Chapter 4
It had been a week since the kid arrived at the tower and Clark hadn't returned his calls so he assumed that things were still a little messy there, in a way, it was better this way, they would have time to find a good place for him instead of throwing him anywhere. Besides, the kid wasn't any trouble, Tony didn't know if that was normal or not, but from his point of view, things were going very well.
The Kid didn't say another word for the next few days, although he swore he could have heard one or two murmurs coming from him while he was watching some cartoon that seemed to hold his attention.
"Tony, don't you think you should take him for a walk?" Clint asked as he ran his hand over the boy's soft, freshly washed hair which flattened his ears with the sudden touch "you know, spending the whole day in front of the TV..."
"Well, I was going to have to go to the grocery store anyway, I was planning on asking Friday to do it but since you mentioned it." The billionaire said as he came back from the kitchen with a jar of cut fruit for the kid who was now paying attention in the conversation. He would like to know what's going on in this kitten's head, he liked the way his eyes had a certain hidden sass. "Do you want to go to the supermarket with me, squirt?"
The kid looked confused and examined Tony's face for a brief second before nodding.
"But you'll have to behave, you hold my hand the whole time and don't leave my side, okay?"
Another nod
It was a little disconcerting, he wished he could hear that sweet little voice again, he wouldn't force him to talk, but it was disconcerting.
The billionaire sat on the couch and picked up his Starkpad to check his emails, including some news about the protesters. He looked out of the corner of his eye to see Clint was leaning back on the armchair and looking at the boy as he thought about something.
"Have you thought about what you're going to do if they don't find someone to keep him?" Clint asked looking at the kitten
Tony lowered the starkpad to look at the archer with a raised eyebrow as if he hadn't thought of that possibility yet "I think they'll find a place."
Clint nodded "But if it takes too long, you know, he'll get attached... maybe you'll get attached too."
Tony put down the Starkpad and let out a short sigh because he knew it was true, if he got attached, well it didn't matter, but if the boy got attached to him it would be a problem "They'll find a place for him soon, Legolas"
"Okay... but if he's going to stay for a long time you should find a name for him." He said as he stood up and adjusted the cushions "It's weird not being able to call him by his name."
After Clint left, Tony took the boy in front of the television to make him change and put on his sneakers. He noticed that the sky was starting to turn a little gray but it looked like it would take a few more hours for it to start raining and even though now a colossal wave of laziness was taking over, he was feeling guilty seeing the kid glued to that screen for so many hours in a row.
"We're going by car, I don't want to take the risk of the storm catching us along the way." Tony said as he called the elevator and adjusted his cap and hoodie, he did his best not to look like himself, he didn't want the trip to the supermarket to turn into an incessant chase of fans and paparazzi, not when the kid was with him.
When they arrived at the parking lot he felt a slight tug on his hand and looked down to see that the boy had a small worried frown "What is that?" Tony asked, stopping and bending down a little to look into the kid's eyes. He pointed to his neck, trying to tell him that something was missing, the skin was no longer pink and bruised but his heart still hurt a little from that.
Tony furrowed his eyebrows, confused at what the child was trying to say. "Do you want to wear a collar?" He asked gently trying to decipher the look on his face.
The kid shook his head with small eyebrows furrowed, as if he had said something stupid and pointed to his neck again.
The man really wanted the kid to use his words "I need you to talk to me bud, I don't know what you mean" He hated the frustrated look the boy kept giving him
"It's missing." And there it was. The kid said in a confused tone
“Do you need the leash?” Tony asked again and then shook his head slightly, "...buddy, I'm not putting a collar on you. It doesn't feel right." When the frustrated look was replaced by just a confused look, they finally got into the car.
He didn't blame him, he also felt extremely frustrated at not being able to communicate with him. As he looked in the rearview mirror, he could see the kid looking out the window and fidgeting with his hands nervously as he seemed to have a lot on his mind, Tony wanted to know what he wanted and what he was feeling, he wanted to hear something, a loud laugh or a cry, children cry all the time over meaningless and random things, hybrid children should also cry all the time and throw tantrums to get things, but the kid didn't do anything, he seemed to always be walking on eggshells, waiting permission and watching Tony's reaction to each movement. This was kind of frustrating.
While driving he decided that he should definitely take the boy out of the tower more often as he was also a great car travel companion. It was extremely cute -he wouldn't admit it- when the kid's little ears moved along to the rhythms of the music that was resounding in the car, he didn't seem to know the lyrics or even who was singing but he liked the rhythm and maybe he also had fun listening to Tony following the chorus and acting like he was on stage.
"Kid" He called as he turned down the music volume a little and met the child's gaze in the rearview mirror "You're going to help me remember what we came to buy, okay?" He said as he switched his attention between the kid's reflection and the entrance to the supermarket parking lot. He smiled when the kitten made a serious and focused face for having received such an important task.
"We need milk; cereal; apple juice; grape juice" Tony absently said only the things that were essential for the small black hole that was the child's stomach, while he was careful to park the car "pancake batter; syrup chocolate... macaroni, cheese" He put on his sunglasses as he got out of the car and walked around to get the kid out, when their eyes met again he finished "And fruits and vegetables too. I know, it's not my favorite part either, so that's at the end of the list."
The kid gave him that adorable smile before getting out of the car and holding Tony's hand as they walked across the parking lot to the entrance. The billionaire realized that the kitten needed a haircut as it was starting to fall into his eyes and bother him, he passed his hand over the boy's forehead pulling his hair back, which didn't do much good when he returned to the same place.
He was determined to remember Tony's list and as soon as they entered he spotted the fridge where the juice boxes that Tony wanted were, he did his best to try and pull the man over to the fridge and looked anxiously, waiting as he filled the cart with about 10 or 15 juice boxes.
Tony let the kid take the lead and drag him through the aisles, taking advantage and grabbing the other items that weren't on the boy's list as they passed through the shelves. When they passed the candy aisle, Tony told the boy to choose 5 different candys and leaned over the cart and stretched his spine while the boy was crouched down analyzing his options one by one.
He adjusted his glasses when a woman entered the candy session accompanied by a small child in her arms, she looked at them with a judgmental expression directed especially at the kitten, Tony clenched his jaw and kept a serious face when he realized that the woman was coming towards his shopping cart.
She didn't seem to recognize the person she was about to talk to, as she was much more focused on the kid as she approached, as if she was afraid he would come and bite her.
"Excuse me" the woman said with a yellow smile and adjusted her grip on the little girl who was curious about the boy who was still choosing what he wanted and had his tail wrapped around his waist and was shaking the tip a little every now and then "I didn't want to bother you but If you're not going to leave him outside, could you at least put him on a leash?" Tony looked at her from behind his glasses with a frown.
"Are you going to put a collar on her too?" He asked pointing his head at the little girl on her hip.
The woman raised her eyebrows in shock "Sir, I know people get attached to these... children, but they are not normal."
"You don't seem very normal either and there's no one complaining here." Tony looks at the kid who notices the tension in the air and slowly approaches him.
The woman took a few steps back as the kitten approached "I'm just asking you to leave him at home or put a leash on him for safety, he could hurt any children that pass by if you get distracted."
Tony looked dumbfounded as the woman simply walked away, he adjusted his hat and looked to see that the sweets he had chosen were abandoned on the floor and he was glued to Tony's side "Come on Peter Pan, we still have the rest of the list, You remember, don't you?" With a small wave he ran and picked up what he had dropped on the floor and threw it into the cart.
After what happened, the billionaire can understand why the child asked for the collar, people really thought it was okay to put a collar on a child as if they were a threat to society. He vaguely remembers going to the grocery store in other situations and seeing one hybrid or another standing outside, all those children being treated like ferocious animals that must be contained and kept as far away as possible, thinking about it now, it really made him sick.
As the cashier passed the purchases he could notice one or two sideways glances at the boy, he could almost forget that he was the famous one because all the looks were directed at the kitten, and most of them were not in a very good way.
Would it really be this shit every time he decided to take the kid for a walk?
Tony pushed the cart towards the exit with the boy firmly attached to his side until he realized it was drizzling outside. He stopped and got out of the door to give space to the people who wanted to enter and then took off his sweatshirt to cover the boy before picking him up and resting him on his hip, ensuring that the shirt covered his head well and that his tail was in.
Tony quickened his pace a little, pushing the cart with one hand and noticed that the kid was staring at him, he tried to decipher the curious look on his face, giving a quick and subtle smile "You did a great job with the list,squirt."
The kid looked at him for a few more seconds and just laid his head on Tony's shoulder, hiding his face in the crook of his neck.
Tony wasn't sure of the feeling that took over his chest, it was funny how he had gotten so used to the kitten in just a few days. He didn't want to go soft but he didn't think there was much he could do to prevent it.
He lowered his head and placed a kiss on the kid's temple. "I'm not putting a collar on you." He stated in a whisper, and he would make sure no one else would treat this child like an animal.
Maybe he was the one who should look for a family for the kid, that way he would have more control over the situation and could do a deeper investigation to make sure he was going to a good and safe home. Tony made a mental note of it so he'd remember to call Clark and let him know, at least it was one less job for the cop.