KILL YOUR DARLINGS [T.STARK]

iv. is there somewhere

K I L L    Y O U R    D A R L I N G S

iv. is there somewhere
chapter four.

1991.

SOMETHING ABOUT LEAVING WITH TONY STARK FELT LIBERATING, IN A TWISTED KIND OF WAY. She had seen most of the world, that was for certain, but only the world her father put her in, the only world that was familiar to her — cities like Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, Paris, London, Amsterdam — never for her own pleasure, always tangled within the complications and challenges she faced as a woman of color in the business world. Going with him, a man who had the world lying in the palm of his hand, everything his heart could ever even desire at his fingertips, was like her goodbye. A kiss to her past that had clawed itself stuck within her mind.

     "Earth to Moon," Tony jokingly stated in a voice that resembled the ones heard on the television, waving his hand in front of her face to catch her attention. She blinked owlishly, an effortless smile spreading across her features as she forced her thoughts away.

      "Witty, I've never heard that one before." There was a hint of sarcasm in her words that Tony more than appreciated, as if he had finally penetrated through the facade she put up for the world. However, there was a tension lingering in the air between them. She was anxiously awaiting the breakdown she was convinced she would have, but somehow she could merely stare curiously at the man sitting before her, his presence offering comfort more than anything. His eyes were focused on her every move. Almost as if he, too, was expecting she'd have some sort of breakdown. "Have I ever told you why I'm not fond of flying?"

      "No," Tony answered truthfully, but there was already a sense of understanding. The entirety of the world witnessed her tragedy and the death of her father — Bo-Gyeong Moon — and the entire world was shaken. However, he could only imagine what his death had done to her world. "But I'm thinking it's the same thing with me and cars."

       "How do you do it?" she questioned. It was no secret that the collection of cars belonging to Tony Stark, the slick vehicles that he drove everywhere to, were one of his most prized possessions. Almost as if the accident had enabled him to become stronger.

      "After the funeral, my dad's friend — I should really say Aunt Peggy — she came to
me," he swallowed hard and released a chuckle of sorts. "I remember that we both were too proud to cry, but we were grieving. Just sitting there in silence. She told me that she would do everything in her power to find out what happened to my parents. Until then she refuses to believe that my dad would've crashed the car. I guess I have faith in her, and most of all I just want to have faith in my dad."

     Novaleigh smiled sadly, no words needed to convey her emotions. She reached for his hand that hung over the handrail, and as their fingers touched for the first time, there was a sense of serenity found with each other. He laced their fingers together like some sort of woven art that was indescribable to her when the plane started to move. Somehow, this felt safer. As if he would be there if something did happen like he wouldn't let her crash or burn without him.