gotup | for amelioraate

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v: murder puppies

for amelioraate

[ HYDRA, as it turned out, had been working on other biological projects, which Steve had discovered one night late in the war when he infiltrated a small outpost and found a number of wolves. At first, he'd thought they had just been exceptionally resilient animal specimens - he'd had to set the house on fire and trap them inside to escape after he'd run out of ammunition.

When the full moon came, he discovered that they hadn't just been wolves, they had been werewolves. He turned into a beast, ran through the forest, and when dawn came, he found himself miles from camp, naked on a bed of pine needles.

(That had been a little awkward.)

A few months later, he'd gone under the ice, and nothing mattered anymore.

Fast-forward a good few decades, and Steve's out of the ice and managing his furry little problem the best he can. Which is to say, he disappears once a month and hope nobody notices. That hasn't been a problem till now. He's ostensibly under house arrest in Stark Tower, and, okay, he knows Tony won't care if he leaves, won't tell the government that he's suddenly disappeared. But that doesn't mean he's not paranoid about it.

There's really nothing he can do, though. Sure, he could probably spend the full moon curled up in his room, but he knows Tony has cameras in there to monitor him (doesn't blame him for it), and that's obviously a problem. He'll just have to suck it up and sneak out.

He's pretty sure Tony's preoccupied with something - a meeting, genius Tony things, whatever - when he casually strolls out of the tower before sunset in a hoodie, baseball cap tucked under his arm. Once he's safely out of view, he puts the baseball cap on, pulls up the hood - he can't wear sunglasses right now, that would just look weird. It's not far to the park, but he can feel the tug of the moon in his bones, and it makes him walk a little faster.

Steve wishes he would've had a chance to scope out the park ahead of time; right now, he just has to strip down and hope to god nobody steals his clothes as he stashes them deep in a copse of trees. And then- then the change hits, twisting his bones, reforming his body. It feels like the serum did every time, hurts like hell, but soon enough he's on four legs.

The wolf in him misses the jungles of Wakanda; they'd been hot, but wild, full of animals to hunt. The city isn't the same, not when the park isn't big enough to really run through, not when the biggest animals in the bushes are squirrels and rabbits. It feels distinctly unsatisfying; he wants to hunt, to feel the exhilaration as he brings down his prey, the hot blood on his tongue. As he thinks about it, there's a rustle in the underbrush behind him, and without thinking, he tenses his muscles and leaps. ]

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[ Steve doesn't need to moonlight as a bank robber, he has enough back pay from the army that he could run his own (small) bank, thank you very much. Which has probably all been confiscated because of everything he did, but Steve doesn't care about money, and that's really not the point. Also, this is his spy outfit, thank you, and it's very subtle. Subtle in that the hoodie disguises his frame and masks the telltale silhouette of a Dorito, maybe? He's not sure, he just does what Natasha tells him to.

(Everybody does what Natasha tells them to. It's a good way to continue breathing.)

Anyway, he is a wolf now, and that really can't be disguised by any hoodie or sunglasses (although maybe you could pass him off as the offspring of a husky and a golden retriever if it was dark enough), and that's really not the point. Bared fangs close on his throat, shearing through flesh and-

And then he realizes that the blood he tastes is definitely very human, that the body beneath him smells like aluminum and scotch and explosions, and-

Oh shit. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, he's just killed Tony goddamn Stark and this is so bad in so many different ways and now Steve's human brain pops back to the forefront as he whines and licks the wounds. There's so much blood everywhere, shining wetly in the moonlight, shit. Steve doesn't remember what had happened when he'd been bitten - he'd been pretty busy, and frankly, it takes a lot more than a wolf bite to make an impression on him, and he already heals faster than a normal human anyway. All that he can do is curl around Tony and howl mournfully as his blood dries on his muzzle.

[ The first thing that goes through Tony's brain is 'shit, I'm dead' because, really, that is what happened when a goddamned wolf lunges at out from out of a bush in the middled of New York, right? His second thought is a long and impressively explosive series of curses because wow, if he is fucking dead, it fucking hurts like hell and that really should be surprise because it wasn't like he was going to get to heaven on the record he had right? So yeah, maybe he should have expected pain and more pain and wow, having your throat ripped out is an experience that he does not recommend at all.

Then he manages to register the fucking howling and the warmth and fucking fuck, are there wolves in hell? Was it a hell hound that got him? Is this--

No, this is totally still New York and jesus fuck, he is bleeding out on the ground in the forest with a wolf curled around him. A wolf that fucking attacked him and still has his blood on his muzzle and shit shit shit, he has to move before it realizes he is alive. Or his friends come for dinner and--

When Tony coughs, pain flares through his body but there is a whole hell of a lot less blood than he was expecting.]

Fuck!

[ Despite it being a really stupid idea, Tony tries to roll away from the wolf, hopes it doesn't come back in while he is trying to get away from it. ]

[ For reasons unbeknownst to Steve, the first thing that comes to mind when Tony's body moves is zombies. Which is ridiculous, everyone knows zombies aren't real. He blames Scott and all his talk about the zombie apocalypse. (Would zombie Tony Stark try to eat his own brains? He has more brains than everyone else, after all.)

Thankfully, as a wolf, Steve is obviously immune to any sort of zombie brain-munching, and he feels it's his duty to save the rest of New York by firmly placing a paw on Tony's chest and keeping him where he is. And then, just to pin him down, he drapes his entire front half over him and goes back to licking the wound on his throat. And also his face, because maybe there are some other canine instincts involved, too.

Is the wound getting smaller? Steve can't tell; he can smell a pigeon from a mile away, but can't see worth shit. It feels like it might be, but, honestly, he can't really judge things like that with his tongue. ]

[ When the wolf starts coming back towards him, Tony freaks out. Like, flailing arms and all because, oh shit no, this was not how Iron Man was getting killed okay? He was not being--

Snuggled to death by a wolf? What the fuck?

Tony stops his flailing and moving when the wolf drapes a top him and then starts to lick at the wound on his throat. Making a gurgling noise, Tony tries to push him away rather weakly. It seems death, or near death, took a lot out of you. Especially coordination.]

No, stop--- Sssshit. Imma bleed out or fucking die of rabies.

[ His words are slurred and rough, probably the effect of, you know, the throat thing. But the fact he can talk at all was a feat in and of itself.]

[ Okay, Tony seems to be a lot more coherent than every zombie Steve's ever seen (and, again, he blames Scott for the exposure; he's been catching up on The Walking Dead lately). Which either means that this is what happens to geniuses when they become zombies, or Tony's not dead.

Unfortunately, that leads to another problem: if Tony's not dead, and Steve bit him, then that means Tony's a werewolf. Shit. Like this could get any worse; first he kills Tony Stark, then he turns him into a werewolf. Or a genius zombie. Either way, Steve is pretty much the worst friend ever.

(Worst frenemy? Whatever they are.)

Whatever the case, Steve doesn't stop licking, because maybe his saliva has healing powers? Look, he's seen weirder things in his life, so he's just going to assume this works.

And maybe he wags his tail because Tony's alive. Just a little bit, because he's alive and a werewolf and it's all his fault (although Tony you're a goddamn idiot is a thought that he's filed away for shouting purposes later). But, you know, it's always nice to not accidentally kill your friend, and it lifts his spirits a little. ]

[ This just keeps getting weirder because not only has the wolf now tried to fucking rip his throat out, and then snuggle him to death, it is not stopping in it's licking and Tony is pretty sure that its tail is wagging nonstop.

Maybe it is just really pleased to have a meal that is still alive. Or was that cats who kill for sport?

Tony doesn't care, because really he doesn't understand how this is his life and he is totally going to yell at Steve when he finds the asshole because this is a whole hell of a lot of trouble to go through over nothing.

There are a few more feeble tries at removing the wolf from his chest but it becomes pretty obvious it isn't moving and, well, it also becomes pretty obvious that the wolf isn't actually trying to kill him. Anymore. Which is nice.

But Tony still doesn't want the damn thing on him.]

You are covered in my blood and trying to snuggle me and no, fuck. Get off. I am going to murder Rogers when I find him, shit.

[ Excuse you, he is a gorgeous fucking wolf and people would probably kill to be able to snuggle him. Although he does have a point about the covered in blood bit, and Steve looks down at himself a little guiltily, then looks back at Tony. There's a pond not far from here, but Steve's not stupid enough to think that any water source in New York is appropriate for bathing, which means that there's only one solution.

(Well, there's probably a number of solutions, but only one is occurring to Steve.)

He gives Tony's face one last rough swipe with his tongue, then clambers to his feet. Steve's usually more wolfish than this during the full moon, more driven by instinct, but something about tonight is different - whether it's attacking Tony that's driven him back to his more human senses, or simply that he has to concentrate more to process what Tony's saying. It's not that he isn't smart as a wolf - he has just as much intelligence as he does when he's human. It's that he usually thinks more like an animal, albeit one who knows he's usually human.

He gently takes Tony's wrist in his teeth and tugs, lets go and moves to the edge of the clearing, then comes back and tugs again. Come on, Tony. He's pretty done with this covered in blood business. ]

[ This is a goddamned mess. Like, bigger than most messes that Tony manages to make on his own. And he was blaming Steve completely and utterly at this point because if he didn't loos so fucking suspicious leaving the Tower, Tony never would have followed him out into the world and managed to find the world's strangest fucking wolf ever.

A wolf that now... is trying to get Tony to follow him. In New York. What. The. Fuck.]

That's it. I have died and now the hellhound is leading me to the centre of hell.

[ Despite his mutterings, Tony is following the damned fur creature. Why? Because it's no longer attacking him, it seems to be weirdly friendly and, while this could potentially be an issue later, Tony is fairly sure the wolf isn't a super villain.

You know, despite it trying to kill him already.

Tony clearly has a death wish.]

Alright, alright Lassie. I am coming, jesus. You try to rip my throat out and now you want me to follow you into New York covered in blood. Right. Sure. Because this is the best plan. Like trying to make sure that your blond friend vanishing into the forest isn't dying or planning to rob a bank. Look how that turned out.

[ You are so lucky he doesn't get that reference, Tony.

Apparently it's amazing what you can get away with in New York just by being Tony Stark; people take pictures, but most of them are just like "cool cosplay, man" and go "winter is coming!" or "you know nothing!" like he's some sort of modern day Jon Snow and Steve is his dire wolf. They all think the blood is fake, although they do wonder where his sword is.

(Steve doesn't get that reference, either.)

None of the cops even bother him about leash laws - although with a 'dog' the size of Steve, they might be afraid that he's going to eat them. (Steve, of course, is perfectly well-behaved, although he's glad that the blood keeps people from petting him.)

It becomes obvious after a few blocks that he's heading right back for the tower. Yeah, he's ditching the clothes; not like he doesn't have a closet full of them anyway. And when there's a chance that you might mistime things and shred right through your clothing, you tend to pick things you don't give a shit about, so Steve's not especially heartbroken. Maybe some guy who needs them more will pick them up.

Once they're past the doors, Steve stops in front of the elevator. Come on, Tony, he's got paws. Help a guy out. ]

[ Yeah well don't worry, he is sure to call you Lassie again soon enough.

The fact that people just think he is doing shitty half assed cosplay makes Tony want to show these people how to actually cosplay a Stark. That is it, once he finds out what the murder wolf wants, and finds Steve to yell at him about the whole murder wolf scenario, Tony is dressing up as a Stark. That's it. Maybe he can convince the murder wolf to help him out.

Wait... why is the wolf taking him back to the Tower?

How does it know where the Tower is?

This is-- ]

How the fuck do you know where I live, are you secretly a stalker wolf? Can that be a thing?

[ Great, now he is talking to it. What the fuck has become of him? You know, aside from the obvious. And yeah, they are totally making their way back to the Tower. Like, the wolf just... walked right in and heads towards the elevator and Tony just kind of stares a bit because the thing was acting like it knew this place and how to get upstairs and it is waiting at the elevator for him and-- what.

Tony stops and just stares for a moment, watching the wolf (that is still covered in his blood) and wonders if maybe he gave himself a concussion on the way out after Steve and if this isn't all him dying at the bottom of a stairwell or something. He is moving a moment later, figuring why the hell not, and stepping into the elevator with the wolf.

They arrive at Tony's floor a few moments later and Tony steps out, eyebrow raised at the wold.]

Okay, now where are we going Fido?

[ Actually, Tony, Steve thinks that if anyone's a stalker here, it is totally you. Why couldn't he have been in a meeting or something? Then Steve could be out frolicking happily under the full moon and Tony wouldn't be freaking out about stalker wolves and everything would be so much better.

At least he understands the whole 'Fido' thing, although he's mildly annoyed by it. Does he look like a Fido to you?

(Yes.)

At Tony's question, Steve wags his tail and heads for the bathroom, where he promptly hops in the tub. Come on, Tony, time to wash the murder wolf. Make sure to use some good shampoo on him so his fur is nice and soft. ]

....you want a bath.

[ This is-- actually Tony isn't even surprised anymore okay. Today is clearly just fucked up and he is going to have to accept it. Not only is this the first animal to walk into the Tower willingly, it is also the first animal Tony has known of that wants a bath and actually gets in the tub without being fought with.

So clearly, Tony sighs heavily before moving over to turn the tub on, and grabs some shampoo as well.]

I assume I am the one that has to wash my blood off your muzzle? Of course, because you don't have thumbs, you just have fangs. Which are sharp, by the way. Very sharp.

[ He gestures to his neck (which, is closed now, what the fuck). ]

[ Steve still can't see that the wound is closed, but he whines and drops his head guiltily when Tony brings it up. He's sorry, okay? Maybe if you hadn't surprised him, then none of this would have happened. But look at how sad and pathetic he is now, he is clearly repentant. He'll feel even worse about it in the morning when he's human again and can see properly.

And technically, he has paws instead of thumbs, but Tony's just trying to be an asshole about everything, because he's Tony, and that's what he does.

Once there's a few inches of water in the tub, Steve drops down and rolls in it happily. Yes, Tony, you may get soaked while washing the murder wolf. ]

Edited (derp html) 2016-12-18 04:57 (UTC)

[ The murder wolf goes and look apologetic about attacking him. Like it understands what Tony is saying, and while that isn't the most insane thing to happen he still-- Actually no, that totally makes sense after everything. Complete sense. Tony raises a brow and tries to keep a stern look going, but the damned thing actually looks cute and what the fuck is his life.

Sighing and dropping his head, Tony mutters and curses Steve a little more.

Curses him louder when suddenly--]

Fucking fuck! Are you kidding me! I didn't need a fucking shower, mutt!

[ Only he did. Because blood. But still, water is everywhere and the murder wolf looks so pleased with life and what the fuck ever, he is wet already so might as well just climb in the tub with the thing. Wasn't like the tub wasn't big enough for a grown wold and a grown man anyway.]

Come here, you idiot. That is not-- ugh, bloody water. FRIDAY, turn the shower on please.

[ His AI chirps a 'no problem boss' before there is also hot water coming from the shower head, making it a little bit cleaner.]

[ Of course Tony has a bathtub large enough for a human and an oversized murder wolf, because he's Tony Stark. (Not that Steve's bathtub is much smaller, but he's a big guy and he needs a big tub, okay?)

And he begs to differ, because Tony obviously needs a shower; he's more covered in his own blood than Steve is, and that's saying a lot. Once Tony's in the tub with him, Steve stops rolling around and instead just sits there patiently, waiting for Tony to scrub him.

This is a pretty sweet gig. He could get used to this. ]

[ Don't judge him Steve. DON'T DO IT. He needs large bathtubs for, uh, reasons. Yes. Reasons.

Tony has all but forgotten about the fact his is covered in blood, there is no linger pain to remind him there was even an injury, so he is a little more focused on the fucking weird wolf instead. Tony barely remembered to take care of his own injuries when they still hurt.

Though the moment the wolf stops frolicking, Tony stops and stares.]

... you would be weirdly well behaved wouldn't you. You fucking would.

[ He grumbles before grabbing the shampoo and starting to wash the blood covered fur, muttering things under his breath the whole time. Mostly about how Steve was an idiot and he better not have been eaten by the wolf's friends or something and, god damnit, how has noticed a blond fucking wolf running around New York? How is that possible? And--oh hey look, clean murder puppy.]

[ Yeah, Steve can guess what those reasons are, he's not that dumb. Personally, he just likes being able to soak his muscles after a good workout, so he appreciates his oversized tub.

Just to be an asshole, Steve keeps licking Tony while he's lathering him up, because he can't be completely well-behaved. And nobody's noticed a blond wolf running around New York because he hasn't been here before, not that Tony knows that.

Once he's clean, Steve hops out of the tub and - surprise - gives into his canine instincts and shakes. Which means that now there's water everywhere in Tony's bathroom, oops. He just gives Tony an innocent-looking doggy grin. ]

[ Not dumb, just innocent or something. Yes. Tony was always more fond of showers, too many echoes from the past when he took baths with no other reason than a bath.

Every time Steve drags his tongue along his skin, Tony grimaces and leans back, but it does force him to wash himself. He almost looks surprised when the water comes away pink with blood. Because, you know, paying attention.]

Are you--! For fuck's sake, you stupid-- ugh. This is going to be a pain in the fucking ass to clean up.

[ Tony is scowling as he stands up, getting himself out of the tub. He then starts stripping his ruined clothes form him without a care. Clearly, it's only a wolf right? ]

[ Come on, Tony, Steve knows you don't do any of your own cleaning. Don't complain to him about how hard it's going to be. There's probably a mop robot just waiting in the closet or something.

Steve doesn't really care when Tony starts stripping in front of him. He's just taking his clothes off, and it's not like it's anything sexual. Just to fuck with Tony, though, he yawns, large and clearly unimpressed.

Mostly he just wants Tony to dry him off. ]

[ Hey now, he cleans his own lab thank you very much. Because like hell he is letting anyone in there aside from him. Not even the robots are allowed to clean the lab (only because the one time he did let that happen, DUM-E managed to get them to just follow him around for the day and it was mutiny).

Tony rolls his eyes at the wolf yawn and throws his soaking wet shirt at the wolf's face before stripping out of his pants and going for the largest and fluffiest towels in the tower. He wraps one around himself and drapes the other one over the murder wolf's head with a snort.]

I think you're sassing me, maybe I should get out more.

[ Of course he's sassing you, Tony. You just don't realize it because you don't know he's Steve. He snaps at the shirt - could tear it to pieces if he really wanted to be an asshole, but he's not going to do that - and tosses his head so it falls on the floor.

...yes, perfect, a towel draped over his head is totally useful. Thank you for that, Tony. Blue eyes glint in the shadows cast by the towel, and there's an annoyed huffing noise. ]

[ Fucking sassy murder puppy. Stop it.

Tony raises an eyebrow at the disgruntled wolf under the towel, taking his time towelling himself off since, you know, some fluff ball decided to eat his throat and then soak him in his own bathtub. Really now, him first okay. You already shook out all the excess water.

Once Tony is dry (which doesn't take long), he drapes the towel around his shoulders and kneels on the floor infront of the murder puppy and begins to dry him.]

You look like a fucking dust bunny. Jesus, you are fluffy. Maybe I should call you that. Fluffy the Murder Puppy. It's perfect.

[ Steve gives him a flat look. You are not even calling him Fluffy the Murder Puppy, and he does not look like a dust bunny. He's not a puppy, he's a wolf. There's a difference between the two, okay?

Granted, he's acting more like a puppy right now, but that's just because he's indoors and his human side has taken over. You want to see how not puppy-like he is, take him somewhere wild and watch him bring down a goddamn deer and eat it raw like a real wolf.

(Actually, he really wants to do that right now. The wolf in him doesn't like being indoors, doesn't like the forced inactivity. It wants to run and hunt and howl.)

Maybe next month, he thinks, he can talk Tony into going back to the training facility. There's plenty of land there to do whatever the hell he wants. Better than some stupid park in the middle of the city. ]

[ Tony takes that unimpressed look (don't ask him how he knows, but he does, fuck this is an expressive wolf) and takes it as a win. He grins, all teeth at the wolf, as he finishes towelling him off.]

There you go Fluffy. All done.

[ There is a clear smirk to his tone and , for fucks sake he needs to see someone if he is talking to a wolf and this is his life and... what.

Tony groans and presses his forehead against the wolf's flank.]

I clearly need help. Shit. All this pining over super soldiers is fucking me up.

[ Whoa, wait, pining over super-soldiers? What? Steve's surprised enough that he turns his head to give Tony a definitely confused look. There is no way he means that the way Steve thinks he means it. Absolutely definitely no way. He lets out a quiet whine.

(He'd think that maybe he's pining over Bucky, but come on, that's a little ridiculous. Plus Bucky's frozen in Wakanda, so even if he is, it's not like it would make a difference.)

He licks Tony's face again, more tenderly this time. ]

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