[1] Lions Inside | Tony Stark

twenty seven

[Jade]

When she came back to the tower, she could practically feel herself glowing with happiness and triumph. A big part of it was from being with Will, but also that she could walk somewhere without being so scared and paranoid that she had to look over her shoulder all the time.

Though that didn't last so long when she saw boxes everywhere in the room. At first, she didn't know what they were for, but she could start making guesses when she looked closer and saw that all of the boxes were labeled.

Tony walked into the room, a cup of coffee in his hand and a marker behind his ear. His face turned itself into a smile at the sight of her, not noticing the look on her face.

"What's going on?"

"Moving time. It's about time we head back to Malibu, can't stay in a broken building forever."

Jade felt the dread in her chest, she didn't want to go back there. For once she felt like she had everything she needed here, a comfortable home, feeling safe, a new friend, and Tony. The lump in her stomach felt heavier when she wanted to do something she never wanted before, she wanted to go against Tony.

"No." Her words made the confusion clear on his face.

"What are you talking about? We can't stay here Jade, this place is a mess."

"It may seem unlikely, but I'm happy here in New York. I don't want to leave something that I've been searching a hundred years for," her voice was clear and showed no signs of uncertainty.

"Jade, when we moved here we both knew it wouldn't be forever. We can come back some other time when the tower's been fixed."

"No," by now she knew she started to sound like a child, but she didn't know how far she could take this or if he could be convinced at all, though she really doubted it.

"There's no discussion about this. We are moving back and that's final!" Both of them were riled up, but neither of them wanted to back down. Jade knew that they would say something they didn't mean if this didn't stop.

"You can't decide over me! I can do whatever I want without your permission!"

"Is that what you've done in the past century!? Done whatever you wanted? And what is there even here that you want to stay for!? What could have changed your mind in a day that made you want to stay so badly?"

"I don't know! Comfort? Safety? Company?" she immediately regretted the last word as soon as she spoke it.

"Someone's company you can't have if you go with me."

His face only made her feel worse, but she knew there was no backing down now. Yes, she likes Will just from the short time they met, though it was mostly because she could see herself being friends with him. She wanted to stay here with Tony, she was tired of never staying in one place longer than a few weeks or a few months.

"Tony..." Her voice trailed off as she tried to find the right words to make things right.

"You know what? Why don't you stay here and I'll move back to Malibu myself since you're having such a great time here with no need of my company.."

There it was. The thing that would make them regret everything. Jade felt herself becoming riled up again as the fear of being abandoned and alone steeled her heart.

"You do that, and find another dog while you're at it! Maybe you'll find a pet without powers and a mind of their own this time!"

She stormed by him as soon as her mouth had stopped moving, not daring to look at his face since it would probably be the same as her own. Regret and hurt without wanting to back down.

"Fine! But don't expect me to answer when you call for help!" Those were the last words she heard before the door to her room closed behind her.

She took a few deep breaths as tears of sadness and anger clouded her eyes. She quickly grabbed one of the bags Tony had given her when they moved to the tower. She packed as quickly as she could without paying any attention to what she grabbed, she knew she just wanted to be gone as soon as possible.

She scanned her room one last time and noticed something on the table beside her bed. A beautiful necklace Tony had given her. It seemed quite simple with a single pendant of a Robin on a thin chain. It was a gift on her birthday just a few weeks before the Avengers were formed.

She stood frozen for a few seconds, pondering whether she should bring it or not. A few quick steps and a grab later she held the pendant in her hand and quickly made her way out of the door before she could regret her decision. No matter how much she and Tony were disagreeing at the moment it wasn't worth leaving something like that behind, especially when it was her first birthday gift she had received in almost a century.

The elevator made a small noise as it arrived at her floor, the doors opening by themselves. She looked over her shoulder one last time to let her eyes scan the room, Tony, nowhere to be seen. She was just about to take the last step into the elevator when a familiar voice made her stop.

"Shall I inform Mr. Stark of your departure, Ms. Dawson?" Jarvis asked her. His voice brought a small smile to her lips, knowing what he truly meant.

"Don't bother. I'm sure we'll make up one day, just... not in a while. But I will miss you."

"Alright... Be safe on your travels."

She couldn't help but smile once again. Even though he technically wasn't alive or a real person he seemed too sentient to be a machine or a program.

"Thank you for everything."

"It was my pleasure."

The elevator door closed in front of her, thinking she could've heard Tony pouring a drink at his bar with a heavy sigh.

When she took the first few steps outside she felt freer and more trapped than before. She finally had the freedom and security she had always longed for, but the price of it was being trapped in her own guilt about Tony. She honestly didn't know if her freedom was worth than her friendship with Tony.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to look bright on her situation; one day she and Tony would make up and until then she could do things she had only dreamed of doing before. Her life had opened up in a whole new way now.

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Hi everyone it's me again! Sorry for not posting for quite some time, but school has just kept me so busy.

But onto better news: this was the last chapter of Lions Inside and I'm happy to inform you there will be a sequel.
I will take some time off to really plan out the story before writing and posting the first few chapters, but I will post a note on this story and tell you when it's out!

Thank you for sticking around so far and I hope I will see you again in Walk With Me.