little piece of heaven (tony stark's daughter)

5

rosie's p.o.v

"look at me rosa" dad's hands cup my cheeks and he stares into my eyes "is anything hurting you?".

i shake my head, it's a little bit of a lie but i can't tell him about the increasing pain in my head, because it's weird and he won't get it.

after he decides he's stared at my face for long enough, he places his hand on the back of my head and pulls me close again "i can't believe you" he mumbles.

yeah i can't really believe me either, everything that's happened recently has been pretty unbelievable.

"you know what you did was stupid right? i could've lost you" the warmth of his body is a harsh contrast to the cold of his arc reactor which presses against my cheek.

"but you didn't" i respond quietly.

"that's not the point" dad pulls away and holds me on his hip "if you ever pull a stunt like that again i'm telling you you will not leave your bedroom until you're sixteen".

i emit a small whine and cuddle myself into his t-shirt "i won't".

it's a lie, of course it's a lie. i'm becoming more accustomed to lying lately, i'm becoming quite good at it.

dad's birthday is the same day as the dance showcase, but i don't go. after the whole ivan thing i wasn't quite feeling up to dance and adam was ill on the day anyway. besides i'm 90% sure that dad forgot so it doesn't matter.

what does matter is the fact that i'm pretty sure my dad has lost his mind.

downstairs is the craziest party i've ever seen, and with my dad i've seen a few. half naked girls swarm around the room, all drinking colourful pungent liquids that cause them to laugh demonically and dance as though they're strippers. they probably are. i hold my hands over my ears to shut out the deafening music that blasts through the house, i can't believe anyone can even hear each other.

i wouldn't have come in here if i didn't have to, but the pain in my head has gotten worse and i think it might be time to tell my dad now. i can barely see through the white pain that repeatedly shoots behind my eyes and i stumble across the tiles towards my dad's voice. i don't make it very far before someone knocks me to the floor and i don't have the energy to get back up.

"rosie? oh god rosie" pepper's voice draws closer to me and gentle arms wrap around my torso and she lifts me to my feet "come on we're getting out of here".

"hi pepper, little ro" rhodey greets us as we walk towards the exit, pepper's gripping my hand and the pain in my temples has subsided a little, to the point where i can see. however, with the noise and everything else i have begun to cry a little.

"we're going to get some air" pepper states, naturally irritated. by now everyone has had enough of my dad's irresponsibility, it's not funny anymore, not at all.

"what's wrong? rosie?" rhodey notes the tear stains on my pink cheeks and frowns.

pepper gestures to the party inside where my dad is currently in his suit, literally shooting things and narrowly missing people. "i don't know what to do, i literally found rosie on the floor".

"you gotta be kidding me" rhodey shakes his head "that's it i'm making-"

"no no no. don't call anyone" pepper pleads.

"pepper this is ridiculous. i just stuck my neck out for this guy" anger flashes in rhodey's eyes, a kind of anger which i've become quite familiar with lately.

"i know, i know, i get it. i'm gonna handle it, okay, just take rosie outside and let me handle it" pepper exhales heavily and hands me over to rhodey who balances me on his hip.

"handle it" rhodey lowers his glare and pulls me close to his side "or i'm gonna have to".

pepper returns to the mess of young drunks and broken glass whilst rhodey and i stay outside.

"any reason why you were on the floor ro?" he asks me when i rest my head on his shoulder.

"my head hurt and i couldn't see and then someone pushed into me" i explain a little pathetically with my head still on his shoulder.

"your head hurt? are you feeling sick?"

"no" i mumble "it's been hurting for a while".

"how long is a while, rosalie?" rhodey frowns and i can see that anger in his eyes again when he look through the doors to my dad who is trying to get pepper to kiss him.

"since the afghanistan thing" i admit, refusing to look him in the eye.

"does your dad know?"

i shake my head gently "he'd freak out, sometimes it bleeds".

"it bleeds?!" rhodey exclaims and i bury my face in his sweater, really not enjoying the continuous loud noises this evening "sorry, sorry, i'll be quieter i- hang on rosie i'm sorry i really have to deal with this. stay right here and i'll be back as soon as possible" rhodey places me on the ground and enters the building.

so i'm left on my own, just sat on the floor with my back against the wall. i just have to watch as things become more and more dangerous and panicked, as rhodey puts on the suit and everyone runs away and my dad still won't take it seriously.

that is until they start really fighting, repulser beams are shot all over the place, the sound of breaking glass ringing in my ears as i stay sat, frozen.

i know i'm crying, hot tears flooding my eyes and spilling down my cheeks as my chest heaves to keep up with my heavy breathing. i can't breathe, and blood is on my head again, and everything hurts and i just don't want to be here, not at all. i don't want my dad, i want my mom. i want to be back in asgard with my mom and thor and loki. home, i want to be at home.

"rosalie?! rosie?! ro- oh my go- oh my god where are you bleeding from what the hell happened? rosie speak to me, can you hear me rose?" pepper runs towards me, happy in tow.

"i uh.. i'm okay" i whimper unconvincingly "it happens a lot there's no apparent reason".

"a lot?!" pepper shrieks "why the hell didn't you tell me?!".

i start to cry harder, really not in the mood for shouting or arguing or anything of the sort.

"okay, okay, we need to get out of here, now, we need to get you checked over and stop that bleeding and we need to get out of here" she crouches down in front of me, trying to find the source of the incessant blood-stream.

of course, i know that she won't find it, no one can. it's weird and it's not human.

"pepper he's gonna hurt dad" i whisper, staring past her worried hands and straight into the room where him and rhodey are standing off.

they both raise their hands towards each other, and the light that follows can only be described as blinding. i scramble to my feet, pulling away from pepper. i'm pretty sure that i'm screaming, though who for i don't know. i scream and i scream and i scream. my throat and my lungs are burning like they never have before and i can feel desperate hands trying to pull me back from the shards of glass and rubble.

i don't know how long it lasts, but i find myself on the ground, leaning back into pepper who's sat here too, rocking me a little and whispering softly.

and as my eyes move from my bloody hands to the windows, i see my dad just stood there, watching.

emotionless, because he doesn't care.