"Maybe you should get a pet?"
Tony spun around in his chair an gave Pepper a look like she'd just suggested nuclear genocide.
"A pet? Look at me Pep, I can barely keep myself alive, let alone an animal!"
"I'm just saying, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have something comforting around, and no Dum-E doesn't count."
Tony opened his mouth to retort, but quickly closed it when he saw the aforementioned robot trying to mix another motor oil smoothie.
"Fine, I'll see about checking out the local shelters."
************
Despite his agreement, Tony did not visit any shelters. In fact, he'd forgotten all about the pet argument until three weeks later.
It was one of the rare nights that Tony actually bothered to go to bed before the crack of dawn,and he was snoring peacefully when JARVIS sounded the alarm.
"What the Hell, J?"
"Sir, there is a small,black cat lingering outside of the mansion doors that requires immediate attention."
"That's what you woke me up for? Just call Animal Control, Jesus."
"Sir," Jarvis said in that tone that indicated when he was exasperated with his creator," Scans indicate the animal is severely injured, not to mention it is displaying a magical signature similar to that of Thor's Mjölnir."
Well that certainly changed things. The last thing S.H.I.E.L.D. needed to get ahold of was a magic cat, plus he couldn't in good conscious leave a hurt animal outside to fend for itself.
He hopped out of bed and went downstairs to the living area, where Jarvis had already opened the door. Sure enough, a black cat with startling green eyes was there, meowing on the front step.
"Hey there, little guy, my name's Tony. Don't worry you're safe."
The cat looked at him distrustingly at first, but seemed to concede something as he picked it up. Tony was alarmed when red began to stain the hand he had on the animal's side. Quickly, he raced back inside and down the steps that led to his laboratory.
"JARVIS, get me a full scan on the little guy."
"Scanning now. It seems that the wound on the left side of the abdomen is most severe. It also appears that he has some bones that have been broken and healed repeatedly along with several third-degree burns."
"You mean to tell me this cat was fucking tortured?!"
"Yes sir," JARVIS stated with a solemnity not found in most A.I.," scans show that it has been reoccurring for an extended period of time."
Tony shook his head in disgust. How could anyone be so unnecessarily cruel to such a small animal he'd never know. He gave it a light pat on the head and it rubbed it's cheek against his palm.
"Well at least you're friendly. J says you might have magic, if that's true how come you can't heal yourself?"
The cat gave a long,pitiful mewl that somehow Tony understood.
"Reserves are low, huh? I can't do much when I'm overtired either. Don't worry little fella, we'll get you fixed up. I'm not a vet but I know a thing or two about stitches."
He got his emergency medical kit out from under the lab table and got to work. He stitched up the largest wound and disinfected the others. Once he was done, Tony wrapped the cat up in a soft towel and headed towards the kitchen.
"You hungry little guy? I should still have some takeout left in the fridge."
"Mew."
"I'll take that as a yes."
He got the sushi and chicken out and put it on a plate. He set it and the kitty on the counter,watching as the animal lapped up the food with gusto. After he was finished, Tony picked him back up and went upstairs to his room where he gingerly set the cat on one of the pillows.
"Goodnight fluffball, I'll think of a another
name for you in the morning."
**************
The next morning, Tony woke up to something soft and black against his face. Rembering the events from the night before, he opened his eyes to make sure his tiny hosueguest was alright, but instead of seeing a ball of fur on the pillow....a man was there instead.
A very hot and naked man.
"Holy shit!"
Tony's yelling woke up his guest, who looked at him with eyes that had the same emerald tint as the feline's. He had ivory skin, and legs that could go for miles. The man sat up, and the genius saw the bandage he'd applied the night before, and all the other corresponding wounds, which meant.....
"Oh my God, you're the cat."
"Yes, my apologies for not giving you some warning, but I'm unable to talk in that form, and my magic reserves were far too low to switch back."
"Okay...uhm, wow this is hurting my science brain...so you got a name then? Otherwise I'm going back to calling you fluffball."
"I am Loki, of As-" the man paused as if unsure of what the rest of that sentence should be before continuing," of nowhere really, so just refer to me as Loki."
"You wouldn't happen to be related to a blonde alien with a big hammer and even bigger ego would you?"
"You know Thor?!"
"Work with him on occasion, doing superhero stuff, no biggie....who is he to you?"
"My brother. Please don't tell him I'm here," Loki pleaded, tears running down his cheeks,"our parting was terrible to say the least, and I'd rather not deal with him or anyone else from our family."
Tony was curious as to what exactly went down, considering Thor had told everyone his brother was dead, but he didn't pry. He knew from experience how traumatizing shitty relatives could be, and this guy clearly had enough to deal with.
"He won't hear a thing from me, but I can't promise I won't try to punch his lights out if he's the one that did all that to you."
"It wasn't him, it was my captors that found me after I.....fell."
"I feel like there's a story here," Tony said with an air of curiosity," do you want to tell it?"
"Sir, I feel I need to remind you that your first priority should be to get Master Loki some clothing."
Loki looked ready to bolt at the sound of the A.I.'s voice, but Tony put a hand on his shoulder to calm him.
"Relax, that's just JARVIS, my overly sassy computer child. He's a pain but he does have a good point, let's get you into some clothes and then you can tell me anything you think I should know."
**************
"So you're telling me that we came this close to being wiped out by an evil space grape, but it was prevented by a smurfette with daddy issues?"
They were sitting on the couch in Tony's living room. Loki told him all about the coronation, finding out he was from a race he'd been raised to fear, and his failed attempt at planetary genocide before letting himself fall off a bridge and into the Mad Titan's clutches.
"Basically yes, had his daughter Nebula not slit his throat and set explosives on the ship, Thanos's quest for the stones would have been a grave danger to us all."
"So how did you escape?"
"I'd been slowly pooling bits of magic in order to find a way out. When one of the explosions took down the electronic locks, I shifted into my less taxing cat form and escaped to the branches of Yggðrasil."
"Damn, what a ride," Tony said before taking a huge gulp of his coffee, " so where are you going to go now?"
"I honestly don't know at this point."
"Why don't you stay here until you do?"
"Really?"
"Yeah, why not? I've got plenty of room, not to mention you're extremely gorgeous to look at," Tony said as he winked, causing Loki to blush furiously," although you might want to shift into a cat when company's over...at least until your ready to reach out to Thor."
"I have no qualms about that."
"So is that a yes?"
"Yes, I will stay with you, Anthony Stark, for as long as you shall have me."
*************
So stay he did. He would transform into a cat if others came by, and stick with his regular form whenever they were alone. It was two years before Loki finally decided to talk to Thor, mainly because Tony insisted he have some of his own family at their wedding. After some tears, arguing, and an occasional stabbing, the brothers mended the rift between them. Loki agreed to maintain contact with his family as long as Thor secured a golden apple for his lover.
All in all, life was peaceful, with the occasional hints of chaos whenever Loki was in his cat form. Tony never minded, because he loved his Lokitty no matter what form he took.
He may have initially been against having a pet, but he was definitely all for taking in a stray husband.