Iron Man 3 begins next chapter!

Once again, poor Primrose. She really has been suffering a lot, hasn't she? I feel terrible... poor kid.

TRIGGER WARNING: Mild body gore at the end of the chapter, not that explicit but I'm still warning you!


Primrose's Age: 11 years old.
Date: October 17th, 2012

Malibu, California

Even though the Battle of New York ended five months ago, the nightmares that Primrose had almost every night didn't.

Not even on the eve of her birthday, she escaped the terrible monsters flying towards her, the cemetery graves and the sight of watching her dad fly into the portal and never return. Primrose would wake up almost every night, if not three times a week, sweating and crying from the vivid images that her nightmare still left inside her brain.

She tried telling her mom but every time Primrose was almost successful something would come up. Like for example, her mom and her godfather were officially dating. Rhodey would even sometimes sleep in their house, the mornings were fun because Rhodey knew how to make delicious pancakes.

So Primrose didn't want to ruin her mom's happiness.

At least she had her dad. When it was Tony's week with Primrose, the two would sometimes meet each other at the kitchen and comfort each other while eating snacks. Her dad only allowed her to stay awake for at least an hour before he would tuck her in her bed again, and he'd always stay until she fell asleep but Primrose was suspicious that he wasn't sleeping like she was. Every time she'd wake up the next morning he wasn't there, and at first, Primrose thought he would just wake up before her and leave but when JARVIS warned her dad that he hasn't slept in twenty-two hours when they were having breakfast, Primrose was shocked.

And worried.

Were her dad's nightmares worst than hers?

Primrose found out the harsh way that her suspicions were correct when she saw her dad inside his workshop, working on many Iron Suits.

He called them the Iron Legion. And even though it was impressive, Primrose knew her dad was only making them because he was scared that another attack would come. To her dad's credits, in August, there was a man named Bruno Horgan that attacked her dad during a press conference at Stark Tower (luckily Primrose had been in Queens at the time) and that named himself the "Melter". The man was the former owner of the robotics company who used Melter Armor to attack Iron Man but was defeated by her dad and War Machine two days later. After being promptly defeated and placed into U.S. military custody, Primrose noticed that her dad fixation on creating more suits became worst.

But there was something else off about her dad, for example, he started to become busy and Primrose would barely see him during the day. It all happened during her summer vacation so the little girl was bummed that her dad barely spent any time with her.

He would lunch and dine with her, but that was it. The only way for Primrose to spend time with her dad was to go downstairs to his workshop and watch him work in silence while listening to his music. She actually ended up falling asleep there once but later woke up from a nightmare in the middle of the night in her bed. When she went to the kitchen that night, her dad wasn't there – he was in his workshop, it barely even looked like he had moved.

Now, nothing has changed.

Her mom noticed her dad's behavior and even after talking with him about paying attention to his daughter, Tony only promised that he was almost finished with his legion and that it was for a good cause.

Pepper also tried to talk with Tony, the two were now living together and they've been dating for four years now. But even Pepper couldn't change his mind.

Primrose sighed, today was her eleventh birthday. And for the first time, she wasn't excited about it. She couldn't stop thinking about everything that happened five months ago, or that her dad was becoming a completely different person every day. Primrose couldn't get excited about anything nowadays, even Hanae, that gave her a birthday gift two days ago after the karate class, noticed that her friend was uncharacteristically dejected during the lessons.

Primrose would tell everyone she was fine.

So today she would be fine. She would have a smile on her face for her parents and friends.

The now eleven-year-old had woken up from a recent nightmare at five past four in the morning and remained in her bed until ten to make sure it was an appropriate time for her to get up. It was a tradition that she wouldn't have classes on her birthday, but Primrose wished she had homeschooling today because at least it would distract her and make the day go faster.

She left her bed and put her slippers on, it was a warm morning and cracked a small smile at the sight of the clear, blue sky above the calm ocean. It was currently raining in New York City, the weather in her country would never cease to amaze her. She turned around and walked towards her desk to greet Jimbo, her now bigger leopard gecko – no longer a baby. She couldn't believe she had Jimbo for already a year. The two shared a close bond. Primrose placed her hand inside his habitat and he instantly climbed to her palm.

"Good morning partner, ready for another day?" she asked it with a smile while petting its head gently.

Placing Jimbo on her shoulder, Primrose made her way out of her bedroom and towards the kitchen to make some breakfast. Knowing that her dad was in his workshop or passed out somewhere in the house, she didn't bother with expecting him to be there with a birthday breakfast like he usually did.

And even though her expectations were low, Primrose was still disappointed when the kitchen was empty. Pepper probably already left for work, and Happy must've driven her to Stark Enterprises.

"I guess it's just you and me, Jimbo," she sighed while making her way around the counter island towards the fridge, "Maybe dad is finally sleeping, I wouldn't mind him getting actual rest," she mumbled.

"Your father is currently sleeping inside his bedroom, you would like me to wake him up?" JARVIS suddenly asked.

Primrose smiled, both because the A.I. always knew what to say and because Pepper had obviously left a plate full of rainbow frost chocolate cupcakes inside the fridge. She took it out and placed it on the counter, there was a small note resting against one of the cupcakes.

'Happy Birthday Primrose! I can't believe how grown you are! I'll see you later tonight, we can all watch a movie! –Pepper'

"When..." she paused to clean a quick tear from falling from the corner of her eye, the note was simple but the gesture was enough to make her emotional, "...when did he go to bed?" she asked JARVIS while smiling at the card.

"One hour ago."

Primrose's smile dropped, "How long has he been awake before?"

"Thirty-eight hours," JARVIS hesitated, "He actually asked me to wake him up in two hours."

Primrose sighed and placed the card on the counter, "Well, whatever," she mumbled, tiredly, "Please warn me when he wakes up. Jimbo and I will be in my TV room," she stated while grabbing the plate of cupcakes and making her way out.

"Of course, and happy birthday Ms. Evans-Stark," JARVIS replied, adding a more happy tone.

It made her smile, she couldn't help it, JARVIS was just as part of the family as DUM-E and U, "Thanks uncle Jarvis."

"You are most welcome."


12:33 PM

Primrose yawned as the credits for 'Wreck-it Ralph' started rolling, she enjoyed the movie but now that it was over and her focus on it was gone she realized how sleepy she actually was. Fearing she'd fall asleep while watching the movie, she'd place Jimbo back into his tank and fed it before returning to the room to continue watching her movie.

Now the movie was over, and she didn't know what to do now.

That was until she almost jumped out of her chair when her dad barged in, looking disheveled and maniac looking.

"I didn't forget I'm here!" he exclaimed as soon as he saw her. Primrose widened her eyes, still surprised, and stood up as soon as her dad went for a hug, "I'm sorry! Happy birthday! I didn't forget!"

"Dad?" she began, calmly. She was hugging him back but at this point, he was just tightening his hold on her, "It's okay, I'm not upset."

He sighed deeply and kissed her head, "You should be."

Primrose smiled sadly, and then she pulled back to look at her dad in the face, "I can't be upset with you daddy, you've been working so hard and we still have all day to celebrate my birthday. Pepper said we could all watch a movie when she comes back!"

Tony rubbed his burning eyes, three hours of sleep after being thirty-eight hours awake was barely called resting, but today was too important for him to finally shut his eyes. Besides, he has been working on a special gift for her.

"We'll watch any movie you want."

"We're gonna watch all the Harry Potter movies we can, and the first one to fall asleep is allowed to have ice cream for dinner for a month," she quickly quipped at him.

Tony smirked, "Not sure if your mom would consider that, but we'll manage," he shoved his hand in his sweatpants and took something out of it, "I got something from you, sorry if it's not wrapped but I made it. I didn't buy it," he gently grabbed her hand.

Awed and curious, Primrose looked at the silver chained bracelet that had a small shaped arc reactor in the middle of it. Gasping, she watched as her dad gently placed it around her wrist and locked it securely. He seemed focused and waiting for it to do something, and then a blue light started glowing from the smaller triangle inside the arc reactor copy, the light became intense before it dimmed out completely – but Primrose could feel it slightly vibrate against her skin.

"Uh... dad? What's this?" she asked, trying not to sound too much weirded out.

Tony was still inspecting it, "It's a bracelet."

Primrose frowned, "I know what it is, but bracelets don't glow like that."

He sighed and looked at her, "It's my own invention. It's a birthday present, it has two meanings. The first one is that the reason I made it with an arc reactor shape is that my own arc reactor is what is keeping me alive, so I thought to give a small one to you because you're what keeps me alive as well," he swallowed a lump of air when he saw Primrose's eyes watering, "And the other meaning is that I want you safe. This bracelet will give me some peace of mind when you're not with me. It's a safety bracelet, see the smaller triangle that just glowed?" he pointed at it, and Primrose nodded, "That's the panic button."

"Panic button?"

"You click it and JARVIS alerts me of your location through the GPS – I'll be there as fast as I can. It also enables you to contact JARVIS, monitor your asthma and it will instantly alert me on my phone if your blood pressure is too low or too high," he cleared his throat nervously, "Of course that I'm working on expending it to your mom's, godparents' and Happy's phones but I'm still working on it," he added with a mumble, speaking more to himself than her.

Primrose gulped as she studied it, now she was almost scared she'd activate it accidentally, "Dad I don't know what to say"

Tony shook his head, "You don't have to tell me anything. I know it's a little bit scary, me giving you this gift, but when I made it I thought about you. And I know I haven't been the best dad these past few months, I know I'm always down there but I still love you very much, and I want to protect you more than anything in this world," he stated, his voice breaking slightly.

Primrose rubbed her bracelet, it was like the jewelry had suddenly become the heaviest object in the world, "I love you too dad and I understand, but you need to think about yourself as well!" she reached for his hand and grabbed hold of it, "I'm worried about you..." she mumbled as she led it to his cheek, pressing his warm palm against it, "You stopped telling me about your nightmares, I never keep mine from you. I know you're not sleeping well," Primrose continued, closing her eyes and feeling her dad gently rub his fingers across her cheek skin, "You can talk to me, dad..."

Tony looked sadly at her, he truly had no other way to express how he was feeling other than guilty, "Honey, you don't have to worry about me. That's my job. You're a kid, you should be enjoying your childhood, not worrying over your old man like this."

Primrose shook her head stubbornly, "I decide what I do, and since I love you and you're my dad, I choose to worry," she opened her eyes to give him a determined gaze, eyeing him with a look that meant she was not backing down, "I didn't choose to be Iron Man's daughter, no one chooses their families. But this is my life, and I love my life because I have good parents and a loving and extended family. And that includes your robots and uncle JARVIS."

"Thank you, Ms. Evans-Stark," JARVIS inputted quickly, his tone joyful.

Tony and Primrose both smiled at each other knowingly after the A.I.'s words.

"So, even though you order me to stop worrying I won't," she continued, "Even though I'm just a kid, you won't stop seeing me as your little girl even when I'm forty – so why should I stop worrying even when you're forty-two?"

He looked at her and his expression melted to a lovingly one, pulling her with him, he fell back to one of the chairs and sat her on his lap, making her giggle, "What did I do to deserve such a smart-mouth and sweet daughter like you?"

Primrose shrugged, "Your existence is already a good enough explanation, daddy."

He chuckled and pulled her into a hug, "Oh my God, happy birthday honey," Tony said as he kissed the side of her head, "I think I'm gonna pass out and take a nap right here," he quickly added.

In response, Primrose yawned and nodded at the same time, "Me too, do you wanna take a nap together?"

"What about your birthday lunch?"

"Daddy, I ate seven cupcakes for breakfast," she deadpanned while snuggling close to his chest.

His eyes widened comically as he rested his back against the chair, "Oh boy, don't ever tell your mom or Pepper that, please."

"I promise, now let's nap..." Primrose mumbled tiredly, sleep coming easily to her as she closed her eyes.

Tony wanted to retort, but he found himself shutting his eyes instead, "JARVIS, wake us up in an hour, buddy. It seems like the birthday girl wants to take a birthday nap."

"Certainly sir, I'll give you a birthday wake up in an hour," JARVIS replied as he used his control over the house's technology to close the blinds from the windows of the room to allow darkness inside and better rest, "Shall I inform anyone about this nap?"

Tony grunted, "Do what you think is right," he mumbled out sleepily.

"Very well sir, sweet dreams."

Primrose smiled as she listening to her dad's heartbeat, "Good night."

There was a pregnant pause after she spoke.

"Honey, it's noon!" Tony's chest jumped from his guffaw and Primrose pouted at the sudden disturbance.

"Don't move!" she snapped, wrapping her arms around his torso.

"Sorry, my bad."

Sleeping was easy for Primrose after he stopped moving, hearing her dad's breathing and his heartbeat was like a lullaby and she found herself slipping willingly into darkness.


Primrose was sitting outside of a wooden cabin, on the stairs right outside the porch, staring peacefully at a lake that was right in the front lawn. Forest surrounded her, and a smile crept onto her lips – it was a nice change from her nightmares. She had no idea why she on the woods, but she felt comfortable and relaxed here. It seemed like it was summer, the bees were buzzing and the sunny sky shone above.

Then almost suddenly, Primrose felt a prickling sensation on her left wrist, and when she looked she saw that the bracelet her dad gave began to squeeze around her wrist tightly, and it was getting tighter each second passed. She winced and quickly tried to take it off, but the lock was nowhere to be found. Struggling, she began to panic when trying to pry it out turned out to be futile.

"HELP!" she screamed, looking around, "HEL–AAH!" Primrose let out a squeal when it began to painfully burn her skin suddenly, her eyes widened at the fight the sizzling sound as it melted itself in her skin, it couldn't get any worse until she heard footsteps coming from behind her.

It was her dad.

"DADDY!" she yelled, out of relief but still in pain, "HELP ME!" she begged him, crawling towards him only using her right hand. She looked up at him when she reached his feet and raised her left arm at him in hopes he'd knew how to take the bracelet out of her wrist.

But all Primrose saw was her dad smiling down at her, "It's okay Primrose, it's all for your own good."

"W-What?!" she exclaimed, "What do you m–AAH!" she choked back a sob when the bracelet melted further into her skin, completely attaching to her body.

He shushed her gently and crouched down to level up with her, "It's all for your own safety. Can't you see? It will be over soon, breathe..."

She didn't like this voice, he was completely ignoring her sobs and painful screams as he kept a calm expression, "Help me..." she cried out, but all he did was pat her head, humming a song.


Before she could feel more pained, her eyes opened slowly and she was back to being cradled on her dad's lap with barely any sunlight trying to peek inside the room through the blinds. She didn't move. All Primrose felt was a tear sliding down her cheek very slowly as she touched her real bracelet as if she was scared it would begin hurting like in her dream.

She didn't know what it had meant, her dad would never let her be in pain. So why was he the bad guy from her dream this time? What did it mean? Primrose knew this had to mean something psychological, after all, she did catch a few things while living with her mom, so was sure that maybe the dream represented what she truly felt about the bracelet.

That it was now a heavy responsibility for her, that she now had to wear it every day – that it was part of her body.

Primrose had no idea how long has it been since they started napping, she could hear her dad's slow breathing indicating that he was still sleeping. She decided to close her eyes again and focus on his heartbeat. Primrose would keep this nightmare to herself, she didn't know why but this felt like a personal jab. She'd rather have the graveyard nightmare than this one – it was too personal, too direct, and far scarier than giant monsters coming for her.