Requested by tonyandbuckyswife, hope you like it!♥️
I've already done a couple of these, one with Thor as a friend and Steve as a significant other, so this time I'm doing Tony as a guardian/parental figure. Gets a lil graphic so beware
~
"Good morning, miss l/n."
The soothing voice of JARVIS startled you. You still weren't quite used to the AI that seemed to speak out of nowhere, an unseen entity that instinctively made you look around for a source you could never find.
"Morning, JARVIS..." you said. "Where's Tony?"
"I'm afraid Mr. Stark had to run an errand. He will return in the afternoon, no later than 2 PM. In the meanwhile, may I recommend waffles for breakfast?"
You smiled a little. The AI knew how to put you at ease whenever you were home alone, although you supposed you were never truly alone in Tony's luxurious mansion. "Thanks, JARVIS."
You enjoyed the peaceful stillness of the morning while you ate, the view of the ocean never failing to disappoint. In the beginning you found the sheer size of the place intimidating. You would've gotten lost on your way to the bathroom if it weren't for JARVIS. But as the months rolled by you adjusted. You got used to Tony's unexpected absences. You started to feel at home.
It all started with an incident with your powers at school. Powers you'd mysteriously developed and had no idea how to control. It landed you at SHIELD and when they couldn't decide if you were a potential threat or future ally, that's when Tony stepped in. He read your file and offered to take personal responsibility for you. Your home life was chaotic enough for you to accept that offer. He became your legal guardian. You wouldn't go as far as calling him dad, at least not yet, but he'd certainly been more of a parent to you than anyone else in your life.
You'd asked him why he did it. "Because you deserve it," he'd said.
Yeah. Right.
Sometimes you wondered if you'd ever have what it took to be an Avenger. It was hard to think that far into the future when you could barely handle the present. Feelings of inadequacy and exclusion had haunted you for a while. No matter what you did you just didn't fit. Combine your teenage troubles with uncontrollable powers and, well, you have something that mixes about as well as water and oil. It confused, angered and scared you.
Sometimes it was all too much. That's when you... you did things. You hurt yourself. Scratching yourself until you had welts and scabs all over your arms. There were times it looked like you'd rolled down a hill of thorn bushes. Other times, when your lows were worse, you used scissors. It hurt. It stung. Blood would drip down the drain. But for a moment the initial pain distracted you. For a moment you almost felt better.
Then came the burning. Like your arms were on fire. And worse, the shame.
Bad things seemed to follow you everywhere you went. You wondered if there was a reason for that. Like you... you deserved it. Yeah. If you deserved anything, it was bad things.
You winced and clutched your arm through your sleeve. Always sleeves. Even if the friction hurt you had to wear sleeves. You had to hide it, especially from Tony. The last thing he needed was another burden. But wearing sleeves was easier said than done when it was a hot summer day. The sky was a beautiful blue - and the pool. The pool looked especially appealing.
It had been a long time since you'd been in a pool. Or any water. You'd loved swimming ever since you were little. Now it felt off-limits.
You wondered...
