May Parker had it rough these past few weeks and Peter's birthday was coming up.
She makes her way out of the hospital, her shift finally over, and started to make her way to her car. She quickly glances around, alert no matter how tired she felt. With her nephew the Guide to Tony Stark, not to mention engaged and with another baby on the way, May has found herself under a lot more attention then she's comfortable with. Even now, almost three years later, the attention hasn't waned. She's transferred to several different hospitals before she caved and accepted Tony's help. Fortunately, it won't be long before she moves to the Compound's Medical Unit. She'll be working for the UN and the pay will be much better than what she's making right now.
On top of that, she'll be able to see her nephew and her grandniece more often.
May stops at her car door and puts the key in the door. But before she can turn the key, a cry at her feet startles her. May quickly looks down, her heart pounding in her chest, but stops at the sight of a pair of slightly glazed eyes. The cry comes again, more a whimper, and May can see the thing shivering. She bends down slowly to get a better look.
Its a cat. Its thin and dirty, with one eye forced shut by gunky build up. It was also wet, probably having got caught in the rain earlier, and shivering violently.
"...eow."
"Oh, sweetheart, you can't stay here."
The traffic here would not do the cold feline any favors. A hard gust of wind almost knocks her off her feet but she keeps herself upright. The cat on the other hand leaned to one side and tucked its head into the front tire. Its shivering not stopping for one second. After another second of looking at it, May tugs off her scarf, and carefully reaches out to the feline. She's surprised when it doesn't fight or try to scratch her.
"Well, Peter's always wanted a pet." She places it in the passenger seat and turns on the heat. "I'll have Tony look you over first. Heaven help us if he lets a street cat anywhere near his very pregnant Guide."
Not that Peter doesn't love the attention. The cat doesn't react beyond sinking into the seat, the heat seeping into its bones and drifting off to sleep.
"I love it!" Peter practically squeals. "Look at your pretty fur and your pretty button nose."
"He's a toyger cat." Tony tells his Guide with an amused grin. "Got him all fixed up, shots and neutered."
"I love him!"
Peter rubs the cat around his ears and follows his spine as his arches.
"Not sure how one of these ended up in Queens half starved." Tony frowns. "But whoever had him last should be punched in the face."
"He won't have to worry about that here." Peter lowers his voice, shy and a little misty eyed. "I've never had a cat before, we couldn't afford to have a pet before."
"Well, you can thank your aunt for the present. I just made this little rascal look good."
"I will." Peter smiles. "She finally transferred and we can video chat all the time now."
"Yeah, I learned what the hold up was and took care of it."
"Thank you, Tony."
"Anything for you honey." He leans down and gives his husband a slow sweet kiss. Suddenly, a paw is reaching up and pats Tony's cheek, purring coming from below the couple. They pull away to look at the cat, who seeing he has their attention, purrs even louder and batting the air with his paw.
"You're not gonna start cock blocking us are you?" Tony asks the cat, seriously. "I'll lock you in a shareholder's meeting. See if you like it."
The cat stares, still purring, before promptly draping itself on Peter's protruding belly and curling his tail at the end. The cat starts to purr even louder when Peter instantly starts to pet and scratch at his ears.
"Oh, you little-" Tony hisses at the cat.
"I think that's gonna be his name." Peter can't keep the grin off his face, "Rascal."
"More like Asshole."
"Papa said a bad word!"
Tony's face falls as their first born comes barreling into the room, her Uncle Rhodey not far behind. "That's a dollar in the jar!"
"Sweetheart-"
"Dollar." She holds a very clear jar, with the words 'swear jar' written and glued to the side. Tony sighs and puts a dollar in while giving his best friend the stink eye as he grins like a clown behind his daughter's back. Of course, the jar doesn't stay the center of attention.
"Kitty!" Blake gasps, her little eyes going wide. "Is that your kitty Dami?"
"Yup." Peter smiles. "Your papa got her for my birthday."
Tony knows before his princess swings her little head to look at him what's going to happen. Her soft caramel eyes are still huge on her face, round with baby fat, and cradled by Tony's dark hair. He knows she's going to be gorgeous when she gets older and she might not appreciate having a suit of armor following her to school but he's sure she'll understand. One day.
"Can I have a kitty, too, Papa?"
Tony secretly thinks his own father must have thought his son was an ugly pancake or something. He doesn't understand how his father could have just ignored him. (Or may be he can, remembering the large stash of liquor that Howard Stark always had on hand). Looking at his baby girl, his little princess, he doesn't understand how parents have the willpower to deny their children anything. If there is some natural parent defense against the sheer level of cuteness being thrown Tony's way on a daily basis, the billionaire didn't get it.
"Of course, la mia principessa."
Tony is weak. So, weak. God, look what's become of him.
"You have to help take care of it though, Blake."
Tony jolts slightly and looks to Peter. Blake quickly turns back to her other parent and nods her head, shaking so fast Tony is almost afraid she'll hurt herself.
"If you don't, your papa and I will give the kitty to someone who will. You understand why?"
"Yes, Dami!" The little girl nods her head, again, expression very serious. "Its important."
"That's right." Peter agrees and Tony is so lost but he doesn't say a word. As much as he loves his little girl he also doesn't want her to become one of those split rich girls he had to endure growing up with at boarding school. He'll never forgive himself if that happened.
"I'll pick a pretty one just for you, alright, principessa?"
Her response is a fierce hug and a loud squeal that could rupture his ear drums. He returns her hug just as fiercely because this is daughter. He resolutely ignores his best friend trying to be sneaky, he can see the camera!
Peter made it very clear that Blake's cat had to come from a shelter. There would be no negotiating.
Which is why Tony finds himself at a shelter looking over the kittens they have. He's not sure if he should get her a kitten or a cat. Cats good with kids are the kind that have experience with them right? How do people estimate that? He keeps his shades on so no one will see just how confused the billionaire is.
He finds the cat by accident.
Tony is pretty much is just wandering when he walks by the "meet and greet" area. He peaks in just as a toddler is petting a black cat and giggles. The cat is just super chill and tilts its head so the baby can pet the parts its likes. The kid's father is standing right behind the little boy and grinning, recording the two when both toddler and cat are startled by a sharp cry from the other side of the room. The toddler's mother, Tony assumes, in a gaudy white dress suit, pearls and an updo, snatches the child up from the floor. Women still dress like this? Tony takes a moment to feel pity for the child because he can already tell this woman is something else.
The man looks confused for a second before he sighs, annoyed. Nothing new then.
She screaming now about...something. He trying not to pay attention...except she's so damn loud!
Tony catches words like "heathen", "blasphemy", and even "devil spawn", which paints a very clear picture to Tony. He wants to shake his head in disbelief but he doesn't. He forgets sometimes that the world has a lot of stupid people in it. He honestly though the whole black cat superstition was done though. The moment the cat pokes its head out from its cover, the woman stops yelling at her husband and the attendant to lift something in her hand and Tony can already see she's gearing up to throw and he's walking into the room.
"I want that cat."
The worker sputters, needing a second to switch gears. The woman? Not so much.
"What?" She screeches and Tony can feel his hearing shredding.
"Yeah," The genius can't help but snarl at her. "The cat whose hearing you're probably tearing to pieces along with mine and every other Sentinel in a five mile radius."
That's how his daughter finds herself the proud owner of a Bombay cat which is apparently not just a plain black cat. But Blake loves her and names her Spooky because apparently, her Papa didn't get her any cat, he got her a Halloween cat.
Which, okay. Okay, Tony didn't coo at that or save a recording of the whole thing. No. No, stop. He really didn't.
Since May is working at the Compound he figures he'd get her a pet, too. A cat, Tony learns is pretty low maintenance compared to a dog, and for a nurse, good company. He gets May a calico American shorthair cat.
This one he actually went to a shelter and picked out. Mostly due to the fact that someone dressed the poor thing as a nurse. In a pink nurse outfit.
But that's not what he tells anyone when they ask. His excuse is some teenager called it ugly and he bought to shove it in his face what he thinks of that. Who the hell calls a cat ugly for being multicolored? What even is the logic of that? (By this point, Tony devolves into a long rant about cat profiling that makes the people around him stare...and his family look on amused).
May names her cat, Cookie...which Tony absolutely refuses to touch on with a fifty foot pole. Nope. Just no.
Oh, but Cookie's brother? An orange tabby American Shorthair, had been dressed up as Vision and Tony just could not help himself.
The look on the other Avenger's face was worth it and saved on Tony's server for all of eternity.
("I shall name him Orange."
"Wha-why?"
"Research shows humans have a tendency to name pets after a number of things."
"That's not an answer."
"...one such name often refers to the pet's color due to lack of options or creativity."
"I...cannot disagree."
"Meow."
Orange promptly chases the toy Tony bought for Vision to use with his cat. The small smile and the giggle that comes from the Avenger is too cute to ignore. It is also saved forever.)
Of course, Tony goes out of his way to get Pepper something nice.
An Egyptian Mau.
No, its not a bribe and has absolutely nothing to do with Tony skipping that investor's meeting or forgetting she was taking a day off and accidentally set the Chinese S.I. R&D branch on fire.
The little feline falls under Pepper's spell and adores the red headed woman like Tony knew he would.
Except then Pepper names him Oreo.
And Tony wants to know, okay? He really, really wants to know why but he doesn't dare. He snuck a glance inside one of the shareholders meeting because it was so quiet only to find Oreo sitting in Pepper's lap, purring and staring as he was pet with his CEO smiling as someone stuttered along.
Like a deer trying not to be noticed by a mountain lion.
Tony backs away quickly and silently.
Rhodey's gift is an accident.
A complete unintentional accident. Tony in no way shape or form planned for it.
His Rhodey bear refuses to believe that. The genius grumbles at how his tribe is just so rude to him. Really! It's not he planned to pick up a Doberman with only three legs, okay?! If anything the blame belongs to which ever jackass had the bright idea to put such a shitty prosthetic on the dog's arm and even more blame belongs to the dirtbag who abandoned the hurt animal in the middle of the road during a heatwave.
In California.
Unfucking believable.
These are the days Tony questions al of his life choices and the collective intelligence of the human race. But the Doberman gets a prosthetic upgrade and Rhodey gets a new pal. His best friend names her Cocoa. The Look he gives the Colonial speaks volumes of what he thinks of that. Likewise, Rhodey's shit eating grin says just as much.
Ugh!
His husband gets him a cat.
A pretty blue silver Turkish Angora. Peter thought is was a Persian and Tony, frankly, does not care.
"Monty." Peter smiles, bright and happy, as Tony names his cat. "Thank you sweetheart."
At the next budget meeting, Tony shows up with Monty.
The billionaire specifically told his cat to look as menacing as possible, not thinking anything of it.
As he sits there, Monty in his lap, with the chair high enough for everyone to see him and for Monty to see everyone, the cat glares. It is the quickest meeting he's ever attended and he laughs so hard at the end but give Monty extra fresh tuna. Apparently, Pepper had discovered this when he got her Oreo and has taken her time trolling the hell out of people who annoy her.
Of course, someone had taken a picture and it goes viral. Because Tony Stark sitting in his chair with his cat is something to be both awed and terrified by.
On the other hand, this is how Tony and Peter discover there is such a thing as a Cat Cafe.
Absolutely, No One is surprised when S.I. opens one in the tower.