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When the Sanctum doors swing open for Tony, he is immediately assaulted by the loudest, most ear-piercing yowling he has ever experienced in his life. It sounds like a dozen cats are being cruelly tortured. It’s so loud that people on the sidewalk actually turn and give him and the building wary looks.
The Sanctum doors twitch a little, almost like they’re motioning him inside. The more cautious part of Tony loses the battle with his curiosity and he steps into the considerably-less-solemn-than-usual Sanctum foyer. The awful noise starts wavering up and down the aural spectrum. As Tony is wincing and wondering which way to go—the yowling is too loud to make out a distinct direction—the Cloak appears and waves for him to follow it.
Making his way down a hallway after the Cloak, Tony eventually emerges into the kitchen. There’s a cat carrier sitting on the kitchen table. Wong is facing the opening. “...screeching like this isn’t helping me find a solution!” Wong says, crossing his arms. He’s scowling, more discomfited than Tony has ever seen him. Tony wonders how long he’s been subjected to the ear-piercing wails of an infuriated cat.
“Wong?” Tony calls over the noise. “Where’s”—the noise abruptly cuts out—“Stephen?”
Wong visibly relaxes. “Stark,” he says, and there’s an actual note of relief in his voice. He waves at the cat carrier.
It takes Tony a minute to realize that the gesture is his answer. He comes around the kitchen table and peers into the carrier. The cat within is a slender, glossy black with two adorable smudges of gray just behind its blue-green eyes. “Hey there,” Tony says. “What are you doing in a cage?”
Stephen turns his gaze on Wong, narrows his eyes, and hisses. Tony raises an eyebrow at the sorcerer. Wong narrows his eyes back at Stephen. “He was clawing up the books.”
Of course Stephen would want to try and fix things himself even if he wasn’t really equipped for it at the moment. Tony scoffs, pulling Stephen’s attention back to himself. “Why lock yourself in the library going through dusty books when we could be pulling the best prank of all time on the Avengers?” Tony asks. He reaches for the carrier door. “Come on, let’s leave the boring shit to Wong while we do the heavy lifting.”
“Stark, wait!” Wong says, but Tony’s already got the carrier door open.
Fortunately, Stephen doesn’t make a break for it. Instead, he steps out calmly and very distinctly turns his nose up at Wong before making a leap straight from the table to Tony’s shoulder.
“Claws!” Tony yelps, but they quickly retract once Stephen is settled. A warm, soft tail curls around his throat; Tony smiles and reaches up to give Stephen a skitch. It’s very quiet, but Tony thinks he can hear Stephen purr. He turns to Wong. “Portal, please?”
The look that Wong shoots him as Tony glances back over his unoccupied shoulder is distinctly grateful.