The Seventh Avenger: Playing With Fire

Chapter 10: Team Daddy Issues Reunite

          Tony and Lydia, by the lovely The Bi Who Lived :) 

          The Malibu mansion is just as sleek and glorious as Lydia remembers. She has to physically crane her neck back to see the entirety of the impressive house as the driver pulls the car to a gentle stop. It is the same driver that had picked her up from her apartment back in Manhattan. Pepper would have liked to have been at the airport to bring her to the house herself, but unfortunately had a meeting with some executives at STARK Industries that she couldn't afford to skip.

           Lydia thanks the driver, assuring him that she is more than capable of collecting her own bags, before doing just that and giving him a brief wave as he backs down the strip of driveway, disappearing from sight. Adjusting the strap of her duffel bag so that it rests comfortably against her shoulder, she begins to move towards the house.

          JARVIS, who Pepper had given the heads up about her arrival, opens the glass front doors before Lydia has a chance to ring the doorbell. His calming, British voice greets her as she steps over the threshold, a smile gracing her lips as the doors swing shut behind her. "Welcome back, Miss Hathaway. How was your flight?"

          "My flight was fine, thanks JARVIS. Is Tony around?"

          "Mr Stark is currently in the workshop, testing the new Mark 42. As always, he is entirely ignoring the safety briefing that I made for him to read over before he begins."

          Lydia snorts. "Figures. Does he know I'm here?"

          "It is my knowledge that Miss Potts did not inform Mr Stark of your stay. I believe that she intended it to be a welcome surprise for him."

          Lydia only hums at this. She doesn't know whether Tony not knowing that she was coming to stay for Christmas is a good or bad thing. In a way, she understands why Pepper hasn't warned him; not just to surprise Tony, but to also prevent him from saying no. If he was struggling with anything associated with their time in New York several months prior as much as Pepper says he is, then there is a chance that Tony would have politely declined Lydia's visit. But at the same time, she doesn't want to catch Tony entirely off guard and make him feel uncomfortable. He wouldn't be prepared to see her after all this time, and it might have disastrous consequences.

          "I have put you in our system, which will grant you access to the garage without having to know the code," JARVIS suddenly adds, interrupting Lydia's thoughts. "You're more than welcome to head down there now and see him if you like. And, if you do, perhaps try and convince him to at least glance over the briefing when he gets the chance?"

          "I'll try," She assures the AI, before moving deeper into the house. The entrance opens up into the expansive living room, which Lydia sees also hasn't changed that much since her last visit. The same paintings hang from the walls, the grand piano sits in the corner with the view of the ocean before it, and flames crackle in the fireplace from which three Christmas stockings hang. Her lips curve into another smile at the sight of a stocking for JARVIS, not surprised that Tony would do such a thing. Allowing her bag to drop with a gentle thud beside the staircase that leads down to the garage, she begins to tread down them with the intention of finding Tony.

          Faint Christmas music greets her as she descends, growing louder every step she became closer to her intended destination. She can't tell exactly what Christmas carol it is that is playing, however, due to the lyrics being drowned out by the sounds of glass smashing, metal clanging against who knows what, and Tony yelling out incoherently. The mixture of all these sounds is enough to cause Lydia to hurry down the stairs at a faster pace, before coming to a stop at the bottom and pushing open the glass door, her mouth gaping at the scene before her.