And then we were two (Tony stark's daughter fic)

FTS

Tony collapsed into a seat angled toward the massive front windows and watched the social worker's car disappear down his drive with his daughter. It was better this way, he reminded himself as he stared at a picture of petrified brown eyes. He'd nearly gotten her killed. What if Rhodes hadn't reached her.

"Tony," Pepper murmured gently, hovering in his doorway. "You're making a mistake."

The man snorted and brushed his thumb over the photo in his hands. "Yeah, maybe. It won't be this mistake though," he crumpled the newspaper and waved it slightly, "it won't be getting her killed. Besides, me as a dad? Nobody in their right mind thinks that's a good idea."

Pepper seemed to wince for him and slowly stepped toward him, "maybe not, but it was good. For both of you." She placed a tattered sketchbook on the arm of his chair. "It's ok to be afraid to mess up Tony, it isn't ok to let that fear cripple you.

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Addy quickly learned several things about living on a farm with her grandfather. Number one, get up, everything is ten times harder on an empty stomach. Rule number two, no matter how vicious he seemed, Duke, her grandfather's half blind hound dog, was better than he seemed. Rule number three, forgetting to close any door or gate had dire consequences her backside wouldn't forget in a hurry. And, catching chickens long after the sun had gone was terrifying and exhausting. Rule number four, grandfather sober was nothing compared to grandfather drunk. Poker nights were nights for vanishing. Rule number five, his friends weren't any better. Again, become scarce for poker night.

The first month had been a nightmare of unfulfilled expectations and their painful consequences. No, mostly, she hurried to perform her chores she'd been given and spent the rest of her time avoiding catching attention. It worked, except for Thursdays.

Last week she'd thought staying upstairs with the lights dimmed would be enough. But, when Andy had insisted he need her for good luck and her grandfather had become angry at her rude behavior toward his friends she'd quickly realized her mistake. To avoid disaster on poker night one needed to be more than just out of sight, she needed to be missing entirely.

It was with that thought in mind that she'd slipped into the hayloft as soon as she'd been dismissed from dinner and hidden behind a hay bale. Addy must've dozed off because the next thing she knew the sun was up and she was being jerked out of her hiding place by the front of her T-shirt. The girl yelped, startled, and tried to struggle free.

"What you think you were doin, Missy?!" Her grandfather roared in her face, throwing her to the floor of the loft. "I give you a home and you're rude to my friends? Hiding out here all night like they's some sorta beasts?!"

Adeline cowered, cradling her scuffed and bruising elbow into her chest from where she'd fallen. "I just didn't, didn't wanna be a bother," the girl stammered quickly.

She barely had the chance to flinch before his hand connected with her cheek, a resounding crack echoing throughout the barn even before she fell backwards to the floor once more. "Your mother was jus like you," her grandfather snarled, stalking closer as she scuttled fearfully backward. "Always acting like she knew better, always vanishin into the barn, that where you oopsed your way into the world?"

"Pretty sure she'd run away from you before I oopsed anything," Addy snapped before she could stop herself. She cringed, squeezing her eyes closed and curling in on herself before the first sting of his belt snapped across her back. It seemed like hours before the blows stopped and she shook, panting, on the floor. The girl choked on her sobs and achingly struggled to her knees.

"See to the chickens," her grandfather growled and stormed away as he worked his belt back through the loops of his pants and walked off.

Addy spent the time in the chicken coop imagining what she'd do to that belt if she could get her hands on it. Or him if she were able. One thing was certain, no part of living with tony had been half this horrible and she desperately needed to convince him to take her back, the only problem was how to go about that.

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Addy crept through the old farmhouse and slowly eased open the back door, careful not to move it past the point where it would squeak. Duke gave a small bark that was more of a breathy whoof of air and she whispered soothingly to the dog. It was nearly completely dark, the moon little more than a sliver and for a moment she debated the wiseness of her scheme. Her bag brushing over one of the worst of the welts on her back quickly spurred her onward and she hurried down the steps and toward the street.

Addy assumed she had until sunrise before she'd be missed, at which point she'd need to avoid public places. Until then she needed to walk. Deaton was closest, but it was also most expected and where her grandfather spent the majority of his shopping trips. Marshall was nearly twice the distance of Deaton and would easily take all night, likely into the morning, but was less expected. She only knew it was there because Gary, one of grandfather's poker buddies, had complained about his wife's shopping habits in the bigger town. She opted for that, bigger also meant easier to disappear in and if it meant staying away from her mother's father that's exactly what she planned to do.

The thing about walking long distances is it's exhausting. An adult would tire from such a trip but Addy wasn't an adult. She blinked heavily, stumbling over the gravel road as she struggled to keep moving.

Something screeched in the forest along the country road and she flinched fearfully, pulling her jacket tighter around herself. "There are several animals that make screaming noises," Addy reminded herself in a shaky voice. "Foxes, raccoons, some birds or owls, bob-bobcats," she stammered the last and shook her head, trying to ignore the terrifying thought.

Addy wished it had been a full moon, a little more light would've been reassuring. Somehow everything was more terrifying in the dark. The trees rustling sounded ghostly like it never would've in the day time, even the crunch of her own sneakers seemed to echo until her heart pounded with the terror that she was being followed.

As the sun created the horizon Addy was both relieved and disappointed. At least she could see better now and with the light her terrified heart rate slowed slightly. But, she's been certain she could make it to Marshall before sunrise, from what she could see she was nowhere near the town she'd heard of.

For one terrible moment ice rushed though her veins as she considered the possibility she'd gotten lost. What if she'd turned around in the night somehow? Could she be walking right back the way she'd come, back toward the nightmare that was her grandfather's farm? Addy sucked in a deep breath and stubbornly marched forward. She'd heard correctly, she knew she had, and she was going the right way. Maybe she hadn't walked fast enough, maybe it was further than Gary had said, either way she would get there. She'd come up with a way to contact someone then, maybe she could call Rhodes, or Happy. Happy would help her wouldn't he? He'd seemed to care...

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Hey guys I'm so so so so sorry I know this update took forever. I am not giving up on this I would never do that to you I promise. my life has just been a bit crazy lately. Anywhoo I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll try and get the next one up asap