girl ― saved by captain america

[twenty three] his best girl

[Bruce]

"How are you feeling? Are you in pain? Bruce can bump up your pain meds; Bruce-" Tony turns to me mid-sentence, a look of sheer panic flashing across his face. Girl's slumped against the bed, big tears rolling down her cheeks. I, however, am not totally convinced that they're due to physical pain. Once Steve left the room, the child's heart rate evened out almost immediately. I think more than anything, she's just tired and afraid. Her life has been nothing but pure chaos for the past twelve hours or so.

"How are you feeling?" I ask, speaking as steadily as possible, in stark contrast to Tony. Girl looks down at her bandaged side, sucking in a breath. "The line of painkillers I have you on is pretty strong. Is it working?" The child nods. Tony sighs in relief, though he quite frankly seems no more relaxed at learning this.

"What happened, Girl? They shot you, at the safe-house?" Tony rushes into questioning. The little girl nods again, her head hanging low. Tony huffs, running a hand through his hair. "And you didn't tell anyone?" When he only receives a head shake as a response, his voice turns darker as he spits, "Jesus christ- why the hell not?"

"Tony," I interject, glaring at the man as his eyes dart up to meet mine. As I scan his face, stiff with tension, his demeanor and behavior only become more concerning to me. "Go easy on her," I reason. "She was put in a terrible situation. She didn't do anything wrong."

"No, no, I reject that," Tony retorts, his usual stubbornness shining through at the worst time possible. "She hid it when it happened, fine. But she had plenty of opportunity after to tell someone. If not Steve, then Clint. Or Sam, or Peter. She made the whole thing a million times worse for herself, worse for everyone. I mean, come on, Bruce. She could've gotten herself killed-"

"Tony, enough," I cut him off, earning a glare from the man's dark eyes. Girl shrinks back from both of us, her cheeks paling at Tony's reckless words. Sighing, I pinch the bridge of my nose. How does he think what he's doing is helpful right now? He's completely terrifying the poor kid; she's too afraid to even apologize for what he's upset about. "Hallway. Now," I finally demand, making my way to the door. Tony grunts, but thankfully obliges, rising to his feet and following me out.

Once I've made sure the door is completely closed behind us, I let out a long breath of hot air, leaning up against the door-frame. Tony crosses his arms and turns away from me, shaking his head.

"You're being totally unfair," I tell him. He chuckles darkly, scraping his shoe against the floor.

"And you're being a total softie, so what's new?" the dark-haired man retorts, turning back to face me. "Look, I know you're probably worried about making her cry or something trivial like that, but the stunt she pulled was stupid and reckless. She could have bled out on her bathroom floor. And you don't think we should say anything about it?" At this point, Tony is seething, and more than anything it's just astonishing to me how off-course his line of thinking is.

"I'm not saying we shouldn't talk with her about it," I correct him. "But you're going about it completely wrong. She did what she did because she was afraid. Getting angry at her and cussing her out isn't going to help her feel any less scared." He purses his lips into a thin line, shaking his head once again.

"We could've lost her, Bruce. She needs to know that she can't hide things like that from us. It's not my job to keep her happy all the time. It's my job to keep her alive."

"The more you treat her like this, the less likely it is that she'll let you do that," I argue quietly. Tony's eyes darken at my words, and he takes a step towards me.

"I don't remember asking your input on how to be a parent," he warns through his teeth.

"You're not being a parent, Tony," I say with a shake of my head, sadness sinking into my chest. "You're being a bully. And even though that usually works out for you, I can guarantee that the more you try to beat Girl down, the less likely it is that she'll ever accept you as a parent." My words appear to cut deep as Tony takes a step back, his gaze finally breaking from mine. He swallows hard, not saying anything. "I know that you're coming from a place of good intentions. But you need to start learning how to soften up," I tell him. "Otherwise, Steve might as well be raising her alone."