OUR BELOVED ASSASSIN // t.s daughter ((1))

16

"What did I do?" Tony mutters to himself. "What did I do? What I do!"

Since Hermione was stolen away, Tony cannot sit still and get calm. Every second, every minute he thinks about what happened as he paces here and there in his lab room in the headquarter. All thoughts that run in his mind just makes him more miserable. He knows he should protect her. He knows he should fight for her. He shouldn't let the boy pinned him down and take Hermione away so easily. But now look what happens?

"Calm down, Tony," Bruce speaks while watching his friend walking back and forth, sitting down only a second and then gets back up only to continue pacing miserably. "Come here, take a seat," he would offer.

But Tony can't.

Hermione's grave look haunts him. He still sees the way his daughter locked eyes with him when she tells about her history. There were so many emotion like anger and upset and she couldn't control neither of them.

He has seen how Hermione acted when they first had a talk in her ward room but he's still having a hard time to believe that Helen is changed, that the person who was yelling at him, telling him what happened to her when she was young when he wasn't there is Hermione. He can't digest the differences between those two girls because for him Hermione is still Helen. And Helen is his daughter.

The girl didn't look surprise when a group teenage boys came and took her away. She didn't protest because Tony figures that Hermione knew who came for her. But she didn't look relieved either, that's what confused him. And she looked disappointed. It makes him mad at Natasha and Fury and Steve for didn't stopping them. He is mad at himself too for not fighting for Hermione.

Tony sighs here and there. When he stops moving, he would stare into spaces with red and watery eyes. His whole face and ears turn so red, that Bruce knows, because he's holding back his tears. Although he never seen Tony acting like one before but it melts his heart.

"Come on, Tony, take a seat," Bruce offers softly, tapping the empty stool beside him. Paper works are all over the place but they're not in their concern at the moment. "Let's talk what happened."

Tony's mind was thinking of something else.

"No...," Tony mumbles under his breath as he sighs and shakes his head in his palms.

"Um," Bruce hesitates, "if you don't want to talk about it-"

"It's not that," Tony cuts in before pausing and zoning out again. After a few seconds he sighs. "Helen...," he says as he takes a seat beside Bruce. "Someone stole her from us."

"From us? Or from you?" Bruce tries to joke, only receives an unsatisfying glare from Tony.

He raises his hands up in surrender. "Sorry. Didn't mean to mean it that way," he applogises.

Tony rolls his eyes, turning his face to the front. "Whatever," he says in annoyance.

"So who took her?" Bruce asks as an encouragement.

"The one she works for," Tony answers quickly and shortly, didn't have to think for long about the answer because he knew.

"Oh," Bruce responses. "Hey, I am not denying you or saying that you're wrong but whoever took her away is doing what they should do," the four-eyed man tells Tony with honesty. "I mean, we cannot say that they kidnapped Hermione-"

"Helen," Tony quickly corrects his friend.

"Sorry." Bruce clears his throat. "We cannot say that they kidnapped Helen or that they're wrong for doing it because Helen works for them. Helen is theirs so we can't blame them."

"But Helen is my daughter," Tony emphasises. "So they took her from me."

"Look, do you think they care?" Bruce asks logically. "I am guessing 100 percent of them are orphans. They do not have a mother, father or anyone they think love them. So whoever they're surrounded with right now is their priority whether they really care or not."

Tony shakes his head. "They can't do that to me."

"What?"

"I am Tony Stark. They cannot take away what's mine. They cannot do whatever they wanted to do without my agreement."

"Just like I said, Tony, they didn't care," Bruce can only repeat what he said. "And you heard yourself that she hates you."

"She said she hates to see my face."

Bruce shrugs. "Still," he replies. "That means she hates you and she doesn't want to see you."

Tony frowns out of disagreement. "No." He shakes his head. "She only hates to see my face but she may be feeling something towards me. I am her Dad after all."

"That's not what I see."

"Hey!" Tony almost yells to his friend. "You don't know what happened, okay?! Don't pretend like you do."

"Explain," Bruce pronounces.

Tony looks long at Bruce before replying, "It would be hard for you to understand because you didn't know a single thing-"

"I didn't mean me. Her," tells Bruce. "Explain to her so that she'll understand. Look, in her life she didn't see you when she needs you, correct?"

Tony nods.

"She's angry at you because she thought you didn't care for her. Hey, I seriously didn't know what happened between you two, all right, but from what you told me what happened the past weeks -- and what I heard from Steve and Nat -- I can guess what's going on. And I didn't blame her for choosing to be an assassin."

"So you're saying it's my fault?"

"What, no!" Bruce quickly answers. "I don't know what else to say to you. Just... Go explain to her, Stark. She deserves an explanation. Plus, she's your daughter after all."

The conversation makes Tony realises something. To admit Bruce was right was kind of hard for Tony but it gives Tony a wide range of view about his and his daughter's relationship. No matter what, he wants to fix this.

In an instant, Tony acts. He stands up and heads towards the door, creeping through the hallway when most of the agents are taking their break time. He knows if he continues sitting there and complaining, he won't get his daughter back. Thus, he must act.

•

I had a talk with my friend, who also writes. There was one time, while we were talking, she asked me if I wasn't afraid if people would steal my ideas/stories since I post them free without official rules on Wattpad.

And it occured to me...

Guys, you who are reading this, I need your help. If you find any books either on Wattpad or any website that have similar story with mine, or copied mine, do tell me. I'm fine with other writers got inspired by my writings but stealing is totally a no-no.

Thank you, guys! And I really do hope you enjoy reading this book. I've finished writing it though! Haha.

Dedicating this to @GhostCastle16!