⤷ may 5, 2012
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The day after the chaos of Manhattan, Irina finds herself standing outside of the café she works at.
Or worked at.
The sun shines down upon her, casting a soft ray of heat on her ivory skin. She has her hair done up into a ponytail, bangs falling slightly over her eyes as she stares up at the café sign, crooked as it was. Thankfully, it hadn't gotten totally destroyed in the chaos.
She blows out a breath, puffing her cheeks out as she debates going in or not. Would they even want her in? She was supposed to, but maybe Paul decided to fire her in her absence, or maybe after the battle work was cut and she was —
Irina shakes her head. No. No need to worry. She'll be fine. It's just work. Even if it would be just for a day.
She pushes the glass doors open, the bell above ringing to notify the café of her arrival. It was practically empty inside, not a soul to be seen. Slowly, Irina makes her way further inside, looking around. It looked dusted and cleaned, but she could still see some spare rubble trickling the floor from the slightly cracked ceiling. But it was still cleaner than it should have been, so someone had to have been in —
"Well, well," a voice drawls from the cash register. Immediately, Irina's eyes dart over, meeting Danny's poker face with a flare of panic. Her coworker gives a wry, crooked smirk, "if it isn't the resident superhero."
Irina inhales sharply, grimacing at him. "...I was on the news?" She asks in a small voice.
Danny gives a derisive snort, lifting up a cloth and wiping his hands as he walks away from the cash register and past the coffee makers. "You and your whole gang of billionaires, war heroes and secret agents," he says, coming out from behind the counter and walking up to her with an unimpressed look.
"So tell me, Emma, Ems, Emmy..." he stands in front of her, crossing his arms over his chest and frowning at her, "...was this ever something you were planning on bringing to the workplace? Because I saw the footage. You're, like, a witch?"
Irina purses her lips, letting out a sigh. "Danny..." she says, "...this isn't really something I can talk to my coworkers about."
Danny's frown grows, and his blue eyes flicker away. "Understandable," he mutters, "I just assumed that, you know, after three years of working together five days a week and the occasional sixth for overtime we'd be...more than coworkers."
"Danny," Irina murmurs, staring at him with sad eyes.
Danny puffs out his cheeks, blowing out a breath as he shakes his head, turning away. "You know what? Forget it. You've got this whole other life as this — Avenger person. I mean, you've taken on a god, for fuck's suck," he throws his hands. "I wouldn't even be surprised if you would want to suddenly up and quit and...go off and be some superhero -"
"I don't wanna quit," Irina admits, cutting Danny off. He pauses, turning to her with a confused look. She sighs. "This was it, Danny. This — This was my last gig," she gestures to outside, to the mountains of rubble and destruction. "I don't want to be an Avenger. I don't wanna fight anymore. I just want to live the life I've built for myself. I want to come into work and complain about dead inside lawyers and make latte art. I want to moan about rent and curse at Paul behind his back whenever he's being as ass. I —" she lifts her hands helplessly, and they drop to her thighs with a small slap.
"I'm not quitting. I'm not an Avenger. These — These powers I have? I don't want to use them anymore. I don't want to bleed and get bruised. I just want," she punches out a breath, looking off to the side with a frown, "...I just want things to stay the way they were," she admits with a sigh.
"But I know they can't stay that way now because — because my face is all over every screen, every news page. I'm — I'm not a secret anymore. If I stay here, if I try and stay normal, I'll...I'll be chased and put in danger because fuck knows why I can't have something good for just a little while longer!" She scoffs out a disbelieving laugh.
"And that's been on my mind in some subconscious level since the minute I woke up this morning, and I'm pretty sure the only reason I'm here even is to just say goodbye and try and have one last day where I can even act normal before I — I go off the grid again and hope I don't — that I won't get —" she stops, running her hands up and down her face with a groan.
Danny grimaces, eyes flickering around her face before he lets out a sigh, placing his hands on his hips. "Mother of Christ," he mutters to the ground. He looks back up at her. "Are you seriously in danger, Emma?"
Irina drops her hands, staring off to the side as she gives a single nod. Danny curses, looking away. She hangs her head in shame. A long moment passes until Danny speaks again. "Well...might as well make the most of it while we still have time left, I guess," he sighs.
Irina glances up at him, finding Danny already looking at her with a sad smile. "Huh?" She mumbles, confused.
Danny chuckles, gesturing weakly to the bar. "Go on, Miss Avenger. Take the counter for the day. You and me. Doubt anyone will be coming in, though, what with everyone reeling from the recent alien invasion stuff. Pretty sure it'll be the talk of the globe for a few months. Expect a slow morning."
Despite herself, a laugh punches itself out of Irina, and she breaks out into a smile. Danny grins, tilting his head to the cashier with an expectant look. She steps up to him, wrapping her arms around his torso and giving it a gentle squeeze. Danny hesitates, but she feels his arms wrap around her in return, his chest rumbling softly with a chuckle.
She pulls away, reaching up and ruffling his head of curly dirty blonde hair. Danny huffs in amusement, pushing her away light-heartedly. "Don't make me regret it, Roberts," he grumbles.
Irina chuckles. "Wouldn't dream of it, Danny," she steps towards the back rooms, glancing back at him with a smile. "Thank you," she mumbles.
Danny smiles back in kind. "Always, Em," he says.
She makes her way into the changing rooms, where her uniform is dutifully folded away in her locker the same way she'd left it the day she left for S.H.I.E.L.D.. It makes her smile grimly, almost feeling nostalgic.
She takes off her current clothes, dressing in the café uniform. It's a black t-shirt and pants, with a white apron that has the café logo printed in the middle of it. She ties it around her waist, slightly cinching it. Irina fixes her hair, and brushes her hair out of her eyes, before glancing at herself in the full body mirror across from her.
Her bruises were near gone, despite it being just the next day. The sling her arm had been put in was gone, all that was left of the scorch mark left behind by the Chitauri on her shoulder being small scar tissue hidden by a bandage that one couldn't even see under her shirt.
She smiles to herself, and her heart gives a pang of pain.
One last little bit of normalcy.
Irina steps out of the back, fixing her watch on her wrist as she glances at the time. Just near noon. Maybe someone would come in, just one or two of their regulars, and —
"Hey, Em! Someone's here for you!" Danny calls from the cashier.
Irina stops, her eyes gliding up to him as he sends him a grin, eyes darting to a being on the other side of the cash register, their face hidden by the coffee machines. She frowns lightly, and slowly steps up to Danny, eyeing the person warily, before her expression breaks into relief.
"Why, hello there, Emma Roberts," Tony flashes her his billion-dollar grin behind dark shades. He's still visibly banged up around the face, but it doesn't seem too bad. Irina huffs out a small laugh, looking at him with raised eyebrows.
"What are you doing here?" She asks.
Tony gestures to the empty room, looking around with feigned curiosity before his eyes slide back to her, shining with amusement even hidden underneath dark glasses. "Thought I'd be your first customer of the day! And don't you forget, you offered me something on the house. I won't let you slither your way out of making a free drink for moi," he points an accusatory finger at her, and Irina chuckles.
"I thought you were too busy flying a nuke into an alien portal to care," she snarks, and looks at Danny. "I'll take care of him. Mind making us some donuts?"
Danny hums contently, beginning to make his way to the kitchens. "Like I said; the floor is yours, Emma. Go fraternize with your billionaire Avenger buddies — which, Mr, Stark, if you might ever feel like donating or sponsoring our esteemed establishment —"
"Go," Irina laughs, pushing Danny away. Her coworker sneaks her a wink, before disappearing to the kitchens.
Tony sniffs, eyeing Danny's retreating figure weirdly. "So he's...what, a buddy? A boyfriend?"
"Stark," she hisses, sending him a glare. Tony's gaze slides to her, eyebrows raising expectantly. She sighs. "He's a coworker and — I suppose a friend, even though I never really thought of him as one until today."
Tony hums, dramatically taking off his shades as he narrows his eyes at her. Irina stares back with a light glare. "Fine, I guess he passes," he says.
She scoffs. "I didn't need your approval in the first place — and don't pull the protective big brother act so suddenly. It's weird," she huffs. "Come on. What do you want?"
"Too late. I'll be making your life miserable from here on. And, uh...large coffee. Black."
She raises her eyebrows. "Woah. Who pissed you off so early into the day?"
"Just S.H.I.E.L.D. assholes. Thankfully Fury isn't riding my ass with them. Guess he does kind of owe me, what with me saving a city for him and all that crap."
"Ah. Understandable. Grab a seat, I'll meet you."
As she makes Tony's coffee, she watches him take a booth by the windows. He looks out into the street, a grimace set on his face as he examines the destruction. She takes note of his reaction as she snaps the cap on the full cup and comes out from behind the counter. Irina makes her way to the booth, placing his drink in front of him as she slides into the seat across from him, hands clasped on the table as she eyes him.
"Something on your mind?" She asks.
Tony shakes his head. "Nah, not much. Just...god, look at what we did to the place," he sighs, and Irina follows his gaze out. She takes in the destroyed buildings, the cars flipped over, and the rubble littering the roads and sidewalks. It's a sight to see in New York, that's for sure.
She glances back at him. "You wanna help with clean up?"
He gives a shrug. "Someone's gotta take responsibility. Besides, we all know I've got the most money to spare," he snorts, before Tony leans back in the seat and looks at her. "So...what's your game plan, now?"
She blinks at him, mildly confused. "Huh?"
Tony tilts his head. "Well, Loki mentioned the assholes that took you, that made you..." he gestures to her, "this. No doubt, with your mug all over the globe, you can't stay here anymore. So where are you going? What's next? I can always offer up my place. I've got a pretty nice house back in Malibu."
"What — no, Tony," Irina begins shaking her head immediately, "I can't ask that of you —"
"You don't have to," Tony interrupts, looking at her earnestly. "Just come. We can... I don't know, do what siblings do. Reconnect, mend that bond...talk. Just...catch up," he says.
"Tony," she sighs.
"Plus, you'll be living in a mansion, which, let's be honest, is pretty sick, you know? Pros to having a big brother who has a billion-dollar company under his belt —"
"Tony," she interrupts more adamantly, frowning at him with sad eyes. "...I can't. You know I can't."
Tony grimaces, taking a sip of his coffee before setting it down and leaning forward in his seat. "Why not?" He pushes. "Come on, Irina, just give it a chance. Trust me. Big Brother knows —"
Irina leans forward, her hand darting out and gently placing over his own. Tony pauses, brown eyes flickering down to their hands, a mix of sadness and happiness shining in them. She purses her lips. "I can't...be your little sister. Not now. Not...for awhile," she whispers. "I'm still wrapping my head around it myself. A Stark — Irina Stark — she feels like this whole other person," she says,
"I don't remember her. I don't remember you. To me, you're still just...Tony Stark the billionaire, and my teammate Iron Man. I can't see you as a brother...I don't know if I ever will. I — Tony, I'm messed up in the brain, you need to understand. I've done things, and I remember those things, like a stain that won't go away. I've hurt people —"
"Yeah, but that doesn't matter to —" Tony began.
"— I've killed people," she speaks over him in a louder, more firm voice. Tony falters. Irina swallows nervously. "I...I've got red in my ledger, red that's overflowing, and that can't be gone so easily, neither can what's happened to me. I — I would love to have a family, a brother, but that — that can't be done so easily. Not to me."
Tony grimaces, staring down at the smooth surface of the table with a bitter look, lips pursed tersely. Irina watches his reactions carefully, feeling guilt swirl in her chest. She feels downright horrible — Tony seemed excited to have his little sister back in his life...whoever she was, and Irina hated not being able to give that to him. At least not at the moment.
After a long, tense silence, he clears his throat softly and gives a small nod. "'Kay," he mumbles, "understood. Roger that. You know, I understand. Totally. You need space, you're your own person...the whole shebang," Tony's eyes flicker to the side. "We do it your way. I meant what I said, y'know. I don't care how long it takes, I just won't let this be nothing," he meets her eyes again, brown on brown, "not after we got a chance like this."
Irina purses her lips, hesitant, but her heart gives in. She offers a timid smile. "Alright," she says. "We'll give it a try. Bit by bit. But Tony...I — I can't promise being the perfect sister —"
"Respectfully, and with all due disrespect as well, I couldn't give two shits about perfectionism, especially in you," Tony says bluntly. "You're broken. I get that. I will shamefully admit with no audience that even I'm not perfect. I'm broken, too. So we be broken together, you hear me?" He meets her eyes with an earnest gleam in them. "We're Starks. Broken is in our blood."
That gets a small laugh out of her, her lips stretching into a smile that Tony returns. She leans back in her seat, meeting his eye with a huff of a chuckle. "You win, Tony," she admits. Tony grins. "Let's start at Base One, and we'll build up from there. Deal?"
Tony sits back, a triumphant smirk on his face, though his eyes glimmer with a joy she'd never seen on his face until this moment, not even on the news articles.
"Deal."
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