[2] An Executioner's Requiem | Leo Fitz

48

"So do compliments," Tony said as he reached out and rested his hand on the top of her head, "but that doesn't stop me from letting you know how great you are."

"Stop," Nina cringed, breaking their eye contact before speaking with a mellow voice, "I really tried not to be a PR mess, I just got so mad and-"

"Don't apologise," Tony cut her off, knowing where she was going with her words, "you are allowed to get mad and have emotions that aren't positive, worrying about the media is my job not yours, so just focusing on living like a teenager and leave the middle age men with nothing better to do than harass a 14 year old to me."

"Are you telling me to break more noses?" Nina asked with a cock of her head.

"Absolutely not," the billionaire exclaimed, "just be more worried about your punishment than the media."

"Punishment?"

"You're grounded," Tony stated and Nina shrugged, not finding the punishment too bad before he added, "and until you're allowed back in school, you'll be coming to Stark Industries with me... too work with the IT department."

"Wait no, please," she whined, sinking into the couch, "if I have to listen to one more techie who thinks binary deserves it's own section in comedy, I can't guarantee I won't do a swan dive out the window."

"You'll be fine."

"I won't."

"Yeah you will, now come here," Tony said before opening up his arms. Nina looked at them for a moment before angling her body and falling into his chest, leading with her back. Once she was leaned against him, he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tightly, "I have a question."

"Last time you led with that, I found out my mother had remarried and I had a stepbrother," Nina muttered, "that reminds me, I need to call Amadeus back."

"You said you dodged all their attacks," Tony stated, ignoring the mention of her brother. Nina craned her head up, looking at him confused for a moment before nodding, "then how did you get those injuries on your face?"

Nina tensed immediately when he asked and before he could retract the question, she answered, "I froze."

"Why? You never freeze."

"When I... I felt her nose break under my fist, I wasn't mad anymore, I was happy. I liked knowing that I'd caused her pain and when I realised that I freaked out and froze," Nina answered honestly because lying to Tony was always so hard, "they used that moment of stillness to hit me back, they probably would have done more if the principal had not been called."

"Nina..." Tony said not knowing how to respond.

Nina may be a teenager who could assemble and disassemble a gun faster than soldiers, one that had a knife on display in her room, one that underwent self defence classes every week, was well versed in various forms of martial arts and incredibly destructive but she wasn't violent.

She was never the kind of person who wanted to lead with her fists, so hearing that a part of her enjoyed hurting somebody else scared and worried Tony. He questioned whether it was his fault, had he done or said something for her to feel that way, had he raised her wrong. Had he messed up like his father had messed up with him?

"Can you promise me something?"

"Anything?" Tony said immediately, his destructive thoughts disappearing at the sound of her voice.

"Promise you won't let me become someone who enjoys other people's pain," she whispered out, eyes growing teary, "promise you won't let me hurt someone I love."