Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist...father?
Tony Stark has dealt with gods, aliens and terrorists. The thing he doesn't know how to deal with? Finding out he has a fifteen-year-old daughter. A daughter with bruises she won't talk about...
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Thalia's POV
I sit down hard on my bed, taking deep, shuddering breaths. My chest is tight. My eyes are blurring. I can't see. I can't think. I can't breathe. Panic attack.
I fumble with my phone, dropping it once and punching the wrong buttons twice before finding the number I want. My hands shake. I press the phone against my ear as it rings once, twice, three times.
"Hello?"
"T-Tony," I whisper. "It's m-me."
"Thalia!" I hear Tony let out a big breath. "Thalia, I'm so sorry about before. I didn't mean to ignore you, and I sure as hell shouldn't have yelled--hey. Are you okay? What's happening?"
"P-panic attack," I stutter. "Raina--"
"What happened with Raina? Thalia, are you hurt?" Tony's shouting now. Natasha must not have told him what went down yet.
"N-no, I'm fine. I just. Zoey. My best friend Zoey. She's the other daughter of Loki. She's not a criminal, she doesn't deserve to get locked up! B-but she's Raina's sister! And I had Raina right there, and Zoey was there, and so I called Nat, and--Tony, I got my best friend arrested!"
Tony's silent for a second. There's a lot for him to unpack there. I'm also not sure I'm coherent. Finally, he says, "Thalia, I'm so sorry."
"They won't let her out, will they?" I ask desperately. "Even though she wasn't directly involved?"
Tony sighs into the phone. "Probably not. Even if she's not wanted on earth, she's a criminal on Asgard for aiding in Loki's escape years ago."
More hot tears spill down my cheeks, but my breathing is calmer now. My mind is starting to clear.
"I know it's hard to hear," Tony says, "but you did the right thing by helping SHIELD pick up Raina. You saved a lot of lives. Including, probably, yours."
I nod silently, rubbing a tear off my chin.
"Thanks," I say. "I'm...I'm sorry about what I said on the phone before. About not wanting you to call me anymore. I know you couldn't be in touch with me if you wanted to go forward with the custody battle."
A beat of silence. "I'm sorry, too," Tony finally says. "I shouldn't have shut you out the way I did. I was just so afraid of breaking the rules and losing you for good. But there has to be a better way to do this. I won't drop out of your life again."
A huge smile stretches across my face. Relief floods all the way down to my toes. He still wants me. I hadn't realized how worried about this I was until I wasn't.
"Thanks, Tony," I say softly.
"What did you say?"
I leap off my bed, whirling around. Darrell is framed in the doorway, starting at me with a murderous expression in his eyes.
