The Deadly Nightshade | { BOOK 1 of The Flower series }

[49] Darik and North

It had been two months after Tony watched Steve and Bucky walk away. He walked the halls of the compound by himself, hearing silence when he wasn't helping Rhodey walk again. The rooms occupied by four of the vanished members were empty and bare, only filled with materialistic items. The only close people Tony really had were Jade, Rhodey, Happy, and Vision. He had gotten the burner phone and the letter Steve had sent him. He constantly read the letter over and over again.

It was just like a few months ago when he would reread fourteen-year-old Jade's letter every single day, not knowing where she was. Now he was reliving it again, but it was with the people he thought he considered his friends. The feeling of betrayal Steve gave him wouldn't vanish, but he was glad that Sam, Wanda, Clint, and Natasha were safe with Steve. They were keeping low from Secretary Ross.

He talked a few times with Vision when he noticed the humanoid sitting on the couch, fiddling with a chess piece. He found out that Vision was a big reason why Wanda and Jade had dated in the past. 

Tony couldn't help but smile at that, but the smile was gone just as fast as it appeared. Wanda was no longer here, which pained him because he saw how much it affected his daughter. A lot of people thought that Tony hated the Sokovian girl, but that wasn't the case. Yes, he was confused on why Wanda and Pietro had a hatred for him, and it only grew stronger when he kept Wanda confined to the compound for her safety and others. But once he saw how happy she made Jade, he pushed aside all of the tension to the side and tried to let her in.

Jade was a mess. The image of Wanda's broken expression after when Jade had handed her the letter killed her inside. As much as Jade wanted to stay with Wanda, she knew that she couldn't walk away from her father or the commitment she gave to the government once she put her signature down on those Accords. She could hope that Wanda would understand her choices.

Jade offered if Wanda wanted to come back to New York with her. She told Wanda that Tony and herself would keep her out of sight from Secretary Ross, but the Sokovian declined. Both girls knew that they were on different sides, and the consequences were coming into play.

Jade walked into the main foyer, and agents watched her stroll by as she kept to herself. Bradley stopped what he was doing, his green eyes following his boss's daughter's path. Jade kept her tired eyes down on the floor, not making eye contact with anyone. She wore leggings, a white oversized hoodie, and heeled boots on her feet. Her hair was in a messy bun, and Bradley could tell she hadn't slept at all by the dark circles underneath her eyes.

Jade walked past him, heading towards the Avengers' section restrictedly prohibited for the team only.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Stark," Bradley said politely.

"Good afternoon," she mumbled back, entering the hallway that Bradley wasn't allowed to pass.

Her phone rang, and she slowly pulled it out of her back pocket. The caller, I.D., was a number that wasn't familiar to her. She let it go into voicemail.

She sat down on the loveseat in the den, sighing. She rested her chin in the palm of his hand as her elbow perched on the armrest. Tony walked in and sat down on the comfortable bench beside his daughter as he looked at Jade with concern. "You alright?"

"I miss her," Jade whispered, shifting her gaze on Tony.

"I know," Tony whispered back. "Maybe we can get Secretary Ross off our backs. . ."