CH 12: Happy Birthday Tones

They returned to the States the next day. Tony had dove into Vanko's history, piecing his puzzle together with quick flicks of fingers. He had visited Vanko in prison as well. He had almost not taken her with, but Corvin was a determined little shit and clung to his ass like a dingleberry until he folded.

She did spend most of the conversation glaring at Vanko, the frazzled fuck, who had hurt her human. The two traded barbs about family, thievery and such, she didn't care too much.

The only break in the back and forth was when Tony's watch dinged him, an alarm for her medication she still took. Tony completely shut Vanko out as he gave her the meds, popping some pills from the small container he kept in his pocket.

Vanko was quiet, watching them as Tony wrapped the pill in a little treat pocket he had stashed and gave it to her. He didn't say anything after either, even as her human poked him for more.

They left not long after. Tony clicked his tongue behind his teeth as he carried Licorice to the car waiting to take them to the airport. Pepper and him talked strategies and clean up on the way back. They settled on sending a crew to help with repairs and funds to the surrounding hospitals for those injured in the fight. Pepper lassoed the media, curbing the worst of the nay-sayers who saw Vanko's invention and bayed for Tony's blood. She managed to turn most of the news in Tony's favor, showing the fight as an example of why Iron Man was needed and privatized.

Tony was truly in awe of her skills, mentally noting to give Pepper a little more say-so power in Stark Industries. She would be a boon in the industry, and Tony was willing to admit her skills were wasted as a personal assistant.

Licorice sat perched in front of one of the windows, her head scarf and vest now off and in a carry bag. She watched the clouds pass under the jet, her tail swishing slowly side to side. Tony reached out and gave her back a scratch, a little chirp leaving her as he did.

Licorice had been with him for almost a year, and in that time she had been put into two major fights and beaten to a pulp in one. A large bloom of guilt settled in Tony's sternum at the thought. A lot of people, and pets, seemed to get hurt around him.

He blinked away the heat behind his eyes as he thought of Happy and Licorice, and the severe injuries they had both taken on account of him. Licorice lost a piece of her skull, her front leg sometimes stood at an awkward angle from nerve damage, and she couldn't jump as well as before. Happy had lost an entire freaking arm.

A wet nose poked his cheek, and a warm, fluffy weight settled into his lap. Tony cleared the frog that had built in his throat, looking down at his sweet kitty as she comforted him. She purred and began to knead his stomach, her eyes going squinty. Tony read somewhere that it meant she was comfortable and happy. A slow blink was like the cat version of a smile.

He placed some kisses on her nose and went back to brainstorming the rest of the ride.

Corvin hated parties. All those humans and their big feet and grabby hands. Tony, who was wearing a sharp suit and Aviators (really? Indoors and at nighttime?), kept her out of reach of the visitors. But she still didn't like it. It was loud and there were too many smells. The only reason she hadn't dashed for the door was because she had no idea what was going to happen and didn't want to let Tony out of her sight for even a second.

If they were in the original timeline, tonight would be the night that Rhodey stole the War Machine armor and would have the big fight with Tony.

However.

Tony was not dying, his behavior was better than ever and he was rolling in (mostly) good decisions. Rhodey didn't have any true reason to steal the armor, and, if he did, he was going to get his ass kicked. Corvin was 100 percent sure the only reason Rhodey won in the movie was because Tony was literally dying… and drunk.

She then felt a hand that was definitely not Tony's on her butt. Already keyed up from the crowd, Corvin didn't hesitate to lash out at the hand with her claws.

The hand, which now sported several bloody nail marks, belonged to one Natasha Romanoff. Oh, sorry, Natalia Rushman.

She was wearing a tight red dress that hugged her perfectly. Mad props to her for knowing what works for her body type but Corvin still didn't want her near Tony right now.

"Ah, crap lets get you a bandage for that." Tony said, motioning Natasha to follow after him. Guiding her to a little off-room that held only a few people, Tony pulled out a first aid kit and grabbed out the disinfectant and a single bandage. The redhead gave a sweet smile and fluttered her eyelashes, trying to work Tony over. Unlucky for her, Tony was already locked down by one Miss Pepper Pots and Corvin was NOT about to let Pepperony turn to dust, thank you very much.

So when Natasha leaned in, pushing out her (oh wowza) chest to highlight the goods, Corvin intervened.

To put it simply, she sat on her human's head, spread-eagled, with her face in his face.

Tony let out a loud giggle at her antics, Natasha long forgotten. He puckered out his lips, kissing her little nose where it hung in front of him, and going cross-eyed to look at her.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his voice slipping into baby talk. He reached up and grabbed her, pulling her furry body into his arms. His phone buzzed and Tony took a quick peek to see that Jarvis had taken still-shots of what she had done and sent them to his phone.

"Oh, here." Tony said, remembering the woman in the room with him. He held out the bandage for her to take, then went back to smothering Corvin with baby talk and head smooches.

Corvin shot a smug look at Natasha, a purr starting in her throat.

Was she a little possessive? Yes. Was she a jealous little shit? Also yes. Was she going to share her human with anyone other than the glorious Pepper Pots?

Hell Mother-Fucking No.

The little spy seemed to know when the battle was lost, and disappeared quickly, much to Corvin's smug glee.

"Lets go get some air, hm?" Tony suggested, carrying her out of the room. He walked upstairs and through the locked door. She figured he didn't want strangers poking through his underwear drawer so he had locked the upstairs off from the guests.

He took her to the main balcony, the one that overlooked the ocean. The smell of the sea washed away the perfumed stink of the other humans, leaving only salt, seaweed and Tony behind. Corvin purred, nuzzling into her human's warm hold. They sat on a large white couch, one of those fancy ones that was shaped like a square and sunk into the floor. Little lights blinked on behind them, casting soft shadows on the pair.

She wasn't surprised when Pepper joined them. She was, however, surprised by the conversation that happened.

"You know, Tony." Pepper started, looking at the two of them. "You've changed a lot this past year."

Tony grinned with cheeky humor, "I think being kidnapped does that to a guy." she gave him a light biff to the arm.

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah," Tony sighed, face falling as he looked out to the water. "I know, a lot has changed overall this year." Pepper hummed, nodding.

"You've been… different." Pepper said softly, hesitating. Tony raised an eyebrow. "In a good way."

He knew what she was referring to. In the past year, Tony hadn't taken anyone home, had barely spared a glance. His alcohol consumption had gone from ritualistic to occasional. He got a minimum of 8 hours of sleep a night and ate regularly. He was taking Stark Industries in a new direction and was bringing new, amazing ideas into many different fields. He was growing as a person, and it made him feel warm, something like pride stirring in his gut.

"When…" he paused, "Before the incident, I didn't understand, or more like I didn't care to. I didn't want to understand what I was doing, the effect I had on the world. Because understanding meant caring. Knowing and accountability for all the bad things I was putting out into the world under the guise of protection and peace. I built weapons of mass destruction and sold them with a smile because I'd tell myself it was for the greater good. But who's greater good was it for? I couldn't answer that question.

"When I got back from Afghanistan, I remember coming home, looking into the mirror and seeing my father. A man with everything and nothing at the same time. My dad built this company off blood and war and I was following diligently in his footsteps. I remember seeing that in the mirror and feeling so sick and wrong that I wanted to break every mirror in the house. I wanted to punch my reflection until it looked as cracked and broken as I felt inside.

"But I didn't. I went to bed, got up and decided to do things differently. To do better than my father ever could. I was tired of living down to his expectations so I started living up to mine. I… I wanted to be someone you'd be proud of."

Tony took a deep breath, a deep heat burning in his chest as he let go.

"It was hard. I don't think I could have done it alone. You, Rhodey, Happy, and Licorice." he patted his cat's head lightly, still staring out at the water, refusing to look over at Pepper's watery eyes. "You four were my rock, and from there I rebuilt myself. Or I'm still rebuilding myself. But I'm doing better."

Tony let out a breath as a watery kiss was placed on his cheekbone.

"You're doing so well, Tony. And I'm so proud of you." Pepper said, her voice thick. Their foreheads pressed together, both of their eyes closed as they just breathed the other in, sharing the moment. Tissues were grabbed when they pulled back a minute later, helpfully batted over by a purring cat.

The party ended, people were sent home, and no suit was stolen. Rhodey actually stayed for a little after-party get together with Tony and Pepper, and they video called Happy, who was at the hospital in Malibu. The four talked well into the night, eating the leftover foods from the party and telling stories. S'mores were made at one point, and the three couldn't help themselves as a marshmallow war was had. It was around 2 am that they finally broke it up, hanging up the call and treging their way to the bedrooms. Tony bid his two friends goodnight, Pepper giving him a kiss to the cheek with Rhodey dramatically doing the same right after.

He closed his door behind him, letting out a content sigh. That was when he saw the gifts on his bed.

Tony had always been awkward with presents, the whole opening and oohing and awing made him clam up as a kid, and as an adult he was even more awkward. He smiled to himself at his friend's thoughtfulness. There were four gifts on the bed. One labeled from each of his friends and one from Licorice. He grinned, wondering which had come up with that idea.

Picking up the one from Pepper, he tore open the red paper. It was a framed photo. One of him and Licorice from when he'd fallen asleep on the couch in the workshop, grease covering him from head to toe and a large rip in his shirt. Licorice sat fast asleep on his chest, her face buried in her paws. One of his hands was on her back, and his mouth was wide open in what he was sure was a snore.

He loved it, staring at the photo for a long moment before placing it on the bedside table.

He then opened the second gift, this one from Rhodey.

Peeling back the golden paper he laughed out loud. It was a costume for Licorice. An Iron Man one. The outfit looked big enough to cover her floof without being restricting. It had a little hoodie with the mask design on it, and, from the look of it, the eye parts glowed in the dark.

He set the costume down with a giggle, reminding himself to put it on Licorice and send the pictures to Rhodey.

Picking up the one from Happy, he ripped the silver packaging open. Inside was a custom mug, with 'Cat Dad' written on the side, and a photo of Licorice under it. Tony promised to use this as his morning coffee cup from now on.

He placed the mug onto the stand next to the photo and picked up the last present. It was wrapped messily in newspaper, and tied with shoelaces. A floofy body jumped into the bed and pressed into his side as he pulled on the string to open it.

Inside was a dusty, ocean water stained jar filled with things: shiny rocks, shells, shark teeth, dried flowers, and little animal bones. The jar was topped by an equally water stained cap, with a bit of twine wrapped around the neck. He noticed that a lot of the rocks and shells were reddish, with some yellows here and there.

Tony smiled warmly, giving Licorice some side scratches. One of the others probably collected some of the stuff that Licorice had been bringing into the house as 'gifts' and put them in the jar. The jar itself had probably been something that had washed up on the beach.

He gave his cat a smooch on the head.

"Thank you, baby. This has, without a doubt, been the best birthday I've ever had." she let out a little 'merp' and nuzzled his face back.

Tony fell asleep, a smile on his face and a good, warm feeling in his heart.