TSUNAMI [A Fairy Tail/Marvel Fanfiction]

Chapter Ten - Cats, Part One

So, the color and size of the kittens are wrong, but...

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Chapter Ten - Cats, Part One

"Awwwwwww!"

We had followed the noise to a dumpster behind the grocery store, before coming across a scene.

A cat who was dragging a tin back to a cardboard box hissed at us, dropped the food and jumped into the box defensively.

"Poor cat," I muttered, walking forward slowly. "Hey, sweetie."

Tony followed me behind, cautiously, and we approached the box.

The cat hissed at us.

I stopped as I neared the box and requipped some fish.

"Why do you have fish with you?" Tony asked.

"Exceeds, remember?" I told him. "Here, give it to her." I held it out to him with magic so he wouldn't have to take it from me.

"How do you know it's a her?" Tony asked, eyebrow raised, while monitoring the magic with his phone.

"The box has kittens in it," I answered, jerking my head over to it. "I'm making a probably-accurate assumption."

Slowly, Tony put away his phone, took my fish, and handed it over to the mother cat, who swiped it suspiciously and began to sniff it appreciatively. She bit it into pieces and began handing it out to her kittens, and Tony and I moved closer to the box for a better look.

The mother gave us a wary but slightly hopeful look, and I gave Tony some more fish.

This time, the cat took it with respect and handed it out to her children.

"Tony, you stay here," I said, giving him some more fish. "And watch over them. I'm going to get food and cat toys, and then we can go back to the house."

"We're just going to keep them?" Tony asked, blinking.

"Yes," I told him. "I was going to make you get a cat anyway."

"What?" Tony asked. "Why?"

"Tony, you have serious PTSD. You've been spiraling downwards since Afghanistan, and it'll only get worse if you don't do something about it."

"I don't want to do therapy," Tony growled. "I'm not seeing a shrink."

"You don't have to do that," I said. "Should you see a therapist? Absolutely, I believe you should give it a try. But it doesn't always work for everyone."

"What does that have to do with this?" Tony asked frustratedly, gesturing to the cats in the box.

"Animal therapy," I explained. "Fluffy things you can cuddle."

He stared at me. "A pet? You think the answer...is a pet."

"A pet," I repeated.

"I don't want a pet," Tony said. "I can barely take care of myself, JARVIS can back me up!"

"I know," I rolled my eyes. "But it doesn't matter. You'll be fine."

He stared at me. "You really think that it'll help?" he asked skeptically, looking back down at the cats.

I nodded. "Absolutely."

He seemed to be thinking.

"Are you okay with strays?" I asked. "I know you're usually fine with it."