afterglow - tony stark

04

           "Take us to the hospital, please, Happy," Pepper said; she thought Tony needed a more extensive examination other than the quick check up overseas.

            "No," Tony denied.

            "No? Tony, you have to go to the hospital," Pepper argued. "Plus, we don't even know what she's been through."

            "No is a complete answer," Tony said as he looked down at Snow who clung to his arm and he got an idea in his head.

             "The doctor has to look at you both."

         "I don't have to do anything. I've been in captivity for three months. There are three things I want to do. I want an American cheeseburger, we need to go to a garden center..."

            "A garden center?" Pepper asked in confusion but Snow's eyes lit up with excitement.

             "And the other..." Tony started but Pepper cut him off because she thought he wanted something dirty.

           "That's enough of that."

          "...is not what you think. I want you to call for a press conference now."

         "Call for a press conference?" Pepper was so confused; all of this was so unlike Tony.

           "Yeah."

         "What on Earth for?"

          "Happy, drive. Cheeseburger first then a garden center."

            _____

          Snow found that she really liked cheeseburgers as she stuffed bites into her mouth. She smiled with her mouth completely full, "It's really good."

             Tony couldn't help but smile; it was like she'd forgotten how to eat. Her cheeks were puffed out like a chipmunk and he felt his chest grow warm with adoration.

           "Okay, you look really adorable but...small bites," he said gently as he took a napkin and wiped the ketchup from the corner of her lip which made her blush from embarrassment but also the fact that he called her adorable. He was also really close and she could notice all the specks of brown in his eyes.

         She chewed slowly and swallowed before she smiled apologetically, "Sorry."

           Pepper looked between the two of them in the limo from the seat across from them. She was on the phone scheduling the press conference but it wasn't hard to miss that Tony never once took his eyes off of her like he'd fall to pieces if she left his sight.

           She shook her head a little bit in amusement. She realized that, for the first time, Tony Stark was completely hypnotized by a girl instead of the other way around with his millions of fan girls.

            Finally, they arrived at a garden center once they finished eating and Tony held his hand out to Snow, "Come on, Daisy Train."

          She grabbed it and let him help her out of the car. But as soon as she saw all the flowers in the garden center, she ran forward excitedly and he was unexpectedly tugged along behind her.

             When she got to the entrance, she let go of his hand as she stepped forward in amazement. There were so many flowers and so much green. She looked up at all the flower vines as she turned in a complete circle before she stared back at Tony with a mega-watt smile, "Flowers."

            "Wow," Tony stared at that beautiful, toothed smile and how lively she looked. "We should've definitely come here first."

           She took Tony down the aisles as Pepper and Happy caught up. It took her awhile to go through them all but she wouldn't give up the flower pot she held that contained orange marigolds.

          She stared at the other colors of marigolds, reaching out for the red ones as she softly caressed her fingers over the petals. Her face showed a dilemma as she stared down at the orange ones in her hand that she also wanted.

               "Hey, you don't have to pick just one," Tony said before he gestured to the flowers and called out. "We need this whole section. Someone get me this whole section. Pepper."

"I will...get that whole section," Pepper gazed at all the flowers pots they were going to be getting before she walked off to buy them all.

Tony looked at the red marigolds before he picked one flower off with a small stem, "You know, you don't need to carry them all the time..."

Tony placed the flower in her hair behind her ear carefully before he smiled at her, "See. Beautiful."

Snow blushed as red as the flower he placed her hair. She felt a fluttering in her stomach as his eyes seemed to search her face (for what, she didn't know).

But Pepper came back, "Okay, this whole section is paid for. We're going to have a lot of flowers in the trunk."

Tony stepped back from Snow before he looked at the flowers, "We'll just get as much as we can carry. Happy."

"On it, boss."

They all came out with flower pots loaded in their arms. They put them in the trunk but she kept the red marigold pot. She decided she liked the color better since Tony placed the flower in her hair.

This time, in the car, she didn't clutch to Tony's arm. She clutched her flower pot.

Eventually, they pulled up outside Stark Industries where the press was all lined up. Snow peeked out the window at all the clamoring people and she felt claustrophobic.

She looked at Tony in fright, "I don't want to go."

"Hey, they're nothing to be afraid of," Tony comforted. "They're a bit like vultures but harmless."

She looked back out the window, still afraid, and she shook her head, "I don't want to go."

"Okay, you don't have to go," Tony reassured. "Pepper can wait in the car with you. But if you go, we'll have Happy with us and he won't tell you but...he's pretty much invincible. He'll keep all the bad people away."

"He will?"

"He will," Tony confirmed. "And so will I. I'm not going to let anything hurt you again."

She took one hand off her flower pot before reaching for his, "Okay."

"Okay?" he smiled and she nodded before he opened the car door. He pulled her along with him through the crowd that was asking so many questions including who she was.

She didn't have a clue. They even ran her prints back at the military base overseas but nothing popped up. She was a ghost.

Tony escorted her through the crowd and Happy was in front of them both, clearing a path. Then they were greeted by an older man, Obadiah Stane.

As soon as she saw him, she nearly halted completely. Fear had nearly paralyzed her and goosebumps formed; she didn't understand where it was coming from. She'd never seen the man before. At least, she thought.