Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading and reviewing! My plan is to post a new chapter every day until it's done :) I hope you are all staying safe!

The Deal

It got cold at night, no matter how tightly Penny pulled the thin, useless blanket around herself. It was the only way she knew it was nighttime. The cold. And even then, if she kept a fire going, sometimes she still didn't know. Penny vaguely remembered snow...snow that covered roads and piled up on sidewalks. Walking in it. Playing in it. She remembered it the same way she remembered her parents. Like something hazy and barely there in her brain, something between real life and a dream. Had she really seen snow before, she sometimes wondered. Had she ever had parents? Had she lived anywhere but this godforsaken cave?

Yes, she reminded herself as she crawled out from the blanket and grabbed herself a cup of water. They'd had Tony Stark for hours, and she wondered if she'd ever see him again. And what that would mean for her. Drinking her water, she tried to shake that thought away, but it was no use. Her life was tied to his now. If he hadn't broken...if he'd died...

Then they'd have no more use for her.

She hadn't been sure why they'd wanted her in the first place...why they'd wanted a boy who spoke English and Farsi, German and French. Enough Arabic to get by. Enough Spanish to order a churro. But she got it now. A translator. They had known that they'd need a translator, which meant they'd been planning to kidnap Tony Stark.

Of course, even at thirteen, Penny wasn't stupid. Hopeful, maybe. Afraid, yes. But not stupid. She'd seen enough over the last two years watching these terrorists attack her home to know that the chances of her making it out of this alive were slim to none. She just chose not to dwell on it.

When the men from the ten rings reentered the room with the bang of a door being thrown open and the typical orders to stand back, the Merchant of Death was nowhere in sight. She had assumed the position she knew they liked best with her hands up and her eyes down. Grabbing her arm, they drug her forward, guns pointed at her. Shaking a little, she stumbled forward, trying to keep her face blank so they wouldn't know how afraid she was. Instead, she tried to pay attention to the twists and turns of the corridors. If she managed to get away...if she could just remember the path, maybe she could run.

It was still scary to have them point their huge guns at her, even after so long.

"Boy!" one of the men behind her barked, shoving her forward, and Penny realized she hadn't been paying enough attention and had slowed down.

Boy. It was what they'd called her from the beginning. Since they had grabbed her from the rubble of her village and had dragged her through the desert to these mountains. Boy. With her hair newly short and choppy and her mostly flat chest hidden under purposefully loose clothes, she didn't blame them. It was the look she was going for, after all.

Boy beat the hell out of the alternative. She'd seen what they did to girls.

It was the only thing Penny had said to them as they'd been separating people out. First in Farsi, then Arabic, then English. "I'm a boy. I'm a boy!" The same words her uncle had shouted at her as he'd put his hands on her arms, shaking her right before he would die, the two of them pressed to a wall, hiding as best they could. "You're a boy! Do you hear me? You're a boy!"

Just an hour before, when they'd first heard explosions, he'd grabbed a pair of scissors. Feeling her new sense for incoming danger flare up, Penny had gone along dumbly as he'd had her stand in front of the mirror, and then he had cut her hair short, face so grim and afraid that she hadn't dared question him. Hadn't dared to pull away as her long hair had fallen to the floor.

"Ben…" May had started, probably about to talk him down. To assure him that this time was like any other...but one look from him had silenced her.

Tony Stark was standing at the end of the corridor when they reached the exit, car battery in hand, hair wet, eyes almost vacant. It didn't bring her any joy to see the Merchant of Death like this...she'd kind of thought it would. Instead, she had to fight the urge to touch his arm. To lie and say that it would be okay. She didn't touch him though, just bit her tongue and stumbled when they shoved her forward to stand beside him. The man's eyes shot to her, confused. Worried Afraid. She didn't blame him. She was afraid too. Had been afraid for over a month now with no idea of what they wanted or why they'd taken her. The leader of the ten rings was back….she'd only seen him once or twice before Tony Stark had come along, and he gestured for them to follow. Penny went first, knowing that the billionaire was stumbling along behind. As they stepped out into the sun, she squinted against the brightness, flinching as the hot sand burned her bare feet.

The leader spoke, glancing back at them as they stepped into an open area filled with weapons. Penny thought about running. Just for a second. She might be able to make it. She could climb walls and she was strong now...but that would leave Tony Stark here...alone. Glancing over at the man, sure of what they'd already done to him, she realized that she couldn't just leave him here alone to die.

Their fates were tied together now.

"Boy!" The English word was an order, and a gun whacked her on the back of the head hard enough that she stumbled forward and saw stars. Blinking heavily, she brought a shaky hand up to the spot where they'd hit her, then flinched when it came back bloody. The leader switched to Farsi again, expression cold. "If you can't translate, then what good are you to me?"

Penny nodded, murmuring an apology. Knowing she would have to bide her time. Turning to Tony Stark, she did as she'd been told, ready to keep her head down and do her best to lay low. "He wants to know what you think." She gestured toward the stacks of guns and bombs covered by tarps and tents, and at the men milling around. Her voice sounded raspy from disuse, and she wondered if she would have forgotten how to talk if they'd kept her in that place alone for much longer.

The man lifted an eyebrow, obviously trying to look unconcerned and failing. He was rich, she remembered. Famous. He would have a lot of practice pretending. Maybe that could work in their favor. "I think he has a lot of my weapons," Stark finally told her.

"No shit," she murmured, ignoring his raised eyebrows and then turning to the leader to translate what the man had said. Then the leader was speaking again, gesturing grandly. This time, she translated as soon as he was done, not wanting to risk another blow to the head.

"Now he says they have everything you need here to make the missile. He wants you to make a list of materials that you'll need to make it. If you start working immediately, when you are done, he'll set you free." She didn't let any of her doubt into her voice. She didn't need to. Tony Stark was one of the smartest men in the world, right?

Smiling and nodding, the man reached out a hand to shake the other man's. "No he won't."

Penny forced a smile, feeling her eyes heat up. They were trapped...doomed. Even he knew it. "No," she agreed. "He won't."

Back in the cave, Tony Stark stumbled over to his bed, dropping down with a weary, painful sigh. She thought about asking if his chest hurt, but it was probably a stupid question. Of course it hurt. And she couldn't exactly apologize for it. She had been so long without talking to other people, she wondered if she'd forgotten how to do it. Or maybe if she let herself open her mouth, she would never stop talking.

On the bed, Tony had his head in his hands, taking deep breaths. Moving over to the counter, she poured two glasses of water, glad that they still gave them water. That they still gave them food. Canned goods were stacked on the floor and fresh bread had come at first...not anymore though. None of it was very good, but she could make do. Figuring that the man was hungry, she opened a can of beans and turned the burner on the old stove, then poured the beans into the pot. The man didn't look up, so she carried a glass of water, starting to touch him, then just sat it on the floor by his feet. "Drink," she told him. Urged him.

Once she'd returned to the stove, she glanced back to find him with the water in hand, taking a long drink. She heated the beans in silence...there were plenty of cans of beans and rice too. Canned fruit. Canned vegetables. It was like they'd just gone into a store and thrown cans into their bags without paying any attention to what exactly they were. She guessed it didn't matter….either way, they'd eat what they could for as long as they could.

As long as Tony Stark decided to build their missile.

The man seemed to be deep in thought, and it wasn't until she poured half of the beans into a rough looking clay bowl and carried it over to him that he spoke. "What, so you're their cook and their translator?" he asked, voice a little bitter.

She flinched a little, stung, but did her best not to show it. She didn't care what Tony Stark thought about her. Really, she didn't. Still, she clenched her jaw, slamming the bowl down on the bed beside him and heading back over to the stove where her own food waited. Carrying it over to her bed, she crawled onto her bunk, curling up with a blanket and wishing she had a TV as she ate. Sometimes, she could hear the soldiers' TV if she was quiet. They watched the news and soap operas and sometimes porn...that's when she put her hands over her ears, face buried in her sweater pillow.

Now, though, there was only silence. And she was fine with that, Penny told herself firmly. Silence was all she'd lived with for a month now. She rarely even dared to speak to herself aloud anymore, too afraid that they'd somehow catch on. That they'd find out that she wasn't a girl and then what? Would they still keep her around? Or would they decide that they could find a better use for her?

"Hey." The man's voice was soft when he finally spoke after several minutes of silence. "Kid?"

She ignored him, eyes stinging. She wasn't going to cry about this...even though she'd been alone for so long and even though she was finally, finally not alone anymore. Her uncle had always been disappointed in Tony Stark. She supposed she would be too.

"Kid." He spoke a little louder, and she finally turned to look at him from across the room, making her eyes cold, even though she doubted he could tell from that far away.

"What?" she asked, unable to stop herself from sounding angry and wishing she were anywhere but here. Wishing she were at home. Or in school. Somewhere where she could be a thirteen-year-old girl again. Where she didn't have to deal with angry captive billionaires and terrorists who wanted her to translate for them and forget about the nearly three months she'd spent in this hellhole, just surviving until this kind of life was almost normal to her...until the cave felt almost familiar.

He stood, battery in hand, and made his way slowly over to where she sat. Penny shrank back, eyes on him, feeling like a cornered dog and wanting more than anything to climb. To get away from him and those men and find a safe corner to hide. He lifted a hand though, the one not holding the battery, like he was surrendering. "Easy, kid. Not going to hurt you." For a moment, she worried he would sit on her bed, but he just stood there awkwardly, swallowing hard and then trying to smile as his eyes darted around the immediate area. There was nothing to look at though, so he finally had to drag his eyes back to her. "I'm sorry. It's been a bad day. Shouldn't have taken that out on you." He pressed his lips together, nodding a little to himself.

A bad day. Her lips twitched. It was an understatement if she'd ever heard one. Then it hit her what had just happened. Tony Stark had just apologized to her, eyes large and earnest, his mouth twisted into a sad half smile. What could she do but forgive him? "It's alright."

He gave a short nod, then, looking a little lost, he went back to his own bed and grabbed the bowl of beans she'd made him, eating them like a starving man. She watched from her bed, cross legged, trying not to stare.

"I can make more," Penny offered, wanting so desperately to have someone to talk to. To have someone in this cave that didn't hate her. That didn't want to hurt her. She was strong and fast and could take him easily, especially with her powers. But she didn't want another enemy. Not when she already had so many here.

"That's okay, kid."

He was so quiet. Penny hadn't expected him to be so quiet, not after the way he'd been on TV so many times. Or from the stories she'd heard about him. She'd expected him to be loud. To take up the whole room. To be larger than life. Instead, he was soft-spoken. Short, only a head taller than her. He looked tired. And she got it. She was tired too. Tired and scared and always wondering how much longer these people were going to keep her alive.

She hesitated to ask any questions of him. Hesitated to speak at all. So instead, she took her bowl to the sink and began to scrub, grateful at least for running water. Tony Stark came up beside her, waiting for her to finish, then placed the battery on the edge of the tiny counter and began to carefully wash his own bowl.

"Have you ever washed your own dishes?" Penny blurted after a moment, deciding to stick to something light for a while. She never had been able to stay quiet for long when in the company of others. He snorted, eyebrows lifted, so she went on. "You're Tony Stark. I just assumed that you had maids to do your dishes."

He smirked and looked sideways at her. "Maids, plural? Just to wash the dishes?"

"I don't know how you rich people live."

He chuckled then, glancing over at her with a wry smile. "What, no maids at your house?"

"I was the maid," she told him, voice just teasing enough that he would know it was a joke.

He nodded with a chuckle. "You said your village...are you from here?"

She pressed her lips together, wary of giving him too much information. Of letting him get too close to the truth. "I've lived here for a long time. With my aunt and uncle." Before he could ask any more questions, she asked him one. "Why were you here?"

"Weapons demonstration," he told her, and she clenched her jaw. The man glanced down at her, eyes growing dark. "I didn't know that they had my weapons."

"They used your weapons to wipe out my village." She spoke softly enough that he might not have heard. He did, though. She could tell by the way his teeth dug into his lip, head shaking just a little, eyes closing. "They'd been attacking us for years...us and the other towns and cities around us. I wasn't allowed to go anywhere alone….they were stealing children. Holding whole cities hostage. And my aunt took me with her to the hospital when I couldn't go to school...taught me how to try and help the people your weapons hurt." There was something accusing in her voice, but she couldn't help it. Not when the man was finally there in front of her.

For a long moment, he was silent. Then he swallowed hard, shaking his head a little. "I didn't know…"

"They're still dead, Mr. Stark. Whether or not you knew," she murmured, no real heat in her voice. She wasn't angry with him. Honestly, she was inclined to believe him. Maybe he hadn't known. But that didn't really matter anymore. "Are you going to do it? Build their weapon?"

The man shook his head, rubbing a hand over his face and leaning on the counter, seeming lost in thought. "What does it matter? I'll be dead in a week," he murmured, shaking his head and walking back over to his own bed. It was early still...or so it seemed. It was hard to tell without windows, but they hadn't been inside for very long.

"Well, this is a very important week for you isn't it, Mr. Stark." She laughed without humor. "And me too, I guess."

He furrowed his eyebrows, staring at her so closely that she wanted to climb up to the ceiling again. The question was plain on his face, and she didn't make him say it.

"They won't keep me around if you're dead. They took me because I speak enough languages to translate for them...they were planning this. But without anyone to translate for…" Penny shrugged, trying not to let herself think of it as she crawled into her own bed. She was tired...she was always hungry and always tired, eyes drooping as she curled up under her blanket.

She could almost hear him thinking as she fell asleep, praying that she didn't have any nightmares.

It was a prayer that was almost never answered.

Thank you for reading!