Chapter 6: Stane the Bane

The morning was better. Corvin had mostly calmed down since then but felt lethargic and tired after such an emotional night. But overall she felt… better than she did before. Like lancing the wound and letting the infection drain out. She could admit to herself that she had been running on an overdrawn maina streak due to her circumstances and an unhealthy dose of denial. Now her body had given out and she needed to rest.

Tony seemed to pick up on her state and started to hover, shooting questions up to Jarvis about cat behavior and the state of her belongings. He seemed to be worried that she was sick, and Corvin wished she could speak for a moment and tell him to chill his ass out. She knew how this rodeo went, a few days of a more depressive state then she'd bounce back better than ever. High-key wanted to be left alone, but she couldn't exactly tell him that. So she let it be, chillin on his bed and refusing to move or eat any of the food he dangled in front of her face.

'Hard pass,' she hummed to herself as Tony brushed a shrimp along her nose. He retreated, coming back with a can of wet food.

'Harder pass,' she practically renched, a weird gurgling sound coming from her throat and causing Tony to wrench his hand back fast.

"Please dont throw up on my blankets, Licorice." Tony pleaded, looking down at her with big eyes.

'Leave the wet food in the trash and we got a deal.'

Tony sighed loudly, rubbing the hand not in the sling against his forehead. He looked at her for a long moment before finally giving in and walking out of the bedroom, leaving her alone. His anxiety wouldn't let him stay away for long, though, and he returned about every two hours or so to try and temp her with more food.

Corvin dosed for most of the day, letting the lethargy run its course. She had some weird dreams. One was of floating red dots that hung like fairy lights, humming and pulsing whenever her dream-self got close to one. Then she was in an underground city, climbing around the roofs like she was in Assassin's Creed. Then another of a brick building that shifted around like gears turning. And another of her in a house that seemed to be floating down the street, with seaweed brushing pasting the window as it hung from the sky.

It was vivid. She could remember with clarity the veins in the seaweed, the vines and pink flowers that climbed the sides of the buildings in the underground city, and the cracks in the bricks of the shifting building.

She didn't have vivid dreams often, but it was cool when it happened. It always made her want to make them into a drawing or something, but any artistic talents she had did not lay in realism.

The next day was better. After waking up to Tony curled around her in a fetal position, she got up and actually ate something then tried to distract herself for the day by following Tony around. He was visibly relieved by this, and animantly spoke about everything he was doing to her. She understood nothing he was talking about, the science talk going right over her head, but she was happy to be his sounding board after scaring him the day before.

She found it rather hilarious that he spoke to her like a person. Sometimes he would say something and she'd meow and he'd take it like a response to whatever he'd say. It was pretty fucking funny. Sometimes she'd make a noise right in the middle of his rambles and he'd stop, say something along the lines of 'I hadn't thought of that' and then keep going.

This dude was a fucking hoot.

Tony did leave for a bit that day, coming back hours later smelling of jet fuel and someone else's cologne musk. She did not sit ideally when he was gone, trotting down to the beach and scouring for more shells and seaglass to barter for food scraps. She amassed a good amount of each, setting aside the best pieces for her new collection (to which she was still rather sore about).

On the fourth day after her break down, shit started happening.

She and Tony were down in the lab. The scientist was working on the first repulser, screwing it into place around his arm. Corvin was sitting off to the side, watching him go about it.

It had been a long day already, with Tony having two separate panic attacks through the day within three hours of each other. Thankfully, she had been close by for each and was able to ground him, but it had still taken a toll on the man. She could see it in and around his eyes, the firm set of his eyebrows, but the dull on his face that was only replaced with excitement once he got his hands on the repulser.

Pepper came down just as he was snapping it into place.

"Tony, ive been buzzing you. Did you not hear the intercom?" she asked, tutting as Tony gave a sheepish grin.

"Ive been a bit distracted." he offered, screwing one last thing into place within the mess of wires and metal struts along his arm.

"I can see that." she hummed, placing a box down on the table not far from him. Corvin perked up, vaguely recognizing the scene that was unfolding. Her eyes were bright with excitement as she looked at the paper box. Scenes of what was to come flashed before her eyes and Corvin came to a very unfun relization that she had absolutely no fucking clue how to help Tony out in it.

"What is that?" Pepper's voice broke her out of her daze. Ooo here it comes.

"Flight stabilizer. Keeps me from flinging myself all over the place." Pepper hummed at that. "It's perfectly harmless!"

BOOSH!

Corvin cackled.

After Tony picked himself out of the Stark sized hole in the debris like Wile E Coyote, he made his way upstairs. Apparently when Corvin had been distracted, Pepper had informed Tony what Obadia was upstairs.

Which… shit.

Shiiitttt.

She still hadn't figured out how she was going to help with all of this. A part of her wanted to tell Tony about Stane. Just find a keyboard or a convenient Scrabble game she could knock over. Or maybe she could mime it. Did Tony know morse code? She'd have to learn it but-

Corvin's ear twitched as the door to the workshop clicked closed.

Shiiiiittttt.

Jumping off the table, Corvin moved to the door, pawing at it in hopes Jarvis would take the hint. Thankfully, he did, and the door popped open after a beep. She ran up the stairs, cursing her little legs as she did. Each step was like jumping on a chair as a human.

Stane was almost identical to his movie self. There were a few scars along his hands that she hadn't been able to see in cinema, a few more sunspots along his scalp, and some deeper crows feet along the edges of his eyes.

But his smell… ugh. If she hadn't known already that he was full of shit, she would have been able to tell from his smell alone.

All animals and humans emit scents when feeling particularly strong about something. Fear, arousal, sadness, happiness, ect, all have scents. Human noses are too weak to identify it consciously, but can still detect it and it comes off as a vibe or their intuition. Thats why when someone has a gut feeling about meeting someone, they should fucking trust it.

Salty, bitter, with a hint of something musky and sharp. That's what Stane smelled like. It was anxiety, frustration and fear all wrapped into one nose curling scent that Corvin hated.

She could already feel a bubbling growl crawling its way up her throat. Her fur stood on end and pupils dilated as she stared at the man talking to Tony.

"-This was a Board of Directors meeting, Tony. You were meant to be there."

"Board of Directors meeting? More like a Bored Directors meeting." Tony grumbled under his voice. Stane reached out to pat the genius' shoulder, but a loud yowl stopped his hand short. The three humans looked over to the entrance to the basement to see a very poofed up, angry looking cat.

Corvin had no idea (ok a bit of an idea) why she was reacting so strongly. It was like the sound was being ripped from her chest. She was making those weird yowling noises that almost sounded like talking, where her tongue would dart out between her teeth and make the noise jump enough to sound like she was trying to form words.

"Puttin', what are you doing?" Tony cooed, standing from where he had been sitting next to Stane and Pepper. He trotted over and moved to scoop her up.

"What is a cat doing here? Tony don't pick that thing up!" Stan objected, half moving out of the chair like he was going to stand up and physically pull Tony away. This just made her growling louder.

Tony just waved the man off and picked her up. "Now don't be like that, pretty girl, Obi is a friend."

Yeah fucking right. Tony didn't know yet about the betrayal, so he got a pass for now. But it didn't mean that she couldn't make her displeasure known very very well.

Corvin's tail lashed from side to side where it was draped between Tony's arm and torso. He carried her in his good arm over to the couch, sitting down and settling her into his lap.

"This is Licorice Stick, my feline friend." he introduced to Stane, scratching her behind the ears. Corvin leaned into the man's chest, side eyeing Stane with viciousness.

This motherfucking, camel-toe-jam lickin BITCH thinks he can just waltz in here-

"Tony, you're not an animal person, you're a machine person. What were you thinking getting a cat?" Stane asked, looking at Tony like he lost his marbles.

Or trying to come up with ways to get rid of him using this as an EXCUSE-

"I didn't get her, she moved in."

-LIKE A CUNT!

"Let her sniff your hand, maybe she'll calm down." Tony suggested, holding her more towards Stane. She spat out a hiss at the balding man, trying to murder him with her eyes alone.

Like she'd want to smell his musty ass!

"I don't think that is a good idea Tony. It doesn't seem to like me much."

"She just needs to get to know you! I'm sure you'll be pals soon enough." Tony insisted. The group went back to talking about the board and such, while Corvin only had eyes for Stane. Her gaze was fixed on the man she knew had tried and will try again to kill Tony. She stared so hard and long, little red spots started clouding her vision as blood pumped behind her eyes. She couldn't understand how someone could be so vile and dismissive to someone they claimed to be close to.

Her anger was interrupted as Tony got upset with Stane's prodding and waltzed back down to the workshop, carrying her with him and grumbling the whole way.

"Some people just don't get what i'm trying to do, Licorice. I don't want to be that person anymore. I don't want to be the Merchant of Death." Tony sighed, setting her down on a work table. He ran a hand through his hair, looking around at his work. "I can only do so much… what if its not enough?" he whispered, sitting heavily down on the bench. Corvin scooted forward, butting her head against his arm. A hand came up and scratched along her chin as they sat there quietly.

The next day picked back up, and Tony tried flying again, with success. The sound of the repulsors and boots together grated heavily on Corvin's ears so she spent most of the day outside, getting some sun.

Tony had, being the absolute champ he was, gotten a few of her things back. Just a few shells and, surprisingly enough, the coyote jawbone. A person had delivered it in the morning, handing it off to Pepper, who then gave it to Tony. The genius spent a good half an hour with Corvin after, sitting under the desk and rearranging what was left of the stash. He'd pick something up and she'd tap with her paw wherever she wanted him to put it. With the jawbone in the center as well. He had even offered up some old jewelry, left behind from previous flings that were never reclaimed. Corvin had gleefully taken most of them, scraping at the necklaces and bracelets with her claws until they sat juuuusst right in the pile.

Tony seemed to enjoy the time they spent together, looking relaxed during and after. He had even said so, outloud, how the rearranging had been strangely therapeutic.

It be that ADHD, she thought, flexing her claws, trying to detach a ring that had gotten stuck under her nail. Tony helped remove it after a moment, holding onto her paw gently with his bad hand and undangling it with the other.

"Hmm," he hummed to himself, looking her over, "You need a collar." She didn't know how she felt about collars, but she did like the thought of wearing something with her name and his address on it in case something crazy did happen. It would also ward off the well meaning strangers that kept trying to take her home with them whenever she was out. She was not going to be the next featured animal on The Dodo, thank you very much.

She didn't expect Tony to take her out the next day, on whatever day it was. Friday? Maybe?

Meh, tracking weekdays was a human thing. And Tony hardly abided by 'normal' time stamps anyway. Having breakfast well past noon on most days, or sleeping for three hours only to be woken up by a nightmare and not sleeping again for another 30 or so hours. Corvin was slowly trying to get him onto a somewhat healthy sleep schedule. She had to calm him from a panic attack just the night before and she was able to successfully get him to fall back asleep with some heavy purring and kneading.

Back to the topic, Tony took her out. Dressed to impress in a fabulous suit, Tony walked her to the car, making little 'pst pst pst' noises to get her to follow. She had not known at the time what was happening, but was willing to go with it.

There was a quick stop at the groomers, where she got her fur washed and blowdried. They offered to clip her nails but Tony, being the fucking cat whisperer he was, refused.

"Not gonna trim your pretty claws, baby. You're still going in and out and you'll need those to fight off the tomcats." He said down to her, scratching under her chin.

A quick drive later and they stopped at a large, opulent jewelry store. He carried her in, tucked in his good arm like a small dog would, with her back feet perched on his belt to distribute the weight.

"Sir, we don't allow pets in store." an attendant said hesitantly.

"Licorice is my emotional support animal." He said, producing papers labeling her as such from his jacket. The correct papers. When the hell-

"Of course, Mr Stark! Enjoy your shopping" the attendant chirped, breaking her from her bafflement.

Never underestimate Tony Fucking Stark.

A slightly ruffled sales woman came up just as Tony reached the glass cases. From the disgruntled look of a few coworkers behind her, she probably fought her way over. Super valid, really. Corvin probably would have fist fought someone to make the commission on whatever Tony was about to get.

"Mr Stark! Glad to see you again in our fine establishment. What were you looking to get today?" The clerk, Ms. Perez by her name tag, spoke with a bright smile and excitement in her eyes. Corvin would have laughed if she could.

Getchyo cash, sis.

"Here to pick up something for a special lady today." Tony purred, winking cheekily at Perez.

"Well! We have quite a large selection in. Just the other day we received a gorgeous pair of rare black opal earrings set in .999 silver. I could retrieve them if you'd like?" The woman pitched.

Tony waved his free hand, "There will be no need." He then sat Corvin on the glass case. "Pick what you want, kitten."

Both cat and clerk were rather thrown. But Tony, the absolute crazy man he was, looked at Corvin expectantly.

Well then.

She stood on the glass and looked into the cases, spying rings in this one. Definitely not what she wanted, so she moved forward, her little feet pat pat patting on the glass.

"Sir… just for clarification. The jewelry is for… the cat?" Perez spoke up, looking confused. Tony smiled wide.

"Right on the dot! The little lady needs a new collar, and I only give my lady friends the prettiest of necklaces."

Now that Corvin knew what she was looking for, she narrowed down her search, heading over to the pendants and necklaces. Perez seemed to snap out of whatever confusion she was in. She started off talking to Tony only, holding things out for him to view, only to have the man shake his head and point to Corvin.

"She picks it." he said firmly. Afterward, Perez spoke directly to her. The woman obviously felt a bit ridiculous, but she had dollar signs dancing in her eyes and was set on catering to the crazy billionaire's whims.

Corvin took great delight in scaring the woman half to death when she shook her head in response to Perez asking her a question. She startled hard enough to drop the necklace she had been holding out, holding a hand over her chest as she stared into Corvin's yellow eyes.

"Did she just-"

"No diamonds." Tony cut in.

"Wh-what?"

"No diamonds," he repeated, "Licorice Stick doesn't like them, always sets the diamond jewelry off to the side and never in the main pile." Corvin looked up at him. "What? I pay attention."

Corvin was… what? Words were not really forming in her brain. Tony had noticed that she could understand him and it just… never came up? Never was mentioned the whole time she stayed with him or even appeared to faze him. Like a sentient cat was a regular thing, not all that surprising to him.

She didn't know whether to be concerned about what the hell Tony had been exposed to, or if he was so removed from things that he didn't know that a cat understanding your questions was not a normal thing.

She knew she'd be probably revisiting this little revelation at a later date. When there was less sparkly-shining things to distract her.

Perez took it in stride, rubbing off the last of the shock with a distinct 'im not paid to ask questions' air and was now speaking to Corvin with purpose.

Color, size, cut, shape. So sooo many options. It was hard to see between some of them. After a long time, and a lot of head shaking, they got it narrowed down to gold jewelry with any red gems.

Corvin may or may not have intentionally picked these colors to match Tony's future suits. She wanted to be known as 'Iron Man's cat' and was not above matching outfits to knock the point home.

They finally got one, a beautiful golden choker with Red Beryl gems inlaid in a fancy zig-zag pattern. Tony paid for it to be adjusted into a collar, throwing in a few more necklaces he had liked into the pile to be adjusted as well.

"You need variety, Kit-Kat, can't be seen wearing the same collar twice!" he laughed at his own joke, swiping his card as he did.

After that it became a whirlwind of shopping. And Tony was a man on a mission.

Cat toys, kitty clothes and hats, catnip scratch posts, electric litter pans, and more. He even commissioned a very talented carpenter to come to the mansion and set up cat bridges everywhere within the week. She was honestly, super fucking excited for that.

He also got a big cat tree for the workshop and one for his room.

She knew exactly where she was going to set her stash now.

A week from that shopping extravaganza, Tony had the first suit built. He went out, flew, and came back grinning ear to ear, even as one of the cars smoked behind him from where he had landed. He was in a good mood for days after, with only one or two panic attacks that Corvin was able to gently coax him out of.

The cat houses came in, the one in the shop taking up only a modest space next to one of the tables, giving a perfect vantage point to watch whatever Tony was doing at the time wherever in the room. It was four tiers up and Corvin liked to sit on the top most one or the next one down depending on how far away the genius was sitting. The second one down was the perfect height for absent-minded head scratches as he moved back and forth in the room.

The cat house in the bedroom was faaarr more intricate. She should have expected it really.

It went to the ceiling, the beams were modeled after trees with holes she could crawl in and out of. There were 'branches' with soft carpeting the color of moss and leaves. The branches extended outwards, curling across the ceiling so she could climb all over. Garlands of fake flowers hung between branches and beams, giving a very fantasy vibe that Corvin was absolutely digging. It got even better when she moved her collection in, setting it in one of the hollowed 'trunks' at about human chest level, and arranging it so it could be seen well from the whole room.

Another awesome thing was that the carpenter came and installed the cat bridges. Holes were cut out of the walls along the ceiling so she could travel room to room with platforms here and there that were connected by bridges made just for her. Baskets hung from the ceilings at irregular points so she could jump into them like swings. There were climbing posts at every corner so she could get up and down. Each room was a different theme, with the living area looking more sleek than the others. Probably for show when guests came.

The only areas that didn't have these setups were the kitchen, bathrooms and guest bedrooms. Corvin was fine with that, content to climb around Tony's room and living areas. Her favorite spot was a plank next to the waterfall, where she could sit high up and see the whole living space and even out the upper windows to the sea.

The collars got done as well. Beautiful pieces that didnt snag on her fur or jingle when she walked. The red and gold complimented her colors well and she felt fabulous wearing them. She also knew that Tony had installed a GPS into the backs of each one, which was comforting. She didn't like the idea of getting lost and not being able to find him again. She had grown comfortable here and didn't want to give it up.

On top of the collars came clothes. Little hats and shawls that, thankfully, only wrapped around her neck. She didn't like the feeling of her fur along her sides or belly being held down by cloth. Every morning Tony would pick out a little hat that he'd tie lightly around her head from the fucking hoard of them he had gotten. His favorites seemed to be the little sun hats with thin ribbons that could tie around her head. He kept it light enough that she could easily wiggle out of them.

But, admittedly, she rather liked the hats. Coupled with the collar she felt bouji as fuuuuucckk. Like she should be sitting on a large patio deck eating overpriced salads and gossiping about nonsense things.

Corvin was being spoiled rotten. And she loved it.

Tony took her out one day, slipping her into a little vest that he'd gotten in the mail that labeled her as a support animal on duty. It was supposed to keep people's hands to themselves, which she was grateful for.

Tony donned a suit, one with extra padding along the shoulders and in a cloth that her claws couldn't snag.

"We are going to an extra fancy party tonight, Licorice, so you must behave yourself." he had told her as he straightened his tie. "No flirting with the waiting staff to get extra shrimp." She gave him a little purt purt in reply. A tiny tophat went on her head, a bobby pin holding it in place, and then they were off.

They were let into the party with little fuss, the vest on her silencing any complaints. Corvin sat daintily on Tony's shoulder, balancing carefully so she'd look her best. She knew her nails couldn't harm his reinforced three piece (and honestly, only he would think to get one) but she wanted to get used to balancing.

They drew many looks, but Tony brushed them off like a pro, rolling up to the bar and getting something non-alcoholic. She was proud, the painkillers he was on would not mix well with alcohol and he'd been very good about not drinking so far. She had nudged him some oyster crackers while they were in the car just to be safe, though.

Corvin vaguely recognized this room from the movies, remembered something about a reporter coming in and showing Tony pictures but that was about it. She was surprised to see Coulson, but then her memory jarred and she remembered that he was in the first Iron Man and would be helpful later.

He linked to the bar like a super spy, 'coincidentally' bumping into Tony and engaging him in a small conversation that Corvin zoned out of quickly. Still draped on Tony's shoulder she could see most of the room. The smells were crazy, the perfume alone could choke her. The music was nice, but the million voices talking all at once was hard on her ears.

She was distracted when Tony set her down on a bar stool, one next to the agent. Tony pointed to his own eyes, then getured to Corvin.

"Watch her for me. Ill be back." before waltzing off in the direction of Pepper, who Corvin had just spotted. The assistant was wearing a beautiful blue dress with her hair done in nice, elegant waves.

Ooooo gurl get it.

Corvin watched with great amusement as Tony swept Pepper to the floor, wishing at that moment she could speak just so she could start singing "Kiss The Girl."

Sha la la la la my oh my-

Corvin was broken from her snooping by a hand in her fur. She lurched to the side, falling off the barstool.

An older woman, wearing a rose gold dress, looked down at her in surprise.

"Oh goodness, I didn't mean to scare the poor thing!" the woman said to her companion, a younger lady wearing a black number. Both women reached down for her, their manicured nails looking very uninviting. She looked up, hoping for a savior-

Coulson was no longer standing there.

Dude.

She dodged the talons coming at her, scuttling along the side of the bar and into the throng of people. Which was a Bad Idea.

Heels were public enemy number one now. No, number two! Ranked right below Stane and his musty, Mr-Clean-reject lookin ass.

Her tail was stepped on. She was stepped on. All the while, trying to look for Tony in the crowd so she could climb up him and never fucking let go. Feet were everywhere, toe taps felt like sucker punches to the gut. By the time she got out of the hoard, she ached all over. Something was broken and she was sure of it.

She sat at the edge of the room, panting tiredly. Her hat was gone and that made her very sad.

Corvin waited on the edge of the room for hours, even as the crowd began to wane and disappear for the night, waiting for Tony to come pick her up.

He didn't.

AN)Look up Enchanted Forest Cat Tree for an idea of what the cat house looks like!