I Am Ironman
When Tony Stark walked into his house for the first time in days, a very complex and overwhelming wave of emotion crashed over him. Relief, sadness, and guilt were most prominent.
Every day he was trapped in that cave was torture. But not because of the Ten Rings or being held hostage, but because he never had the chance to apologize to you for all the times he wasn't there.
He braced himself when the doors shut from behind, waiting for your annoyed yells or sarcastic comments about how he abandoned you yet again. But when those didn't come, he straightened up, confused, and looked around.
"JARVIS?" He called.
"Yes, sir?" The AI responded.
"Where's (Y/n)?"
There was a long pause. A very long pause.
"I'm afraid I am unable to locate Miss Stark at this time."
Those words only confused him even more. "What do you mean? She's not here?"
"I believe not."
With a frown on his face, Tony moved towards the main staircase, climbing to the very top. He went to your room, smiling at all the stickers that decorated the door, and knocked.
"(Y/n)? It's me."
No answer.
"(Y/n)?"
He pushed on the door and was surprised to find it unlocked. He stumbled in, closing it behind, and was further shocked by the cleanliness. No clothes were strewn about, no dirty plates or glasses, your desk was clean, and your workbench just as spotless.
He looked around some more until he caught sight of a slight glint from the sunlight coming through the window. He moved closer, his heart skipping a beat when he saw your pendant lying on top of a folded note.
For a minute, he just stared at it, wondering why it was there. You never took it off. No matter how much you complained, it stayed around your neck.
So why was it just lying there?
He picked it up in one hand and used the other to read the note. As he did, dread set in. It was like someone was squeezing him to death, making sure the air left slowly, excruciatingly painfully.
His little girl was gone?
Where?
Why?
Was it because of him? Had you finally had enough? Why did you run?
It felt as if someone had punched him in the gut, stealing the air. He couldn't breathe and the room was starting to spin. As the weight of emotions crushed his heart, a single tear slid down his cheek.
"(Y/n)..."
-Y/N POV-
You had been running for weeks upon weeks. At the last count, it was three months. You'd even made it across the country, taking refuge in an old and abandoned warehouse in Upstate New York.
You'd changed considerably in that time. Your hair was cut and dyed like most other teens in order to blend in, you didn't dress as fashionably either, mostly sticking to plain shirts and pants. It had been incredibly lonely, but Obadiah's threat was still fresh in your mind. He probably had people looking for you right now even though he was apparently dead.
You'd been keeping up with the news by stealing papers. Your dad was alive and well, just as you hoped and prayed, but shortly after he came back, Obadiah was involved in an arc reactor explosion. Apparently some 'Iron Man' hero had been seen around the same time and many were convinced he was involved.
You were thankful to this hero, because that meant Obadiah wouldn't be after you. However, it didn't mean he hadn't warned others to keep a lookout. And now that your dad was back, you had his enemies to watch out for as well, specifically the terrorist group that kidnapped him.
Naturally, living with the paranoia of having to constantly watch your back wasn't fun. And so you occupied yourself with something else instead. That 'something else' being a large jet buried deep in the warehouse. You weren't quite sure what it was, but it was broken and unkempt, all but abandoned. Because you knew what being abandoned was like, you decided to fix it
You were currently rewiring the weapons, making sure the GAU-17 and missiles were still in working condition. You didn't dare test it out, mostly because of all the attention it would draw, but you happily pretended to.
"FRIDAY?" You called out.
The AI you'd designed all by yourself responded faster than usual. "Yes, Miss?"
"Hey. How we doing on this thing?"
"Hull integrity is at 40%, GAU-17 60% functional."
You smiled, patting the wall of the jet proudly. "Not bad. I'll work on the hull tomorrow. Some enforcement there and a little love here, and she'll be up and about in no time."
You jumped out, removing your jacket since all the work had made you sweat, and headed for the mini living area you'd made up. It wasn't much, just a makeshift table, worn down couch, a very old TV, and a sleeping bag. All the food and drink was piled in a corner. You'd mostly been living off dry cereal and water which wasn't exactly ideal, but got you through the weeks.
You sat down on the couch, wincing as it creaked and groaned, and fumbled for the TV remote. Once you found it, you aimlessly flicked through the channels to find something interesting and almost choked on air when you recognized your father.
It was a news channel and was live. You sat up quickly and leaned forward, straining to hear what he was saying due to the poor quality of the television.
"Been a while since I was in front of you. I figure I'll stick to the cards." He was saying to the reporters lined below the stand. "There's been speculation that I was involved in the events that occurred on the freeway and the rooftop-"
"-I'm sorry, Mr. Stark." One of the reporters interrupted. "But do you honestly expect us to believe that that was a bodyguard in a suit that conveniently appeared, despite the fact that you-"
"-I know that it's confusing. It is one thing to question the official story, and another thing entirely to make wild accusations or insinuate that I'm a superhero."
"I never said you were a superhero."
"You didn't? Well, good, because that would be outlandish and... Fantastic. I'm just not the hero type. Clearly. With this laundry list of character defects and all the mistakes I've made."
There was something in the way his voice faltered and the way he looked at the camera that made your insides clench, almost as if he was speaking directly to you. Your hands curled into fists as you continued to watch, wondering what he meant by all this.
"The truth is..." He looked at the cards in front of him, silent and pondering.
He seemed to be fighting internally, debating what to say. And then, finally, he put the cards down and looked at everyone below.
"I am Iron Man."
The TV remote fell onto the floor and your jaw dropped. You didn't know why considering you had suspicions from the very start due to the high tech of the suit. No ordinary person could build something so powerful from scratch like that.
You slowly stood up, walking over to the television and kneeling beside it. You watched as your father was guided off stage by a very shocked-looking Rhodey. The reporters were going crazy, screaming and yelling questions as they moved into a back room.
-Tony POV-
Once in the safety of the back, Tony completely ignored the reprimanding he was getting from Rhodey and simply dug into his pocket to take out your pendant. He hadn't been able to let it go, somehow wishing you'd come back for it and he could apologize for everything. He knew now why you ran, and it was all thanks to Obadiah Stane.
It was mere days after surviving the caves of the Ten Rings. Tony was trying to process the fact that Obadiah, someone he thought was a friend, had filed an injunction against him. It had been nagging at him for hours now.
As he sat down to answer a call from Pepper, he could barely get one word out before a high-pitched buzzing filled his head and paralysis took over. He couldn't lift anything, he could barely breathe, and the only things able to move were his eyes.
"Breathe." The eerily familiar voice of Obadiah instructed. "You remember this one, right?"
He held up a pen, something Tony distinctly recognized as a sonic taser, something made to incapacitate an enemy by paralyzing them through exposure to a specific sonic frequency.
"It's a shame the government didn't approve it." Obadiah continued, pocketing it as he took out some earplugs. "There are so many applications for causing short-term paralysis. Ah, Tony... When I ordered the hit on you, I was worried that I was killing the golden goose."
Tony stared, wide-eyed, as Obadiah brought out a briefcase and took a silver instrument from inside, clicking something on the side that made it open up like claws. He placed it against the arc reactor in his chest and it didn't take a genius to know what he was doing.
"But, you see, it was just fate that you survived that. I can't say the same for your daughter, however." As he tore the reactor from Tony's chest, he smiled cruelly. "Yeah, little (Y/n) found out about the hit and, well, I couldn't have that, could I? Don't worry, she's not dead yet, but it's only a matter of time. I'm surprised she ran away like a coward. I thought she'd put up a fight like her dad. Clearly not."
Tony was shaking now, both because of the pen's effects and because of anger. There was a hit on (Y/n) too. That's why you'd run. Maybe it wasn't solely because of him like he'd thought. And, judging from what Obadiah said, you were still out there. He had to find you, to protect you like a real father would.
He'd find you one way or another.