Bruised (Irondad)

3

The twins fell asleep, still clinging to each other. They must be exhausted, after everything that's happened, but none of it matters whilst they're asleep, not to them anyway.

It does matter to Tony Stark .

He's sending email after email to social services and any known contact to their disgusting excuse for a mother and if they can't find her then he'll do it himself. He's angry, he's so angry. He can't understand how this could happen.

How does a five year old end up getting poisoned by her mom? What could a five year old possibly do to deserve poisoning?

And maybe, if he hadn't deterred Leila from his life with money, if he hadn't done his best to forget she ever existed, if he had taken responsibility for what swam out of his balls - this wouldn't have happened.

The sound of stiletto heels against the cold flooring drags his attention away from his latest angry email and towards his angry Pepper Potts.

She's appearing much more calm than Stark, her hair now fixed and her body fighting to stay relaxed. She's determined to prevent panic, someone has to take the role of the adult in this situation and she knows very well it isn't going to be Tony. He'll try, but anger will take over.

"She's being kept in for another twenty-four hours, just to monitor her vitals and make sure she isn't still throwing up but they think she's in the all-clear. In the mean time, social will be coming in tomorrow to speak to both kids about what happened and assess the situation, it's unlikely that they'll be sent back there but-"

Stark slams his hand down on the arm of the chair in frustration, not really towards her but more towards the system and it's flaws "Unlikely? Pepper, unlikely is not good enough, she was poisoned, Pep. Not happening, that woman will kill her".

The more rational in the situation rolls her eyes "But" she continues where she left off "Our legal team is already on it, gathering the necessary paperwork and signatures. All we need is consent from Gianna and Giovanni and we can take them home".

"How are we going to get them to trust us?" the mechanic asks before he's realised he's doing it. There aren't many people he allows to hear his thoughts and sometimes it still shocks him when he finds himself spilling.

Pepper sits down in the chair beside him silently and he takes it as a cue to continue "Her mom poisoned her after trying to get her adopted, no doubt she's told them all sorts of horrific shit about me.. how do we get them to trust us?".

Both know it'll be a feat. They're bound to have walls up and Tony Stark isn't the warmest or softest person around, even Pepper has minimal experience with kids. Not only that, but the two live with some of the most intimidating people ever to exist, The Avengers may be dream housemates for many but two abused kids are likely to find it traumatising.

"We can't tell them to trust us, we've got to show them that they can. The rest will follow" Pepper decides, resting her head on the other's shoulder.

It's the most reasonable plan of action either can come up with in the moment so they silently agree to follow it. It's not as if they have much choice, neither will allow the children to end up anywhere where they could be in danger.

Tony must've fallen asleep at some point, because he woke up.

Pepper's still by his side, scrolling through her phone. His back aches from the harsh plastic chair, the bright lights unkind to his eyes, but remembering why he's here is the real pain. He still can't believe he let this happen.

He allowed a child to get hurt, he could've stopped it, he didn't.

He rubs his eyes to try and alleviate at least one of the things bothering him, the sudden movement alerting Pepper that he's awake.

She shifts to look at him, smiling slightly at his messy hair, in desperate need of a trim. She reaches out a hand and tries her best to smooth the locks into place, but physics isn't really on her side and it springs back up again. A wonky smile is pulled onto Stark's lips as he properly sits himself up in the chair.

"The social worker's in talking to the twins" His girlfriend tells him, glancing towards the window. Tony follows her line of sight and sees the kids talking to a youngish man, probably in his mid-twenties. Gianna looks a lot less ill and upset, which he supposes is a good thing, but Giovanni looks just as worried. The two are connected by their palms, holding on tight so there's no chance of them being swept away from each other. The boy is frowning, lines criss-crossing on his forehead as he listens to what the social worker has to say, but Gianna seems to be trying harder to seem calm.. like Pepper. The man says something and the girl glances at the boy before saying something which prompts the adult to scribble something down on his clipboard as if his life depends on it.

Pepper and Tony watch in silence for another few minutes before the twins look at each other again for a few moments, then Gianna says something that resembles "Yes".

Standing up, the man says something else and then leaves the room. When Tony and Pepper catch his eyes, he heads straight towards them. "Nice to meet you uh.. Mr Stark - when you're awake I mean.. I- um.. I'm a big fan of your work. As a mechanic and a superhero".

Tony stares for a moment, unsure as to what to reply with. His usual beaming ego is a little dampened by the dim situation and no response feels appropriate. He clears his throat awkwardly, a small smile tugging at Pepper's lips. "The twins, what's happening?".

The man goes bright red, immediately staring down at his clipboard "Right, yes, sorry-" he takes a deep breath and looks back up at the practical celebrity "They've agreed to talk to you. Both are a little shy but that's completely natural with the situation they've been living in".

The first part of the information aids a little relief in washing over Tony, he'd worried they'd turn him down straight away, not wanting anything to do with him. However the second part makes him uneasy, "And what situation have they been living in, exactly?".

Not knowing anything about his kids is really getting to him. He doesn't know anything.

"I'm sorry, I'm not allowed to disclose any personal information until legal guardianship has been transferred".

Of course. He can't know anything because they technically aren't even his kids at the moment, he turned them down.

With a slight nod, Tony rises to his feet. Nausea settles itself in the pit of his stomach, how the hell do you introduce yourself to your children??

"Hi? Sorry I left you to your abusive mother and allowed you to be poisoned?? I'm dad???".

He decides on the spot that a joke is probably not the way to go. The kids are naturally going to have trust issues, telling a bad pun is probably not going to help them overcome them.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Pepper's voice is soft and welcoming and warm and the urge to say 'yes' almost wins over for Tony, but he manages to shake his head slightly.

"I should.. I should probably speak to them alone to start with".

Although he doesn't turn around, he knows she nodded and is watching as he walks into the room.

Here goes nothing.