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BROOKLYN BABY

The train ride home thankfully didn't take as long as it usually did. Because Midtown got out at 2:45, Tess was always able to catch the three o'clock. Decathlon season was over for the break and most of the freshman class was so focused on their finals that semester that the only extracurriculars were the football team in the playoffs and whatever obscure play the drama club was putting on for the winter season. Neither of which particularly appealed to Tess or her interests.

Maybe if the drama club actually put on something interesting, she'd consider joining but as it stands, the only extracurricular she cared about was decathlon.

And she wasn't even really part of the team, she was an alternate who helped plan the trips and practices.

Not by choice, she'd been dragged into it by MJ and Mr. Harrington, both of whom were convinced she was essential to them winning. Tess scoffed inwardly at the thought. Please, Liz Allan had enough intelligence for them all.

She tugged her cream cardigan around her as the train came to another stop and more people crammed themselves in. It was unusually warm for December in New York, but Tess supposed she should chalk it up to global warming. Damn fossil fuels. Oh well, she wouldn't complain as long as she got a white christmas. And since this was New York, that meant they always got white christmases.

Tucking a thick dark wave behind her ear, she began work on her algebra homework, one of the many subjects she had to continuously work to get better at.

It wasn't easy doing homework on the rattling machine as she traveled from Midtown to Brooklyn, but it passed the time and it meant she had more time for herself when she got back to the apartment.

Her earbuds kept most of the noise of the train from distracting her, the soft sounds of her playlist helping her focus.

She'd finished her coffee a long time ago and was still riding the caffeine high, but it was bound to disappear soon enough.

No, she needed to get these done quickly. Knowing the answer was half the battle, and once she looked in the back to find it, it was simply a matter of working backwards to figure out the process.

Tess checked her phone to see where she was on the route, only to find several texts from MJ and her dad. MJ was complaining about the prompts for their English final–typical MJ, Tess smirked– and her dad was letting her know that he'd be working later than usual that night.

Her lips twisted into a frown and she shoved her supplies in her backpack as she moved to get ready to depart. Looks like she was having take out…again.

Or maybe she could stop by the bodega across the street, Sal was always understanding when it came to her dad's unusual schedule.

Stepping out into the chilly Brooklyn air, Tess adjusted the strap of her backpack and began her walk to the apartment. Kids dressed in plaid skirts and blue blazers passed her on the street, the Brooklyn Visions insignia almost mocking her.

She shoved her hands in the pockets of her cardigan to preserve some warmth, the heel of her boots clacking against the pavement as she sent them dirty looks.

Just a few more blocks and she would be free to ignore the rest of the world around her.

The bell of the thai place next door rang and she stepped in, waving to the regulars she recognized.

"Hey Tessie!" Alicia, a blind woman who somehow always managed to know it was her, smiled in her direction, "Long time no see, I thought we lost you."

"School's kept me busy," Tess chuckled lightly.

The sound of a scoff behind her made Tess turn around, coming face to face with Elijah, an elderly man who always had an opinion to share, "That school of yours is ridiculous, I've never heard of a place that puts their kids through so much work."

"It's a private school Eli, what'd you expect?" Another elderly man Tess recognized spoke up.

Elijah shook his head, "Something that didn't keep our little sunflower out until all hours every night, Ernie."

Tess perked up at the nickname, her cheeks turning pink, "Well the good news is that you'll probably see me more often now."

Alicia's face widened in surprise, "Really? What's got you returning to your old ways?"

Tess slouched and let out a reluctant sigh, "My dad. He's gonna be working late more often now."

"I told you this would happen," Ernie grumbled, placing his pawn in a gambit that drew out Elijah's rook, "Ever since that whole Ultron business, Stark's got every good man in the city working overtime to clean up his mess. You know Adrian Toomes was run out of his own business by those vultures?"

Elijah sighed, "Come on, Ern. Stark's trying his best."

"Hah! Trying his best to keep his image intact maybe." Ernie's laugh was mirthless, "Meanwhile he's got hardworking men like Adrian and Quentin taking the fall for his mistakes." The elderly man shook his head and took Elijah's rook before turning his gaze her way, "Make sure your dad knows what he's getting himself into."

Tess's stomach flopped at the mention of her dad's work. She wasn't the biggest fan of Tony Stark, but even she knew that the entire Sokovian thing wasn't his fault. At least, not entirely. Besides, she cared more about his work than who he was as a person.

Billionaires were terrible people, everyone knew that, at least Stark Industries was trying to make a difference. "I'll let him know Ernie," She responded with a smile.

After spending a few more minutes conversing with the workers behind the counter, Tasha handed her the order of chicken fried rice and Tess waved goodbye as she continued on her way until she finally reached her apartment complex.

Ignoring the drug deal that was going on half a block away, Tess buzzed in and climbed up the stairs to the third floor, tossing her backpack on the table as she shut the door behind her with her foot.

Sometimes it was hard to forget that she was a teenager when she was left alone all the time. It felt more like her apartment than her dad's. She flicked the tv on to catch up on last night's episode of Game of Thrones while preparing the rest of her dinner.

The fridge was fully stocked after her dad's weekly shopping trips and she grabbed a sparkling water from it while moving around the dining table toward the living room.

Collapsing on the couch, she opened the styrofoam box containing her chicken fried rice and dug in, relishing the spicy taste as she remained glued to the tv.

Her phone buzzed on and off with texts from MJ, discussing the various characters and mostly Tess helping MJ out with her topic for the English final.

She wasn't worried about that class quite yet. English was one of her better subjects, and she knew she could pass the final without much consequence. It was history that she was really worried about. Damn dates and eras kept tripping her up.

She switched over to the CW after the episode ended, whatever mindless garbage they usually played rattling in her brain as she texted MJ about the episode, the two of them trading theories and ideas about what was going to happen next.

Both of them had decided to catch up on season five together, considering they'd binged the show over the summer and wanted to be prepared for the newest season in April.

The seasons got crazier and crazier every year, and while this one had gotten off to a slow start, Tess was still very much invested.

It was almost nine o'clock when Tess finished up her homework, algebra and biology taking the longest as they usually did. Mostly because, while she understood the material, the teachers just hated them. Or at least that was her running theory. Why else would they assign three hours of homework each night per class?

The lock clicked and Tess whirled around, catching sight of a slumped figure in her doorway.

"You okay Dad?"

Quentin Beck's usually energetic expression had been worn down into dark circles and thick bags around his eyes, tie undone and sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He ran his hands down his face and sent her a tired smile, "Hey sweetpea, I'm doing fine, just a little tired is all."

Tess stood up from her position on the couch and pulled a chair out from the dining table, "You sure? Cause you look like hell."

The laugh that left her dad was tired and bitter, and her chest constricted when she caught sight of the way her dad seemed to collapse when he sat down. "Stark had us work overtime tonight. Don't know why, he won't say but, I'm fairly certain it has to do with whatever happened in Sokovia."

Red lined the whites of her dad's eyes, and Tess gently pushed what remained of her fried rice toward him. "No thanks sweetie, I stopped by the deli on my way back."

"They didn't even feed you?" She asked incredulously, eyebrows jumping up toward her hairline. Quentin Beck shook his head and stared at the fried rice.

"On second thought–"

"Already ahead of you," Tess finished for him, holding up a fork, knowing how her dad got late at night. There was a reason they had so many snacks in the house. Her dad smiled and took the plastic fork from her, pulling her into his side for a quick hug.

"Thanks sweetie," Her dad let out an exhaustive sigh before digging into the leftovers, "You should probably get to bed, don't you have a biology test tomorrow?"

"Next week," Tess corrected with a small smile, "Although I probably should start studying for it sooner rather than later."

Her dad waved her concerns away, "Nah, you'll ace it. I know you will."

She sent him a tight smile, a knot already beginning to form in her stomach at his words. She loved her dad, but sometimes the expectations he placed on her were too much. It was her own fault really for setting an example, but still…she wished he'd give her a little leeway when it came to what he expected.

It would make life so much less stressful when she didn't have to worry about what he thought.

"You okay?" He asked with a mouthful of rice. Tess nodded curtly, not wanting her dad to deal with her personal problems on top of everything else.

"Yeah, just tired, it was a long day."

Recognition flashed over his face, "Oh my god I didn't even ask how the trip went, I'm the worst dad ever."

"No, no you're not," Tess quickly assured him, trying not to let the guilt of feeling ignored when he'd had a bad day eat her alive, "It was fun. I got to meet Doctor Connors and I saw Harry again–"

Her dad let out a low whistle, "How'd that go?"

Tess rolled her eyes, trying to keep the blood from rushing to her cheeks. "It was fine dad, we're fine."

"Just cause I know you had a rough time when you guys broke things off–"
"I really don't wanna talk–"

"-And I can imagine how awkward it would've been–"

"Dad, really, it's not–"

"-especially since it's only been a few weeks and those wounds are still fresh–"
"Okay!" She nearly yelled, holding up her hands in surrender, "I am not talking about my relationship problems with you."

Her dad lifted a thick eyebrow, placing the fork down, "You sure, cause I know this is hard–"

"Good night Dad!" Tess whirled on her heels and began to march toward her room, ignoring the smirk on her dad's face.

"-I know how weird high school boys can be–"

"Good night!"

The door slammed shut and she slid down the wall until her butt hit the carpeted floor.

Jesus christ, she hung her head in her hands, wishing she could scrub that entire conversation from her brain.

It was times like these she wished her mom had stuck around. Cause at least then it wouldn't be as awkward as talking about ex-boyfriends with her dad.

She plugged in her headphones and turned up her music to an unreasonable volume, hoping it would drown out the memory of the conversation regardless of how many times it played over and over in her head.

If only she had more homework to distract her.

Instead her mind floated toward her dad's exhausted look and messy appearance. Even on his worst days, he hadn't looked so awful. Whatever Stark was planning must be wearing him down to the bone.

So she definitely needed to ace that biology test if only to see the smile on her dad's face again. Tess let out a sigh as she wrote herself a sticky note to wake up earlier to make breakfast for two tomorrow and settled into the desk by the window. Her room was a certifiable mess, laundry piling up in the corner because she didn't want to walk all the way to the laundromat to do it.

Various papers and notebooks were strewn across her desk, taking up any remaining space that wasn't filled by copious mugs and unfinished fruit snacks. She really should clean her desk at least, but every time she thought about it her brain urged her to do anything else.

Tossing the remaining fruit snacks in the trash and placing the mugs on the window sill, Tess tidied up the papers to give her enough room to start studying.

She didn't know when she fell asleep, but she knew it was nearly two am when she woke up again, shedding her jeans, red henley, and cream cardigan in favor of her decathlon shirt and a pair of gym shorts.

Sticking the note on her ceiling so she'd see it when she woke up, she set her alarm and drifted back to sleep.