Stolen - Tony Stark

12.

Malibu, California, 2010

"Come on Wilson, I could really use your help. Besides, you owe me one."

Kass was currently on the phone trying to persuade a certain fellow merc to help them out. However, he was being awfully stubborn. And people thought she  had an attitude...

"You get to meet Tony Stark." Still, he would not be persuaded.  "Oh come on, Wade, get up off your lazy ass and help out an old friend!" The other line went dead - he'd hung up on her. 

"Nice, Wade, real mature." She hung up her end of the line. 

"Okay, got some caffeine in me, we're ready to go." Stark emerged from the coffee shop - he hadn't disguised himself, as he said he was a regular at this specific shop, his favourite place to go in all of California, apparently.  He was craving some coffee and honestly, Kass was glad to have some as well.

"Thanks," she said, taking the cup he offered her.  "Okay, so now what?"

"Now, it's back to the house-"

"-Big-ass mansion, you mean."

"-To upgrade the suit and then fly into action. Did you make your call?"

"Yeah, tried to call in a favour, but he won't do it. Something about copyright and crossover universes, whatever that means." She shrugged. 

"Excuse me, Mr. Stark?" A little boy tugged at Tony's sleeve.

Tony knelt down.  "Yes, Sir?"

The boy seemed to like being addressed so formally. "My sister was wondering if you'd sign her Iron Man action figure - she's a big fan, but she's really shy, so she wanted me to ask for her."

"Sure thing. What're your names?"

"I'm Jacob, and she's Sarah."

"Nice to meet you, Jacob and Sarah, I'm Tony." He took the action figure of himself and a pen and signed his name along the back of it. 

Kass found herself smiling as she watched him interact with the kids. 

Sarah found the courage to speak a few words before her and her brother left.  "Thank you for being a hero, Mr. Stark."

"Thank you for being you, kid," Tony replied, handing her back her action figure.

"Wow! Jacob look!" the little girl squealed, showing her brother her newly-signed toy.

"Wow!" Jacob agreed.  "Thanks Mr. Stark."

"Thank you, Kiddo." The kids ran off excitedly. 

"That was sweet," Kass said. 

"It was." 

"You like kids?"

"Sure do."

Once again, he was just full of surprises.

"Wow, that shower can do more than most cellphones!" Kass declared, all dressed, running her hands through her still slightly-damp hair as she entered the sprawling living room back at Stark's mansion home. Honestly, why did he need all this space? 

He was seated at a desk in the living room. Framed photographs surrounded him on the desk and shelf.  She picked one up. It was a family photo.

"Whoa - this is you?" She stared at the photo in disbelief.

"No, it's some random teenage boy posing with my parents."

"Huh. No way." She held the framed photo next to his face.  "Oh, no, wait, I can see it. Your face is really smooth under that beard."

"Thank you, I think."

"Hey, nice piano." She set the frame down and ran her fingers along the smooth surface of the instrument.  

"Yeah, Mom played it. She taught me a little, but it mostly just sits there unused." He even had a framed photograph of his mother atop the instrument. 

She sat down at the bench, tapping the keys before launching into a song.  She stopped suddenly.  "Sorry, what am I doing?"

"No, no, go ahead, I'm glad someone can play it."

"Thanks. It's an old Sokovian folk song. It's about our national symbol, the Firebird." She stood. "Okay, so you need to upgrade your suit or something?"

"Yup. Down to the lab." He led the way. 

When they arrived she removed her jacket, tossing it onto a chair. He saw she was wearing just a tank top underneath. For the first time, he saw the various tattoos snaking up and down her arms. 

She noticed him staring.  "What? I'm a hot tattooed badass. Thanks for noticing." He chuckled. She clapped her hands. "Now let's get to work."

And just like that, they were working together.

----------------------------------

And it paid off.  Best of all, they both got their own moments to shine. 

Well, best of all was that they were able to retrieve Stark's designs and get them out of the wrong hands. S.H.I.E.L.D. took care of the weaponized designs from there. 

Kass declined payment from Stark for the job.  "Keep the money. Besides, I don't really do that anymore." She no longer wanted to be a mercenary for hire. No, she would work on her own terms. 

He accepted, but the money went towards a good cause.  Kass saw on the news that an 'anonymous donor' had donated a bunch of money to help children in need in Sokovia.  

"I guess I owe you a thank you for not arresting me. Because you had every right to," she told him. 

"Yes, I did. But sometimes, good people have rough beginnings."

"Maybe."

"And getting through those rough times  - some would even call it heroic."

She scoffed. "Me, a hero? You're hilarious."

"Just ask Agent Romanoff."

"Yeah, she seems to have it figured out."

"Not fully, trust me. She's still dealing with a lot of her own demons."

"Thank you," she told him. 

"For what?"

"An 'anonymous donor'."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"All right. Thanks anyways."

"I know what it's like to be an orphan, too."

"Yeah. Thanks, Stark."

"Yeah. And hey, listen, if you're ever in some trouble-"

"-You say that like you think I'm bound to get into trouble."

He chuckled.  "-Or you just need a place to stay, just let me know."

She crossed her arms and eyed him.  "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Cause you really helped me out.  I've seen what my tech can do, in the right hands and the wrong hands. So thank you. And hey, if you come to stay, you can play with all the tech you want."

"All right Stark, you just keep surprising me."

And, somewhere along the line, she started thinking of him as Tony and not just Stark.

(Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :))