the strongest avenger

twenty four

"Stop! Stop! Pull over—Jesus God I'm going to die today!" Tony Stark says as he braces himself on the dashboard.

"Shut up, I'm concentrating!" Talia yells.

Her hands are gripped tight around the steering wheel of the Lexus, her blue eyes are wide as they make their way down to Tony's favorite shawarma place.

"I thought you did good in driving school! You passed, you have a permit!"

"Thanks for the reminder dad!"

She takes a deep breath as she pulls into the parking garage. Luckily, it's relatively empty so she can easily pull into a spot.

Just as she parks, Tony unbuckles and jumps out of the car.

"I'm not that bad."

"Uh huh. Come on Squirt I'm starving."

"Stop calling me that." She says as she runs to catch up with her father.

"I've always called you that."

"It's annoying, dude."

"You're annoying." Tony says while looking down at her.

Talia punches him in the arm. They make their way down the block, sweating in the summer sun.

"I got you a job." Tony says as he holds the door open for her.

"I—what? Why?"

He stays silent as they make their way to the counter.

"You want your usual?"

"Uh yeah. Answer my question."

He holds up his index finger and she crosses her arms while she waits for him to order. When he finishes, they head to a small, two person table.

"Why'd you get me a job, Tony?"

The man rolls his eyes at her. "Don't Tony me. I hate when you do that."

"Then stop avoiding the question." She quirks an eyebrow.

"I got you a job for the next two months at that deli you and Parker like."

"Delmar's?"

"Yes."

"Okay, well that's not bad I guess."

"I figured you need something to get you out of the Tower for the rest of summer. You can't train all day."

"Pfft. When do I start?"

"Monday. 9 am."

"Okay."

Talia continues to eat her food, not noticing the way that Tony observes her.

"Something's been bothering you," He asserts. "What is it?"

Talia looks up at him, but breaks his gaze, looking out the window. "I miss everyone, it's gotten easier but—it's just hard I guess. You and Pepper are always on trips and Wanda and Nat are...somewhere in the world."

"I know kid. I really do, it's weird without them. I was uh-well I've been thinking."

"Well that's not good."

"Oh hush. I was thinking that we should move to the Compound full time."

"The Compound?"

"Remember I said I was building a new facility, a facility that's specifically made for the Avengers? That Compound."

"Okay...but that's Upstate right? You wanna move me to Upstate New York? I don't want to leave Midtown."

"You don't have too. The move is happening around November, by then you'll have your license, you can drive yourself."