Author's Note: I don't know how but I managed to write the new chapter really fast. I think every chapter for the coming few chapters will take place a year later than the last. I might add more when Ivy's in her teenaged years.
I decided to rename the story yet again. I just felt like the last title no longer fit the story and the new title is a hint towards what's to come. I've also managed to make a new cover with this new app I found and I really love the way it turned out.
Thanks for all the follows, favorites, and reviews. Please let me know what you think.
Upstate New York
Stark Mansion
1998
"Sirius!" Ivy giggled as her beloved Belgian Malinois woke her up in the morning. He licked her face which sent her into a flurry of giggles. "Stop it!"
The nine-year-old managed to finally calm her two-year-old dog down. He still seemed to have the mind set of a puppy. Even after her father hired a professional trainer to train the very hyper and energetic dog.
"You're too much Sirius," Ivy told her dog.
The young girl immediately rubbed her sleepy eyes as she got out of bed dressed in her Jurassic Park pajamas. Her grandmother didn't think they were appropriate for a little girl her age. She should have Disney princess night gowns but Ivy was obsessed with dinosaurs after watching the movie with her uncle Rhodey several months ago. Like always, her father didn't seem to care what was or wasn't appropriate for a girl to wear. As long as it made her happy.
"Race you to the kitchen!" Ivy dared Sirius before sprinting out of her bedroom. The large dog barked before happily chasing after the small girl. "Bet you can't catch me, Sirius!"
"Vivien," Ivy's grandmother scolded as the nine-year-old and her dog finally came to a halt in the kitchen. "No running in the house."
"Sorry, Abuela," Ivy told her grandmother as she managed to look, at least, a little bit ashamed of herself. Nazarena shook her head but hid her amused smile behind her cup of coffee.
Nazarena had been living at Stark mansion for the past year. Playing the role of grandmother quite nicely. Something Ivy never had before. Well, technically Ivy had her other grandmother at one point in her life but she died quite tragically some time ago. Ivy didn't even remember her anymore.
It was why it was nice to have her other grandmother with her. Not to mention she was her mother's mom and Ivy's mother seemed to forever remain a mystery to her. Ivy also adored her grandmother. She loved their mornings together as her grandmother told her stories from her mother's childhood.
It was like she knew her mother in a way.
"That's okay," Her grandmother told her before pointedly looking at the chair that was across from her at the kitchen table. "Now sit and eat. You'll have to go to school soon."
"Great! I'm starving!" Ivy said as she plopped herself down into a seat and immediately stuffed her face with a tortilla. Her grandmother had made it tradition to cook Casamiento every Friday morning before school. It was a Salvadorian breakfast dish her mother had apparently loved in her youth and Ivy loved it too. It was like she was eating it for the first time every time she had it. It really just black beans and rice served with scrambled eggs, tortillas, and fried plantains along with her grandmother's personal touch.
It was Ivy's all time favorite dish.
If it was her last day on Earth, it would definitely be Ivy's last supper despite it being a breakfast dish.
Ivy yearned to learn how to make it and her grandmother promised she would teach her when she was older. She would teach her how to cook many things and Ivy was eager. Mostly because she liked to eat and her grandmother was the best cook in the world. For now, Ivy just watched her grandmother cook in the kitchen which had become a traditional over the past year she'd been staying with them.
"Manners, mi nieta," Her grandmother told her, giving her a stern look and Ivy blushed. "Chew with your mouth closed. It's not ladylike to eat like that."
"But Daddy eats like this," Ivy retorted and her grandmother glared at her.
"Yes, well, your father is a pig. Don't do as he does," Her grandmother lectured her and Ivy listened to her. Ivy's grandmother was perhaps the only person in the world she actually listened to and who she didn't dare rebel against. She both feared and adored the tiny five foot tall Salvadorian woman. "He wouldn't want you to do what he does."
"Okay, Abuela," Ivy agreed before she started closing her mouth while chewing. Once she swallowed her food, she asked her grandmother a question. "Hey, where's Jarvis? Usually he's here."
"Mr. Jarvis has some business to tend to," Her grandmother explained and Ivy nodded sadly. She knew that was just adult talk for that Jarvis wasn't feel okay. It had been that way ever since Ana passed away several months ago. Not long after the funeral of her mother.
Ivy could tell he was sad.
And not just from hearing his voice inside her head.
She could see it all over his face. He wasn't the same happy Jarvis she knew and loved. It was like a part of him died when Ana died. Ivy tried to make him feel better but nothing really made him the way he used to be. She'd make him smile but the smile never quite touched his eyes like it used to.
"Oh," Ivy said, not knowing what else to say to that. Her grandmother gave her a sad look before putting some of the scrambled eggs, rice, and beans into a tortilla. It was only then that her father trotted into the kitchen.
Ivy hadn't seen much of him for the past week.
Usually whenever he was busy with a project for Stark Industries, he hid himself away in his lab. He made it clear a long time ago that she wasn't allowed in the lab when he was working on his "special" projects. That was adult talk for weapons. Ivy just wished that he would just say that instead of talking to her like she was a baby.
Ivy wasn't a baby.
She was nine-years-old, after all.
"Hey, Nazzie. Please tell me you have some coffee left over?" Tony said as he made a beeline for the coffee maker. Nazarena made a face at the nickname Tony gave her. It seemed to be trait of Tony Stark. Giving people unwanted nicknames but she put up with it. Tony Stark, despite his reputation, had treated her very kindly. Giving her a place to live and helping her get her green card. Not just that but he also let her into Ivy's life and she would forever be grateful for him and all his kindness.
It's why she never complained about the nickname.
"Yes, Mr. Stark," Nazarena said and she always made sure to make plenty of coffee for him. He was a working man, after all. She also made him all his meals despite his reluctance. Tony never liked eating while he was working but Nazarena managed to badger him into it. She always told him that a working man always needed to eat. Tony didn't really get her logic but he caved in.
He wouldn't say so but he'd developed a soft spot for the small woman over the past year.
Mostly due to her affect on Ivy.
There was definitely a warmer atmosphere in the house with her there.
Not even Tony could deny that.
"I just made a fresh pot," She informed him and Tony nodded in thanks before filling up his cup. He usually insisted that she call him Tony instead of "Mr. Stark" but he gave up on that a long time ago. The woman's stubbornness rivaled his own.
"Morning, daddy," Ivy said cheerfully and Tony gave her an amused look. Sirius was curled up by her feet on the floor. Tony wrinkled his nose in distaste. If he'd known that mutt would get that big maybe he would've gone for a terrier or something a quarter of the size.
"Morning, kid," Tony greeted as he passed by the kitchen table before ruffling her hair and stealing one of the fried plantains on her plate.
"Hey!" Ivy complained and Tony laughed, already going downstairs to the lab.
"Eat faster next time!"
Ivy pouted before going back to eating her food. Nazarena smiled softly at the sight. There never seemed to be a dull day in the Stark household, after all. Both father and daughter were at times a comedic duo, giving Nazarena plenty of laughs.
She doubted that would ever change.
Nazarena was never an entirely observant woman.
She knew that.
However, after marrying into the Orellana family, there were certain things she became accustomed to. The Orellana family was never a normal one. The family had been in their town for generations and there had been rumors about the family.
Maybe not rumors so much as superstitions.
Something a young Nazarena had rolled her eyes at. She had been twenty-one when she fell in love with Fernando Orellana. How could she not? He was incredibly handsome and he made her laugh a lot. Looking back, she was fairly naïve.
It was strange.
The way Fernando always seemed to know what she was thinking. At first, she thought it was because they were so connected. A younger Nazarena even thought it was due to being soul mates.
Like such things even existed.
For some reason, he always seemed to know what was on her mind.
She never questioned it at first.
Nazarena always dismissed those encounters as coincidences. At least, until Soledad was born and things got weirder. It seemed that Soledad inherited her father's talent for always seeming to read her mind. Something that gave her some pause.
It often felt suffocating living in that house with the both of them despite the love she had for both her husband and daughter.
Although she never asked the question that needed to be asked, she knew her thoughts would never be her own. Nothing would ever be hers again. No part of her mind belonged to her.
It was shared.
Between the three of them.
It always would be.
It had been so long since Nazarena had been in the company of her husband and daughter. So long that she'd forgotten about their gift. The gift that made everyone in the village wary of them. The word "Bruja" was always whispered when everyone thought none of them could hear. Something that seemed to amuse Fernando and confuse Soledad.
Soledad was always confused about her strange ability to hear other people's thoughts. Ever since she was a child. She once expressed this concern to Nazarena. Nazarena who once made the mistake of asking her husband how he always knew what she was thinking.
Her husband's only explanation was that it was a gift that everyone in his family shared.
Nazarena became creeped out and decided against questioning him any further on the subject. He seemed grateful about that so they never spoke of it again. And that was when Soledad was three.
However, upon Soledad's confusion, she directed her daughter to her father. She only asked that Fernando tell her what she needed to know and what ever would help their daughter. He agreed and Nazarena watched as he took her to their bedroom, closing the door behind him. Nazarena could only hear muffled voices from outside the bedroom but never made an effort to try and make out the words.
When they eventually came out, Soledad ran outside to go play with her friends and Fernando went to the living room to sit in his recliner and watch tv. It was like nothing happened.
To this day, Nazarena had no idea what words were spoken between Fernando and Soledad.
She never asked.
Maybe it was because she didn't want to know.
Nazarena had always thought that was it. That Soledad would grow up and have her own family. Her own sons and daughters that she would fill in on the mysteries of the Orellana family. That Nazarena would have no need to worry about the family's history like she once had.
But things didn't seem to turn out that way.
Especially now that Nazarena had spent the past year watching Soledad's daughter.
A part of Nazarena had hoped that Vivien would be the exception to the family's gift. Not because she hated it or that it frightened her. No, that wasn't it at all. Because she knew the pain it had always caused her daughter. Always knowing what people were thinking.
Nazarena still remembered the painful sobs that came from her daughter as she held Soledad in her arms. The young girl had been consumed by the loudness of everything. It made her head ache and caused her nose to bleed. She begged her mother to make it stop but there was nothing Nazarena could do.
Fernando assured her that it would get easier but it never seemed to.
Eventually, Soledad ran away from home after all the accusing stares from the other people in town. Everyone always thought she was weird and the more superstitious thought she was evil. A witch who practiced the devil's magic. Soledad left which broke Nazarena's heart. Her absence only caused her more pain in the wake of her husband's death.
Soledad's story had been a tragic one and she had hoped Vivien's fate would be a happy one but Nazarena already knew that Vivien was the same as her mother and grandfather. She always seemed to know what people were thinking. She suffered from the same nosebleeds that constantly plagued Soledad during Soledad's childhood. Vivien even suffered the same headaches and it terrified Nazarena.
It was happening all over again.
Nazarena knew she needed to tell Vivien's father but she knew it would be difficult. He wasn't from their culture. He was a science-based man. He didn't believe in superstition. Nazarena didn't think he would believe any of it. Tony Stark would probably dismiss her concerns as silly and continue to pretend to not notice the strange coincidences that had been occurring around his daughter.
Much like Nazarena had once acted.
"Abuela," Ivy said softly as they sat in the parlor of Stark mansion.
It was a quiet rainy March morning. Ivy was off from school since it was the weekend. The small girl was reading one of her books about stars and Nazarena was busy with her quilt. Quilting had been something she'd taken up when she was pregnant with Soledad and she'd stuck with it ever since. It seemed to occupy both her time and mind which she needed in the aftermath of Soledad's death.
"Yes, mi nieta?" Nazarena said distractedly as she worked on her quilt. She thought this one would make a nice birthday present for James. The man Vivien called her uncle. He was a very nice man and he was close to the family. Nazarena mostly thought he was a good influence on Tony.
"Why can't I hear your voice in my head?" Ivy asked curiously. Nazarena stopped in her tracks as she slowly looked up at the nine-year-old girl.
"What?" Nazarena questioned, thinking she heard the girl wrong. Ivy just gave her a curious look.
"I can't hear your voice in my head like I hear everyone else's voice," Ivy said observantly. "I hear Daddy's voice all the time. I hear Rhodey, Jarvis, Happy, and everyone's voices at school but I never hear yours. Is it because your thoughts are in Spanish?"
"No," Nazarena said quietly. Ivy gave her a confused look.
"No?" She questioned and Nazarena nodded.
"I have something your grandfather gave me…it shields my thoughts from you," Nazarena informed her and Ivy just stared at her. "Your grandfather was like you. Your mother too. This necklace was lost in the family for a very long time but when your grandfather found it, he gave it to me. It's what you'd call a magic necklace."
Nazarena pulled the necklace from under her shirt and showed it to Ivy.
It was a gaudy thing.
Old and golden but gaudy. The thing was so large and clunky that Ivy was able to see the symbol encrusted across it from where she sat across the room. It looked like a bird.
"My grandfather was like me?" Ivy asked in surprise. "My mom too?"
"Yes. They could hear people's thoughts," Nazarena confirmed and Ivy just stared at her. She thought there was something wrong with her. She didn't know it was something people in her family were able to do. "They could do other things too."
"What about you?" Ivy asked her and Nazarena shook her head.
"No. It was only an Orellana family trait it would seem," Nazarena told her and Ivy nodded.
"But why? Why could do they do that? Why can I do that? Where did it come from?" Ivy questioned and Nazarena smiled in amusement. Her granddaughter seemed to be a little too much like her father.
She questioned everything.
"I don't know," Nazarena said honestly. "I was too afraid to ask Fernando I suppose. I'm not sure he knew either. People that were from Fernando and I's generation didn't question things. It was considered rude to question your elders. Fernando's mother was like him too so I know that it's passed down through the generations but that's all I know."
"I'm scared," Ivy said quietly as she looked down at her hands. "I thought I was imagining it but now I know it's real. Daddy always said there's an explanation for everything but how can you explain this? How do I tell him this?"
"He doesn't know?" Nazarena asked her granddaughter who shook her head furiously. "He doesn't know anything about it?"
"I don't think he'd understand," Ivy said sadly. "I'm afraid he'll hate me."
"Mi Nieta, your father could never hate you," Nazarena said sincerely. "He loves you. You're his daughter. It might shock him at first but over time he'll understand."
"I don't think he'll understand. I don't understand," Ivy told her grandmother. "It shouldn't be possible. I've read so many books, trying to find an explanation but there is none. There should be one. There has to be one but there still isn't."
"In our culture, such things aren't so scary. Things like this happen," Nazarena explained, looking her granddaughter in the eyes. Her granddaughter who was wise beyond her years. "It's not unheard of in our culture. Some might call you a Bruja. I know they often thought that of your mother and grandfather."
"What's a Bruja?" Ivy asked curiously and Nazarena shrugged.
"A witch," Nazarena answered and Ivy's eyes widened.
"There's witches in El Salvador?" Ivy questioned and Nazarena nodded.
"There's witches everywhere," Her grandmother said casually but Ivy's mind was blown. "They mostly heal but some do other things."
"Do they read minds like me?" Ivy asked and Nazarena shook her head.
"Maybe," Nazarena told her but not even she was sure. "There were legends where I come from."
"Legends?" Ivy questioned and Nazarena nodded.
"About special people from a long time ago. Our ancestors," Nazarena told her but not even Nazarena thought she believed the legends. At least, not word for word. "There were certain people the gods rewarded with special powers."
"Rewarded for what?" Ivy asked curiously and Nazarena shrugged.
"Battles won…sacrifices given…healthy babies born. Things like that," Nazarena informed her while Ivy hung on to her every word. "They rewarded them with special powers. Some say that those powers were passed down through their children."
"That's where it comes from?" Ivy asked her and Nazarena just smiled at her.
"They're just stories, Vivien. Tales my own grandparents used to tell me before bedtime," Nazarena said although it might've been easier to say that before she married into the Orellana family. Now she felt like she was constantly eating her own words.
"Well, what happened to the people?" Ivy asked her and Nazarena gave her a confused look.
"What people?" She replied and Ivy shrugged.
"You said that certain people were rewarded with powers and those people had children. Shouldn't there be a bunch of people like that running around today?" Ivy asked her and Nazarena sighed. "There were stories about what happened to them. The descendants. A lot of them died."
"How?" Ivy questioned and Nazarena fought the urge to smile. Ivy never stopped asking questions and she looked just like her father when she did so. Soledad wasn't like that. She'd always been a very quiet and sad child.
"The Spanish Conquistadors. When they came hundreds of years ago, there were legends about how afraid they were of these powerful people. They saw them as a threat," Nazarena explained to the small girl. "They hunted as many of them down as they could. Like everything the Spanish touched, they destroyed them all."
"All of them?" Ivy asked and Nazarena shook her head.
"Maybe not. If your grandfather's family all had your gift then maybe there's other families like that," Nazarena said and Ivy's mind was blown. That maybe she wasn't the only person like this. Maybe there were others. "But that's only if you believe in the Aztec Gods and legends. I'm a good Catholic woman. I believe in no such thing."
"Well, I think it sounds cool," Ivy told her grandmother and Nazarena laughed.
"Your mother thought it sounded exciting too," Nazarena said and Ivy gave her grandmother another curious look at the mention of her mother. They often discussed her mother but never in this way. Not when it concerned what Ivy was able to do. Something her mother could do too.
"How am I supposed to tell Dad?" Ivy asked her grandmother. "He doesn't believe in that stuff. He doesn't even believe in God and lots of people believe in God. It's a totally normal thing for people to believe in. I know that's why you pray for him all the time. You're worried about his soul and stuff."
"I pray for your father because he needs all the help he can get," Nazarena corrected. It was true. She didn't like the fact that Ivy's father was an atheist, but she did appreciate the fact that he sent his daughter to Catholic school and never scoffed at Nazarena's religion. "You tell him and if he doesn't believe you then show him."
"I'm still scared," Ivy said worriedly. "That he won't love me anymore."
"He'll always love you. Don't be silly," Her grandmother convinced her. "You need to tell him. Families shouldn't have secrets from each other."
"I know," Ivy said sadly and Nazarena gave her a comforting smile in return. The small girl then decided to change the subject to get her father off her mind. "Hey, Abuela?"
"Yes, Vivien?" Nazarena asked.
"Does that necklace really stop me from hearing your thoughts?" Ivy asked her and Nazarena nodded.
"Yes. It stopped your grandfather from hearing them and your mother too," Nazarena answered much to Ivy's curiosity. "You too it would seem."
"Where did it come from?" Ivy questioned and Nazarena shrugged.
"Your grandfather said it's been in the family for a long time," She informed her and Ivy just stared at the necklace in question. Nazarena smiled kindly at her granddaughter. "Someday, when you're older and you get married to a very nice and handsome man…you can give this to him. Like your grandfather gave it to me."
"Oh, I'm never going to get married," Ivy said, looking disgusted at her grandmother's suggestion much to the older woman's amusement. "Boys are gross."
"When I was a little girl I once thought the same as you," Nazarena told the small girl who still didn't look convinced. "Then I met my Fernando and everything changed."
"No offense, Abuela, but I'd rather marry Sirius than a boy," Ivy told her which caused Nazarena to laugh loudly. The dog in question lifted his head up which caused Ivy to giggle.
It was good to share a laugh now.
Before everything went downhill as it surely would when Ivy would tell her father the secret she hadn't even realized she was hiding until that day.
There was no telling how that would go.
Tony Stark was many things but he was definitely not predictable.
Ivy didn't know how she felt.
Not since the conversation with her grandmother where she learned many things about her mother's side of the family. A family that proved to be more interesting than the Stark family which was a difficult thing to accomplish.
There was so much.
Yes, her grandmother didn't have the same thing she seemed to have but she still had knowledge from Ivy's grandfather and mother. Maybe not a lot but maybe her father could help with that. Maybe…
There was just one small thing.
Ivy still hadn't told her father.
It had been nearly a week since the conversation with her grandmother and she still had no idea how to tell him. Ivy didn't think her father would believe her at first. He was a man of science and logic. Ivy would have to prove it to him.
She knew there wouldn't be an issue with that but Ivy was just scared about how he'd react.
She had no idea how he would react to the discovery of what she had been able to do for years. Something Ivy had only recently discovered wasn't normal and was something only she could do. Aside from her mother and grandfather, anyways. Both of whom were now dead.
It happened one day in the lab.
Her father wasn't working on one of his special projects. Just some research so he allowed Ivy into the lab. She was mostly doing research of her own regarding a galactic bulge but she'd been distracted. Well, she'd been distracted a lot lately and her father's thoughts seemed louder than ever. Ivy didn't know if it was because he was thinking loudly or if she was listening too closely.
"Daddy?" Ivy finally said. She didn't know what drove her to finally approach this topic of conversation. He didn't look up from the monitor, too distracted by his research.
"Yeah, kid?" He said distractedly. Ivy sighed.
"I need to tell you something," Ivy finally said and Tony finally tore his gaze from the screen to look at the small girl. She kept getting bigger and bigger everyday and Tony didn't know how he was going to face her eventually becoming a teenager. Hopefully she wouldn't be as bad as he was because he'd been a complete nightmare if he was being honest.
"What is it?" Tony asked in concern. Mostly because he could see the scared look on her face.
"There's this thing I have," Ivy said nervously as she tried to work her way up to the truth. "It's this thing where I always know what people think. I mean, I hear their voices in my head. It's always been like that. I didn't know what it was until recently."
"What?" Tony questioned, not understanding her. It sounded a bit like gibberish. Ivy swallowed hard.
"I can hear your thoughts…all the time," Ivy finally told him and Tony gave her a mystified look before letting out a small laugh. He shook his head.
"Very funny, Ivy, but I have to get back to work," Tony told her and Ivy stopped him by placing her hand on his arm. She gave him a determined look.
"I'm serious, Daddy," Ivy told him, looking him in the eyes. "I can hear what you're thinking all the time. It's like you're in my head. It's like everyone's in my head. Sometimes it's really bad. It hurts because it gets too loud."
"Ivy, I don't-" He started to say but she interrupted him.
"I know that you always have this song stuck in your head. The one you and Grandma used to play on the piano," Ivy said hurriedly and Tony stared at her in shock. "It's called Try to Remember. You miss her voice though and it makes you sad."
"I know that you think about my mom all the time," Ivy continued before her father could interject. "You try to remember things about her. Things that you can tell me about her. Then you feel sad when you can't remember."
"You worry about me not having any friends," Ivy added as Tony just stared at her. "Because you didn't have friends either and you think that I'll be like you someday but not in a good way."
"How do you know all this?" Tony asked in amazement and Ivy shook her head.
"I told you. I hear your thoughts. I hear everyone's thoughts," Ivy explained and Tony still seemed confused so she knew she'd have to prove it to him. "Think of a number. Think of a number and I'll tell you what it is."
"This is…" Tony trailed off but Ivy insisted.
"Just think of one," She begged him and he nodded slowly as something came to mind.
"Alright…I have a number," Tony said slowly, still looking at his daughter in amazement. "What is it?"
Ivy smiled.
"You're not thinking of a number," Ivy said in amusement. "Seahorse. That's what you're thinking of."
"How is this possible?" Tony questioned in astonishment. "You always seemed to know what I was thinking but I didn't think it was like this. I thought it was women's intuition. Definitely not this."
"Abuela said that mom and my abuelo could do it too," Ivy answered him and Tony was stunned. "It's a family thing."
"Your grandmother knows about this?" Tony asked and Ivy nodded.
"I couldn't hear her thoughts so I asked," Ivy told her father. "She has a necklace abuelo gave her so I can't hear her thoughts."
"No, I mean, she knows about all this. Your mother…your mother could do it too?" Tony questioned, still shocked by everything he just learned. It somehow changed his entire belief system. Especially since he couldn't seem to explain it. Not with all his education and genius-level intellect…it just wasn't possible but how else could you explain Ivy?
Ivy who always seemed to know what was on his mind without him even saying anything.
Ivy who seemed to know what everyone was thinking…what they needed.
He always thought she was just very insightful.
He never could've imagined that this was a possibility. Then again, how could Tony deny it when she just proved it to him. There was no other explanation for it.
Yet this didn't seem to explain much to him.
"That's what Abuela said," Ivy told him and Tony swallowed hard as he tried to process this. The mystery of Soledad Orellana seemed to grow the more Tony thought about her. He wondered if he would ever understand the person she was.
"Who else knows about this, Ivy?" Tony asked his daughter as he pulled her hands into his and looked her in the eyes. "Who else did you tell?"
"Just you and Abuela," Ivy said innocently but almost forgot to add the most important person. "Oh, and Sirius. I told Sirius a long time so he's always known."
"Listen, Ivy, you're not to tell anyone else," Tony his daughter seriously. He wanted to make sure she understood how important this was. Ivy just stared back at him. "Not Happy, not Rhodey, and not even Jarvis, okay?"
"Why?" Ivy questioned and Tony swallowed hard. She always questioned everything but now wasn't the best time for her to contradict him on things. "Are you mad?"
"I'm not mad, Ivy. I'm just worried about you," Tony reassured her and Ivy just stared at him. She knew he was telling the truth. She could hear his thoughts, after all. "Worried because people wouldn't understand this. People that aren't me and your grandmother."
"You're saying that not even Uncle Rhodey would understand?" Ivy asked him and Tony shook his head.
"I'm sure Rhodey would completely understand," Tony said quietly. That wasn't what he meant. "I just think for now we should wait before telling him something like this. Until it's safe."
"Why is it not safe?" Ivy asked him and Tony sighed heavily. He didn't know how to explain this to Ivy without also hurting her feelings.
"It's not safe because people fear what they don't understand," Tony said softly as Ivy listened to him. "Whatever it is that you do, Ivy…well, it makes you different. Unique. Very unique. It's not bad but I just want you to be safe which is why you can't tell anyone else about this."
"I don't want to be different. I'm already different," Ivy complained and Tony nodded. "I'm already weird without the voices in my head. I don't want to be even more different."
"I know, kiddo, but sometimes we don't always get what we want," Tony tried to tell her in order to make her feel better. "But it's going to be okay. I'll make it okay."
"Really?" Ivy asked shyly, glancing up at her father through long lashes. He gave her a small smile.
"I promise," Tony assured her. "I'll always protect you, Vivien. It's us against the world, remember?"
"Yes," Ivy said and she believed her father. She knew he wouldn't let anything happen to her. She hesitated before telling him something else that had bothered her. "Daddy?"
"Yeah?" Ivy swallowed hard before telling him her deepest fear.
"I was afraid this would make you not love me anymore," Ivy told her father and Tony just watched her quietly. "That you'd think I was really weird and not want me anymore."
"Well, I do have thoughts of shipping your bratty ass off to boarding school everyday but it's not because you're weird. You're just really annoying," Tony teased her but Ivy wasn't hurt by his comment. She let out a small giggle. She felt reassured…that everything was normal between her and her father. He wouldn't be him if he didn't say something most people considered to be mean. Tony's smirk then faded as he glanced at her with a gaze only described as being full of fatherly love. "Nothing will ever stop me from loving you and wanting you. You're my kid. Besides…I'm weird too. We both know that. Weird people have to stick together, right?"
"Right," Ivy confirmed, feeling relieved that nothing changed between her and her father. Tony then gave her a stern look.
"Listen, I don't want you ever keeping secrets from me again, okay? You can tell me anything," Tony made her promise. Ivy nodded. "It won't make me stop loving you. Nothing can stop that. I'm your dad."
"Okay, daddy," Ivy agreed, knowing that next time she would just come to him instead of worrying about it like she'd been doing. "I won't keep anymore secrets."
"Good," Tony said, nodding to himself. "Now that's enough of that mushy stuff today. Give your old man a hug."
Ivy reached up and wrapped her arms around her father. Tony closed his eyes as he held his daughter in his arms, a million thoughts in his head. A million questions, really. How could he not have questions? The impossible just became possible and all because of his daughter. He always knew she was unique but he always thought it was because she was his daughter and of course he saw her as special.
Yet Tony never imagined anything like this.
"I know you're still freaked out," Ivy said quietly in his ear as she remained in his arms. "That's okay. I was freaked out too but you'll get used to it."
"That's definitely going to take some getting used to," Tony remarked as he pulled away to look down at her in curiosity. He was referring to her reading his mind. "You hear everything?"
"Not always," Ivy told her father honestly as she thought of a way describe what went on inside her head. It wasn't easy to explain. Ivy couldn't really even explain it to herself. "Sometimes your thoughts are so fast and loud that I can't understand them. Other times, I can hear them better. It hurts at school a lot. There's too many people and it gets too loud."
"This explains the headaches and nosebleeds," Tony murmured as he tried to think about the situation he and Ivy were currently in. He didn't have any way of assuring her that he would make it better because he didn't understand it. "I don't understand this yet, but I will. When I do, I'll make this better. Okay?"
"Okay," Ivy said softly, giving him a small smile. "Thank you, daddy."
Tony nodded to himself as he tried to process everything he learned today. It was a lot. There was no denying that but Tony knew he had to make this better for Ivy. He couldn't imagine her going through life like that. Hearing what people were thinking all the time. There had to be time to, at least, rectify that. To ease her pain. The young billionaire knew that he had to find a way to make this better for Ivy. He wouldn't stop trying until he made it better.
It wasn't just a promise he made to her.
It was a promise he made to himself.
"Soledad was like this too?" Tony asked Nazarena one late night after the older woman fixed them both coffee. He always loved the way she fixed his coffee. He didn't know what her secret was and he never asked but it was never bitter. Tony thought he loved bitter coffee until he had hers. He sipped occasionally from a mug, Ivy had decorated as a father's day present one year, as he sat across from Nazarena at the kitchen table.
"Yes. Fernando was like Vivien as well," Nazarena answered him and Tony didn't know what to do with this information. It had only been a few hours since he learned Ivy's secret. He'd since tucked her into bed and she'd been fast asleep for the past two hours. "I never met her but Fernando said his mother was the same too. People in town had their little stories about the family for generations."
"What kind of stories?" Tony inquired and Nazarena sighed.
"All kinds of stories," Nazarena answered and it was true. The Orellana family had been the stuff of folktales and legends. Especially in her hometown. "The family has always been mysterious. I grew up hearing about Fernando's family. It was a common thing people talked about. Some say the family was cursed. Some say the family was mixed up with the devil generations ago. Some say that they were a family of Brujas."
"Brujas?" Tony questioned, not understanding the word. Nazarena nodded. "What's Brujas?"
"Bruja is Spanish for witch," Nazarena explained to him and Tony resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he chewed the inside of his cheek. "I know you think that I'm a silly woman with all my superstitions but these superstitions are not considered so silly where I come from. They're acknowledged but never to be messed with."
"I just have a little trouble understanding that apparently my daughter's a witch," Tony said sarcastically and Nazarena shook her head.
"I'm not saying that," She told him and she herself didn't understand any of it. It was even odd to Nazarena who grew up in a very superstitious family. "It's just that…sometimes people try to explain inexplainable things with superstition. Not unlike how you try to explain them with science."
Tony considered her words thoughtfully and he realized she posed an interesting idea. He didn't know how to respond to it so he just moved the conversation forward. He wanted more answers about Soledad's family.
"Soledad and your husband…was telepathy the only thing they could do?" Tony asked her and Nazarena looked away. He immediately knew there was even more.
"Fernando was a very good negotiator. Too good. The house we bought when Soledad was only a baby was much too expensive. We couldn't afford it," Nazarena explained to Tony who listened to the older woman intently. "But Fernando managed to convince them to lower the price and they agreed. It didn't make any sense. He did a lot of that. Convincing people of things. He was good at it."
"Wait…you think he controlled them? With his mind?" Tony asked in disbelief and Nazarena shrugged.
"I don't know. It's only what I observed," Nazarena answered him because she honestly didn't know. She was just telling him things she observed about her family from the perspective of a quiet and shy housewife. "Soledad did other things. Sometimes when she was angry or sad, things would move on their own. There wasn't an explanation. I was scared at first. I thought it was a spirit and I had a priest bless the house but I think it was her."
"Does that mean Ivy could do these things…potentially?" Tony questioned and Nazarena didn't really have the answers he wanted. She never questioned things like he and his daughter did. She just pretended like everything was okay and she regretted that. She wished she hadn't done that.
"I'm not sure. I just know that her mother and grandfather did those things," Nazarena told him as Tony tried to process that information. It was definitely a lot to take in. That Ivy could potentially have even more abilities than just telepathy. "I didn't ask a lot of questions. Maybe it was because I didn't want to know."
"So you have no idea where it comes from? Superstition aside," Tony inquired and Nazarena swallowed hard before answering.
"All I know is that my husband's family was notorious back home for these things. For all the mysteries and legends," Nazarena said honestly. "People tended to stay away from the family. I never took any of it seriously when I met Fernando. Fernando's family had been in Usulután for a very long time. Before my family ever came there and my family's been there for generations. I know that it's likely that Fernando's mother wasn't the first person in their family to be that way. I think there were others before her."
"It has to be some sort of genetic mutation," Tony said to himself as he considered what Nazarena just told him. "It's the only thing that makes sense. If everyone in her family had whatever this was then it has to be something to do with genetics but what? I've never heard of a genetic mutation like this one."
"I don't know what it is but we need to do right by Vivien," Nazarena told the younger man seriously. Her eyes were sad as they met Tony's. "I made many mistakes with Soledad. I ignored it and I never should've done that. She was in pain a lot. All the voices and everything that went with it…it caused her a lot of pain and sadness. I don't want that to happen to her daughter."
Tony's throat felt thick with emotion as he tried not to let himself panic. That whatever this was could really hurt Ivy in ways Tony could never comprehend. It happened to her mother and it was likely to happen to her. Maybe Tony couldn't understand this but he could still make this better for Ivy. To make living with something like this bearable and painless.
"It won't," Tony promised. He didn't know if he was promising Nazarena that or if he was promising himself that. Maybe both. "I'll do whatever I can to make sure she's not in pain. I'll find out all the answers. There has to be answers. I don't want Ivy to ever be in pain."
"I hope you'll do better than I did," Nazarena said softly and they sat in silence for a moment as Tony tried to formulate a plan in his head about what to do. There had to be more answers out there. Answers beyond superstition. However, something stopped him.
Something that had been bothering him since he sat down for this talk with Nazarena.
"Nazarena," Tony said in quiet voice and the older woman looked up. She was surprised he called her that because he usually just called her by the silly nickname he made up for her.
"Yes?"
"Why didn't you say anything about this if you knew those things about your daughter?" Tony asked her. He wasn't mad. Just a bit curious.
"Would you have believed me?" She shot back and Tony shook his head.
"Probably not," Tony admitted and Nazarena sighed heavily, leaning back in her chair and meeting Tony's gaze from across the table.
"I also hoped that Vivien would be different," Nazarena told him sincerely. She paused as she hesitated before saying something else she thought he should know. "Your thoughts will never be your own again. I hope you know that."
Tony glanced down at the table as he gave a small nod.
"I know."