Chapter 10
Tony Stark—Merlin, as Stephen insisted on calling him—had decided that if the world wasn’t going to take him seriously, then he wasn’t going to take the world seriously.
The whole “Merlin” thing? Not happening.
So, Tony did what any self-respecting former genius billionaire playboy philanthropist would do when faced with an annoying situation: he ignored it entirely.
Whenever Stephen, Wong, or even the Cloak of Levitation tried to call him by that ridiculously old-fashioned name, Tony simply… didn’t respond.
Stephen stood in the middle of the study one afternoon, exasperated, his arms raised in frustration. “Merlin, will you stop knocking things off my desk?”
No response.
He sighed and glanced at Wong, who was holding back a grin. “Wong, do you see this? He’s pretending he doesn’t hear me.”
Wong’s smile tugged at his lips. “I think he’s sending a message.”
Stephen glared at the cat, who was now nonchalantly pawing at a magical artifact on the desk, utterly ignoring him. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Wong chuckled. “Perhaps you should try calling him something else. You did name him Merlin, after all.”
Stephen grumbled. “Fine. I’m going to start calling him ‘stubborn.’”
Tony did respond to that, but only by giving Stephen a slow blink, as if to say: Nice try, but no dice.
Stephen threw up his hands in mock surrender. “You know, I’m starting to think I’m the one being ignored here.”
But that’s when Tony did the unthinkable. He pounced.
The cat leapt off the desk, landing gracefully in front of Stephen, tail flicking back and forth as he stared up at the sorcerer with a look that could only be described as smug.
“Alright, Merlin. This is it,” Stephen muttered, almost to himself. “Either you start listening, or I’m going to make you listen.”
Tony, in his newfound sense of cat defiance, just yawned.
Stephen stood there, still eyeing the cat with a mix of frustration and mild amusement. “You’re impossible.”
Wong raised an eyebrow, glancing at Stephen. “You know, I think he’s just waiting for you to figure it out.”
Stephen exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. “Well, that’s not happening anytime soon.”
Tony’s tail flicked behind him, as if he were reveling in the moment of utter chaos he had caused.
“Fine. Stubborn it is,” Stephen muttered, already turning back to his study.
But Tony did give a little triumphant tail flick before he stretched and hopped back onto his favorite perch. He may not have won this round, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to let anyone forget he was a Stark at heart—no matter what form he was in.
And as Stephen continued to walk away muttering under his breath, Tony let out a contented purr.