Endeavour Nikolas Stark is perfectly fine as is.
As a child he had been extraordinary, finding a home among the friendliest of people at Charles Xavier's School For the Gifted, and finding himself Gifted in many ways just beyond the X-Gene in his DN...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I hear the rocks and stones echoing my song.
When Nikolas awoke, he felt lighter.
His wings had long faded into his back, this much he knew, and every inch of skin was covered in a soft blanket much like his weighted blanket from home.
He felt confused and nearly lost, similar to his previous stays at hospitals.
It felt as though something were missing, and it did not take him long to find out what.
Nikolas' eyes opened slowly to a room much too bright to be the cave, the cleanliness of it all a trigger in his already overstimulated mind. Luckily the lights were dimmed and the doctor credited this fact to his dad who was currently asleep in a stiff armchair beside his bed.
It was with a frown that Nikolas realized that he was in a hospital, a place he often tried to avoid ever since he was a child but it was not easy when sickness came so easily and his dad was often someone who worried to much. He felt heavy, his arms stiff by his sides in a way that was not welcomed. He became entirely aware that these were his usual aftereffects of being under anesthesia.
Nikolas had always felt the same after anesthesia.
He did not even think to attempt sitting up on his own, though the steady dripping of morphine through an IV would certainly ward off any pain, Nikolas knew he was not strong enough to even attempt it.
Nikolas glanced over to his dad, his voice uncompliant in a frustrating way as he wanted more than anything to get his dad's attention. His dad looked peaceful, his head was balanced on his hand on the arm of the chair, all his cuts and scrapes were cleaned and the worst of it bandaged. Nikolas smiled at the realization that his dad was here and safe, they both were.
He knew, of course, that that could not be entirely true.
Nikolas barely had to give a glance down to the rest of the bed to know that his leg was gone.
He had guessed it almost instantly, days after waking up given how much pain he was in and how terrible the injury looked. Nikolas had already figured out that it would probably have to go.
The fact, however, that there was something foreign to be found in his stomach was unexpected. There was a bullet to be found there, he could feel it, lodged up against his spine and not causing any issues beyond throwing off his internal system. Nikolas would question it later, but for now, he concentrated solely on waking his dad up.
Nikolas waited barely a moment before lifting his chin sharply and grinning in a child-like way when his gifts complied and knocked his dad's hand from under his chin. The action successful in startling his dad awake and the man looked around quickly, just as confused as Nikolas had been when he first woke up.
"Einstein." His dad smiled softly, leaning forward in his arm chair and wincing at the strain in his back from the uncomfortable position. He reached towards Nikolas with his left hand steady, palm up, fingers splayed and awaiting his son's permission to touch him. Nikolas' hand was purposeful as he pressed it into his dad's.
Nikolas grinned as his dad stood and placed a hand behind his back, helping him to sit up the rest of the way before settling on the edge of the bed by his knee. "You look like shit." Nikolas smiled as he said it and it was nearly a comedic moment, with the silent room and both of them still slightly exerted after helping him to sit up.
His dad shook his head, "You don't look much better Einstein."
Nikolas had always liked the way that his dad called him by the nickname more than his own name. It felt as though there was a subtle nod to his intelligence while also creating a different sense of familiarity.
Everyone called him Nikolas but only his dad called him Einstein.
A different emotion crossed his dad's face, Nikolas watched closely as his dad looked down at his hands which twisted around the doctor's left hands.
"Your face changed." Nikolas said it with a frown, his free right hand lifting up and poking at his dad's cheek. "Why has it changed?"
His dad smiled, obviously despite whatever he was currently processing internally. "I have some news Einstein." Nikolas noted the way that he even said it in his 'it's bad news' voice, his face matching.
"I know what news." Nikolas frowned, leaning his head to the side. "But we can go home now."
He looked away from his dad, his eyes looking up at the ceiling briefly before wincing at the knock on the door.
Tony knew it would be a long time before his son would acknowledge the loss, and a small part of him felt reassured that he had even spoken, as he was sure that his son would fall silent and unresponsive.
He looked to the door, calling to whoever it was that they could enter before glancing back down at his son. "We still have to deal with this conversation Einstein."
Nikolas nodded solemnly, "Amputation." He said it so surely that Tony missed it, looking instead to the door as Rhodey entered.
Tony hesitated as he looked at his oldest friend and son together.
"Tony, kid." Rhodey smiled as he said it, shaking Tony's hand first before approaching the side of the bed and gauging how Nikolas felt. It wasn't until the smaller Stark reached out his hands for a hug did Rhodey react, pulling Nikolas into a firm hug that meant the world to both of them. "How are you feeling?"
Nikolas looked up at the ceiling, "I have a bullet in my spine."
Both Tony and Rhodey paused. The latter looked to Tony and frowned, the former looked at Rhodey with a shrug. He hadn't mentioned anything to his son as he hadn't had the chance to and the confirmation that his son knew the bullet was there did not startle him.
There was, at times, a sort of ethereal way that his son existed. He knew of things before most did and noticed so much that for a while his old school teacher believed him some form of clairvoyant as he seemed to know things before they happened. To Nikolas, the foreign body in his system was just that, foreign, and noticeable.
"It can not be removed." Nikolas stated it like it was simple, shrugging his shoulders and yawning in an open mouthed way. "Do not be worried Uncle Rhodey. We can go home now."
Tony shook his head in almost disbelief, though he knew his son wasn't looking at him to notice. "Yeah, it's too close to your spine." This model for a conversation was common between the three, Nikolas preferred facts when it came to large news and that emotions do not be involved as it is often confusing. "I'll do some research-"
"You do not need to." Nikolas interrupted with a smile, "I will keep it in place."
There was a pause in the conversation before Rhodey spoke. "There's a plane waiting for the two of you. You've got permission to leave Nikolas, as long as you take it carefully and connect with your doctor back home."
Nikolas hummed, lifting the blanket off of his leg and specifically looking away from the residual limb found there. Tony found himself frowning at his son, but working quickly to help him to turn in the bed. "We can go home." Nikolas smiled as he said it, rocking back and forth by the hips as he waited for his dad to grab clothes for him.
Tony smiled, "Yes we can go home Einstein." Tony reached forward, pulling the sweatshirt over his son's head with Rhodey's help. "I was waiting on you, you took so long." He put emphasis on the word, making sure he sound dramatic enough so his son would catch on.
Nikolas glared at him in a specifically playful way, "Not my fault I overexerted myself."
"Well." Tony said it with a smile, "No I guess not."
