Illegitimate Prodigy

Not to be trusted

There were exposed wires sparking from sections of the wall that had been blown out. What use to be a giant window in the flat of Stark Tower was now just a gaping hole. Belle stood at the opening, her one hand holding an ice pack over her neck and the other flat on the side of one of her legs. She wore tacky looking pajama pants that Pepper had purchased for her. They had cartoon Iron Man, Hulk— most of the other Avengers. Probably the drawings of a child that soon became the tacky clothing line. Her black t-shirt fit her shoulders tightly and it sported white font that said "STARK." Another purchase of Pepper's to encourage Annabelle to start using the last name Stark and not Carter.

Tony noticed her hair flutter from slightly cool breeze winding its way through the New York skyscrapers. Pepper approached quietly from behind him, her heels clearly off. "You know she can't stay here— in fact anywhere in the city." Her voice was low, her arm extending to hand him a glass of water. "I've tried to talk to her out of staying at the tower tonight— that we could fly her directly to the Avengers facility but she won't bite. She's... stubborn." Pepper crossed her arms, her pointy elbows nudging Tony. "Wonder where she got that from."

A lump in his throat formed, his brown eyes scanning to meet Ms. Pott's eyes. He was speechless, which was a rare occurrence. Pepper's eyebrows furrowed in concern, which caused his gaze to drop, but when he lifted his chin again his eyes were back on Annabelle. "When she was 5..." he paused, his hand lifting to meet his jaw line. "The night her mother informed me that I was no longer allowed to see her, call her- - - be in any sort of contact..." His chest felt heavy, and his heartbeats loud. "I remember— staring at Annabelle after she got off stage at her dance recital, and thinking— I will never see you again. You're my daughter and I'll never see you again." There were moments when Tony's father had left him for numerous reasons— business trips, drunken vacations or even the occasional personal trips(which usually meant affairs with another woman.)— that he had hoped he would never come back. It wasn't until he was actually gone that he realized that he needed that calculating son of a bitch. "When I saw her through the shop door... I..." he became breathless. "I thought I may have lost her again."

After the 20 years that he wasn't around Annabelle, he often wondered—was she upset when he left? Did she blame herself when he disappeared and then was just taught to forget? It was probably a reason he drank so much— among other things.

Tony didn't realize his pause lingered with just him staring at his daughters back. Pepper turned, her right hand grabbing his arm. "Talk to her. Convince her to go to the facility—- and then..." the blonde tilted her head, her blue eyes fluttering sadly. "Tell her the truth." She leaned in to kiss his cheek, and he patted her hand on his arm before she walked away.

He took a deep breath, and his chest quickly fell. His feet let lose on the short step before the room Annabelle was standing in and he quietly tiptoed over. He approached her right, and when he met her face she didn't even turn to look at him. A bandage was pasted right above her eyebrow, with the slightest tint of blood seeping through. He quickly licked his lips, averting his gaze. "Here's some water."

"I'm not thirsty." That familiar voice was soft, but almost bitter.

"Yeah, well you'll need it to take this." He opened his other palm that held two small pills. "Pepper wants you to take them. It's to stop your head from throbbing all night." For once she didn't argue, there was no petty comment or sarcastic comment about how maybe his outfit looks serial killerish that second. Delicate fingertips took the pills from his palm, placing them in her mouth. The same hand reached for the glass and downed it in less than a minute. Tony stared, until she gestured for him to take the glass when she had finished. He grabbed the glass and set it down on a piece of cement rubble that was too heavy to bother moving until later.

"I think you should stay at the new facility tonight."

She fluttered her eyelids shut annoyed, her body shifting to face him slightly, so she wouldn't have to turn her sore neck. "I already told Pepper, it's fine. I'll be fine staying here."

"Do you not see this massive hole in the wall? Not mention the fact we're stories up?"  His voice was stern. "Or about the fact you were attacked by man you were so eager to track down. Lucky you, he came right to your doorstep, Annabelle."  Annabelle's mouth dropped in surprise. "Why don't you just listen to me when I tell you to do something? You act like I'm the antichrist, and not to be trusted."

"You aren't to be trusted."she mumbled under her breath. Tony's eyes beamed when he heard, separating any gap between them. " Come again?" His voice rose. Which rarely happened in any arguments they had.

"I said I don't trust you." Tony bit down on his lower lip, glaring down at his spawn. "How could you have the audacity to not trust me? I'm your father."

"Are you serious? More like sperm donor. How could I trust someone that abandoned my mother when she was pregnant with your child? Knowing I existed this entire time.. and .. and never saying a word?" Her eyes became wet with tears, her cheeks rose red from the blood rushing to her face.

His hands lifted. "Annabelle." His voice was quieter this time, but stern. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

"What...?" Annabelle's eyes narrowed in confusion. "What.." the ice pack she had on her neck fell once her hand dropped to her side, and her knees began to buckle. "are you..." Stepping forward Tony caught her with both hands, watching as her eyes fluttered shut.