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“Rawr!”
Natasha let out a noise of surprise as she turned the corner into her and Bruce’s bedroom, even though she knew that Bruce had been getting her little ones ready for the Halloween party that the Avengers and a few others were holding that night. She wasn’t really surprised, but it was always a good thing to let little ones know they had a hold on you.
She was wearing her granny clothes, which, to be honest, felt a lot more comfortable that a woman with the body of a twenty-seven year old should be in them, but she liked dressing like an old lady. She even had a walker by the front door, because she liked authenticity. Her hair was up in a tight bun and glasses, that she didn’t need, perched on the tip of her nose. Bruce was once more playing her darling husband that night, Wilbur. Kind of.
Tony was so damn tiny that night, flitting slightly between headspaces, in a soft brown shirt and fur wrist cuffs. He had a pair of lion ears on his head and a lion tail she ordered for him online just the week before.
Clint was sitting on the bed, giggling while Bruce helped him get his wolf ears in place.
They were apex predators right now, which Natasha found fucking adorable because they couldn’t stop giggling. Tony’s cute little nose was painted and he had fake whiskers on his cheeks, and she might actually die of cute.
She loved these subs so fucking much. Ugh, not very good apex predators, but damn cute ones.
“Oh my goodness, Tony! You scared the life right out of me!” Tony sat up on his haunches, a tiny lion paci bobbing in his mouth while he looked superior at the compliment. Natasha clutched her heart in shock, “Oh no. You might have actually scared the life out of me.”
Tony looked shocked and worried, while Clint just giggled harder. Natasha leaned back against the wall, slowly sliding downwards, “Oh no. Oh no, Tony, Grandma is down for the count. I’ve been killed by that ferocious costume.”
Tony whined a little, looking upset with himself. Clint just laughed again though. “It’s okay, Tony. Gramma is just being silly, she’s too strong to die from kitties, no matter how scary they is.”
Tony’s paci continued bobbing worriedly, while he crawled over to Natasha, sniffing at her arm, nudging it with his head. Natasha just grinned at him, reaching out to pull her littlest baby into her chest, petting him slightly roughly like Tony liked when he was in a roughhousing mood, cooing to her like he was her tiniest baby, which he was. “Oh no oh no, did Grandma scare her kitten? Grandma didn’t mean to do that. I just need you to know, Tony, that you’re a very scary kitty, and not to scare anyone tonight. Especially the old. Which means, no scaring Bucky and Steve. I know, I know, ‘Daddy and Papa can take it, they’re strong’ yeah yeah, blah blah. But, seriously, they’re old as hell and might just die. Just don’t.”
Tony nearly laughed at that himself, clamping down on the teat of his paci so he didn’t break character. He nodded ‘solemnly’ at her, making sure she knew he was serious. Grandma always embellished when she was joking.
There would be no scaring of the old that night.
***
There weren’t any press at this party, just a small close one with friends, and so Tony wasn’t afraid to keep the paci in that night. Clint didn’t need one, he was a big boy.
Thing is, Tony and Clint were so deeply ingrained in their headspaces, that it was hard to shift out of them most of the time. They could perfectly function, they’d been doing it all their lives, the headspaces weren’t new much. Though, even when out of them –which was actually most of the time- they still chose to be submissive to a choice amount of people. Clint did Phil’s bidding with minimal fuss most of the time, and Tony would easily let Jarvis direct him to do things when not in the lab.
In the lab, pretty much anything but his own intentions were suggestions, no matter how firmly put from others. Even then, though, Jarvis usually had the highest opinion out of everyone.
Tony still let the paci dangle from its strap attached to his shirt, looking around to see Natasha coming into the room, leaning heavily on her walker while Bruce walked along with her, easily amused by his wife.
She was going slow for show, but Tony could see her making her way determinedly towards the back of the room, where he could see Clint sitting, playing with something that looked flammable. Oh.
“Has anyone seen my kitten?” She asked loudly as she past people, and Tony smiled, slipping down the stairs he was perched on, making his way to her side, the mechanic enhancements in the tail on his backside making it sway with him. He’d done it quick, earlier that day, since he already had the same tech added to his regular play tail, and he personally thought it made him look more graceful than he was, a good thing, because Tony Stark was not actually known for his grace.
He slid up next to her, leaning down to nuzzle at her neck, meowing in question towards his Domme. “Mrow?”
Natasha smiled, leaning up to hold his face in place, blinking slowly. Tony triggered a cord in his tail for it to nearly vibrate with pleasure, the mechanics in his ears making them flick forward happily. He was very excited right now. He gave her a slow blink back.
There were a few SHIELD operatives around them, one of them looking at Natasha and Tony with raised eyebrows, not judging them, but looking honestly curious to the exchange. “What does the blink do?”
Natasha smiled, carding one hand through Tony’s soft hair, making him let out a low contented rumble in his chest, close enough to call a purr. “Blinking for a cat is a kiss. He returned my kiss, so I know my kitten loves me.”
The operative got the sappiest look on her face, happy with that answer. She left to go get another drink.
Natasha turned back to her kitten when she was alone with him and Bruce. “Kitten, where’s the puppy?”
Tony frowned a little, suddenly remembering his puppy’s possible naughtiness. He didn’t want his playmate to get in trouble. He pointed to the corner he’d last seen him in. “Was playing with something, Gramma. He needs to be distracted.”
Natasha nodded, leading the way once more, slow and leaning on her walker, looking older than she felt. “That sweet baby boy, always getting into the darndest things. Don’t worry, Grandma will keep him occupied.”
Clint was excitable when they found him, entertaining one of the kids of the agents invited to the party, his tail wagging behind him so fast that Tony wondered if Clint had broken it on accident. But, Clint looked up at them, it paused for a moment before wagging again, excited to see his kitten and grandma. “Hi!”
The teenager sitting on one of the couches on this side of the room looked at them with poorly hidden amusement, smiling.
Okay, maybe Clint wouldn’t get in trouble.
Though, Tony wasn’t sure if the teen was amused or horrified by them when Natasha sat down next to her with a sigh, an arm going around her back while she decided to amuse her with stories of ‘back in my day.’
Oh lordy.