afterglow - tony stark

00

There were tales that she had always lived in the cave. She wasn't sure if it was true but she did know that it had been a really long time since she'd even seen the sun.

The cave was desolate and her captors left her alone after a certain incident. All she knew was that they were afraid since then, at least, enough not to cause her anymore pain.

But after so long of being alone, she was surprised when she wasn't. Suddenly, she wasn't the only prisoner in this cave; she had two other companions: Yinsen, a doctor, and a famous man.

Tony Stark. Genius, billionaire, and, apparently, the keeper of her heart.

_____

After having a missile detonate in front of him, things came in flashes for Tony. The pain in his chest was the worst he'd ever felt but it was even worse knowing the situation he was in.

He remembered entering a cave and some type of operation on his chest. Then there was a flash of a girl with snow, white hair and the palest skin. She had brightest green eyes he'd ever seen. It didn't make any sense to see something so bright in a place so dark.

          That was the moment Tony Stark was sure that he had entered the light or whatever it was. That he was being carried to Heaven by an angel; how could she be anything but an angel?

                But then he started to blink his eyes open again. Things weren't so blurry anymore and with the heaviness in his chest, he knew he didn't go to Heaven. He was awake, alive, and he saw those bright, green eyes again. That angel was here on Earth.

              _____

                When Tony woke up, it was safe to say he was in a bit of panic. After all, he had a magnet in his chest that was hooked up to a car battery and that was what was keeping him alive.

              He'd met the doctor who had installed it and saved his life. He took note of the camera on the wall but he also kept glancing at the girl huddled in the corner with a flower pot cradled her to chest.

                Her clothes were practically mere rags. Her skin was as pale as her hair that she was like a ghost against the shadows. Then there was those green eyes that were so luminescent, so beautiful.

             Tony muttered quietly to Yinsen, "Do you see her?"

                 He wasn't exactly sure if he was hallucinating. He thought maybe she was just an image he conjured up; a beacon of light.

               "Yes, I see her," Yinsen furrowed his eyebrows. "She was here before I was; hasn't talked at all, though."

Tony looked over her, "Come on, Snow White. We're not gonna bite."

She didn't really know what to do. She'd never had companions before in her cave. Now that she had some, her only response was to hide. She couldn't help but be wary. All she was used to were the bad people; people that hurt her.

Once she realized he was talking to her, she huddled closer to her corner. She was scared.

Then there were voices and footsteps from the other side of the doors of the cave. Her eyes went wide and she stood to attention, clutching her flower pot.

Yinsen warned Tony, "Come on, stand up. Stand up! Just do as I do. Come on, put your hands up."

She didn't not put her hands up. She merely held onto her flower pot; it was her safety. When her captors walked in, they merely gave her a glance, telling her not to do anything.

Tony muttered in disbelief as he looked at their weapons, "Those are my guns. How did they get my guns?"

Yinsen warned again, "Do you understand me? Do as I do."

Tony put his hands up and a man started speaking in Arabic as Yinsen translated for him, "He says, Welcome, Tony Stark, the most famous mass murderer in the history of America. He is honored. He wants you to build the missile. The Jericho missile that you demonstrated."

Yinsen was handed a photo of the missile and he showed it to Tony, "This one."

There was a moment of silence before Tony denied them bravely, "I refuse." She didn't believe she could ever be that brave.

She frowned when they dunked his head into the tub of water to get him to comply. Then they began to take her companions outside; the right hand man of this whole operation spoke to her in Arabic. She'd been here long enough to know what it meant: stay.

She didn't plan on angering them. She'd learned long ago what their anger promised her.

              _____

            Tony had agreed to make the Jericho missile. He wasn't actually going to. But he was going to get them out of there by doing what he did best: building something.

             In days that followed, the girl he'd labeled as the angel had retreated from her corner. She'd even let go of that small, little flower pot with a dead flower.

             But now that she was out of the corner. Tony took notice of the scar that went from her shoulder blade to her elbow. He also noticed how long her hair was like it'd never been cut; he wanted to reach out and touch it but he thought he'd scare her back to her corner so he kept his distance. He thought of calling her Rapunzel but he thought Snow suited her better.

              As he was building, he'd worked himself into a sweat and she had discreetly pushed a small cup of water towards him while he was looking at the blueprints. But he noticed her move out of the corner of his eye.

                  Once his eyes were on her, she became a deer in headlights. He analyzed her before just throwing her a gentle smile, "Thanks, Snowflake."

               Snowflake. He seemed to like calling her these names with the word snow in it. But he said it with a certain softness that she wasn't used to: affection.

              She couldn't help but give him a small smile back. Tony nearly had his breath taken away. He felt like that was his cue to speak.

              "Come on, I'm dying to know," Tony said excitedly. "What's your name? You gotta drop me a bone here."

               It was silent for a long moment as she stared at him and Tony sighed, deflated, "Okay. That's okay. You don't..."

                Then she spoke.

               "I...don't," her voice was hoarse from hardly ever using it. "have name."

               "So you speak," Tony started to smile again and it was the type of grin that was contagious. She decided that she liked his smile with those big, brown eyes of his. "And how do you not have a name? Everyone has a name."

              She shook her head and spoke in that soft, angelic voice (at least, that's what Tony thought he was hearing), "Don't remember."

"Well, what about Snow?" Tony suggested. "Do you like Snow? I feel like I should call you Snow because you are nothing if not a real life Disney princess."

She furrowed her eyebrows, "What's a Disney princess?"

"When we get out of here, I'm going to show you, alright?" Tony promised.

She nodded with a small, little smile, "I like Snow."

"Okay, Snow," he held out his pinky to her because he didn't think she'd take anything else. "Are we in this together?"

She looked at his finger strangely before reaching out slowly with her own pinky and wrapping it around his. She smiled more widely as she agreed, "Together."

"See, that's a promise," Tony stated as he looked at her softly. "And there are absolutely no take-backs with a promise."

She giggled a bit at the excitement of making her first promise, "No take-backs."