~Love, Voices & Chocolate~

i love you

The title of the chapter is in lower caps just like the song. The lyrics are so deep, Billie Eilish and her brother are amazing. Idk how but this song was perfect for this chapter. The later part of the chapter, anyway. The song I was gonna put instead was Falling for You by Peachy, something I just came across one day so I'll drop it here if you want to listen to my earlier choice. Both relate to the chapter pretty good but Billie's is much deeper so I had to go with that one 😁

When MJ awoke, she was momentarily blinded by a soft white glow but as her vision adjusted, she realised that was just the sun streaming through the window beside her. Memories of that night instantly flooded her brain and she winced, her mouth hanging open when someone rose beside her and took her hand. She instantly wished it was Peter but she would have been able to tell if it was. Even with a vision that wasn't at its best, there was only one person she knew who wore sunglasses inside.

"Mr Stark...?" She choked out, glancing at his hold on her hand. He let go slowly and placed a hand under her head, raising it up slightly so she could get down some water. She shook her head and muttered something about being uncomfortable, laughing when Tony dropped her head instantly and clicked his tongue at her.

"Must you be so difficult?"

"Must you be so creepy?" She didn't like the warmth and softness in his eyes as he gazed down at her. It felt like he was pitying her. She couldn't look directly at him but with an arched brow, she stared down at her blanket and mumbled, "aren't you going to keep it up? I've got a whole lifetime to argue with you."

"Well... When the teen you love to argue with is unconscious for a little over a week, you can understand why you would go easy on her." She visibly paled and he patted her shoulder awkwardly. "Don't worry your little head about it, Frizzbee. You've got time to catch up on schoolwork before your exams start... I hope. But you're a smart girl, you'll make it through."

"No, it's not that. How's Peter?" He let out an amused huff and she frowned at him. "Not everything in life is a joke, Stark. You don't get through it by saying something dumb and pushing past it. He can get overly worried about me and- oh... Right. I forgot that was over. I'm guessing he's told you by now...?"

"Yeah. He has." Tony was a lot quieter than she expected from him. She cleared her throat awkwardly when he didn't say anything and grabbed her purse from the table at her side, hoping fervently that her phone hadn't died. Luckily, she had shut it down before the party so the battery was nearly full. Tony stared at her until he thought he was being creepy trying to get the words out of his mouth.

How do you tell an eighteen-year-old girl that you're your biological father? How would he be able to explain what had happened in a way that wouldn't paint him or her late mother in a bad light? How would she react? She was going to hate him. She was going to hate him and he knew it. He rose to his feet, still plagued by his thoughts and said the only thing he knew could to comfort her.

"If it makes you feel better, Peter came by every day to check on you."

"Really?" She whispered softly. "Wow... I... Thank you, Anthony. For being here and for telling me that. I mean, I'm not saying I needed you here or anything... Just give me the damned water, please." She folded her arms and he chuckled, handing it to her but she nearly let it slip because her hands were numb. Frustrated and embarrassed, she asked him to help her out with it.

She was trying to act like she didn't care but she felt hopeful because of Peter's worry for her he could see it. Now that he knew of their connection, he was noticing a lot about her. For instance, he had thought her to be an annoying brat who hated his guts when she came to his party, bringing up her mother. In light of recent events, he could see that the girl on the hospital bed was just trying to go with the flow of the shitshow called life and roll with the punches. What happened that night at Liz's party had traumatised her so badly that she was clearly close to crying although she didn't seem like the type to cry in front of others.