Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/5498.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Heroes_-_Fandom
  Relationship:
      Luke_Campbell/Sylar
  Character:
      Luke_Campbell, Sylar
  Additional Tags:
      Daddy_Issues, Dubious_Consent, Angst, Non-Penetrative_Sex, Dark, Episode
      Tag
  Stats:
      Published: 2009-02-22 Words: 4068
****** Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep ******
by perdiccas
Summary
     Luke hasn't forgiven Sylar for leaving him behind.
Notes
     Luke is 17.
It's loud. Really loud; people are shouting all around them, screaming, too, as
glass shatters and guns fire. Boots are pounding everywhere, surrounding them,
and Luke's pulse seems to throb frantically in time. Sylar grabs his shoulder,
pushes him forward as they jump through the window together. Luke wants to
laugh in the faces of all the men with guns who thought they could take Sylar
down.
Then, even though it's day, everything goes dark. And people are still
shouting, gunshots still cracking at their heels but all the sounds are
muffled. Luke's fingers curve under the door handle, and he pulls, and pulls
and pulls but the door won't open. He pounds on the window until his hand is
bruised and Sylar grins an evil, wicked smile. All Luke can hear is laughter,
now, but it's Sylar's not his own.
The car is pulling away from him and he feels like he's been punched in the
gut. He's shouting, "Sylar!", or at least he thinks he is; his chest is tight
and his ears seemed blocked. His legs are heavy, so very heavy and he can't
seem to move at all although he wants desperately to run behind the car as fast
as he can and not let Sylar get away. He's cold all over and he starts to
panic, watching as the car drives off and Sylar doesn't once glance back.
There's a crack behind him, and then all he can feel is the burning, burning
sting in his shoulder. Electricity shudders through him, searing through his
veins and he can't stop himself convulsing and tumbling to the floor. "Sylar!"
"Sylar!" Luke gasps as he wakes. His heart is pounding and his body shakes with
his laboured breathing. Luke's arms and legs feel on the edge of cramping and
his fingers twitch, still grappling with a phantom door that will not open.
It takes Luke a second to get his bearings and when he does, he shakes his
head, glancing quickly to the side, but it's too much to hope that Sylar hasn't
noticed. He's sitting up in bed, a dog-eared paperback novel he's found,
somewhere, resting in his lap. There are candy wrappers on the nightstand and
Luke narrows his eyes, holding back anger that while he slept Sylar left him
there alone in search of chocolate.
Luke rubs his eyes and Sylar's still watching him with his head cocked
curiously to the side. It's clear he heard Luke call out his name. Luke wonders
how much else he has let slip as he slept.
"Okay?" Sylar asks warily.
Luke nods, stumbling past him to the bathroom, praying that Sylar won't hear
him if he's sick.
                                      ***
When Luke emerges, feeling calmer, the bedroom is dark. Sylar's on his side and
his book has been put away. Luke tiptoes back to bed, trying not to wake him.
He tosses and turns, but he can't seem to sleep. Every time he closes his eyes,
the memory, the nightmare, of what happened tries to suck him under. The
electric burns on his shoulder throb in tune with his thoughts.
Luke can't be sure how much time has passed---an hour, maybe more?---when, from
the other bed, Sylar growls, "Go to sleep."
Luke gives a noncommittal grunt but Sylar insists, "I mean it. Sleep. Now."
"Why do you even care?" Luke snaps.
Sylar makes an exasperated noise, the verbal equivalent of a shrug and sits. "I
don't care," he hisses, and Luke recoils like he's been slapped. "But if you're
tired, you'll be sloppy and I'm not having you fuck this up when we're so
close. I don't know what your problem is but you need to shut up and go to
sleep."
"Or what?" Luke yells, not caring how loud his voice is or how much the
neighbouring rooms will overhear. "Or you'll leave me to take the fall when the
shit hits the fan? Again?"
Sylar snorts, and even in the darkness of the room, Luke can see him scowl.
"Just go to sleep, you're embarrassing yourself."
He rolls over, putting his back to Luke. Luke's fingers twitch, microwaves
pulsing hotter and hotter beneath his skin, thrumming through him dangerously
the angrier he becomes. But, when he leaps from the bed and rounds on Sylar's
prone form, sick of being dismissed and condescended to, abandoned like he
doesn't matter and then picked back up again and expected not to care, Luke
uses his fists not his power.
He hits Sylar, again and again, striking his shoulders and back and neck,
grunting wildly as he throws his bodyweight into every punch. Sylar shouts out
in shock and tries to twist under the onslaught, to grab at Luke's hands and
make him stop, but Luke seethes with rage, pounding it out on Sylar's body.
Luke loses all sense of what is happening beyond the satisfying crack of bone
and the sting of blood as the skin between his knuckles splits. He punches
Sylar until he's out of breath and his arms burn with the exertion, and then,
he keeps on punching, hitting chest, now, arms, face and stomach, not caring
that Sylar can heal if he can still feel pain. If Sylar's going to leave again,
Luke needs it to be because he forced Sylar away.
In the midst of bruising fists and bleeding gashes, where Sylar's teeth have
cracked and torn Luke's skin, Luke doesn't see at once that Sylar isn't
fighting back. And when he does, chest heaving and eyes stinging with the sweat
streaming from his brow, Luke's body sags. Before him Sylar heals completely
while Luke stays battered and he has to swallow down a wail at the sheer
futility of what he's done.
Sylar grabs him by the shoulders and Luke does nothing but turn his face away,
unable to meet Sylar's gaze to see the rejection he knows will be there. Luke's
too weak and Luke's too feeble, in mind and in body, and it's no wonder that
Sylar can leave him to his fate without a moment's regret. Instead of slapping
him, or choking him with his mind, or even, as Sylar had threatened, slicing
his head off to take Luke's power before he left, Sylar pulls him closer. And
closer still, tugging him down and holding him tight as Sylar sits propped
against the headboard with Luke in his lap.
Luke's confused because this is far beyond the last thing he expected and he's
scared, because after what he's just done, no matter what comes next it can't
be good. But more than anything, he's tired. Tired because he can't sleep for
the nightmares and the fear, with arms that ache from fighting against someone
who can't be beaten and drained at his core, feeling turned inside out as
everything that he's been bottling up comes spilling out. And when Sylar hugs
him, hugs him tight, a hand to the back of Luke's neck urging him to lay his
head upon his shoulder, Luke realises his cheeks are wet and that he's been
crying with every punch he threw.
Sylar's fingers rake through his hair and Luke hates himself for the way he
snivels against Sylar's chest.
Bitterly, he says, "You left me there."
"I'm here now," is Sylar's far too mild reply.
"They could have killed me!"
"But they didn't."
Under the fatigue and the full body ache that comes from holding back how he
wants to scream and cry and slap Sylar until he begs for mercy out of sheer
frustration, Luke can feel anger festering once more.
"That doesn't make it okay that you left," he hisses in desperation.
"Luke, I'm not your father," Sylar breathes.
Luke wants to laugh because it's too much like a line from Star Wars. But, if
Sylar's Darth Vader that makes him Luke Skywalker and that can't be right. Luke
isn't the hero in this story; he doesn't think he believes in heroes anymore.
It was childish and stupid to think that coming with Sylar would make any
difference at all, and it was childish and stupid to want so badly that it
would.
The sound that comes out of his mouth is more like a sob than a chuckle. The
feeling of hysteria lodged in his chest isn't because Luke finds this funny but
because it's fucking tragic that when you get right down to it, Luke does wish
Sylar were his father. Sadistic, psychotic and cruel though he may be, he's
still done more for Luke than his dad ever has. Luke hides his face in the
crook of Sylar's neck and bites his cheek to keep himself from weeping at the
unfairness of it all.
Sylar's breath ruffles his hair and under the thin cotton of the t-shirt he
sleeps in, Luke can feel Sylar's heartbeat pounding against his palm. He
presses himself closer to Sylar's chest, confused when, instead of throwing him
off, Sylar's arms clasp around him tighter.
"I'm not like your dad," Sylar whispers. "I'm not going to sneak off in the
middle of the night and leave you wondering what you did wrong. You don't have
to sit up all night and keep an eye on me. When I go, you'll see me leave. "
It shouldn't be comforting but it is. If Sylar had tried to claim he'll never
go, that coming back for Luke had been a change of heart that'd stick, Luke
would probably have nuked him. Killed him then and there for the lies; for the
taser burns on his shoulder that still sting; for not giving a shit about Luke
when Luke is finding he cares too much. But, brutal as they are, at least
Sylar's words are honest. Honesty isn't something Luke is used to hearing. He
thinks that as long Sylar lets him know where he stands, he can make sure that
the day Sylar wants to leave never comes. He isn't Luke's father and maybe that
means Luke isn't fighting a battle that's already been lost.
"You should really be more worried about me killing you than walking out on
you." His voice is light, like it isn't a threat, but Luke can see the warning
there: another temper tantrum and Sylar might be pushed too far.
"Sorry," Luke mumbles, shivering as Sylar gently strokes his cheek.
"It's okay," Sylar says. "This time."
Luke feels Sylar softly kiss the top of his head and that conflicted feeling
churns in his chest and gut again. He swallows dryly, suddenly acutely aware of
how he is sitting in Sylar's lap, his ass on Sylar's thighs, cheek against his
clavicle with both hands still twisted in the front of Sylar's t-shirt. They're
on the bed and the room is dark, and all Luke can seem to focus on is that his
own t-shirt has rucked up in the struggle and Sylar's forearm, warm and firm
and strong, is pressing to his naked back as he holds him. Luke makes a noise
that sounds like a whine because he should move but he isn't sure he wants to.
The moment where letting himself be hugged like this might be okay has passed,
and now it's getting weird.
"Luke," Sylar says and Luke doesn't have to see his face to know that he's
smiling. He squeezes Luke a little tighter and Luke realises that he's gone
tense, body humming in anticipation of whatever is going to happen happening.
One long finger curls under Luke's chin, nudging him up until Luke lifts his
face from Sylar's neck and looks at him. He finds that he can't hold Sylar's
gaze, staring instead at the rough scruff of his stubble and the way he bites
his bottom lip, the tips of two white teeth gripping the flesh until it
blanches.
"I'm not your dad, Luke."
"I know," Luke says.
And maybe that's all Sylar needed to hear because he hums softly and leans in
closer, pressing his lips to Luke's tear-streaked cheeks to kiss away the
dampness there. When their mouths finally meet, Luke doesn't expect it to be as
gentle as it is.
Sylar's lips are full and plump. He kisses slowly, one hand cupped around
Luke's jaw to guide him. Luke tilts his head and lets it happen, fists grabbing
more roughly to the front of Sylar's shirt. The tension in his spine has gone
and he arches his back, begging for more. The tip of Sylar's tongue slides
along his lips and Luke parts them. Sylar tastes of toothpaste and of the candy
he'd been snacking on as he read. Luke darts in with his tongue again and
again, trying to snatch the different flavours from the roof of Sylar's mouth
until they break apart and Luke exhales a shuddering sigh.
Luke closes his eyes and licks his lips, resting against Sylar's mouth when he
drops a kiss to Luke's brow.
"Okay?" he asks.
Luke shrugs and keeps his eyes shut tight, too many emotions that he can't name
warring deep inside him. His tongue feels thick and his throat is choked, and
Luke finds that he's getting angry again, his ability rumbling just below his
skin. What if this is all that Sylar wants to keep him for?
Luke has wanted this, in some abstract way where he has skirted the truth and
told himself that he and Sylar have something more without admitting to needing
another man like this. In the shower, washing off the grit in his hair and the
blood on his skin, Luke had touched himself, jerking off to calm his nerves.
When he came, it was Sylar that he'd thought of. But Luke had shaken it off as
gratitude for saving his life; nothing more, he'd thought. But now, Luke knows
that isn't true.
It is something more, something much more, and he's been on edge with it since
they'd stolen his mother's car. He's been watching Sylar as constantly as
Sylar's been watching him, and Luke's been waiting unconsciously for some sign
that this, this kiss, might have any hope of happening. And now that it has, it
feels all wrong. How can Sylar really want him if he can kiss Luke with the
blunt reality that he will leave still bitter on his tongue?
Luke bites his lip to stifle a whimper, half-aware of the way he's mimicking
Sylar's mannerisms. Sylar isn't his father, and Luke will be damned before he
wastes his life over again being angry and resentful, pining for the love of a
man who never really wanted him. Always have a goal in mind, Sylar had said and
Luke has a goal. He won't be left behind again and if this is what he has to do
to make that happen, he's smart enough not to let foolish hurt feelings get in
his way. If Sylar wants a whore to tag along at his side, then Luke will be his
whore. It's just sex, he tries to tell himself, pushing aside a queasy feeling
at the thought of being bent over and fucked with no preamble.
With trembling hands, Luke reaches down between them, noticing for the first
time that Sylar is half-hard against his hip and he's not sure when that
happened. And if he feels himself losing a little respect for Sylar and the
shine starts to dull on the way Luke sees him, then so what? Sylar still has
more power and knows more about who Luke is and who Luke can be than anyone
Luke has ever known. It's not like Luke ever really thought Sylar was perfect.
So why are tears prickling the backs of his eyes again and his breath coming in
quick, shallow pants that he can't control?
Luke sniffs, too loudly, running his hands from Sylar's chest to his stomach,
hovering there unable to force his fingers lower. He tries to pull himself
together because Sylar's not going to find this sexy, Luke hopes, if he thinks
Luke doesn't want it. Luke can't look up and meet his eyes because if he does
he might not be able to stop himself from crying. Sylar has already seen him
too weak tonight. Under his hands, Sylar's chest rises and falls as he breathes
heavily, hissing quietly at Luke's touch. He steels his nerves, trying to
convince himself that this is near enough to what he wants that he should be
grateful for this alone. Eyes still closed, Luke presses his palm to Sylar's
crotch.
"No, Luke," Sylar says, lips moving against Luke's forehead as he gently pulls
Luke's hand away. "Not like that."
Luke looks up in confusion, blinking to try and keep his eyes from looking too
wet and trying not think of how Sylar wants it, if not like that.
"Shhh," Sylar insists, though Luke's not sure he's made a sound. He tries to
keep his face impassive but Sylar's clearly seen the hesitation there.
"Here," he whispers. Sylar's hand curves around his neck and for a moment, Luke
goes cold before he acquiesces. But when Sylar leads him down, he nestles
Luke's nose not between his legs but back at the crook of his neck. "Right
here," Sylar mumbles, the words muffled in Luke's hair.
Fingers drag soothingly through his hair and then caress him from jaw to neck,
from ear to shoulder, from crown down to elbow in ever longer strokes until
Sylar is petting the length of Luke's curled body. Luke sighs, relaxing into
it, leaning against the firm breadth of Sylar's chest, wider than the span of
Luke's own narrow shoulders, because it feels good, really good to be touched
like this. And when Sylar's hands slide up his shirt, Luke doesn't say no. He
nips at Sylar's neck, watching as the red welts he leaves form and fade,
wanting to cause Sylar pain as well as pleasure, just like Sylar's doing to
him. But the pain that Sylar's inflicting doesn't leave a mark, and maybe it
isn't Sylar's fault at all but Luke's for always wanting desperately what he
can't have. Maybe Luke's to blame for everything because his dad left and Sylar
left and the only common factor is Luke himself. Luke thinks that maybe if he
doesn't need so much he won't drive Sylar away again.
So when Sylar's hands move to his hips and they dip below the waistband of his
boxers, Luke ignores the voice that's screaming in his head that this isn't how
he wanted this to be and lifts his ass, letting Sylar slide his underwear down
his thighs. Luke waits for the order he's sure is coming to get up on his hands
and knees.
Instead, Sylar's hand glides down the centre of his chest and lower, thumb
teasing his navel as it passes. He scratches lightly at the hair between Luke's
legs and reaches down to hold Luke's cock and balls in hand. Luke knows his
cheeks are burning and he turns his face to Sylar's shoulder, trying to hide
his shame as Sylar finds him mostly flaccid. In Sylar's wide palm, with Sylar's
too-thick, too-hard erection still notched against his hip, Luke's dick seems
small and limp, pathetic in comparison, and he doesn't know how Sylar can stand
to touch him there at all but he does, and he doesn't seem to want to stop.
Sylar kneads his cock with expert fingers, pulling and stroking and squeezing
just right until Luke is groaning despite himself at the fizz of hormones in
his groin and gut. Luke feels that desperate aching tug in his balls and that
throb that thrills at the base of his dick, and he knows he's hardening on
Sylar's palm. He spreads his thighs wider, stretching the elastic of his boxers
to the limit almost without thinking, and he hears Sylar moan against his
temple in approval. Sylar's hand moves quicker now, up-down, up-down, over
flesh that's very nearly fully hard, curving up towards Luke's belly.
Luke hates himself for how good it feels. He hates that he should be so starved
for love or something like it that the heady, too-warm feeling flooding though
him and pooling in his groin is almost enough to overwhelm the lingering sense
that this is wrong. He hates himself for caving to the pleasure, to the press
of Sylar's thumb to his leaking tip, to the feather of his palm over the head
and the tease of his fingers at the spot below the crown. Luke hates that every
time Sylar's fingertips trace up along his underside, moving in time to the
pulse of the thick vein there, he has to bite his tongue to stop himself from
begging for more.
And when Luke comes, teeth latched to the ridge of Sylar's clavicle to keep
himself from sobbing, he hates that too. He hates that it feels both better and
worse than any orgasm that he has had before and he hates that Sylar has barely
had to touch him at all to make him feel that way. More than anything, Luke
hates Sylar because he shouldn't have to trade his ass for Sylar's grudging
attention and he shouldn't want attention so badly that no matter how sick it
makes Luke feel, he'll do it.
He rides out the aftershocks that shake his body, Sylar still caressing him.
And when his jaw relaxes, and Sylar's now-wet hand finally releases him, Luke
finds that Sylar's t-shirt is damp at the shoulder with more than just spit
from his bite. His eyes feel puffy and his body feels weak. He's tired, and not
in the pleasant, hazy way that usually follows when he's sticky like this. He
opens his eyes but keeps them downcast, watching with a disinterested gaze as
Sylar cleans his hand and Luke's crotch with tissue from the nightstand.
"Up," Sylar mutters.
Luke holds his breath, thinking that this is it. He leans on Sylar's shoulder
for support as he moves, and digs his nails in harder than he should. He feels
a petty sense of victory at Sylar's muted snarl of pain. But when Luke tries to
twist, to get on his knees and thrust his ass in the air like a good little
slut, Sylar catches him in an iron grip. Then he's tugging up Luke's shorts and
carefully putting him away, and when he's dressed again, Sylar spreads his own
legs and settles Luke down on the arc of mattress between his thighs.
Suddenly, the lights are off and there's blankets swathed around them. Sylar's
hand still smells of sex as he tucks the sheets under Luke's chin. Sylar flexes
his legs, bending and stretching from the knee to get the feeling back where
Luke's weight has sat for so long. And then, Sylar shuffles down a little, no
longer sitting upright but reclining back, head still propped against the
headboard as he folds his hand around Luke's cheek, guiding him down to lay
upon his breast.
"Sleep," he breathes, and says no more.
This can't be right, Luke thinks. This can't be it, because trapped between
their stomachs, Sylar's cock is still thick, still hard and hot and not
something that Sylar could possibly have forgotten about. And Luke should feel
relief, not the whiplash sting of rejection. Whatever Sylar's reasons, Luke
doesn't have to follow through with false bravado. But, he doesn't feel relief
and he does feel rejected because what if Sylar's reason is that he never
wanted Luke at all?
He wants to pound his fists on Sylar's chest again, to beat him until Sylar
makes this all make sense but instead he rolls his hips and grinds angrily
against Sylar's dick. "Don't you wanna…?" he hisses accusingly as Sylar shifts
beneath him.
"Not tonight." Sylar's thumb drags across Luke's cheek, swiping away a tear
that has spilled in his frustration. "Not like this. Please go to sleep, Luke.
I'll be here in the morning."
Sylar holds him in a close embrace, his longer legs framing Luke's, each thigh
warm and solid against Luke's skin. When Luke cries, as silently as he can,
Sylar's gentle fingers wipe away his tears. A soothing hand runs up and down
Luke's spine, Sylar humming, "Hush now," as he rocks them both to sleep.
Sylar isn't Luke's father; Luke never loved his dad.
Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed
their work!
ou for reading!
***** Speak No Evil *****
Chapter Summary
     Everyone has to conquer their own demons before they are able to
     fight someone else's.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
 
It was one a.m., and Tony could not sleep.
 
Sleep would bring the dead eyes of Yinsen, the screams of the American
soldiers, and the feeling of a hand shoving its way into his chest…
 
And the blood. So much blood.
 
No, he wouldn’t allow himself to sleep. The people that had died for him,
because  of him, wouldn’t allow it.
 
He couldn’t sleep until he had done something to make it right. He thought he
had by shutting down weapons production, but there was something inside of him
saying that is wasn’t enough.
 
That was why he was sitting here, alone, staring at a hologram of the suit he
and Yinsen had made. Wishing for an epiphany to come and hit him in the head.
 
Perhaps his conscience was finally making an appearance after all these years.
 
A hand tapped at his shoulder and he jumped, bracing himself for a blow. When
he turned around, all he was met with was the blue eyes of his daughter. “Bad
dream?” he asked. She nodded, climbing into his lap.
 
Riley had been very clingy lately. Tony could rarely move without Riley at his
side, either holding his hand or wrapping her little arms around his thigh.
This didn’t bother Tony; what did bother him was Riley freezing whenever
someone touched her. It didn’t matter if it was a stranger or a familiar (like
Happy or Rhodey). She would flinch away all the same and hid behind either Tony
or Pepper.
 
Tony held her a bit tighter. He wished, not for the first time, that he could
carry whatever weight she had taken on. No six year old deserved to have their
shoulders hunched over in sadness. He supposed it stemmed from his...absence
from the last three months.  At least he hoped it was because of that.
 
“Let’s get you back to bed, ok?” Riley shook her head violently and squeezed
him tighter. Tony frowned and placed a hand under her chin, forcing her to look
at him. “What happened in the dream Riles?” She opened her mouth but then shut
it just as quickly. “Riley, c’mon. You can tell me.”  
 
She only gave him a sad look and shook her head again. Sighing, he picked her
up and started to walk out of the workshop. “You gotta sleep kiddo. Not good
for you to be up this late- or this early-whatever. You need to go to bed.”
 
When they reached her room, Riley was already half asleep against his shoulder.
Placing her gently on her bed, Tony slowly tried to detach her hand from his
shirt. Her eyes slowly opened and pulled him into the bed. “You want me to stay
with you?” She nodded, her eyes drooping closed. “Alright.” She relaxed and
snuggled into his side. “I love you.” he whispered softly, kissing her head.
 
He would stay until she fell asleep. And then he would go back to work.
 
                                                                               
                                        ******
He did not end up going back downstairs. Tony found himself in Riley’s bed, who
was currently wrapped around his torso. The clock on her bedside table showed
that is was almost ten.
 
“Shit.” he muttered. He had lost precious hours sleeping, hours that could have
been spent doing something fucking  useful  for once in his life. He could have
thought of something that would have saved the world. And he had fucking
wasted  it, choosing to  sleep  instead. How selfish was he?
 
His daughter stirred, and his thoughts were temporarily pushed away into the
back of his mind. Small blue eyes looked at him, and Tony was reminded why he
hadn’t just offed himself in that cave.
 
“Do you have any children Mr. Stark?” Tony glanced up at the camera nervously;
he didn’t want to put his daughter in danger, or give them any more power than
they already had.
 
Yinsen chuckled. “So that’s a yes then.” Tony looked at him in confusion. The
man smiled. “Your eyes,” he said, “they remind me of the father’s daughter’s I
would operate on in my village. Always ready to pounce should I mess up.” He
chuckled. “I suppose I was the same way.”
 
Tony smiled slightly at that.
 
Tony smiled at Riley, kissing her nose. “Mornin’ Riles. You sleep ok?” She
answered with a sleepy smile and a yawn. He hugged her close to him,
surrounding her like a suit of armour.
 
Protecting her.
Completely bulletproof.
 
Impenetrable.
 
Wait. Stop. Think.
 
“Riles?” The six year old mumbled, snuggling into his shoulder. “You want to
help me build something?” She shot up at that, a wide smile on her face.
 
He picked her up and headed downstairs. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
 
                                                                               
                                     ******
 
The two of them fit back into their normal routine seamlessly; Riley brought
materials to Tony, while he handled the welding and the other tools labelled as
“too dangerous for a six year old to be messing with Tony” (though it was
completely ok for her to be lifting a fifty pound non-dangerous objects; he
still didn’t know how she managed to lift them, but she did).
 
She refused to go anywhere near the car though. He had asked about it, and she
had frozen up. Tony had  decided to drop it for now. She was smiling as they
worked, and that was what mattered most.
 
“Alright, you ready to test this thing out?” The  thing  was a repulsor;
definitely in Pepper’s handbook of “Things You DO NOT Give to Children (No
Matter How Cute They Are)”. His arm was propped up and secured in case he was
blown backwards.
 
Riley stayed a safe distance away, a motorcycle helmet on her head. It was a
little big for her, but it was the best safety measure he could find. She
looked adorable in it too.
 
“Ok, in 3, 2, 1!” The repulsor fired off, pushing Tony back and making an
impressive dent in the wall.
 
“TONY!”
 
Shit.  An infuriated Pepper stood holding Riley, whose motorcycle helmet had
been removed.
 
“I thought you said you weren’t working on weapons.” Tony quickly removed his
arm from the hastily built stand. “I’m not. This is completely harmless.”
 
“ I think your wall would disagree.”
 
“I think it appreciates the new decoration.”
 
Pepper huffed and put Riley down. “Regardless, Riley shouldn’t be in here with
explosives-”
 
“I think she’s having a great time. Right Riles?” She nodded. Tony felt a
little pang when she didn’t answer him with her voice but he quickly dismissed
it.
 
The redhead looked at the girl too, pain masking her features briefly. “Tony,
there are other things she could be doing-”
 
“Like what? It’s summer, what else is she going to do? She should be having a
little fun.”
 
“Fun shouldn’t involve explosives. Look I know Obadiah was willing to let her
hang around and follow him around the office for a day so she could get to know
the-”
 
“No!”
 
Pepper and Tony looked at each other in surprise, thinking for a brief moment
that one of them had shouted. But the voice had been much smaller.
 
“I-I want to s-stay h-here. I-I’ll be careful.”
 
Pepper’s eyes filled with tears. “Well, um, that’s, uh, fine with me.” She
walked quickly from the room, wiping at her eyes.
 
Riley watched her go, her guilt building. She had made Pepper cry, she
should’ve just stayed  quiet why can’t you just be good and silent-
 
“Hey kiddo. You still here with me?” Riley’s mind snapped back to the present.
She nodded and hugged him. “Daddy.” she mumbled.
 
There was so much power in words. A little bit of that weight, that fear, had
gone and fled her body.
 
Tony hugged her back. “I’m proud of you sweetheart.” Riley flinched. He frowned
and drew back from the hug, looking at her carefully. “You ok?”
 
Riley thought about that. And  his  threat came to mind. “ Don’t think you’re
safe.”  he had whispered.
 
She nodded.
Chapter End Notes
     Happy Holidays everyone! I hope you enjoyed and PLEASE leave some
     comments below, it really does make my day whenever I see someone
     commented.
***** Wolf *****
Chapter Summary
     Tony finds out troubling information from Jarvis, and this leads him
     to a revelation that no parent wants to have.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
There was blood everywhere. It covered his hands, and it surrounded him,
pooling around him, the putrid smell seeping down his throat and choking him.
 
Frantically, Tony searched for the source, clawing at the ground and holding
his breath to keep that damn smell out.
 
He couldn’t find the source, and he was going to drown because of it, because
he wasn’t smart enough to stop it-
 
A drip of red crawled it’s way from Tony’s chest onto the ground.
 
Slowly, Tony looked down at chest, shaky breaths escaping him.
 
A large hole was where his heart was supposed to be.
 
Tony woke up with a gasp, jumping from the bed to the bathroom. He barely made
it to the toilet before the vomit had started coming.
 
He couldn’t save anyone. He just killed, killed killed killed-
 
“Sir, I advise you to take deep breaths. You are home, you are not in
Afghanistan.”
 
Right. His bed was right there, and the sound of the ocean could be heard too.
 
“Riley.” he croaked. He couldn’t let them get to her, she was only a kid, she
didn’t deserve this. “She is asleep in her bed Sir. She is safe. Please
remember to breathe.”
 
Ok. He could do that. That was one thing he could do right.
 
The thoughts of the blood eventually crawled back into  that  corner of Tony’s
mind. All that was left was the need to work, to be useful. To keep his promise
to Yinsen.
 
He headed down to the workshop, keeping his mind occupied with the suit. What
he was building was good. The suit was good. The suit didn’t kill innocent
people.
 
He was bad, bad bad bad-
 
“Sir-”
 
“ What  Jarvis?” he snapped. “Ms. Stark is having a nightmare. Her heart rate
has increased beyond her normal-”
 
Tony ran upstairs, reaching his daughter’s room to find her whimpering, tears
falling down her cheeks.
 
“Riley, hey, hey sweetie c’mon-wake up please. It’s me, it’s Dad, c’mon-” Blue
eyes shot open before two small but strong arms clasped around him. “Hey,
you’re ok baby. You’re safe, I’m here, alright? No one is going to hurt you.
I’m staying right here.” He held her tightly against his, sitting on the bed.
He repeated that mantra to her over and over. 
 
The shaking and crying finally stopped after a few minutes “Alright, back to
bed-” Tony placed her on the ground to pull back her sheets, only to find them
soaking wet. 
 
Riley’s face went red before she buried it in his shoulder. “Sorry.” she
whispered, so softly that he almost didn’t hear it. “Hey- it happens. Nothing
to be embarrassed about. You can sleep in my bed tonight, how’s that sound?”
Her face was still inserted in between his shoulder and neck, but he could feel
the slight smile form.
 
“Alright, now bedtime.” He tucked Riley in with a kiss in his bed, and stuffed
Riley’s sheets in a washing machine that Pepper had insisted on keeping around
in case the cleaners was closed. Tony went back to his workshop after, trying
to bring himself to work, but part of him couldn’t forget the terrified look in
his daughter's eyes.
 
“Jarvis, how long has-” He paused for a minute, not sure how to phrase Riley’s
behavior, “ this  been going on?”
 
“The nightmares have been occurring since your disappearance. They have been
becoming more severe as of late.” Tony nodded, his worry growing. “And the
bedwetting? She hasn’t done that in years.” The A.I. seemed to ponder for
moment. “That has only happened tonight Sir. And may I add some more, ah,
troubling, behaviors that I’ve noticed?”
 
Tony nodded again, dread creeping up on him. “Ms. Stark, although she has been
improving, did not utter a single word while you were gone. She also seems to
have lost her appetite; she has lost an unhealthy amount of weight for her
age.”
 
Tony rubbed the edges of his eyes. “You think this is because of me?”
 
“Your  disappearance  caused this. Your actions have helped her, not hurt her
in any way Sir.” Jarvis corrected him. “There are other things I took note of
that are more-” the A.I. paused, “they are more of a sensitive subject.”
 
The father felt his heart drop. “Like what?” He tried to get control over his
breathing, reminding himself that his daughter was safely asleep upstairs.
“There was bruising on her wrists and on her inner thighs Sir. In the shape of
fingerprints.”
 
Anger rose to the surface suddenly, without warning; he clenched his fist. “Did
you ask her about them? A-are you saying that-”
 
“I tried to ask her about the source of these bruises on multiple occasions,
but she refused to tell me anything or to tell Ms. Potts or Colonel Rhodes.”
The gravity of the situation started to weigh heavily on Tony; it was crushing
his chest, and he couldn’t breathe.
 
Breathe. This isn’t about you.
 
“I think-and this is all conjecture Sir, please remember- that someone might be
harming Ms. Stark.”
 
Tears stung at his eyes, and he wiped them furiously. He wasn’t the one who
should be crying dammit, it was his  daughter  who was being hurt, not him.
 
“Is she sleeping?” A video popped up in front of him. Riley was fast asleep,
clutching tightly onto the Captain America teddy bear that Tony had reluctantly
purchased for her. She was drooling a bit.
 
“She is completely safe sir; I suggest that you let her sleep for now.”
 
Tony sighed. “Alright.” He would work on the suit, make it bulletproof and help
him fly through the sky. If he just got the suit done, he could be the
protector he should be for his daughter.
 
                                     *****
Riley silently stepped downstairs into the living room, trying to overhear the
two voices arguing. It was Pepper and her father. He seemed angry at her for
something.
 
“You should have  watched  her! How did someone manage to get their hands on
her when she had you, Happy, Rhodey, and Obie to look after her?”
 
“You were  gone  Tony! I thought you were dead. But I still had to keep face
and help run the company, stave off government officials, CPS,-”
 
“Your first priority should be Riley-nothing comes before her.”
 
“Obadiah kept an eye on her 24/7! I just don’t understand how this fucking
happened, he promised he would watch her, he said-” A sob interrupted her
sentence.
 
Riley felt like crying too, and a whimper escaped her. Her father appeared in
front of her suddenly, concern wrinkling his forehead. “Hey kiddo.” he sighed
 
He sounded so tired.
 
Tony carried her into the living room and sat her down in a chair at the table.
A bowl of Fruit Loops (her favorite) and chocolate milk (also her favorite)
were in front of her.
 
Pepper sat at the couch, wiping her red eyes. When she saw that Riley was
looking, she quickly smiled and stood up. “You sleep ok Riley?” she asked,
sitting down next to her. Riley shrugged.
 
Tony sat down across from Pepper, in the seat next to Riley. The girl felt both
their eyes staring at her as she picked at her food. “Riles… there’s something
we need to talk about.”
 
He knows. He knows what I did.
 
A thousand excuses started to form in her mind, all followed by  I’m sorry
Daddy.
 
Her father grabbed her hand and looked at her. He looked so sad. “You know you
can tell me anything right?” She nodded, fear starting to shorten the amount of
breaths she took. “Ok. Good.” He took a deep breath. “You know why the private
areas on our bodies are private right?”
 
She nodded. “Tell me why.” The girl chewed her lip, her uneasiness apparent.
“Because no one is allowed to touch them.” Tony smiled and nodded at that,
although it seemed a bit forced. “Riley did someone-” He paused for a minute,
nausea seeping to the surface at what he was about to say.
 
“Has someone touched you? In the- the, ah-”
 
“Private areas.” Pepper supplied.
 
Take off your clothes.
 
Riley thought about telling the truth. She could tell both of them. She could
be free.
 
“I-”
 
The sound of the door opening interrupted her, and the sight of the visitor
destroyed any courage that Riley had conjured up in her mind.
 
“Obie, we were kind of in the middle of something-” The man shushed Tony, the
hand not holding a cigar clasping his shoulder. “Just stopping by to pay a
visit to my favorite girl, that’s all.”
 
“Obadiah this really isn’t a good-” Pepper said, trying to return to the
earlier conversation. Obadiah interrupted her, saying “What, I can’t take my
niece out to ice cream?” Riley’s heart dropped, but before she could utter an
excuse, Obadiah started to glare at her.
 
She couldn’t think anymore. “We’ll be right back, I promise my boy.”
 
Riley tried to convey her words through a look. She hoped she looked scared.
She couldn’t say that she felt this way, but the connection between her and her
father was different; they understood one another better than anyone else.
 
And Tony saw. He felt her panic.
 
“You know Obie, Riley’s been feeling a bit under the weather. Don’t think you
want to get sick.” The older man chuckled and grabbed Riley’s hand. “Oh I’ll be
fine Tony. A cold won’t kill me.”
 
Tony didn’t know why, but a sudden urge to grab Riley and get her away from him
came to the surface and took over. “Really Obie. I don’t think it’s a good
idea.” he said, grabbing Riley’s other hand tightly. He gave the other man a
hard stare, making it clear that he wasn’t moving.
 
Obadiah’s face hardened, and he dropped Riley’s hand. “If you insist.” he said
coldly. “I’ll see you later then.” He smiled tightly, clasped Tony’s shoulder,
and walked out.
 
Pepper had watched the whole display with confusion. She had stayed silent
throughout it, mostly due to her feeling out of place. However, an
unexplainable feeling of pride came over her when Tony had subtly forced
Obadiah out of the house.
 
“Riles, why don’t you take your bowl and head down to the workshop? I got some
stuff for you to work on for today.”
 
Riley beamed. “Ok Daddy!” The happiness she felt was unparalleled by other
events in her life. Her dad had stood up for her.
 
He had heard her.
 
Even when no one else could.
 
When she had disappeared downstairs, Tony turned to Pepper, looking grim.
“Please tell me I’m going crazy.” The redhead knitted her eyebrows in confusion
before the pieces laid before her clicked. “No I-I noticed it too.” Pepper
paused, collecting her thoughts. “She looked terrified.”
 
Tony dropped into the closest chair, running his hands through his hair.
“Fuck.” He looked absolutely destroyed. “Fuckin’ shit. I should’ve known,
dammit-we should’ve-”
 
Pepper placed a hand on his shoulder. “We don’t know anything for certain
Tony.” The father gave her an incredulous look. “I  know  her Pepper. She’s
scared.”
 
The woman sat next to him, both of them sharing an air of grief and guilt.
“What the hell do we do Pep?”
 
Normally she would have snapped at him for the nickname, but she could not find
the energy.
 
Instead her mind wandered to something else. Someone else.
 
We’re a different organization.
 
“I know a guy.”
 
A spark of hope lit in Tony’s eyes. “Can we trust him?” Pepper nodded.
 
God I hope so.
 
“Keep Riley busy. It’s the middle of summer, go out and do something fun.”
 
Tony smiled at her, and the mischievous smile she had grown to love came over
his face, lighting up his features. “I’ve got a few ideas.”
Chapter End Notes
     COULSON BOUT TO GO KICK SOME ASS.
     Lol...but it's true. Son of Coul doesn't screw around, especially
     when it comes to kids.
     I hope you guys enjoyed, and PLEASE leave comments, they are always
     appreciated! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, much
     love <3
***** Into the Storm *****
Chapter Summary
     Pepper brings in the calvary, and Tony tries to deal with the
     aftermath of Riley's traumatic experience.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Pepper took a deep breath and smoothed down any stray hairs on her head. She
looked put together, with her black heels, designer purse, and gold earrings.
No one would be able to tell that she was holding herself together by a thread.
 
Sipping on her coffee, she scanned the diner for signs of the agent. They had
agreed to meet in an obscure location (per Pepper’s request). She checked her
watch; it was 9:30 exactly the time they had agreed to meet.
 
“Ms. Potts, if you look that nervous, someone is bound to suspect something is
wrong.” Pepper looked behind her to find the agent nonchalantly sipping on his
coffee, doing the crossword puzzle in the newspaper in the booth behind her. He
wasn’t even looking at her.
 
“Someone followed us here. I suggest we move our meeting to our headquarters;
we won’t be overheard there.” Pepper had quickly gone back to sipping her
coffee after he had mentioned someone tailing them. “Alright.”
 
“I’ll leave first. I need you to be on your phone, act as if you’re just
stopping by for a morning coffee. Act normal. Pay your bill, then leave.
Someone will call you, pretend as if it’s a business colleague. The person on
the phone will give you precise instructions on how to get to our facility. Do
you understand?”
 
All of this was said in a rushed whisper, but Pepper managed to memorize every
piece of instruction given to her. She nodded, and the two ignored each other
for about five minutes. Coulson finished the crossword, paid his bill, and
left.
 
Pepper fiddled around on her phone, occupying herself with negotiating
modifications to business contracts. She finished her coffee and put down her
phone, only to notice that Coulson had dropped the newspaper he had been
reading.
 
Craning her neck slightly, she saw he had written something in bold letters in
the crossword:
 
BE CAREFUL, MAN WITH BLACK BUSINESS SUIT WITH BLACKBERRY
 
Pepper spared a quick glance at the man at the bar. He was speaking to someone
on his Blackberry, with a plate of untouched eggs in front of him.
 
Pepper summoned the waitress and paid her bill in cash. Her phone rang, and she
picked it up with an annoyed huff.
 
“Hi, Obadiah. Yes, I’ve been reviewing the contracts as well as the Board’s
rights. I’ll be forwarding that information to Mr. Stark.”
 
The agent on the other end of the line chuckled. “Risky but smart. I’m
impressed Potts.”
 
Pepper rolled her eyes, getting into the back of the car. Happy looked at her
question. “Just tell us where we need to go.”
 
The agent, a woman, told them the location of headquarters, and Pepper relayed
the information to Happy. The driver frowned. “That’s in the middle of
nowhere.”
 
“Just drive Happy.”
 
It took them thirty minutes and a series of odd turns to reach the
headquarters, which looked quite imposing from the outside. “Would you like me
to stay here Ms. Potts?” he asked. The woman nodded and quickly got out of the
car.
 
Coulson and another female agent stood waiting for her at the entrance.
“Welcome, Ms. Potts.” They shook hands. “This is Agent Maria Hill. She spoke
with you on the phone.” The female agent standing next to Coulson nodded at her
briskly.
 
“I believe we have much to discuss. Follow me to my office.”
 
Pepper asked no questions about the facility on the way there; she simply
wasn’t interested, and she had a feeling she would just be left with more
questions if she inquired about anything she saw.
 
The three of them quickly made their to Coulson’s office, little chatter taking
place between the three. After a brief security confirmation for the two agents
and Pepper, they arrived in the spacious office.
 
“Please have a seat.” It wasn’t a request.
 
Coulson studied her for a minute as he sat down in front of her. She could feel
Hill’s eyes drilling into her back as well. “Is this a meeting or an
interrogation?” Pepper finally snapped after a minute had passed. The agent
sitting in front of her smiled.
 
“You’re not here to discuss Mr. Stark’s escape at all, are you Ms. Potts?”
 
Pepper nodded. “This is about something more important. It’s about his
daughter, Riley.” Coulson’s face was grave. “I feared as much.”
 
“We think that someone or multiple people might be hurting her.”
 
“How so?”
 
Pepper swallowed the bile that threatened to spill. “Sexually.”
 
The agent looked even more troubled at this. “What makes you think this?”
 
“Our A.I., Jarvis, monitors her health constantly. He noticed that during the
three months Tony was…” she paused, “ gone  that Riley often had bruising in
the shape of finger prints on her wrists and on her inner thighs.”
 
“Have you noticed any shifts in behavior?”
 
Pepper nodded. “She’s lost an unhealthy amount of weight, and she’s hardly
speaking.” She took a deep breath. “There’s something else we noticed too.”
 
Coulson raised an eyebrow. “Obadiah Stane. He came over the other day and Riley
was-she was-”
 
“Scared?” The agent supplied. “Timid?” Pepper nodded. Coulson sighed. “Ms.
Potts, I’m not going to lie to you; we’ve been watching both Mr. Stark and
Stane for about a year now.”
 
Anger flared up in Pepper. “Tony has  nothing  to do with-”
 
“We figured that Stark wasn’t involved in any of the...activities Stane
participates in. However, when Stark weapons started showing up in the hands of
terrorists, we had to investigate.”
 
Coulson slid pictures of weapons branded with the Stark Industries logo printed
on them across the desk in the backdrop of a colourless and bleak desert.
“After Mr. Stark was kidnapped by the same group that had hold over these
weapons, it was obvious that he had no idea of these deals being made.”
 
The man paused for a moment. “We’ve been unable to find sufficient evidence for
arrest though.” Coulson looked at Pepper with what looked to be sympathy.
 
“What you are implying is much more serious. Stane is no longer just a crook;
he is a potential child predator, which, on my list, is much worse. For him.”
 
“You think it could’ve been him that hurt her?”
 
“Ms. Potts, who did leave Riley in the care of while Mr. Stark was gone?”
 
Pepper’s throat felt dry. “Obadiah. Oh God-”
 
Coulson cut her off. “There is, in my mind, little doubt that Stane had at
least something to do with this.”
 
Pepper had promised herself she would hold herself together, but she could feel
tears springing up in her eyes against her will. “Ms. Potts, I know this is
difficult.” Coulson said. “But you must be strong for Riley. This isn’t going
to be easy for her, she needs to have figures in her life that she can look to
for guidance.”
 
“I understand.” she said, a tremor in her voice giving her away. “We will need
more proof to make an arrest and to put him away for good.” Coulson handed her
a flashdrive. “This will hack into any computer and detect any ghost files kept
on Stane’s computer. You have access to his computer I assume?”
 
“Anything you need, I can get; I have access to almost everywhere in Stark
Industries.”
 
Coulson smiled. “I don’t doubt that. We will need to speak to Mr. Stark soon
about his escape and the situation surrounding Stane.”
 
“And Riley? You’ll need to speak to her too?” The agent nodded, his expression
grim. “A psychologist will conduct the interview. For Riley’s sake, I want to
wait until a bit more intel comes in before we start interviewing her.”
 
Get to Obadiah’s computer. Help Riley. “Ms. Potts, we would like Stane not to
know that we are onto him. As hard as it may be, you need to act as you
normally would around him. The same goes for Mr. Stark.”
 
Normal? Nothing was  normal  about this. This-this was disgusting,
reprehensible-there was no way she could face that  monster  and act like
nothing was wrong.
 
Her face must have given her disgust away because Coulson said, “I understand
Ms. Potts. I do. I’ve dealt with these situations before and please believe me,
we’re at an advantage if he doesn’t know we’re building a case.” Then, more
quietly, he added, “Do it for Riley.”
 
That was something she could do.
 
Standing up, she reached out her hand to him. “Thank you Agent Coulson.” she
said earnestly. He smiled at her. “Thank you Ms. Potts. Please rest assured
that I will do anything to ensure he never sees the light of day again.”
 
They shook hands, and after scheduling Tony’s meeting with the agent, Pepper
left the facility.


Coulson collapsed back into his chair as soon as she left, a heavy sigh leaving
him. Maria  came from the corner of the room, where she had been observing
silently. “What do you need?” she asked.  
 
“I want Romanov on this. Contact Fury; I need to brief him.” The woman nodded
and started to walk out. “And Hill?” She turned back around. “Make this your
first priority.” Determination set into her face. “Already done sir.”
 
                                     *****
 
Flying was fun, but incredibly painful as it turned out, which was something
Tony had not anticipated. The silver, sleek suit had performed well up until a
certain aptitude; then the ice had started to build up.
 
Yeah, that was going to be a problem. But not one that he couldn’t fix.
 
The only casualty had been his convertible. DUM-E had been unhelpful (as per
usual) with his rescue efforts, but Riley had been prepared with band aids and
an ice pack.
 
“You expecting me to fall?” She only smiled and pressed the ice pack to his
head. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll rest. Relax.” Riley smiled at him again and kissed a
bruise forming on his cheek. Love coursed through him at the simple gesture. He
kissed the tip of her nose. “I love you Riles.”
 
“I love you too Daddy.” she said softly.
 
Riley frowned a bit then her eyes flicking to his chest. “What’s wrong?” She
tapped the arc reactor with her hand, curiosity in her eyes.
 
Tony took a deep breath. “It’s keeping me alive. I got, um, hurt when I was
taken by the bad men in Afghanistan. It doesn’t hurt.”
 
She had done this to him. Tears swelled up in her eyes. “Hey,  hey.”  Tony
said, grasping her chin.
 
That was a mistake.
 
Riley cried out in terror, tears spilling over her cheeks. “Please, please,
no. ” she whimpered. Tony watched her with horror. “Riley, Jesus, honey please
look at me.”
 
The six year old had curled herself into a ball onto the floor, sobs quietly
shaking her body. “Baby.” he whispered softly, crouching down in front of her.
He kept himself a couple of feet away from her. “I’m not gonna hurt you. You’re
not in trouble. You’re completely safe.”
 
She looked at him. “Promise?” Her voice trembled.
 
Tony nodded, opening his arms to her.
 
Riley cautiously hugged him, wrapping her small arms around him slowly, as if
testing his word. When no pain came, she allowed herself to melt into her
father’s arms.
 
Tony looked at the suit design being created silently by Jarvis on the array of
computers on his desk. In the background, a reporter discussed the stars
appearing for  his  party, which he hadn’t been invited to.
 
But Obadiah had. His smug, wrinkled face became the focus of the screen as the
camera zoomed in.
 
Pepper had warned him to lay low. But murderous rage started to take hold over
him, Stane it’s target.
 
He would go the party. And he would fucking  ruin  Obadiah for what he had done
to his daughter.
Chapter End Notes
     Hey guys! Just a little heads up, I won't be updating as frequently
     as I have been due to school starting (ugh I just groaned out loud
     typing that) I will try to get a new chapter up every week, but no
     promises. Just please be patient with me :)
     Thank you so much for reading, and please comment your thoughts, I
     love to hear from you guys!
***** Masquerade *****
Chapter Summary
     Sometimes masks are necessary to keep the ones you love safe.
     And sometimes they don't work.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Tony sped through the streets, narrowly (but expertly) avoiding a few accidents
along the way. He had put Riley to bed shortly after the newscast. He had
stayed by her side until he was sure she was fast asleep. Trusting Jarvis to
keep an eye on her, he had slipped on a suit and headed out.
 
The CEO arrived at the party in a few short minutes, cameras blinding him
temporarily as he stepped out of his car. Questions flooded him from obnoxious
gossip columnists and wannabe journalists.
 
Stane stood talking to a reporter, a white scarf wrapped around his neck. Tony
wanted to strangle him with it.
 
The older man clapped him on the back in greeting, a smile on his face. “Didn’t
expect to see you here, my boy!”
 
Tony desperately wanted to snap his arm in half. He wanted to break his neck,
bring him to his knees in front of these reporters and make him confess what he
had done.
 
Instead he smiled and said “I’ll see you inside Obie.”
 
Weak.  He couldn’t do it. Not when he knew that Riley would see it on the TV.
Then she would know that her father was a murderer. A cold blooded killer.
 
The sight of the bar temporarily distracted Tony from his thoughts. The alcohol
would help, keep him numb from his thoughts.
 
A short man in a crisp suit stared at him as he nursed a martini. Tony stared
right back at him. “You an autograph? Picture?” The man smiled, amused. “No
thank you Mr. Stark.” He held out his hand. “I’m Agent Coulson. I met with Ms.
Potts a few days ago.”
 
Oh. A cold rush of reality doused the effect of the alcohol. He shook the
agent’s outstretched hand. “I think we both know why you’re here tonight Mr.
Stark.”
 
Tony chuckled, although there was no humor in it. “It is my party.” Coulson
looked skeptical, clearly unamused. “So the murder stare you gave Stane when
you arrived has nothing to do with your presence here? A party you haven’t
attended in the three years it’s occured?”
 
Tony’s silence was telling. “I know it’s hard to look at him in the eye and
pretend like nothing's wrong. It is for your daughters own safety that this
investigation remain a secret.”
 
“How’d you know I would be here?”
 
Coulson smiled. “Because you’re a good father. I know that you love your
daughter and that you want to protect her. You’re, unfortunately, not the first
parent I’ve encountered under these circumstances. I have a lot of experience,
which I’ve learned my lessons from.”
 
The man paused, studying Tony for a minute. “Please allow me to do my job Mr.
Stark; let me help your daughter.”
 
Tony thought for a minute. He seemed sincere, but Tony could never be sure. He
didn’t know who to trust now. The man that he had considered a father figure in
his childhood had done the unspeakable to his little girl.
 
He seemed to sense Tony’s hesitation and said “I know you’re suspicious of
everyone now; that someone even looking at Riley is considered a threat to you.
I know government officers are your least favorite people right now, but know
this: I will not stop, I will not rest until I know every bastard that hurt
your child or even  knew  what was happening will rot in jail for the rest of
their worthless lives.”
 
He decided to take a leap of faith. Tony nodded in understanding. “You mess up
in any way, you do  anything  -”
 
Coulson nodded. “Understood. Don’t forget about our meeting. The twenty-sixth
Mr. Stark.” Those were his last words before he disappeared into the crowd.  
 
Tony decided that he liked Coulson. He didn’t exactly trust him yet, but he did
like him.
 
Pepper walked up to him then, a vision in a dark blue dress with her red hair
curled. She looked stunning.
 
“What are you doing here?” she whispered. Tony smiled at her and grabbed her
hand. “Just enjoying the party Pepper. Dance with me, will you?”
 
She protested briefly, but soon the two of them were dancing slowly to the jazz
music playing softly in the background. “Should I ask why Coulson looked so
concerned while you two were talking?” Tony considered telling her about what
was said, but decided to keep it to himself. Pepper already had so much on her
plate; she didn’t need to worry about Tony too. “Just enjoy the music. Relax.”
 
They didn’t talk for the next several minutes, enjoying each other’s company.
It felt like a breath of fresh air, a respite, from the chaotic pain of the
past week. It felt selfish of Tony to think that, but it just felt so  nice  to
have that weight lifted from him temporarily.
 
“You want something to drink?” he asked quietly. “Vodka martini. Dry. Extra
olives.” The song had ended.
 
Tony made his way through the crowd to the bar again ordering Pepper’s drink.
While waiting, a voice approached him from behind. “Well, well...Tony Stark.
Didn’t expect to see you here.”
 
Ugh. The smug, Brown-bred reporter who thought she could bring down the
infamous Tony Stark while simultaneously securing world peace.
 
He turned around to face her, trying (but not too hard) to remember her name.
“K-Karen?”
She rolled her eyes. “Christine.” Well he’d been close (give or take a few
letters).
 
Christine was beautiful, and he probably would have taken her home that night
in Vegas, but those days were long gone, although the tabloids liked to believe
he still took women home with him every night; Riley had changed all of that,
and the memory of his father putting everything else before him as a kid had
made a shift in lifestyle necessary.
 
“Can I even get a reaction from you? You know I actually almost bought your
little act.” Irritation caused him to snap. “I’ve been out of town for the past
few months-don’t know if you heard-”
 
“Is  this  what you call accountability?” Photos were handed to him.
 
Stark weapons. In the hands of the Ten Rings bastards.
 
“Town called Gulmira. Heard of it?” He glared at her. “When were these taken?”
he asked.
 
“Yesterday.”
 
Stane. Only explanation.
 
He tucked the photos in his suit pocket. He needed to confront Obadiah about
this, he had to.
 
He took a step towards the door before meeting Coulson’s eyes, who was watching
him from across the room.
 
Your daughter’s safety.
 
Obadiah would go down. Eventually.
 
And he had a few ideas on how to handle Gulmira.
 
                                    ******
 
Riley watched her father put on the suit, red and gold, and decided that while
it was cool and all, that she didn’t like it all that much.
 
For one thing, it covered his face. She felt like she was looking into an
unfeeling machine. This frustrated her;  she  knew her father was under there,
but no one else did. He was going to be a hero, but no one else knew about it
her and her father.
 
Riley was far from stupid; she had more than once encountered a headline
calling her father terrible, untrue things. She had been deprived of friends
due to their parents not wanting them to catch “whatever that playboy Tony
Stark passed on” or simply didn’t want their children to be associated with the
daughter of a murderer.
 
She knew who her father was, and it wasn’t this suit. It showed his impressive
mind, but it didn’t show his heart.
 
The suit was cool. But her father thinking that it morphed him into some kind
of hero was simply a lie. He was already her hero.
 
“Shouldn’t you be in bed?”
 
Riley shrugged. “Can’t sleep.” She could feel her father’s sigh. “I’ll be back
soon. I’m just going to visit some, ah, friends.”
 
The child crossed her arms. “You’re lying.”
 
“Yeah… I’ll be back soon. And  please  go to bed.”
 
The responding eye roll made Tony smile. Some of Riley’s old personality was
coming back, slowly. She still hadn’t talked about what had happened, but
Tony’s plan was to ease her into speaking about it; confronting her hadn’t gone
so well the last the time.
 
When Tony flew into the sky, he felt weightless, like nothing could bring him
back down to earth.
 
Don’t waste your life.
 
He hoped Yinsen was somehow  watching him.
 
                                     *****
 
Taking down the terrorists in Gulmira had been easy; escaping the Air Force
however, was another story.
 
It was  difficult.  It just wasn’t  easy.
 
Good thing Rhodey had his back.
 
He had to admit, their conversation at the Air Force base had put a damper on
their friendship; Rhodey had told him, not so subtly, that he wasn’t in his
right mind and should rest. He was hoping Tony would change his mind about
weapons manufacturing.
 
He knew Rhodey cared about him, he did; that encounter however, shook Tony’s
trust with his long time best friend.
 
Sometimes it felt like people only valued his mind, and not him as a person.
Their conversation had hit that home and reinforced it.
 
But Rhodey had saved his ass in Gulmira, which meant he did care at least a
little about Tony’s well being.
 
For fuck’s sake, he was Riley’s uncle. He  had  to trust him.
 
“Rhodes?”
 
“Tony, I told you, I don’t wanna know anything about what you have cookin’-”
 
“It’s about Riley.”
 
There was silence on the other end of the line. “I’ll come by tomorrow.”
 
“Sounds good.”
 
“What am I supposed to tell the press about this?”
 
“Training exercise. Isn’t that the usual BS?”
 
He could almost hear Rhodey’s smile over the call.
 
                                     *****
 
He had been a hero.
 
He had done the right thing.
 
At least he was trying to do the right thing.
 
Pepper had walked in on him in the suit, and had freaked the fuck out (as she
was prone to do). She had said she would leave him, that this was the final
straw. Tony knew, they both knew, that she wouldn’t leave.
 
She had stood by him all these years, refusing to take any of his shit, and
helped him raise a kid. Watched Riley when she was younger, had filled the gap
that a mother should have taken place in.
 
Pepper had cleaned Riley’s dirty diapers, had wiped away her tears; she had
helped Tony through his hangovers and keep his company successful.
 
Pepper Potts was not scared away by bullet holes in a suit, and not by bruises
on a child’s body. Tony knew that.
 
Rhodey, on the other hand... he didn’t know how he would react. Tony was kind
of terrified of it actually. Tony sipped the coffee in hands, anxiously waiting
for Rhodey to arrive. He didn’t know how the man would react; knowing him, he
would want to have the entire Air Force after Obadiah.
“Colonel Rhodes has arrived Sir.”
 
Tony took a deep breath. He could do this.
 
Riley was still asleep upstairs, unaware of what was occuring.
 
Rhodey walked into the room, with a black leather jacket and jeans on,
completely dressed down from his usual military uniform. They hugged, and Tony
could feel the worried energy emitting  from his friend.
 
“Everything alright Tones?” He knew Rhodey was asking about him, and he
honestly didn’t know how to answer that. “It’s not me; It’s Riley.”
 
He gestured for Rhodey to sit down on the couch with him. “I’ve-we’ve noticed
that she’s been acting completely different than usual.” Tony had to pause,
choosing his next words carefully. “We think- well, we know, actually, that
someone’s been hurting Riley-t-touching her.”
 
Worry turned to anger, and Rhodey stood up. “ Who?”  he hissed, eyes full of
ferocity. “Obadiah.” Rhodey punched the wall, cursing at himself. “Fuckin’
motherfucker, I’ll fuckin kill that son of bitch-”
 
Tony shushed him. “We have people investigating right now, they’re going to
find proof and arrest him.” His friend looked completely distraught, shaking
his head in disbelief. “Has Riley- has she said anything?”
 
Tony shook his head. “Jarvis noticed finger-like bruising on her inner thighs
more than once. And Obadiah came over one day-” His voice broke. He had to- he
had to sit down,  breathe-
 
“Would you like me to explain Sir?” Tony nodded, his head in his hands. “Ms.
Stark’s behavior has undertaken a dramatic shift within the last three months;
bedwetting, frequent nightmares, muteness, refusal to go near certain places.
Coupled with the bruising, I found it safe to conclude that some form of abuse
was occurring.”
 
Rhodey was speechless. “Is that even in your coding?” he asked. “I had a direct
order from Ms. Potts to make sure she didn’t harm herself. I was simply
following an order.”
 
“Sir? There was something else I found as I going through surveillance, and I
found something that is incredibly troubling. I believe it wise to call Agent
Coulson over here immediately.”
 
“Coulson?” Rhodey asked. Tony stood, grabbing his phone. “I’ll explain when he
gets here. J, what did you find?”
 
The A.I. didn’t respond for a minute. “It is very sensitive Sir. I believe it
best to wait for Agent Coulson.”
 
Fuck. “Alright.”
 
******
Coulson arrived in record time, the same suit and tie perfectly pressed as
always. Tony introduced him to Rhodey (who looked suspicious but accepting of
the agent). “Your A.I. found something?” he asked Tony.
 
Tony nodded. “He hasn’t shown me anything, or told me anything.” The agent
nodded. “Your daughter is still asleep?”
 
“Ms. Stark is not due to wake up for another thirty minutes, as per her usual
sleeping habits.”
 
“Good. Now Mr. Stark, Colonel-”
 
“I’m not leaving, not till I have some damn answers. Tones?” Tony nodded.
“We’re staying.” He might puke a bit, but he had to know.
 
“Play the video then.”
 
A holoscreen popped up in front of them. “This a day after Mr. Stark
disappeared.” Riley sat the Roadster, working on the cars engine with Tony’s
tools. This went on for a minute or so, before a large figure loomed over her.
 
Stane. Tony felt bile in his mouth.
 
The man stood behind her, large hands on her shoulders. Riley had stiffened,
her eyes welling up with tears. Obadiah said something, but there were no words
to match the movement of his mouth. “Stane ordered me to stop video and audio
surveillance at that time.”
 
Yet the video continued. “I sensed his intentions to be hostile, so I kept
monitoring, disabling the audio only.”
 
Stane slipped his slimy hands further down Riley’s body, whispering to her.
Tears were falling down her face; she was clearly terrified.
 
“Jarvis, stop it please,  stop .” Tony croaked. “I’m sorry Sir.”
 
Coulson took a deep breath. “Jarvis, please forward that to me.”
 
Rhodey grasped his shoulder. “You good?” He looked pale, disgusted, angry-but
there was still that strength that Tony had come to rely on in his eyes.
 
Tony nodded, turning his gaze to Coulson. “What happens now?” Coulson looked
visibly shaken, but quickly remembered himself. “The video is damning, but the
lack of audio could present some problems.”
 
The father looked enraged at this. “Mr. Stark, I would like to bring Riley to
headquarters. To interview her.”
 
“Now?”
 
The agent nodded. “We believe Mr. Stane is hiding something that Riley might
know; we don’t know what, but the assassination of members of the Ten Rings
strongly suggests that he intends to wipe his record clean.”
 
He was going to kill Riley.

“Ok. Just let me grab-” Coulson stopped him. “Stane already suspects our
involvement. People have been tailing Ms. Potts and you for weeks now. It would
look less suspicious if it was just Colonel Rhodes and Riley.”
 
“Why me?” Rhodey asked. “You two haven’t been seen in public together recently,
and it wouldn’t look overly suspicious if military personnel were going to
SHIELD headquarters.”
 
“Riley?”
 
“We can hide her, easily.”
 
Tony couldn’t explain why, but a sense of uneasiness had come over him at the
notion of staying here alone. He quickly dismissed it.  Don’t be selfish,  he
told himself.   
 
“I’ll get her up.”
 
                                    ******
It had been hours.
 
Rhodey had texted him brief updates, letting him know that Riley was ok.
Information was slowly leaving her as the hours piled onto each other.
 
The sky was dark now, and the fireplace had lit up, warming the cold that had
suddenly surrounded him.
 
His phone rang, and Pepper’s face lit up the screen.
 
Before he could utter a word, a sharp piercing noise paralyzed him. He couldn’t
feel anything, a hand gentling his head back on the couch.
 
A dark chuckle reverberated throughout the room.
 
Stane.
Chapter End Notes
     Well that way too long XD. I don't know how I feel about this chapter
     but I hope you guys enjoy!
     Just to let you guys know, there will be two more chapters set in the
     first Iron Man, and then we'll skip time to Iron Man 2...and let's
     say it's going to be an angst filled but dashed with happiness.
     And also...BLACK WIDOW!
     After Iron Man 2, the Avengers, which is where this part of Riley's
     story will conclude. Be prepared for some domestic Avengers :)
     I hope you all enjoyed this and please leave your thoughts in the
     comments! Much love <3
***** My Heart In Your Hands *****
Chapter Summary
     Stane makes his move.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Tony couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t move. He felt himself slipping away slowly.
 
“Shame the government wasn’t interested in these, they really do work well.”
Stane came to sit next to him, draping his arm around Tony.
 
“Tony, my boy…” He almost sounded remorseful.
 
He tapped the arc reactor in Tony’s chest. “Really is something isn’t it? You
could’ve changed the face of weapons with this.” The man smiled. “But now,” he
chuckled, pulling a claw-like device from behind him, “it’ll be  my  legacy.”
 
Stane plunged the device into Tony’s chest, detaching the reactor from where it
belonged. “Ironic isn’t it? Your last contribution to this world was the very
thing you tried to destroy.”
 
He tried to move, he tried to do  anything-
 
“I thought I was killing the golden goose when I ordered the hit on you, but
then I took a look at your precious little girl.”
 
No. Fight back dammit!
 
“She has twice the mind you do. And not to mention, well-” he grinned coldly.
“I think you already know.”
 
Get up, do something you worthless idiot!
 
“Tell me when was the last time you heard from Colonel Rhodes about Riley?”
 
Two hours ago. No, shit, no-
 
“She’s  mine  now Tony. And all you can do is sit here and hope that death
comes quickly.”
 
The man stood up, patting Tony’s shoulder. “Godspeed.” He left.
 
No.
 
This wasn’t how he ended.
 
Tony dragged himself, painfully slow, across the room, down the stairs, and
into his workshop, seeking the reactor Pepper had gifted him weeks ago.
 
It was too far up. He couldn’t reach it.
 
Tony collapsed. He had failed.
 
Yinsen. Riley. Pepper. Rhodey.
 
The whir of a machine caught his attention. DUM-E had the reactor case  in his
clawed hand, twirling it in question.
 
Tony reached for it, and DUM-E handed it to him. “Good boy.” he gasped.
 
He smashed the glass case.
 
                                     *****
Rhodey’s vision was blurred, there was something pressing on the back of his
neck. There was a girl screaming.
 
For him.
 
Riley.
 
Rhodey swept his feet under the man holding him down, knocking him over. Riley
was being stuffed in a van by two men, their faces covered. He ran towards
them, grabbing the fallen man’s gun and shooting at them.
 
“Uncle Rhodey!” she cried.
 
One of the men went down, a bullet piercing his head. The other one managed to
throw Riley and himself in the van. They took off.
 
Rhodey shot a couple of bullets at it, taking out a window before it faded into
the distance.
 
“Fuck.” He’d screwed up. Majorly.
 
He dialed Coulson’s number frantically.
 
“Yes?”
 
“Obadiah-he sent men- they took Riley.” The agent was silent for a moment. “Car
type? License plate number?” Rhodey told him. “We’re on it. I’m sending an
agent after her right now. Go to Stark’s place to make sure he’s alright.”
 
After Rhodey agreed, Coulson hung up on him.
 
Coulson walked through the SHIELD compound, speaking into his walkie. “Barton?”
 
“Yes sir?”
 
“Riley Stark has been kidnapped. Find her.”
 
“Right away sir.”
 
                                     *****
She was so cold.
 
It was dark.
 
She was scared.
 
Riley tried to look around, but she couldn’t see anything.
 
“Hey, look, the brats awake.”
 
She couldn’t see where the voice was coming from.
 
“You scared?” Riley didn’t dare move. “You should be.” The voice chuckled.
“Stane did say we could have a little fun, right?”
 
“Yeah.” replied another voice.
 
A hand touched her hair, and a little cry left her. “You mind if I go first?”
 
“Not interested in kids.”
 
The first voice sounded closer now. “Well, looks like it’s just you and me then
girlie.”
 
No, no not again-
 
Something zipped through the air and something heavy hit the floor. “Jones,
everything alright?” The second voice called out. “Jon-” he was cut short by
another object zooming through the air.
 
The lights came on, and there was a man lying next to her, passed out.
 
Riley stood and scrambled away, backing up into someone.
 
A man stood behind her, a bow and arrow on his shoulder. He smiled at Riley
warmly, even as she backed away from him.
 
“You’re Riley I’m guessing?” She nodded, her expression cautious. The archer
held out his hand. “I’m Clint.” he said, his expression calm.
 
He seemed nice. Riley shook his hand quickly. “Listen, I’m gonna take you
somewhere safe, ok?”
 
Riley stared at the bodies on the ground. Seeing where gaze was, Clint said
“They’re just passed out, don’t worry.” The man knelt in front of her,
searching her face. “They hurt you?”
 
Riley nodded. “They hit my head super hard.” Clint chuckled, although there was
strain behind it. “Good. You’re a brave kid, you know that?” That got a smile
from her. Clint smiled back at her and stood, holding out his hand.
 
“I’m gonna take back to where you were with Dr. Flores ok?” Dr. Flores had been
nice, but Riley hesitated, which he noticed. “I’m not gonna hurt you Riley.
Trust me.”
 
His smile reminded her of Daddy’s before he disappeared. She took his hand.
 
                                     *****
 
Rhodey had found Tony on the floor, alive but gasping for breath.
 
“R-Riley?” Tony croaked. “Obadiah’s men took her. Coulson sent an agent after
her. I’m sorry Tony.”
 
The father grasped his friends’ hand and stood. “Pepper?” he asked. “With four
agents at the main office, they’re about to arrest Obadiah.” Panic ran through
Tony. “That’s not gonna be enough.” he gasped.
 
He had followed Coulson’s instructions to a tee, but Tony had his own plan in
place now to take down Obadiah. The man would never stop, even prison was too
comfortable for him.
 
Death, however, seemed to be suitable for Stane.
 
Tony readied the suit, letting himself meld into the armour. Rhodey watched in
amazement. “That’s pretty damn cool Tones. You want anything from me?”
 
His face plate shut. “Keep the skies clear.”
 
                                     *****
Tony arrived on the roof of the offices in mere minutes, all the while talking
to a frantic Pepper.
 
“What do you mean he  took  Riley? Oh my god I am literally going to  murder
this man-”
 
“Eyes on target Pepper. I need you to got to the arc reactor and press the red
button when I say so, alright?”
 
He didn’t hear her answer. A black, bulky  suit had flown in front of him.
“Tony, you just don’t know when to stay dead, do you?” came Stane’s voice.
 
Motherfucking copycat.
 
“Real original design there.” he snarked, shooting a blast at him. He flew
behind a wall before Stane would recover and notice.
 
“My suit is better in every way, Tony. Your daughter designed it, after all.”
 
Cold pressed his chest inwards. “When you escaped, I found your designs. Had
Riley give her input and improve it while you were off feeding your ego in
Gulmira.”
 
A blast pushed him forwards, sending him off the roof. Tony caught himself,
flying upwards. “Sir, we are approaching low energy levels. This arc reactor
was not built to sustain a flight.”
 
“I don’t care. Climb!”
 
Stane followed closely behind him into the sky, grabbing Tony’s foot. He began
to crush Tony. “Hey Obie,” he wheezed, “how’d you fix the ice problem?”
 
“Ice problem?” Tony managed to free a hand and smacked Obadiah’s helmet,
sending the inferior suit downwards.

 “Entering low power mode.” said Jarvis.
 
Tony ungracefully met the ground again on the rooftop of Stark offices. “Pepper
you still there?” he said, ripping a gauntlet off.
 
“Yes.”
 
Stane landed back on the roof then, and Tony held out his hand to blast him,
only to realize it was gone.
 
A punch sent him tumbling backwards. Obadiah opened his faceplate. “You can’t
win Tony. This-” he gestured to the building,  “will be mine, and Riley
belongs  to me. You can’t change that.” Tony growled.
 
Son of a bitch.
 
Tony tackled him, surprising him for a moment. Tony punched him repeatedly,
anger taking over.
 
Riley was  his  kid. No one could take that from him.
 
Obadiah recovered from his surprise, pushing Tony backwards. “Pepper, push it
NOW!” he yelled, scrambling out of the way.
 
“You’ll die!”
 
“Push it!”
 
White light exploded before his eyes before everything went black.
 
                                     *****
 
Tony thought he was hallucinating. He must be.
 
There was no way there was a baby in front of him, on his doorstep.
 
Fuck what had he drunk last night?
 
“Jarvis?” he asked, panic in his voice. “It’s a baby Sir.” Tony rolled his
eyes. “And why exactly is there a fuckin’ baby on my doorstep?”
 
“Probably because she is your daughter Sir.”
 
Fuck. “Did you run-”
 
“Yes Sir, DNA tests confirm that she is your daughter.”
 
Well fuckin’ fuck. “Mother? Who dropped her here?”
 
“I was unable to identify the mother and the person who dropped her off.”
 
Tony looked at the baby. Bright blue eyes stared back at him, and a tuft of
black hair stuck out from her head. The girl gurgled. “Um, hi.” A little smile
came over small face. “You’re kind of cute huh?” he smiled at her.
 
He picked her up. She was so soft. “Do you know what you want to name her Sir?”
Tony thought for a moment. “Riley.” he decided. She seemed to agree with him, a
delighted gurgle leaving her.
 
“Well I guess it’s us now kiddo.”
 
                                     *****
 
Tony woke in a bland looking room. Bland meant hospital, and Tony hated
hospitals. Pepper sat next to him, holding tightly to his hand.
 
“How are you?” she asked gently. Tony tried to shrug. “Been better.” he
managed. “Obadiah?”
 
“Dead.” Tony smiled at that. “Riley.” he said, panic overtaking him. He sat up
but Pepper calmed him. “They found her. She’s alright.” Tony let out a sigh of
relief. “Can I see her?” Pepper nodded and walked out.
 
She returned with Riley, who hopped on Tony, crushing him in a hug. “Daddy I’m
sorry, he-he made me do it-”
 
He shushed her, wiping her tears away. “You didn’t do anything wrong.
Absolutely nothing ok?”
 
“I hurt you.” she said, her voice still teary. “Obadiah hurt me. Not you.”
 
“I love you Riles. Nothing will change that.” Tony smiled. “That suit was
pretty impressive though.”
 
“I made it bad. I knew he was gonna hurt you, like he did in the other place.”
 
Tony felt tears come to his eyes. “You don’t worry about that anymore, ok?”
Riley nodded.
 
“It’s you and me kiddo.” He looked up at the redhead in the doorway. “And maybe
Pepper.”
 
Pepper watched the two of them, her family. She felt her own tears come. “Ms.
Potts I-” Coulson came into the doorway. At the sight of the father and
daughter hugging, he left quietly.
 
Briefing could wait. There were more important things at the moment.
Chapter End Notes
     In short, I'm a crazy woman who uploaded two chapters in one day (and
     I'm also procrastinating my homework so that's good motivation)
     Anyway, this chapter kind of took a life of it's own. We're at the
     end of Iron Man; next chapter will wrap it up and begin Iron Man 2
     I also had to include Clint because he's awesome.
     Thank you for reading!
***** Little and Broken *****
Chapter Summary
     Tony will do whatever it takes to protect Riley, even at his own
     expense.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Bruises faded.
 
Tears were wiped away.
All this over the course of the three days the Starks were given to pick their
lives up from the ground Obadiah Stane had scorched. The part of Tony’s mind
that enjoyed torturing him through insomnia and nightmares delighted in this
new development; he had not slept in the three days since  that man  had been
consumed in the blaze.
 
But that was okay; in fact it was  great.  Riley was finally safe from harm. It
didn’t matter the cost to him.
 
He was fine. They both were going to be.
 
Right?
 
Three days had been given to them before the government (and Pepper) could no
longer satisfy the curiosity of the public.
 
It was enough time to gather a story, but the expectation was that  both
Starks would be able to keep face; show to the world their  invernulability.
 
Three days felt more like a death sentence rather than a finality to the
disaster of the past couple of weeks.
 
Riley, at least, looked lighter and happier. A bit of the light that came with
a child had reignited within her.
 
But there was still that darkness that had twisted her against her will and
stolen her innocence; that was something, the psychologist had warned, that
Riley would have to learn to overcome.
By herself.
 
It was sick, really, how Tony had done this to her and now he couldn’t even
help his own kid. That made the guilt that rested on his shoulders all the more
heavier.
 
A finger poked at his cheek, interrupting Tony’s thoughts. Riley’s concerned
blue eyes looked at him. That’s right, they had been working in the garage
on... on….
 
“Are you ok Daddy?” Tony chuckled, ruffling her black hair. “Of course I am
kiddo.”
 
“You’re lying.” Tony frowned. “Excuse me?”
 
Riley chewed on her lip, looking nervous but confident. “You’re lying. I can
feel it.”
 
Well that was fucking heartbreaking. And painfully true.
 
Tony sighed, exhaustion finally creeping into him. “You aren’t ok either kiddo.
I wish you would  talk  to me. You used to tell me everything.”
 
Coulson and Dr. Flores had confirmed Tony’s suspicions and his fears. Obadiah
had harmed her, had left a permanent blemish on her.
 
That wasn’t even the worst part.
 
There were more men.
 
Dr. Flores had mentioned that Riley’s memory would be skewed, leaving her
unable to remember specific names. They had drugged her severely when the abuse
had been occuring, messing with her memories of what had happened.
 
Tony was almost grateful for that. Maybe it would make it less painful for her.
 
Coulson had promised they wouldn’t stop investigating.
 
Riley fidgeted around, holding her Captain America Teddy Bear close.
 
“I had to.” She whispered, not meeting his eyes.
 
Tony nodded at her encouragingly, and Riley took a deep breath.
 
“He said I had to b-because he would kill you i-if  I d-didn’t.” She clutched
her bear even closer, tears springing to her eyes. “I didn’t like it. It  hurt.
”
 
The remains of the emotional dam that Tony had built over the years crumbled.
Tears sprung to his eyes, and he had to suppress a sob from leaving him.
 
“Riley, god baby-I’m so sorry. I’m  so  sorry.” He had to hold her, he had to
have her close to him. Riley seemed to understand (or she wanted the same
thing) because she folded herself into his arms.
 
They sat there, Riley’s quiet sobs turning into soft whimpers after a time.
Tony felt tears leaving his eyes as well, soaking into her black hair.
 
They were together. Broken and chipped at the edges, but somehow they still
found a way to fit seamlessly together as they always had.
 
“I’ll always protect you baby. No one will ever hurt you again.”
 
A twist in Riley’s gut at his last statement warned her otherwise; he probably
didn’t even realize he was lying. Unless he didn’t believe it himself.
 
“I love you Daddy.”
 
Everything would be ok, she thought.
 
Don’t lie to yourself,  her gut told her.
 
                                    *******
 
Tony had already known what he was going to say before he even stepped on the
platform of the press room.
 
I am Iron Man.
 
And no one would dare mess with his family again.
 
He felt so free when those words left his mouth.
 
It was like he was flying in the suit for the first time: exhilarating, kind of
terrifying, and  freeing.
This was for Riley. He had to protect her. He wouldn’t let her be vulnerable
again because of him.
 
Then why did the guilt suddenly become so much heavier when he saw her standing
next to Pepper in the corner of the room, her eyes wide at the flurry of
questions being barreled at him?
 
She looked so scared-
 
It was fine. It was all for her.
 
If he had to build her a suit of armour to keep her safe, then so be it.
 
He couldn’t screw up again.
 
                                    ******
 
Three agents sat in the California base of SHIELD within the confines of Agent
Hill’s temporary office, watching Tony Stark bare himself to the world. They
all watched with a detached curiosity.
 
Clint, sprawled across the length of the couch, felt sadness for Stark’s
daughter, wincing when the camera panned in on her confused face.
 
“Jesus, could they turn the camera away from the kid?” He snapped, glaring at
the television. “It’s like they get off on watching a terrified kid.”
 
Maria smacked him, her glare full of poison. “Really Clint?”
 
Clint realized his mistake and turned pale with guilt. “Sorry.” He muttered,
looking down at the floor. He picked up one of his hearing aids that had fallen
on the floor sheepishly.
 
“What else does Fury want with the kid?”
 
Clint watched Natasha carefully when she asked that question; there was a
tightness in her voice that indicated a slight twinge of anger or annoyance.
 
The Russian had been keeping an eye on the case from a distance, not intruding
but gathering intel on Obadiah Stane. To her confusion, Fury had not allowed
her on the field; said she would be better served later.
 
It was understandable that she wanted off of a case where she was essentially
useless; she couldn't do a damn thing to help. 
 
“We’re not done yet.” Maria said, grabbing a file from a cabinet.
 
“Stane is dead.” Natasha stated, with no conviction in her voice. “We’re done.
The girl’s safe.”
 
Hill shook her head. “Stane wasn’t the only predator after her. And some things
Riley said during her interview with Flores...are, um, interesting.  Fury
wants to know more about her.”
 
Clint refrained from rolling his eyes. “She’s a kid, Hill. It’s not like she
knows the ultimate truth to the world.”
 
“She may be a kid, but she’s got some pretty damn good instincts on her. Strong
as hell too.”
 
Nick Fury emerged from seemingly nowhere, his black coat sweeping behind him.
 
“Sir?” Romanov asked, raising an eyebrow.
 
“She almost broke the hand of one agent when he startled her. Was trying to
give her some water during a break but he came up behind and she had a bad
reaction. He was lucky it was only a few bruises.”  
 
“Sir, with all due respect, is now really the best time to be questioning her?”
Maria asked.
 
“We won’t be questioning her.” He said, causing even more confusion.
 
“Romanov will shadow her. I have a feeling they’ll be looking for a tutor
soon.”
 
Natasha scoffed a bit. “Why, she not as brilliant as her father?” The bite
behind her words was unmistakable.
 
“I’m thinking even more so. She was able to identify and speak five different
languages given to her, as well solve college level math problems. She’s a
brilliant kid, but something is off. I want you to find out what.”
 
Natasha nodded. Looking for cracks in a facade was what she was best at.
 
With that, the Director and Hill left leaving a single file and the two
assassins alone with the TV showing an obnoxious blonde reporter speaking.
 
“You think Stark is hiding something?”  Clint signed in quick succession to
Natasha, not wanting their movements to be seen.
 
The redhead shook her head.  “I think there is something he doesn’t know.
Wouldn’t be the first time.”
 
Clint gave her a  look.
 
She flipped him off and walked out, mentally preparing a list of qualifications
she could give herself, ones that would appeal to Stark.
 
There was always  something  odd with people like the Stark’s. There was a
crack, and she was going to discover it.
 
                                    ******


Tony held his sleeping daughter, his own eyelids drooping as he seemed to sink
into the plush mattress.
 
No. He couldn’t sleep. He had to- he had to do something-
 
There was a sudden pain in his chest, and Tony shot up, trying to be quiet so
as to not wake Riley.
 
He swiftly got off the bed, gently laying Riley down on her pillow.
 
Clawing at his shirt, he went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror to see
dark blue lines crawling their way across his skin.
 
He couldn’t breathe.
Chapter End Notes
     Hi guys! I'm so sorry about the delay, school has been nuts. I also
     had a bad case of writers block (I blame school) and I had to rewrite
     the beginning of this chapter about five million times before I was
     somewhat satisfied with it. I'm still not very happy with it because
     I had one thing in mind but it just wouldn't translate.
     Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you have wonderful day/
     night! Please leave your thoughts in the comments, I will do my best
     to respond :)
***** 25% *****
Chapter Summary
     Tony realizes his own mortality, and Natasha gets a new job.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
“Who the fuck speaks Latin?” Tony asked, flipping through (Natalie? Natasha?)-
the prospective teachers resumé.
 
“No one, it’s a dead language; and watch your mouth.” Pepper admonished him,
texting someone on her atrocity of a Blackberry.
 
The hopeful was aquanticing herself with the house, having Jarvis guide her
through. Riley was out with Rhodey, getting ice cream (and hopefully  not  at
the shooting range).
 
“Doesn’t have much experience in science…” Tony mused. While Riley had not
shown the same proclivity towards engineering as he had at her age, she was
still drawn to science as he was. She loved to learn.
 
“Look Pepsi-” Pepper  smacked  his arm for that one-pretty hard too. “I can
just teach her, I have like, five doctorates. None of the people we’ve seen are
as qualified as me.”
 
Pepper rolled her eyes. “Not everyone goes to college when they’re fourteen
Tony. And you have three doctorates.”
 
“Still not hearing a good excuse. No one’s gonna understand how her minds works
like I do.”
 
The redhead sighed. “Tony, Riley needs to spend time with other people outside
of you, me, Happy or Rhodey. It’s not healthy; it’s bad enough that she hardly
has any friends.”
 
Tony was silent; he knew Pepper had a point, he just...he hated not being able
to  help.
 
“Sir? If I may?” The other redhead had returned, emerging from around the
corner.
 
“I understand that Riley is a special case; You will be involved in her
learning, but I agree with Ms. Potts in that she needs a rounded education.”
She pulled out a tablet from her purse.
 
“Riley has shown a proclivity towards language in her IQ tests, as well as
leaning towards astro-physics as well.”
 
Well, Tony couldn’t say she hadn’t done her research. “Do you have experience
at astro-physics? You have the linguistic qualifications”-her resumé indicated
that she spoke about ten languages- “but you have little experience with any
science at all.”
 
The woman only smiled at Tony’s criticisms. “Mr. Stark, no one will be as
brilliant as your daughter or you when it comes to science. I am merely seeking
to help stimulate that knowledge as well as teach her in other subject areas-
not just language.”
 
Why did the redheads always have to be right?
 
Tony sighed. “You’ll have to meet Riley first before I hire you; if she likes
you, you’re hired, ah, um Nat-”
 
“Natalie.” Pepper supplied.
 
“Natalie. Riley should be back soon, you want to stick around to meet her or
wait?”
 
“I would like to meet her today, if you don’t mind.”
 
“Ok then I’ll-” A sharp pain in his chest almost made him keel over, making him
gasp.
 
Both women rushed to him. “Tony are you ok?” Pepper asked, concern pinching her
features.
 
“I’m fine. Head rush. If you’ll excuse me, I have to go-” Another spike of
pain, like a knife was stabbing him in the chest- “I’m gonna go to the
bathroom.”
 
He tried not to run out of the room, quickly going into the nearest bathroom
and pulling out a blood toxicity meter of his own invention.
 
He was already at 25%. Shit.
 
“Sir, I have finished researching all known elements, but none of them can
serve as a viable replacement for the palladium core.” Jarvis said, concern
weaving into his robotic voice.
 
Double shit. “Can I do  anything? ”
 
“You can temporarily combat the symptoms with chlorophyll drinks, but that will
only gain you a small amount of time.”
 
He was going to die.
 
“Sir, Ms. Stark has arrived home. I suggest you tell her of your condition
soon, before it is too late.”
 
What a fucking perfect time to die. When his daughter needed him most, he was
checking out. Typical.
 
The strange pattern had made it’s up his chest, almost at his neck.
 
He couldn’t tell her. Riley needed him to be strong, and he was going to do
that as long as he was able to.
 
He buttoned up his shirt and walked out, grinning at Riley, who ran up to him
with a hug of greeting.
 
“You have fun with Uncle Rhodey, pumpkin?”
 
“Uh-huh. I had three different types of ice cream!” Wonderful.
 
“That’s  great.  Uncle Rhodey still here now?” Tony was going to make him stay
for the inevitable sugar rush.
 
“No, he left. He said he had to work.” Smart move Rhodes, he thought.
 
“Riley!” Pepper called, rounding the corner with Natalie at her side. Riley
recoiled behind Tony at the sight of the unfamiliar woman.
 
“Riley, this is Ms. Rushman.”
 
“Hi.” The six year old muttered, her hands wrapping around Tony’s leg.
 
Natalie smiled and kneeled to Riley’s level. “It’s nice to meet you Riley. Your
dad tells me your very smart.”
 
Riley shrugged, not responding.
 
“I was hoping that you would let me teach you some new stuff.” Still no
response.
 
“I heard you like language. Do you know how many I can speak?” Riley shook her
head.
 
“Ten. I would like to teach you all ten that I know.” Riley’s eyes had widened
in amazement.
 
“ Ten?!”  The six year old said incredulously. Natalie smiled and nodded.
 
Riley jumped, reaching her arms up at Tony. Her father picked her up.
 
“I like her.” She whispered loudly. Tony chuckled.
 
“You want her to teach you?” Riley nodded.
 
“Alright then, you’re hired.” Natalie smiled wider again, although it seemed
disingenuous.
 
“I have some contracts for you to look over, stipulations, wage…” Pepper rushed
the other redhead away, Riley waving at her new teacher as she walked off.
 
Tony felt a sense of resignation at this development, as if he was letting go
of something important.
 
His daughter watched him carefully. “Are you ok Daddy?”
 
He would miss her so much when he was gone.
 
“I’m good. Just missed you.”
 
“I was only gone for two and a half hours.” She gave him an incredulous look.
 
Tony snorted. “Felt like longer.”
 
“And lying is not very nice Daddy.”
 
“I never lie.”
 
“That’s another lie.”
 
Tony flicked her nose. “When did you become a human lie detector?”
 
“It was the ice cream.” she supplied, giggling a bit. Tony rolled his eyes, but
not in annoyance.
 
“We need to have a serious talk with your Uncle about your sugar intake.”
 
Riley looked affronted at this. “Sugar is healthy.”
 
“Sugar makes Daddy go nuts because you don’t sleep all night.” Riley scowled.
 
“You don’t sleep anyway.” she mumbled. Tony sighed.
 
“Well, I’ve got something new we can add onto the Roadster, you wanna see it?”
 
Riley shook her head. “Uncle Rhodey got me a new book. I wanna read that.”
 
Tony frowned. “Well alright.” The six year old shuffled away, picking up a book
she left on the counter.
 
He headed down to the workshop, wanting to distract himself before a thought
occurred to him.
 
That doctor had said that Riley would be apprehensive about certain areas in
the house, as that would have been where the abuse had taken place.
 
He smiled.
 
Some redecoration was in order.
 
                                     *****
 
“Something’s up with Stark.”
 
Natasha had not forgotten that display of sickness that the billionaire had
shown; it had set off an alarm in her.
 
“Almost fainted getting up. Blamed it on a head rush, but it seemed like more
than that.”
 
 Director Fury seemed to consider this, not responding right instantly.
 
“Maybe it was; he almost died five days ago.”
 
“This wasn’t that. Trust me, he looked like he was about to keel over.”
 
“Keep an eye on him, but focus on the kid.” Natasha rolled her eyes; what was
so special about this kid?
 
“Yes sir.” He hung up on her without a goodbye, as typical with him.
 
Clint, at least, had leave at the moment (broke his finger on a mission in
Kuwait; typical)  and was spending it with her. He was staying in the apartment
across from her own, although he often to choose to lounge on her couch.
 
“Kid can’t be that bad, is she?” he drawled, spinning an arrow around his
fingers. Natasha had been in a foul mood ever since being assigned to this
case.
 
“Waste of my time.” she snapped back. “I’m not a therapist and I don’t deal in
charity.”
 
Clint studied her. “You sure it’s not because she reminds you of you?”
 
“Shut up Clint. Or I’ll take your hearing aids out and watch you act like even
more of an idiot.”
 
The archer flicked her off. “You know I’m right.”
 
“ Shut up. ” With that, she retreated into her room.
 
She and that kid had  nothing  in common.
 
Riley had been born with the world at her feet, and Natasha had forced it to
come to its knees.
 
Yet lost blue eyes joined her nightmares that night, mixing in seamlessly with
the eyes of the other children.
 
                                    ******
 
“Okay, now don’t open your eyes. No cheating.”
 
Riley giggled, her eyes squeezed shut. “I won’t.”
 
Tony had spent almost all day in the garage, only leaving to purchase a few
things; he had been working on something all day for her. He just hoped it
would be worth it.
 
“Okay, now open.”
The walls of the garage had been repainted to a light blue, tools reorganized
into neat sections.
 
The Roadster was gone, replaced by a beat up 1962 Ferrari 250.
 
A little corner desk had been built next to Tony’s, bright pink with a sign
that said, in neon lettering,  Riley’s Workspace.
 
Riley walked over to the desk, a small smile on her face as she ran her hands
over the wood and picked up the books and tools available.
 
Tony had taken the liberty of purchasing a set of the finest colored pencils on
the market (Crayola was  garbage ) and several of Howard’s old history books
laid there as well. If his kid was going to have a well rounded education, it
would be the best.
 
“I love it!” Riley hugged him. “Thank you Daddy.”
 
“Anything for you kiddo.”
 
He wanted to make her last memories of him good, not sad. This would live on
past him, give her something to remember him by.
 
Tony wanted to make his last few weeks count, and he would be damned if he
spent it wallowing in self pity.
Chapter End Notes
     Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed, sorry that last chapter wasn't as up to
     par. Please leave your comments, I would love to hear from you guys!
     Have a wonderful day and thank you for reading!
***** Russian Red *****
Chapter Summary
     Natasha and Riley get some one on one time with each other.
Chapter Notes
     Translations:
     синяя птица полетела по небу= a blue bird flew across the sky
     и над темными лесами= and over a dark forest
     Хорошо= Good
     маленький паук=little spider
     маленькая мышь= little mouse
See the end of the chapter for more notes
“ синяя птица полетела по небу.” Natasha said, purposefully pronouncing each
syllable slowly for the young child. They had started their lessons a day after
she had been hired, spending long hours pouring over lessons in language,
history, and other core subjects.
 
“синяя птица полетела по небу.” Riley repeated perfectly, speaking as if she
were a native Russian herself.
 
Natasha, although she wouldn’t admit it, had been impressed with the girl so
far. Riley had shown incredible versatility in each of the subject areas
Natasha had brought to her. Spanish Riley had easily mastered yesterday, but
Natasha had wanted to see if the kid could master her mother language as well.
 
“и над темными лесами.” Natasha finished.
“и над темными лесами.” The child echoed. Riley was smiling at Natasha, knowing
she had performed well.
 
The woman kept her face neutral, and Riley’s smile faded.
 
“Хорошо.” Natasha pulled out a book from her bag. It was rather plain looking,
and looked too thin to be a textbook. The cover was worn and weathered, the
pages yellow. A black signature stood out against the yellow-white of the
cover.
 
“Translate this for me.” Riley took the book, her brow furrowing.
 
This was technically a highly classified file, but seeing as it as it was over
seventy years old and only had recently been cracked by a SHIELD coder and had
nothing particularly valuable in it, there was no real harm in showing a little
girl.
 
Riley was frantically scribbling on a sheet of paper, quickly reading the text
over.
 
“I think I got the first page. It’s very weird Russian though.”
 
“How so?”
 
Riley bit her lip, becoming timid. “Well, every third letter in every third
word was swapped with the sixth letter in every seventh word. At least I
think.”
 
“And what did it say?”
 
“The person who was writing was trying to keep the location of his-” Riley
looked at her notes again, “ ‘treasure cove’. Doesn’t say what that means
though, but he gives the location of where he put it.”
 
Natasha hated the kid more now; she was already privileged, why did  she  get
to have brilliance as well?
 
Instead of snapping at Riley, Natasha forced herself to smile at her. “Very
good.”
 
Natasha took the book and shoved it into her bag, her irritation at this
assignment growing by the minute; she was an  assassin , an agent, not a tutor
for some wealthy brat who had experienced some hardship in her life for once.
 
If she was being honest with herself though, Riley really wasn’t the source of
her frustration; the kid had made things easy enough for her, only speaking
when spoken to and asking few questions.
 
The admiration in her eyes when she looked at Natasha was really what scared
her;  no one  should ever look at her in that way.
 
What Natasha hated most of all though, was that Riley still had the innocence
of childhood within her; it was in her perfectly blue eyes and smile and in
every hug she gave her father.
 
A part of her envied that innocence.
 
Why did Riley get to keep it, but not her?
 
You have no place in the world, маленький паук
 
“Miss Rushman?” Inquired a cautious little voice.
 
“Yes?” she replied stiffly. It was almost time for her to go, three minutes and
sixteen seconds.
 
Riley flinched a little at her tone. “Do you like me?” she whispered, not
meeting her eyes.
 
If possible, Natasha’s heart hardened and softened at the same time.
 
“Yes, of course I do. Why would you think such a silly thing?”
 
The girls eyes narrowed. “You’re lying. Like you lied about your name being
Miss Rushman.”
 
Natasha was too shocked (and a bit too freaked out) to answer.
 
“Daddy lies too. He says he’s ok when he’s not.” Riley played with one of her
pigtails, fingers tugging the end strands.
 
“How do you know I’m lying?”
 
Riley shrugged. “I can feel it. You also spoke Russian differently than
Spanish, you seemed a bit more comfortable speaking it. And Rushman isn’t a
Russian name.”
 
Natasha leaned close to Riley, locking their eyes together.
 
“You listen to me, little Stark.” she growled. “You tell anyone, and I will
personally make sure that your father ships you away to boarding school because
no tutor can bear teach you.”
 
The girl didn’t seem intimidated, only sad. “You don’t scare me. Do you wanna
hurt Daddy?”
 
Natasha thought for a moment. “No. I’m just here to make sure everything is
alright.” It wasn’t technically a lie.
 
Riley nodded, her eyes sad. “I liked you. I thought you were cool. But you lie
like everyone else.”
 
0 minutes and 0 seconds. Natasha picked up her stuff and smirked at the kid.
“Everyone lies. Get used to it, маленькая мышь.”
 
Riley’s defeated gaze followed her out, and there was extra heaviness on
Natasha’s shoulders as they parted ways.
 
                                    ******
 
Riley had tried to make friends, she did.
 
Before, her father would take her to parties or to the park, where kids her age
were playing. They always looked like they had so much fun, laughing and
screaming in excitement. Riley yearned for that.
 
But children don't take kindly to someone who is different from them. And Riley
was  very  different.
 
Very few children ran numbers in their heads every second of the day, counting
each minute and second and storing in a section of their brain.
 
Very few children didn’t have their gut twist in an unpleasant way when someone
told a lie. One boy, Darryl, had tried to spin a story about how a pigeon had
eaten his friend Matt’s candy bar. Riley had informed Matt that his friend was
lying, and the two had called her a freak and walked away.
 
Riley couldn’t have friends because no one could understand her.
 
After Obadiah and the hurting, she felt even more out of place in the world.
 
Sometimes it felt like she had no place in the world.
 
A loud knock on the bathroom door interrupted her thoughts. “You ok in there
Riles?” her father shouted.
 
“Fine Daddy!” Quickly, she pulled the plug on the bathtub and watched the water
drain down the pipe.
 
A part of her wished to disappear along with it.
 
Tony was waiting for her outside, two cups of what looked to be hot chocolate
in his hand.
 
“Movie night?” he asked with a grin.
 
Movie nights meant he was going away the next day, but Riley smiled
nonetheless.
 
“Get changed into your PJ’s first kiddo, then we’ll watch a movie. Star Wars
sound ok?”
 
“Which one?”
 
“A New Hope...you haven’t even seen the rest sweet pea, why do you care?”
 
“I saw the prequels.”
 
Tony shuddered. “Thou shalt not speak of those prequels. Rhodey showed you?”
Riley nodded and the father rolled his eyes.
 
“Figures. Now go get dressed before the hot chocolate gets cold.”
 
In record time, Riley was downstairs with her hair combed and braided into
pigtails. She settled into Tony’s side, nestling her head on his lap and
curling up in a blanket.
 
“Don’t fall asleep on me sugar plum.”
 
Riley did fall asleep, right before Obi Wan was killed; Tony let her be,
knowing that she needed her rest. Something caught his eye though, and he
pulled up the back of her shirt a bit.
 
Scars, jagged white lines, ran across the bottom of her back. There was not an
inch of skin left on her skin that was unmarked.
 
“Jarvis.” Calm, he reminded himself. Calm. “What the  hell  are these?”  
 
“They appear to be scars from a knife Sir. Acquired over multiple occasions.”
 
“And why is it, that my top of the line, Artificial Intelligence  neglected  to
tell me about this?” The fury is his voice was barely contained.
 
“The lasserations are already healed Sir. I was only scanning for open wounds.”
 
Tony wanted to yell, scream, curse but the peaceful child in his lap shifted,
and he took a breath.
 
“Jarvis, from now on I want to take note of  any  changes to her body.”
 
“Yes Sir. I am-I regret deeply not having noticed them before. I’m sorry Sir.”
 
“It’s alright J. Call Coulson for me, will you?”
 
“Right away Sir.”
 
                                    ******
 
It was almost one in the morning, but Natasha couldn’t sleep.
 
Clint had gone as his finger had healed; he left with a tight hug and a word of
advice.
 
“Be nice to the kid Nat. I think you’re more alike than you’re allowing
yourself to realize.”
 
The assassin had shoved him out with an exasperated sigh, and calling his words
a load of bull.
 
But there was one mission that wouldn’t leave her mind.
 
Not a mission. An initiation.
 
The training section of the Red Room was expansive, filled with obstacles and
challenges for the young trainees.
 
It had been towards the end of her training, before her graduation.
 
She had been lead into a room, in which a black sack had been placed in the
center.
 
A gun was handed to her, and the Black Widow had shot through the cloth without
a second thought.
 
The sack had been opened however, revealing the small frail body of a child.
Bright, dead, blue eyes had followed Natasha out of the room and through her
recruitment into SHIELD.
 
It was one of the nightmares that wouldn’t leave her alone.
 
The child that she had killed, she found out later, was an orphan. No one would
miss her.
 
Natasha had found herself wishing sometimes that she had been the one in that
black sack. Her eyes had been so much like her own.
 
But now those eyes had been replaced with lost blue eyes of Stark’s daughter;
the brilliant child who could bring the world to kneel before her if she
desired.
 
Clint had been right.
 
Natasha saw too much of the wish to be dead, to disappear, in Riley’s eyes and
that terrified her more than anything else.
 
But damn her to hell if she would ever admit that.
Chapter End Notes
     Hey guys, hope you enjoyed reading! I had a lot of fun writing
     Natasha, and I hope I did her justice. Please leave your comments, I
     love hearing from you all!
     Have a WONDERFUL day and thank you for reading!
***** Daddy's Eyes *****
Chapter Summary
     Both Tony and Riley encounter their demons in Monaco.
Chapter Notes
     WARNING: This chapter contains molestation of a child. It's not
     graphic but just please be aware.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
There was not an imperfection on Tony. His suit and tie were perfectly pressed
to perfection. His hair was tamed, for once in his life, and his eyes…
 
They were fine. Sunglasses would cover them, mask the bags under his eyes, make
them disappear…
 
He couldn’t show any weakness, even if he felt like he was going to collapse at
any minute.
 
It was for Riley… he couldn’t show that he was decaying right in front of her
eyes… he had to give her the illusion of a healthy father. It was for the rest
of the world too. He was buying Riley time, protecting her by posturing in
front of Congress, letting the world know that his daughter was not easily
hurt…
 
Tony’s vision focused on Riley and Natalie in the back of the jet, the two of
them pouring over a book that the woman had procured. Riley was still reserved
around her tutor, but was learning more each session; the six year old had
started communicating in several different languages in the span of an hour,
the two of them chatting over the body parts of the 1962 Ferrari 250.
 
“Riley seems to be warming up to Natalie, don’t you think?” Pepper asked,
pushing down a stray hair. The newly appointed CEO looked regal, imposing but
still approachable in her blue polka dot dress.
 
The idea to promote Pepper had been something he had been mulling since he’d
found out about his… condition, but only had the guts to carry it out recently,
after the shit show that had been the Senate interrogation.
 
It wasn’t that he thought Pepper would do a bad job; he knew that she would
kick ass as the head of Stark Industries. Riley’s future was what he was
worried about. Whether or not she wanted to be CEO of the company or not in the
future, he wanted to ensure she had access to all the money she would ever
need.
 
Tony Stark was actually worrying about money.
 
The world was really going to shit.
 
The father had ensured that Riley could lay claim to the company whenever she
wanted (providing she was older the age of twenty one). Pepper had readily
agreed to this, signing the official contract giving her ownership of the
company without blinking (although Tony could swear she was holding her
breath).
 
“I guess.” There was something about the other redhead that unnerved him. Her
eyes were always watching him closely, intently. There was a certain coldness
about her that he didn’t like, a reserved nature. Riley seemed to like her
though; there was a hesitant admiration in her eyes everytime the girl looked
at her.
 
Pepper looked at him, worry creasing her eyes. “You ok?”
 
Riley smiled that cautious smile of hers as Natalie said something, and Tony’s
heart constricted.
 
“I’m good.”
 
                                     *****
 
Riley had never been out of the United States, and her father had deemed it fit
to take her with him to Monaco with him for a leisure trip. Natasha, as Riley
now called her tutor in private, had readily agreed to go with the family.
Riley would be able to practice her French and the spy would be able to keep an
eye on Tony.
 
The girl was still acting reserved around Natasha, and the spy felt a horrible,
unwanted, want for the child’s admiration once again. Riley had stopped
greeting her with tight hugs and a wide smile, and Natasha almost yearned for
that affection again.
 
“Do they only speak French in Monaco?” Riley had been reading Eric Selvigs’
papers (which Natasha had  not  stolen from the SHIELD database) but had grown
restless being kept in the jet for hours.
 
“No. Some people speak Italian, English and even a language called Monegsque.”
 
“Can you teach me it?”
 
Natasha flicked her nose and Riley giggled, despite her cautions about her
tutor. “You haven’t even learned French yet.”
 
“Je parie que je peux mieux parler français que toi.” Of course the girl
somehow already knew French. Natasha rolled her eyes and huffed.
 
“Petite merde.” she muttered, and Riley’s eyes widened.
 
“Daddy, Natalie said a bad word!”
 
                                    ******
 
After a brief reprimand from Pepper, the jet had landed shortly after in the
bright city. All of them were dressed to perfection. Riley was dressed in a
pale blue dress that Pepper had picked out, and Natasha (per a shy request from
the little girl) had French braided her unruly curly black hair.
 
Riley had kept a tight grip on her father’s hand the entire time, standing
silently next to him as he greeted business moguls in the dining room.
Everything had been fine, until a familiar voice had crept up behind her.
 
“Tony! Good to see you!” Ray Moore was the owner of Moore Medical Technology, a
highly successful developer of medical technology. The company provided new
arms to veterans and cutting edge treatments to children afflicted with
disease.
 
A good man he appeared to be, but Riley had seen who he really was.
 
He had dragged a knife against her back, had  touched  her even though she had
said no. The other men were a blur, and he had disappeared with the rest of
them until now. The pain came back to the surface, and she could swear a knife
was still dragging against her…
 
“Riles, you alright?” Her father was looking at her in worry. Moore was staring
at her, his eyes dark with threat and a smirk on his lips. “I gotta pee.”
 
The child fled from the two men, trying to catch her breath. Tony took a step
to follow her but a hand grasped his arm. “She’s probably just tired of being
cooped up on that jet for hours. I wouldn’t worry. See it all the time.”
 
Tony smiled, but the same paranoid feeling came over him as before. He was
about to say goodbye to Ray and go after her, but a sharp pain in his chest
drove those thoughts away, making him collapse.
 
“You alright?” Tony nodded, forcing a smile. “I’m fine just… ah, still
sore...see you later…” Tony stumbled away, tearing into the nearest bathroom.
 
He was fine, fine fine fine fine…
 
                                     *****
 
Riley cried quietly by herself in the bathroom stall, her sobs nearly silent to
the untrained ear. It was a skill she’d developed months ago. Obadiah had hated
it when she started crying loudly. There was always punishment if she did,
always…
 
“Riley? Is everything okay?”
 
It was  him.  Riley fell silent, biting her lip to keep the sobs from tumbling
out. Even the trembling of her body sounded too loud. A stall door crashed open
down the row from her loudly and she tried not to whimper.
 
“You looked a little scared, your father was very worried.”
 
Another door, closer to her.
 
“That was bad of you, little girl. And you know what happens when you’re bad.”
 
His voice was getting closer.
 
“You get punished.” Her door flew open, and Moore kneeled in front of her. A
finger drew slowly down the length of her face, and Riley whimpered.
 
“Oh sweetheart, I missed you…” A hand drew it’s way up her skirt and Riley
tried not to close her eyes. It would be worse if she closed them, it always
was…
 
“Riley? Are you in here?” Natasha!
 
Moore drew away, standing up. Her tutor came to the bathroom door and glared at
the man.
 
“What the  fuck  do you think you’re doing?” The woman spat, picking up Riley
in her arms. The child clung to the woman tightly, burying her face into her
neck.
 
“She seemed upset, I was just trying to help.” The woman’s glare did not relent
and the man shifted uncomfortably.
 
“ Get out.”  He scrambled out of the room. Natasha held her tightly, speaking
to her softly.
 
“You’re safe, маленькая мышь. He’s gone.”
 
“I w-want D-daddy.” The spy nodded, wiping the girls tears away. “Alright, I’ll
take you to him. But you need to stop crying, ok?” The child hiccuped. “Ok.”
 
Natasha set her down and grasped her hand tightly, the two of them walking back
into the dining room.
 
Stark and Potts were nowhere to be seen. Everyone was drawn to the televisions
in the room.
 
Iron Man was fighting on the racetrack, a man with electric whips thrashing
against the suit. He should’ve been here, Riley thought.
 
“I hate that suit.” Riley muttered.
 
                                    ******
 
Natasha had decided not to tell Stark about the encounter with Moore. After his
brash actions in Monaco, the spy did not trust the father to not kill Moore.
Riley was curled up against him, looking peaceful in her sleep.
 
Her father looked absolutely exhausted. There were severe bags under his eyes.
Defeat had settled into his figure, highlighting the lines in his face. He was
having an intense whispered conversation with Potts, the woman seeming to
finally give up. She stood up and walked into the restroom.
 
Stark held his daughter closer to him after she left, placing a kiss on her
head with the utmost gentleness.
 
He did love his daughter, Natasha didn’t doubt that. But she lacked in faith
his ability to watch over his daughter.
 
                                     *****
 
It had been a nightmare, at first.
 
Moore was whispering in her ear, the blunt edge of his knife dragging against
her. Obadiah was watching them from the corner of the hotel room, a smile on
his face.
 
“You feel that, how excited you make me sweetheart?” Something grinded against
her and she cried out in terror. She squirmed away and the knife sliced across
her skin.
 
Moore tsked at her. “You know better than that, sweetheart. I’m disappointed.”
 
Help help help help…
 
The room faded away, and the knife with the two men disappeared.
 
A golden room replaced it, and a man with black hair dressed in strange clothes
appeared before her.
 
He kneeled in front of her, his eyes widened in amazement. A hand came to
caress her face and Riley jumped back in fright.
 
“Oh dove...I won’t hurt you. I would never.” He looked so familiar and his gaze
was welcoming . There was warmth and affection in his eyes. Those eyes… they
reminded her of Daddy; he always looked at her like that.
 
“I know you…” she whispered. As if in a trance, her small hand touched his
face. A tear fell down his face.
 
“Don’t be sad.” Riley hated to see people cry. The man gave a watery chuckle.
He held her hand against his face and looked at her with love.
 
“I am happy, my dove. I’ve found you at last. My child.” He hugged her tightly,
and Riley didn’t pull away or feel scared. His embrace was warm.
 
“Who are you?” she asked. He drew away from her, his familiar eyes sad.
 
Riley woke up, but not screaming or crying; there was a smile on her face and
she felt safe.
 
The man had looked so familiar. She had trusted him instantly. And his eyes…
 
They looked so sad and lost.
 
Like her.
Chapter End Notes
     So sorry this took so long to update! I had two papers due this week
     in school and that killed any creativity I had. Who do you guys think
     the man in Riley's dream is? Leave your thoughts/predictions in the
     comments.
     I hope you have a wonderful day and thank you for reading!
     Translations (these are from Google Translate so please correct me if
     I'm wrong)
     Je parie que je peux mieux parler français que toi: I bet I can speak
     French better than you
     Petite merde: Little shit
     маленькая мышь: little mouse
***** Serpent *****
Chapter Summary
     Riley begins to doubt as Tony begins a downward spiral.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
The sad man was back again.
 
He was sitting in the corner of the golden room, reading a book. He didn’t see
Riley at first, engrossed in whatever he was reading. He was sitting at a
window seat and the sun shone through, illuminating the room.
 
Riley coughed slightly and the man looked up, his face softening in relief when
he saw her.
 
“Are you real?” she asked. The man gestured her to come closer, patting the
seat next to him at the window. The girl sat next to him, leaning against the
man slightly. Looking out the window, there was a wondrous sight; waterfalls
and lush green hills accompanied by golden palaces.
 
“Does this look real to you?” he asked softly.
 
“What is your name?” The man smiled at her affectionately and ran his fingers
through her hair, so much like the raven locks on his own head.
 
“I am Loki.”
 
“I’m Riley.”
 
Loki looked saddened by this.
 
“What is it? You’re making the face again.” Riley pouted at him and Loki
chuckled.
 
“Nothing dear one.” He picked up his book again and opened it to the beginning.
 
“Would you like to read with me?” Riley nodded, settling in his lap and leaning
back against him.
 
“What’s it about?” Loki smiled at her mischievously.
 
“Magic.”
 
Riley hadn’t had a nightmare since Loki had come to her a week ago. He would
read with her and would conjure up objects for her; one time it was a rose,
another a small green serpent made out of metal.
 
She had woken grasping both (very real) objects in her hands.
 
“Riley? Are you still with me?” Dr. Flores was sitting across from her, the
lines in her face pronounced with worry. Riley had started to see her regularly
not long after the incident in Monaco (at Rhodey’s insistence).  
 
“Yes.” Riley fiddled with the serpent in her fingers, and Dr. Flores looked at
the object in question.
 
“Where did you get that?”
 
“Loki gave it to me.” The woman smiled cautiously. “Right.”
 
Riley had only mentioned the mystery man twice now in their past couple
sessions; Riley was hesitant to offer any information on the man besides his
name, and Flores didn’t want to press. It was the least of the child’s
problems.
 
“Any nightmares recently?” Riley shook her head.
 
“I had one about a week ago but that was it.”
 
“Do you want to talk about it?”
 
Riley hesitated, gripping the serpent tightly in her hand. “I guess.” she
mumbled.
 
“What happened?”
 
Dr. Flores had really kind eyes; dark brown with smile lines surrounding them,
they were incredibly soothing. And strong.
 
“Obadiah and his friend they- his friend was cutting me and t...touching me. I
was really scared.”
 
Her psychiatrist nodded, encouraging her to go on.
 
“I started crying and...they hate it when I cry. I couldn’t move.”
 
 Riley’s breath was coming in short spurts, forcing its way out of her lungs
and rattling her body.
 
“Breathe Riley. You’re safe.”
 
Right. Riley looked into her doctors brown eyes and felt the soft sofa beneath
her. Safe.
 
“Who was this friend?”
 
“I-I can’t...he’ll hurt me-”
 
Dr. Flores shushed her. “That’s alright, you don’t have to tell me right now.
Did he come often?”
 
Riley nodded, holding the serpent tighter in her grasp.  “Yeah.”
 
The woman went on, offering comforting words of advice. Riley could hear none
of her words. She became lost in her own world, full of waterfalls and gold
palaces and sad men with blue eyes.
 
                                     *****
 
The pain was getting worse.
 
His vision had started swimming before him; people would mush together into one
distorted figure. The burning throughout his entire body made it difficult to
move at times.
 
That was alright, that was what the suit was for. It moved for him. He didn’t
even need to think anymore.
 
Tony took a sip of the putrid green drink. Ivan Vanko’s face stared back at
him.
 
Another victim of Howard's ambition, he supposed. Maybe in a different life he
would be a world renowned scientist.
 
“Sir, Lt. Colonel Rhodes has arrived.”
 
Rhodey, still in uniform, swept over Tony’s figure, taking in his pale face and
the unfocused look in his eyes.
 
“Tony? You still in there?” His best friend only chuckled, but no smile came
across his lips.
 
“Good question.” Tony stood and stumbled, clutching onto his best friends hand
for support.
 
“Can you-get me-” Tony gestured to the desk at the far end of the garage and
Rhodey had to basically carry him to it. Tony collapsed into a chair, quickly
swapping out the palladium core with a fresh one.
 
Rhodey studied the rust covered core with concern. “You had this in your body?”
Tony shrugged, not meeting his eyes.
 
“Listen Tony,” there was a sternness in his voice that Tony recognized, “ The
government has been on my ass all day; they wanna take your suits. I barely
convinced them not to come here with tanks and blow up your front door!”
 
He didn’t sound angry, just frustrated. “CPS is threatening to take Riles away
and Pepper and I-we can’t- what’s going on with you Tony?”
 
Tony opened his mouth, but Rhodey wasn’t done. “You keep acting like you have
to do this alone and it’s unnecessary; you’re not alone in this Tones.” He
gestures to the picture of Vanko glaring at Tony from the holoscreen.
 
“I know what I’m doing.” Tony grits out. He’s fine. Riley is taken care of,
what the fuck did CPS think he was doing?
 
“Really? Then why did you pull that stunt in Monaco Tony? You could’ve been
killed.”
 
“Wasn’t exactly planning on a maniac being there.”
 
Rhodey sighed. “Look Tones- it’s been hard lately, I know- but you need to get
your priorities straight. You go and do reckless shit like in Monaco, Riley
will be taken away in a heartbeat. CPS was turning a blind eye before because
you were saving the world, thousands of miles away, but now the danger’s at
your doorstep.”
 
His best friend grasped his shoulder firmly. There wasn’t any anger in his
eyes; just exhaustion and irritation. Rhodey grabs a picture frame sitting on
his desk and hands it to him.
“Whenever you need to talk to someone, I’m here alright?” Rhodey walked out
then, leaving Tony clutching the photo.
 
Riley was three, with Mickey Mouse ears and a big grin on her face. A line of
ice cream lined her upper lip. Probably from the ice cream sandwich she’d had
earlier that day. It had been three in the afternoon.
 
Had that really only been three years ago?
 
Riley’s smile was so different now. Less bright.
 
He would get that smile back though. The suit would help.
 
The suit would outlive him, and protect her. It would be  better  than he was.
 
He became lost in his work, his hands functioning for him. Building more suits
had become a second thought.
 
Don’t waste your life.
 
His life didn’t matter anymore.
 
                                     *****
 
“Nat, is Daddy going to be ok?”
 
“He will be. We’re figuring some stuff out, alright?”
 
Against Natasha’s own will, they had grown closer since the encounter with
Moore the week before. Riley was becoming dependent on Natasha’s strength, the
woman’s confidence and calm demeanor soothing her worries temporarily.
 
“It’ll all be fine in the end. Don’t worry.”
 
Riley still looked sullen. Her father had all but locked himself in the garage,
only coming out to talk to someone once a day. He no longer tucked her in and
he wasn’t in his room when she had nightmares and needed to sleep with him.
 
Natasha ruffled her hair and walked out, leaving Riley alone.
 
It was happening again.
 
Riley didn’t have anyone to talk to anymore, there was no one there for her-
 
The serpent grew colder in her hand and Riley remembered her new friend. He had
come before when she’d cried for help, maybe she could-
 
“Something the matter dove?”
 
Loki was dressed in normal clothes now, a black suit with a green scarf around
his neck. Riley tugged on it, feeling the soft material.
 
“You’re real!” Little arms hugged his legs, and the man stumbled.
 
“Of course I am. I heard you call for help, is something wrong?” Tears welled
up in her eyes and a little sob left her lips.
 
“I’m scared.” she admitted, whispering the words as if they were forbidden. She
was trembling violently, and Loki picked her up and held her tightly against
his chest.
 
“Why are you scared love?” Loki sat them down on Riley’s bed, only slightly
wincing at the bright pink sheets.
 
“Daddy he… he doesn’t even notice me anymore. He doesn’t love me. The suit is
more important to him...he’s gone all over again.” The girl murmured her
confession into his neck, tears soaking his collar.
 
Loki sighed, anger stiffening his body. “He is not your father, little one. I
should have put an end to this sooner; I did not realize how neglectful humans
were of the young.”
 
Riley sniffled, looking at him oddly. “What...I don’t understand…”
 
He wiped her tears away with a sad smile. “I lost you a long time ago, when you
were barely a day old. I have never stopped looking for you. Every realm, every
corner of the world I searched for you, my daughter.”
 
Riley’s heart stopped. Loki was her-
 
Her gut didn’t twist in the familiar way whenever someone lied to her, which
terrified her even more.
 
“H-how did you-how did you find me?”
 
“I heard your cry for help in your dreams. I didn’t know it was you at first
but…” he paused, his lips drawn in a tight line. “...I felt such profound pain,
I could not ignore it.”
 
That wasn’t a lie either. Loki seemed to notice her uneasiness and smiled at
her softly.
 
“I know this must be overwhelming to you.”
 
Riley nodded, her eyes round. He couldn’t help chuckling a bit at her
expression.
 
“But if you would like, you can come with me. To my home.”
 
Golden palaces, flowers always in full bloom… the place he called Asgard. It
was everything Riley could have wanted in one place. It was perfection.
 
But still…
 
Her father. He was in so much pain…
 
“I can’t leave Daddy. He’ll be too sad if I leave.” Loki looked disappointed.
 
“No need for a decision now. Think about it. You will never doubt your safety
or my love for you if you come with me, dove. Remember that.”
 
With a tender kiss to her forehead, he disappeared, leaving Riley alone on her
bed.
 
So Daddy wasn’t… he lied to her?
 
It wouldn’t have been the first time. In fact, he almost never told her
anything now, choosing to keep to himself and hiding in his shop. He hardly
told her he loved her anymore….
 
No-just she couldn’t- no. Her  dad  loved her. Of course he did. He was just in
a lot of pain.
 
Riley tucked herself beneath the sheets, her eyes drooping closed.


Secretly, a part of herself wished to travel back to the heavenly land.
 
You will never doubt your safety or my love for you.


Still...
Chapter End Notes
     DUN DUN DUN
     Well, well...look who it is. Everyone's a dad in this fic apparently
     XD.
     Just a little warning, I might not post next week because I have a
     ton of stuff going on in school (tests, registering for college, all
     that fun stuff). I will try and post though!
     I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and please leave your thoughts
     in the comments, I love to hear from you guys!
     Have a WONDERFUL day! :)
***** Stay, I Pray You *****
Chapter Summary
     Tony's birthday party goes horribly wrong, leaving Riley with a
     choice
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
There was a mess of colored pencils and markers surrounding Riley, whose brow
was drawn in with concentration. The paper in front of her was folded into a
card, and on the front it read “Happy Birthday!” in neat cursive.
 
She hoped Daddy would like and hang it on his wall in the garage.
 
Loki had come back to visit several times, each time asking if she had changed
her mind. And every time she had still answered no.
 
But it was getting harder to get that word to slip between her lips.
 
Tony had only become more of a recluse, only occasionally speaking to others
through the phone. When Riley would come in, he would greet her with a kiss;
but that was all she would receive before he was drawn back into his work. She
no longer could help him with his suits or other projects anymore.
 
His face was always pale, with strange lines running across his neck. He was
constantly clutching at his chest (at least when he thought no one was looking)
and the wrinkles in his face were constantly drawn in pain.
 
Riley was worried about him, but he  always  lied to her.
 
Loki never lied to her.
 
Loki tucked her in at night, kissed her head, kept Obadiah, Moore and the
others far away from her mind.
 
He kept her safe.
 
He kept his promises.
 
Riley paused, the red marker she had been using to draw a heart with bleeding
into the paper.
 
Daddy never kept his promises anymore.
 
A soft knock on her door interrupted her thoughts. Uncle Rhodey stood in her
doorway, a small smile on his face.
 
“You ready for the party kiddo?” Riley shrugged; parties meant lots of people,
and people made her nervous. Really, she just wanted to give Tony his card and
ask him about...herself.
 
“Uncle Rhodey, do you know who my mom is?” Her uncle looked momentarily shocked
before collecting himself. He sat down next to her the floor.
 
“No, I don’t. Why do you ask?” Riley hesitated before thinking of an excuse.
 
“I see other kids with their mom all the time.” Rhodey sighed and tried draping
an arm around her. Riley flinches on instinct and he lowers his arm, trying not
to let his disappointment show.
 
“Look Riles...your mom left you on your dad’s doorstep. You were about a day
old. No one knows who she is or why she left you.”
 
“Then how did he even know he was my father?” Her tone comes out harsher than
she intended and Rhodey stared at her for a moment before answering.
 
“He had Jarvis run a DNA test on you, and he’s hardly ever wrong kiddo.”
 
Riley nodded, not accepting his explanation. Rhodey stood and offered his hand.
 
“Now c’mon, you want to give that card to your dad right?” Riley smiled
brightly and nodded, running out of her room. He would love the card-he had to-
she needed him to.
 
She just wanted him to acknowledge her.
 
                                    ******
 
Tony was pleasantly numb, the constant pain eliminated by alcohol he’d consumed
in the past two (?) hours. Faces were blurs to him, and his words started to
slur. Several women came up to him with lustful eyes, but he rebuffed them all;
he wasn’t interested in any of them.
 
“Pepsi!” he crowed, slinging an arm around Pepper. Who looked ravishing in her
dress, and her hair...so pretty…
 
“How much have you had to drink Tony?” He shrugged, taking another drink of
whatever was in his hands. Pepper sighed in exasperation and made a gesture to
someone.
 
“You’ve had way too much already. You need to lay down.” Rhodey came over then,
taking away Tony’s drink and supporting his ailing friend.
 
“M’fine.” he mumbled, breaking free of his two friends and grabbing another
drink. He stumbled over something-someone- and his drink went everywhere.
 
“Hey, sorry I-”
 
Riley stood there, her dress now soaking wet and the card in her hand damp.
Tears were falling down her cheeks rapidly and her bottom lip was trembling.
Tony was absolutely horrified at himself, god what had he done…
 
The child ran out of the room, leaving a speechless Tony. The part continued on
as normal, but the host felt like his world had just been taken away from him.
He crumbled, and he was caught by Rhodey.
 
“She hates me…’m jus like Howard…” Distantly, he heard Pepper ushering everyone
out. Rhodey only tightened his grip.
 
Rhodey was good. He was better than Tony. “Gonna give you a suit-you deserve
it-you’re better than me I’m stupid...no good…” The other man shushed him,
settling Tony down on his bed. When had they gotten to his room?
 
“None of that Tones. We’re gonna sober you up, you’re gonna go apologize to
your daughter, and then you’re gonna tell me what the fuck is going on with
you.” The smell of coffee filled his nostrils and the sound of a shower in the
background.
 
Fuck, he had really screwed up.
 
                                    ******
 
Riley sobbed into her pillow, her tears soaking the sheets. It was getting a
bit hard to breathe, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop. This was the only
way to get this pain, the horrible pain, out of her. It was unbearable.
 
A knock at her door. “ Solnyshko? It’s me.” Natasha opened the door, still in a
tight party dress. She was holding a glass of milk and container of Oreos. The
woman smiled at her cautiously, sitting down on the bed next to Riley.
 
“Is this ok? Do you want me to move?” Riley shook her head, pulling the woman
closer. Natasha placed the cookies and milk on the nightstand and wrapped her
arms around the girl.
 
“He...he didn’t even know who I was.” Riley sobbed, soaking Natasha’s dress
with her tears. She ran her hands through the girls’ hair softly.
 
“Your father Riley...he’s in a lot of pain right now. I think he was just
trying to forget about it.”
 
Riley looked up at her in horror. “I’m causing him pain? He wanted to forget
me?”
 
“No, no that’s not-” This was  not  part of Natasha’s job. Letting herself be
devoid of emotion for so long had repercussions, and not just for herself. It
was frustrating; she wanted to comfort Riley, wanted to be there for her.
 
She just didn’t know how to do that. That would mean allowing herself to feel
the same things as the girl, and she didn’t know if she was able to handle
that. It had been so long...
 
“Riley? Honey? Can we talk for a minute?” There was no slur in Tony’s voice,
and he sounded clear headed (mostly anyway). Riley flinched at the sound of his
voice and Natasha wrapped a protective arm around her.
 
“I can tell him you’re asleep. He’ll leave you alone.” Riley sniffled and shook
her head.
 
“It’s ok. He can come in.” Natasha didn’t look too happy with this, but nodded
anyway.
 
“I’ll be right down the hall if you change your mind, ok?” Riley nodded her
understanding, wiping away her tears. Natasha squeezed her shoulder before
standing, opening the door.
 
Tony stood there in sweatpants and a sleeveless shirt. There were dark circles
under his eyes and his face looked gaunt. He looked like a wreck. Natasha gave
him a warning glare before stepping out of the room.
 
“Riles...I’m…” He didn’t know what to say, if words were even enough. He sat on
the bed next to her, and she scooted away from him. Something in him broke.
 
“I am so  sorry  sweetheart. I just-there’s-I messed up, ok? I can’t tell you
how sorry I am, I never should have done that to you. Any of it. I’m sorry I
shut you out, I’m sorry that Iron Man started to come before you.  Nothing
comes before you. Never again, ok? I promise.”
 
Riley only looked at him. Her eyes looked far too old and tired for a child.
 
“You’re lying.”
 
She turned her back to him, lying down on her bed and pulling the covers over
herself. Tony felt himself being ripped apart, down to a molecular level. The
burn from toxic leftovers in his blood could not compare to this-this- wasn’t
anything like he’d ever felt before.
 
“I’ll prove it to you. I’ll...I’ll make it right. Just believe in me. Please.”
 
No response. Trembling, Tony brushed her hair back and placed a kiss on her
forehead.
 
“It’s you and me kiddo. I love you.” He left quietly, shutting the door
silently.
 
Riley clutched the serpent in her hand, calling out in her mind for Loki. He
appeared in an instant, although now he was wearing the strange green and gold
clothing he had worn the first time she saw him.
 
He opened his arms and Riley fell into them, settling into the familiar warmth
of his body. She didn’t cry, just allowed herself to take a deep breath.
 
“I can’t…” Loki kneeled in front of her, taking her hands into his own.
 
“Darling, are you ready to come with me?”
 
Riley took a breath.
Chapter End Notes
     Please don't hate me I'm sorry. It physically pained me to write this
     chapter but it needed to be done.
     What choice do you think Riley will make? If you think she should
     stay or go, leave a reason why. Curious to hear everybody's thoughts
     :).
     I hope you enjoyed the chapter and have a MARVELOUS day! (see the
     pun, appreciate the pun).
End Notes
     Hi guys! Hope you enjoyed the fist chapter! This is my first work on
     here so please be gentle in the comments, I know I'm not that
     fantastic of a writer. Let me know if you want to see more, I want to
     know if this is worth pursuing or not :) I already have the first
     five chapters written so just let me know! xoxo
Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed
their work!