Work Text:
Tony didn’t remember much of what happened that morning. Just that he woke up as a grey Tabby and hadn’t been allowed his usual morning coffee because he was a six-month-old kitten. That had been the real kicker. Not a fierce ferocious adult cat with claws for days, but a fluff ball of a kitten.
On the bright side, he hadn’t been the only victim of strange magic. Tony would kill Loki when he saw the frost giant next. While he had spared the rest of the team (thank god because Tony could not deal with a Hulk dog), Steve had also been turned into a domestic animal. His best friend had been transformed into a majestic English Cream Retriever, a boundless ball of energy that happened to be twice Tony’s own small size. It was not good for his ego at all.
After a rushed trip to the pet store to buy their two suddenly furry teammates food they could actually consume, the Avengers all settled in the penthouse living room to keep an eye on their new pets.
Clint had bought Steve a plush pillow shaped like Captain America’s shield and it was hanging out of his mouth as he bounced around the room his entire body wiggling as he wagged his tail. Thor was laughing as he scratched Steve’s ears, receiving a slobbery lick up his fingers for it.
If licking meant affection, did that mean Steve had the hots for Thor? Tony’s whiskers twitched as he tried to wrinkle his nose. Tony liked to think he was much hotter. Or in this case cute because now he had four paws and a tail.
Whatever. Tony had more pressing things to worry about like how he was going to get the smell of dog out of the cushions Steve had rubbed his scent over when they had first changed in the middle of the living room. There was blond fur all over the seats and Tony was sure the cleaning crew would have to vacuum several times over.
Bouncing away from Thor, Steve bounded over, running circles around an unamused Tony who had taken up residence on the coffee table with his paws delicately tucked underneath his body. His blanket of short grey fur enveloped all semblance of having limbs. His body round and plump with arrogance as he purposefully ignored any comments from his teammates. He was quite sure he looked nothing akin to bread. The only reaction he offered was an annoyed flick at the tip of his new tail, something he had little control over.
Once again, Tony cursed Loki and his magic to high heavens.
The tail was like wearing a mood ring. His tail refused to obey, lashing in anger and irritation every time someone got too close. He had tried sitting on it, but of course, it hadn’t worked out, his tail wiggling free to shake out behind him.
But that wasn’t even the worst part. Even more frustrating was not being able to complain about his situation. He chuffed angrily and growled, but everyone just cooed at him instead of sharing in his indignation. There was nothing Tony hated more than magic and here he was, suffering as a small furball.
Loki was going to suffer the pain of a repulsor blast when Tony was back to being bipedal.
Maybe the fact that Steve might see him as weak made it worse because he admired the man a great deal. Maybe had a teensy crush on him, and the last thing he wanted to do was lose Steve’s affection. Being a cat, let alone a kitten, was insulting to his image, but he shuddered to imagine how Steve would see him.
Tony looked up at the sound of Steve barking, blinking slowly as his whiskers twitched. The dog had dropped his plush shield on the carpet and was tugging insistently at the hem of Natasha’s shirt, leading her toward Tony. He hoped this wasn’t Steve’s way of getting someone on the team to play with him.
Since almost biting Clint for calling him a ‘loaf,’ the rest of the team had steered clear of him. He really didn’t need Steve’s pity and he definitely didn’t want Clint to come back and put his Cheeto fingers in Tony’s pretty fur.
Steve nosed at Natasha until she was sitting on the couch before barking happily, tail wagging. Without even pausing to admire his accomplishment, Steve was off like a shot to the other side of the room, picking up a soft red blanket with his teeth, and bringing it over to spread across Natasha’s lap. His plush shield soon followed, making what looked like a pretty comfortable bed.
Jealousy swirled in Tony’s tiny body as he tried not to think about what that meant. Did Steve like Natasha? Was this his way of courting her? How could Tony have been so stupid, of course, they were perfect for each other. He shivered from where he was sitting on the coffee table. He needed the blanket more than Natasha did. It looked like it was made out of the finest material, Tony’s cat vision zeroing in on the soft texture and warm fibres. He wanted to roll up in the blanket like a burrito. He had bought that blanket, he deserved it more than Natasha. Annoyance had his fur puffing up, trying to appear bigger and more macho. Tony didn’t know how well that worked considering he was probably only ten pounds soaking wet. He probably looked more like a grey beach ball than anything else
Tony was surprised when Steve whirled around to look at him, nosing at his cheek before cocking his head to the side. Shifting, Tony arched a brow, or at least tried to, he wasn’t sure how well that translated in his cat body. He felt his whiskers twitch in annoyance.
Did Steve know that Tony liked him? Was this his way of showing Tony that he liked Natasha better? Was he rubbing it in Tony’s face by literally rubbing his face against Tony? If Steve didn’t like him, that was fine, but ensuring Tony saw just how happy he was with someone else was cruel and unusual and wasn’t that what Mr Justice fought against in the first place.
Tony’s nose twitched as his throat let out a disgruntled whine against his will. He tried to get a handle on the sound. It wasn’t tears, thank god, but sad cat was probably not a good look on him. With his big brown eyes and small body, he probably looked more like an internet meme than the ferocious cat he wished Loki had turned him into. Tony huffed, turning his face away from Steve’s, tail settling beside him as he tried to make himself smaller. Humiliation made him want to just disappear into the wood of the coffee table.
As if to add salt to the injury, Tony shivered again. Maybe he should try and find Bruce. His science bro would probably take care of him and give him endless amounts of cuddles. Bruce was a cat person too so he would know more than anyone how to take care of Tony. He probably had nice blankets too and he always smelled like science and chocolate chip cookies, a comforting smell Tony so desperately needed right now.
Growing impatient, Steve leaned over, picking Tony up by the scruff of his neck. Immediately Tony curled in on himself, surprise and shock making his tiny cat jaw drop. He couldn’t move his body despite the fact that he was internally screaming about being treated like a baby in the back of his mind. He barely registered Steve moving him onto the red blanket he had set out over Natasha’s lap.
Steve let him go and licked across Tony’s face in apology before stepping back to look at the two of them, tail wagging wildly behind him. His tongue lolled out of his mouth adorably, a wide smile across his face.
From behind him, Natasha was laughing as she readjusted the blanket over her lap, kicking her feet up onto the coffee table where Tony had previously been. She smelled like lavender and Tony rubbed his face against where her leg was under the blanket with a soft rumbling sound. Maybe Steve hadn’t had such a bad idea.
Tony reluctantly settled into the warmth of the blanket, arching his back before melting bonelessly into the soft fabric and allowing Natasha to brush a hand through his grey fur. Steve barked happily before hopping onto the couch to sniff at him, pressing his nose to Tony’s side and inhaling loudly. Tony flicked an ear at the blond in confusion as he rubbed a cheek against the blanket.
Careful not to step on the smaller animal, Steve sat himself down beside Tony resting his head on the cat’s smaller body with a grateful lick up the left side of his face. Tony resisted the urge to cringe as Steve settled down with his muzzle by Tony’s mouth.
Natasha’s fingers moved to scratch behind Steve’s ears and Tony turned his head to look at Steve. Big blue eyes stared back at him and Tony found himself resisting the urge to shiver again, though this time, it wouldn’t be because he was cold.
Before Tony knew what was happening his tongue was lapping up the side of Steve’s nose, the short hairs barely catching on the rough surface of his tongue. The cat was acutely aware of the sound of thumping against the couch as Steve’s tail wagged, happy beyond measure. He licked a path up the side of Tony’s face from his jaw to his ear, spit bathing the kitten before gently nibbling at the soft edge of his ear. Tony didn’t even realize he was purring loudly until the shutter of a camera lens drew his attention away from the underlying noise.
Clint was standing across the room with Phil’s camera smiling at the two of them as he took more pictures, most likely for blackmail. Tony was going to have Jarvis hack the servers and delete all evidence of them ever being animals. If this ended up on the tabloids, he would never hear the end of it.
Putting a gentle paw on Steve’s, Tony moved his head back, ear flicking as he shook out his matted fur. Satiated, Steve lay his head on top of Tony, cradling him under his chin with a small huff before nuzzling his nose into the soft fur of his neck. He was unbelievably warm and Tony revelled in the heat of his bigger mass.
Cuddling with Steve was nice, it made Tony warm and fuzzy inside. He couldn’t deny the raging crush he had on the other man, not when it gave him these kinds of butterflies. Maybe Steve would be open to some cuddling after Loki transformed them back. Perhaps Tony could ask him out and see where that took him. If dog Steve could cuddle with cat Tony, maybe human Steve wouldn’t mind spending some quality time with him.
The idea made Tony warm inside as he thought about the different places he could treat Steve to a date. The local animal shelter could probably use some extra volunteers and if every pet there was as cuddly as Steve, Tony wouldn’t mind going home covered in fur. Maybe he’d even give a dog a forever home, leather couches be damned.
Tony settled against Steve’s side, a contented purr slipping out. It rumbled through his chest, settling in his heart and sending happiness flowing through him from the inside out. The sound had embarrassed Tony before, but judging by the frequent thumping against the couch courtesy of Steve’s tail, the other man was just as happy to be cuddling with Tony so it wasn’t too bad. Loud purring or not, there was nowhere else he would rather be
Being a cat wasn’t so bad.