Chapter Text
Summary: While hiking in the woods with their roommates dog, Steve and Bucky come across an injured fox and decide to try and save it’s life. Little do they know this little fox is more than he appears.
Silver Fox Spirit Tony x Our Favorite Brooklyn Boys
The ground beneath Tony’s tiny paws snapped and rustled, he hurried through the undergrowth flinching as shrubs and stray bush branches cut his face. His ears flickered as he heard the howls behind him; he had to hurry. Finding water was his best chance at surviving this. He rushed to the sound of water knowing his little feet didn’t have the strides to keep that pack behind for long.
The dogs growled and howled behind him, the earth itself seemed to be screaming beneath him. Anthony had given him this chance and he couldn’t squander it. He saw it just ahead… the water he needed for freedom.
He had was nearly to the clearing when it came sharp from the left. The female shepard grabbed him quick in her jaws throwing him to the side into the underbrush.
Tony let out a surprised yip as he bounced against the shoreline hitting a tree. He stood up, keeping his left back leg off the ground. He couldn’t hold any weight on it. He growled right back as the shepherd growled at him. Tony eyed the stream again and looked at her. His ears flicked; her pack was close behind. It was now or never…
He took off, barely making it into the stream as the current carried him away. The dog went after him but pulled back before the currant could grab her as well.
Fucking dog…. He growled as the water carried him quickly down stream. OH SHIT! He groaned as he heard the falls. He looked to the shore and saw the dogs running along side it. There’s no way he’d escape. His ears catch the echo of quads. The humans would be here soon.
He managed to keep his head above water long enough to get carried over the falls. There was no god in this river to negotiate with. He figured as much, he was far too close to a human settlement to run into any other gods…
--
“Hey slow down! Stupid mutt!” Bucky shouted as the chocolate lab they’d been hiking with took off up a path worn into a rockface, barking back at them. This was not the usual way they went but the dog seemed to feel this was the way to go, sniffing the ground and climbing the cliff face with zero issues.
“Aw Rhodes come on…” Steve huffed, catching his breath halfway up the rockface.
“Oh yes, let’s let him off the leash… Don’t worry Bucky he won’t go far,” Bucky mocked Steve as they chased the dog up the rockface.
Finally they made it to the top to find Rhodes sniffing around a tree base.
“GOTCHA!” Bucky shouted grabbing the dog by the collar and hooking him back onto the leash.
Rhodes completely ignored Bucky and went back to sniffing around the tree taking a moment to stick his head into it and pull something out.
The limp fluffy bundle in his mouth didn’t stay limp for long. It shot up growling and yipping causing Rhodes to drop it in surprise. The little bundle’s tail puffed up as it growled at them.
It only lasted a moment before the little creature collapsed to its side, it’s small chest rising and falling quickly. It looked half drowned. It’s golden eyes stared half focused at Rhodes.
The dog went in for another look when Bucky pulled on the collar. “Leave it, Rhodes. Down.” He gave the dog a quick command. It was clear Rhodes really wanted to investigate more but instead laid himself down as he had been told.
Steve looked at Bucky. “Is that a fox?” he asked slowly approaching it. “We don’t have foxes ‘round here… much less white ones like that…”
“Stevie, it’s hurt…” Bucky said, noticing that when the fox tried to stand to get back to it’s hiding spot, it carried it’s left rear leg. It seemed curious of them but at the same time wanted to get back under cover. The poor thing collapsed half way back to it’s hole and didn’t move again.
“I think there’s room in the pack if you put the spare water bottles in Rhodes’ pack.” He offered slowly taking said water bottles from the bag. Steve slowly removed his jacket and carefully approached the fox whom was now faced away from them.
The fox yipped and gave a few weak attempts at biting before giving up and letting Steve wrap it in the jacket.
Giving the fox a quick look over he saw the wounds on the fox’s back and his injured leg. He finished wrapping the fox up and made a quick muzzle out of gauze. The poor dear was unconscious already, but it was better safe than sorry.
Bucky helped him load the fox into his backpack and they began to descend the rockface, hurrying back to the car. Rhodes was surprisingly cooperative the entire trip, only nosing the bag a few times seemingly checking in on the poor creature. They finally loaded Rhodes into the backseat placing the fox in the bag into Rhodes’ car kennel.
Upon returning to civilization the two quickly headed to work. They worked for SHIELD (Sheltering Homeless, Invasive & Endangered Living Darlings) a wildlife rehabilitation and sanctuary located not far from town. They quickly unloaded Rhodes from the car and the dog already knowing the way, let himself into his human’s office through his dog door. He had a date with his bed anyway and had a lot to tell the others.
Bucky watched Rhodes get behind the gate before helping Steve safely transport the fox they’d found into the main exam room.
Steve held the white fox close to his chest and almost seemed to be cuddling it. “The poor thing, look at it.” His blue eyes welled up with tears.
“Yeah… just prep him for a quick exam. He’s probably going to need surgery,” Bucky said quickly, turning to leave the room. “I’m going to find Coulson and Fury. They’ll know what to do.”
A few minutes later Coulson and Fury arrived looking over the small fox and deciding for now some local anesthetic and wound care was going to be the little guy’s best chance at survival. After about twenty minutes of draining and removal of abused bitten flesh and a shot of antibiotics the fox was bandaged up and placed into a carrier.
“He’ll probably wake up in a few hours.” Coulson replied. “Aren’t you two off today?”
Steve nodded and then shrugged, “We were just taking Rhodes for a hike,” He explained looking into the fox’s carrier. “I’ll stay and monitor him until he wakes up.” He motioned to take the carrier from Coulson.
Phil rose an eyebrow but handed over the carrier. For a moment he thought he saw a thin red strand wrapped around the fox’s neck and attach itself to Steve’s wrist . He blinked and looked again but the cord had vanished. He looked at the fox one more time and let the blonde man take it.
“Be careful Steve. Sometimes things we find in the mountains can be quite dangerous,” He warned, clearly remembering rumors about some of the old gods that had once inhabited these mountains.
Steve nodded. “We’re checking him for rabies already and Rhodey’s been properly vaccinated against it,” He commented offhandedly, still looking at the fox with such adoring eyes.
The little fox remained asleep for the remainder of the day and Steve convinced Bucky they needed to take him back to the apartment just in case something happened.
Halfway through dinner Steve shot up from his seat and a moment later the hysterical yipping and slamming could be heard from the living room.
“Hey now…” Steve’s voice was low as he tried to calm the fox currently pushing around the cage. “You gotta calm down little guy before your wounds get worse.” He tried to rationalize with the frightened creature.
Bucky walked back into the kitchen and came back holding a spare chicken leg. He carefully lowered it to the top of the kennel allowing it to fall through the grate.
The fox quickly devoured it and proceeded to glare at them. At least it had stopped banging around in there.
Steve seemed again mesmerized by the fox and Bucky silently understood. He brought their plates from the kitchen and they ate there on the livingroom floor watching the fox watch them.
It took both of them armed with cat gloves to get the fox out of the kennel to apply another round of antibiotic ointment and clean his drainage tubes. Again the white fox only put up a fight for a few minutes and then went back to sleep it seemed once he was in Steve’s arms. It was almost like he expected to be harmed and when the hurt didn’t come he’d calm down.
After nearly twenty minutes of cuddling, Steve finally put the fox back into the crate so it could rest and they could go to bed. They did have work in the morning.
They took a shower together and with one final good night to Mr. Fox as they’d taken to calling their new roommate, they went to bed.
--
Tony waited until he sensed the brunette’s breathing even out before carefully using some of his recovered magic to slowly open the crate he had been placed in. He could sense from their fledgling bond the blonde, Steve, dropped off within moments of laying down. The brunette, Bucky had been milling around in their sleeping quarters before settling down to sleep. So far these two had done two of the three things he needed to form a new human contract.
The blonde, Steve, had opened his energy to Tony, but honestly his energy was kind of just all over the place and on everything in the apartment. It was obvious he had no idea how to control it, unlike the more guarded brunette he lived with. So check off one, they were now sharing energy. Tony could feel his wounds healing quickly as they shared energy, this sleeping Steve and himself.
The brunette, Bucky, he’d have to work on naming this one… that name was stupid. His twitched his nose as he crawled along the floor. Regardless of his name the brunette had offered him food and he had taken it into his body, they had eaten a meal together. Now there was only one more part of this whole deal then he could begin to really gain his powers back.
He would have to be quick about this… He just had to pray these two weren’t secretly HYDRA. This seemed like more kindness than anyone at HYDRA could have ever offered him or Anthony, his previous human handler.
He paused a moment thinking of the young man that had given the last of his life to free Tony. They had been together since he was only a few hours old. Taken straight from the boy’s own mother’s arms after their bonding ceremony. It had been nearly thirty years since Tony had known freedom. And to think it only came with the ending of Anthony’s life.
He shook the thoughts of his former human from his mind. He knew Anthony went onto something better and as a result he was free now.
He quickly made his way to the kitchen were he saw paper located on the table. He used what extra energy he had amassed during this day of recovery to transform himself. He stood for a moment in human form stretching his fingers and moving quickly to grab a pen. He quickly scratched a note on the pad before dropping the pencil.
The little white fox groaned as it landed with a hard thump. Tony only had a moment to run back to the cage and drop the top as Bucky came out of the bedroom rubbing one eye with a hand, the other holding a slugger.
“Hmmm…” He said, moving to check the front door and the small coat closet. After doing a quick check of the apartment including Tony in his cage he went back to sleep mumbling to Steve to do the same. He hadn’t noticed the note in the kitchen.
Tony rolled onto his side and let sleep take him. He’d walk in this new human’s mind and see what kind of person dare form a bond with him when he was in such a vulnerable state. After all who wouldn’t want to command a god?
The divine red ribbon around Steve’s wrist vibrated a deep red.
—
Tony walked along the back alleys of some city, the sounds in the background are muffled and the edges of their vision fuzzy. The human, Steve was remembering in his dream.
Smaller, frailer and unseen by the human trailed by death. The small blonde had an apparatus in his hand shaking it before placing a portion in his mouth.
Tony could sense the anxiety this memory conjuried.
Tony gently began releasing calming energy into Steve through their shared bond feeling immense relief as the alley faded away to another quiet room with Steve shoulders sagging sitting in front of a casket.
Mom…
The thought is distant and filled with so much heartache. Death was no longer following him. Had he traded her life? Did this blonde perhaps know some type of magic?
Tony wanted to pry deeper into this when gentle words slowly engulfed them.
Why didn’t cha call me? Stevie this isn’t something I should have found out from Miss Silversmith…
I didn’t wanna… I’m ok Buck… - the small frail Steve placed that strange device into his mouth again and breaths deep.
Stevie your Ma just died. Why didn’t cha call me?
I’m okay Buck… Really…
“Stevie wake up… Babe wake up…” the voice is gentle, Tony can feel hands caressing Steve’s face and side trying to rouse him from sleep.
Stevie your Ma just died. Why didn’t cha call me?
I’m okay Buck… Really…
StevieyourMajustdied. Whydidn’tchacallme?
I’m okay…
Tony quickly exited Steve’s mind realizing his presence was holding Steve there. The bond between them was already so strong…
Tony rolled over wagging his tail softly as he awoke to the sound of stifled sobs.
“Sorry Buck I’m sorry…” tiny hiccups echoed from behind the door of the sleeping quarters.
“It’s alright Stevie. It’s alright.” Bucky soothed, “Let’s try and get some sleep alright… with any luck your new friend will be an early riser completely against his species characteristics.”
Steve let out a weak laugh, “ Yeah maybe…”
The two returned to sleep a bit after that, Bucky as an adorable slightly smaller spoon for Steve.
—
The next morning Steve awoke feeling kind of groggy and not his usual chipper self. He decided not to go for his usual jog but instead to check in their house guest. He made his way to the kitchen first to start the coffee maker pausing as he saw the notepad on the table.
Written in neat but rushed block black letters were two phrases.
Antonius, Tony requests full access.
Please say this phrase three times.
“Antonius, Tony requests full access…” Steve said out loud looking over the note in his hand feeling it rough between his fingers. “Antonius, Tony requests full access…” Steve thinks about it did he and Bucky know anyone named Antonius? What did they want access to?
Steve couldn’t see the thin red line that had been wrapped around his wrist was now a thick red cord. Nor did he notice the weak injured fox he’d picked up the day before looked fairly healed and was watching him in earnest.
Steve went to go wake Bucky, “Buck… what’s this note about?” Steve asked shaking his boyfriend awake.
“Whaa?” Bucky asked turning over sleepily in bed.
“Antonius, Tony requests full access…” the moment Steve spoke the last word he felt like someone had just turned the lights off, his head moved forward and he crashed down to the bed in a sound slumber.
Bucky also showed no signs of waking.
Foolish human… Tony thinks as the bond between the two of them solidified. Tony snapped his fingers as he freed himself from the cage they had put him in.
Having full access to the excessive energy Steve seemed to produce greatly helped Tony to maintain a human form. He was still too weak to maintain it for long. He needed a shower, some real food and maybe if he felt like it he’d wake the slumbering humans.
Tony understood the basics of human living from his time with Anthony and before Anthony there has been Howard, before that other Howard… he’d seen the world through both of them. His thoughts wandered to Gregory, had he been sealed again now that the family had no heir? Was it really Tony’s duty to find out?
That’s a dark thought… He pondered. He’d have to be careful not to become a demon...
The warm water spray did wonders for the tight muscles of Tony’s back and legs. Neither of the dogs he’d come into contact with had been incredibly gentle with him and as a result his muscles were sore. These drainage tubes in his back also were not helping his cause. He’d pull them out later in his fox form.
He roamed into the kitchen completely in the buff, he’d shed his towel on the floor near the bath, and smells this delicious rich aroma. Steve had turned on the coffee and it now appeared to be ready. He made his way over to it and spied the two mugs.
Anthony has shown him how to handle hot liquids before and so with careful practice he poured some of the dark liquid into the mug that read “I’m sorry for the things I said before I had coffee.” He brought it to his lips and took a large mouthful of the hot liquid.
It was bitter and floral and sweet all at once. He downed the mug and proceeded to drink the entire pot standing nude in the kitchen. He’d definitely have to suggest to the human to keep plenty of this around. He placed the glass catch on the counter then headed to investigate the kitchen cabinets.
He settled for what looked familiar in the end and ate all the food the couple had on the counter, 7 bananas, 4 apples, one questionable almost moldy pear and two loaves of bread. Just as he finished the last bit of bread he felt he was starting to harm the human. He quickly tossed his evidence into the trash and hurried back to his crate locking himself back inside and allowing the humans to rise.
Tony knew he could just drain both of these humans of their life force and move on but decided against it. They’d hadn’t been cruel to him yet and he wouldn't squander the life Anthony had given him by becoming a demon so soon.
The buzzing of Bucky’s phone woke the two of them two hours later. Bucky awoke first cursing at the time, they should have been at the office thirty minutes ago. He tried to shake Steve awake.
The blonde groaned and rolled over clearly put out.
Noting Steve for some reason was already dressed he hurried to dress himself nearly slipping on the wet tiles in the bathroom.
Why is it so dirty here? Bucky wondered, noticing all the dirty and smuggling around. He groaned when he saw his towel on the floor.
After the quickest shower he’d done since the military , Bucky returned to the bedroom to find Steve still asleep but now cuddled in his spot. “Stevie come on! We gotta go…”
Steve yawned and carefully sat up… he looked down at his clothes. When had he gotten dressed? He looked at a crumpled piece of paper in his hands. It had some kind of strange symbols written on it like chicken scratch.
“Is this your idea of a joke?” Steve asked coming into the kitchen.
“Stevie didn’t we just buy bananas and bread?” Bucky asked noticing the missing items from their counter top.
Steve nodded placing the note down on the counter. “Hmm…”
Bucky turned, “Why don’t you see if Mr. Fox is alright while I make us something to eat? I already text Fury and Coulson. They said take our time handling the fox.”
Steve nodded and headed out to the living room.
The white fox was sitting up in the carrier and busying itself with pulling the drainage tubes from its back in a rather animated fashion.
“Oh no! Darling don’t do that.” Steve said rushing over to the kennel and trying to distract the fox.
The fox yipped at him then proceeded to grab another drainage tube and tug on it.
Without thinking Steve opened the kennel and grabbed the fox.
The fox froze.
Steve froze hands around its forelegs carefully supporting it.
Startled golden eyes stared into curious blue.
A rumble grew in the fox’s chest.
Steve without thinking began to pet the fox bringing it closer to him. To his surprise the fox laid against his breast and huffed.
“Buck! I think he’s someone’s pet,” Steve said coming back into the kitchen now cuddling with the healing furball.
Bucky looked over, astonished. The scratch our eyes out monster they’d taken last night was cuddling up to Steve tail wagging slightly. “Let’s see if he wants to eat.” He took some chicken from the night before and placed it on a small dish.
Steve fed the little fox bites of chicken with his fingers in between spoonfuls of oatmeal for himself.
“We should get going,” Bucky said after they all finished.
The fox’s head turned as he was taken back towards the smaller carrier he’d been in before entering the house. It yipped and jumped out of Steve’s arms landing awkwardly on its injured leg. It let out quite the wounded cry before trying to climb back into the larger kennel. It growled at Steve when he approached.
“Oh Darling we don’t have to go far…” Steve tried to rationalize. “We only work a bit away from here we won’t even need the car. We have to go in today so the vet can have a good look at you,” He tried to soothe the obviously scared fox.
Bucky was already donning the cat gloves cuz fuck this…
“Buck you’re scaring him. Just give me a minute okay…” he offered trying to sooth the fox into coming out. “If you don’t try to flee I’ll carry you okay?” He offered quietly.
The fox glared at Bucky, noting the gloves.
Steve turned to Bucky, “Get rid of the gloves, stupid,” He said then turned back, shook his head and looked back at a Bucky. “What did I say?”
“ I get it..” Bucky replies taking off the gloves. “If he bites you we’re going to assume he’s rabid…”
Steve laughed as he worked the fox out of the kennel. “Come on then Darling…”
Bucky grumbled, “Damn thing is two faced...”
The fox glared and Bucky seemed to trip over nothing as they made their way out the door.
The short walk to work was uneventful with the fox resting in Steve’s arms and growling when Bucky got too close to them.
Neither of the humans could see the thick red cord that bound Steve to the little fox. It had wrapped itself around Steve’s arm and was starting to circle around his chest.
“He looks a bit bigger than yesterday…” Phil said coming up to them with Clint on the edge of his falconer’s glove.
The overdosed hawk let out a call as it looked about from it’s helmet. Clint turned his head a bit and tightened his hold on Phil’s glove.
Phil looked at Clint with an unreadable face for a moment and then he went back to looking at them.
“No you can’t eat the bird,” Steve said playfully. “Clint would probably eat you… Natasha definitely would…” He pet the fox with this goofy smile on his face.
The fox’s golden eyes were trained on the bird. They had narrowed to slits.
“He tore some of his drainage tubes out a while ago we should really make sure he didn’t do any further damage to himself,” Bucky said motioning for them to go inside.
Phil nodded. “That’s too bad. Have Maria look him over. She’s in today. Fury got called into town on some business.”
Phil then parted ways with them heading back towards his apartment attached to the aviary were they kept the birds unable to be returned to the wild.
The fox continued to watch them over Steve’s shoulder as they walked into the main building.
—
The second Clint was taken into the house he shifted into a human form and ran about looking for Natasha.
“NAT!!! NAT!!” He squeaked hurrying through the house running past her twice. She sat quietly preening in front of the TV while an episode of How It’s Made played on the screen. Clint ran by a third time then stopped. “OH MY GOD HAVE YOU BEEN HERE THE WHOLE TIME?!”
“What is it Clint?” She asked in between fixing her feathers still in her bird form.
“I don’t know where Steve found it but there’s a god here… like an actual god!” He began bouncing around on the balls of his feet.”
“What are you talking about? A god? These mountains haven’t had a god in hundreds of years… the closest thing it has is Rocket and even he’s not that powerful. If there was a god here we’d know it,” Natasha tried to rationalize. “I think your sedentary life has made you senile.”
“No I saw it.. it was a white fox and it’s a god. That red cord it’s got wrapped around Steve tells me so.” Clint replies folding his arms over his chest. “We gotta tell Phil. Steve will be in danger if that god continues to bond with him.”
Natasha shifted form from the beautiful red macaw to a red headed woman. “Alright Clint let’s go warn Phil about this god you’re so concerned about.”
Clint nodded and the two of them were about to leave the aviary when they felt it. Something dark and ominous was approaching the mountain quickly.
—
Tony sat curled up in Steve’s lap enjoying the embrace of a human. It had only been a few days since Anthony’s passing but he had missed it. It had been longer since he’d had this kind of unbridled access to a person. He knew he was walking a very precarious line as he influenced Steve to do what he wanted. There was after all such a fine line between what made you a “god” and a “demon”. He made sure to keep Steve mostly conscious and alert but he was definitely tapped in. He had to be sure they weren’t HYDRA… he wouldn’t let Anthony’s death be in vain.
He and Steve both looked up when a brunette woman walked into the room followed by the man he’d seen earlier named Phil. Tony glowered at them.
“Steve would you mind leaving the fox here while you get started with your day?” Phil asked motioning for Steve to put the fox on the exam table.
“No.” Steve said making this uneasy face. “He gets kinda scared when I put him down.”
“It’s in your best interest Steve that you start working. The fox will be fine. We’ll even bring him to you once the exam’s over. Won’t even take ten minutes.” Phil offered the compromise.
Tony glowered at him harder especially when he felt the energy of that bird from before and another’s.
Ohhhh… Tony thinks, this human has some sort of protection.
“Mr. Fox here needs to be looked at carefully.” Maria began. “Now he can choose to do it now or I can give him this shot and we can do it that way…” she offered holding up a dart Tony knew wasn’t for him.
Tony hopped out of Steve’s lap and lessened their bond.
Maria smiled, “Steve can you go feed Paul and the others for me?”
Steve nodded, “Alright, be nice to Tony. I’ll be back in a bit okay?” Steve pet Tony on the head and left the room without looking back.
Once he was gone Tony growled at the man and woman.
“So your name is Tony?” Maria asked letting her hair come down. “The old water spirit in this area mentioned a strange god had appeared on this mountain… is it you?”
“A bitch has no right to speak to me like that…” Tony snarked taking on a humanized form. “I’m at least 300 years older than you. Show your elders some respect.”
Maria snorted, “Little fox this is my mountain…” she replied with a growl. “What territory do you have to speak of?”
Phil rolled his eyes, it was like with every new spirit they met it was always this pissing contest over who had more stuff or who was older or stronger.
“Please child,” Tony rolled his eyes fluffing out his robes and running a hand through his greying brown hair. “I’m from a time when gods wandered the land… I have no need for a territory…”
Maria’s eyes widened, “If you are a wandering god then why are you here? There have not been wandering gods in many generations… all of them lost to the times or captured by greedy humans.”
“The latter was my fate… I have not been free in many generations but the last human to contain me has left this world so now I am free… Young Steven Grant Rogers has been so kind as to bond with me.” Tony replied rubbing his neatly groomed chin the salt and pepper stubble a bit stiff beneath his fingers.
“It cannot be a known bond, that boy believes you’re a fox.” Maria replied, “How-”
“As much as I am enjoying our little chat I cannot hold this form for long.” He motioned with his hands, “I do not sense you are HYDRA so I will only stay till I’m able to move along… after all I am a god who wanders the land…” he took a moment to clap his hands “And take these damn tubes out of me. I’ll be healed just fine in a few days.” he added before he returned to his small fox form and sat obediently on the table his ears twitching.
—
Rhodes led Sam to Steve around the same time, leaning against the outside the small mammal housing exhibits having a hard time breathing.
“Hey,” Sam said coming over and looking at the blonde.
Steve was already sitting up and trying to steady his breathing. He tried to talk but he was too short of breath. He motioned towards the door to the exhibits and gasp.
“It’s gonna be alright Steve.” Sam said turning to Rhodes. “Get the first aid kit and Bucky.” He said sending the dog off.
In the meantime Sam got up and quickly ran into the small office located in the exhibit enclosure. . They kept a rescue inhaler there. He grabbed it and quickly shook it as he headed back to Steve.
The moment Steve saw it he reached out for it. He quickly placed the tip in his mouth and took a deep inhale feeling the medication begin working.
A few minutes and deep inhales later, Bucky arrived with Rhodes and the first aid kit. The dog instantly went to lay at Steve’s feet while Bucky began looking him over.
Steve hadn’t had an asthma attack in years. The fear in Steve’s eyes was very real. He still remembered being too small too sickly his entire frame shaking with cough and lungs so congested it was a miracle he was breathing at all.
“Hey Babe, What happened?” Bucky asked carefully patting Steve’s leg and offering him his metered inhaler.
Steve just shook his head getting his breath back for the first time in what felt like hours.
“I… I don’t know…” he said quietly taking a deep inhale of his own medication and feeling much better.
“ I’m going to call an ambulance, you should be looked at,” Bucky replied pulling out his cellphone.
Steve placed his hand over Bucky’s, neither of them noticing the red cord tightening around Steve’s chest as it wrapped around a larger black cable that was squeezing Steve’s chest. “I’m okay...let’s just give it a minute…”
Bucky and Sam stayed close by as Steve continued to catch his breath slowly breathing deeply in and out and taking inhales of medication as needed .
Bucky continued to stay just beside him while Sam went to put the rescue inhaler back. He paused noticing someone had already been in the small mammal enclosure. He moved to close the slightly open door when it was pulled shut with a slam just before he could grasp the handle. He moved to grab the door when a black energy shot out and pushed him back away from the door.
Sam stumbled back a few feet having clearly seen it. He caught himself on the desk sliding it back a few feet. He looked up to see Rhodes had come into the office and growled at the appearing black mass.
Just before the black mass could attack again Tony appeared standing much larger then he had been in his fox form. He was a miniature version of his human form. He didn’t feel he’d need that much energy to dispel this demon nor did he think Steve had enough energy to give him at this point.
Outside the office the sound of Steve’s panicked wheezing could be heard and the sound of Bucky on the phone with emergency response from the town a good twenty minutes away. The panic was clear in the energy Tony was mining out of Steve. With this other’s interference he wasn’t able to send any back.
“Human and dog… if you’d step outside…” Tony motioned towards the door as he cracked his knuckles. “It’s been quite some time since I’ve had to do something like this…” He began calling a blue flame into his finger tips.
Rhodes pulled at Sam’s pants leg to lead him out. They’d only be in the way here…
Outside the little office was pure chaos.
Bucky was doing his best to stay on the phone with the emergency response aid and assist Steve for whom the inhaler was now ineffective. Neither he nor Steve could see the black cable had tripled in size and now was causing a huge void in his chest. The red cord that had been there seems to have retreated to around Steve’s neck and navel.
Steve’s eyes rolled into the back of his head. He went down.
“Babe… Babe!” Bucky tried to rouse the other but he’d gone pretty still, even the heaving of his chest had slowed significantly.
Sam was about to run for help when he turned to see Phil and Maria running over. Phil had an oxygen tank in his hands. How did they know? He wondered for a moment before going to assist Phil with getting Steve hooked up to the oxygen mask.
Phil and Sam got Steve into a seated position again and hooked him up to the oxygen turning it on.
By the time emergency response came screeching up the drive towards the small mammal enclosure Steve had woken up. He was sitting still wearing the borrowed oxygen mask with a little white fox curled up in his lap.
The little white fox growled when the EMT’s approached. He could heal his human just fine… he glared at them and started yipping the moment he felt strong hands pick him up.
“It’s alright Tony they just want to look him over…” Bucky said slowly picking the fox up so they could work.
Tony allowed himself to be held in the brunette’s arms. He had beaten down that fallen god but was too weak to completely dispel him. He glared back at the aardvark enclosure, he was onto that asshole Hammer and if he tried to even look at Steve’s energy the wrong way again he’d rip him right out of that anchoring body. Tony secured his red cord on all of Steve’s chakra points and was carefully taking Steve’s tarnished energy, thanks to Hammer and filtering it through himself then sending it back to Steve with a little of his own.
Tony growled when they began loading Steve into the ambulance. He began fighting to get out of Bucky’s arms. The brunette for what he was worth quickly deposited Tony back into their apartment loose and then ran to the car to follow the ambulance.
Tony’s eyes narrowed as Bucky drove away. He’d show that Bucket to never leave him unattended and take him away from his precious human.
--
Steve was admitted to the hospital and was going to have to stay overnight for observation.
Bucky stayed with him cuddled up in the bed with him holding his close.
Back at their apartment Tony was sitting in the remains of the living room. He’d gutted the couch, knocked the TV over and torn several shelves apart.
The bedroom where the humans slept and had their mating rituals was also reduced to misshapen springs and flipped against a wall. Bucky would be lucky if he had two matching shoes left undestroyed. Nothing that smelled like Steve’s was touched.
Tony moved to the window that overlooked were the car was stored and when he did not see the car he decided he’d just get food for himself. He tore off several off the kitchen cabinets and then proceeded to tear apart any box he found even if he didn't want the item inside.
The next morning Sam went to check on Tony and sent Bucky a video of what looked like a house after a natural disaster hit it.
It took Bucky and Steve a moment to realize this video was of their apartment. They could hear Sam’s voice calling Tony as he carefully walked through the wreckage that was their apartment. The video ends with Sam walking into the bedroom to find Tony, the little white devil snuggled into Steve’s untouched pillow wrapped up in his shirt from the day before asleep like an angel.
Steve made that stupid baby face when he saw Tony. “Aww.. he missed us…”
Bucky just turned to look at him. He knew love made you blind but did Steve not see the disaster area that was their living quarters?!
—
Two weeks passed without incident and Steve was cleared to return to work. The only thing that had changed was Tony now accompanied Steve everywhere and rarely let the blonde out of his sight. He was always underfoot, between him and Bucky or in Steve’s lap.
Everything in their home life was going as well as expected.
Except Bucky was pretty sure he was losing his mind. They were going through more fruit then they’d ever bought before and someone was definitely drinking all the coffee. More then once he’d had to remind Steve that Tony did not need coffee.
“Listen Bucket… Tony likes coffee.” Steve had said one morning when Bucky had to remind the blonde yet again not to place coffee into the crystal bowl he’d insisted the fox wanted to eat and drink from.
Tony was perched up on Steve’s shoulders watching the blonde beginning to pour said coffee.
“What? Who’s Bucket?” Bucky replied staring at the back of his boyfriend’s head.
Steve turned to look at him placing the coffee back its holder safely out ot tony’s reach. He turned to sit down at the table giving Tony some of the eggs off his place. “Who’s Bucket?”
“You just called me Bucket…” Bucky replied clearly pissed off.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about…” Steve replied, raising an eyebrow.
The fox on his shoulder almost seemed to be laughing.
Bucky narrowed his eyes. He could not believe Steve had talked him into keeping this home wrecker. They did not need a pet… and yet here he was…