CHAPTER THREE:
starks thing on redheads
(iron man 2)
Malibu, California
(2010)
Regardless of how much Harry Stark despised being at home with his father. He didn't have a choice because Liam wasn't with him and wouldn't be for a few days. He had no idea why he had departed, but Liam said it was due to a family situation. So, from what he remembered, his mother had a weak heart when he claimed he believed him. He was alone with her one time when she had a heart attack, but she survived. Liam's mother was always so sweet to him when he went to the doctor.
He has always admired how much she cares for them and makes for them (the tastiest homemade meal he has ever tasted). He admired her for treating him as though he were a member of her family. Harry wishes he could accompany him to see her, but he and his father are both very busy these days.
It was a calm day, and Harry was busy with papers. He'd been quite busy these days since his father appointed him executive vice president of Stark Industries. JARVIS, an AI who's named after their butler, appeared out of nowhere and urged him to meet Tony at his employment. He explained that he was busy, but JARVIS insisted that he go down to visit Tony.
As he walked down the steps, he rolled his eyes and turned his head to look through the glass wall, where he saw his father seated in a chair surrounded by monitors. He punches the passcode and the glass door slides open, allowing him to enter. Tony doesn't even bother to glance up (despite the fact that he notices his kid has gone inside) as he points to the other desk, which has a long box on it.
He frowns as he looks at Tony before returning his gaze to the package. The box is painted in a crisp black with tracing lines around it, and it looks sophisticated. It reminded Harry of something he'd seen before. He wasn't sure where he'd seen the box previously, but he recalls seeing it.
"Take it. It's yours."
Looking up from the package, still perplexed as to why he's giving it to him. As he finally glances at him, Tony notices Harry hesitate. "Howard made that. Your grandfather made that for you."
Harry made a face, "What?"
Tony sighed before he rolls his eyes, "Okay maybe he made it for me but it's for you now."
When Harry finally remembers what it is, he raises his brows. He still recalls Howard's adoration for it. He created two vibranium katanas to go with the vibranium shield. When he looks at the katanas, Howard usually tells him that it reminds him of his past.
He also remembers sneaking the box out and grabbing the two katanas when he was seven years old and starting to play with it. When he finally got to touch it, he was overjoyed. Howard was unconsciously eyeing him while swaying the swords with care. He crafted those katanas for someone like Tony who might need them. But it seemed so appropriate when Howard saw it on his grandson's hands.
Harry frowns as he examines the box. "Why?" he inquires. "It's yours." he put his palm on the box and began tracing the lines with his fingertips.
"And now it's yours." Tony shrugged, "Take it before I change my mind." he said as he wave his hands off at him.
Never in his life did he imagine that he would be gifted these katanas. He's always fantasized of acquiring Howard's unique sword. He's always assumed Tony would use them, but then he recalls that he already owns Iron Man. Howard has forced him to learn martial arts since he was five years old. He had no idea why he needed to learn, but he was grateful (despite his dislike for him) because it is currently one of his favorite hobbies.
He is a fantastic fighter, and none of his peers can match him. In a fight, he always comes out on top. That is what makes it fun for him because no one else can defeat him.
Take, for example, Happy. The following day, Harry, Happy, and Tony went to their own gym. When Harry became tired of lifting weights, he decided to take Tony's position and spar with Happy. Finally, the poor bodyguard becomes frustrated because he continually loses.
"OK, that's not fair," Happy grumbled as he knelt on his knees, both hands on his knees, trying to collect his breath. However, Harry Stark is beaming as his gaze lands on Happy, while Tony Stark, unimpressed, stops what he's doing to observe them.
"Oh, come on, you're our bodyguard, you're supposed to protect us, not get thrashed by us," Harry chuckles as he grabs his towel to wipe the sweat from his brow.
"Shut up," Happy mutters.
"The notary's here!" Pepper Potts' voice echoed throughout the gym, and all the males came to a halt and turned around to face her. "Can you please come sign the transfer paperwork?"
Tony stunned Harry by handing over the company to her, Pepper Potts. To the woman who treated her as if she were his own mother. He had anticipated it, yet he was nonetheless taken aback when it arrived sooner than he had anticipated. Everyone expected him to be the next Tony Stark, therefore his appointment as Vice President meant a lot to them.
When Tony revealed himself as the Iron Man they automatically turn their attention toward him, expecting him to reveal something too. They were disappointed, outraged, and even more unhappy when he didn't.
Then they come up with another plan; since Tony said that he would no longer be building weapons, they anticipated Harry to take over. However, Harry and Tony agreed that they would no longer develop weapons because they were dangerous to everyone, especially them. People all throughout the world consider him a disappointment.
He couldn't care less.
"We're on Happy time," Tony told her as he entered the boxing ring, Happy then stood up straight and assumed a fighting stance, causing Harry to grin and leap towards him. Happy attempted to attack Harry with his arm, but the young Stark quickly dodged and gave a small jab to Happy's cheek. The bodyguard's eyes widened as he realized what he had done, and he looked at Harry in bewilderment.
"What the hell was that?"
"It's called basic punching," Harry said, shrugging his shoulder. "You should learn that."
"I know what a basic punch is," Happy objected, flailing his hands in the air, and then, all of a sudden, he punches the air, demonstrating to Harry that he knows how to do it.
Harry gives him a phony smile as he nods his head. "Congratulations."
Then Happy abruptly stops what he's doing and puffs his chest out quietly. Harry scowled as he observed his actions before turning around and following his attention to see a red-haired woman standing immediately in front of him, staring at him until her glance settled on Tony. Harry stands upright as he stares at the woman up and down. She's dressed in a tight white shirt that exposes her cleavage. He lifts his brows and tilts his head, his mouth curving into a smile. She looked around before she approached Pepper and gave her the documents she needs to sign.
"I promise you this is the only time I will ask you to sign over your company," Pepper said, turning to smile at the redhead woman before signing the papers.
Harry, Tony, and Happy couldn't take their eyes off the newcomer. The bodyguard then snapped out of his reverie and observed Tony and Harry staring at the woman with bated breath. He shook his head before striking Harry on the back of the head, forcing him to spin around and snarl at him.
"Lesson one. Never take your eyes off—" before he could continue the statement, Harry twists his body and turns around, kicking Happy in the stomach, causing him to fall to the ground. This made Harry smile, and the redhead woman looked up from her newspaper to see what's happening.
Tony then points his hand at the woman, "What's your name, lady?"
The redhead woman tore her eyes away from Harry and look at Tony. "Rushman. Natalie Rushman," she answers him.
"Front and center. Come into the church," Tony says, lifting the boxing ring rope and gesturing at Harry and then Natalie.
Harry frowned, "What?"
Tony looks at him then nods at Natalie. "Come on, show her what you got."
"No. You're seriously not gonna ask-" Pepper shakes her head, her eyes go to Tony then Harry.
"If it pleases the court, which it does," Tony shrugged. Pepper glances at him, still shaking her head. Harry then shifts his gaze from Tony to Pepper before returning his gaze to Natalie. He shrugged and motioned Natalie to follow.
Natalie nods and glances at Pepper, assuring her, "It's no problem," as she walks into the ring. "I'm sorry. He's very eccentric," the strawberry blonde woman said as she climbed onto the ring, Tony holding the rope and assisting her into the ring. When she eventually came in, her gaze was fixed on Harry. Harry then grabs Tony's water bottle and drinks while maintaining eye contact with her.
"Go on, give her a lesson." Tony taped Harry's lesson before he grab his water bottle back and got off the ring and walk towards Pepper who gave him a look.
Then Harry rolls his eyes and mumbles, "I hate being touched," before turning to face Happy. "You do it."
"I'm not going to do it. You're the better ones," Happy says, shaking his head. "I realize that," Harry says, frowning, "but I'd like you to take her instead."
"Why me? Or you're afraid that the woman is better than you?" Happy smirk, teasing him and watch his expression change from calm to annoyed.
Harry pulled a face, "Screw you, fine I'll do it." he mumbled as he take his gloves off and threw it to Happy and gleefully got off the ring. Natalie keeps a wary eye on him as he round the ring, her brows furrowed.
"Alright, lesson one." Harry lifts his hand and makes a number one sign on his hand. "Keep an eye out for everything; it's critical to be aware of your surroundings."
Natalie nods, her gaze fixed on him as he walks in a circle around her. "Lesson two, pay attention to your opponent's every move."
"I know all the basics. Don't worry." Natalie interrupts him. He stops walking and stares at her. Her emerald gaze was drawn to his brown eyes. Something in her eyes tells him not to look away because it's compelling him. And he listen to the whispers in his head, he kept staring. It's amazing how much green there is in her eyes as you keep staring at them. Not to mention the fact that his favourite color is green.
He'd never seen a woman with those stunning eyes before. She also has a new way of looking at him, not with lust but with something else. He doesn't sure if it's admiration or anything else. When he talks about the fundamental rules of martial arts, the corner of her mouth rises and turns into a smile, which is captivating.
He had never been in a relationship before and had no idea why he didn't want to be with anyone. Perhaps he is concerned that his relationship will end like Tony's with his mother. Perhaps he's frightened he'll never love her as much as she loves him. Perhaps he's worried that he'll hurt her.
Maybe he's frightened he'll become like his father.
"Have you ever boxed?" he says softly, stunning the redhead with how soft his voice has become. She swallowed before softly nodding her head. "Yeah, sometimes I do it with a friend."
Harry nod and both eyebrows lift as he glances down at her. "That's good, that's good."
"I never expected Harry Stark to be the one teaching me a lesson," Natalie says softly, causing Harry to tilt his head and smile at her. He had no idea he'd be that flirtatious around women.
He smirks, "Well, here I am."
Natalie nods her head, then her mouth slowly twists into a grin before jumping and wrapping her legs around his body, dragging him down to the ground with her and pinning him down. His right arm became entangled in her legs as well as his body—most notably, his neck was pinned down by her knees. It caught him off surprise since the air in his lungs stopped for a brief while before he snapped out of his reverie. Harry grunted before using his left arm to push himself up and using his strength to lift her legs onto his torso, instead of pinning her down.
Natalie doesn't appear fazed by his activity nearly getting out of her. Instead, she grins and raises her eyes to his. As he scowls at her, Harry finds this irritating. He murmured, "That's not cool," and only she could hear him. "That's not cool."
Natalie's grin deepened as she realized she was no longer hearing the sweetness in his voice, but rather hardness. She head butted him without hesitation, forcing him to groan in pain and place his hand on his forehead before getting up so easily and quickly and swinging her legs and kicking him, but Harry instantly blocks the kick with both arms. Natalie attempted to punch Harry with her arm, but the young Stark quickly dodged it, and another kick came his way, which he effortlessly dodged as well. He's becoming irritated because she won't stop attacking him.
What the hell is her problem? He thought.
Natalie then kicks him in the stomach faster than he thought in the blink of an eye. He was pushed to the ground, his lungs were depleted of oxygen, and he could hear Pepper's cry in the distance, but his primary concern right now is his breathing. He grunts as his back is pressed on the ground, he gazes upon the ceiling feeling annoyed, even frustrated.
Natalie, on the other hand, grins and looks down at him before turning around and facing the others. She fixes her clothes before she got off the ring. Tony and Happy's eyes widened as they stared at her, unable to believe she had defeated Harry. She wins over Harry.
"Harry!" Pepper exclaimed, concerned as she saw him slowly rise from the ground. Tony pointed his hand at them, "That's what I'm talking about!"
Harry squinted at them, mainly Natalie. He told them, "It's alright. She caught me off guard." The redhead woman scoffs and gives him a side-eye. Harry then stood up and walked towards the ring's rope, looking down on Natalie.
Tony sarcastically responds, "Really? She did?" before climbing up to the metal pole and clinking it, generating a bell-like ringing noise. "Looks like a TKO to me, buddy."
"Shut up," Harry snarls, his gaze averting from the redhead. "You're exaggerating," Harry remarked and Tony laughs, as Harry put both arms on the ring's rope and glares down at them. "Just... I need your impression," Natalie grins as she faces Tony.
Tony grins as he examines the redhead's eyes. He informed her, blatantly flirting while narrowing his eyes at her, "You have a quiet reserve. I don't know, you have an old soul." Even Harry and Pepper are amused by his actions.
Natalie shakes her head softly, "I meant your fingerprint."
"Right," he grumbled as he signed the paper she had just handed him while giving her a sidelong glance.
"So, how are we doing?" Pepper inquires as she approaches them, beaming at them both. Harry can see her jealousy on her face, and it's so obvious.
"Great," Tony turns his attention to her, it's like Natalie is not even there anymore. "Just wrapping up. Hey, you're the boss."
Natalie asks softly, "Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" Ignoring the fact that Harry is now staring straight at her.
"No,"
"Yes. That will be all, Miss Rushman." Pepper said, smiling at the redhead woman. "Thank you very much."
And with that, the redhead woman who had definitely piqued Harry's interest by defeating him at his game exited the room. Harry watches her walk away, his gaze fixed on her path, before shaking his head. He can't believe he's been defeated by her, by her. He's big, he's smart, and he's been practicing martial arts since he was young.
She had caught him off guard, yes, she had caught him off guard.
He overheard Tony murmuring, "I want one." Harry raises his head, as Pepper shakes her head at Tony.
"No."