Norman fucking Rockwell - Lana Del Rey
Why wait for the best when I could have you? You?
'Cause your just a man, it's just what you do
Your head in your hands as you colour me blue
Yeah, you're just a man, all through and through
Your head in your hands as you colour me blue.
It had been seventeen minutes since the Hulk had rendered himself unconscious. By the time he finally began to stir once again, Tony looked up from the computer that he was using to calculate something.
Tony wasn't sure if Hulk would remember anything, but his doubts were cleared when the green guy spoke, "Stark? Why not leave?"
"Yeah, well... figured if I had solved this whole thing, you should be the first to know."
"Thanks," he grumbled, gratefully.
"You're welcome," Tony said, clearing his throat.
Hulk looked around his cell and at the broken machinery around him, he winced. "Sorry. Breaking everything."
"Nah, don't worry about it, we got what we needed."
"What is it?" Hulk asked, wondering if Tony found out what was stopping him from turning back.
"Well we were right. Someone definitely lodged something into your head. Look here, right by the hippocampus," he pointed at his computer screen as he turned it around for Hulk to see. "It's some kind of inhibitor, so that every time you even attempt to change back to Dr Banner, it's fighting with your brain to stop you, hence the shooting pains in your head and the..." he looked around, "smashing and breaking. When all that fails, it'll knock you out, just like we just saw."
"And when I wake up..."
"You're bigger and greener than ever," Tony finished for him.
"But Stark can take it out?" Hulk asked, hopefully.
"Not exactly... the device? It's bonded to the hippocampus. If we try to take it out, it could affect the whole brain, you could get an aneurysm. In other words, it's stuck there and until we can figure out a way to safely remove it, you're stuck like this."
Hulk grumbled.
"But we can fix this, eventually, I promise. That's not even the thing we have to be worried about."
"What do you mean?"
"The cloaking mechanism - the thing that made this inhibitor invisible to our scans? It's made of vibranium. My guess? Those samples you guys brought back the other day were planted by whoever was working on this. Those were an early prototype. Not effective, barely functioning." He sighed, gesturing to the Hulk, "That? They perfected it. It's almost identical to naturally occurring vibranium. You wouldn't be able to tell the difference. It works exactly the same. Damn it!" He sighed frustratedly, running his hands through his hair. "They planted those samples for us to find. To throw us off, which it did. And to drive us all apart. Which it did." He thought back to Amara. And, once again, how he had acted. He groaned, "Oh my god, Amara! She hates me! Hulk? I have to go, I'm sorry. I have to figure out how to fix this..." he paused, "This being, your... situation and my relationship with my daughter."
"Bye, friend," Hulk said.
Tony nodded at him and then turned away, walking out of the cell and back down the hall.
The last thing that the Hulk heard was Tony as he dialled a number into his phone and spoke, "Pepper? Can we talk?"
—————
Pepper Potts was in her office at Stark Industries. Her day had been busy, meeting after meeting. When she had first taken on the title of CEO of Stark Industries, she had been nervous that she wouldn't be able to live up to the job.
It had taken some time, but after a few months, she was running things smoother and better than ever. And along with the company, Pepper's life was also starting to look up.
She had a job she loved, a great new boyfriend and she just put bought a new penthouse. So Pepper should be happy about all these new changes in her life that were shaping up to be pretty amazing. But her mind kept wandering back to one thing: Tony Stark.
No matter how amazing her life was, now, she couldn't help but think back to how perfect it felt a few months ago. Now, she hadn't seen any of her friends in months because she couldn't risk going back to the tower and running into Tony. Worst of all, she hadn't seen Amara, either. She loved that girl more than anything, and she also hoped more than anything that after the whole thing with Tony, she would still be able to be friends with her. But she was wrong. Amara obviously had her priorities, she was busy, she had a mission and her loyalty to her father, of course. Why would she still talk to her dad's ex-girlfriend?
She often found herself tearing up over her failed relationship with Tony, and, subsequently, Amara. Even through all of the bad, she could only remember the good times. Only remember how happy and special he made her feel. Like she was the only person who mattered to him, other than his daughter, of course. But she never minded that, no. She also loved Amara as if she was her own. She would do anything to get that life back again. To turn back time and once again wake up in Avenger's tower and bring Tony coffee to drink together, and hug Amara before she left for school. But, she couldn't get that back.
When she had asked Tony for a break from their relationship, she had only expected it to last a week. He had been infuriating for a while before and Pepper was getting tired of cleaning up his messes. He was impulsive and careless, and she was always there for him. He took her love for granted, he assumed that she'd always be there for him. One day, she just snapped under the pressure of it all.
Pepper had thought that Tony would call after a week, he'd apologise, and promise to be better, and then she'd forgive him. She waited for his call for three days. And then days turned to weeks. Weeks turned to months. And he never called.
Pepper had fought with the idea of calling him first, as it was obvious he may never. But she pushed the thought down into the depths of her mind. He was at fault. He was the one who had to make the first step.
Once it had hit two months, Pepper had given up any hope she had left for the two of them. She had sobbed and grieved for a whole week, not showing up at work, and when she did, she locked herself in her office and cried to herself, silently.
Then she met James Callaghan. A lawyer from Manhattan, who bought her a drink one day. And when he asked her on a date, she thought nothing of it, then one date turned into five and jump forward to today, Pepper Potts had officially moved on. And it was all because of James Callaghan.
A knock came from her office door, "Yes?" Pepper replied.
Her assistant, Karina walked through the door, "Mr Callaghan is downstairs waiting for you."
"Perfect. Thank you, Karina. I'll be down in five."
She swiftly packed up her things and headed to the door. When she heard her phone ring. In the rush to get down to reception, she picked it up without checking who was on the other end.
"Hello?" She said pressing the button for the elevator.
"Pepper?" Her breath hitched, "Can we talk?"
The elevator doors opened, but she didn't step inside.
"Miss Potts? Are you there?" Tony Stark's voice came through her phone. He sounded exactly the same. Except for that hint of sadness that laced his tone, now.
"...Tony?" She said after a while.
"Hey."
She looked at the elevator doors one more time, to where James was waiting for her. Then she watched as they closed in front of her, and she turned back towards the direction of her office. "Hey," she finally replied, more confidently as she closed the door to her office behind her, setting down her things and heading to the couch in the corner.
"H-how you been?" He asked.
"Yeah, I've- uh- I've been good," she replied, nervously.
"How's the break working out for you?" He chuckled, slightly.
Pepper smiled, sadly, even though he can't see her, "It was what we needed."
"Right. And when did that break turn into a pass to seeing other people?"
"You've heard about James?" Pepper asked.
"Happy."
"Of course," she nodded, awkwardly. "Look, Tony, I-"
But Tony started speaking at the same time, "I need to talk to you."
"W-what? What about?" She said, her heart fluttering. Was he going to finally apologise?
"Just... get to the tower, ASAP. We can talk more then."
"O-okay. I'll see you then."
"Bye." And then he hung up.
Pepper took a shaky breath in, and quickly fixed up her hair and makeup before walking back to the elevator and heading to reception, forgetting all about James Callaghan, who had been waiting there for ten minutes, now.
Pepper froze and he stood up, "Pep, hey! What took you so long?"
She walked over to him, slowly, "Hey, just some work."
"Anything serious," he said, standing up and holding her shoulders.
She took a breath in, "No..." he leaned down in an attempt to kiss her, but she moved away. "Actually, I have to go to the tower. There's some work stuff I need to sort with Tony. We're gonna have to reschedule."
"Oh, well let me drive you, we can just do something after you're finished, I took the afternoon off."
"No, you don't have to do that. I don't know how long it'll be. I don't want to keep you waiting."
"Hey, Pep? It's fine. Do you need to get there, now?"
Pepper cleared her throat, "Yeah."
"Okay, let's go, I'll bring the car around."
"I'll be here," she said, less enthusiastically.
She watched him as he left and she suddenly felt embarrassed at the way she was acting. It was as if she didn't want Tony to see James and her together. She didn't have to walk on eggshells around Tony, he never called her back, so she moved on, it's no big deal. I'm sure he's had his fair share of dates these past few weeks.
—————
Tony watched as the car that Pepper was sitting in pulled up at the back of the tower.
He was nervous to see her, and the nerves grew into frustration when he found out who she had come with.
Tony and Pepper hadn't officially announced their spilt to the public, yet. They wanted to avoid the press and the made up headlines for as long as they could. But seeing as Pepper had moved on, he didn't expect the newsreels to take much longer.
She got out of the car and Tony's heart skipped a beat; she looked just as beautiful as before, maybe even more. She was radiant. Maybe that's a sign that she's better off without him. She may have moved on, but he simply couldn't. But that's not what this meeting was about. This was about fixing things with Amara.
It felt like eons before he heard the clicking of her heels come to a stop behind him at the door. "Tony."
He turned around and placed a mask of complacency over his features, "Hey there... Miss Potts."
She smiled and then stepped forward as if remembering what she was there for. She shook his hand and said, "You wanted to discuss something?"
"Yeah, that's right," he said, still shaking her hand.
"Uh, Tony?"
"Yeah?"
"My hand?"
"Right... sorry," he said letting go.
"Don't worry about it," she replied smiling, making him feel all fuzzy inside.
He gestured for them to sit on the couch and then faced her. "Okay, look. I messed up. And now I'm trying to fix things but, I don't know how."
"Yeah, you did, mess up. Pretty bad. But I think a good starting point would be an "I'm sorry"?"
"No, she won't want to talk to me," he said, shaking his head.
"How do you know that?" Pepper said.
"I just do. She hates me. And I don't blame her," he said, sadly.
"She could never hate you," she said softly, frowning. "In fact, I think I-"
"She said it to Pietro, like three times... two days ago."
Pepper frowned, "Wait, who are we talking about?"
Tony also frowned, looking up, "A-Amara..."
"Amara?" She sighed, "For a second, I thought we were talking about..." she shook her head and cleared her throat, "Never mind. Doesn't matter." She sniffed. "What did you do?"
After explaining the whole situation in extreme detail, Tony sat back and Pepper breathed in, deeply and exhaled from her mouth, "That's pretty bad, Tony. You already know how she is. She's just like you: blaming herself for all the problems in the world. And then you come and say, 'you know what, you're right, it is your fault?' Tony how could you do that?"
"I don't know, Pepper! But I wanted to apologise straight away. I went up there and then she was saying all that stuff to Pietro and I knew she wouldn't accept any apology from me. I thought, okay if I research and figure out what actually caused all this, then I could go up there and show her the proof of her innocence. But now, it feels like if I did, it's like I had to convince myself of her innocence. Which was not the case. At all!" He sighed, hopelessly, "I really screwed up...What do I do, Pep? I don't know what I'll do without her. What I'll do if I push someone else away. I already lost you," he said looking at the ground.
Pepper's heart melted and she wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around him and tell him it's okay. She's right here. But she couldn't.
He took a breath in, "I'm sorry. I...I know exactly why you left and, it was valid. I don't blame you." He looked up at her, "You deserve so much better. Because you're amazing, Pep. You really are."
She smiled and suddenly couldn't stop herself when she blurted, "You know, when you first called me over here. I thought you were calling to apologise for the way things ended."
"Oh no, it's clear you've moved on..." he said in an attempt to joke, but he quickly added, "But I am sorry. When you first suggested we went on a break, I was kind of thinking it would last a few days. I was kind of hoping."
Pepper's shoulders drooped and her smiled faltered, "Then why didn't you call?"
"What?"
"Why didn't you call? Or reach out? I waited for weeks. And then when you didn't call, I thought that that was the confirmation that you wanted to end things."
Tony sat up straight, "What? No! You said you needed space. That was me giving you space!"
"No! I said that we needed space. From each other... for a week!"
"And you couldn't call?"
"No I couldn't. Because you're the one who screwed up!And then didn't call. For two months," she whispered the last bit, exasperatedly, her eyes brimming with tears.
"Well I couldn't exactly call you when you're so busy going on dates with James Callaghan, could I?" He said, spitefully.
Pepper scoffed, "James?! James has been there for me! When you weren't. You still aren't."
"And I wonder why that is, Miss Potts?" Tony said, somewhat angrily.
Pepper rolled her eyes and scoffed, once again, "You're unbelievable. Did it ever occur to you, that maybe, just maybe, if you could get through one conversation without getting so defensive and pushing everyone away, you wouldn't be so lonely?" She stood up and wiped her eyes, "James is waiting outside."
"Good," he said coldly.
Pepper began to walk out the office and then said, "I want to release the official statement next week. About our break up. I was holding out hope for us, but...I don't want to wait any longer."
Tony didn't know why he had said any of that stuff. He didn't mean one word of it. It was like he was trying to purposely make her hate him. And maybe he was. Maybe he could still see her eyes light up when she talked to him. Maybe this was his way of helping her move on from him for good. But when he saw those tears in her eyes, he couldn't stand it anymore, "Pep, wait...please." She stopped, but didn't turn around, "You know I didn't mean any of that, right? I was projecting, and Amara always says that I do this thing where I try to get people to hate me on purpose so they don't even get the chance to hate the real me."
She turned around and crossed her arms, "Well, you do a really good job at that."
"And you're right, I do get defensive. But... I'm happy for you. If you're happy with this... this guy- if- then I'm happy for you," he said.
"Thank you."
"You think, Calamari can wait in the car while you finish giving me advice?"
Pepper rolled her eyes but sat down once again, "Why did you come to me for help? You couldn't have asked anyone else at the tower?"
"The people that would help me, are on Amara watch. She wouldn't believe them or even listen to them. I ruined everything," he shook his head, disappointed at himself.
She reached over to touch his arm, "I'll talk to her."
"You will? About what? What a dick I am?"
"Among other things. I'm gonna tell her truth. Everything you told me. I'll make her understand, though I doubt it'll take much work. She adores you. Plus she's used to it by now, having to deal with your temper tantrums for almost 9 years now."
"Still less than you," he shrugged. "I really am sorry, Pep. I don't know what it is. I just can't see you with anyone else. Do you think it's too late to... fix things between us. And not just because I can't stand your new guy."
"Well you're gonna have to learn, because me and James just made our relationship official yesterday."
Tony's heart shattered so loudly, he was surprised that Pepper didn't hear. "Oh."
"Yeah, we're happy. We actually have a date right now, once we leave from here. So, if we're all done here...?"
"Yes!" He said, quickly. He stood up and offered his hand to help her up, shaking it when she was one her feet again. "Yes, thank you, Miss Potts. It's been a pleasure."
"I'll drop by the tower this evening to talk to Amara."
"Thanks. H-have fun on your date."
"I will."
And then she left, never once looking back and Tony never once looking away.
—————
Amara Stark was confused. Ever since Happy's shift on Amara watch, which was now what the residents of the tower were calling this arrangement, no one had come up to take his place.
She found it strange seeing how adamant Tony had been about carrying out these extra security steps. But she didn't dare go anywhere or try and sneak out; she'd just be in even more trouble, if that was even possible.
She had been sitting by herself for almost two hours and was currently trying to get through some school work, which she had been ignoring due to being pissed at Tony Stark.
Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door. She put down her book and stood up, making her way to the door.
"Finally, I was starting to wonder where my bodyguards were. Thought you w- P...Pepper?" She said, after opening the door and being faced with the woman's soft expression.
"Hi," Pepper simply replied.
Amara stood there in a disbelief for a moment and then tilted her head, moving towards Pepper to wrap her in a huge hug. "I've missed you," Amara said into Pepper's shoulder.
"I've missed you, kid," Pepper replied.
They broke apart and Pepper looked at her face, smiling from ear to ear.
"What are you doing here?" Amara asked, still in shock. "I haven't seen you in months! And..." she trailed off, "...you probably don't know this but, I've been grounded. And also been under suspicion for causing a-"
"A big problem, right?" Pepper finished for her. "I know."
"How d-"
"Tony called me," Pepper said.
Amara sighed and looked away.
"He's worried about you... but most of all he's worried that he's ruined his relationship with you, for good."
"And what if he has?" Amara looked at her. "Are you here to convince me otherwise?"
"No. I'm here to tell you the truth. Which is that your father loves you. And he feels awful. There's not a day that goes by where he's not thinking of you and how upset you must be. He's spent every second of everyday trying to find evidence that you were innocent just to prove that you were." Amara opened her mouth as if she was about to speak, but Pepper cut her off. "And before you say anything. He knew you were innocent. He just needed you to believe it after everything that he said."
"Then why did he say it? If he didn't believe it, why did he put the blame on me? Why did he question me?"
Pepper sighed, "You know what Tony's like. He'll say whatever to you, doesn't matter about hurting your feelings, if it means you're safe."
Amara scoffed.
"Think about it," Pepper started. "How many times has he told me that I can't help. That I just get in the way when there's an imminent threat looming?"
Amara narrowed her eyes. That did sound like her father. But she wasn't convinced. "Okay. Let's say you're right. Why isn't he here telling me this himself? Why can't he come up here and apologise, instead of sending his ex girlfriend to soften the blow?"
"He's scared. Scared that you hate him. He can't handle it if you hate him, Amara."
"What he thinks I can handle it?! He thinks I can handle being completely isolated?! The one person I could go to about anything. The one person I trusted more than anything. And I couldn't go to him, because he wouldn't talk to me," Amara said, disappointedly. "You know the funny thing? Is that I was just waiting for him to show up and just the words "I'm sorry" that was all I needed to hear. I would've forgiven him straight away. Because you're right, I love him and I do know what he's like. But the longer he left it... just..."
"The less patience you had with him, right?" Pepper asked and Amara nodded sadly. "And all that patience is gone, now? You don't want to hear anything?"
"I didn't say that. I just meant that all my... expectations for him showing up and doing the mature thing are out the window... literally! Because he set a camera up outside my window so I don't sneak out!"
"Amara..." Pepper started.
"No, Pepper," she turned away, looking out at her balcony. "Look, I appreciate you coming here. I missed you, I really did, but this is something that my dad has to do himself. When he gets the guts to come up here apologise for himself, then I'll see about forgiving him."
"You're right," a voice came from behind Amara. She didn't have to turn around to realise that it was her father. "I've made mistakes. Multiple. And I don't expect you to forgive me because what I did was awful."
"Yeah it was," was all Amara said, turning so that her body was facing him, but her eyes were still on the ground. Amara sensed that Pepper had left the room, closing the door behind her to give them their privacy.
"I think I just got scared. I saw too much of myself in you. The stubbornness and the arrogance. How you think the weight of the whole world is resting on your shoulders and yet you have this empathy that goes... beyond all of that to help anyone you can. The way you battle this guilt and this grief by keeping yourself busy so you don't have to think about it. It's all me. Kid... you may be adopted but you're my kid. Anyone could tell that. And that's why I was scared. I was scared of you getting out there and getting hurt, so I hurt you first before anyone else could even get to you, because in my mind, what I did was a way to protect you from what that life out there," he gestured to the window, "What that would do to you. I know, now, that that was wrong. But I panicked. I couldn't think of any other reason to keep you away from those missions. Because, like I said, you're just like me. No regard for authority or orders, you do what you think is right, and then suffer the consequences, later."
Amara scoffed, but Tony ignored her and continued, "And right now, the situation we're in, we can't afford to suffer those consequences later. Especially now! Everything's going to shit and I need to protect the one reason that's keeping me going. That's you," he said pointing at her and Amara's heart melted. "I should've trusted you, kiddo."
"You knew how guilty I felt after Lagos, how shitty I was feeling. You fucking knew how much I blame myself for anything going wrong. And you still said it. You made me believe that I was a bad person. That I don't deserve anything," Amara argued, and Tony felt like he had been stabbed in the heart.
"I was wrong. And I screwed up, but I only wanted to protect you. I knew the only way to do that would be for you to prove me wrong. But that doesn't excuse it, I shouldn't have accused you of that. It wasn't even accurate or feasible as a theory. I didn't even believe it. And I have no idea what possessed me to say it in the first place."
"Why didn't you come up and say this straight after you realised all of that?" Amara said, quietly.
"I did." Amara looked up at him.
"What?"
"I came up, straight after. You were with Pietro. Talking about how much you hated me. I knew you wouldn't want to talk to me."
Amara's stomach dropped. He had heard everything.
"So?! I had a right to be mad at you! And if you heard that, why didn't you come up and apologise. You left me for almost three days to convince myself that everything you said was true!"
"I know. And that's why I wanted to come up here with proof. Physical proof that I was wrong."
"Oh my god! I didn't need proof! I needed my dads faith in me. I needed to know that he didn't believe that I caused this. I needed to know that he trusted me, without needing proof!"
"I'm sorry. I just thought that you hated me and you wouldn't talk to me. In my head, finding proof was the only way to get you to talk to me," Tony said.
"Well then you don't know me at all, do you? You really think I meant any of that shit about hating you?! Of course not! You're my dad. The only one who's been by my side no matter what. And I know you and how often you fuck things up. But the one thing that stays constant is that you always apologised when you realised you were wrong. Yeah, I said some pretty shitty things about you to Pietro. But I was hurt and mad, but I knew that the second you walked through that door, all you had to say was "I'm sorry" and I would've forgiven you that second. So why didn't you? Why did you make me wait? Make me feel like you were never gonna come up here. Do you know how many times I had to fight with myself from coming to find you and making myself apologise for doing everything you accused me of, just so we could make up?! Why did it seem like it was just me suffering? Just me feeling like crap." Amara said, angry tears falling down her face.
"You're right," Tony said, quietly. "I was scared. And I was a jerk. I couldn't help it. I couldn't get over my own problems long enough to see anything from your point of view, which is something you've always done for me. You've always given me the benefit of the doubt, always reassuring me, and never seeing me as the monster that every other person on the planet does, and the one time I had to do that for you, I couldn't. And I hate myself for that. And I'm gonna feel the guilt from that, every day." He moved closer to his daughter and placed his hands on both sides of her head, making her look up at him with tears in her eyes, only for her to realise that he was crying, too. She had never seen her father cry before. Her heart instantly softens. "I'm sorry, Amara. I'm so sorry. I'm an awful dad and you don't deserve this. I'm so sorry that you're stuck with me. You don't have to forgive me. You can think I'm the worst person in the world. You can think I'm a monster. But don't you dare think that way about yourself. You are the only ray of light I had left in my life. And you were the first, too. I'm so sorry that I ever made you feel like anything other than that light."
Then Tony completely fell apart as he placed a kiss on the top of Amara's head and sobbed, repeating the words "I'm so sorry" over and over again in between the sobs that wracked his body.
Suddenly, all remnants of stubbornness inside of Amara had dissolved. She reached up to hold her father's hands that were still resting on the sides of her head, as he begun to take them away. She held his hands and then hugged her father as he sniffled.
"It's okay," Amara said.
Tony stepped back, "No, it's not okay. I'm-"
"You're you. And you did a bad thing, which you always do, you can't help it. But what kind of daughter would I be if I left you after you messed up with me, only once. Besides, I'm not... totally blame-free. I also broke your rules and shouted at you and played on your recent break-up. But we stick by each other. Just like we promised. No matter what, remember?"
Tony looked at her with a soft smiled and hugged her, holding her head at his chest, "Yeah, no matter what. I love you kid."
Amara smiled, "I know."
Tony pulled away, "What? You not gonna say it back?"
"After the weekend I've had because of you?" She raised her eyebrows, "baby steps, Tony," she said and patted him on the back.
"Can we at least go back to dad? Maybe?" Tony asked.
"I'll think about it...dad..." she smiled. "You also have to promise to believe me, from now on."
"I promise. I trust you. More than anyone, kid. More than myself," Tony said, confidently. "But I don't think that all of this happening was a coincidence."
"Are we really back on this? We just made up! How many times do you have to say you trust me before you actually start trust-"
"No, I mean," he cut her off. "I mean...I think that someone is playing a very precise game. And their first move was to turn us against you. Which didn't work - in the end - thank god. I think that this person knows you're one of our strongest. My best bet is this guy, is somehow involved with that synthetic vibranium you guys found at that hidden base. And they also planted the device in the Hulks bloodstream."
"Wait, what device in Hulk's bloodstream?"
"Right, I forgot that I haven't been telling you everything like always. Um, long story short, a device was injected with a vibranium needle to pierce his skin. It's the thing stopping his from turning back into Banner. It was cloaked, and also made of vibranium so-"
"So, undetectable in his system. That's why it didn't come up in any of your tests," Amara said in realisation. She felt so much lighter now that she was back to talking superhero stuff with her dad, like normal. It was like the unbearable weight of the world that had been resting on her, had finally been lifted off. The tightness in her chest had loosened and that feeling of overwhelming guilt had subsided.
"Exactly! I mean, I wasn't thinking about this before, I just wanted to clear things up with you, but now that I think about it, makes total sense. They planted the device in the hulk with synthetic vibranium which they knew we wouldn't be able to track. They made it look, almost perfectly, like some form of your powers had an effect on him. And then after finding this out, we would confront you, and you'd turn away from us in anger, and we'd all drift apart. You'd leave us. Or we'd cast you out, whichever happened first. But it seemed pretty foolproof. If only I didn't have as much faith in you as I do, I wouldn't have investigated further. That's one thing they didn't count on."
"Right. Because no one knows that Aura is your daughter. And if I wasn't your daughter, you wouldn't have bothered with my feelings. You would've kicked me off the team. Treated me like you would any other person," Amara said.
"But I didn't. And our little daddy daughter relationship was the thing to figure this whole thing out. That's it!"
"Great. Now we just have to figure out who's behind this whole thing."
And that's when their minds went blank.
"I got nothing," Tony said, hopelessly.
"Me either," Amara replied.
"But we know someone is out there. Just don't know who," Tony said, looking on the bright side.
"Yet," Amara replied.
"Guess we'll just have to wait and see where this guys shows up again."
"Yeah. I guess so." Amara cleared her throat as if she wanted to say something.
"What is it?" Tony asked.
"I just... why did you think it was a good idea to get Pepper to talk me into forgiving you instead of you actually coming up here yourself?"
"I don't know, okay! I was very distressed. I wasn't seeing reason," Tony scoffed.
"You wanna know what I think?"
"No, not particularly, but I assume you're going to tell me anyways," he sighed.
"I think you wanted an excuse to finally call Pepper. And using me, your common... interest? Is that the right word? Would pose a perfect opportunity."
"No, I called her because I thought it was my best shot at getting you to talk to me."
"No, that's not true. You could have easily come up here yourself. Or asked someone already in the tower."
"Yeah, you're not gonna believe this, but I'm not the most popular guy in the tower right now, because of our previous situation."
"What about FRIDAY? And you can't say anything because she's literally programmed to say anything you want her to," Amara argued back.
"Stop that!"
"Stop what?" Amara asked innocently.
"Making this into a big thing. It's not a big thing."
"Okay, chill old man." Amara held her hands up in surrender.
"Speaking of Pepper, I better thank her for dropping everything and getting over here to help me out."
"Yeah you should do that," Amara smiled, teasing her father.
"I'm warning you," he pointed his finger at her with mock authority.
They both made their way out of Amara's room and back into the living room, where Pepper was waiting on the couch.
"Hey," she said, softly. "I thought I'd give you both some space," she smiled.
"Thanks for coming over here to help me out, today. I know you had plans with Caviar, out there," Tony said. "I appreciate it."
"So you're both..."
"We're good, I guess. He's him after all," Amara said.
"Yeah. When we were together, I never could seem to stay angry at him. Even when he deserved it," the corners of Pepper's mouth turned up, reminiscing their time together.
Tony looked at her and Amara could see the glimmer of hope in his eyes. They were silent for a while and Amara just stood there, watching the looks between the two, "So... this is...awkward."
"Do you maybe wanna stay for din-" Tony started.
At the same time Pepper said, "James is still waiting for me, downstairs. I better..."
"Right, yeah. James," Tony said and took a step back and away from Pepper, increasing the distance between them both.
"It was good to see you Mr Stark,"
"You too, Miss Potts."
Pepper turned to walk away. "Hey, Pep?" Tony said, his voice filling the growing space between them.
She turned back, "Yeah?"
"You're happy, right?"
Pepper gave a bittersweet smile and nodded once.
"That's- that's goo- great. Just know that you're always welcome to come over and spend time with Amara. I know you're both close. There's no reason for your relationship to fall apart just because ours did."
"Thank you. That means a lot, Tony."
Then she turned and walked away, never once looking back.
Amara who had been looking between the two for the entirety of their conversation finally spoke up, "You two are so annoying."
"What?"
"How can you not see how much you mean to each other?"
"She's with Callaghan, and she's happy."
"You're one of the smartest people I know, and yet... still so stupid!"
"One of?"
"Yeah. Can't forget about me." Tony rolled his eyes at his daughter. God, he had missed her.
"Hey, you never did tell me what happened between you two," Amara said.
"That because there's nothing to tell. She got tired of dealing with me and my long list of character defects. And I guess I took her for granted."
"But you miss her," Amara stated.
"Of course I miss her. She's my everything. But she's happier without me."
"If you truly think that, your dumber than I thought. You know, they say love is blind, but it also makes you pretty fucking stupid."
"Yeah, they also say, if you love someone let 'em go," Tony said, sadly.
"I think you're forgetting the last part. Something about if they return it's meant to be. And people who are meant to be together, always find their way back to each other."
"You've said that before. What is that? Your only piece of advice? You just reuse it over and over?"
"I meant it."
"I think it might be time to officially, unground you. And give you your privacy back."
"Thanks."
"I still don't want you on missions, right away. But I'm willing to negotiate for some time in the field, and then gradually, get you on normal missions."
"Okay," Amara nodded, considering this. "I think I can work with 'some', for now."
"Also, no more sneaking out. I pretty much let you do whatever you want anyway, there's no need. If you want to go out, just tell me where you're going, got it? Then I can worry about you like a father's supposed to."
"Agreed."
"I'll get those balcony cameras removed by the end of today."
"Great. I'm gonna go out, now, then," Amara said. "Letting you know. Just like you wanted," she patted him on the back and started walking to the elevator.
"Where are you going, already?"
"On a walk, which I haven't been able to do for the whole weekend."
"Right." Tony knew how much Amara loved walks. It calmed her, seeing all the things that she couldn't ruin with her powers, like the sky, the clouds and the stars. "Have fun. And don't stay out too late. You're back at school tomorrow."
Amara smiled. Everything was finally starting to go back to normal.
(A/N: Oh my god! Probably the longest chapter I've ever written. But lots happened in it. I'm sorry for the three week long period of no updates, but I've been super busy. The next few weeks will have a lot more random updates, because of exam season, but I'll try my best! Thanks for reading!)