Words: 2,601

"I contacted my hairdresser, if you still want to cut yours, she can stop by tomorrow." Pepper starts at breakfast, trying to feel the silence as Ada picks at her food. She feels better physically today. She was able to shower last night with actual water pressure and that bed was the softest thing she's ever laid on.

"Yeah," Ada agrees with a nod, running her fingers through her long locks. They were limp and dull compared to how they used to be. It just didn't feel right.

"Okay," Pepper nods with a small smile. "Rosa is coming by later." Another lazy nod from Ada has the woman pursing her lips but before she can say anything else, the teenager's phone dings.

Ada was going to ignore the message but when she sees it's from Peter, she decides to look. It's a picture of him, his lips screwed up with a calico cat walking behind him. The caption reads, "She started following me and now won't leave me alone. Help."

Shaking her head, Ada brings her thumbs down onto the screen to type out her own message.

Ada: You gave her food, she loves you know. You're doomed.

Peter-Man: I have a plan

Ada: Oh, yeah?

Peter-Man: Yup. I'll tell you if it pans out.

Ada: K

Setting her phone down, Ada sighs and takes a small bite of her now cold eggs. She just doesn't feel hungry, the fork between her fingers feels like it weighs a ton. She wants to go back to bed but doesn't want to sleep either. Maybe she'll just sit here for a while.

"Ada?" Pepper's voice pulls the girl back to the present and she blinks at the woman. "Are you finished?" Ada nods and Pepper looks a little sad but takes the girl's plate away from her anyway. "I'll bring you your meds."

Ada nods again and waits for Pepper to hand her the pills and she swallows them without question with a sip of water. Now what?

"I have to head out soon to do some things for work," Pepper tells the teenager and she looks over to her so she knows she's listening. "You'll have to spend the day with Tony but I'll be back for dinner."

"Okay," Ada whispers and Ms. Potts looks happy with the verbal response.

Mr. Stark enters the room, squeezing the teenager's shoulder when he passes and kissing his fiancée on the cheek. "Don't worry about us, Pep, I promise we won't burn down the building."

"That doesn't exactly instill me with confidence," Pepper says while grabbing her purse. "Call me if you guys need anything."

"Bye," Ada waves as the woman goes, sitting back in her seat.

"Alright," Tony claps his hands together. "Moms gone, I think we should throw a party." Ada offers him a small smile but doesn't respond any further. "What's up, kid?" Ada shrugs when he sits across from her. Sighing, Tony nods. "Well, I don't know about you, but I feel like being lazy. What do you say we watch a movie?"

Without knowing what else to do, Ada nods and shakily stands from her seat, allowing Mr. Stark to hover as they walk to the couch.

They end up watching movies until Rosa arrives. The woman makes them all lunch and they both pretend not to see Ada pushing it around her plate rather than eating it. Tony understands that. He'll let it go for now but if it continues, he'll talk to her. She's already lost so much weight, he doesn't think she can afford to lose anymore.

After dinner, Ada asks to go to bed early and they let her. Pepper and Tony watch her go before looking to each other, eyes sad.

The flashes that used to fill Ada's unconscious mind become more than that. Clear pictures that she remembers even when she wakes. Maybe it's good that she remembers, she only wishes she wasn't.

She dreams of the crash. Of her father dying. Though she didn't see it happen, in her dreams she sees his dead eyes staring back at her. He'll even talk to her sometimes. Ask why he was the one who died and not her. Sometimes it's not even him. Sometimes it's her friends. Sometimes it's Mr. Stark or Sam.

Sleep used to be her escape from the world, but now it feels like a prison. A nightmare riddled prison.

Dark circles form under her eyes. She tries her best to hide them but that's a hard thing to do when you're living with two of the most observational? people on the planet.

Pepper is the one to bring it up to her. Ada isn't surprised. Mr. Stark isn't one to get into deep, emotional talks. But when the woman comes into the teenager's room, gently bringing it up, Ada just tells her she's adjusting to everything and it wasn't anything to worry about. And even though Pepper leaves it alone, Ada isn't a hundred percent sure she believed her.

School is something to focus on. She doesn't like it but it keeps her busy. Since school is out now and with everything that happened, Ada is allowed to just catch up over the summer and won't have to be held back. She'd grateful for that, at least.

Speech therapy is over. Ada will admit to missing Lucinda but she'd glad she's done. Her stutter appears sometimes, but nothing she can't handle. Physical therapy...well, that's where she is now.

"This is stupid," The teenager grumbles, folding her arms over her chest and staring across the room at Jason.

"Is it stupid or do you just not think you can do it?" He raises a single brow at her, arms crossed to match her own. "Just walk to me without straying from the line."

Grumbling, Ada looks down at the red tape stuck to the floor, forming a straight line all way the to the man. Blowing a strand of now shortened hair from her face. Ada places her right foot on the line and steps forward. She can walk fine on her own, but her balance leaves much to be desired.

"There you go," Jason smiles, uncrossing his arms and nodding. Ada doesn't look up from her feet as she stumbles to the side. She steps off the line but rights herself and keeps going. "Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

"I fell off," Ada reminds the dark-skinned man when she reaches his side.

"Yeah, but you still did it." He tells her, chuckling when the teenager rolls her eyes. "You're getting better, Ada. You've made great progress, especially for your injuries." Jason shrugs. "And we've only got one more session after this."

"Thankfully," Ada mumbles and Jason places a hand over his heart.

"And here I thought you liked me," Shaking her head, Ada offers him a small smile. She does enjoy his company. He's a great person and amazing at his job. She was just ready to be done.

"Don't take it to heart," The voice has both teenager and physical therapist turning around to see Mr. Stark entering the room, wearing a suit and sunglasses. "It's how she shows her love."

"Uh-huh," Ada hums sarcastically while grabbing her bag.

"See you next week!" Jason calls after them as they leave and Ada waves to him over her shoulder.

Ada's hand hesitates when they reach the car. She's been fine before but since her memories have started coming back, she can't help the flashes the rush through her mind. She'd been in the passenger seat when they crashed. She can remember the beginning of the impact but she blacked out for a few minutes and when she woke, she knows she was in pain and scared. She remembers the way her head pounded and her heart raced-

"Ada?" Ada flinches at the voice, blinking her eyes to clear her vision. Mr. Stark is looking at her over the car's roof, his sunglasses hiding his expression. "You okay, kid?"

"Uh, yeah," She nods, running a hand through her hair, focusing on the way it falls and hits the back of her neck. "Sorry." Biting the inside of her cheek, the teenager forces herself forward. She wrenches the car door open and throws her bag on the floor before following. She takes a deep breath before buckling her seat belt.

Mr. Stark cranks the car but makes no move to drive out of the parking lot. "We can go home," He starts slowly. Ada looks over at him in question. She doesn't comment on how he calls the apartment home, doesn't say it it doesn't feel like that. "Or we can make a stop." Ada furrows her brows, waiting for him to continue. But instead of saying anything else, he holds up a familiar key, and realization dawns on her.

It's her key. To her home. Or what used to be her home. Her heart jumps in her chest and she looks out the windshield, closing her eyes when the pictures change to that night weeks ago. The cracked glass, darkness blurring her vision as colored lights dance around her.

Shaking her head, Ada takes the key from the billionaire and looks down at it. It feels heavy. She knows how going home will make her feel, but the thought of never seeing it again makes her feel worse. So, she nods and holds the metal to her chest as Tony nods back before pulling the car onto the road.

When they stop outside the apartment building, neither of them exit the car. Ada sits in silence and Tony doesn't push her to move or talk. She chews her lip and looks down at the key before unbuckling her seat belt and pushing the door open.

Gaze avoiding the entrance, Ada looks into the alley that she first found Athena in. She's not there anymore, Ada knows. Peter took her home when she wouldn't stop following him and May fell in love. She lives with them now, spending most of her time on the fire escape, looking down at the neighborhood. She had half-heartedly joked that Spider-Man got a sidekick.

Mr. Stark walks around the car, standing by her side. He lets her go at her own pace, staying close when the teenager moves her feet towards the building. Ada closes her eyes when they enter the elevator, glad they hadn't run into anyone and hoping they wouldn't the rest of the way.

She slides the key into the lock, twisting and pushing it open. It's always been quiet here but now it's chilling. Eerie feeling. Ada looks the way that leads to her dad's office and half expects to see him walk around the corner and ask where she'd been. Her eyes heat up and she nearly rushes to her bedroom.

The door closes behind her and Ada braces a hand over her mouth to quiet the sob that breaks loose. She'd known this would happen. Maybe in some way, she's glad it has. She can only cry so much, right? It has to stop sometime.

Stumbling to her bed, Ada falls onto it and buries her face into her pillow. It hurts how everything is the same. She hadn't even hung up her school uniform last she was here. It still rests in her desk chair. It shouldn't be the same. Shouldn't be like nothing is wrong because it is wrong. Everything has changed but not this and it doesn't feel right.

Pushing herself onto unsteady feet, Ada grabs the uniform and throws it onto the floor. Then the notebook on her desk. The pencil case follows soon after. Her lamp breaks at the force she uses to propel it onto the ground, blocking out the noise of approaching footsteps.

Tears continue to spill down the teenager's face, blurring her vision and preventing her from seeing the next thing she sends crashing across the room.

When Ada realizes what she's done, how she's wrecked one of the only things that was the same, her knees give out and she falls to the floor just as the door opens.

Tony doesn't hesitate to join his kid on the floor, doesn't bat an eye at the broken porcelain from the lamp. He carefully wraps his arms around the girl, whispering to her as she sobs into his shoulder.

Maybe coming here hadn't been a good idea. But he had to do something. She's been so...distant. She's not sleeping well, he knows. She barely eats anything. He thought maybe this would help. He only wants to help her.

"I'm sorry, honey, I'm sorry," He continues whispering into her ear, hand rubbing comforting circles across her back. He feels the way her hands clasp tightly to the back of his jacket and holds her tighter.

Time passes and Ada slowly calms. They've shifted on the floor, backs against the bed, her head resting on his shoulder. It's silent, neither has said anything for a long while until she opens her mouth, voice hoarse from crying. "I-I thought it w-would make me f-feel better."

"Did it?" Tony asks gently, left hand limp as Ada runs her fingers over his palm, tracing the small scars and calluses there. She's done it before and he realizes it's comforting for her.

He feels her shake her head more than he sees it. Breaking things when upset isn't a foreign concept to him. Sometimes it would make him feel better and sometimes he'd feel worse. It depends on what it was that he broke.

"C-can we go?"

Nodding, Tony grasps the girl's hand and squeezes. "Yeah. We can have someone come get your things."

Ada doesn't like the idea of someone else touching her stuff, her dad's stuff. But she doesn't want to stay here, doesn't want to look through it. So she allows Mr. Stark to pull her to her feet.

Their about to leave when her eye catches one of the things she didn't break. The photo of her and her parents that lives on her nightstand. It was taken just a few months before her mother died. She grabs it and hugs it to her chest.

Tony places a hand on her back and follows her out of the room. They make their way to the door but Ada swerves off path. Her dad's grey button-up is resting over one of the table chairs. She remembers he'd been wearing it the night before her birthday. He'd taken it off and set it there. He must have forgotten to put it away.

Picking up the dark fabric, Ada brings it to her face and sniffs, closing her eyes when another tear escapes.

Ada walks back to Mr. Stark, letting him put his arm over her shoulders. When the door closes, she doesn't look back.

Well, yeah, Ada's sad. She also cut her hair, it's great. And Tony is a good dad but he doesn't know how to do everything, he'll have to figure it out as he goes.

Ignore how Rosa would probably have moved Nathan's shirt. Just, shhhhhh

Thanks for the recommendations on which dog Ada should get.

Thank you for reading! I'm still in this weird slump of sorts, writing is coming along slowly. But I'm getting into some more things I hope you guys will find interesting. Yeah...until next time

TeaserI: "Couldn't or wouldn't?"

TeaserII: With a quiet sniff, Ada wraps her arms around herself and shuffles to the door.

TeaserIII: "Do you trust me?"

'-'