Illegitimate Prodigy

The Hard Part

Her heart was heavy. She widened her eyes when her vision began to go dark and all she could see was stars. Feeling her father's hand cup underneath her chin, Annabelle tried to focus on his voice. His pleads for her to breath. The same person she blamed for the now ultimate death of her grandfather was trying to comfort her. Surely she never anticipated that her grandfather would die from his injuries--she still held out hope that the Vulture hadn't actually killed him.

Tony squeezed her hand tightly, his hand unhinging itself from her chin, but his fingertips still tried to guide her face. "Annabelle?"  It hadn't occurred to her that minutes had past, but her breaths became slower, and her vision was now clear. knock.knock.knock. Tony's gaze scanned to the glass door, and Annabelle's matching irises followed. Happy stood on the other side of the glass awkwardly, StarkPad in hand. He gave them both an uneasy frown. "I.....I...we can talk about this now. Right now." He turned back to her,but her eyes had dropped to her hands that had fallen to her lap. "I can send Happy away if you need me to."  She could tell that he was trying really hard to be genuine or act genuine. Robert and Tony's relationship was non-existent. Her gut was telling her that it was easy for him to tell her to pull the plug because he didn't care, he hated him. Tony didn't care about anyone but himself--right?

The eye-watering silence was beginning to become more and more overbearing as the two sat on the floor. "Annabelle?" He whispered, defeatedly. "I..."

"What's left to talk about?" She snapped, her teary dark brown eyes finally lifting. "He's dead right? There's nothing I can do to save him. There's nothing..." The young adult began to shove herself up from the cold concrete. Tony didn't move from the floor, his wrists resting on each knee, and his eyes just stared forward.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., unlock the door," Tony said quietly, and the familiar voice of the artificial intelligence did not even respond to her inventor--she merely just unlocked the glass doors. Annabelle stomped out of the shop, shouldering Happy on the way out. He, of course, didn't say a word, unsure if that was the best idea.

She hadn't even made it half way down the black marbled hallway, before tears began to rush down her face. Her crying was no longer just a cry, but an uncontrollable sob. The young Stark even stopped to lean against the wall, her hand meeting her mouth to muffle her cries. Before she knew it she could hear the familiar click of heels making there way closer and closer down the hall. "Annabelle?!"  Pepper's voiced echoed. The calling of her name alone, caused the sobs to become even more unmanageable and the tall CEO immediately wrapped her arms around the shorter brunette. The feeling of helplessness overwhelmed her, and her mind continued to scream. He's dead, Annabelle. He's dead.

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"Robert Franklin Carter was taken off his life support on a rainy Thursday afternoon in the presence of his granddaughter, Annabelle Carter and his son-in-law, Tony Stark..."
Tony's eyelids fluttered at the obituary that sat open on his StarkPad, one hand fiddling with the knot of his tie. It appeared that Annabelle was no longer his secret long lost daughter, which made his stomach twist. Swiping the screen quickly with his fingers, the image went black and he casually shifted in his seat. The limo was quiet, and gave off an eerie feeling. Annabelle sat between Pepper and himself, not a word escaping the confines of her throat. His girlfriend gripped Annabelle's hand tightly while her blue eyes stared out the tinted windows. His daughter's eyes stared at her lap and hadn't left her lap since they left the tower. She really hadn't uttered a word to him since he broke the news. Most communication came through Pepper--- it all felt very foreign to him. Trying to comfort his daughter in a time of mourning all while she hated his guts. He never was good at this. With anyone. He lived alone for the majority of his life---he didn't really have true relationships. He had become accustomed to being alone, and his failed attempts at being with anyone. Pepper, Happy, Rhodes and even his own daughter--- made him cringe at the idea of attempting to get close to anyone.

The limo began to slowly come to a stop, Tony looked to his right through Pepper's window, seeing the sun beginning to peak just over the hillside of the cemetery. The last he was here, he was discreetly standing away from the group of individuals mourning the life of Annabelle's mother... and now we lay her grandfather to rest, only 6 months later. He watched Belle's eyes finally lift, meeting the people that were beginning to sit down in the seats that sat near her grandfather's casket. Finally an exasperated sigh came from her chest. It almost sounded painful, as if she was holding in all of her emotions... any cries that might begin to escape the deep caves of her body.

Pepper gave a small smile to his daughter, opening the limo door. "Take your time, sweetheart. We still have fifteen minutes before the funeral starts."

"Yes, take your time," Tony said, pulling the handle on the car door to push it open, but stopped when he felt Annabelle's hand grab his right hand. "Daddy, wait." There was that name again. His other name. Only this time it was Daddy. It wasn't 'dad'... it didn't follow a typical daughter like sigh nor any sarcasm. "Can you stay in here with me?"

There was a long pause, his eyes purely focused on Annabelle until he looked at Pepper to give her a slight nod. Pepper nodded back, her lengthy legs getting out of the vehicle and shutting the door behind her. Annabelle lifted her hand from his, once again letting them curl back up on her thighs. Tony lifted his right arm over his daughter to place it on the head rest behind her. However, he didn't anticipate her next move. The second his arm went up, she immediately fell into the crook of his arm pit, her furthest arm wrapping around his torso. He didn't need to hear a peep to know she was already crying. This was where she fell apart.

The TinMan let his arm fall to wrap around her, while other hand rested at the nape of her neck. There wasn't many things that broke his heart, but this-- came close. The Stark men weren't  good at showing no emotion--mostly just sarcasm. Howard Stark showed no love, and only ever showed his cold calculating side. The last person Tony wanted to be in this context was his father.

Annabelle's face was shoved so well into the crook of his shoulder he could barely hear her cries, but could feel her fingers tremble as it gripped his suit tie. He bit his bottom lip, trying to ignore the fact that his eyes were watering slightly too. In most cases he wouldn't know what to do or say, but for some reason this time? His body reacted quickly and gave Annabelle what she needed in that moment. Her father.

"I'm... so sorry, Sweetheart."