Soft and Sweet
May. 13th, 2019 11:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madimpossibledreamerMain Points:
Iron Man/Miraculous (Ladybug & Chat Noir) crossover (one of the AUs that's going to show up in Self-Made Hero)
Summary: Obligatory reveal fic, except that's not the focus at all.
Word Count: 1385
Rating: Gen
There is a man in a leather cat suit climbing in her window. He pauses briefly when he notices she’s seen him and smiles sheepishly, waving at her, claws and all, before dropping silently in a crouch on her carpet.
“No, no, no,” she insists, because the dumb cat can’t be doing this, not now, not today. “Today is my day off. The first day off I’ve had in a long time, and I am going to relax and not think about normal person work or co-workers or anything like that. I am going to get some time alone for one of the first times in a long time and…”
She trails off. She doesn’t mean to, really, but those ridiculous leather cat ears are laying flat, tail curling back in between his legs. She’ll never get used to the cat tendencies, even though she’s not entirely sure how he manages it in the first place. Even his ridiculous blue eyes appear larger, like she’d just upset a little kitten. “I suppose I’d be rude if I didn’t at least ask you why you’re here. Since you’re a guest and all—even if you’re one I didn’t invite.”
His ears perk up just a little bit, but he’s still hesitant as he glances up at her hopefully. He smiles a little at the fluffy towel she lays on the back of her couch and the damp drops on her clothes. “I—well, I needed to talk to you. But, um…those co-workers of yours, they don’t bug you too much, do they?” His voice is hopeful, which is more than a little weird.
“Nooooo,” she answers slowly, eyebrow raised. “But that’s a very odd thing for you to be worried about, Kitty.”
That sheepish smile is uncomfortably familiar, and the crazy part of her is saying she doesn’t know it from her work as Lady Luck. “Well…Not so much? See, here’s the thing—I figured out who you were approximately weeks ago.” She’s too horrified to say anything. “It wasn’t exactly hard when you keep calling in sick for shifts at the same time as me. Especially when I’ve got JARVIS to keep track of these things. I know you didn’t want anyone especially me to know but I figured it out because I can’t stop my brain. I’ve been dancing around talking to you, especially since, well. I’ve been flirting with you as Tony, but you weren’t taking me seriously, so then I tried as Cat and you’ve been rebuffing me that way too. I thought…” he sighs, tail twitching anxiously, “…I’d tell you now, I am serious. About you. I’ve never felt like this before, hence the nervous babbling, because as much as I wanted to be suave, it’s hard to do when you actually care about someone. And that I figured out exactly what pretty woman was beneath the mask. If you tell me to knock it off now, I’ll stop. I just—I’ve never felt like this about anyone before, so I really don’t know what I’m supposed…”
Somewhere in the middle of the rant, Pepper forgets to be scared about the fact that he’s figured out she’s Lady Luck, or that this is her co-worker, because this is every inch her utter dork of a co-worker. She reaches forward and starts scratching his head behind the leather ears, and his voice instantly disappears, eyes squeezing shut like a pleased cat. He butts her hand, and after not too long he starts purring, if that deep hum-like rumble in his chest is any indication.
She wonders, now, if he’ll still do this when he’s not transformed. If so, she’ll definitely pet him the next time he’s being a pain. It gives her some time to think.
She’s not sure why she didn’t make the connection before, given how many of his behaviors remind her of her roommate’s cat last year. When he’s hurt or in pain, he usually suffers in silence. He’s otherwise really good at redirecting the conversation and babbling like a madman. No matter how much she really doesn’t want to hear it. (Well. In some cases. When he’s babbling about inventions with his face smeared in oil, it’s actually kind of adorable.)
If he’s hurt, especially emotionally, he likes to pretend nothing happened. He’ll disappear or pretend he’s fine (like purring to calm himself down?). He’s very tactile with people he likes, and it doesn’t always necessarily mean he’s interested. He’s especially talkative or touchy when he’s lonely or looking for attention. And he will definitely interrupt things she’s doing if he feels it’s less important than him.
Sometimes he’ll just get stressed out and be standoffish, or lash out. It’s verbal, unlike a cat, but he still knows exactly where to strike. When he’s happy, he’ll stretch out, be completely comfortable in her presence.
He doesn’t get near enough sleep. It usually hits him harder than the hangovers, but then, he rarely feels comfortable enough just to curl up. On occasion she’s actually been helpful and put him at ease enough he’ll just curl up and take a cat nap, usually with his head on her lap if she’ll allow it. JARVIS helps with that too.
And the way he plays pranks and misbehaves is very catlike. He’s especially likely to act out if she tells him no.
The gifts he’s been leaving for her, excited and hopeful, retreating to lick his wounds when she hasn’t been responding to them… (Admittedly, she’s mostly impressed by the fact that he’s actually buying them himself for once.)
She really should’ve guessed before now.
She glances around and finds him blinking like he’s trying to keep his eyes open. “How did I not figure out who you were? Tony, you might be a lot of things, but you’re not anything like subtle.”
He yawns sleepily and meows at her. Judging by the way his cheeks brighten just a little, he had meant to actually say words instead. He blinks determinedly, butts her hand with his head again, and this time words do come out, even if they don’t actually form sentences. “Cats…sneaky,” he mumbles. He’s acting pleased and relaxed with his whole body.
“You like showing off too much to actually pull that off.” She realizes, probably before he did, that she’s actually calling him by his first name. Really, the only thing that had been holding her back was the promise that he’d actually meant it, that she was somehow different, and if he has to use his superhero persona to actually tell her the truth, so be it. She stills her hand so he has use of his entire beautiful brain. His tail twitches behind him and he mrows in protest, blinking and coming back to the present. “So if I asked, you’d be my kitty? I wouldn’t ask you to stop looking at other cats, but you’re not allowed to tomcat around on me.”
For whatever reason, that makes his ears lay back on his head again. “Did you not notice? I haven’t been.”
That earns an extra scratch behind the ears and with no warning he flops on his back, showing his belly, rumbling loudly. “I plan on eating ice cream and watching that soap opera you hate so much.” She finds it kind of ridiculous herself, but she likes critiquing the writing of the female characters.
“Yinsin, claws in,” he mutters tiredly and, as the outfit wears off, glances up at her with eyes narrowed in pleasure and exhaustion. He still has adorable blue eyes. “I was thinking about just lying in your lap and maybe falling asleep?” Tony’s probably intending it to be smooth, getting it past her without warning, but that’s entirely not what happens. His uncertain tone turns it all into a question.
“Let me set up first.” He does look exhausted, poor thing. She feels sorry for her stray, but then, his shifts this week haven’t been so bad, so other than the Maggia thugs attacking the hotel so late the other day, he’s probably just done it to himself, tinkering and forgetting to sleep. He waits just long enough and then promptly curls up on her and passes out.
Iron Man/Miraculous (Ladybug & Chat Noir) crossover (one of the AUs that's going to show up in Self-Made Hero)
Summary: Obligatory reveal fic, except that's not the focus at all.
Word Count: 1385
Rating: Gen
Pepper finishes drying off her hair and turns around to see…Stray Cat.
There is a man in a leather cat suit climbing in her window. He pauses briefly when he notices she’s seen him and smiles sheepishly, waving at her, claws and all, before dropping silently in a crouch on her carpet.
“No, no, no,” she insists, because the dumb cat can’t be doing this, not now, not today. “Today is my day off. The first day off I’ve had in a long time, and I am going to relax and not think about normal person work or co-workers or anything like that. I am going to get some time alone for one of the first times in a long time and…”
She trails off. She doesn’t mean to, really, but those ridiculous leather cat ears are laying flat, tail curling back in between his legs. She’ll never get used to the cat tendencies, even though she’s not entirely sure how he manages it in the first place. Even his ridiculous blue eyes appear larger, like she’d just upset a little kitten. “I suppose I’d be rude if I didn’t at least ask you why you’re here. Since you’re a guest and all—even if you’re one I didn’t invite.”
His ears perk up just a little bit, but he’s still hesitant as he glances up at her hopefully. He smiles a little at the fluffy towel she lays on the back of her couch and the damp drops on her clothes. “I—well, I needed to talk to you. But, um…those co-workers of yours, they don’t bug you too much, do they?” His voice is hopeful, which is more than a little weird.
“Nooooo,” she answers slowly, eyebrow raised. “But that’s a very odd thing for you to be worried about, Kitty.”
That sheepish smile is uncomfortably familiar, and the crazy part of her is saying she doesn’t know it from her work as Lady Luck. “Well…Not so much? See, here’s the thing—I figured out who you were approximately weeks ago.” She’s too horrified to say anything. “It wasn’t exactly hard when you keep calling in sick for shifts at the same time as me. Especially when I’ve got JARVIS to keep track of these things. I know you didn’t want anyone especially me to know but I figured it out because I can’t stop my brain. I’ve been dancing around talking to you, especially since, well. I’ve been flirting with you as Tony, but you weren’t taking me seriously, so then I tried as Cat and you’ve been rebuffing me that way too. I thought…” he sighs, tail twitching anxiously, “…I’d tell you now, I am serious. About you. I’ve never felt like this before, hence the nervous babbling, because as much as I wanted to be suave, it’s hard to do when you actually care about someone. And that I figured out exactly what pretty woman was beneath the mask. If you tell me to knock it off now, I’ll stop. I just—I’ve never felt like this about anyone before, so I really don’t know what I’m supposed…”
Somewhere in the middle of the rant, Pepper forgets to be scared about the fact that he’s figured out she’s Lady Luck, or that this is her co-worker, because this is every inch her utter dork of a co-worker. She reaches forward and starts scratching his head behind the leather ears, and his voice instantly disappears, eyes squeezing shut like a pleased cat. He butts her hand, and after not too long he starts purring, if that deep hum-like rumble in his chest is any indication.
She wonders, now, if he’ll still do this when he’s not transformed. If so, she’ll definitely pet him the next time he’s being a pain. It gives her some time to think.
She’s not sure why she didn’t make the connection before, given how many of his behaviors remind her of her roommate’s cat last year. When he’s hurt or in pain, he usually suffers in silence. He’s otherwise really good at redirecting the conversation and babbling like a madman. No matter how much she really doesn’t want to hear it. (Well. In some cases. When he’s babbling about inventions with his face smeared in oil, it’s actually kind of adorable.)
If he’s hurt, especially emotionally, he likes to pretend nothing happened. He’ll disappear or pretend he’s fine (like purring to calm himself down?). He’s very tactile with people he likes, and it doesn’t always necessarily mean he’s interested. He’s especially talkative or touchy when he’s lonely or looking for attention. And he will definitely interrupt things she’s doing if he feels it’s less important than him.
Sometimes he’ll just get stressed out and be standoffish, or lash out. It’s verbal, unlike a cat, but he still knows exactly where to strike. When he’s happy, he’ll stretch out, be completely comfortable in her presence.
He doesn’t get near enough sleep. It usually hits him harder than the hangovers, but then, he rarely feels comfortable enough just to curl up. On occasion she’s actually been helpful and put him at ease enough he’ll just curl up and take a cat nap, usually with his head on her lap if she’ll allow it. JARVIS helps with that too.
And the way he plays pranks and misbehaves is very catlike. He’s especially likely to act out if she tells him no.
The gifts he’s been leaving for her, excited and hopeful, retreating to lick his wounds when she hasn’t been responding to them… (Admittedly, she’s mostly impressed by the fact that he’s actually buying them himself for once.)
She really should’ve guessed before now.
She glances around and finds him blinking like he’s trying to keep his eyes open. “How did I not figure out who you were? Tony, you might be a lot of things, but you’re not anything like subtle.”
He yawns sleepily and meows at her. Judging by the way his cheeks brighten just a little, he had meant to actually say words instead. He blinks determinedly, butts her hand with his head again, and this time words do come out, even if they don’t actually form sentences. “Cats…sneaky,” he mumbles. He’s acting pleased and relaxed with his whole body.
“You like showing off too much to actually pull that off.” She realizes, probably before he did, that she’s actually calling him by his first name. Really, the only thing that had been holding her back was the promise that he’d actually meant it, that she was somehow different, and if he has to use his superhero persona to actually tell her the truth, so be it. She stills her hand so he has use of his entire beautiful brain. His tail twitches behind him and he mrows in protest, blinking and coming back to the present. “So if I asked, you’d be my kitty? I wouldn’t ask you to stop looking at other cats, but you’re not allowed to tomcat around on me.”
For whatever reason, that makes his ears lay back on his head again. “Did you not notice? I haven’t been.”
That earns an extra scratch behind the ears and with no warning he flops on his back, showing his belly, rumbling loudly. “I plan on eating ice cream and watching that soap opera you hate so much.” She finds it kind of ridiculous herself, but she likes critiquing the writing of the female characters.
“Yinsin, claws in,” he mutters tiredly and, as the outfit wears off, glances up at her with eyes narrowed in pleasure and exhaustion. He still has adorable blue eyes. “I was thinking about just lying in your lap and maybe falling asleep?” Tony’s probably intending it to be smooth, getting it past her without warning, but that’s entirely not what happens. His uncertain tone turns it all into a question.
“Let me set up first.” He does look exhausted, poor thing. She feels sorry for her stray, but then, his shifts this week haven’t been so bad, so other than the Maggia thugs attacking the hotel so late the other day, he’s probably just done it to himself, tinkering and forgetting to sleep. He waits just long enough and then promptly curls up on her and passes out.
