A Rose Among Thorns

Chapter Six - My Dad

Tony's POV

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I'm surprised my daughter agreed to come with me. She's always been pretty stubborn. I wish I'd been there to raise her, but I couldn't be. It was too dangerous. We decided to keep her last name the same as her mother's, to make it more difficult for anyone to connect her to me. Her mum and I never got married. We were basically best friends, we just hooked up sometimes. And then one day that resulted in a pregnancy; and then I had a daughter. I loved having a kid, being a superhero could never match up to the feeling of joy when your kid is born. Her mum, Nicole moved in with me a little before she gave birth, and Y/n knew that her mum and I were just friends. It was a strange dynamic, but it worked for us.

But then I became Iron Man. After I was kidnapped and made my suit, and then my debut, I realised it was too dangerous to be near my daughter. Even though I'd fought so hard to keep her a secret, for her own safety, it was much easier if I just let her and her mum live normal lives away from me.

I knew that Y/n would be bitter about it, and hurt. I tried to explain my reasoning before I left but she was still distraught. No one could imagine how hard it was to leave my five year old daughter; it was worse than being kidnapped and tortured.

At the thought of my daughters face when I left her, my chest begins to ace with sorrow and I pull myself out of my thoughts. I'd rushed her into the car to get her to the tower as soon as possible, Happy didn't speak a word. We were here now though. It was time to start her training.

We got out of the car and Y/n's eyes widened. She runs to the driver's side of the car and encompasses Happy in a big bear hug.
"Uncle Happy, I missed you so much!!" Her eyes start welling up and I feel the familiar pang in my chest again, as I realise how much I'd taken from her, how many times she must've cried because of me, and how many people I'd yanked out of her life. I can't wait for her to see who's inside waiting for us.

As soon as her tears had stopped flowing so freely I gave her a quick run-down of what was going to be happening over the next few months before we headed inside.
"So I'm going to be training you to harness and control your powers, with the help of Doctor Strange -"
"THE Doctor Strange??" She questions.
"Yes, and you'll get used to being around superheroes pretty quick, you're staying with me until Sunday night. Don't worry, you'll still be going to school. But I need to do intensive training with you this week, then we'll slow it down a bit once you aren't so dangerous."

"Wait...do I get to meet more superheroes?? Like, Spider-Man??!!!" She fangirls, her voice becoming high and rushed.
"Maybe. We'll see. You'll definitely be meeting Doctor Strange, Bruce Banner, and Natasha Romanoff though." I speed through the list briefly, beginning to walk towards the doors. Her words about Spider-Man repeat in my head; oh kid, I wish I could tell you.

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Y/n's POV

Oh my god, I get to meet Doctor Strange, and Black Widow, and Bruce Banner??? And I might even meet other superheroes..maybe even Spider-Man!!! Everyone says his voice is really high-pitched..maybe he's not an adult yet..omg, maybe he's my age!!

"Y/n, kid, are you coming?" My dad pulls me out of my thoughts, for me to realise he's halfway to the doors already. Whoops. I rush towards him and we make our way to the doors together. They're sliding doors, so we just keep walking - until we see a woman standing in front of us with strawberry blonde hair and a big smile on her face.

"Pepper!!" I yell out to her, running up to her and hugging her as tight as I could. She was always like a second mum to me, and I haven't seen her since Dad left. She hugs me back and I bury my face in her shoulder, crying. When I pull away I see that she has tears in her eyes too, but she's still smiling.

"You've grown up so much! You're almost an adult!" She exclaims, squeezing my upper arms with her hands. "Tony, you must be so proud!"
"Believe me I am, sweetheart. But we've got a lot of work to do still." He chuckles.
"Sweetheart??" I almost shout, glancing confusedly between the two.
"Uh - yeah, honey. We're a couple. Don't you watch the news?" My Dad questions lightly.
"Well, honestly, I've been too mad to watch the news when it's about you." I shrug. Pepper stifles a laugh.

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I spent the rest of the evening just getting used to Stark Tower, and my Dad. It was weird being around him again, and he clearly hadn't planned on seeing me again so soon - or at least hadn't prepared for it.

By Wednesday morning I was fretting over what I was going to tell my friends - or if I was. I decided against it eventually, but when I saw Peter at his locker, next to mine, before school, I casually let him know that I wouldn't be catching the bus for the rest of this week - and that I was staying with a cousin, in case he noticed that I wasn't in the apartment complex. I didn't want my Dad to have me driven to school either, I wasn't prepared for anyone to know about my Dad, and I'm pretty sure he didn't want the general population to know that he had a daughter. For my safety, of course. Deep down, I knew it really was for my safety, but I was still resentful. Even so, I decided to take the subway to school.

I was still settling in to the new school and my new friends, so the fact that I was more quiet than usual didn't strike anyone as odd. I was just a bit nervous that someone would find out about my Dad or my powers. The only time I would ever bring up my Dad was to briefly explain to someone that he left when I was little. And I hadn't even mentioned that to anyone at the new school yet.

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The school day dragged on and on. And eventually I saw Peter grow a bit concerned about how reserved I was being. But MJ says he disappears and gets reserved a lot too, so I guess I shouldn't worry.

By the time I get back to Stark Tower, I'm exhausted. But today's the day where my Dad figures out exactly what my powers are - and the day that I do too, I suppose. I mean, I know some of them, but I try not to use them when I can help it, because I don't want to hurt anyone by something going wrong. I only use them in emergencies. Today is also the day where I get to meet Bruce Banner. I meet the others tomorrow.

I take the elevator up to my Dad's personal lab.
"Hey, kiddo, ready to figure out your powers?" My Dad chimes in enthusiastically, lots of wires and electronics scattered everywhere - a seat in the middle of the chaos, presumably for me.
"Ready as I'll ever be, I suppose." I take a deep breath and sit down.