Nephilim

23

Two Years Ago...

Kirstin looks around the almost completely empty Compound. It used to be packed, full of the Avengers, her family. They deserted Tony, they deserted Avery, they deserted her. Just like everyone does. That's how it went for her. Her dad left, her mom left, her asshole grandfather was barely there in the first place, and he left too. Dean, Sam, and Cas have left her on multiple occasions, Tony too, even if they did always come back. Avery skipped town already, even though she was supposed to stay for another month before going home, but she has a summer job she couldn't miss. Bobby left, Charlie left, Kevin left. Cap left her, Clint left her, Wanda left, Wilson left, and Vision has disappeared. Nat was back in Kansas and had vanished before she could sign the Accords.

Kirstin drops to the ground curling up on herself, arms wrapping around her legs, pulling them close to her chest. They hurt Rhodes, they hurt Tony. Did they even think twice? She wished she didn't feel as hollow as she did. Why does everyone leave? Is the world just that cruel? Everything is crumbling, Tony can't seem to process anything, he's always down in the lab. Rhodes is... in recovery.

She shouldn't feel sorry for herself, she wasn't anywhere near the fight, James was paralyzed, Tony had lost everybody; suck it up for Christ's sake, Kirstin. They had lost so much, what did she even lose? They obviously didn't care about her like she did them, so there was nothing more to it. Steve... Steve, who had been like another uncle to her, didn't care about her, none of them did. Clint, who taught her how to shoot a bow, Wanda who had been like the cool Aunt she had always wanted, Sam Wilson, who helped her in trying to communicate with others, it seemed like all of them cared, but apparently not enough.

So there she sat, thinking about how little they must've cared, nitpicking every interaction they'd had. Feeling a loss that no fifteen year old should have to feel, trying to process what this meant. That's how Tony found her, too, when he and James showed up at the compound. Sitting, arms wrapped around her legs, face blank, lip trembling, but no tears in sight.

"Hey, Kiddo. What... what are you doing down here?" Tony questions, attempting to sound comforting, but coming out slightly pained as he sinks to the floor next to his niece. She was the youngest of the family, but easily the strongest. Tony had broken down twice already behind closed doors and Avery had ended up a sobbing mess the night before she had to leave, but Kirstin. Kirstin, after the past month of everything happening- the Accords signing, Tony locking himself in the lab, everybody leaving- she hadn't cried once. He knew she hadn't, because he asked FRIDAY to tell him if, when, and where she was if she was ever to start crying.

Avery was the type of person to want comfort, to willingly seek it, but not at first. She'll try to deal with it on her own, but if she knows she can't, she'll search for help. She easily opened up to Tony when she finally felt she couldn't handle it anymore. She wanted to get away, to get out of the Compound, to heal away from a place full of constant reminders, and there was no way Tony was going to stop her, telling Kirstin Avery took a job away from here to soften the blow.

Kirstin, however, would keep everything to herself. She'd rather suffer in silence than concern anybody with the way she feels, and it honestly scared Tony. He was worried about her constantly because he could never tell what she was thinking; if she was hurting or perfectly happy. It hurt him to see this tiny teenage girl, to hear of all these traumas that never seemed to be solved, and worry that they could become pent-up problems for her, sooner rather than later, "They all left."

Tony glances up at James, who shrugged slightly, watching the girl carefully but not exactly sure where she's going to go with this. Tony carefully chooses his words as he speaks, "Yeah, I guess they did. But I'm still here. All of your uncles are still here. Avery is still here."