Chapter 3
The morning dawned cold and cloudy, Tony woke up early and went to the living room with a cup of coffee and took his cell phone to call the police department while turning on the tv
"Good morning, this is Tony Stark, I would like to speak with Officer Clark..."
"On this last night, 6 hybrids died in an attack against an institution responsible for sheltering hybrid children..."
"Good morning Mr Stark, I'll transfer it to him, wait a moment."
"All right." Tony said attentive to the phone but also attentive to the report that was on TV
"It's not the first attack we've seen this week, there's a wave of hate against hybrids circulating lately-" The reporter spoke being interrupted by the woman who appeared to be the director of the institution
"There's been a wave of hate against hybrids that's been around forever, but it's true, in the last few weeks it's been-" she stopped talking desolately, the institution behind her was now just a charred pile of rubble, it looked like the fire had been put out recently since it was still possible to see smoke coming out of the building " -it's been too much, it's too much. I just don't know how we can handle this alone and how we're going to keep protecting them."
"Mister Stark?" Officer Clark called on the phone
"Hi Clark, I'm calling to check on the status of the shelter for the hybrid I took there yesterday afternoon." Tony said as the report continued in the background. He watched as a picture of some hybrid children and teenagers flashed across the screen in black and white.
"Ah, yes, the shelter." The policeman muttered, seeming to be solving more than one thing at the same time "I think you must have seen the news this morning and it's... well, it's a real hell here. There are suspicions of a next attack at a shelter nearby."
"There's a large percentage of the population that believes hybrids are monsters, but let's face it, who are the real monsters here?" A large amount of hate messages and graffiti on the walls of institutions passed on the screen.
"...You are not obliged to keep him with you, you can bring him at the police station and we will manage" the policeman said giving a short enough pause that Tony barely had time to answer "but If the Avengers can keep a hybrid child for just a few days, until things calm down around here, I mean, that would be great, it would help us a lot."
"Ok..." Tony said not knowing what he could do besides that "I'll stay with him"
"Thank you Mr. Stark. I'll call you as soon as we find a place for him."
"Okay. Thank you." A little shaken by the news, Tony decided that it was better to turn off the TV and go to the kitchen and prepare something for the boy to eat.
It was barely nine in the morning when Tony heard soft little sock footsteps approaching the kitchen.
"Good morning, Peter Pan." he said when the boy got to the kitchen and stood by the counter, his hair was sticking out all over the place as well as the fur on his tail which was all messed up. "Sit here, I made pancakes and I have chocolate sauce, honey, and fruit too, do you prefer fruit?" He asked the boy who hadn't fully woken up yet and seemed to still be processing what he was saying "I'm talking too much?"
He took a sip of his coffee while checking his emails and every now and then glancing out of the corner of his eye to see that the boy's mouth was smeared with chocolate. When Tony looked up for the 5th time not only was his face covered in chocolate but also the the tip of his tail and the front of the old T-shirt he was wearing. Tony took this as his cue to debut the clothes Clint left for the boy.
"How about a bath when you're done there?"
//
Tony took him to the bathroom after breakfast, making sure the little hybrid didn't touch anything with his chocolate-sticky hands along the way.
"I'll get you some clothes" He said turning around before leaving and raising his index finger towards the kitten "don't touch anything until I get back"
The kid gave a little nod with his eyebrows furrowed in an attempt to look serious and watched as the man walked out of the bathroom leaving him alone. The kitten pulled his hands up to his chest, making sure he didn't touch anything just like Tony said and then he spun around in place until he was facing the mirror, he looked at the door and then came closer crouching on the floor and leaning over, approaching until he touched his nose to the mirror, thinking it was funny the way he saw himself now.
Tony returned as quickly as possible with the clothes and was back in time to find the kitten staring at his own reflection too closely.
"Hey, what are you doing there?" Tony said in an amused tone but regretted it in the same second when the kid got scared and looked towards him in fear, he got up and took a few awkward steps backwards with his hands still glued to his chest
"It's okay. I'm not mad." he said carefully dropping the clothes on the counter and bent down so he wouldn't tower over the poor kid "I just asked you not to touch anything so you don't get chocolate on it. I'm not mad, buddie." the man said with a softly tone, meeting the boy's eyes that went from him to the clothes "This is for you. Come here, let me see if the clothes will fit you before you shower."
The boy relaxed a little at this, moving closer to Tony as the billionaire spread a white and blue striped sweater in front of him, stepping back a little to see how it fit "It's perfect, I think it's the exact size. Bless Clint." He chuckled when the The child also walked away a little looking at the sweater and silently nodding.
After a shower, a few more bubbles and a soggy bathroom, Tony kept his promise and let the boy watch the rest of last night's Peter Pan.
"Boss, Mr Barton is requesting permission to go upstairs"
"Almost forgot." he mumbled running to his room and quickly changing out of the slightly wet t-shirt he was wearing "You can let him upstairs, Fri."
He returned to the living room just in time to see the elevator open and the archer step out "hey, good morning!" Clint said when he spotted Tony
"Morning!"
"So, what time are you going to take him?" Clint said looking for the little hybrid but he wasn't able to see it as the sofa covered the whole view, he was only able to know he was there by the sound of the cartoon playing on the tv.
Tony raised his eyebrows not sure how he had just kept a hybrid in his house for the next few days "Ah, there's been a little change of plans. He's staying for a few more days as things are a bit messy out there because of the protestants." Clint didn't look too surprised, he'd probably already read the news.
"Well, cool Tony, they're good company, I read an article last week that said hybrid owners are less likely to get depressed or lonely when they have a pet."
Pet.
"Yeah...do you wanna meet him?" He asked tilting his head towards Peter Pan's voice "By the way, the clothes fit perfectly, thanks."
Clint nodded as he followed Tony to the sofa where he could finally see the kitten who had now moved off the sofa and was sitting on the floor with her legs crossed just a few feet away from the screen. Tony didn't think this was healthy but left him where he was anyway, he thought it was cute the way his ears synced to the sound and twitched whenever the tv made a sound a little louder than usual.
"Hey, Buddie. There's someone here who wants to meet you" The billionaire called the boy who took his eyes off the tv and turned to look at Clint, meeting his eyes for just a few seconds before looking back at the screen.
"Oh" Clint chuckled raising his eyebrows "Okay I get that, he's busy, Peter Pan is definitely a lot more important than me."
"He has his priorities." Tony replied by shrugging as Clint walked around the sofa to the boy who simply ignored him as the man crouched down next to him.
"This poor little thing, I can't believe you found him in the trash" Clint said letting his hand hover over the bruise around the hybrid's neck.
"Yeah, people are sick." Tony replied with a sad tone, putting his hands in his pockets and feeling a little uncomfortable as Clint patted the hybrid on the head like he was an animal I mean he is but the billionaire couldn't see anything but a child -with cat ears and a fluffy tail- but still a child, Tony can tell the boy wasn't too pleased either by the look he gave Clint when he got up.
He couldn't help but give a small crooked smile as he remembered himself when his dad's friends would show up and mess up his hair.
"I have to go now, Stark. I'll see you later and the kitten too" the archer said goodbye, patting Tony on the shoulder before entering the elevator leaving him and the kitten alone again
The minute Clint left the floor the kid got up going back to the couch and looked at Tony expectantly beckoning him to join him and watch the movie.
" What's with all that attitude? You're not like that. " Tony asked confused as he walked to the kitchen for a few minutes "You didn't like Clint? He's a nice guy, you know, and he liked you a lot." he continued when he returned with a packet of cookies
The boy was staring at him with his brows furrowed in a slightly confused frown and then he did something that Tony definitely wasn't expecting.
"Not a pet" the boy said pointing to himself, in fact it sounded more like a whisper
Tony stopped where he was on his way to the couch, his mouth slightly open and half in shock at the small whisper he just heard. He took a deep breath before continuing casually and sitting down next to the boy as he opened the cookies and waited expectantly "what did you say,bud?"
The kitten looked at Tony with a confident and slightly annoyed look ignoring the package the man offered him "Not a pet" he repeated sounding only a little louder than the first time still pointing to himself
Tony nodded slowly, scrutinizing the boy "you didn't like what he said to me, did you? About pets keeping company." the man said as gently as he could matching the low and sweet tone of the little hybrid
The kitten shook its head, a little irritated "Not a pet!"
"Right. You're not a pet, I got it." the billionaire said eating a cookie pretending not to be having a little internal meltdown
He can fucking talk.
"I think, you should be a little understanding with Clint. You're half cat so some people assume that you're kind of…half animal." Tony said stepping on eggshells, thinking before each word, waiting for the boy's reaction who touched his little ears for a few seconds reflecting on it before looking back at the TV. Tony was silent still watching him waiting for a reaction or some other word but all he got was a sulky kid who was ignoring him to watch the rest of the movie. When he realized he wasn't going to get the boy's attention back any time soon he decided to just stay and watch Tinkerbell get her little tantrums.
Not that he could pay attention to the movie since all that was running through his head was the boy's low, sweet voice. He wondered how long it had been since the boy hadn't used his voice, which had sounded so unsure and small.
The next few hours were a little quiet, after the movie ended the boy didn't say another word and seemed to be upset with what Clint had said that morning. Tony noticed how the boy, who was sitting at the counter, looked more withdrawn as he prepared some spaghetti for lunch.
"What do you say we go see Steve after lunch?" Tony asked absently as he looked for some ingredient in the top cupboard, he stopped to look back as he wasn't expecting a verbal answer.
a nod
" Cool... I'll try not to burn this here." He said tasting some of the sauce in the palm of his hand "My mom taught me how to make spaghetti so it's one of the only things I know how to cook properly." The man said giving the kitten a subtle smile. Although silence predominated, with Tony's voice and the clatter of cutlery being the only sounds in the environment, It didn't bother him, since without saying a single word, the kid showed that he was listening to what he was saying and was very attentive to what he was doing, exchanging a few glances with Tony now and then as the man walked around the kitchen.
When they went to eat, this time Tony made sure to roll up the boy's sleeves and put a towel attached to the sweater collar thus avoiding a second bath in less than 4 hours. He decided it was worth it and he should adopt this method the next few times since in the end the only damage was the boy's face which was slightly dirty with the sauce.
//
The elevator doors opened and Steve stood up to greet Tony and the little hybrid who was holding his hand letting go only when his eyes met Steve's, running to the man who caught him as soon as the kid's small body collided against his stomach "Hello, Lad."
Tony followed right behind throwing himself on the couch "Hello to you too, Rogers."
"Hi Tony. Clint said this little guy was a little grumpy this morning" the blonde said as he held the boy in one arm and used his other hand to smooth down the mess of curls that were in all directions being careful not to pull his little ears.
"Yeah, something like that. But he's fine now" Tony said running a hand over his face, a little tired.
"I can see that" the man said looking at the child who looked back at him with a small smile, happy to see him again "So is he staying?"
Tony kept his eyes on the kitten that was now nudging Steve's cheek, asking for the blonde's attention. "For a while... until things calm down and the cop finds him a place."
Steve put the boy on his feet on top of the chair so he could look at the clothes he was wearing, smiling a little because it fit him perfectly "Bring him here when you have time."
"Feel free to come up any time, Cap." Tony invited with sincerity "He likes you a lot, I'm sure he'll enjoy stealing you for him for a few hours. Isn't, kid?" He asked the kitten who gave a happy wave that made Steve melt inside.
The rest of the afternoon was filled with cartoons playing on TV, homemade chocolate chip cookies, and a billionaire who was overjoyed to have some time to breathe.