Disappeared- {Pietro Maximoff}

Chapter 38

"Morning, boss."

"Morning, Happy. Something important happen?"

"No, no, not important," Tony opened his eyes and saw Happy fiddling with a CD, "Interesting, yes."

"Ooh, show me."

"I don't know if you'll want to see it. It's a little, un-pg13."

Tony raised a brow, "If this is a film your aunt made, I already told you that I wasn't watching them with you."

"It's from the security cameras at your place in Miami."

"I haven't been there in months."

"I know. I noticed the alarms were set off a few days ago but it was overridden and when I checked the outdoor cameras, nothing was out of place. It's only when I did my monthly watch of all your properties—"

"I told you not to do that, Happy. It's so creepy, I can't do anything without remembering that, oh yeah, my employee will watch this. And telling people about it is awkward too, not many of them want a sex tape that'll only be watched by a single fifty-year-old man."

"I skip those parts," Happy said, rolling his eyes and tossing the DVD at Tony's bare chest, "And maybe now you'll see why I do those watches. Your daughter's made a reappearance."

"Oh thank god."

"With Pietro Maximoff."

"That fucking—"

"And about a hundred kids."

<<>>

"Pietro, door!"

Alex rolled off her boyfriend with a groan. Pietro made a similar noise of complaint, reaching out and trying to pull herself back towards him.

"I have to go."

"They called for me."

"But you're not going to go."

"And neither are you." He tried to kiss her and with a laugh, Alex teleported off the bed and began getting changed into proper clothes. Once done, she teleported back to him and kissed his cheek,

"I expect you downstairs in five minutes."

Alex hadn't checked the time when she and Pietro had woken, the house had been quiet so they'd taken advantage of it. A few of the children were milling around and Alex waved to them, not knowing their names yet.

She opened the door with a smile, that quickly faded when she saw who it was.

Tony lowered his sunglasses, examining Alex from head to toe before raising them again,

"Hey kid, long time no see."

<<>>

"Do you have any idea how worried we've been? And then you appear here, with him!" Tony aggressively gestured at Pietro.

"Look, I already said I'm sorry. It could have been handled better but come on, this is nothing compared to what you've done before."

"Alex..." Pietro said in a low voice as Tony leapt to his feet and approached Alex.

"I am a grownup. You're eighteen years old with the maturity of a six-year-old. You didn't message, or call or do anything to show us you were okay."

"The attack in Times Square made the news."

"All we saw of actual footage was you revealing yourself, doing a mass teleportation and Pietro dying. Great, Alex, so helpful of you!"

"I didn't have much of a choice. I do now, I'm free and I promise I'll do better."

"You will, because you're grounded."

"I'm eighteen, you can't ground me!"

"You're my daughter so I damn well will."

Alex's fist clenched and she cast a glance at Pietro who was hiding in the corner, "Pietro, come on."

"What?" Both men said in unison.

"We're going, come on Maximoff," her hand extended out to him. Pietro walked normally towards her, eyes on Tony who was turning redder with every step. He didn't say anything though, not until Pietro and Alex's fingers brushed and that was when he sighed,

"Alex, wait."

"Yes, Zio?"

"What about your G.E.D.? Going to college? Your future will be ruined."

"It won't be. I missed the deadline to apply anyway, so if I spend the rest of this year setting up the home then it will be stable enough for me to attend M.I.T. anyway. I'm a teleporter, it's not like it will be hard for me to travel to and from places."

"I just don't think this is the best course of action," at Alex's glare, Tony tried to smile, "Right now."

"The oldest children here are sixteen, the youngest are two. All of them have been away from their families for two years, if they even had a family to begin with. I am doing this now, they need me."

"They can go into group homes."

"No fucking way. Aside from the fact only three of them are from the U.S., they would never get a chance at the lives they lost and the life they deserve. I want them, I've been given this chance—"

"They're not your responsibility."

"It was my brother who made them this way. And I understand what they're going through, how to help."

"You are nothing like them. They're not right, not human, you know nothing about them."

Alex's gaze hardened, shutting down in the way Pietro had seen Wanda do regularly and her voice was stone when she spoke, "We'll talk about this tomorrow."

"What?"

"I'm done with this today. Just done."

"Alex—"

"We don't have the room to keep you here tonight but I can teleport you."

"This is my house."

"And I'm telling you to get out of it. You were my family first, but I will not have you insulting my Panfortis and Pietro."

Tony looked at Pietro, who shrugged, "Either you leave now, or we can find the kid with laser eyes to help you out."