Hrs & Hrs
They were driving silently through the streets of Manhattan heading for the Carlyle, each in their thoughts. But the tension in the air is hard to ignore.
He felt like he was going crazy. He went into this evening with a mission: take apart every lie and deceit that is Sakura Haruno. Instead, now he is the one feeling exposed and vulnerable.
“Where is the peace in that?”
And horny. He was man enough to admit that the moment he laid eyes on her in that coffee shop he was attracted to her, but then he had to focus on the task at hand.
And now that he discovered that the girl he thought was a cold-blooded killer after him wasn’t actually a cold-blooded killer after him, making a move on her now would be such an asshole move.
“Plus, I knew this was never going to go anywhere anyway.”
He cringed thinking about what she said. And she isn’t interested in me. He thinks sourly, ego hurt. She just accepted his invitation because she was curious about what he wanted with her. And now they were going to go their own separate ways.
With some space, Tony could admit that he was probably being really dramatic right now. It’s just a woman. A gorgeous, smart, and intriguing woman. And yes, he used to hop around town from woman to woman, but that was the old Tony. The new Tony is responsible, and boring but stable. Like Barton.
And he has just gotten out of a relationship, a serious one, with probably the love of his life. They may still have a chance to get back together. He still has the list of ideas he made with Friday to grovel to Pepper and beg her to take him back. He has been working with the idea of maybe giving up the suit and the superhero lifestyle for her. That’s real love, isn’t it? The kind of love people sing about and the kind that comes only once in your life. He couldn’t afford to ruin that chance, no matter how tiny it is, for a fling, no matter how gorgeous the woman is.
He looked at her, catching her attention.
It’s not worth it. He reminded himself.
“So, after New York, where will you go?”
“Congo”
“Another refugee settlement?” he asked, genuinely curious. He has set up the Stark Relief Foundation to help victims and collaterals of their vicious fights, but there is no reason why they couldn’t do more. He tries to shush the voice in his head telling him that he is not really being altruistic, he just wants an excuse to stay in contact with the Pinkette. Weirdly enough, the voice sounds like JARVIS.
“No, I have a mine there.”
“What?” Now she has his entire attention. Not that she didn’t all evening, said the suspicious JARVIS voice. I really need to sleep.
“Yeah, a cobalt mine.”
“You have a cobalt mine in Congo. How did that happen? I thought the Chinese had a monopoly on the market?” he asked, getting his eyes back on the road.
“They do, but it’s not a huge mine. It produces about 4000 tonnes a year. Reports say that it will dry up in 5 years, and that’s generous.”
“That doesn’t seem like a very smart investment.”
“I didn’t buy it, it was a gift” she shrugged.
“Who would buy you a mine as a gift? As soon as the question left his mouth he knew the answer. “A man? A man bought you a mine as a gift”. He looked at her, incredulous.
But before she could answer him, he cut her off. “Does that work?” she closed her mouth shut. “Like, is that what women like nowadays? I bought Pepper a giant stuffed puppy for Christmas and I couldn’t hear the end of it”
She giggled at that. And it turned into a full-blown laughter when he glared at her.
“That is,” she snorts, “so cute ! I didn’t know you were so romantic Tony” more laughter. She was laughing so hard that she was bending over with her hand on his shoulder. He could feel goosebumps forming where she touched him. He had taken off his jacket when they left the restaurant, it leaves him with just a thin white shirt on.
She was still laughing when they arrived in front of her hotel. He unfastened his seatbelt and leaned over to unfasten hers. She sighed as the last of her merriment left her. She was looking at him now, with a smile and something soft in her gaze that he was too scared to name.
“So I guess this is it then” she sighed quietly.
“Let me escort you up.”
“Alright”. But neither of them moved. They stayed like that for a while, looking at each other. And he couldn’t help but think that maybe she was trying to prolong the moment too.
But it stretched on too long, and as if a switch had been flipped, she broke their stare off and started adjusting her dress. And he was already opening his car door and going around to open hers.
“I’ll have to get a key at the reception before we go up. Scarlett has mine and I don’t want to wake her up to get it, she will just nag me” she whined softly, getting out of his car.
"Alright”, he took his jacket from the backseat and put it on her shoulders. It almost swallowed her but at least she had stopped shivering.
“Come on”, he guided her inside with a hand on her back. They made their way to the reception lobby, approaching one of the employees working behind the counter. The brunette smiles as she recognizes them.
“Miss Haruno, what can I do for you?”
“I was wondering if I could get a key for my room?” the receptionist was already tapping on her screen, nodding along. “I forgot mine with my assistant.”
“Of course, just a moment please.”
He adjusted the jacket on her to make sure it didn’t slide off as they waited. He could see the two women sharing a look, seeing their interaction, wondering about their relationship.
“Here is your key.” He took the card in her stead, smiling at the brunette in thanks. “You can just leave it in your room and the room service will get it back in the morning.”
“Thank you so much” Sakura waved at them goodbye as he led her to the elevator.
“Good night ma’am”
As soon as they got on the silence turned awkward. The certainty of their parting looming over their heads. They caught each over eyes in the elevator‘s mirror, then she shifted her eyes to look at the button panel.
He kept his eyes on her form, watching her pink hair starting to free itself from its confinement, her mascara smudging a little on the side of her eyes. He found himself lingering on her now bare lips.
She was playing with the sleeve of his jacket and looking everywhere but him, trying to ignore his stare.
I could just kiss her. Just one kiss. We will never see each other again anyway.
The more he thought about it, the more the idea became appealing. A kiss doesn’t have to mean anything, it will be just the right conclusion to a good date.
As he was about to do just that, the elevator door dinged open as they arrived at the penthouse floor. She didn’t wait for him as she made her way to her door as if she knew what he was going to do.
I guess I missed my chance. He thought as he approached her. She was already taking off his jacket as he closed in on her.
“Thank you for the jacket” she was finally looking at him, “and for the night, it was fun” she finished handing it back to him.
“Yeah, it was”. He felt ridiculous. Since when is Tony Stark tongue-tied? Especially in front of a woman? Whatever happened to his charm?
He took the key card out of his pocket and opened the door for her.
And as she stood there, the light of the penthouse illuminating their forms in the corridor, he wondered what exactly was he doing. What exactly did he want?
She took a step closer to him, her gaze shifting between his eyes and his lips. And he thought maybe she was going to kiss him, and wouldn’t that just solve everything? She stopped herself just a foot from him, hesitating.
But then something shifted in her, and she looked him in the eye.
“Tony”
“Yeah” he swallowed, overwhelmed by the intensity in her green eyes.
“Kiss me”
He stays still for a minute, surprised that she actually voiced what they both wanted but were too afraid to ask. Thankfully. that didn’t last long.
He leaned in, so carefully. Feeling like he wasn’t breathing and breathing too hard at the same time. Was it ever like this? He could hear his heartbeats and her divine smell was making him dizzy with want.
And then he kissed her. And it was electrifying.
Her lips were soft and warm, he could taste the lingering sweetness of the peach mousse she ate for dessert. The kiss started slow, their lips pressing against each other, almost hesitant to do more. But he really didn’t care.
Because she was kissing him back
His jacket lay forgotten on the floor. One hand in her hair, the other pulling her closer. He wanted to feel all of her.
He could have stayed just there, in this corridor with his arms full of her and needing more. But he was starting to miss air and he knew she was too.
They parted with a gasp, forehead against forehead, both trying to catch their breath but unwilling to pull away from each other.
And as he looked into her eyes, drinking her in, he knew that if he hadn’t kissed her he would have regretted it for a very long time.
“Tony?” she breathed, holding on to him, one hand on his neck and the other on his shoulder, trying to get as close to him as possible.
“Yeah?” But she didn’t answer him, so when he decided that he had enough air in his lungs, he dived back in.
Their bodies pressed heatedly against each other as they kissed once more. And Tony, for the first time this evening, felt so in control. There was no reason for him to have any doubts because this just felt right.
He pushed her through the open door, his lips still locked with hers, closing it behind her and pushing her against it.
Her hands left his shoulders and started exploring, going wherever she could reach, leaving him wanting more.
“Where is your room” he asked between kisses.
“In the back, left”. As soon as she breathed the response, he pulled up her dress to her tights, trying to pick her up. But he may have used too much force because he heard the sound of fabric tearing.
“Oops. Sorry”
“This is a limited edition Versace spring 2006! What do you mean ‘Oops’ ?!!”
He shushed her “Isn’t your assistant in one of these rooms? We would hate to wake her”. This time he managed to pick her up after some fumbling. The dress was gorgeous but really impractical. “I’ll buy you all the dresses you want, don’t worry baby”. She laughed at that.
He held her close as she put her legs around his waist, his hands firm on her tights. He made his way to her bedroom, trying not to trip as she abandoned his mouth to leave a trail of wet kisses all over his face.
“Sakura I don’t want to drop you baby girl”
“Then don’t” She had the audacity to giggle at him.
“Seriously,” he huffed. Finding the room easily enough, he made a beeline for the bed. He dropped her on it, getting on his knees in between her legs.
She put her hand on his cheek, leaning for a kiss that he eagerly responded. They took their time, their heartbeat a synched sound that echoed on each other. Her hands were now in his hair, while his were trailing up and down her tights, leaving goosebumps in their wake.
They parted after some time.
“Are we really doing this?” she asked, catching her breath.
“We are,” he answered, assured.
“Good,” she said, leaving a chaste kiss on his lips, “because I’ve been wondering what’s hiding behind that shirt all evening.”
He smirked. “Only behind the shirt?”
“Well” she licked her lips “maybe not just the shirt.” she smiled.
He kisses her again. He reached for her hair and took out all the golden pins tying it up, letting the rose-colored locks cascade down her back.
He pulled back, running his hands through her hair.
“I’ve wanted to do that since the first time I saw you” he admitted against her lips. “You have always kept it up every time we’ve met.”
“I have?” She murmured.
“Yeah, that was just one of the many things you did that drove me crazy.”
She put her hands around his neck, kissing him again before pulling back and undoing one by one the buttons of his shirt.
“Let’s get rid of this next” she said, pulling it off his shoulders. He took it off and got up to unbuckle his belt and to take off his shoes.
He kept his eyes on her own as she drank him in, her gaze heavy with want. He let his pants drop at his feet.
As if taunting him, she looked at his very obvious hard-on before looking back up at him, biting her lip.
He kicked his pants off, getting rid of his socks just as quickly, leaving him in only his boxers.
“Up” he almost growled. She got up from the bed. And without him needing to say anything, she reached for the straps of her dress and took it off. Her eyes never left his.
His gaze dropped to her form. Damn. She was completely bare except for a tiny piece of pink lace that could hardly be called an underwear.
“You weren’t wearing a bra all night?” The thought was driving him crazy.
“You can’t wear a bra with a dress like that”
“Noted” he said, grabbing her ass to host her up once again, his lips meeting hers.
He dropped them in the middle of the bed, letting her lay down on it but not pulling up from the kiss.
He didn’t waste time and started exploring. His hands roamed everywhere on her body : her leg hooked on his waist, her ass, her hips, her belly. The moment his hand cupped a breast, she moaned in his mouth.
He pulled himself up, grabbing her waist and aligning her clothed core to his hard-on. He grinded once. Twice. Grunting low in his chest as he feels her heat through his boxers.
“Oh God” she moaned, she didn’t wait for him as she started grinding herself on him looking for friction. She was touching herself now, her hands cupping her breasts and fingers pinching her puckered nipple.
Tony took a moment to look at her. She was flushing all the way to her chest. Eyes closed as her red and swollen lips moaned her need for him. With her hair around her like a halo, she was a vision.
He leaned over her form once again. He took her hands and interlocked their fingers above her head, trapping her under him. He claimed her lips once more, swallowing her moans as he kept grinding himself against her. Their chests were pressed together, her nipples rubbing against his naked flesh.
He started to kiss his way down, from her jawline and down to her chest. He freed her hands to cup her mound once more, drawing a nipple to his lips.
She had her hands in his hair as she arched into his mouth, her hips rolling into him.
He licked and sucked on her nipple as his hand teased the other one, rolling it in his fingers. He switched nipples as his hands made their way down. Pulling her panties aside, he moaned as his fingers found heat.
She is soaking wet. He parted her lips and started rubbing her clit softly, making her buckle against him. He reached for her slit, easily sliding a finger in. He pumped his finger as his thumb kept rubbing on her clit.
Freeing his mouth, Tony brought back his lips to hers again.
He added a second finger, usually he would bring her to orgasm or at least eat her out before even thinking of taking her. But she was driving him crazy and he knew that he had to have her now.
He let go of her, leaving a lingering kiss on her neck as he took hold of her panties and slid them down her legs, taking them off completely. He then realized that she still had her heels on, but didn’t bother to take them off.
Taking his own underwear off, he fisted himself as he reached for her nightstand. Looking around the drawer and finding a box of condoms, he knew the hotel put there for the guests' disposition.
He didn’t waste any more time and ripped the package open. Kneeling between her tights, he rolled the condom on his erection and got hold of her waist to align himself with her slit, and gaped. Because, well.
“Your hair is natural !? How??” Tony almost screeched but refrained because he didn’t want to ruin the mood.
She sighed as she trailed her hands down to her chest.
“As much as I would love to discuss with you the in and out of genetics, I would prefer for you to go in and out of me” she giggled, finding her little wordplay funny.
And really, there wasn’t anything he could say to that. So he grabbed her legs, aligned himself with her opening, and started to slide in.
He gritted his teeth, willing himself not to come then and there as he watched his shaft disappear between her folds. She was so tight. And wet. And hot. And she was gripping him just right.
When he shelved himself entirely inside of her, he drew back slowly, earning a little mewl of pleasure from her. He pulled back in. Then out. In. Out. He started with slow and long thrusts, feeling a shiver run down his spine at every stroke.
She started to reach for him. And he leaned over grasping at her waiting mouth. He started to pick up his rhythm, their tongues meeting as the pleasure started to mount.
The air was filled with passion as their moans and gasps filled the room. He could feel her digging her nails into his back as they nipped and licked each other.
She lifted her legs higher, sinking him deeper into her. Her wanton moans nothing but a sweet murmur in his ear as he buried himself in her arms.
He took his right hand from under her ass to tease her clit once more. As soon as his thumb brushed against the bundle of nerves, he felt her clench around him. Not stopping his ministrations, he watched as she threw her head back in a long breath as she cooed his name.
And Tony watched, mesmerized, as she came undone in his hands. Her core tightened around him and almost made him see stars. But he held on, and rolled his hips, making her ride out her orgasm.
As she came down from her high, he kissed her softly, trying to stay wake her from her post-orgasmic trance.
“Felt good?” He asked between kisses.
“Yeah. Amazing” she whispered against his mouth. She was all sweet smiles as she looked up at him.
He grinned back at her. “Good. Because it’s my turn now, princess.”
And with that he got on his knees once again, hiking her waist up to hit a new angle inside of her.
“Tony !” She gasped, and he knew he had found it.
This time he didn’t bother to go slow, hitting her with quick and hard thrusts. He would hit that perfect spot at every stroke, making her tighten around him, sending shockwaves of pleasure all around his body. He grunted as he felt heat pooling in his abdomen.
“I’m so close baby girl” she just moaned in response.
He picked up his pace, hitting that spot in quick succession. Her whimpers grew into moans as her second orgasm came quicker than the first. And as she came with a wordless gasp, her walls closed in on him again, pulling him over the edge.
He came grunting her name and tightening his hold on her ass. Time slowed as waves upon waves of pleasure shot through him.
He jerked his hip a few more times, riding the last ripple of pleasure from his orgasm, quivering as of his arousal filled the condom.
He pulled out of her. He settled her trembling legs down and lay next to her. Taking the condom off his softening cock and throwing it away, he opened his arms to her and sighed in contentment as she rolled over to him.
She kissed his neck as he nuzzled her hair, petting it down and away from her face, kissing her forehead.
They stayed like that for a while, in a blissful silence basking in their post-coital glow. Listening to each other’s heartbeats.
He didn’t know how much time had passed before she broke the silence.
“Say,” she started, “are you sleepy?”
He looked down at her, grinning.
“What? Ready for round 2 already?”
“Not now” she pouted, making him laugh. “But I was thinking, what about a bath together?”
He pauses at that, surprised. That would actually be a first for him. He has shared showers before yes, but not baths. His past flings were never important enough or long enough for him to laze around in a bathtub with them. And with Pepper, there was always something better to do instead of wasting their time doing nothing. Be it together or on their own. They both loved getting busy, one of the things that bonded them together.
But he had no reason to deny Sakura. For one, they had all night anyways. And most importantly, he found that he really didn’t want to say no to her when she looked at him with those eyes.
“Sure, why not?”
She cheered and kissed him lightly.
“Sweet, and I have to pee”
He blinked, wondering if he heard her right.
“What?” He watched as she got out of his arms, her hair falling down her back in pink curtains. She bent over to finally take off her heels.
“After having sex, women should pee to lower the risk of infections” she shrugged. As if talking about infections after having sex, euphoric, amazing, toe-curling sex, was normal.
“Okay?” He answered, partly amused and partly incredulous as he watched her leave the bed. She was so odd, but he found it so endearing and it made him want to kiss her over and over again. Alright, little doctor.
“I’ll run the bath for us” She didn’t even bother to put something on much to his joy, leaving him admiring her ass as she headed for the en suite bathroom.
He could hear the water in the tub running, filling it up. The sound lulled him slightly.
Deciding to check if he had any calls, he got off the bed to look for his pants. Thankfully he just had a text from Happy sending him a funny video.
Sending movement from his left, he watched as Sakura emerged from the bathroom and sat down in front of the vanity.
She wasn’t looking at him as she started to tie her hair up in a bun. He watches, fascinated as she started applying some sort of cream on her face.
“What are you doing?”
She pauses with a compress in her hand and looks at him through the mirror.
“Taking off my make-up”
“Oh.”
And he keeps on watching. She was still naked, and he could see her nipples still puckered from the cold bathroom air. She was arching forward, giving him a delicious view of the curve of her back and her ass.
He could feel himself getting hard again. Taking his shaft in hand he started pumping himself, imagining taking her against the dressing table.
Let’s make it a reality.
He took another condom from the box forgotten on the bed. Pulling it on, he makes his way to her. She was patting her face with her hands now, clearly finished with whatever she was doing.
“How long do you think it will take for the tub to fill up?”
She looked back at him, her eyes falling immediately to his erect member, already ready for another go.
She licked her lips, and leaned back against the table, grabbing him by the arms as he reached for her.
Tony stared at her. This was his first time seeing her bare-faced. Now that she had taken off all her makeup he could see her pink lashes, confirming once again her natural hair color. She had tiny freckles on her nose, barely visible unless you look for them. But it adds to her endearing features, like her dimple that never fails to show up every time she smiles.
He cupped her cheeks, his hands almost swallowed her face whole, and leaned in for a kiss. Their lips sloppily nipped at each other in a slow dance.
"You know" he whispered, "I wanted to bend you over this desk, but now I think that I would prefer looking at this pretty face as I take you"
And he did just that, holding her close as he took her slowly, rolling his hips as they got higher and higher until their hearts burst and they came moaning each other’s names.
After their love-making, they moved to the bathroom for the promised bath. And Tony wondered if he was really going to go along with all of this when he saw her put salts and flowers in the tub. But she just beamed at him and said that soaking in hot water would do them both good.
So they got in. Him against the cold white porcelain while she rested in between his legs, her back against his chest.
He was trailing his fingers up and down her arms, basking in the silence and the feel of her wet body against his when he finally voiced the question bugging him.
"So how exactly does one get pink hair?"
"I told you, genetics. I got it from my dad"
"Your father had pink hair? I don't believe you" and he didn't. A woman with pink hair was ridiculous. A man with pink hair was just pure insanity.
"I can show you a picture", he looked at her incredulously. She turned back to him and gave him a cheeky smile.
“So does that mean that if you have a kid one day, they may have pink hair?”
She paused a moment to think.
“My mother was a blonde, but the blonde gene is recessive, so” she played mindlessly with her bangs, still looking at him. “And my dad got his hair from my grandmother.”
“And your grandfather was?”
“He was a brunette, so I guess there is a strong possibility” she giggled. And he was tented to do the same because the thought of having a baby with pink hair is just as ridiculous as a grown man having it.
“So is pink hair normal where you come from? There were just pink-haired people running around town?”
Her smile softened into something melancholic, and her eyes glossed over as if she was reminiscing a memory. The air was thick with everything left unsaid between them.
Tony wasn’t stupid. He is quite the genius actually, thank you very much. He knew that she was hiding some parts of her past, and he was willing to bet that it was about where exactly she was from.
It’s the way that she views the world that tipped him off. But he couldn’t bring himself to ask her more about her home after seeing her reaction earlier that night. The grief that struck her at the mention of the destruction of her home was still haunting her. And he understood that, more than he would have liked.
Every time he thinks about the Earth being attacked by unknown forces terrifies him, he knew that they would not survive another New York.
If he wasn’t 100% sure that she was human, he would have believed that she was an alien from another planet. But after everything he had seen, he knew that Earth has its secrets too.
She was probably from some secret society that trains their people to become warriors. Probably somewhere in Asia.
“No, actually. The Harunos were the only people with pink hair around.”
He tugged her back, nestling her under his chin and letting her rest there like a tired baby bird.
“I guess the Harunos were a pretty big deal then.”
“My parents were civilians” she quietly admitted. “In a place where the military was law, they were not much”. He wondered if she knew that she was saying more than she should be doing. Does she trust him that much? Or maybe she just didn’t care. After all, where is the need to protect the secret of a civilization that is no more?
“We had a bakery on the west side of the civilian district, and my dad used to make the most delicious desserts in that part of the village."
"So I guess that you got your love for sweets from him too then." He’s teased, trying to lighten the mood.
"Yeah, I did.” She laughed softly. “When I was younger, he would put me on a little stool in the kitchen to help him. I was only in charge of putting sugar and cinnamon in but I had so much fun and he used to call me his little helper”
He could hear the trembling in her voice now. He was never the sentimental type, but hearing about these people, her people, long gone now with nothing left of them but her memories makes him oddly vulnerable. And honored, she was sharing a piece of her loved ones with him.
“When I decided to become a n- a fighter”, he didn’t miss the little blunter there “They were nothing but supportive, even when I knew they were scared for me. They believed that I had to find my own way. And they decided that whoever I was going to be they were going to love me anyway, no matter how many times I lost or failed or just plain sucked.” She breathed out “They gave me everything and I took it all and still couldn’t save them.”
She was crying softly in his arms, tightening her hold on him. And for a moment he tenses because what exactly was he supposed to do?
Cap would be better at this than I am. And somehow the thought of the blonde in his place with his arms around the pinkette just filled his head with an intense rage that made him almost murderous.
She must have sensed the change in his mood because she pulled up from him, putting the palms of her hands against her eyes in an attempt to make her tears stop.
“I’m so sorry. I know this is hardly the kind of aftercare that anyone would want after sex. I don’t even know how this happened. This is so lame.”
He could have said it was fine. He could have said that she had nothing to apologize for. He could have even teased her to make her laugh. Or he could have easily just stayed quiet and let the moment pass. But he did none of that.
“For a very long time I thought my father hated me.” She took her hands off her eyes, and blinked at him as if not expecting him to talk about his father.
He didn’t either.
“We never got along. He was hard and harsh and always unavailable. He was an asshole.” He admitted quietly.
“But he was smart. He was the smartest man I knew, and still is. And I admired him.” He let that sink in, not just for her but also for him.
And maybe she could feel his distress, or his anger, or his sorrow, or whatever the fuck he was feeling right now because she took his hands and started drawing little circles in his palms to soothe him.
“I wanted to be him. I wanted to surpass him. And after he died, I spent so many years trying to make sense of it, of what his death made me. Because being the son of Howard Stark was hard, so hard. But being the son of a dead Howard Stark is somehow even harder. And I know that’s fucked up, but that was my reality.”
She was so close now, kneeling between his tights as she listened to him quietly.
Her eyes were red, and drops of tears were still stuck on her lashes. With her hair up and her flushed skin and her naked body glistening with the scented bath water, she looked like a goddess. And he told himself that if there was someone that should be listening to his darkest thoughts that he kept locked inside of him, it should be a deity.
“After some time, I just stopped trying, I was so tired of thinking and feeling. So I just gave up. I lived the life people expected me to live. The genius billionaire philanthropist who works hard and plays as hard.”
Why didn’t he ever say any of these to Pepper? Was this what she meant when she said that I was not present enough? Maybe if he had been more open with her about his struggle, about his feelings they would still be together. Maybe if they had talked more outside of her nagging him about being more responsible and him reeling her up by being irresponsible they would have made it. Why didn’t we? He wondered.
“And then Iron Man happened. He felt like my second chance, my redemption. My way to make up to world, to me, to my father. And it was. For a while.” At that point, he was just grateful that he wasn’t crying. That would be way too much for him. And yet he didn’t feel the need to stop talking.
“I discovered that my father didn’t actually hate me, even more crazy is that he may have loved me.” He cleared his throat “he had faith in me. He thought that I would be his biggest gift, his biggest legacy to the world. His biggest pride.” He swallowed thickly “he was wrong.”
Her little caresses didn’t stop, grounding him to this moment. To her.
“Stark Industries, the SHIELD, the Reactor, Captain America.” He laughed bitterly “He left me everything I needed to save this planet. Everything so I could protect it like he had been doing until the day he died and I failed.” He whispered.
“I failed not once but twice. First New York, and Ultron.” And one day, a threat bigger than the sky will come to destroy them all and he will fail again and everyone will die just like what he saw in his vision when Wanda looked in his mind.
“She messed with your head”. It was only when he heard her say that that he realized that he said the last part out loud. He smiled at her, and it was a crooked thing he knew.
“she didn’t put anything in there that wasn’t already there.”
She had nothing to say to that. And he really didn't need her to say anything. But she kissed his forehead and then took him in her arms and he felt like she understood.
He thought then that maybe baths weren’t so bad.