Home Again
“Thanks Honey Bear. Give us a call when it's done.”
His best friend/brother’s face disappeared from the screen, leaving Tony alone in the cockpit of the Quinjet, staring into the sunset as they flew west over the Atlantic. The rest of the Bucharest team was behind him in the cabin holding quiet conversations with one another. None of them wanted to disrupt the sleep of their youngest passenger, the young girl rested peacefully on a cot tucked away against one of the bulkheads.
After Natasha reported that she and her sister had cured Payton, Tony had wanted to fly over to them immediately, but had been told off from doing so. Too many public eyes were watching the skies now that the city knew Iron Man was there, and if he got spotted heading to see her there was no telling if anyone would follow or not. There was also the fact that, as of now, the girl still had no idea she had any connection to him beyond having been accepted to an internship program for his company… Plus it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. She passed out from exhaustion only a few minutes after he hung up and had to be carried all the way to the jet. She had yet to wake up, but all of them agreed she deserved the sleep.
Instead, he had gone with Clint to help Steve and Wanda finish up with Barnes. The activated Winter Soldier had caused the most damage to the city, destroying multiple vehicles and risking the lives of dozens of civilians when he caused a tunnel to collapse onto a highway. Tony had breathed a sigh of relief that Wanda had been there to catch and suspend the rubble in the air long enough for the civilians to get out of the danger zone. Though her focusing on saving them prevented her from being able to help Steve with waking Barnes out of his conditioning. The team had decided to go with the old-school ‘cognitive recalibration’ as they so lovingly called the strategy of ‘hit them in the head hard enough to concuss them’.
It worked like a charm in Tony’s opinion. Barnes hadn’t really stood a chance once he was fighting Hawkeye, Iron Man, and Captain America simultaneously. As soon as they had Barnes unconscious, Tony had Cap and Hawkeye take him to the Quinjet as well while he dealt with the authorities.
Most of the remaining morning and afternoon were spent in meetings with Government officials regarding post-op clean-up. Tony had of course offered Stark Foundation financial assistance with repairs to the tunnel, as well as compensation for the personal vehicles that had been destroyed. His offer was accepted, just as he had anticipated, but his second offer of remaining to help with the actual physical clean-up was politely declined. Surprisingly, the government claimed that the Avengers had helped more than enough today, and that they could handle the rest. The higher-ups within Romanian politics had been very pleased that the team-up between the Avengers and law enforcement had prevented any civilian fatalities, and the only injuries had been minor ones in the chaos on the highway.
He couldn’t help but be relieved that they wouldn’t hold the Avengers’ departure against them. The Accords were still new, but it seemed like the Bucharest operation would end up being great publicity, and a shining example of what the Accords could accomplish.
“Was that Rhodey?” An accented voice asked, startling Tony out of his thoughts.
Turning in his chair he saw Wanda standing nearby, tiredly rubbing her eyes. She, much like Payton, had slept for much of the day after wiping out her energy reserves holding up the collapsing tunnel.
“Yeah, he called to congratulate us on the mission. The media’s been working overtime running stories on it. Romania has yet to give any official update on the operation, but news agencies are already speculating, like they always do.”
“Really? What are they saying this time?” Wanda asked, her voice laced with mirth.
He smiled. “Some think we prevented a second ‘October Bombing’, others think we prevented an assassination of public officials. Most have finally gotten wind from locals that the Winter Soldier was seen in the city. Those are the closest with their guesses for obvious reasons.”
Wanda giggled a bit, but even through her amusement he could see she was still worried about something. Tony wouldn’t be able to call himself a genius if he didn’t know what it was about however.
“Pietro’s fine, Wanda. Rhodey said they found Crossbone’s current base in Lagos and they’ll be moving in on it in an hour or two, depending on when their own locals can get their people in position.”
The words seemed to help a bit, but Wanda was still concerned. “Do you think he will be fine? What if something happens?”
“Look, Brock Rumlow is many things, the fastest human on the planet is not one of them. Speedy Gonzalez is going to run circles around them no problem. I’m sure he’ll give you a call as soon as he is able.”
“Thanks, Sta- Tony .” She corrected herself. “I’m surprised you aren’t spending time with her.” Wanda switched topics fast enough that Tony almost got whiplash. He didn’t have to guess who ‘her’ was though.
The two of them looked over towards Payton’s sleeping form simultaneously, watching as Natasha wandered over and, with more care than anyone would ever expect from the infamous Black Widow , sat down next to the cot, taking utmost care to not disturb the girl as she checked over her wounds.
“Someone has to fly this thing.” He remarked, trying to distract from the obvious question.
Wanda didn’t bite. “And everyone in this jet can fly it, and it has autopilot. So what’s the real reason?”
“Besides her being asleep?” He sighed “I don’t know her, and she doesn’t know me. I don’t want her to be questioning why her childhood hero is fussing over her. It’s better for the both of us to save certain reveals until we are back at the Tower. Her Aunt will be able to explain things to her better than I probably could.”
“That’s as good a reason as any I guess.” Wanda shrugged, leaving Tony alone once again to gaze out the cockpit at the seemingly endless expanse of the Atlantic Ocean, though his mind was truly on the small cot nestled somewhere behind him.
When Payton woke up the first thing she noticed was that the world was shaking. Well, more like vibrating. The movement wasn’t violent enough to be considered as shaking. As she began to brush off the fogginess of sleep, her senses began to pick up more and more. The cot beneath her, the sound of jets muffled by metal and spoken over by murmuring voices that seemed to be doing their best to be quiet but were unaware of how sensitive her hearing was. As such their mumbling was more akin to normal conversations in her ears.
She must have made a noise of some sort while she was still mostly asleep, as one of the conversations stopped, and footsteps on metal plating signaled that one of the speakers was approaching. Payton opened her bleary eyes as the individual shuffled in front of her, coming face to face with the Black Widow who was now kneeling to be at eye level. Green eyes, filled with a softness that was never seen in press conferences or other public appearances, met her unfocused blue ones for the second time ever.
Blinking away the remaining sleep, Payton’s vision finally focused enough for her to see that, yes the softness was actually there, and that it was not just in her eyes. Natasha Romanoff’s lips were pulled upwards in a reassuring smile while her hand slowly placed itself on her shoulder as if she would fall apart at the slightest force.
“How are you feeling?” The spy questioned, her voice a whisper. There was some emotion choking the woman up a bit, but Payton couldn’t identify it. From her words Payton would’ve assumed concern, which was there, but she was more concerned about whatever was hiding behind it.
But really, how was she feeling? She could answer the question at face value and tell her about how her neck still ached from where the Winter Soldier choked her, how the back of her neck only itched slightly, or how her entire body was just bone-weary. That wasn’t what she was asking though. What was she supposed to say? That she felt torn apart? That the Red Room turned her into everything she never wanted to be? The Avenger probably knew all that, she lived it after all , but look where she was now. A superhero. A figure that people across the planet look up to. Payton was just a coward who got her Uncle killed because she couldn’t handle a few mean words on a field trip and fled to the bathroom. She was an idiot who got her Aunt killed because she couldn’t just follow orders and stay inside. She was nothing and she knew she couldn’t say all that because Romanoff wouldn’t actually care .
The older woman was only concerned because she was an injured kid, she wouldn’t want to be concerned with the feelings of a kid who’d probably be put into the system as soon as they set foot back in the states, if not sequestered into some Government lab somewhere like Taskmaster had warned her about.
It wasn’t until Romanoff’s smile dropped that Payton realized that she had been quiet for too long.
“Nobody is expecting you to be fine, Payton. I know what you went through, and none of it was your fault.”
Instinctively, Payton began to open her mouth to protest that. How could it not be her fault? All this started because of her. Romanoff cut her off before she could.
“ None of it was your fault. ” She stressed, squeezing Payton’s shoulder.
Knowing now that she wouldn’t understand, Payton just numbly nodded. “Okay.” She whispered, burying her face further into the blanket that covered her. It was far more comfortable than the one the Punisher had used what felt like a lifetime ago.
“I know you don’t believe me. It might not feel like it right now, but we’ll all keep saying it until you do.”
All? Payton suddenly remembered that it was not just the two of them, and her eyes swept over everyone else in the plane. The blonde woman she didn’t know was standing nearby, watching the encounter with her own unreadable emotions and Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch sat together, looking at something on the archer’s phone. Guilt and relief washed over her in equal measure when her eyes landed on James Barnes, who was focusing all of his attention onto whatever Captain America was saying. Guilt over the fact that she had been the one to reactivate his brainwashing, turning him back into the killer he was forced to become; and relief at the fact that he had been snapped out of it, and was not under Dreykov’s control any longer. Finally Payton’s eyes drifted over to the pilot’s seat, and locked onto the eyes of Tony Stark . Strangely, a panicked expression crossed his face and he quickly turned to face forwards as if he was hoping to not be caught looking at her.
“Why?” She eventually asked, her voice quiet as she turned her attention back to the Black Widow, who smiled weakly back.
“Because we just spent nearly seven months looking for you kid. Turns out that causes people to get attached.” Her voice was upbeat as she attempted to lighten her mood, and it partially worked.
Knowing the Avengers had spent the better part of a year looking for her caused a warm feeling to blossom in her chest, and despite the weight of everything she’d done wrong, Payton allowed herself to give a weak smile back. Pushing herself to sit upright, she leaned back in surprise as the Black Widow’s hand pulled down her collar slightly.
“Your neck is looking better. How’d you even get that bruise anyway?” She asked, her eyes locked onto whatever remained of her discolored skin.
Her eyes darted towards James Barnes for less than a second, but that was enough for Romanoff to follow her line of sight towards the super-soldier.
“You managed to go toe-to-toe with the Winter Soldier and came out alive?”
Payton blinked. “He didn’t tell you?”
Romanoff shook her head, smirking. “Nope. He mentioned you were there and that you were the one who said the trigger words, but he didn’t mention fighting you.”
“Maybe he was embarrassed? The legendary Winter Soldier , losing to a five-foot two teenager?” The blonde woman remarked with a clear Russian accent.
“Yelena…” Romanoff chastised, though from the look on her face, Payton guessed that she was amused.
“What?!” ‘Yelena’ protested, spreading her arms. “Look at her! She looks like she couldn’t defeat a gust of wind!”
She couldn’t help it. She giggled, her shoulders shaking as she brought a hand up to stifle the sound. It was too late though. Her giggles, along with Yelena’s lack of care for keeping her voice down drew the rest of the Avenger’s attention over to her. Had this happened a year ago, Payton would’ve dove underneath her blanket to hide her embarrassment at the undivided attention of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. As she was now, her face slightly flushed and she drew in on herself. Her time in the Red Room may have changed her in some ways, but these were still her heroes.
“Yeah… How does that happen anyway? We have theories of course, but we could never find anything concrete.” Hawkeye called over.
The question was in the air, and Payton could see curiosity written plain as day on the Avenger’s faces. Even Tony Stark turned back around to look at her again, despite seeming afraid to do so minutes earlier.
Flushing even more, Payton’s hand rose nervously to toy with the ends of her hair, a tick she hadn’t been allowed the past few months. It felt weird with her shorter hair, but she continued nonetheless. “Um, I got bit by a spider at Oscorp?” She answered, though it came out sounding more like a question.
“So Oscorp was involved with your disappearance?” Tony Stark asked, causing Payton to jolt with the realization that her childhood hero was directly speaking to her.
“I… I guess so? The General mentioned a few times that the spider was Osborn’s work, and that it was some sort of project the Red Room had commissioned.”
“Shit, and we couldn’t find any evidence of that on their servers?” Hawkeye swore, getting a quick glance from Captain America, who seemed like he was about to say something but decided against it.
“Something like that would be on Dreykov’s private servers. He wouldn’t trust Osborn with it.” Yelena explained.
“Which means we won’t get proof until we find the Red Room. Do you have any ideas of a location?” Captain America finally joined in, directing the question towards Payton.
Shaking her head, Payton replied “No, we were drugged in and out. I’m pretty sure it's underground though.”
Judging by the looks on their faces, the Avenger’s knew the first part, but the second was new to them. “What makes you think that?” Romanoff asked.
“The air was recycled, and I could hear what sounded like massive fans running the ventilation. There were no windows either.”
Hawkeye nodded his head. “The no windows matches with what Yelena and the other Widows we’ve freed said, the fans and recycled air are both news to me. How’d you figure that out?”
She shrugged bashfully. “Well I said I could hear the fans, and the air just smelled… stale? I guess? The facility was sound-proofed pretty well, but I doubt they took into account enhanced senses when building it.”
“We’ll have to test those at some point…” Tony Stark trailed off, his face morphing into an expression oddly similar to how Uncle Ben would describe Payton’s when she was lost in thought. It was honestly kind of weird to see.
“How much do you already know?” She was curious how much they had managed to figure out.
“We first learned you were enhanced from Doctor Cho.” Captain America answered after it became clear that Stark was zoned out. “But she couldn’t give specifics. The most we got was actually from our source in the Red Room. They told us about your strength, speed, wall-crawling, metabolism, and sixth sense.”
She nodded in understanding, caught a bit on the fact that she had been right, and there was a mole in the Red Room. “What happens now?” She finally asked, biting the bullet to hear what her fate would be.
“Well first we get you home. We will have to come up with some cover story about where you’ve been, none of us want you to have to deal with the scrutiny that comes with having been in the Red Room. From there? You’ll have to stay in the Tower, at least until we bring Dreykov down. It’d be a damn waste to send you back to Queens and give Dreykov a chance to steal you again.” Tony Stark listed.
That didn’t really answer the real question she was worried about though. “And after?” She mumbled.
“You’ll have to speak with your Aunt about that one.”
Payton froze, her mind not even processing which Avenger replied to her as she took in the words. Her Aunt. Her Aunt! . May was alive!? But Dreykov… Of course Dreykov was lying. And of course she was dumb enough to believe him. She was so stupid! Just add her believing the guy who kidnapped her to the list of mistakes she’s made in the past months.
A hand gripped her shoulder, squeezing comfortingly. “Breathe.” A soothing voice told her, the hand on her shoulder anchoring her to reality before she continued to spiral.
Her eyes refocused on the Black Widow, taking in the soft eyes, and the concerned glances of the Avengers behind her. Payton nodded slowly, keeping her eyes on Romanoff’s, breathing deeply and evenly while her heart began to return to a normal pace.
“You’re alright. I know it's a lot.” Romanoff soothed, and Payton nodded numbly. She’d just been asleep the entire day, but she still felt exhausted. “Try and get some more rest, we’re still a few hours out.”
Payton had wanted to ask questions, figure out what she had missed but she didn’t have the energy to argue even if she had wanted to, so she obeyed, laying her head back down on the cot and closing her eyes. She was asleep within moments, the emotional turmoil of the day having worn her down. Not even the excitement that built up at hearing that May was alive helped keep her awake.
The hours that Black Widow had mentioned must have passed, as when Payton woke up to the thud of the jet landing on solid ground, there was very little light seeping through the cockpit. Instead, the interior lights of the jet were on, illuminating the Avengers as they gathered their stuff and prepared to leave the plane.
“Up and at ‘em kiddo. You’re Aunt’s waiting, and I don’t want her mad at me for keeping you from her any longer.” Tony Stark’s voice broke through the haze.
Realization struck her like lightning. They had arrived. May was somewhere nearby waiting for her. Alive . Her mind was stuck on that notion. Payton had spent almost seven months living with the idea that her own actions, her own mistakes, had caused the death of the two people she loved most. To hear that May was alive was just as wonderful the second time as it had been the first.
Shooting off her cot, Payton barely registered the fact that she was still in her Red Room uniform (part of her was subconsciously grateful that they hadn’t changed her while she was asleep) before she was sprinting out of the Quinjet far faster than any human should be capable of. Her eyes darted around the landing platform of Avengers Tower before they locked onto the familiar brown hair and eyes of her Aunt May.
May had been crying, Payton realized as she took in the puffy red eyes, and the hands that covered her mouth as her shoulders shuddered. Then again, Payton was crying now too, tears streaming down her face and blurring the world as she accelerated at a rate that would make Olympic sprinters jealous, rocketing down the landing pad and only slowing down so that when she jumped into May’s arms she did so with the force of a regular teenage girl, rather than a superhuman moving at high speed.
As it was, she still flung herself into May hard enough that her Aunt had to take a step back to steady herself. Not that it mattered when the two of them immediately collapsed into a sobbing heap of limbs as their heads were buried into each other's shoulders. Payton could feel more than hear May attempting to speak, her jaw was moving against her shoulder, but nothing came out but more muffled cries.
Time lost all meaning for her as she clung to her last remaining family as if she would drown if she let go. At some point the Avengers had shuffled past them, but they ignored them. The rest of the world had faded away, leaving just her and May. If she had a choice, Payton would want to stay in this moment forever. Despite her joy, she clutched at her Aunt in fear, worried that if she let go she would fade away and reveal it had all been a dream. If she just kept holding on, nobody could take this away from her.
“I thought I’d lost you…” She whimpered, burying her face into her Aunt’s neck.
May’s arms tightened around her shoulders. “I’m right here baby. I’m okay. We’re both okay.”
“I’m so sorry! I-I-I shouldn’t have…”
Her Aunt cut her off. “You are not to blame Payton! I don’t care what you think you did, you are not to blame for any of it!” Her arms squeezed even tighter, pulling her further into May’s embrace.
She was shaking. She wanted desperately to believe May, but how could she? The subjugation hadn’t fully taken hold had it? She could still feel guilt over the actions she took, she still knew that what she was doing was wrong. How was she supposed to tell what was her and what was the subjugation when, until a few weeks ago, she had still known what she was doing. She had known, right?
“Payton look at me.” May stressed, pulling back enough to force her to meet her eyes. “Nobody blames you. You had no choice in the matter.”
Meeting her gaze was hard, seeing the earnestness in May’s eyes while knowing she didn’t truly deserve it felt like a dagger in the chest. May didn’t know, she didn’t truly understand. “I killed people, May.” Payton admitted silently, her eyes watering. Why she admitted it, she didn’t know. May would hate her now, and she would lose the only person she had left. Something broke in May’s eyes, and Payton flinched, ready for the rejection, the shouts of how she was a monster, a killer. She prepared for May to voice every thought that haunted her own mind.
The anger never came. There were no angry words, no violent shoves forcing her away. Instead, much to her confusion, May pulled her in close again. “Oh sweetheart…” Her Aunt breathed, squeezing Payton tightly enough that she felt like she might bruise.
“Why don’t you hate me?” She asked, confused at how her Aunt, who cherishes all life, could ignore her crimes.
“I could never hate you! Especially not when those monsters forced you into it. I haven’t spoken to her very often, but Natasha told me that much. No matter how much it felt like you, it wasn’t .”
She was confused, how could it feel like her, but not be her?
It seemed May could sense her confusion, as she quickly continued. “The Black Widow’s sister, Yelena, called the Tower while I was here a few months back. She had been under the effects of that ‘chemical subjugation’ stuff too. She said it rewrote brain functions to blur the lines. Made it so its victims couldn’t tell the difference between their real selves and their brainwashed selves. I can’t imagine what it was truly like, but if you can’t believe me, talk to her. She’ll understand what you went through.”
There was nothing left to say. May still loved her, even if she shouldn’t. Payton couldn’t say why she had tried to argue against herself. This was what she wanted right? She had wished for so long for the chance to see May again, even though she had thought it impossible. So why was she trying to convince May to push her away? It was all so confusing. She was free from the Red Room, but she felt as though she wasn’t herself anymore. She felt (knew?) that Dreykov and Madame B broke Payton Parker into nothing but dust. They shattered her, and reforged her into something else. Maybe that was it? Maybe, just maybe, it was Payton who truly died? May had been waiting for someone to come back who no longer existed, and she couldn’t see that the girl who came back was a facsimile, a faker wearing the face of a dead girl.
She’d learn. Payton knew that much. May would figure out just how different she was to the young girl who disappeared last year, and she would leave her behind.
May pulled away from the hug, grimacing. “Alright Paytatochip, this concrete is destroying my back. We should move inside.”
Her face curled at the old nickname, one her Uncle gave her after she spilled a whole bag on herself once (okay twice), but she ignored it, instead rising from the rough concrete and metal platform that made up the Quinjet landing pad. Offering her hand out to May, she quickly lifted her Aunt to her feet, taking silent pride in the surprise that filled her face when she realized just how much stronger Payton was than she looked.
Together, with May’s arm wrapped back around her shoulder, the two of them entered Avengers Tower. The room right off the platform was a lounge, one she recognized after 60 Minutes did an interview with the entire team shortly after the Ultron disaster, trying to bring light to the situation that caused massive damage to multiple cities, and collapsed an entire country. None of the Avengers remained, and the lights were all dimmed, creating a comfortable ambience, if a bit… lonely.
Evidence of the inhabitants was everywhere though. Books, tablets, personal mugs, a whole assortment of everyday items that only gained significance thanks to the people who owned them.
“There is… something… that I want to talk to you about.” May spoke carefully, her words measured. “It can wait for tomorrow if you’re tired, but sooner is better for this conversation I think.”
Turning toward May, Payton tried to read her face to get an inkling of what this was about. May’s face was soft, like it always was when she looked at her, but there was also caution written in her eyes, which emphasized just how important this conversation would be.
“Okay.” She accepted, lowering herself to the nearest couch.
May seemed surprised. “Okay? Are you sure you aren’t too tired? You look exhausted, Payton.”
“Why does everyone keep saying that?” She scoffed. “I slept the entire day! I’m fine.” She wasn’t. She was still exhausted, but she was strong. She could handle it.
It was clear that May didn’t believe her, but it didn’t seem to matter.
“Alright.” May sat down across from her, letting out a big sigh in preparation. “Um, what I have to tell you is something your parents wanted you to know when you turned sixteen. It's a bit early, but considering the circumstances, it’s better to tell you now.”
Hearing mention of her parents, Payton perked up. Richard and Mary weren’t talked about a lot in their house. Payton just didn't have as many memories with them as Ben and May did. And for Ben, talking about his dead brother had always hurt, so they avoided it.
“Richard and Mary were not your biological parents.” May announced, much to her shock. “They adopted you when you were three. From a state-run orphanage in Albany.”
This was not what she was expecting. To be honest, Payton had no idea what she was expecting, but she knew it wasn’t this. Shock rippled through her, freezing her in place. “What?” Her voice was barely a whisper, it was all she could force out.
“Richard wasn’t able to have children. They had tried for years, but they eventually figured that out. So they instead chose to adopt, and that’s when they found you.”
“Who…who were my birth parents?” She was hyper focused on May now, the rest of the world had long since faded away.
May’s face was sorrowful. “Your mom was a Jane Doe. The engine of her car caught fire and her body was too damaged to identify. Some Good Samaritans saved you from the back seat, but there were no documents. No records. Nobody ever came forward as family, and without any records…”
“They didn’t know anything about me.” Payton finished, causing May to nod.
“Yes. The accident happened on February 15th, 2004. Doctors said that you had to have been around three at the time, so New York made that day your official birthday and gave you the name ‘Payton’.”
If somebody had poured a bucket of ice water over her head, Payton would’ve felt warmer than she did right now. Hearing that the start to her life had been wracked with such tragedy was hard. “And what about my dad? Was he never identified?”
May shuffled a bit in her seat. Not comfortably, just… anxiously. “Not until a few months ago… When you went missing.”
Her eyebrows rose. “They did DNA testing?”
“The Avengers did.” May clarified. “They assumed you were enhanced and did tests to confirm. I haven’t actually heard the full story of the events myself, but apparently something stood out enough for them to do a paternity test.”
If her eyebrows could go any higher they’d be off her head and through the ceiling. “The Avengers have my father’s DNA on file? What? Is one of them my…”
She was going to say it as a joke. The idea that an Avenger was one of her biological parents was laughable at best . But then she really looked at May’s face and realized that she was about to hit the nail on the head and that May was serious. But who? There weren’t actually many options. Captain America was still frozen. She was the wrong ethnicity to be the child of War Machine or Falcon, Quicksilver was just a few years older than herself so… no. It really just left three choices. Hawkeye, Bruce Banner, or Tony Stark. All three of which would be insane , but (no offense to Hawkeye) either of the latter two would probably just overload her brain. She tended to think of each Avenger by the hero title first, for all of them except Banner and Stark. Black Widow had slowly been working her way into that mental group somehow, but the two scientists were her heroes in science before they were truly her heroes in, well, heroism.
“Who?” She finally asked breathlessly, her heart and mind both racing.
“Tony Stark”.
“Holy shit ”
“Language, Payton.” May chided, but there wasn’t any heat in it.
But really. Holy shit . She should’ve guessed him. He was the one with the playboy background that had May frowning everytime a younger her would rant about the next cool thing Tony Stark made. He was also the one who was the most awkward around her on the Quinjet, giving her space. He knew he was her father, and he wanted to let May tell her.
Something must have shown in her face, because after a few moments of shocked silence on her part, May started laughing. “I told them it would break your mind.”
“I…But… What?…” She stuttered, unable to find any words to speak.
“Do you want to speak with him?” May asked, and Payton gaped at her like a fish. Every conversation she had today had made her feel more and more out of her depth, and now here she was, learning that one of the richest and most famous men in the whole world was her father.
“I, uh… Yeah!” She finally regained the ability to speak.
“Friday?” May turned to the ceiling.
“Boss is already on her way, Missus Parker.” An Irish, somewhat robotic voice called from everywhere and nowhere all at once.
A few moments later, Payton picked up the sound of footsteps approaching from a hallway. Just a few more moments after that, a door swung open, and Tony Stark was standing there staring at her, looking completely out of his element.
Payton stood up before she realized what she was doing. The Red Room required them to stand when a superior entered the room, and seven months of habit wouldn’t be broken in just a single day.
“Um, Hi! Mister, um, Doctor? Uh…” Payton fumbled her greeting hard, essentially putting her foot in her mouth. But it seemed to ease the tension from his body, and an easier smile was plastered on his face instead.
“You can just call me Tony.”
“I can? That seems a bit… disrespectful?”
“Please, I’ve got no problem with it. Everyone on the team calls me by my name. So does your Aunt for that matter.” He waved off her disbelief.
“Oh, okay.” She whispered, mostly to herself as her brain still tried to catch up to the curveball that just flew past her. Slowly she lowered herself back onto the couch. “I guess you're my… dad?” The last word came out weak, causing her to flinch.
Tony smiled softly. “I am yeah. Don’t feel like you have to call me that or anything though. I’d love it if you did in the future, but it’s a process that you should take your time getting comfortable with. If you never do? That’s fine too.”
“Right…” She responded lamely. “Do you know who…?” She trailed off
“Your mother is? No, I don’t. Back then I… wasn’t exactly in the best state of mind usually. Apparently she had scheduled a meeting at some point to tell me about you, but Obidiah Stane intercepted her. Convinced her that I wasn’t interested in any way, and paid her off. That's all I could find out though. The bastard wiped out any records he could.”
Payton nodded her understanding. “And you want to be a part of my life now? Even after everything?” She questioned self-consciously.
“I do. If you’ll have me.” While the smile was still on his face, his voice and eyes were completely serious.
“I… I would like to get to know you, but what does this mean for me? And May? Will I be ‘Payton Stark’ now?”
May and Tony shared a glance, but ultimately it was May who answered her question. “We’ll figure it out as it goes, and nothing will happen that you don’t want to happen. We’ve come up with some ideas, but we’d have to discuss those details later. It's a bit too late for that I think.” She finished with a yawn.
Tony clapped his hands together. “May and I can show you to your room!” He announced happily. “Both of you have your own rooms on Pep and my floor. Shared kitchen and living space, but private bathrooms and bedrooms for you two. Pepper and I share of course.”
Payton turned back towards May. “You’ve been living here?”
Her Aunt shrugged. “On the bad days, yes. I’ve mostly been staying back home.”
“Bad days?”
“I’ve had a lot of physical therapy the past months to recover from… everything. It's gotten easier the last few weeks, I don’t even need the wheelchair anymore. But there are days where the pain is worse, and on those days I stay here, doctor’s orders usually.” May explained.
Satisfied, Payton followed Tony and May into the elevator, going down a few floors before arriving at another homey-looking floor. The doors opened to another living area, much like the one upstairs, but smaller. A single couch and TV took up most of the space, with throw pillows and a blanket strewn haphazardly across the furniture. Far less professional and clean than she would have expected from Tony Stark and Pepper Potts.
A kitchen and dining area were both connected to the living room, both far tidier, and less used by the looks of things. Then there was the hallway that branched out from the dining room, which must lead to the private quarters. It was in that direction that the two adults led her, Tony pointing out his and Pepper’s room as the first on the right, while May’s and hers were further down the hall on the left, first and second doors respectively.
“Besides the bedrooms and bathrooms, this hallway has the doors to Pepper and my home offices, for those times we don’t feel like taking the elevator down to the Stark Industries floors, and a storage slash cleaning closet.” Tony informed, pointing out the doors as they passed them. “And here is your room.” He opened the door with a flourish, revealing a somewhat bare bedroom. It had the essentials, but no personality to it. Not like the rest of the floor. “We figured that you should decorate the room how you want… when you are comfortable that is.”
“It's…nice. Thank you.” Payton responded politely, overwhelmed by everything as she stepped into the room.
May followed her in while Tony leaned casually against the door frame, giving them space. “When they told me they’d found you, I brought some of your clothes over from home. I wanted you to have some comfort when you finally arrived.” May said, pulling open a dresser drawer to reveal some of said clothes.
Running her hand over the soft fabric, Payton suddenly felt the need to tear this Widow uniform off and wear something that might make her feel normal again, even if she knew that was impossible. Normal didn’t exist anymore.
As if sensing her restlessness, May approached her and placed a hand softly on her shoulder. “I know things are… different now. But we’re here for you. Whatever you need.”
“Thanks, May. I think I just need to sleep some more.” She whispered, leaning tiredly into the touch.
“Of course sweetheart. We’ll both be just down the hall if you need us. Don’t be afraid to ask Friday for help too.” May told her. “Goodnight Payton.”
“Night May… ‘night Tony.” She bid them farewell, both of them leaving the immediate premises of the room, but not before Tony responded:
“Goodnight kiddo. See you in the morning.”
As soon as her door was shut, Payton began stripping out of the form-fitting Widow armor, throwing it into a heap in the corner like it had burned her. If she never wore it again it would be too soon. Pulling on a pair of her pajamas that May brought from home, she threw herself under the covers of the bed, tossing and turning restlessly for some time before she finally began to fade away into a fitful, uneasy sleep.