little fox

16

Tony POV

"Nat's been up there for a while now, I wonder what's going on," Sam says. I look up from the bundle of wires and gears I'm working on, and realize he's right.

"Do you think I should go check on them?" He looks at me and thinks for a moment before Stephen butts in.

"Yeah, probably. If they're fighting, Rayn's not going to do anything to end it, and if it gets bad enough, they might shut down. As smart as nat is, she might not know if something will trigger them.'' I look at him in confusion. I open my mouth to ask why he kept using they/them pronouns, and it hit me. All the grimacing at genders, and plain dislike for feminine hair. Rayn came out to Stephen as either non-binary or genderfluid and prefers they/them pronouns. For a genius, I'm pretty slow sometimes. I look at Stephen and jerk my head to the door, and he nods, getting the hint. We leave the room, and I turn to face him.

"Are they genderfluid, or non-binary?" He looks confused.

"Who are you talking about, Tony?" I roll my eyes.

"Rayn. you keep using they/them pronouns. Are they genderfluid or non-binary?" understanding sparks in his eyes.

"Both. but you didn't hear it from me. Go talk to them about it when you check on our mates." I nod.

"Thanks, Strange." I give him a small hug and a quick peck on the cheek. I start fidgeting with a wire I had in my pocket as I make my way up to Rayn's room out of anxiety. What if I triggered something when I asked? Or I said something offensive? I hesitate outside of Rayn's room. I knock quietly and hear a faint come in. I open the door quietly, unsure of what I'll find.

On the bed, I see Rayn, fur out, and no bandages on. Odd, seeing as how there'd been bandages on their arms since Peter first saw them. They're hugging Nat, who's asleep and looks like she'd been crying. Rayn looks like they'd been crying too, but a while ago. Nat mumbles something about a promise and hugs Rayn tighter, burying her face into their chest. Rayn looks down at our sleeping mate and smiles. I smile as well, walking into the room and closing the door behind me. I walk over to the bed and sit down next to them. I reach out and rub an ear, making them purr.

"What happened, sweetheart?" they look down at nat, hugging her tighter.

"It's nothing, tony. Nat and I took care of it," they mumble quietly. I watch them closely. There's something about them that's just... off. Different. I look around the room and notice a bloody bandage hanging from the edge of the trashcan by her desk.

"Rayn," I say quietly. They look at me. "Would you like to explain why there is a bloody bandage hanging from the trash can?" they freeze, completely stopping any movement.

"I don't know what you're talking about, tony." I get up and point to the bandage.

"This, Rayn. what is this?" they flinch at the hardness of my tone. I notice and check myself. I release the tension in my body and walk back over to the bed and sit down. "Rayn. talk to me. What are the bandages?" they look down at nat. I notice a little dried blood on their wrist, so I grab it gently. They whimper and try to pull back from me, but I tighten my grip carefully. I turn their arm over and gasp.

Their arm is a jagged mess of red, swollen cuts and old scars. All even and intentionally made. I let go of them, and cover my face with my hands. I feel nauseous, unnerved at the sight of my mate injured, especially since they did it to themself. Rayn wraps their arms around nat again, quiet and withdrawn.

"Why," I whisper. They hum quietly.

"I haven't been officially diagnosed, but I have depression. I don't have any medication, so I'm always sad if I don't turn off my emotions," I look up at them in horror. They have to turn off their emotions just to live a normal life? They continue. "Since I met you guys, well- peter, I haven't been monitoring them as closely. So I had a small mental breakdown, and I can't really cry anymore, so I cut myself to take out the stress."

"Why can't you cry anymore?" They smile sadly.

"When I was at HYDRA, they punished me even more. So I just... stopped. It wasn't even that hard, really." tears leaked down my face at the thought of sweat, kind, snarky, sarcastic, perfect Rayn being hurt and tortured by anyone.

"You can't do this to yourself, sweetheart," I whisper, taking their hand and lacing our fingers together.

"I know. Nat and I came up with a code word for when I feel like I need to cut so she can help me." so that's what she was mumbling about earlier.

"So you won't do it again?" they nod, and I let out a sigh of relief. "Okay. now for the thing I wanted to talk to you about." They look at me, confused.

"Okay, what is it?"

"What is your state of gender?" They look surprised. "I've noticed how Strange uses they/them pronouns, and when they use she/her pronouns." they roll their eyes.

"I came out on the helicarrier. I'm non-binary and genderfluid." I nod.

"Makes sense, I thought you were joking." they give me a 'what the fuck' look

"Why the fuck would I lie about that shit? Bitches that lie about that piss me off." I shrug.

"I don't know, to piss off Fury?" they sigh.

"Shut up and cuddle with us before you piss me off," they grumble. Needless to say, I was happy to comply.