Parasite *•.¸♡ 𝙏𝙤𝙣𝙮 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙠'𝙨 𝘿𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧 ♡¸.•*

Worth

"Are you alright, Ariana?" Tony asks as soon as he finds her sitting with Sam and Clint. The men share a glance at each other before looking at her for an answer. She has been staring off into space ever since she let the fact sink in that Tony is going to trade her off. Ariana doesn't want to talk to him. He's just like the others. Using her body for his benefit. She was foolish to think otherwise.

Lowering to meet her gaze, Tony murmurs, "you're safe, little bug. He won't hurt you any more. I promise. He's locked up now and I won't let him lay a hand on you, got it?"

"But... what about the deal?" Ariana mutters, tears beginning to blur her vision.

"What deal?"

"I thought-" she takes a breath- "I thought you were taking him to make a deal in private..."

Finally understanding what she's alluding to, Tony lets his face scrunch up in distaste. "Nothing could be of more worth to me than you." He says it with such honesty and determination, it makes her want to cry.

"Besides, you're not an object up for sale. You're a precious human being that deserves the entire universe," Tony states with determination. He's not sure where all of this sappy crap is coming from, but he does truly mean every word he says.

Clint and Sam are surprised that Tony is actually opening up about his thoughts. He usually hides behind a wall of sarcasm and witty comments to survive. Yet when it comes to Ariana, it's as if he is changing for the better. Not like they're complaining. Maybe a daughter was all Tony needed to finally come down to reality. To finally make him feel as though he doesn't have to keep up the arrogant, annoying asshole act all the time.

All of them are surprised when Ariana jumps up from the sofa and crashes into Tony, wrapping onto him tight. At first, Tony freezes. When he gets his bearings back, his face contorts into a sad smile as he wraps his arms around his daughter.

Tony lets her sob into his designer suit—probably effectively ruining it, but he could care less. He runs a gentle hand through her hair as he murmurs words of encouragement.

He looks up from her shoulder and sees Pepper approaching them with his drink. She can't believe someone from Ariana's past was here. It pains her heart to know that her baby girl had to see such a pathetic excuse of a man again.

Tony sends her a smile that looks more like a grimace, trying to tell Pepper that everything is okay—but it's not. It's not okay that his little girl had to endure such hardships and get free only to have to see her abuser at one of his events. He let this happen.

"I'm so sorry, Ari," Tony mumbles, tears threatening to make an appearance. He's glad that the rest of the Avengers had cleared the floor. He can't show emotion and weakness in front of the prying public eyes. It's bad enough that he's being vulnerable in front of his team.

Ariana shakes her head into his suit. How can he be sorry? What could he possibly be apologising for? If anything, she should be apologising for ruining their night. "But you didn't sell me. Thank you, thanks so much," she whimpers out, clutching onto him tighter.

No words can express the anguish that those words cause. Yet again he had done the bare minimum only to get praised as if he moved the mountains.

"I could never; I would never." Tony takes a deep breath. "Ariana—look at me—you are so important to me and everyone else in this room. We all care about you so much, okay? You're worth more than anything anyone could offer."

Ariana looks around the room and sees that most people seem to agree with Tony's statement. She lowers her head, not wanting them to see the tears welling back up in her eyes. She can't help but become emotional. These people are so amazing. How can they be so kind, caring, and attentive? She doesn't deserve all of the fuss. She's not worth it.