Fated Marks

Calliope’s POV-

When we told Will we were ready to date he dragged us onto his couch and went on Facebook to look up potential dates.

Then Josh managed to reign him in a bit and he signed us up for a dating app which brings me to where I am today.

“Cal I need…” Tony started.

“On your left.” I said as my phone dinged and I ignored it.

“So Tony about this weekend…” Bruce started as my phone dinged.

“Our company retreat?” Tony asked at the same time my phone dinged again.

“Can you really call it that since it’s only the two of you that work here and you’re going to Vegas?” I asked as my phone dinged again.

“Are you going to get that?” Tony asked.

“Not important.” I said as it dinged again.

“Your phone hasn’t stopped ringing since you got here.” Tony asked.

“It’s not a phone call or a message they’re notifications to this stupid dating app Will signed me up for.” I said.

“Dating app?” Tony asked with a smirk.

“I decided to put myself out there and start dating.” I said.

“What happened to Nate?” Tony asked.

“Yeah I thought you two were dating.” Bruce asked.

“No we’re just friends.” I said.

“But you went out on a date.” Tony said.

“No that was me accompanying him to the ballet so he wouldn’t be alone.” I said.

“How did you know he had ballet tickets in the first place?” Bruce asked.

“Oh he told me about it a few days earlier. Asked if I liked it since he had an entire booth…” I said.

“Oooh.” Bruce and Tony said exchanging looks.

“What?” I asked.

“It sounds like Nate was trying to ask you out on a date but didn’t know if you were going to say yes.” Bruce said.

“He was not going to ask me out.” I said.

“Cal the first thing he asked after he gave you the tickets was if you’d go with him. I saw you two together, I saw the way he looked at you, he’s interested.” Tony confirmed as my phone started ringing.

I looked at it and answered it right away.

“Hello.” I said.

“Hey Cal.” Dad answered.

“Hey, I am so sorry I’ve missed you last couple of calls School and work have been crazy.” I said.

“I thought as much. I had to come into the city for a last minute business deal I’ve been trying to close and wanted to know if you’re free for dinner.” Dad asked.

“For you always.” I said getting Bruce and Tony’s attention.

“I’ll pick you up at work let’s say six thirty?” Dad asked.

“It’s a date. Let me know when you’re in the lobby and I’ll be right down.” I said.

“Okay, see you then.” Dad said.

“Bye.” I said before hanging up

“Hot date tonight?” Tony said wiggling his eyebrows making me chuckle.

“Yeah.” I said deciding to mess with him a bit.

“Nate?” Tony asked.

“No someone else. Known him since I was a kid. He’s in town for business.” I said.

“What’s his name?” he asked.

“Marcel.” I said.

“What’s he like?” Tony asked.

“Older man, tall, dark, handsome, charming…” I said. Dad could charm the pants off anyone. “Likes it when I call him Daddy.”

Tony and Bruce coughed spitting out their coffee and chai tea, almost choking on it.

“Didn’t see that coming… didn’t think you’d be into that Cal.” Tony said and I started laughing.

“I think she meant her father, it was your dad right?” Bruce asked.

“Yeah, he’s in town to close a business deal. We always go out for dinner when he’s in town.” I said. “He’s picking me up at six thirty.”

“You two close?” Tony asked.

“Yeah, we talk everyday.” I said as my phone started dinging. “Uh stupid app, it keeps spamming me.”

“Lemme see.” Tony said taking the phone out of my hand. “Bumble?”

“It’s girls choice.” I said repeating what Will had told me when he signed me up.

“And have you picked anyone yet?” Tony asked.

“A few but all I got was a dtf back.” I said.

“DTF?” Bruce asked confused.

“Down to…” I started.

“These are the guys you picked out?” Tony said laughing.

“Yeah what’s wrong with them?” I asked.

“Uh lets see there’s the tall surfer.” Tony said.

“I’ll admit I mostly picked him out for his good looks but he seems very mellowed out and I could use some mellow in my life.” I said.

“So the fact that he looks almost exactly like Thor had nothing to with why you picked him?” Tony asked.

“Thor and I are just friends and he has a girlfriend.” I said.

“Okay what about this guy. Construction worker with a dog. A little old for you don’t you think?” Tony asked.

“He’s in his twenties.” I said.

“Isn’t your friend Clint in construction?” Bruce asked.

“He’s a contractor.” I said.

“Oh here’s a good one, mechanical engineer, undergrad at MIT grad school at Columbia.” Tony said.

“EH, we texted and he was so boring.” I groaned.

“Nerds with personality are hard to find.” Tony said swiping through the next one. “A dancer. Russian. Does ballet.”

“Yeah Will picked him out, I’m not into it.” I said.

“Kid I think you need to ease into dating. Maybe start closer to home.” Tony said.

“I think you might be right. I said hi to a few guys and got dick pics as a reply.” I said.

“I’m so glad I’m married and don’t have to date anymore.” Bruce said.

“Okay so what do you want?” Tony asked.

“What do you mean what do I want?” I asked.

“In a relationship. Do you want something serious? Or are you just looking for a one night stand?” Tony asked.

“Uh I don’t think I’m ready for a one night stand.” I said.

“What do you mean you’re not ready? It’s just one night of fun, you don’t really prepare for that.” Tony said.

“Tony.” Bruce said giving him a look.

“Tony some of us aren’t as…. Experienced as you.” I said.

“Experience has nothing to… Oh.” He said realizing what I was getting at. “Really?”

“I haven’t had much luck on that front. I mean I skipped a few grades so I was always a few years younger than the rest of my classmates and now I’ve been busy so, yeah.” I said.

“Is that something you’re looking for?” Tony asked cautiously.

“I don’t know. I mean I’m not a prude and I’m not waiting until marriage, not that there’s anything wrong with that but I mean if it was with the right guy I’d be into it.” I said.

“So you want something serious.” Bruce said.

“Yeah.” I said.

“Then online dating is not for you.” Tony said logging me out of my Bumble account. “It’s a either a hit or a miss and it’s mostly for hookups.”

“Okay than what do you suggest oh wise one?” I said sarcastically.

“I’d say look closer to home.” Tony said. “Like say Nate.”

“It’s like you and Will are in cahoots with each other.” I said.

“You did say you had a really good time with him when you went out.” Bruce said.

“If he’s asks me out I’d say yes but he hasn’t.” I said.

“Maybe he hasn’t asked because he doesn’t think you’re interested.” Tony said as my phone started ringing.

“Oh that’s probably dad.” I said picking up my phone. “hello?”

“Hey Cal it’s Nate.” He said sounding out of breath.

“Hey Nate you okay?” I said as I heard him panting.

“Yeah I’m at practice but I wanted to talk to you.” He panted out.

“Sure what’s up?” I asked.

“I was wondering if… If you’d want to go… out sometime?” Nate asked.

“Nate…” I started.

“On a date!” he added panting. “Go out on a date! With me!”

“Sure, what were you thinking?” I asked.

“Would tonight be too soon?” He said trying to play it cool.

“Oh I actually can’t tonight.” I said and Tony threw something at me and shook his head no. He grabbed his tablet and wrote something on it.

SAY WHY!

“My dad’s in town and he asked me to grab dinner with him.” I said.

“Oh no it’s fine we can just do it another day. I know you two are really close and you miss him,” Nate said.

“Are you free Friday?” I asked. 

“Yeah I am.” Nate said.

“How about we catch a movie and we go to that Ramen place you were telling me about?” I suggested.

Tony and Bruce just smiled and gave me a thumbs up.

“Yeah, I’ll pick you up at seven?” Nate asked.

“Can’t wait.” I said before hanging up. As soon as I did Tony clapped and laughed.

“Wow. You went from being asked out to doing the asking.” Tony said.

“I did say I was going to put myself out there.” I said with a shrug as my phone started ringing. I looked at the message and saw that it was dad saying he was in the lobby. “Well that’s my dad, he’s downstairs. I’m gonna head out..”

“I’ll head down with you.” Tony said. “Bruce?”

“Uh sure.” Bruce said.

“Jarvis, take us down please.” I asked.

“Of course Miss Adams.” Jarvis answered.

“Please tell me you guys heard that?” I said.

“Heard what?” Tony asked.

“Uh.” I groaned as the doors opened. I walked right out not waiting for Bruce or Tony. I saw dad standing talking to someone on the phone. When he saw me he cut the conversation short and hung up.

“Hey sweetheart.” Dad said giving me a beaming smile.

“Hey dad.” I said hugging him.

“Uh I missed you.” He said returning the hug.

“Ehem.” Tony cleared his throat getting our attention.

“Right, Dad meet my boss Tony Stark, and this is Doctor Bruce Banner.” I said introducing my coworkers slash friends. “Guys this is my dad Marcel Gerard.”

Both Tony and Bruce looked surprised but didn’t say anything. I was pretty used to the shock on people’s faces when I introduced my dad.

“Nice to meet you.” Bruce said shaking his hand.

“The pleasure’s all mine. Callie talks about you both all the time.” Dad said.

“Good things I hope.” Tony said.

“She says you’re both the smartest people she’s ever met and coming from the smartest person I know she’s probably right.” Dad said.

“Well you raised a great kid and hiring her has probably been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Cal’s my right hand man or girl.” Tony said correcting himself.

“Cal has always had an amazing work ethic.” Dad said proudly.

“We should probably let you go.” Bruce said. “It was a pleasure to meet you.”

“Have a good night.” Tony said. “Cal see you tomorrow.

“Yeah night guys.” I said before walking out with dad. “So the usual place?”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” Dad said taking out his keys and unlocking the rental. “So what’s going on with you?”

“Uh Nothing Much. Work school. Clint and I decided to start dating.” I said.

“You and Clint are dating? About time. I always knew you two would end up together.” Dad said cheerfully.

“Whoa hold your horses. We’re not dating each other. We’re dating, putting ourselves out there with the hope that we’ll find the one.” I said.

“Oh.” Dad said sounding almost disappointed.

“Oh?” I asked.

 “I always thought you and Clint…” he started.

“We’re just friends. You know most dad would freak out at the mention of their daughters dating a man twice their age. Hell they’d freak out at the fact that they hang out with a man twice their age.” I said.

“Well most dads would but they don’t have you as a daughter. You may only be eighteen but you’ve always been way too mature for your age. You’ve always related better to people older than you and you know I don’t care who you date. I just want you to be happy.” He said.

“And you think Clint would be the one to make me happy?” I asked.

“Yes. I’ve seen the two of you together. You can’t stop smiling and he cares about you a lot.” Dad said.

“I love him and I care about him a lot too. He’s my best friend.” I said.

“And are you sure this is what you want?” Dad asked. “You want to some random stranger and not your best friend who you love?”

“Yes. I wouldn’t be doing it if I wasn’t sure.” I said. “I actually already have a date.”

“Really? Who’s the guy?” Dad asked.

“Nate.” I said.

“Coffee friend Nate?” Dad asked.

“Yeah. He called earlier and we made plans for Friday.” I answered.

“Didn’t know you were interested in him.” Dad said.

“He’s a good guy. Good friend and he’s not bad looking. Let’s see where this goes.” I said as we pulled up to the same diner dad and I visited whenever he was in town.

We headed in side and sat in out usual booth, ordered some milk shakes and waited for our bacon cheeseburgers.

“So last week I was paying our insurance bill and I noticed we were being billed for a full work up and a CT.” Dad said. “Anything you want to tell me?”

“Dad, don’t freak out.” I said.

“Cal I only freak out when you start a story asking me not to freak out.” Dad said.

“So a couple of months ago I was out on my morning run and out of nowhere I felt like there was something stuck in my throat and I couldn’t breathe. I ended up collapsing at the park but just as it started happening it went away. It didn’t happen again so I didn’t think anything of it.” I said.

“But?” Dad said already knowing there was more to the story.

“A few weeks ago I got mugged and…” I said.

“You got mugged?!” Dad said.

“I’m okay. I just got shoved against a wall and there were a few bruises. I made it home and I kind of passed out on the couch in the middle of a conversations.” I said.

“What the hell Cal?! Why didn’t you say anything?” Dad said angrily.

“I didn’t want to worry you.” I said.

“Calliope Chauncey Gerard.” Dad said sternly. “That is not your call to make. I’m your father. It’s my job to worry about you.”

“Dad I didn’t think it was a big deal and I knew if I told you, you would have dropped everything and gotten here as fast as you could and I didn’t want that.” I said.

“Cal you were mugged and you passed out for no reason of course I would have gotten here.” Dad said sighing. “Did you get checked out?”

“Yes Will and Clint dragged me to the hospital. They did a full work up and everything was clear but when I was there and they looked at my family history they decided to run a gene test and something came back. Apparently I’m a carried of the BRCA gene.” I said.

“What does that mean?” Dad asked.

“It means that I have a slightly bigger chance of developing Breast and Ovarian cancer than a non carrier. It doesn’t mean I have cancer or that I’m going to get it. It just means that I have to get check out more often to be on the look out for it.” I said. “I needed you to know so you don’t panic when you see new charges.”

Dad sighed and rubbed a hand down his face.

“I’m getting you a car.” Dad said.

“dad.” I said.

“You were mugged.” He said.

“It’s New york, it happens.” I said.

“Cal, what did Will say about this?” Dad said.

“He yelled, dragged me to the doctors and then I had to force him to move out with his fiancé even though he was afraid of leaving me alone.” I said.

“This is exactly why we compromised and you got a roommate the first time.” Dad said.

“And Will has a few people who are interested in his spot but I didn’t like any of them.” I said.

“I’ll get you a driver.” Dad said.

“Dad, no. I’m okay and I’m safe.” I said.

“I’m having a really hard time taking your word for it.” Dad said. “You have a tendency to down play things Cal.”

“I’m sorry but I swear that’s everything.” I said.

“If anything happens like this again, I want you to call me immediately. I don’t care what time it is.” Dad said.

“I will, I promise.” I said.

After dinner Dad dropped me off at home since he had to fly back that same night. I headed upstairs and knocked on Clint’s door.

“Come in.” he called out.

“Hey, I knew you’d be hungry so I got you a bacon cheeseburger and a shake.” I said.

“marry me.” he said making me laugh. He tried sitting up and groaned.

“What was that?” I asked.

“I did some heavy lifting today and I may have lifted with my back instead of my legs.” He groaned.

“Okay.” I said putting the food down in front of him and moved to sit down behind him on the back of the couch. “Lift your arm.”

“What are you doing?” Clint asked.

“I took a kinesiology course back in high school. Going to help ease some of the pressure.” I said rubbing on his back and working through some of the knots I could feel. “Bad day?”

“No just busy mh, that’s so good.” Clint moaned.

“Just wait.” I said pressing on the middle of his back. “Anything hurt specifically?”

“A little lower.” He said and I moved my hands down. “Ah.”

“Yeah you’re going to need a heating pad and to take it easy for a few days.” I said.

“I can’t.” Clint groaned.

“Yes you can. You said you were going to delegate so delegate.” I said. “I have the morning off since my only class got cancelled.”

“Isn’t tomorrow a big day for you? Your candidate getting the sensors applied.” Clint said.

“Yeah but that’s in the afternoon, and Will’s coming over to introduce some of the candidates for the new roommate.” I said finishing up his massage. “Your input would be appreciated.”

“We’re probably going to have to order in breakfast.” Clint said.

“It has been a while since we’ve had a lazy day” I said.

“I have the weekend off, want to go watch a movie on Saturday?” Clint asked.

“Saturday’s perfect. I have a date on Friday.” I said.

“Really?” he asked and I nodded. “Me too. Who’s the lucky guy?”

“Nate. Who’s the Lucky girl?” I asked.

“A girl from Will’s internship, Sarah.” He said. “Apparently he wants to ease me back into dating before he sets me up with someone that’s perfect for me.”

“So he’s essentially setting you up for a one night stand.” I said.

“Pretty much.” Clint said making me laugh.