The hum of the vending machine was the only sound in the hallway as Rhiley slid the key card into her room door. The light flashed green with a mechanical click, and she pushed the door open into a generic, beige-toned space that smelled faintly of overbleached linens and someone else's old cologne.
"Home sweet temporary home," she muttered, tossing the key on the nightstand.
She didn't bother turning on the overhead light—just let the glow of the streetlamps outside spill in through the partially closed blinds. It was sterile and quiet. Too quiet.
Rhiley dropped onto the bed with a sigh, the springs groaning under her weight. She laid there a moment, staring at the ceiling, her boots still on, jacket still zipped.
Everything in her ached—physically, emotionally, and whatever else sat between those two things. Her shoulders were tense, her throat tight, her mind still racing from watching Tony unravel again... and still pushing everyone away.
She wanted to be mad at him. Hell, she was mad at him.
But she also couldn't stop worrying.
She leaned back on the pillows, finally pulling off her boots, then her jacket, and curled up on top of the sheets. No TV. No music. Just silence.
Jarvis had offered to book her a better place. Something flashier. She'd declined.
She didn't want glass walls or penthouse suites. She didn't want to feel like she was in his world tonight.
She just wanted to breathe. To not feel like she was failing him.
She closed her eyes, letting the soft whoosh of cars on wet pavement lull her into stillness. Tomorrow, she'd deal with it. With him.
But tonight?
She'd let herself rest.
Even if she didn't sleep.
-
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Rhiley trudged into the lobby of Stark Industries with all the energy of someone who hadn't slept and had fought a villain the night before—because she hadn't, and she had. But she was on a mission.
"Badge. Badge." Happy Hogan was making his usual rounds, inspecting every poor soul trying to get to work. "I put a memo in the toilet, people. Badge protocols are not optional."
He spotted Pepper near the entrance and immediately redirected him. "Tony's got 'em in his basement, wearing party hats," he said, motioning wildly. "We should be using those bots. This is a resource!"
Pepper blinked. "You want me to replace the entire janitorial staff with Tony's robots?"
"What I'm saying is, the human element of Human Resources is our biggest vulnerability. We start phasing it out now, we're ahead of the game."
"What?!"
Rhiley stepped up just in time. "Hey, Happy. Still making friends, I see."
Happy immediately threw an arm out, blocking her path like she was a Level 7 threat. "Who are you?"
"I'm here to kill Pepper," Rhiley deadpanned with a straight face.
Happy's eyes widened. "What!?"
"She's joking, Happy." Pepper groaned, grabbing his arm before he could lunge. "She's joking. Badly."
"I don't like it," he muttered, narrowing his eyes at Rhiley. "Where's your badge?"
"I left it in my other immortal past life."
YOU ARE READING
Radioactive | Bucky Barnes
Fanfiction"I want to go back to the time you first told me your name." Rhiley, the twin sister of Howard Stark, finds herself wrapped up with the one and only James Barnes. The next time she sees him is on her new assignment with the 107th Infantry Regiment...
