I came at him as firm as I have seen Pepper, the kind of direct question that came so far out of left field any average person would have answered simply because they weren't expecting the question entirely.
Only, his shoulders were shaking, jerking about every which way as if he were laughing! Rather uncontrollably it would seem, judging by how he nearly fell off the seat.
My face twisted into a grimace, that wasn't exactly the response I was hoping for. "He's laughing, why are you laughing? Thor take that stupid thing off." The laughing gained audio the second it was removed, to the point I HAD to raise a brow, "Are you almost finished?"
He heaved a great big sigh, even with a mocking wipe under his eye to get rid of a fake tear just to add the cherry on top. "You think you're in any position to make demands of me, infant? You must be enjoying this, a fatherless child with multiple men ready to kill vying for position regarding your paternity."
"It's actually closer to a 'godfather' like relationship…" Rogers piped up, amusingly rather quietly now, but that did absolutely nothing to stem my ever increasing impatience.
"You- shut up. You-" with every 'you' the recipient got an angry jab of my finger, "either you have a point or any POSSIBILITY you might mayhaps be able to get regarding a pass of any kind goes out the window."
"'Pass'?" He parroted, "The gall of you, you may be also of magic but you have no authority over me infant." Whaaaaaaaat? I wasn't the only one, it was actually pretty well chorused among the majority of the room, most even managed to be in the same key it was rather talented.
"Christ now he's saying I'm Harry Potter." I couldn't help but say with a laugh, "Alrigh' Da'! Lehs goa ta Lahnden fer ol' gran's sayke eh?" I mocked out my thickest nondescript British accent just specifically to be an instigative little jerk. But then I huffed, "The only reason you are talking is because you are useful, if you provide useful information it will benefit you greatly." See? I really AM trying here!
"You will sooner bring death upon those you love, it's already begun infant." He drawled and when Thor opened his own mouth without any reprimand coming I honestly should have seen the bomb that was coming, "It almost seems fitting! Does it not brother? All those days with the history of the cosmos being shoved into our heads and the Child of Death is born amongst those of Midguard. The Allfather will be most disappointed."
I had no response, still standing at the table had me just...frozen not knowing what to think or even do. "The HELL did you just say?!" Dad snapped and was up on his feet after just about plopping Peter like a handbag onto his seat.
Thor also stood with hands raised, placations and calming words all at the ready, "Stark, however inelegantly he put it he is correct, your dóttir has already carried out blood magic with your son."
Dad's mouth was set in the twitch response from muscle memory, people have assumed Peter was my brother NUMEROUS times before and in some circumstances it had to be explained otherwise as strange as that was. I didn't get it still but... whatever...did he just say BLOOD MAGIC?! Shit-
"Jeez, you make one blood oath and suddenly aliens can sniff it out like bloodhounds…" Peter grumbled out much too loudly.
"Peter!" I hissed out but it was much too late, absolutely everyone who could and would tan our sorry behinds already heard him and awe no-
"You two did WHAT?!" Pepper and Dad sounded absolutely murderous...shiiiiiit…
"I- uh-" I stuttered suddenly now not knowing what exactly to say, it's not like I could lie! "Awesome, thanks Peter, any other buses I can be thrown under?"
"Tony," Bucky whispered not exactly quietly, "it would explain the exploding door-"
"That was a rhetorical question you weren't supposed to answer!" I exclaimed before realizing, "Wait you TOLD him?!" What was happening? What the hell was happening?
"Anika be quiet," Dad said staring hard at the aliens, "What did she do? Why are you calling her that."
"Death's Child has been long foretold and prophesied," Oh bloody hell you have gotta be kidding me, "myth and legend to guide Allfathers to the location of the flying star the Child would be borne from."
"...a star to guide them huh? Now I'm Jesus." I griped out despite the angry glance from Dad it got, "Dad you can't be serious! This is crazy!" I had to emphasize the fact that this was absolute lunacy with a frantic wave of my arms, surely he would see it as well.
"Anika," he growled out and suddenly, I knew he wasn't playing. "Be QUIET." This was a voice I have never ever heard him use, especially not directed at me. I was struck dumb, it was almost a knee-jerk response because it was so startling.
"Stark-" Rogers grimaced and Dad's glare heated to one of ACTUAL fury, at least it didn't seem he was actually angry at me...in particular…yet...
"Rogers I swear to God you keep interrupting in regards to my daughter-" he inhaled deeply and looked once more at Thor, "What blood magic?"
"Magical beings are social creatures, easily emotional and are self destructive when betrayed. An orphaned child with magic will collect as many people as possible to create the support they're missing." Thor sounded as if he were reciting out of a textbook...my God is he secretly a nerd?
"Kay, great, not what I asked Point Break."
"I am getting there, the Child has managed a rare feat. By being accepted not only by yourself but by one of your blood of equal standing to her, her magic accepted them back and altered accordingly."
Dad blinked, "You can't be saying-"
"Tony?" Pepper asked and there was well enough reason, he looked white as a sheet.
But Loki wasn't finished with antagonizing me, "Bending and breaking the rules of reality to force the universe to change to your fancy won't make you like them. You think you can fight your very nature infant? All you know it's how to consume and devour, you're more like me than you fear; soon enough you'll be picking off the ones you hold closest to your heart-" Loki was leering over the table with a hungry stare that had my stomach sunk low in the ground. It almost felt as if the entire room was shaking from where I could hardly feel the crescents of my nails digging into my palms. My breaths spastically coming with my heart in my throat. "You can even pretend being a part of their lives enriches theirs but you're nothing more than a dead star collapsing inwards on itself as you're left to watch them look you in the eye as they screa- AACK!" Without any warning his seat had been THROWN back and sent flying through what could have been five or even eight layers of glass separating the various spaces upon this floor. Through the line of holes you could see him trapped under the warped remains of the conference room chair upended with it's wheels spinning forlornly in the air.
The only sort of inclination that something was wrong lay in my erratic and furious heartbeat, and everyone staring at me as if I announced I LITERALLY was the second coming of Jesus. It's not exactly a very flattering look to be on the receiving end of.
Everything was deadly silent, not a breath was released or even the slightest movement made. "Oh my God." Peter oh so quietly uttered which felt like a snapping branch in the woods, that one sound and the spell was broken.
Dad's chair screeched out in agreement with how frantic his movements appeared, hands twitching every which way as he stood. "Meeting adjourned! Postponed until further notice!" Dad called out before marching over and grasping Peter and my hands and marching towards the door.
"Where are we going?" He asked with a small tremble in his voice.
"Medical, we should have gone an hour ago you two should have been put to bed." He wouldn't look at us though, kept his eyes laser focused at the wall even within the elevator (none of us commented on them moving faster to shut Rogers or Bucky out, figured it wasn't the time).
"... that's not why we're going to medical are we?" Clearly Peter either had much more bravery than myself, or suicidal tendencies. Was almost sure that was me though.
"The main reason, I just have another." I still said nothing, today was just like a game of Uno where suddenly right in the home stretch someone lays down a stack of wild cards and +4's in a row just to be an asshole. And the person who seemed to be the focal point of the ENTIRE hurricane seemed to me on me. Sigh, and it's always going to be me, isn't it?
I.F.I.F.I.F.
It clicked once they took swabs of our cheeks in the suite, what every euphemism meant and the stunning realization that so far my life was a lie. A realization I kept to myself as Dad stayed between us on the two beds pushed together. It couldn't have been comfortable, but he barked at anyone he didn't approve of entering the room. Protecting the nest, hard to when your actual high in the sky nest was just destroyed earlier that day.
I had an IV with a magical concoction that had me coming in and out of sleep just enough for reality check ins, but other than that it was positively lovely no longer being able to feel the broken ribs…. We all ignored the glaringly loud absence of bruising that SHOULD have been on my skin, but currently wasn't.
This time waking Dad was gone. An observation so out of character that it rang every possible alarm in my head. Right until muffled voices could barely-hardly at all- be heard through the door.
"You sure got a lot of nerve- showing your face here after all that. Especially you Buckster." Dad, someone, and Bucky…so probably Rogers.
"Tony listen just," Bucky sighed, "please just let me explain. I swear we're not trying to take her I swear! YOU are her father, she's your daughter. She just also happens to be family."
"Yeah that's what we'd call you too," Dad's underlying message was hard to read under the anger, it certainly wasn't disgust or whatever else he was trying to project.
"Tony, if I was going to take her I would have done so. He was dead what could I possibly have been waiting for? I was content, I had my family-however broken."
"I just wanted to say I was sorry." Steve said lowly to where I almost missed what he said entirely, "I was a jerk and now she has the wrong impression of me, I love her- I'm so sorry."
I slid from the bed, pulled the IV stand, and opened the door- causing the three to turn at the noise giving all the prompt needed, "I forgive you," I still was dressed in pajamas, bare feet against the cold floor as I hung against the doorknob, "you made a mistake." But I rocked slightly on my feet, nervously, "I don't know you, but I forgive you." I looked up at Bucky, "Is that why you never wanted to be called 'Uncle Bucky'?"
"Would be as weird as Peter calling you 'mom' doll." His laugh could only be described as 'wet', but my attention was caught by Steve Rogers kneeling.
"Thank you, God- thank you, you have no idea-"
"Alright-" Dad thankfully didn't tug on the line when hoisting me up onto his hip (I was getting much too big for this, he's absolutely ridiculous) "time for the Stark Princess to get some shut-eye. So long." He blatantly shot them an added look™ for emphasis to direct their leave, one Bucky at least gave an amused eyebrow lift to tease him for half a second before turning and going the direction he came. No doubt he and Steve would be needing their own "talks"™, if Dad and Pepper suddenly try to give Peter and I the 'birds and the bees' I will literally blow up Fury's favorite office. Just for those pictures, he'll get what's coming.
A/N
I KNOW THERE ARE NO REAL ANSWERS AND THAT I'M MAKING MORE PROBLEMS THAN IM FIXING IM WORKING ON IT I SWEAR! So uh, listen I'm working on it trust the process XD it's hard enough doing this at this juncture I just also have a sling I need to work around. Next time will have more answers lol pinkie promises and everything