Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

Challenges listed at the bottom.

Word Count - 693

Decidedly Odd

Getting used to having people around was difficult for Tony. He'd been living alone for so long, with only the occasional company of Pepper, Rhodey or Happy—or the women he'd once shared his bed with—so suddenly waking up one day to the team in his space had certainly been an adjustment.

Not that he didn't like having them there, it was just… he was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

He doubted it would take long for them to realise that Tony wasn't the kind of person that they wanted to live with.

Except… they stayed, and they seemed to enjoy him being there with them.

It was decidedly odd.

That was why, when he found them all waiting for him in the kitchen when he stumbled in to get his morning coffee, he automatically assumed that they were gathered to tell him they were leaving.

He grabbed an orange cup from the cupboard and put it under the coffee maker, keeping his back to the team as he tried to gather himself. Finally, coffee in hand, he turned to face them.

Steve was the one to speak, because of course he was.

"Tony, you know how much we all love living here, right?"

Tony quirked an eyebrow and said nothing as he waited for the axe to fall.

"But we were thinking, you know, if you didn't mind—"

"You can't ask me to move out of my own home," Tony interrupted, scowling down at his coffee. "I know I'm hard to live with but—"

"Whoa, where the hell did that come from?" Clint asked, frowning. "Nobody is asking you to move out!"

Tony blinked at him and then looked back at Steve, who was watching him with a slight frown, hurt lingering in his gaze.

"We, uh. We wanted to ask about getting a pet," Steve said quietly. "Maybe a dog."

Tony flushed. Why oh why did he have to jump to conclusions. The whole team were looking at him like he was going to fall to pieces on the kitchen floor and dammit, he really needed to learn to keep his mouth shut.

"Right. A dog. Sure. Go wild."

And Tony left, dodging Clint's outstretched hand as he set off practically running for the elevator. He needed to just not be there for a while.

…

Thankfully, nobody brought up the conversation in the kitchen again with Tony, and he slowly relaxed as the fear of ambush and a conversation about emotions faded away.

Until he came up from the workshop to find a shaggy mess of a puppy on the living room floor, surrounded by cooing Avengers.

"Hey Tony," Steve greeted, grinning up at him from the floor. "Come and meet our puppy."

Tony stepped closer cautiously, joining them slowly. He'd never had a pet before, wasn't really sure what he was supposed to do with the puppy. It let out the most adorable little bark, and stumbled towards him when he crouched down.

"Hey pup," Tony murmured, holding his hand out for the puppy to smell. "What is his name?"

"We haven't decided yet. I want to call him something cool, but these miserable sods keep shooting me down," Clint replied, pouting.

Given that Tony knew Clint, and didn't really think that something like 'Viper' would fit the little mess, he snorted.

"You're a proper little teddy bear, aren't you," he murmured to the puppy, cautiously picking him up and letting him lick at Tony's face.

The puppy licked him happily, and then stole the glasses from his face with his teeth, gnawing on them cheerfully.

Tony blinked down at him. "You little bandit!"

Steve chuckled, and Natasha raised her eyebrow.

"Bandit."

Tony looked up at her. "You want to call this little furball Bandit?"

She nodded. "It suits him. He's already stolen Steve's heart and your glasses."

Tony looked back at the dog and shrugged. "Bandit, it is."

…

Bandit fit into the tower seamlessly. Tony had gone from living alone to having, god forbid, what felt like a real family, pet included.

It was decidedly odd.

But then… Tony decided that he liked odd very much.

Written for:

North Funfair: Petting Zoo: Artemis the Arctic Hare: Feeding: Sharing a living space with more than one person.

East Funfair: Christmas Cracker, 17. Orange / Dog / Running

South Funfair: Holiday Card: 26. Santa Carrying Presents: Getting a new pet

365: 364. Viper