#ive edited this like a million times in the past three minutes i should finish the chapter before posting but like lol no | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

brushes-of-sage · 4 years ago

Note

Alchemy. It was the only thing that was uniting the princes of Arendelle. While a door had separated the two brothers for the past five years, Hugo found a way to still stay connected to his brother. It all started three years ago, when Hugo realized he was running out of things to do. Oh sure, there were plenty of things in the castle, but that number reduces *significantly* when you realize there’s no one to do these things with you. So, Hugo decided to take up alchemy again. (1/?)

Alright lemme try to see if the keep reading works:

He had stopped working with alchemy when Varian had disappeared behind that cursed door, since alchemy was just another painful reminder of the brother he felt he lost. It was one of the brothers' favorite things to do, along with… along with... well, Hugo couldn’t really remember. The more he tried thinking about things he did with his brother that wasn’t alchemy, he got nothing, just laughter and a small headache. But, the number of things to occupy his time were getting thin.

So, he decided to give alchemy a try. This turned out to be a great decision. Not only did it serve as a distraction, but it served as something to keep his mind going. This distraction worked well for a few weeks until he hit a roadblock. He was trying to perfect an alchemical ice bomb that he had started when he was younger, but could never finish. But nothing seemed to be working. After staring at his disaster of a note pile for the better part of an hour, a little voice in his head said,

“You could go to Varian for help”

“No,” he snapped back, “If Varian wanted to help me or be there for me, he would leave his room. Clearly he doesn’t want to talk to me, or anyone for that matter.” Hugo didn’t want to admit it, but he was starting to get a bit mad at Varian. They were the best of brothers for years, and then just one day, Varian just shuts himself in his room, without a single word as to why. He laid his head on his desk and sighed. “Ah, who am I kidding? I’m going crazy just sitting here, I need to talk to someone, even if its nothing more than alchemy notes.”He gets up, grabs his notes, and starts to make his way to a door he passed by and stared at a million times before. On the way though, his mind is going through a back and forth battle: He wont wanna talk to you! Yes, he does, we havent spoken in forever! I wonder why? Besides its just some alchemy help, I’m not asking anything too extreme! All he has to do is fix a couple equations! What if he tears it up and ignores it, just like he has you these past few years? After this comment, Hugo ended up backtracking back to his room. He’d go tomorrow. Right?

Wrong. It took him three weeks before he found himself staring at the door that plagued his existence for two years now. He raised his hand to knock, and before he could back out, knocked twice and slid the notes through the crack under the door. He started anxiously pacing, his mind going back to the constant battle in his mind that had been raging for the past 3 weeks. After a couple minutes of pacing, Hugo was just about to leave when he heard 2 knocks, and paper slide back under the crack. Instantly, the flurry of anxious thoughts started up again, worrying it would come back blank or with a note saying Varian wouldn't help him. His hands shook as he opened the notes to reveal.. the completed solution. He read the solution 2 3 4 times before a huge smile spread across his face and he laughed a huge genuine laugh he hadn’t used in two years. These notes meant 2 big things: One, he finally had a solution to an alchemy problem he’d had since he was nine. And two, the more important one in Hugo’s opinion, is that his brother doesn’t hate him. That scary thought had crossed his mind multiple times and he had always quickly shot it down, but there was always that one tiny voice who would always say, “But, does he though?” Now, that voice was as good as dead. Varian didn’t hate him. He wasn’t giving him the *total* silent treatment. Maybe he could work up from here, have conversations through the door, send notes, maybe even ask why he was doing any of this in the first place.Just as he’s about to leave for his lab to finish the ice bombs with the now completed formula, Hugo heard two knocks on the door and stopped. He wasn’t expecting anything else. He looked at the bottom of the door and saw a small stack of papers slide under and he picked them up. It was a stack of alchemy notes titled “Melting Bomb” The notes were full of blank spaces and question marks and there was a note attached that said:

Hugo-Please assist me in completing this formula for a melting alchemy bomb. I have been on and off of this project for the past few years, and some assistance would be much appreciated. Thank you.-Varian

As excited as Hugo was that his brother was reaching out to him, and actively looking for his help, he couldn’t help but feel a bit…disappointed at the formality of the note. As if Hugo were some stranger that Varian had just met and had to put up formalities and not his own brother. Nevertheless, he shouts a quick “Be right back!” and dashes off to his room to grab a quill and inkwell. While he runs, he reads over the notes and finds the answer fairly quickly. It wasn’t all that hard, it just was in desperate need of a fresh set of eyes. He scribbled down the answers as quick as possible, not wanting to keep Varian waiting. He runs back to Varians room, knocks 2 times and slips the notes under the door. After a couple of minutes, he hears a soft gasp, the quick scratching of a quill, and a new note being shoved under the door. Hugo picked up the note and stared at the messy handwriting and smiled. This was the big brother he remembered. Thanks for the help! Now go work on your project! This went on for the next few months with notes. Sometimes it wasn't just alchemy they talked about. It started simple, like “How’s your day going” and things like that.

Then it slowly evolved to things like “Get some rest Haristripe” and “You haven’t eaten yet today have you, Hugo?” (Both weren’t exactly the best at self care, especially when they were caught up in their work). The day Hugo finally heard Varian talk was one of the best days of his life. Obviously, he had heard his brother talk before, but it had been years since they had spoken, and as the time passed, Hugo’s memories of Varian’s voice faded. Plus, with the time passing, he knew his voice would have changed. So, when Varian finally said a soft “Thank you”, Hugo’s face lit up with a huge smile. He didn’t talk much, but when he did, Hugo treasured every word he said, committing them to memory. For a while, things were going great. Until one fateful day, when Hugo pushed his luck just a *bit* more than he probably should have. The day started out normal enough, Hugo worked on some experiments he didn’t finish last night, ate some lunch, and then after lunch he grabbed his notes that needed Varian’s help, and started making his way to his room. However, on the way, he realized that as happy as he was to be able to talk to Varian, it didn’t feel *right*. A relationship based solely on notes slipped under a door and minimal verbal talking felt like a false one. What Hugo wanted to know more than anything, was *why*. Why had Varian shut him and the rest of the world out? If it was so necessary, why hadn’t he at least attempted some form of contact? This one word question had plagued Hugo’s mind ever since the door had closed, and he had never really had the confidence to ask it: until now.

So, he went back to his room and wrote out a letter. It was simple, a little more formal than usual, but to the point. It read: Varian- We’ve been talking with each other for a while now, and I feel we are at a point where I can ask this question: Why? Why have you locked yourself in your room and away from the rest of the world? Was it something I did? You can answer as vaguely or specifically as you like, I just would really like some answers. Thanks, Hugo

His hands shook as he folded the letter and slid it under the door. He knew to give Varian a little extra time, this wasn’t just a simple math problem. So Hugo waited. And waited. And waited, until it was dinner time and his stomach forced him to get some food. The whole time, his mind was at war with itself once again: See? You just had to push your luck, didn’t you? He’s giving you the cold shoulder ‘cause you couldn’t leave well enough well enough. No! He’s not giving me the cold shoulder, he’s just taking his time to formulate a response. It’s probably a really long story. Keep telling yourself that. I will! ‘Cause it’s true! If the positive side of Hugo was right, Varian sure was taking his sweet old time, because it was 3 weeks before anything happened. Three weeks of absolute silence from the older prince. The only reason things changed was because Hugo took the brave first step of sliding alchemy notes through the door. Five minutes later, it came back with notes and edits. There were no additional quips, remarks, or any explanations like he had requested three weeks earlier, but this was better than silence. They soon fell back into the routine they had before: notes, minimal verbal communication, and various quips. It felt good to get back to that routine, but a small part of Hugo still ached for answers that he feared would never come. But he never acted on this, fearing that Varian would once again give him the cold shoulder, and this time would ignore him for good.(20/20)

((And there it is! The final part! I hope u enjoyed reading it, this is the first time ive really written something i didnt hate *and* am sharing this with someone. Thank you for taking the time to read this, this means more than u know. Thank you also for letting me take over ur inbox😅Next up im doing this story but w/ varians pov, which ive already started. Thx again! -💙

Ahhhhhh, first off, sorry for getting to this later than I usually do!! These past few weeks have been hectic and I’ve been needing to take a step back and focus more on school and classes and stuff, but I finally got to reading this and OMIGOSH I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!

(Hope you don’t mind if I just added in some italics and kinda changed the formatting to make it easier to read - didn’t take anything off or anything, but the way tumblr formats asks is a bit weird lol, hope that doesn’t offend you! - also number 7 somehow went missing? 😅)

But OMIGOSH YO - just my heart akfjajdjaj 🥺 The two of them building their relationship slowly through passing letters underneath the door? Oh my heart, and the way you can just feel them getting closer and happier because of it?

But then Hugo asking Varian the why - why did he shut him out, why was he behind the door, why can’t they see each other - and then Varian just suddenly going back to that stiff and formal demeanor after that akfjakfjja I cry ahhhhhhh-

“But he never acted on this, fearing that Varian would once again give him the cold shoulder, and this time would ignore him for good.” - JUST RIP MY HEART OUT BLUE NONNIE AHDKGKAKJD

I absolutely loved seeing Hugo’s hesitance then excitement and eagerness to get closer to his brother whom he barely even knows besides a few memories (and ha, I see the headache there 👀) and only to see that he went too far and the fragile bond they’d forged again had melted and akfjakfjaj the FEELS-

Thank you for sharing and for letting me read your writing! I’m excited to see what you’ve got next for Varian’s POV!!! 😱

#sage answers #💙#frozen au #7k frozen au #not my fanfic #varian and the seven kingdoms #Varian #hugo #alchemy bros #honestly though I love your writing and this made me feel things akfjakfjja #edited to add the final 7th piece

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writing-parker · 7 years ago

Text

Walk Me Home, Ch. 1

Summary/Pairing: Joanna Taylor finds out Tony Stark is actually her dad. All the Avengers will be featured in this, but ultimately this is a Peter Parker X OC pairing.

Word Count: 10k

this will eventually be rated M

A/N Hi all! So for the past couple of weeks i’ve had this idea for a fic in my head. I’m really not sure how any of this works, but it was really fun to write. Please comment and let me know what you think! There should be another chapter soon.

This has only been edited by me, so excuse any errors.

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She remembers the first time she saw Peter Parker. It’s really a surprise she did, considering she met him the day her life fell apart. Maybe it was his eyes- soft and brown and warm and looking at her with an intensity she wasn’t used to. She met him at a time in her life she didn’t even know she needed him, but eventually she would understand.

She was 16 and all she ever wanted was to make music. It was all she could remember dreaming about since she was 7, when her mom gave her an old guitar for her birthday. She learned four chords and wrote her first song that day. After that everything fell into place, and by the time she was 16 she was on her first world tour, opening for some of the biggest stars in the world. She was living the life she always dreamed of- until the day it came crashing down around her.

“Stage IV pancreatic cancer,” She heard the words but she couldn’t wrap her mind around them, like a foreign language in her ears. Her mother, so strong always, was crying softly, but Jo stared straight ahead and arranged her face to in a mask of indifference. Now she needed to be strong for her dying mother.

“So what’s the next step, what are treatment options?” Jo’s mind started moving a thousand miles a minute.

The doctor gave her mother a pointed look, “I’m sure you two have a lot to discuss,” she said, “I’ll leave you alone now.” She got up to leave the room.

“Wait, where are you going, we have to figure out a plan,” Jo yelled after the doctor.

“Joanna.” Her mother grabbed her hand. “Calm down.”

“Calm down? You’re kidding.”

“Honey, I’ve known for a while. You and I need to talk,” Joanna’s mother patted the space next to her on the hospital bed, but Jo walked over to the window and looked idly. They were at Mount Sinai in Union Square in New York City- the world moved so quickly on the streets below her but Joanna felt like she was moving in slow motion.

“Mom this is the best hospital in New York City, which is the best hospital in the United States, which pretty much makes it the best hospital in the whole world.” She sounded desperate even to her own ears, “We’re going to figure this out, it’s going to be fine,” She started pacing, growing frantic.

“Joanna.” Her mom said again softly

“What? It’s not like money is an issue. The record and the tour are selling so well-” tears started to well up in her eyes

“Jo,” her mom said again, more firmly this time.

“I can’t lose you.” The young girl’s voice finally broke. She found herself in her mother’s arms, “You can’t leave me,” She sobbed. It was always Jo and her mom. The only thing she knew about her father was that he was alive, and that he didn’t want her. She never met her dad and never cared to ask about him. She didn’t have any other siblings. Joanna and her mom, always, no one else allowed. Things were going to change.

“Baby, I’ll never leave you,” Her mom squeezed her hard. “I’ll always be with you, even when you can’t see me.”

And just like that, over the course of 30 minutes in a hospital room in New York City, her entire life changed. Jo allowed herself two days to be sad. To wallow and cry and scream at god for doing this to her, oh god why did it have to be her. And then it was time to plan and prepare for the worst.

Her mother insisted she finish her tour. There’s only three weeks left, baby, her mom had said, you have to finish this tour. So she did, but it wasn’t the same. The doctor said that it wasn’t safe for her mom to travel, so she went on her own, and she got used to being alone. She was already used to media attention- she was young and beautiful and on a stadium tour- America’s sweetheart, Hollywood’s new golden girl. These were things that the media called her, but she just felt like a girl with a dying mom. So she kept singing, and found solace in the thousands of people singing the words she wrote alongside her. It was a distraction she desperately needed.

But then it was over, and the stages were packed up and all the confetti had fallen and it was time to go back to New York. Jo stepped out of a cab on 14th street and was immediately swarmed by paparazzi, but she kept her head down and made it up to her mom’s room.

The sight of her mother almost knocked her over. It had only been three weeks but it was easy to tell how sick she really was. Her already thin mother must have lost 25lbs. Her face was gaunt, and she wore a ballcap to cover her thinning hair from the treatment.

“Hi, mom,” Joanna kissed her on the cheek. Jo found herself telling her mom about the last several weeks of tour, all of it spilling out. How the crowd in Dallas was the biggest she ever played for, and at every show more and more people knew the words to her songs. She went on until it seemed trivial, and she noticed her mom stopped responding to her stories.

“You’re quiet,” Jo observed.

“We need to talk,” Her mom said.

“About wha-” Jo started, but was interrupted by a knock on the door from a nurse. “Eleanor, Mr. Stark is here to see you whenever you’re ready,”

“Give us 10 minutes,” her mom answered.

“Mr. Stark? Tony Stark? Why would he be here to see you? Mom what’s going on,” Jo waited for her mom to correct her. Why would Tony Stark be there to see her mom? She was confused and nervous and stressed and a thousand other things. She had grown used to feeling this way, she supposed, but this time she really wanted to know what the hell was going on.

“Joanna, honey, we both know I’m not going to be here much longer,” Jo opened her mouth to say don’t say that, but her mom sushed her, “I’ve been thinking about who is going to take care of you when I’m gone. And I’ve put a lot of thought into this decision, and I think it will be what’s best for you, best for everyone in this situation.”

“What does that have to do with Tony Stark, mom?” She asked a little more harshly than she meant to, but nothing was adding up.

“I didn’t think it was going to be this hard,” She barely heard Eleanor say under her breath, “But here we go: Tony Stark is your father, baby. And when I… when I’m not here anymore he’s going to be your guardian.” The words fell out of her mother’s mouth, and everything became blurry to Joanna.

“My guardian? What about Aunt Lisa or-”

Her mom cuts her off and explains that they’re so far away and they have young children and they can’t be here for you like Mr. Stark can. But she’s confused because her mom told her that he father never wanted her. But Jo’s mom doesn’t mention that for some reason.

Tony Stark. Her father? Her mother kept on explaining but Jo didn’t hear the words. The man she saw on the news growing up, the arms-dealer billionaire who destroyed all of his weapons to do good. Iron man.

She was still lost in her thoughts when there was a light knock, and Tony Stark himself appeared in the doorway. He gave Joanna a look she didn’t fully understand- curiosity, sadness… longing, maybe- before looking past her to her mother.

“Eleanor,” He says quietly and strides over to her bedside and kisses her cheek, “It’s good to see you again, despite the circumstances,” Tony takes a step back and looks at Jo again.

“Hey, kid,” He says timidly, “I’m a big fan.”

Joanna is confused for a moment before she remembered she was a popstar. She still thought it was weird when people recognized her. Despite paparazzi following her and more than 5 million followers on Instagram, she was still used to being invisible to men like Tony Stark.

Jo says the first thing that comes to her mind, “I’m sorry, but what the actual fuck is going on?”

Tony’s eyes widen, “I guess it’s too soon to ask you to call me dad, huh,” He says to Jo before turning back to Eleanor, “So I take it she doesn’t know…anything?” He assumes correctly.

“She is still in the room,” Jo snaps angrily at Tony.

“So feisty. Just like you El.” Tony reasons. “Look, Jo, can I call you Jo?” He doesn’t wait for Joanna to answer, “Look, this is hard for us to explain.”

Eleanor interrupts, “Tony has nothing to explain sweetheart. This is all my doing. I found out I was sick 8 months ago, Joanna,” Jo starts to do the math in her head, but her mom continues for her, “Yes, the week before you left for tour. And at first the doctors were optimistic,” Eleanor goes on, explaining, “That’s why I missed the first month of tour, I wasn’t working, I was getting treatment.”

“It didn’t take long for them to realize nothing was taking, nothing could treat this cancer. So they gave me options. Either stay here and keep poisoning my body with radiation, or spend my last healthy months with you, on your first tour. I had to go with you, baby,”

Joanna doesn’t realize that there’s tears running down her cheeks until her voice cracks, “What if they could have helped you, mom?” It feels all wrong to be doing this in front of Tony Stark, but she keeps going, “You should have told me, I would have-”

“You would have what, canceled your tour?” Eleanor shakes her head, “Over my dead body,” Jo freezes, Tony snorts, and Eleanor smiles softly, “That was a really bad figure of speech,” Joanna cracks a sad smile.

“That doesn’t explain Mr. Stark-,” Joanna says to her mom.

“Call me Tony,” He interjects, but Jo ignores him, not looking away from her mom.

“- Have you always known, I mean I guess he’s always been my father but why didn’t you ever tell me? Why did you tell me he didn’t want me? Why did you call him now?” Joanna keeps spouting off questions too quickly for anyone to answer. She feels Tony Stark’s eyes on her.

“You told her I didn’t want her?” He says to Eleanor, not taking his eyes off Joanna, “So she spends her whole life thinking her dad doesn’t love her and I spend her whole life not knowing she exists?! How is that fair Eleanor?”

It was all too much for Joanna to wrap her head around, “I need to not be in this room,” She announced before walking out the door, knowing how unfair it was that her mother couldn’t run after her.

It was late, past visiting hours and she found herself roaming the hospital until she found a quiet place to collect her thoughts. She pressed her back against the wall and slid down until her butt hit the floor. Her mom was dying. Tony Stark was her father. Oh, god, the press is going to have a field day with that, she groaned internally. Her mom had lied to her about her dad not wanting her. Could she be angry at her dying mother, should she be angry at her mother? Things were never easy growing up, and this whole time a billionaire was her father? It felt like the world had stopped spinning.

She heard footsteps before she heard his voice, “Hey, kiddo,” Tony Stark said, sitting cross-legged in front of her. Jo picked at the skin on her thumb, “This really sucks,”

She wiped the tears from her face and looked up at Tony Stark. Jo gave him a smile, “This sucks so much,” She said in a small voice.

“We’re going to figure this out,” He assured her, putting a hand on her knee. Joanna nodded and let Tony help her up. The older man put his hands on her shoulders and looked at her.

Jo cringed under the scrutiny “What are you looking at?”

“My daughter,” Tony breathed, reverent. He paused before he said, “You have my eyes,”

“Mom always said so,”

Tony’s phone rings and the moment is ruined “Do you have to get that?” Jo asks him. Tony pulls his phone out quickly and checks the caller ID. He must decide whoever it is is unimportant, because he silences the device and puts it back in his pocket.

“No, I can let this one go,” He says to Jo, “We have a lot of talking to do. Let’s go back down to your mom’s room.”

And they talked. Eleanor explained everything. She and Tony had a brief fling in the 90s, during his playboy phase, which resulted in Joanna. She decided that she didn’t want to tell Tony and end up forcing him to marry her just because she was expecting a baby. So she didn’t tell Tony and she lied to Joanna. At the time it made sense, she told them.

But now it just seemed like a cruel joke. They talked in the hospital room for a long time, until Eleanor fell asleep clutching Jo’s hand. A nurse finally came in and addressed Joanna and Tony.

“Alright, you guys, it’s time to head out. Ms. Taylor needs her rest,” The woman shooed them out of the room. Jo and Tony stood outside Eleanor’s room, staring that their shoes.

“Um, so where are you staying, do you need a car? It’s pretty late,” Tony asked her.

“I have a Loft in Bushwick I record in, there’s a bedroom. I was planning on staying there.” Jo answered him. Truthfully, all she wanted to do was go to sleep. “I can take the train, it’s like a block away.”

“Please let me get you a car, is it even safe out there?” Tony looked concerned.

“Look, I appreciate your concern, but you’ve been my dad for all of 4 hours. I’ve done just fine without you for 16 years. I can get on the fucking train and go home myself,” Jo snapped at him. The two stand eye to eye for a few moments, both testing the others boundaries.

Tony took a step back and raised his arms in defeat, “Please be safe,” He sighs. The girl turns on her heels and walks down the hall, towards the elevator. Tony Stark stands there for a while watching Jo, watching his daughter walk away from him.

He never imagined he would feel this way when Eleanor called him all those months ago. She was sick, she had told him, and she needed help. She had had a baby more than 16 years ago and it was his. Joanna Taylor. He recognized her name, but didn’t know much about the girl. She was a singer- that much he knew. There was that one song of hers that was always stuck in his head, and we’ll never be royals, it don’t run in our blood… he hummed quietly to himself.

He had picked up a magazine with her face on it a few months ago (He actually bought two). Joanna Taylor, Exclusive Interview: Pop’s New It Girl Tells All. After a few moments of reading, Tony Stark felt his hands start to shake. Here was this girl that was half him and she had been out there for 16 years and he had no clue. He couldn’t breathe for it, and here he was reading interviews about her sudden fame, and how red carpets make her uncomfortable because she’s still getting used to how she looked and she didn’t like it when people looked at her. She gets that from her mom, he thought with a wry laugh.

But now Jo’s mom was dying. And for some reason Eleanor wanted him to know Jo. To care for her. He was sure he would screw it up somehow, but over the course of the last four hours in the hospital he had fallen in love with the girl, his daughter, and he would spend the rest of his life making up for lost time.

“This is Myrtle Avenue-Wyckoff Avenue, the next stop-” Jo was pulled from her thoughts as the automated voice from the subway announced they had made it to her stop. She spotted two girls, starting her way, and noticed the way their eyes lit up the moment they recognized her. One opened her mouth to say something to Jo, but she coyly lifted her finger to her lips, as if to say “shh”. The girls giggled and nodded, like it was their secret, something they only shared with Joanna Taylor.

Jo had found more and more people recognizing her on the streets, but with her first album almost a year behind her and the tour over now too, she was hoping things would settle down. She needed them too. The doctors gave her mom a few more months, but that wasn’t something she could think about too much. Right now all she could think was, holy shit, Iron Man is my father.

She stepped off the train and made her way down the stairs to the avenue below. Though it was late, almost midnight, but the streets were still lively around her. Joanna loved Bushwick- it was the first place she lived that took her totally out of her comfort zone. A true melting pot of all cultures, colors, and languages, each passing day in Brooklyn felt like more of an inspiration. Jo walked the two short blocks from the train to her apartment, shoving her key in the lock and making her way up to the loft apartment she rented to record and stay in when she was in New York.

Once at the top floor of the walk up apartment, she pushed her way in and was immediately greeted by a 65lb ball of fluff rocketing across the loft towards her. “Atlas!” She called the red Australian shepherd, “come ‘ere boy I missed you!” With all of the hype of getting off of her flight straight to the hospital, and then the whole Tony Stark thing, she had almost forgotten how much she missed her dog.

Not far behind atlas, her roommate, Camille, came running out of one of the bedrooms. Jo met Camille nearly two years ago, when she was just 15. Camille worked at the recording studio in the City where Joanna first started writing her album- right after her single Royals became the so-called ‘song of the summer’. Camille was older than Jo by nearly three years, but the girls hit it off immediately, and when the album was released Jo asked Cam to be her assistant.

“Welcome home!” Camille yelled across the apartment, running over to Jo to give her a hug. Jo took a look at Camille. With skin the color of a Chai Latte, haunting green eyes, and a mop of brown curls, Camille had to have been one of the most beautiful girls that Jo had ever seen. Immediately intimidated, it took Jo a long time to open up to the older girl, but once it finally happened they became fast friends. Jo isn’t sure what she would do without Camille.

“Happy to be here,” Jo breathed, finally able to relax a little.

“How’s your mom,” Camille asked timidly, knowing it was a hard topic for Jo to talk about. Camille was the first person Jo had told when she heard the news. They both broke down and cried on the floor of their apartment that night.

“The doctors say she has a few months left,” The dog at her feet nudged her hand. She didn’t realize she stopped idly petting him. She scratched behind his ears.

Camille let out a deep sigh, “I’m so sorry, Jo. I don’t know what else to say,”

“There’s really not much else to say,” Jo looks away, “… but I do have some other news.”

“Do tell,” Camille made her way over to the couch and plopped down.

Good thing you’re sitting, Jo thinks to herself before blurting out, “Tony Stark is my dad.”

Camille snorts, “Yeah, and Captain America is my new boyfriend.”

Jo rolls her eyes and takes a deep breath, “Cami, I’m being totally serious. One minute I’m getting off a plane to see my dying mother and the next a nurse is at her door saying ‘Eleanor, Mr. Stark is here to see you’. And my mom’s saying she knew this whole time Tony fucking Stark was my dad and they had a fling in the 90s-”

“Didn’t your mom sleep with like half of the East Village in the 90s? How is sure….” Camille stares at Jo, “Holy shit you look so much like him.”

“Yes she did, but that’s not the point. We have the same eyes. This whole time I’m thinking that whoever my dad is could give less of a fuck about me. He didn’t even know I existed, Cam. He wanted to know me.” Jo’s voice breaks. “I’m so mad at her.”

Camille busies herself petting Atlas. Her heart aches for Jo.

“But how am I supposed to be mad at her when she’s dying,” Joanna continues, voice dropping to a whisper. “What am I supposed to do next?”

“I don’t know kid, but I don’t think you have to figure it all out at once,” Camille reminds Jo. “…. But you do have to figure some parts out soon. I’m going to need to arrange a press release, interviews. The world already knows your mother is sick, but this is definitely not something that will stay secret for long.”

In the whirlwind of news, Jo barely even had time to think about the press. Fuck, Iron Man was her father. Like Saved-New-York-City-By-Flying-An-Actual-Nuke-Into-Outer-Space Iron Man. The whole world knew his name and his face, and a lot of people knew hers too. “This is a mess,” is all Jo can say.

Camille grabs Jo by the hands, “Here’s our game plan: you have an interview with Rolling Stone in 9 days. Two days before the interview, I’ll leak to the press that your dad is a fucking Avenger, you’ll answer some questions, and then no press or interviews or red carpets until you’re ready.”

Camille’s rationale sounded good to Jo, and she let herself relax a little. “Wine?” She asked Camille.

“I’ll grab the glasses.”

The two girls caught up over several bottles of wine, neither girl bringing up Jo’s mom’s cancer or Tony Stark for a while, until Jo, a little drunk, laughed softly, “Iron Man is my dad,” she snorted, and then started laughing so hard tears welled up in her eyes.

“What is so funny,” Camille laughed along

“Cam, my whole life, and I mean all of it, I sat around and thought about who my dad might have been. When I was in high school I used to imagine that he was a poet, or a singer or some amazing artist that had to fly all over the world. But when I was a little girl I imagined he was superhero, because why else would he not be around? He had to save people’s lives.

“Turns out,” Jo continues, “My dad is a literal fucking superhero.” And then she and Camille are hysterically laughing.

“Ok, ok, I can’t breathe,” Camille gasps. The two girls settle down.

“Do you think he’s going to try to like… parent me?” Jo asks. “Cause that ship has definitely sailed.”

“I’m not sure. Most people don’t look at 16 year-old pop icons with a top 40 album and think, ‘hm, she probably needs some fatherly advice’.” Camille mused. “Do you think Stark will be a strict dad?”

“I don’t know… I mean, it’s like I really need him for anything. I’m not a normal 16 year old. I have money, a place to live…” Jo rattled off.

“Yeah, kid, I know. But that’s not all someone needs,” Camille says sincerely. “Your mom clearly wants you to have a relationship with him, it’s practically her dying wish.” Camille had great relationships with both of her parents- something that Jo had come to envy. Camille knew how important those relationships were to her, and she imagined that Jo wanted something like it too, with her father.

“What if he doesn’t even care? Like what if he just came because she’s dying and then she’ll be gone and I’ll never hear from him again? I mean he’s Tony Stark he has a lot of shit going on and maybe he’s too busy-”

“Woah, woah, woah, calm down.” Camille hushed Jo, “Sounds like you’re already pretty invested in this, Jo. Are you worried you’re going to be disappointed?”

Joanna sighed. Yeah, there was a while a few years ago that she was obsessed with the idea of knowing her father and who he was. It was half of her, and she wanted, needed, to know more about him. So she kept bothering her mom about it until one day, when she was 12 or 13, her mom snapped and told her that her dad never wanted her, or wanted to know her. Joanna tried very hard to not care after that. But now she knew Mr. Stark never even knew about her. And the way he looked at her like she had been missing from his life this whole time gave her some kind of hope, she supposed.

“What if he doesn’t like me,” Jo whispers.

“That’s not possible.” Camille looked at the time glowing from the oven clock. “Shit, it’s like two in the morning, let’s go to bed. We have lots to figure out tomorrow.” The girls said their goodnights and Jo padded to her bedroom with the large windows, Atlas not far behind her.

She knows she has a lot to think about and even more to do, but she feels so tired when she gets into bed that she’s asleep before her head hits the pillow.

__________________________________________________________________

Across town, in a very different building on 45th street, Tony Stark stood in his office, looking down to the streets below him. New York was always lively, even at nearly 2AM. He let out a sign and ran his hand through his hair for the hundredth time. He met his daughter today.

She was so small. He hadn’t expected that. When he read interviews or saw pictures watched her perform she seemed larger than life. He was sure that every parent thought their kid was special, but, unbiasedly, his actually was. She won song of the year at the Grammys and was nominated for countless awards.

It’s all he had done for weeks. Research, he supposed. But soon he would have to talk to her. And then what? He didn’t know how to do this, to be a father to a teenager. One who was going through a really hard time with unlimited money and resources. How was he supposed to make this work? But then he saw her.

She looked like him. Dark hair, but she artfully dyed blonde that gave it a rooty look. Her hair was wild and wavy and long, something she got from her mother. She was small in build- maybe 5��3. But her eyes were haunting. They were his. The exact color and shape and intensity.

He heard the footsteps behind him before he heard the voice, “Having trouble sleeping?” Tony turned around to face the tall blond man standing in his doorway.

“Cap,” Tony greeted him, “Why are you in my living room at 2 in the morning?”

Steve Rogers pointed at the floor below him, “My living quarters are directly below yours. And you’ve been pacing.”

“So out of the kindness of your heart you came up here to see what ails me? I’m touched.” Sarcasm dripped from Tony’s voice.

Steve chuckled, “I was actually gonna tell you to go to bed so I could sleep. But if you want to talk about it…” he trailed off, expecting the man to blow him off.

But to Steve’s surprise, Tony blurts out, “I found out I have a daughter a few weeks ago and I met her today.” He says, then turns away to continue looking out the window.

“Oh and her mom is dying. And she’s 16 years old. And she’s Joanna Taylor.” Tony sits in an armchair and puts his head in his hands.

“Hey I actually know her!” Steve exclaims. Tony groans. Steve has been carrying around a notebook he filled with pop culture references he was trying to catch up on.

“Jesus Christ, Rogers, I’m trying to have a moment here.”

“Right,” Steve says, “So… what are you going to do?” Tony continues to look out the window. “Look, Tony. You don’t have to have it all figured out right now. I’m sure she’s just as freaked out as you are. Take things slow, get to know her. It will all come.”

“What if she wants nothing to do with me? What am I supposed to do then?” The words that had been stuck in the back of his throat since he found out about her tumbled out of his mouth.

“You’re kidding, right? You saved the world, Stark. Remember? I think it’ll be fine.” The two men sit in companionable silence before Steve laughs, “16 years-old? Yikes.” He raised his eyebrows at Tony.

“Don’t remind me. I’m still recovering from Parker,” But he smiles fondly at the memory of Peter Parker when they first met. 15 and naïve and ready to save the world. How was that almost 4 years ago already?

The bigger man laughs, “Peter turned out great, Tony. You found him at a time he needed a father figure and now he’s developing tech with the best in the world.”

“And he’s not dead,” Tony laments

“Definitely not dead, and I’d say that in our line of work the odds of that are higher than an average teenager. So, see? You managed to keep one teenager alive and happy, you can definitely manage another one.” Steve puts a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Get some sleep, Stark.”

Oddly enough, Steve’s words comforted Tony. The two didn’t see eye-to-eye always, but they were fighting on the same team. Tony knew he wouldn’t sleep tonight, so he started to work on new updates to his suit. Once and acceptable hour (at least acceptable to him) rolled around he sent a text to Jo.

Let’s grab coffee before we go see your mom today. TS.

It’s a start, he supposed.

Jo woke up to the light streaming in her windows softly. She never closed her blinds at night, loving the way the huge windows in her loft let in the morning sun. She stretched and rolled over, reaching for her phone. Ignoring several texts, her eyes focus on one from a number she doesn’t recognize. TS. Tony Stark. He wanted to get coffee before going to see mom.

Joanna looked at the time on her phone 8:17am. She still needed to shower and tend to the slight hangover she had from all the wine last night. She poured herself a glass of water and texted Tony back

JT: Coffee Project @ 10??

TS: See you there

Jo takes the train again as she makes her way to the small coffee shop in the East Village. She’s a bit early, so she expects to get some writing done before Tony shows. Much to her surprise, Tony is already seated at a table in the back. He stands when she approaches the table.

“No need for the formalities, pops. You can sit,” Before the words are out of Jo’s mouth, she regrets them. She had no filer. Tony sits with an amused smile. “Sorry,” she sighs, “I’ve got a bit of a foot-in-mouth complex.”

Tony laughs, “It’s no problem. I ordered you a coffee.”

“Perfect, I need my fix.”

�� “Fix? Aren’t you a bit young to be addicted to caffeine?” Tony wondered. He saw the dark circles under Joanna’s eyes, “Did you sleep well last night?”

“Definitely not too young, I’m in a different time zone basically every other day when I’m touring, coffee keeps me alive.” She shrugs, “I slept great last night, actually. First time back in my bed in like three weeks,” She takes a sip of the coffee in front of her. “You look like you didn’t sleep a wink. Somethin’ on your mind?” She jokes

Tony chortles, this girl is funny. “Nothing new,” He kids back with a sly grin. Then he sighs, “So,”

“So,” Jo repeats

“What now?”

“You’re the adult, you’re supposed to know!” Jo laughs at him. At least talking to him was easy, the conversation flowed nicely. “I’m too nervous to say something stupid.” She admits.

“You’re nervous? Imagine how I feel, having to make conversation with Joanna Taylor!” He rests his chin on his hand, “It’s a nightmare. I’m going to say something weird.”

“You’re Iron Man!” She says a little loudly, laughing. Some of the other coffee shop patrons turn to look at them. She’s used to people staring at her, even taking pictures, but this time she was sitting across the table from Tony Stark, and people were confused.

“I guess we both have big expectations to fulfill,” He takes a drink of coffee.

“Guess so.”

“So what have you been up to the last 16 years?” Tony asks Jo.

She laughs out loud and just starts talking. About writing her record and the tour and how hard it’s been. She explains how hard it’s been to find people to work with, because who wants to take orders from a 16 year old. She got a little over-excited, telling him about her vision and her stages and the lights and words. How close she paid attention every tiny detail, because of how important the stories she was telling were to her.

Tony Stark hung on her every word. He couldn’t believe he helped make her. She was the most incredible teenager he had ever met. As they talked though, he was filled with slow, anxious dread. She was so small and vulnerable and naive about the dangers of the world- of the universe. And he had seen it with his own two eyes. How could he protect her, she definitely couldn’t protect herself. He was lost in thought when he heard her small voice.

“Are you in the City full time, Tony?” He blinks and answers her, and then it’s her turn to ask questions and he effectively pushes the dark thoughts to the back of his mind. Eventually the time would come for him to worry about that, but it wasn’t now.

They go on like this until Sunday visiting hours at the hospital begin at 1, Jo checks her phone and exclaims, “Crap, how is it already one? I have to go see my mom. Do you still want to-” Tony doesn’t let her finish.

“Right behind you, kid,” Tony interrupts her. Always, he wants to add but refrains. Who knew how big of a part of her life she wanted him to be, he definitely didn’t want to freak her out. So he stands and helps her out of her chair and follows closely behind her and tries to find the right words to say.

Time passes just so- Joanna meets with Tony once or twice a week and she goes to the hospital see her mom. As days pass her mom gets sicker and sicker and sicker, disappearing right in front of her eyes. One day, when Jo knows her mom’s time is coming to an end, Eleanor sits at the edge of her hospital and grabs her hand, “Joanna.”

Jo’s stomach drops, she knows her mom is about to tell her something bad, “Mom?”

“It’s time to say goodbye sweetie,” Jo’s eyes immediately fill up with tears and she looks down. She and her mom had talked about this already. When it was time, Jo’s mom would let her know. Eleanor didn’t want her daughter to see her get any worse. “Don’t cry. You knew this was coming,” Eleanor rubs Jo’s hand with her thumb.

“I didn’t think it would be so soon,” Joanna whispers, tears freely falling. “How am I supposed to leave you alone?”

“Honey. I’m not alone. My sisters are here. I’ve made my peace,” Jo’s aunts had gotten in a few days ago. She knew then how bad things were getting.

Jo lets out a sob. “I don’t know what I’m going to do without you,” She admits.

“You’re going to change the world,” her mother smiles and hugs her.

They sit like that for a while. Eleanor holding Jo. Holding each other and whispering over and over, “I love you.” Neither ready to say goodbye, but knowing it had to happen soon. Eventually, Eleanor’s sisters, Jo’s aunts, come into the room. They spend their last hours together as a full family peacefully. There are a lot of tears and even laughter, but more than anything there is love.

Soon it is time for them to say their final goodbyes. Jo hugs her mom one last time and says her final goodbye to her mother. She didn’t know something could hurt so much, she couldn’t breathe for it. All that she knew was that nothing would be the same ever again. She bid goodbye to her aunts, making plans to talk later.

Tears blur her vision as she makes her way to the lobby of the hospital, walking quickly. She pulls out her phone to call an Uber, knowing she’s in no position to take the train, when she runs into a hard body, and her phone falls out of her hands, shattering the screen.

“For fucks sake!” Jo exclaims, wiping tears from her face, “Could you watch where you’re going?” She bends down to pick up her phone, but the other person beats her to it.

“I’ll replace that,” A familiar voice says, handing her back the broken device.

“Tony?”

“Let me give you a ride,” He says, reaching out to put his arm around Jo’s shoulder, but thinks better of it, and places his hand on her back and takes her out a side door of the hospital. He feels her breathing start to grow heavy and notices the devastating look in her eyes. He opens the back door of the large SUV, ushers her in, and gets in behind her.

“Where to, boss?” Happy, his driver (among other things) asks.

“Just a sec, Hap.” He says to the driver, “Did something happen, kid?” He tries to make eye contact with Jo, but she keeps staring at her lap.

“Tony, I.. she.. we,” The girl stutters, crying in earnest now, “We said goodbye today, she said she didn’t want me to see her like this anymore, and…” Tony can’t understand her, she’s so distraught. He can’t take seeing this girl, his daughter, in so much pain. He wants to take it from her, to keep it from her so she’ll never feel like that again.

But that’s not how it works, so he tentatively reaches to hug the girl. Joanna throws one arm around Tony and uses the other to clutch his dress shirt, crying into his chest, “I’m so scared,” She repeats over and over.

Happy looks in the rear view mirror. Tony Stark looks like a fish out of water with his 16 year-old daughter clinging to him. He wasn’t exactly known as the most touchy-feely person, but seeing him so tender with the girl makes Happy smile to himself. He puts up the divider between the front and back seats to give them some privacy.

Tony strokes Jo’s hair as she sobs. Usually, he knows exactly what to say. He always has a quick remark or joke on the tip of his tongue, but at this moment he had absolutely no idea how to comfort the crying girl. But he knew her pain, and that she was too young to be having this weight on her shoulders. After all, his parents had died when he was just 21. But for a girl to lose her mother at 16 just felt different.

“It’s going to be okay,” he whispered into her hair, “I’m here, everything is ok,” Joanna continued to sniffle and cry until she wore herself out and eventually fell asleep in the back of the car. Tony isn’t sure how long he sits there, listening to her breathing, before he taps the window and asks Happy to take them to Avengers Tower. When they arrive, he gingerly picks the sleeping girl up carries her to an empty bedroom in the living quarters, piquing the interest of several avengers.

“Is that international pop star Joanna Taylor?” Sam Wilson deadpanned, sweaty from his workout, “In your arms?”

“A bit young for you, don’t you think Stark?” Wanda joked from her spot on the couch.

“You didn’t tell them?” Tony sighed at Steve, who trailed in not far after Sam.

“You didn’t tell me to!” Steve says definitively.

“I didn’t tell you not to.”

“So I just should have known?” Steve rolls his eyes.

“Just when I thought we were finally thinking as one, Rogers.” Tony rolls his eyes back and carries Jo to a guest room, laying her in the bed. Mumbles and rolls over, pulling the blankets around her body.

Tony then strides back out into the common room where a handful of his team are loitering, curious. “All right,” he bemuses, “team meeting, Avengers assemble, whatever. How many of you are there here…” he looks around, “Enough of you, I guess.

“Quick announcement: Joanna Taylor is my daughter. Steve and Happy have the details, bother them if you have any questions.” Tony turns on his heel and walks out of the room, figuring in the next few days the word would spread fast enough that he wouldn’t have to answer too many questions.

Hours later, Jo wakes up in an unfamiliar setting. She’s in a large, plush bed, shrouded in darkness. She remembers saying goodbye to her mother, literally running into Tony, and having a meltdown in the back of his SUV. She must have fallen asleep, worn out from crying.

She threw the covers off of herself and got up, turning on the light on the nightstand. Her phone sat there, with a brand new screen. She smiled to herself and checked her texts, seeing one from her mom that just said I love you and another one from Tony.

TS: Fixed your screen, shouldn’t be breaking again. PS- we’re having dinner on the 8th floor of the residency, come eat when you’re ready.

Her stomach growls at the first mention of dinner. Jo makes her way out of the bedroom and walks down a corridor where she notices another empty bedroom. Entering the main room, she is met with a brand new updated kitchen and large open concept living area, it’s at least double the size of her apartment in Brooklyn.

“What the fuck is the 8th floor of the residency, where am I” She mutters to herself, looking for some kind of signage pointing her in the right direction.

“Hi Joanna,” An automated, robotic voice scares her so bad it sends her to the floor, “You are currently on the first floor of the residency in Avengers Tower, on 45th Street in Manhattan, New York.” Jo’s heart is beating so fast from the voice that came out of nowhere, she can barely hear what its saying. “You will find that, in the Avengers Tower, the first 59 floors are to Stark Industries offices. Floors 60-70 are for the Avengers Initiative, and Floors 70-80 are the residencies.”

“Uh, thanks…?” She looks around, trying to find the source of the voice, “What are you exactly?”

“I’m FRIDAY,” the voice sounds again, “You can think of me as one of Mr. Stark’s assistants. I’m sorry I frightened you,”

“It’s okay. How do I get to the 8th Floor of the residency?” Jo asked, feeling stupid.

“I will call an elevator for you, it will be here in approximately 30 seconds,” FRIDAY answered her.

“Thanks FRIDAY.”

“You’re welcome, ma’am.”

“Don’t call me that,” Jo calls to the voice before stepping in the elevator that opened in front of her. The elevator moves almost silently up to the floor where some others are gathered, waiting on dinner. This apartment is nearly the exact same as the one she was just in, but decorated differently. She sees Tony hunched over the kitchen counter with two other men, laughing quietly over something on a tablet. There’s two women on the couch, quietly watching the news.

She steps off the elevator and suddenly feels very nervous. “Jo!” Tony looks over at her, and then all eyes in the room are on her, “You’re awake,”

“Uh, yeah,” She nods in his direction, “Thanks for fixing my phone,” She holds up the device and strides over to where Tony is standing with the others, feigning confidence. It was something she often had to do in her line of work, and she was getting good at it. “What’s so funny?” She gestures to the tablet on the table where a video is paused.

Tony chuckles, “Don’t be mad but I had FRIDAY alert me when you were up. Yanno, in case you might need something,” Tony laughs a little, “I had her send a live feed of you, and well, this is what she sent,” Tony slides the device to her and presses play.

It’s a video of Jo right after she woke up, when FRIDAY scared her. The video shows Jo walking from the bedroom, her mumbling indistinctly, and then the voice coming from nowhere. She sees herself jump about a foot in the air before falling to ground, hand over her heart, eyes wide.

Joanna laughs out loud, “Happy to be your entertainment for the evening,” She says, arms out wide. The three men join in laughing, relieved that she can make light of the embarrassing situation. She then looks at her father and the two men around him. She recognizes Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson immediately. Truthfully, the Avengers had reached a world-wide celebrity status that was unlike anything she had ever seen before. Not everyone liked them, but everyone knew who they were.

And Jo was suddenly very aware of the men that were standing in front of her, and how she must look after the shit day she had. Her eyes were red and dry, and her long, wavy hair was a bird’s nest. Sam, the tall, dark-skinned man to her dad’s left put out his hand to shake hers, “Sam Wilson,” he introduced himself, smiling at her. She shook his hand, “Joanna Taylor,”

“Oh, I know,” He says to her, chuckling, “I took my 14 year old niece to one of your shows, she says that you’re the only one who gets her.”

“I’m glad ya’ll had a good time,” Jo smiles at him, before turning to the other man with her father. Steve Rogers was bigger in person, towering over her and the other two men next to him. And oh, god, was he good looking. Tony looked over to see Jo subconsciously fixing her hair and standing up a little straighter when she introduced herself to Steve Rogers. Tony rolled his eyes, but knew the older man would never make a move on a 16 year old. And he was used to seeing women’s reactions around the soldier. He figured the young girl was probably very flustered and smiled to himself.

Wanda and Natasha got up from their position on the couch to meet Jo. Once introductions were done, Sam moved over to the oven and pulled out the roast he made for the team. They all settled in for dinner, Jo fielding questions from the others about her and Tony’s new relationship.

Eventually, it grows late, and Jo excuses herself, telling the group how nice it was to meet them, and that she’d be around much more. Tony follows her to the elevator, “I can have FRIDAY call you a car?” He asks her.

“That would actually be nice, I got a google alert that TMZ published how bad my mom is doing… really not in the mood for paparazzi,” She smiles softly, looking at the floor.

Tony asks his AI to get Happy for Jo, and they make their way down to the private garage. “Thanks for everything today,” Jo says in a small voice, rocking forward on the balls of her toes, “It means a lot,”

Tony pulls her into a hug, it feels stiff at first, but then she melts into her father, something that she had been dreaming about since she was a little girl. “Anything for you, kid.” And he meant it. Her pretty face and quick wit had him wrapped absolutely around her finger. He never knew it was possible. He always thought that he would be a parent like his dad was, cold and unforgiving, which is why he thought he didn’t want children. But he was so soft around her.

“See you soon, Tony.” Jo says, stepping up into the large SUV. Tony doesn’t go back up to his apartment until the SUV is completely out of sight.

Four days after Jo says goodbye, she gets the call that her mom passed. She hardly remembers the days following. It was a lot of I-love-yous and Im-so-sorrys and paparazzi camped outside her Bushwick apartment. She cried until she couldn’t. The funeral passed in a flurry of black. She was surrounded by people for a week straight- asking her if she was ok, making her eat, telling her what to do and exactly when to do it.

She was ready to scream all the time, and she just wanted to be alone. Finally, after 8 days of constant nagging, she was by herself. But then she couldn’t stand to be. So she starts drinking. And when her party friends, the socialites and models that she pretends to like, call. She goes out. She keeps drinking. She sorts lines of whatever drugs they put in front of her. She sleeps with boys and she doesn’t remember their names.

She feels Camille worry for her. She ignores calls and texts from Tony. She sees headlines next to her face with the words “Fall From Grace” in bold font. She can’t bring herself to care. Because her mom is dead and what does it matter anyway?

One night, she’s already drunk, stumbling out the door in high heels with whatever boy showed up at her apartment that night. He had pretty blue eyes and lots of tattoos and a world tour that just ended and let his hands wander over her body.

“I’m going to come out tonight,” Camille calls after her.

“The more the merrier,” Jo says. The three get in a car and head to the city. Jo tries to have a conversation with Camille, but the boy next to her is kissing her neck. She tries to pull away, but he just pulls her closer, his hand sliding up her breast.

“Knock it off,” She snaps at him.

“Stop being such a prude,” He retorts, but pulls away none the less. He then pulls a joint and lighter from his wallet and lights up in the back of the car. He passes the joint to Jo, who takes a big pull and passes it to Camille. Camille declines, shooting a nervous look at Jo, who doesn’t even notice.

The nights go on as they all do. Bouncers pretend they don’t know she’s not 21. They get a table with bottle service, and Jo gets so wasted she can barely remember her name. But on this night in-particular, she’s out of control, dancing on tables, telling fans to fuck off. She can barely stand up straight, and Camille notices the boy she’s with getting handsier- giving her more drinks she doesn’t need. Another man, dark hair, is sitting close to them, his hand running up Jo’s thigh. Things looked bad

Camille pulls the phone from Jo’s small purse, and sends a text to the only person she can think of.

JT: Hi, this is Jo’s roommate Camille. We’re at Up & Down downtown. Jo’s not doing too good right now, I need you to come get her.

The reply is almost immediate.

TS: We’ll be there

Immediately relieved, she slides Jo’s phone back into her bag. Camille knows Joanna might not forgive her for now, but things were getting out of hand, and she was worried about her best friend. Then, the boys Jo is with pulls her up and start to direct her to a private room and Camille immediately panics.

It’s the same moment Tony Stark strides in the dark club with another young man. Peter Parker- Camille recognizes him- Spiderman. She wonders if they were together. Running up to the two men, Camille points in the direction of the men dragging Jo away from the crowded table.

“Thanks Camille, we got it from here,” and with that the stressed out girl gets herself a cab home.

Jo doesn’t see Tony and Peter approach her, but rather feels herself being ripped from the grasp of the boys.

“Where are you going?!” A familiar voice asks. It takes her eyes a while to focus on her father. Her eyes are red and unfocused, high as a kite.

“What are you on?” He demands. She looks at him with blurred eyes, not able to form words. “What did you give her?” He turns his attention to the pissed off boys.

“Hey, man nothing she didn’t want. We were gonna give her more of what she wants, before you interrupted,” And with that, he boys hand is on Jo’s arm, yanking her roughly towards them. She stumbles and hits the ground, crying out.

“You really shouldn’t have done that,” Tony says. But before he can react, Peter Parker has both boys on ground, and is helping Jo to her feet. Tony gives him a look.

“What? No one should touch a girl like that,” Peter defends his actions, tips of his ears turning red. Jo leans on his chest, unable to stand upright. She smells like weed and alcohol and something unmistakably her. It’s intoxicating.

“I’m going to pretend you’re not blushing over my daughter right now,” Tony rolls his eyes and they begin to make their way to the exit. “Why would any human ever voluntarily come here?” he shudders.

Joanna, who has no idea what’s going on, struggles against Peter, “Where are you taking me,” She slurs.

“Jesus christ was that even English? We’re taking you home,” Tony answers.

Jo must fall asleep on the way home, because the next thing she remembers is Peter Parker lifting her up like she weighed no more than a feather and carrying her up the four flights of stairs to her loft. She mumbles that she can walk herself, but he either can’t understand her or he’s ignoring her. Once inside, Peter puts her down and she sways a little, but manages to stay upright. Tony steps in front of her

“What were you thinking, Jo?” Tony says harshly.

“I had it under control,” She whispers back

“The hell you did! If we wouldn’t have come when we did…” he trails off remembering those two punks pulling her small, intoxicated form to a private room, “You need to make better decisions than the ones you’ve been making!”

Jo snorts and rolls her eyes, “Sorry to break it to you, Mr. Stark,” She practically spits his name at him, “But I don’t need you to parent me.”

“Well who the fuck else is going to do it then?” He sees tears well up in Jo’s eyes and immediately regrets his comment.

“Fuck you,” She says vehemently

“Wow, the first ‘fuck you’. What a memorable parenting moment.” Tony says under his breath before continuing, “You are out of control. This lifestyle is going to kill you if you keep it up, don’t you understand that? Nothing good comes from all of this!” He gestures to her kitchen table, where the drugs and alcohol from before the club are sitting.

“You don’t just get to come in and be ‘dad’ all of the sudden, Stark. That’s not how this works!”

“Forgive me if I haven’t been in a situation like this before, but I’m trying my fucking best.” They’re screaming at each other across the apartment. Peter sheepishly stands behind Tony, trying to make himself invisible.

“I don’t need your money, I don’t need your advice, I don’t need anything from you!” Jo gets in his face, “I don’t need you.” She repeats. As she says the words, she knows they couldn’t be further from the truth.

Her words hurt Tony in a way he didn’t know was possible, but he reminds himself that she’s drunk and high out of her mind on cocaine. Of course she needed someone to take care of her. “I just found you, I can’t lose you again.” He whispers.

She blinks and looks up at him sadly, “You never had me.”

Tony shakes his head and takes a step back, “I need some air. You shouldn’t sleep right away with all that shit in your system. Give it an hour or two.” And he strides out of the apartment, shutting the door gently behind him. Jo grabs an empty beer bottle and hurls it at the door, flinching at the sound it makes when it shatters.

She sits at the table, puts her head in her hands and groans. What the fuck was she going to do now? Jo jumps at the sound of Peter clearing his throat. “You know, I, uh, my parents are dead.” He says, kind of forgetting what he was saying when her eyes met his.

“Cool.” She sorts.

“No.. I mean… what I was saying…” He paused, flustered. “I lost my parents when I wasn’t much younger than you. I know how it feels. Tony was great, actually. He helped me a lot.” Peter runs a hand through his hair.

Jo looked at him with still bleary eyes, “I don’t care,” then she stomps to her room and slams the door.

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