Slight of Hand
The day after the big reveal is...heavy.
Rikki wakes up in bed with Tony beneath her, still on the couch. They'd fallen asleep together and she doesn't bother checking if he's awake since his hand is running through her hair. Laying near the reactor, she can hear every inhale. She can feel the strain his chest endures, trembling with grief and exhaustion.
Words are hard for Rikki and she knows Tony can have the same problem despite how open he is with those close to him in comparison. So since there aren't any words she can think of, she doesn't say anything. She is surprised when he does.
"So that's the guy my dad wouldn't shut up about, huh?"
"Yeah," Rikki shifts her body so she's snuggled up between his side and his arm instead of laying on top of her boyfriend's very much compromised chest with the very large and very noticeable pacemaker. "He really isn't anything impressive. I mean, the first time you guys meet he tries to pick a fight with you."
"A super soldier tries to fight a regular human?"
She'd be more worried at how neutral his tone is if there wasn't just the hint of disbelief mixed in. At least he's talking even if he really isn't, well, talking .
"Mhm." She huffs a laugh. “He was going on about how you’re not a team player and how you’re nothing without the armor. As if you haven’t spent over a decade running your father’s company and working with your government. You know, you say my favorite line in that movie, ‘Everything special about you came out of a bottle .’”
That gets a little laugh out of him. It’s closer to a sharp release of air than a full laugh but she’ll take it.
"Well, there's that then." Tony sighs.
Rikki doesn't know what that means and can't help but hug him a little tighter. A little over an hour passes before they get up. (More like Rikki gets hungry and drags Tony from the couch to feed him).
She isn't a master chef but she can make a decent meal for two. It also helps that using the blender to make smoothies isn't too hard or takes too long. She places a banana berry smoothie in front of Tony along with the tablet he was using last night.
Rikki can't help the small smile when Tony runs his hands over it. She may not like that he's working at her table but it's better than seeing him sitting so still and uncertain. It’s freaky to her.
For a second, she couldn't decide what to make and was just tempted to make oatmeal. But if that isn't going to fill her up, it won't fill Tony either. She settles for skinny mashed potatoes, quick BBQ asparagus, and baked fish. It takes her less than half an hour to make everything and put a plate before the genius.
To her surprise, he puts the tablet down and picks up a fork to take a bite. "So, I figure I have some serious choices to make and some changes to put in place."
"Okay. What did you have in mind?" She takes a second to eat and look at the engineer. "Besides saving your company and fixing the reactor in your chest?"
"Besides that, yeah," Tony grins. "I mean plans for SHIELD and the aliens." He sighs and hangs his head. "God, I can't believe that just came out of my mouth."
"I can." She laughs at the disbelief on his face. "Don't know how I can be of any help, though."
"Plenty." He promises. "I mean, I plan to play pretty close to what you've said. But not too close. Let's be real, the script doesn't turn out too well for us. That doesn't mean it isn't useful. Like, the Iron Legion is a great idea and I want to expand on that. I bet having it around before the invasion would be a huge help."
"So much." Rikki agrees. "And having Rhodey around with War Machine to help coordinate with police and your military, I mean, he earned his rank, right?"
" That ." He points his fork at her, smile slowly making its way along his lips. " That is an excellent idea! But before any of that can happen I need to keep my company from going under. I've got a couple ideas, a few trinkets I saved because they weren't weapons. There's also the arc reactor, clean energy is good. Can't go wrong with that, right? The only downside is that I'll need a fully functional one rather than the prototype on display we've got at headquarters. There wasn't much about what I did with the company was there?"
"Beyond a footnote about clean energy, making Pepper CEO, and making the tower in New York City? There isn't much about what you actually did, no. There's a ton of little things about what you do but Stark Industries was more of an afterthought."
"Little things?"
"Like, a really high tech phone. But it was more like a pretty prop."
"Hm.” There's a familiar gleam in Tony's eyes, its bright and curious, like fire sparking from a campfire. The truths she's told him weren't going to go away but at least his eyes weren't dead.
It would do, for now.
“You could make the walking braces, too."
"The what?"
Rikki can practically see his mind already working a mile a second. It still surprises her when he doesn't reach for the tablet, though. She knows he wants to but can't figure why he won't touch it. She gave it to him so he could work and eat. Not that she's complaining, she likes the undivided attention but she also knows he can multitask better than anyone she's ever known and still pay attention to hear every word she says.
"You made these really high tech walking braces for Rhodey, so he could walk again." Rikki finishes her plate and picks up the tablet, pulling up images of prosthetics and walking braces. "See? These are right now, the ones you make go all the way up to support his back. They looked so futuristic and kind of like armor."
She might be getting a little too excited but really, who can blame her?
"Prosthetics, huh?" Tony frowns at the screen. "When did I make them for him? In the after credits or something?”
Rikki pretends to not see the grimace on his face. She can tell he’s still having a hard time will all this and she can’t blame him. What would a person do or feel, knowing their entire life is one big comic or script in another time, another place, another world? The closest she can compare it to, would be those biography films about celebrities or historical figures. The ones that come close but either fall short or hit too close. There was a film about the life of a slave, Rikki never watched it, but she remembers there was a lot of controversy over it.
“No, in the last film I saw. Avengers Infinity War, he’s walking around in them and it’s pretty heavily implied you made them for him.” She gives him back the tablet and finishes her smoothie.
“Infinity War ?” Both of his eyebrows shoot up. “You didn’t mention that.”
“I figured we could have held off, after what you learned.”
Tony doesn’t say anything. He puts the tablet down and finishes his own plate. It’s quiet except for the sound of moving silverware. He chugs his smoothie and carefully wipes his hands with the napkins on the table.
“Thank you.” Rikki doesn’t comment on how hoarse his voice is or how his shoulders sag and the shadows that grow around his eyes.
“You deserve the truth.” She tells him and slowly, slow enough he can pull away if he wants, she places her hand over his. “You’ve always deserved the truth.”
That has always been her belief. No one should ever have to ever believe the worst of their parents, not when the reality is the opposite. No matter how terrible, no matter how dark or heart wrenching, the truth is always better than living in ignorance. It isn’t bliss when that same ignorance can destroy you, can haunt you.
Rikki’s secret, being a mermaid, is very different. It’s a personal secret, one that would put her in danger. It could lead to a life worse than death if the wrong person found out. Rikki and the other girls discovered this the hard way. They barely escaped by the skin of their tails.
But, when they do let it go, to someone they trust, someone who is good and kind, it turns out okay.
Louise, Ash, and Will are good examples. Zane, too, for a little while.
And now, Tony.
Whose willing to hide her secrets and shield her from the worst of humanity even after she raised a literal world wide storm and caused damn near insurmountable damage. It’s only fair she give back that trust. It’s only fair that she give back the same amount of fierce protection and care that she knows Tony gives. Even if that care is only in the knowledge that she knows.
“Tell me.” He turns his hand over and interlocks their fingers.
Rikki doesn’t hesitate because to someone like Tony Stark, knowledge is freedom and freedom means power.
The world is still reeling from both of Tony Stark's press conferences. The first, shutting down the weapons Stark Industries is always known for and the second, about Iron Man.
And now, another is soon to take place about the future that Tony Stark plans to take.
When they return, a few days later to Tony's home in Malibu, they have a rough plan in place. The weapons of his company would stay shut down but the defense division will be reviewed for renewal.
The idea is threefold. First, it ensures that any capital Tony has with his government isn’t completely wasted. The second, keeps armed forced updated with the latest armor, especially as the enemies they face become increasingly harder to combat. The final reason is that this helps keep Stark Industries afloat without a mad rush on Tony’s part to make something to save face.
Tony wants Rikki close by as the changes mentioned take effect. She doesn't mind and after giving another statement, she's cleared to fly by the ASIO. Although, they did have to fly with a few agents in tow and the couple was met with FBI agents when they disembarked. The reasons being about Stane and his illegal dealings. The ASIO and the FBI are still corroborating with each other, Interpol, and Stark Industries, to track down all of Stane's buyers. However, since Tony outed himself no one knows about what he did and the cover story that SHIELD gave him also didn't mention Stane's shady dealings, so they’re taking advantage of the situation.
SHIELD’s involvement had the agents' expressions twist into something sour before they tried to cover it up. Apparently, SHIELD is a point of contention with the agents. But it’s pushed to the side in favor of the entire issue surrounding Stane's betrayal, especially since the investigation into Stane's dealings keep unearthing other crimes. It's in the car to the conference that one of the FBI agents bring it up.
"I understand you may have to make a statement Mr. Stark-"
"Whatever gave you that idea?" Tony snarks with a grin but his eyes are like steel.
"We only ask that you don't mention any evidence in your statement." The man, McCallin was it? continues as if Tony hadn't said anything. "We understand you're a public figure but the less the public knows, for now, the better the case we have for Stane's accomplices."
"You want them to get scared." Rikki is guessing here. She doesn't know anything about the US justice system besides what she's seen on TV.
"Yes, ma'am."
“Flushing out pest is something easy.” Tony gives them his press smile. “You’ve got nothing to worry about on my end.”
“Thank you, Mr. Stark.”
After that, they leave the couple alone. No doubt to coordinate with others and the PR, HR, and security departments on top of that. Rikki isn’t actually involved beyond having pointed a finger in Stane’s direction. Her statement is mostly a character observation, how uncomfortable he made her, the questionable word choices, and just overall “shady” behavior that set her on edge whenever she had to be alone with him.
Of course, that wasn’t all she mentioned. Because she and Tony had been dancing around each other for nearly a year before getting together, before his demonstration in the desert.
She mentions all the backhanded compliments Stane gave Tony, the subtle hazing that made a constant appearance in every conversation between the two. ‘Your father this’ and ‘your father did that’ , and how Stane used it like a weapon.
So, in that regard, her witness testimony helps protect Tony from any immediate legal dangers or charges of treason. Other than that, she’s only here because Tony asked her to come. Which she would have done anyway.
They arrive at the Stark Industries HQ for the conference. Something Tony doesn’t hesitate to grumble about. So, she leans over to whisper in his ear and pointedly ignore some of the glances the agents give them.
No doubt because of Tony’s expression.
“Let’s go! Conference to get to and all that!” He practically chirps, the brat.
Rikki smiles and nods along because its funny, okay. Seeing these ‘tough’ federal agents trying to hide behind their professionalism (and only some of them manage it) when it’s obvious what the couple were implying will happen right after.
“The quicker you get this over with the quicker we get home.” She reminds him and holds up his suit jacket, that he nearly leaves behind.
The conference nearly goes smoothly.
It would have been perfect if some photographer hadn’t managed to get a glimpse of her waiting off stage surrounded by such an obvious protection detail. There’s really no one to blame for that. It was just a split second. Several stage hands were still running back and forth, along with several additional security guards patrolling the area. With the heavy curtain being moved, it was no real surprise that someone saw her.
It was more annoying when several reporters started asking questions about her involvement. Which is a sure fire way to get on Tony’s bad side and the dark look he sent those specific people was not missed. Tony walking off stage probably didn’t help matters but she certainly wasn’t going to lecture him. Her boyfriend is a grown man, he does not need her to baby him. She is not his mother.
Besides...it felt good. Having someone defend her without trying to coddle her. She wasn’t made of glass.
“Well, you did what the agents asked.” Rikki grins at him.
Tony huffs but returns her grin with one of his own. “I did, didn’t I?”
“Yes, yes, you’re amazing. Now, get me home and feed me. You promised me a full seafood dinner.”
He loops his arm with hers and leads her back to the car. Another one, not the one they came in because Tony doesn’t trust anyone he hasn’t had a background check done on or any car he hasn’t had his hand on.
She can’t call him paranoid. Since, they really are out to get him.
The agents leave them at the door.
“Hello JARVIS.” Rikki calls out, part relief and part caution. Has the AI been taken offline again?
“Greetings Ms. Chadwick. Sir has been most anxious to see you again.”
Rikki grins, both at JARVIS wit and Tony’s blustering. As if she didn’t already know he missed her. But she also relaxes knowing that JARVIS is up and running.
“It’s good to hear you JARVIS.”
“The pleasure is mine, Ms. Chadwick.” Rikki has always believed JARVIS to be more than a suped up Siri. To her ears, it sounds like he truly missed her and she just accepts that there’s more to the AI than anyone else knows. That’s fine by her since there’s more to Rikki than anyone knows, too.
”Its nice to know you’ve got JARVIS watching your back again.”
“Yeah, until freaky pirates come around, break in and shut him down.” Tony growls.
Rikki frowns as she follows him to the kitchen. When they spoke earlier, she’s seen this, seen Tony fall between the two extremes: grief and rage. She weathers it and doesn't judge him because she understands that he is suddenly very aware of something. That he isn’t as secure as he thought he was and that there are powers and influences that are very real threats.
Tony reaches into the refrigerator for a carton of juice. This actually makes Rikki blink because when Tony’s stressed she’s seen him reach for a drink, usually whiskey or scotch. (Until he sees her staring at him, daring him to finish the rest of the bottle). Rikki moves to the cabinet and gets two glasses for him to pour.
”You find out how he did it?”
Tony takes a gulp and practically hisses the words. ”They used Stane’s codes to get in and then cracked J open with a fucking can opener.”
”I’m guessing they can’t do that again.”
”Hell no.”
Rikki snorts and Tony manages to crack a grin.
“So, you’ve got an entire future ahead of you.” She starts, “What will Tony Stark do now?”
”Well,” Tony throws off his suit jacket and settles into one of the bar stools in his kitchen. Rikki takes a seat next to him. “I’ve got about twenty years worth of intel given to me this beautiful woman.”
”Oh, really?” She lets the grin trying to get out, spread.
”Absolutely.”
Tony leans on the table, some of the tension bleeding out of him. Which is good but Rikki likes the light in his eyes better. She’s always liked his eyes but when his mind is twirling, spinning and just, running at a pace Rikki could never keep up with, his eyes practically lit up like stars. They remind her of the moon pool light during the full moon.
”She gave me a heads up of a lot of...really shitty things. Things I’m going to have to look into.” Tony sighs but its paired with a determined set to his jaw. “And changes I’m going to have to make. My company is going to go through some huge changes. Pepper will be fine though.”
”Going to make her CEO.”
”She’s always been good at the business end of things anyway. Promote her to CFO. Getting her trained up and the Board used to her being the de facto CEO before making it official.”
”SHIELD?”
”It’s a game of cat and mouse with them. They’re gonna want a piece of this pie but to get it,” Tony’s grin turns sly. “They’re going to find themselves working really fucking hard for it. No free-bees here.”
”Tell me I get front row seats.”
”You get a backstage pass, babe.” He laughs.
“Well, nice to know you’ve got a plan.” She drains the last of her juice. “But before you go off, we need to have a talk.”
”That’s-“
”Nothing bad.” She cuts him off.
“That’s a relief. Not sure I can take anymore bad news.”
”It’s something that’s been on my mind and I want you to hear me out.” She takes a breath. “I want you to meet with a therapist.”
“Babe, I know how great that sounds especially considering what’s happened-”
”I still think you should see one.” Rikki cuts in. “Because I can’t.”
”I don’t...” Tony trails off, frowning as he puts his glass down. “What are you talking about.”
Rikki sighs and looks away. She’s never liked looking back, never liked thinking about the near misses she and the other mermaids survived. However, if it will help Tony, her boyfriend who is so brilliant and yet so vulnerable, then she’ll bite the bullet.
“The first year I became mermaid, we mucked it up.” She sighs. “Badly.”
Tony stands up, tense.
”How badly?”
”We were...” Rikki sighs again, frustrated. “It was really bad, Tony. We were found out by some Marine Biologist, Denman. A Dr. Linda Denman.”
She looks away from Tony’s eyes, unsure if she'll be able to finish what she has to say. Rikki inhales but her breath feels like its caught in her breast. The very concept that she would be trapped, anywhere, and at the mercy of a scientist with that-
“Dr. Denman was this blond haired, blue haired she devil.” She exhales through her nose. “She came poking around Mako. A friend tried to help us out with the whole growing a tail thing. But we were teenagers and all he had was garage full of tools and whatever he could snag or rent from the school. He agreed to a job with her to get access to her equipment.”
”Did he?”
”We were teenagers.” She rolls her eyes. “He was an idiot but, looking back, he was trying to help. Get us answers. We didn’t know anything at the time but he was trying.” Rikki tries not to sigh. “He left a scale sample in her lab and she stole it from him. Using some bullshit excuse about sharing ideas. She found something new and exciting and that would get her name in the books so she took it from a teenager-“
”-and tried to sell him on an idea about working together and how it’s for science.” Rikki turns to look at him and isn’t surprised at the tired expression on his face. Or something like it. “Yeah. I know what that’s like.”
”He didn’t sell out and managed to get rid of her.” She shrugs. “For a little while.”
”She came back.”
”With better funding and underwater cameras.”
”She put them around Mako.”
”Yeah.” Rikki gets up and walks to Tony’s panoramic windows. “There were pictures of us...”
”So Denman and whoever else-“
”They had our faces. They had everything.”
”How did they-“
”We’d just gotten our powers, Tony.” She shakes her head, already knowing where he was going with this. “We had the basics. We couldn’t call on lightening or a hurricane to get ourselves out.”
Silence.
”They laid a trap for us at the moon pool and we swam right into it. Then Denman and her little...cult lackeys barred the underwater cave with steel bars.”
”You were trapped.”
”By a scientist with delusions of grandeur and I don’t know, some idea of science makes right. I don’t know.” Rikki takes a deep breath to clear her temper. That is not what Tony needed right now. “We were lucky. Lewis had help getting us out and we pretended to lose our tails and our magic. It was over. She couldn’t touch us and no one was going to give her any funding to research a national preserve.”
”You won.”
”Yeah. We did.” She pauses. “But I will never forget how terrifying it was to be there. To be at their mercy, knowing there was nothing I could do. I could have tried to boil their blood but that would have taken too long and there was too many of them. They might have simply killed us and studied our corpses anyway.”
The air between stays silent and uninterrupted. Tony moves to stand at her back, his hands lightly resting on her hips.
”I don’t know what would have happened if I had tried to fight back and I’m glad I never have to find out. But, Tony,” Rikki turns in his arms and wraps her arms around his waist. “there are still nights I wake up screaming thinking of that night. And I’m terrified of ever having to go through that again. This is why I want you to talk to someone. Because I can’t.”
Rikki holds Tony’s gaze and hopes he gets where she’s coming from.
”I can’t hire a therapist and just unload everything that’s happened since I became a mermaid. I can’t tell them about the nightmares or the close calls with divers and fishermen and governors. I don’t have the power to hire a therapist and talk it out or find closure!” She swallows, a little shaken at how exposed she felt. “You can. You have the power to talk to someone and ask for help without being afraid you’ll be whisked away to some government lab and be dissected. You have the power to get help, to recover from this. I will never ever get that chance.”
“Rikki.”
“Use it.”
”I will.”
”It doesn’t have to be right away-“ Tony stops her with a kiss. It’s not a kiss they’ve had before. The passion is still there but it’s also heavy with a ferocity she’s never seen in her boyfriend. Tony’s hands caress her, firmly and with purpose. Like he was trying to memorize the very shape of her. They break reluctantly, short of breath and flushed.
”I promise, Rikki, I’ll have JARVIS tear through the entire field for the best.”
”Probably best if they weren’t with SHIELD.”
“That’s a given.” His grin grows crooked. “Now, it’s been a long flight and sticking together will keep the nightmares away.”
”Yeah?” Rikki grins, slowly, tension melting as Tony’s hands make their way up her back. “Where’d you hear that?”
”Somewhere.”
Tony swoops in for another kiss and Rikki lets him take her away. She lets him distract her, distract himself, away from the world. He’s not the only one who needs this but she won’t let this go. She’ll beg if she has to because Tony isn’t just a character in a book or on a screen. Rikki spent over a year getting to know him, learning to care for him.
Falling in love with him and that terrifies the hell out of her. Because it means she doesn’t want anything to happen to him even though she knows he can take care of himself. It means she refuses to let anyone just come in and take him from her. Not like what she’s seen, not like what’s been written and if she has to put the fear of god in the world to do it, she will.
And as Tony Stark stokes the raging inferno inside her, as he relishes playing with the fire within her core, Rikki vows that if he ever asked, if he ever wants, she would turn the tides of the world to his favor.