The day that he'd met her was nothing truly out of the ordinary. He'd been playing Galaga at some busted up machine in an Brooklyn arcade. She'd sauntered up and outright demanded a go with him. They'd been inseparable ever since. She was different, he'd give her that. Spoiled, privileged, rich, and in so many ways unstoppable; but he'd seen her, the real her. They'd bonded over programming, over robotics, over mechanics. She'd shown him how to tune up a bike, begged him to get his license so that they could ride; in so many ways he'd have never become what his is now if it wasn't for Lotte. She wasn't just the Stark heiress to him, she wasn't some freakish child prodigy. She was the person that had shown him that there was a path to freedom. They spent hours movie marathoning, building from scraps, fucking around with code, running the streets of the boroughs eating cheap chili dogs and laughing their heads off. They'd spend hours on Coney Island, riding the Cyclone until they couldn't stand it and the first time they'd ended up in juvie for possession and she'd been busted out, he heard her no nonsense squabbles until he was right by her side, regardless of Obadiah's stink eye. Charlotte Maria was his best friend, from the cradle to the grave she'd whispered, and he'd known then, as he knew now, that she'd fucking meant it and always would.
Standing outside of Chino with his brothers, seeing her leaning against a Porsche and smiling behind her Ray Bans, he couldn't help but bark out a laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. Clay was giving him a serious side eye but he just marched forward and hauled her into a fierce bear hug that lifted her straight off the ground.
"What the fuck are you doing?" he hoarsely mumbled against her dark hair. "Springing you out of the joint? Why the fuck didn't you call me about this before you went in?" she murmured back. "I showed up at your playhouse two weeks ago and get told you're in the goddamn slammer. What, no love for your bestie?"
"Clubhouse, Lots, the clubhouse."
"What the fuck ever, the world starts falling apart, all I want is my Juice Box, and you're in the fuckin' chink. Think I'd stand for it? Hell no broseph, of course I'd pull all the strings that I could like I was motherfuckin Jepetto," she bit back with a smile.
"Excuse me for forgetting you like to play pretend and run the world in your spare time," he replied with all the snark he could muster.
"There's no pretending about it Juice Box. Well, within reason." Her smile was bitter and strained, but whole nonetheless.
"What's going on?" he asked, concern filling his dark brown eyes.
"Like I said, world's falling apart a bit and I needed some grounding."
It wasn't that he didn't want her there, it wasn't that he didn't need her reassurance after being locked up for seven months, but he knew that she had Jax's name inked across her back left hip, just as he knew Jax had her's across his front left. He was dubious about the whole situation, didn't care to see her heart ripped out regardless of how well he saw the two fitting together if the chance ever called for it. He'd wanted to avoid their meeting for numerous fuckin reasons. The whole goddamn club knew that some Charlotte Maria was Jax's soulmate, shit like that just didn't stay quiet. What they didn't know, however, was that Charlotte Maria was Charlotte Maria Stark and Juice's very fucking best friend.
"I know you hate my job, in the sense that it drastically shortens my life expectancy and puts me in fuckin ridiculous situations, but shit has hit the fan and you know that I built that place a few miles away from Charming. So, I'll be there for the foreseeable future."
"What's happened?"
"Well, SHIELD was infiltrated by Hydraand proceeded to well, fall. Ergo, my already suspicious nature has flared even more. Pops wasn't thrilled with me taking off, but you know that the tower can't hold me for long without experimental explosions or sheer stubbornness of will wrecking havoc."
"Well, you're not lying."
"Yep. So, introduce me to your fellows that I've similarly broken out?
Juice looked down at her for a long moment, remembering that panicked phone call as she redirected a nuke into a wormhole with nothing but her bright, shining eyes on screen and the consequent moment of the call blacking out and watching her plummet towards Manhattan in a powerless suit. He'd seen her at her worst, at her best, at her manic mechanic phases. For some reason, in spite of all that, this felt like losing.
"Lotte, I'd like you to meet Clay, Jax, Happy, Bobby and Tig."
Shaking each of their hands with a grin she replied, "Nice to meet the men that keep him in trouble. It's quite the honor to finally meet my proteges."
Clay barked out a laugh and gave her a questioning look. "That might be so, but who the fuck are you?"
The look Lotte shot him could've cut vibranium. "The fuck, Juice Box? Do you not sing my wondrous odes? I'm Charlotte Motherfucking Maria fuckin' Stark and I've busted you out of Chino. I also slaughtered this boy at Galaga before he could fuck, so there's always that." The blank faces she got in return seemed to answer her question, unknowing of the bomb she had unwittingly dropped on them, she shrugged. "Anyway, charges are dropped and your asses are free. So, shall we move onward gentlemen?"
Grinning, she smacked a kiss to Juice's cheek and hopped into her car, oblivious to the dark, questioning look Jax sent Juice's way, and powered off down the highway towards what would be the adventure of her life.
"What the fuck, Juice?" Jax all but growled.
"Why, I don't know what you could possibly mean." Juice responded with an almost innocent air.
"My soulmate?"
"Whose to say…"
"Oh, so she doesn't have Jackson Nathaniel written anywhere on her body?"
The guilty look on Juice's face was enough confirmation for all of them. "I don't tempt fate. You had your own shit going for you. First with Wendy and Abel, now with the doc, you've gotta understand that she's my best friend. I knew her before I patched. Hell, I probably wouldn't have even become who I am without her, so excuse me for being a teensy bit overprotective."
"How about we back up to the part where she sprung us outta here?" Clay butted in with the shocking voice of reason.
"Well, I'm going to assume you all missed her last name, Stark." Juice whispered.
"The fuck does that have to do with anything?" Bobby asked.
"She's Tony Stark's daughter. Ironsides." Juice mumbled. "She's got the pull to get us out of this shit, she didn't know about it until she popped into see me."
"Wait, Tony Stark, as in the Tony Stark?" Happy sputtered.
"Yep, Tony Stark. Genius, philanthropist, billionaire, playboy.That Tony Stark. Also, Iron Man." Juice replied with a hint of smugness.
"Well damn, that explains us getting busted out." Bobby responded with a hint of wonder.
"Yeah, she's kinda got trick on tricks on tricks up her sleeves. She's competent that way. I'm neck deep in shit and she somehow manages to sniff it out and pull me up by my scruff, the fact that it took her this long means serious shit has gone down," Juice replied. He didn't elaborate but the no bullshit look on his face said enough for everyone else.
"Well, let's ride home and get the lay of the land," Clay butted in.
"Ha, you honestly think Gemma doesn't know? The fact that she'd been around the clubhouse only guarantees that she's wrapped everyone around her fingers and screamed her head off about not knowing sooner. They're all gonna be aware that we're on our way back." Juice replied with mirth.
Jax couldn't help but grin. He'd not spoken a work to Charlotte, but he could already picture shit in his mind. She was gorgeous, brilliant, ballsy, and knew how to push things around in her favor. He could understand Juice's reticence in informing Jax that he knew his soulmate, but he was still pissed. Maybe the Tara mess could've been avoided, maybe..nevertheless, he knew now, it'd only be a little work to confirm everyone's suspicions. He let everyone's questioning gazes wash over him, he was somewhat used to the inquiries. He remembered seeing the marks on his skin when he was younger, eventually asking his Ma, her look of complete wonderment before telling him that one day that'd be his Old Lady, his bitterness over the wait, leading him to settling into Tara out of sheer stubbornness and lust. Now he had a mission, now he had a goal.
