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straightouttaneptune · 5 years

Text

By your side

Pairing: Harley Keener x reader, Tony Stark x daughter!Reader

Warning: Death, coping with death, panic attacks, along that line...

Summary: Y/N Stark is the next in line as the heiress of Stark Industries after her father’s death. The public is not very patient nor kind to the mourning teen, so who could she turn to?

A/N: SO BEFORE YOU SAY ANYTHING I’m pretty sure Harley is over 18, and I mean for this fic’s Y/N to be 18 here too. So, since Ty Simpkins is 19, there’s no kissing in this fic. But oh lord, thank the gods that I finally liked an actor who’s only 2 years older than me!!

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Your hollow eyes were distant as it watched the arc reactor float way in the lake. One would say it looked empty... but if they were to stop time and cautiously look into them, they’d see the excruciating pain that tortured you. Your skin was pale and dark rings circled your eyes, proof you haven’t slept in over 24 hours.

You held your tears in as best as you could, but your eyes still spilled a few tears. Tony Stark had been nothing but a good father to you. The moment your mother died giving birth to you, he was your only family. He was the one who appointed Natasha your god-mother, who taught you computer coding at the age of 5, and who made you pancakes for breakfast on a lazy Sunday morning. Your life seemed to always be under some sort of spotlight, being a Stark, but it was bearable because of your father’s protection over you from the cruel world.

Now, you had to deal with everything on your own as the heiress of Stark Industries.

1 WEEK LATER

ENGLAND

“You ready?” Happy called out from the front of the family jet, getting ready to open up the door. He gave you a soft smile, secretly feeling bad for the 18 year old girl who had to endure all this. He’d heard that Natasha also left the Avengers to you, which meant you were thinning yourself out too much by juggling two managing roles as well as being the replacement for your father in various ways.

“Yeah!” You beamed at him, plastering on your ‘public face’. As soon as he opened the heavy doors of the jet, camera shutters overlapped with one another, followed by calls of your name.

“Y/N!”

“Miss Stark! Over here!”

“Y/N Stark!”

“Smile for me, Y/N!”

Your smile didn’t falter as you waved and blew kisses, a lot like how your father used to present himself. You were your father’s daughter, deceased or alive. You tried to enjoy yourself, a cocky grin on your face as you neared the stand set up in the airport.

“Hello, folks. As many of you know,”

NEW YORK

“My dear father has passed away.”

MALAYSIA

“He was a hero. A man of honor.”

NETHERLANDS

“It was a known fact that he was in constant danger.”

JAPAN

“But he gave his all for the people.”

MEXICO

“And he sacrificed himself for the greater good.”

RUSSIA

“So I, Y/N Stark, as the heiress of Stark Industries,”

SINGAPORE

“Am going to take over for my father. To continue his legacy and the future he paved for us.”

CANADA

“Thank you for all your support, I will not let you down.”

“Ugh, I need a cheeseburger.” You collapsed into the jet seat, exhausted after the unnecessary trips and giving speeches that didn’t mean jack shit. Your back sank into the fluffy seat, and you secretly wished it’ll swallow you whole.

“Okay.” Happy gave you a sympathetic look, his eyes softening as he ordered a cheeseburger to be delivered as soon as you landed.

You plugged in your earphones and looked away, staring into the nothingness of the blue sky. Your eyes darkened as you thought about your father, holding your hand as you got on the family jet for the first time. You were so infatuated with the scenery back then, a huge smile on his face as he watched you press your nose into the window. Your eyes pooled with tears, you had to quickly blink them away before Happy saw.

“Y/N, we’re here. But a little heads up... the press is also here.” Your tired gaze met with Happy’s, and you couldn’t help but to roll your eyes.

“At least tell me my cheeseburger is here.” You stood up, shoving your phone in your dress pocket rather forcefully. You fixed yourself up in the bathroom, putting sunglasses on to cover your reddened eyes.

“Alright Happy, let the hell loose.” You took a deep breath, walking out proudly with a fake but very believable smile on your lips.

Happy followed with a stern look, a few bodyguards behind him pushing away the interviewers who were practically screaming at you. You threw them peace signs, blew kisses, and reassured them with your charming smile. You made a beeline to your assistant, who was waiting for you with a bag from Burger King in her hands.

“Welcome back, Miss Stark. You have a meeting with Miss Bishop, Mr Parker, Miss Lang and the others in... 46 minutes, for the new Avengers Initiative. Also, Mr Keener has requested to have an appointment with you, where in your schedule shall I place him?” She hustled behind you as you took a bite from your burger. You groaned and faced her, holding your hand up to stop her rambling.

“Relax. Did Fury contact?”

“Oh, yes. He called to see if you’ll appoint him the director of the Avengers.” She went through her files like a sandstorm, stressed out as heck as she replied.

“See, that’s the kind of thing you need to tell me. Tell him Natasha left the Avengers to me, so I’ll deal with it, and he has to rebuild SHIELD first before he can work as director again. Also, Harley? Why did he schedule an appointment? He never does that.”

“He wants to be interviewed for the position of your assistant. So does the 206 other applicants that’s called us this week. But Mr. Keener is your close acquaintance, so I figured it was important to tell you.” She breathed, the two of you entering the Stark tower. Newly designed and remodeled.

“My assistant? Aren’t you my assistant?” You furrowed your brows, why would Harley, your long time friend, want to be your assistant?

“Yes, Miss.” She scrambled to find her phone, dropping her clipboard in the process.

You bent down and picked it up, taking your sunglasses off and smiling at her as you handed her the clipboard. “Okay, have him come in in 10 minutes, he’s hired and you’re fired. Take a vacation. I’ll add extra to your pay.”

Her eyes widened, fear swirling in her eyes. “I don’t have anywhere to go...”

“Look, I’ll pay extra 1,000 dollars, just take care of yourself.” You dismissed her, holding your head up high as you strolled into your office. Her nerve-wrecking stress was going to pass onto you if you hadn’t done something about the girl.

“Thank you, Miss Stark!” You heard her call out before you shut the gigantic door to your office. The big room was quiet, making you feel small and empty. All the pretending to be ‘okay’ wasn’t doing anything for your wellbeing.

You neared your desk and sat down, the laptop lighting up as your hand grazed over the space bar. A picture of your father popped up, him and you smiling next to the first robot you built. You were 7 at the time. You had completely forgotten that that picture was your background, and you felt yourself slowly starting to hyperventilate as you continued to stare at it.

A panic attack. You were truly your father’s daughter now. Your breath fell shallow and your heartbeat picked up its pace, all the suppressed tears now flowing as you crashed on the ground. You tried to breathe but the air caught up in your throat, and you could only cradle yourself as you tried to calm down.

“Y/N?” The door flew open, Harley immediately spotting you on the floor. His eyes widened, throwing his file away carelessly to sit down next to you. He turned the screen off, caressing your back and whispering sweet nothings into your ear. “Breathe, Y/N.” His warmth radiated onto your cold hands, his words pulling you out of the dark pit you were thrown in. His voice was protective and kind, calming your erratic heart.

“Harley.” You were finally able to look up at him, your puffy eyes meeting with his. His eyes held peace and love, somehow washing away your fear and sadness.

“It’s okay, I’m here now.” He pulled you into his chest, arms wrapping around you comfortingly. His right hand caressed your hair as you cried into his shirt, healing your shattered heart piece by piece. It was the first time since your father’s death that you allowed yourself to cry freely, instead of covering everything up with a smile.

“Miss Stark, your meeting in the conference room begins in 5 minutes, should I postpone this event?” Friday’s voice rang through the walls, making you shoot up in realization. The new Avengers initiative. Natasha was counting on you to continue the legacy of the Avengers.

“Harley... thank you.” You mumbled, flashing him a genuine smile. “You’re hired, by the way, so you have to come with me.” You stood up, wiping away your tears and grabbing your sunglasses. He gave you a cheeky look as he stood up and gathered his things, which was just a tablet and not a file full of papers. Suddenly glad you fired the girl, you adjusted your suit and readied yourself to face the fire.

“Welcome, boys and girls.” You pushed the glass door open, arms extended as you entered the room full of teenage angst. Peter looked like he just got here after a bad mental breakdown, his eyes trained on you. Kate actually looked enthusiastic while Cassie looked confused and fascinated with her surroundings. Carol, Wanda, Brunnhilde, Sam and Bucky were each in their holograms to attend the meeting.

“Sunglasses indoors? A very Stark move.” Kate commented as you sat down in the middle seat, signaling for Harley to sit next to you.

“What can I say? I am a Stark.” Your tone was playful, but internally you were thanking god that no one thought it weird. “Alright. Folks. You’re here because you’re in line for the next Avengers. I was thinking of putting together the younger team, and the ones who actually used to be in the original team.” The wall behind you dissolved into a digital panel, playing a simple slide you prepared at 2am last night.

“Carol, you’ll continue outer space with the guardians. Wanda, you’ll be with Stephen working on mystic threats. Sam, Bucky, you’ll be with Sharon, Rhodey and Brunnhilde for Earth. You all report back to me, and your rooms in the Avengers compound are being remade. You’re welcome back anytime.” You finished, and they gave you nods of approval with a few thank you’s, before signing off to finish their own business.

“Now that that’s over, we’re the young Avengers. We’re going to replace the OG Avengers, Fury will return as director after he finishes rebuilding SHIELD, so we’ll take missions from him. Let’s go over the basics.” You announced, the panels switching to a hologram of the plans for the future.

A few hours later

“That went well. That’s one problem out of the way, at least.” You stretched your back, walking over to the lounge to relax a little bit.

“Y/N, just got a call. An award ceremony for you tomorrow.” Harley sighed beside you, tapping away on his tablet.

“Jesus, I haven’t even done anything.” You groaned, turning on the TV as soon as you reached the leather couch.

“Y/N Stark. Genius, hero, an American patriot. Just like her father, the great Tony Stark, her excellent mind worked wonders for America from a very young age. Graduating top of the class from MIT at the age 16, Y/N also became the youngest Avenger and now, the CEO of Stark Industries as well as the Director of the Avengers.” You watched with a dull expression as you watched the montage of yourself, praised to the highest clouds and made out to be the next great Tony Stark.

“Yeah. That’s why. You wanna turn it off?” Harley looked at you with a clear smirk on his face, eyeing the TV.

“No... It’s cheesy but I like being praised.” You fell into the cushions, turning the TV off as soon as the praise ended. Harley chuckled at your Stark attitude, leaning on the back of the couch as he watched you.

“I’ll praise you all you want if you come with me to the lab department. You have a interview for the candidates in 10, y’know?” He looked into your eyes, and something in his gaze made you want to stand up and follow him downstairs.

“Fine. Praise me.” You giggled and walked out of the room, grabbing a cup of coffee from the coffee stand you placed around the company. Genius.

“You’re beautiful, obviously the Stark genes. You’re weirdly likable, and you’re a literal genius. You work so hard and try to show everyone that you’re fine just to reassure people who didn’t do shit for you. You’re a truly caring and brave person, and you deserved so much more than what you got...” He trailed off as you looked up at him with wide eyes, the elevator door closing in front of the two of you.

“Keener, why’re you being so sweet?” You smirked at him, who was blushing a bright shade of red under your gaze. But the mood quickly disappeared as the elevator opened to the laboratory floor.

“Alright, humans. I hear you want to be hired at the world’s leading technology and Human Resources company. I mean, why wouldn’t you?” You scoffed playfully, leading the group into the labs.

“That’s another thing complete. Anything else today?” You cracked your knuckles as the elevator shot you back up to your floor. Harley was right beside you with his tablet, smiling widely as he shook his head no.

“That’s great. I’m gonna go tire myself out in the lab.” You announced as the elevator dinged, opening the doors to a huge lab that took up the whole floor.

You got off and smiled brightly, before running off to work on more of the nanotechnology that you’ve been tackling. “Welcome back, Miss Stark.” FRIDAY greets from the speakers, pulling you into the zone of endless tinkering.

3am, Stark Industries

In Stark Industries, workers gets off at 5pm, so there should be zero to none heat signatures in the tower. But like always, you’re still in your lab, ignoring sleep with your endless caffeine fixes.

“Model failed.” The screen blinked red, FRIDAY announcing your 100th failure of the night. You downed the remaining coffee, sighing heavily as you thought of what to do.

“Fine. Replace the 0.2% Hydrogen chloride solution with a 1%, see what it’ll do.” Your head hung low as you slumped down in your desk, the warmth of your heated computer lulling you into sleep.

“Model successful.” Your eyelids brightened up at the bright green light, but it wasn’t bright enough for you to open your eyes.

“Yay...” You mumbled into your arm, falling into a well-earned deep sleep.

The elevator door opened quietly at the laboratory floor, as Harley Keener walked out of the compartment. He had fallen asleep waiting for you to come back up to your office, and he woke up just to realize you hadn’t even left the lab in over 10 hours.

“Y/N?...” He took cautious steps, knowing a Stark and a lab aren’t the safest combinations out there. But all he saw was you slumped over your desk, angelic face resting peacefully on the overheating laptop.

“Aw.” He chuckled to himself, glancing at you love-struck. He never found the right time to tell you about his long time crush, and he’s not sure if he ever will be able to.

So for now, he carries you in a bridal position, laying you softly on your couch and makes sure you don’t wake up. He wraps a white blanket around you, smiling to himself as he turns off the lights, leaving the floor with his heart still hammering from holding you so close.

“Don’t worry. We’ll be okay, Tony.” He whispered as he looked up into the air, hoping that somewhere, Tony heard his oath to protect you and love you until the very end.

He did.

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