A/N: What's this? Two updates in two days? D:

Last full chapter of cat!Loki, so savor it. The story should really start to pick up after this. We're just getting to good bits! ;)

Also: catnip. I couldn't resist. xD

Dependency

Loki would never admit it, but he had grown to look forward to the hours Tony spent working. He would sit with the human, either on his lap or nearby, and watch his fingers move, listening to his ongoing commentary. Sometimes Loki would sit on a tool or implement he knew Tony would need just so he could watch the human squirm around for a bit.

As for the others, Loki was limited in the amount of pranks he could pull to pass the time (the whole lacking-opposable-thumbs thing got in the way), but he did enjoy leaving grisly little trophies in Steve's shoes and Thor's underwear.

Also, there was that one time Steve left his laptop open, and Loki set all of the human's preferences to gay porn sites. Steve's girly shriek of "My eyes!" and the resounding crash of his chair hitting the floor was a memory he would cherish forever.

The internet was a wonderful thing.

Thor had known it was him and shaken his head. Tony remained oblivious – though amused – but every once in a while Loki would catch Pepper eyeing him strangely. She suspects, he realized. He decided to tone down the pranks.

Boredom would be a problem before long, he knew, but for now he relied on bothering Tony Stark for his amusement.

Which was why he was confused and a little miffed when, one night, after deciding he was healthy enough, Tony went out to some party and did not return until late into the night. Loki should not have cared, really, and he thought he didn't... until he saw the blonde trollop hanging off of Tony's arm.

He watched from the window as they approached, eyes narrowed and tail twitching. It was unseemly, the way she draped herself over him. When they stumbled through the door in a four-legged mass, Loki sneezed at her perfume. He could feel the stench sinking in and sticking to his fur. Ugh.

Loki slept on the couch that night.

He awakened early the next morning when Thor sat next to him, jostling his perch. Loki spared a glare for his brother and then turned over so that he was facing away. He closed his eyes and feigned sleep. Thor didn't take the hint and stroked a big hand roughly down Loki's flank. Loki growled, but his heart wasn't into it, and when Thor persisted, Loki let him.

"It is unusual for you to wear a second form this long."

Like you would know what is and isn't "unusual" for me. But he stared at the wall and let Thor continue to pet him. He wasn't particularly good at it, but Loki had gotten used to a certain amount of physical contact over the past few weeks and now – to his shame – felt he almost craved it.

"Are you well, brother?" His voice was barely a whisper, but Loki could hear the concern in his words.

Oh, so now you think to ask. He could answer, he supposed, with a look or a shake of his head, but he just stared at the wall, unmoving.

"'Tis also unusual, of late, for you to take your rest out here."

At that, Loki mustered up the energy to throw a glare over his shoulder. Thor's smile was small but knowing.

"Tony Stark is a good man," he said. "I trust him."

I do not.

Loki wondered what connection there was between Tony and his sleeping habits, but... well, okay, so that was a lie: he knew exactly what Thor was implying, but he did not want to think about it. He turned his embarrassment into outrage and jumped from the couch, leaving the room and Thor without turning back.

"Would you like some breakfast, Daisy?"

"Daphne."

"Whatever."

Clearly their love was not the stuff of legends. She was no longer pressing herself against Tony like a well-dressed hooker, and Tony seemed altogether far less happy to be in her company. He was using that abysmal contraption to make toast and stood by the counter, as far away from "Daisy" as he could be without being in another room. He tapped his fingers impatiently against the counter and kept glancing at her over his shoulder as though hoping she would be gone the next time he looked. He was cringing and moving stiffly again. Likely last night's "exercise" had aggravated his neck injury.

Loki watched them from the doorway for a long moment. Then when he decided that "Daphne" did not seem like a cat person, he jumped up onto the table in front of her and purred loud enough to wake the dead.

She shrieked like a banshee.

Tony whipped about, muscles tensed in full warrior mode. When he saw what had made her scream, he rolled his eyes and slumped out of his battle stance.

"Relax, Nancy, it's just my cat."

She gave him a glare that would have made any valkyrie proud. "It's Daphne," she corrected, biting out the words. "And I'm allergic!"

Excellent.

Loki purred harder and sat at the edge of the table, craning his neck to nuzzle against her shoulder. She shrieked and jumped out of her chair, hands flailing about. Her skimpy red dress threatened to slip from her shoulders.

Loki looked up at her with wide, innocent eyes.

"Sorry," Tony said. He sounded anything but. "He's just trying to be friendly. I swear they always gravitate to the allergic ones."

Loki's tail twitched, and he continued to stare at her. When Tony turned to prepare the toast, Loki leveled a look at her and used a tiny spark of magic to make his eyes flash a bright, glowing red.

Her scream hit an octave that only dogs could hear. She swung her purse at him, and Loki drew back and hissed.

"Hey, hey!" Tony caught the purse, his jaw tightened in anger. "What the hell are you doing, you crazy bitch?"

Loki had to bite back his mirth so that it wouldn't come out as an ill-timed purr.

Daphne wrenched her purse free and backed towards the door, keeping her wild eyes on Loki, who now blinked at her with big green eyes. "Your cat is the spawn of Satan!" she spat.

Loki hissed. Again with the spawn of Satan?

"Get out," Tony growled. She opened her mouth to say something. "Out!"

Daphne's lips pursed in a glare that would have frozen the marrow of a lesser person before turning and stalking out of the room. Loki listened to the click of her heels until they were drowned out by the slam of the front door.

Tony blew out a sigh and sat at the table with his plate of toast. He took a bite, and he and Loki stared at each other as he munched. "Sorry about that, buddy," Tony sighed. He reached out to scratch under Loki's chin, but the cat evaded his touch with a glare.

You think to touch me after fondling that whore?

Tony's brow furrowed. "What's the matter, Lo'kitty?"

Ugh, don't call me that!

Loki whirled around in a huff and jumped from the table, head held high and proud as he left the room.

Tony ate alone for the first time in weeks.

Whoa.

The world was spinning in ways that no world had any right to. Loki hung on the arm of Tony's favorite chair, straddling it with his legs, digging his claws into the fabric and holding on for dear life.

And the colors!

SOOoo many colors!

He had never realized just how many there were, and he felt somewhat cheated that no one had told him. Loki had to rock from side to side to keep his balance. He heard someone giggling nearby – Pepper, some part of his brain supplied through the fuzz – and knew that he should probably feel insulted or irritated or... something that began with a "i".

But the colors were just... oh-my-gods-so-pretty.

He was drooling.

"...what did you do to my cat?"

Loki looked up to see the colors swimming around Tony's head. The world swirled around Tony, but his face stood still, as though everything had fallen into its orbit. Like the sun.

Loki wouldn't mind being caught in his orbit. He probably already was.

"He's been a bit cranky, so I got him some catnip."

What was this catnip? Did he care? Tony-come-closerrrrr...

Tony laughed, and the colors rippled in time with the sound. He blinked, slowly, and then Tony's face was right in front of his, dark eyes bright and smiling. Loki's chest rumbled with thunder.

"He always purrs around you."

Tony's smile grew, but he directed it over his shoulder at her. Slut.

Tony's face bent towards his again, and the thunder in Loki's chest grew loud enough to send his whole body shaking with the force of it.

"How're you doing, big guy?"

Tonyyyy...

He nuzzled his face against Tony's chin, rubbing his cheek against the human's stubble. Tony's chuckle was like thunder, too, and the human reached up to pet the side of Loki's face that wasn't rubbing against his. His fingers were warm and sent prickles of heat down Loki's spine.

The world shifted – while still spinning, and wow was that making him dizzy – and he realized from the warmth of a pair of arms around him that Tony was holding him. Loki pressed his nose into the crook where Tony's jaw met his neck.

Tonyyyy! Tony, I looooove you. Stop chasing after skaaaaanks!

"What the hell?"

That sounded like Steve, but Loki was busy trying to figure out if he could stick his tongue down Tony's throat as a cat. He compromised by licking the end of Tony's nose. Tony's face scrunched up, and he let out a rather unmanly giggle.

"Catnip," he said, and Loki could feel as well as hear the words. He went back to nuzzling under Tony's chin and tried to wrap his front paws around the human's neck. "Apparently Loki's an affectionate drunk."

More laughing, but Loki could barely hear it over the thunder.

"Hang on. Thor has to see this." Definitely Steve.

He managed to successfully wrap his arms – paws, whatever – around Tony's neck and decided that he was content to just hang there. Tony patted him on the back.

"Love you too, buddy," he said around a laugh. At that, Loki purred so loud he squeaked.

Moments later, the colors shook to the sound of heavy footsteps. Loki let his head loll back until he was staring at his brother's face upside-down. Then suddenly the whole room seemed so much more fascinating from this angle, and he tried looking everywhere he could. Tony laughed and held Loki tighter to keep him from falling.

"What is he doing?" Thor asked.

Hi, Thor! Loki looked back at his brother, still upside-down and meowed.

"Catnip," Steve, Tony, and Pepper said at once. And, wow, did the colors dance at that.

"What is this catnip?"

It's awesome. Loki meowed to let Thor know that.

Steve was kind enough to explain while Tony was busy juggling Loki and Pepper was... what was Pepper doing, actually? He craned his neck about to look at her but then forgot what he was doing and swung back to look at Thor and Steve.

"Catnip is sort of like a drug for cats."

"A drug?" Thor sounded halfway between confused and outraged. "But you told me that drugs were bad and to never, ever accept any, even if all my friends are doing it!"

Loki decided that required a comment too, so he meowed again.

"Thor," Tony sighed, shifting until Loki's head flopped upright again. "He's a cat. Different rules."

Loki decided that staring at Tony's skin close-up was much more fascinating. He rested his head on Tony's shoulder and stared with awe up at the human.

"And now he's drooling on me."

Someone chuckled – Thor? – and hands much bigger and clumsier than Tony's tried to pet him. Loki growled low in his throat, and the hands withdrew.

Tony and I are cuddling, Thor. You had your chance.

"Okay," Tony said, drawing out the last syllable. "Maybe not so affectionate."

Well, maybe if Thor didn't pet him like he was trying to skin him alive, Loki would be more agreeable. He was perfectly content with just Tony petting him, thank you. Steve was too gentle, which was pleasant for a while but got boring fast, and Pepper was always too busy; she knew all the right spots to focus on and used the right among of pressure, but she always needed her hands for other, work-related things and could only pet him for a few seconds at a time.

Tony, though. He knew how to use his hands, and all Loki had to do was give him a look and he would stop everything to lavish "his cat" with affection. If this were prison, Tony would totally be his bitch.

Then Loki's fuzzy mind connected "petting" to less innocent things, and he giggled. As always, it came out as a purr. There was some more talking, but the words went in one ear and out the other. Loki was content to just close his eyes and listen to Tony breathe.

"Okay, big guy." Tony again. "I think you need to sleep it off."

Loki whined in the back of his throat as Tony set him back down on the arm of his favorite chair. He went back to holding on for dear life.

"Tony," Steve said. "I think our lives will be so much easier if you just keep him stoned."

I can't feel my paws.

Loki slid sideways onto the floor.