl. You'd think I was trying to kill her with the look she gave me. I've never seen an animal look so offended and disgusted."
Hermione snorted. "Sally hates fish," she told him. "She'll only eat tuna if you mix it with mayonnaise."
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" He asked aloud. "It didn't stop her from stealing the eggs from my plate this morning when I went to the bathroom. I came back and the plate was empty."
"She's going through a phase at the minute," Hermione shrugged. "And why were you eating eggs?" She pointedly looked down to their breakfast.
"I was hungry, Happy was taking too long picking up the order," he defended. "It's not like I've eaten two breakfasts, with your cat stealing mine."
"Where's she now? I thought she might've followed you down."
"Last I saw, curled up on the couch asleep."
She gasped. "On your sixty thousand dollar couch. Oh no, the horror!"
"Shut up," he grumbled.
She grinned. "Admit it, she's adorable and you love her."
"I don't," he protested.
"Please," she scoffed, "You've left her alone on your ridiculously expensive couch and you let her suffocate you in your sleep. You love her."
"It's the eyes," he grumbled, "They're so damn blue."
She sniggered. "I know, she's adorable."
The lift doors drew open and they both looked towards it, Tony blinking in surprise and Hermione rolling her eyes when Sally stepped out, walking towards them with her fluffy tail swishing happily.
"Speak of the devil," Hermione said.
"How the fuck does she do that?" He pressed.
Hermione shrugged her shoulders before saying, "Come on then," she patted the surface of the workbench in encouragement, her half-kneazle jumping up and releasing a meow as she butted her head against Hermione's chin in greeting. "Good morning to you, too, lazybones." Hermione greeted, running her hand through Sally's soft, thick fur, her back bowing in pleasure. "I hear you stole Tony's breakfast?"
Sally meowed in her face before giving her cheek a lick and then turning on the spot, moving to sit before Tony, her tail swishing back and forth.
"What?" He asked the cat. She yowled in response. "No, not a chance," he told her, giving his head a shake. "You've already had my eggs, you're not getting this, too."
Hermione hid her laugh by taking a sip of her tea when Sally yowled in protest, Tony sent a glare her way before looking back to her cat.
"No, eat your owner's breakfast."
"I've already eaten my eggs and sausages, she doesn't like bacon," Hermione injected.
He sent her a look of annoyance before looking back to her cat.
"Don't look at me with those eyes," he warned, scowling at her cat. A staring match between the two ensued until Tony rubbed a hand over his face and sighed. "Damn baby blues," he muttered, scooping up some of his scrambled eggs and setting them on the container lid, Sally immediately moving to eat them.
"Pushover," Hermione teased. He scowled at her. "You should probably put the lid back on your coffee, too."
"Why?"
"She likes coffee," Hermione replied, setting her fork aside and reaching for the bacon with her fingers, bringing it to her mouth and biting some off.
"She's a cat. Cat's don't like coffee," he argued.
"Well, she does, so if I were you I'd put the lid on your... Too late."
"What the Hell?!" Tony exclaimed, staring down at Sally whose head was lodged into the coffee cup. "Seriously?" He questioned in disbelief, Hermione fighting back her laugh when Sally lifted her head and looked Tony dead in the eye, not looking the least bit bothered. "First my eggs and now my coffee? Can't I have anything?" Sally yowled before her head disappeared into the coffee cup once more. "That's far too hot for her," he said, looking to her with wide eyes.
"Apparently not," she shrugged. "You opted for sugar, didn't you?" She said knowingly, knowing that Tony tended to dart between overly sweet coffee and overly bitter coffee, it just depended on the mood he woke with. "That'll be why she's after your coffee."
"And she's got it! As well as my damn eggs," he argued.
"Bacon, as well," she added lightly.
"What?!"
His eyes darted down, seeing that Sally was no longer lapping at his coffee but rather had a rasher of bacon hanging from her mouth as she ate it.
"Seriously?! You said she doesn't like bacon!" He looked to her accusingly.
"She doesn't usually," she held her hands up in defence. "It must just be you. Here, we're in a lab, let's do an experiment."
She reached down and broke some bacon off before holding it out to Sally in offering, the cat having finished eating the bacon she'd stolen from Tony. Sally merely sniffed it before turning away.
His brow furrowing, Tony mimicked her actions and when he held the bacon out in offering, Sally sniffed it before taking it from him, happily eating it.
"And that concludes our experiments. It's definitely you," she said confidently.
"What's your problem?" Tony asked, lowering his head slightly as he locked gazes with Sally. "Damn, I've lost my mind. I'm talking to a cat," he grumbled, giving his head a shake.
"And she can understand every word you're saying," Hermione told him.
"I doubt that," he challenged.
"She can," she assured him. "Can't you, Sally?"
Sally gave a meow in response before she leapt from the workbench and to the ground, disappearing into the bedroom.
"Charming," Tony scoffed. "She eats my food, drinks my coffee and then leaves without a second glance."
"Be flattered, she likes you," Hermione reminded, reaching for the brown paper bag, slipping her hand inside and then drawing back with a chocolate chip muffin.
After wiping her plastic fork clean with a provided napkin, she removed the muffin from its casing and then cut it in half with the side of her fork, offering one half to Tony. He visibly perked up and accepted it, all but shoving it in his mouth before her cat could make a reappearance and try to take that from him as well.
"So, what are your plans on the housing front?" He asked after finishing his half of the muffin, reaching for his coffee before hesitating and thinking better of it.
She sniggered before offering her tea, something he accepted and reluctantly sipped at. He much preferred coffee but she knew he needed the caffeine.
"I'll have Jarvis make reservations at a hotel I haven't been kicked out of and sneak Sally in later, so don't be surprised if she pops up in work station unexpectedly," she warned.
"You can't keep living out of hotels," he told her.
"I know and trust me, I really don't want to but I have no choice. Until I find somewhere permanent I'm out of options."
"You could just stay here," he suggested.
She tipped her head, watching his blank expression closely and from the slight twitch of his eye and the tug at the corner of his mouth, she knew he was deliberately trying to keep it that way. What was he hiding from her? Why was he purposely trying to keep his expression neutral?
"I don't really want to do that either. I mean, it's great in the sense that I literally roll out of bed and into my lab and vice versa in the evenings, but I don't want to live where I work, even if it is only temporary. Don't worry, I'll figure something out," she said, giving him a small smile.
"In that case, you should probably bring Sally to work with you every day, less of a chance of her being seen that way," he pointed out.
"True," she nodded, "But it'll be a pain in the arse having to sneak her in and out every day."
"Then leave her here, I'll watch her for you. Then you're guaranteed to not be kicked out."
She blinked slowly in surprise at his offer.
"Tony, that's very generous of you, but I can't ask that of you."
"You're not, I'm offering," he corrected.
"Still, I can't leave her here fulltime, and it's not because I don't trust you to look after her and keep her safe, not when she seems to trust you more than I do..."
"But?" He prompted.
"But I can't leave here, and no, I won't tell you why, it's personal. Again, thank you for the offer and I truly appreciate it. Now, I best get back to work. A couple more weeks and if everything goes to plan, I should be able to move to the testing phase."
"Still not going to tell me what it is?" He arched an eyebrow, looking to the cauldron on the workbench behind her.
"Not yet," she confirmed.
Standing from her stool, she gathered their empty containers and the rubbish before setting them in the bin. Moving over to her cauldron, she removed the hair tie from her wrist and pulled her hair atop her head, securing it in place. Once done, she collected her clipboard from the ground and peered over the cauldron, taking note of any changes since her last recorded findings.
She felt Tony's eyes on her before she heard the scrape of his stool against the floor and the ding of the lift as he stepped inside. She snuck a peek in his direction, seeing his focused and determined expression before it was hidden by the closing doors.
~000~000~000
The next morning she was woken bright and early in the same manner as she had been the previous day, Hermione having fallen asleep at her workbench once again.
And once she and Tony had taken seats in her lab to eat breakfast, it was much to her surprise and amusement that she noticed he'd ordered extra bacon and eggs, something he set aside for when Sally made an appearance, finally leaving his comfortable couch on the floor above.
He was such a pushover, but he also had a kind heart.
