Hey everyone sorry for the delay. I just got this one done. Why is it that I have a ton of free time to write it takes me so long but when I have school and finals I can;t stop writing. Anyway let me know what you think. Enjoy :)
I appeared in my room and crashed on my bed. I was lucky I managed to put on all my clothes before I came back. I don't know how long I was gone but I was sure it wasn't long. I just laid in bed staring at the ceiling thinking I was alone.
"Back already." Wren said.
"Oh fuck! How long have you been there?" I said.
"About thirty seconds after you sighed. You really have to keep your guard up." He said.
"You could've knocked." I said.
"I did. You just didn't answer. Where'd you go?" Wren asked.
"Future. Saw Steve." I said.
"How'd that go?" He asked.
"I vented. I vented a lot." I said.
"You did a lot more than venting." Wren said pulling out a leaf from my hair.
"Yeah, we went for a ride." I said blushing.
"Ride on his bike or him?" Wren asked.
"I-I don't know what you mean you mean." I said blushing and looking away.
"You got laid." Wren said.
"I maybe kind of got some." I admitted. I sat and slipped off my boots.
"Yeah you did." Wren said laughing. "Did you too manage to talk sometime before, during, or after your romp?"
"Romp? Really?" I said laughing. "But yeah I managed to talk about some of the underlying issues I've been dealing with lately."
"You mean the abandonment, depression, the time traveling, and how you're angry at him but are in denial about it." Wren said as I took my scarf off.
"I'm not angry at him, the time traveling is getting better, well except how I got shot last time. And the abandonment well I had mommy issues to begin with." I said.
"Nora when we were in Afghanistan if you weren't in the infirmary you were in bed. Yes we worked eighteen-hour days but even on your day off if I didn't drag you out you wouldn't leave. You avoid dealing with things by either burying yourself in work or ignoring the giant elephant in the room. Steve you can ignore because he isn't here but your dad even when he's not around he's always on your mind."
"What am I supposed to do Wren? He doesn't want to talk to me." I said lying back down.
"You're Nora Fucking Stark when have you ever given up like this. You fought tooth and nail to save Steve and Bucky. You did the impossible to get me back. How is this any different? If you're father won't talk then make him listen." Wren said.
"You're right, I'm Nora fucking Stark. I fought Nazis. I befriended a dragon. I knocked out Loki. I can handle a drunk billionaire." I said.
"Damn right you can also...wait, you knocked out a demi god?" Wren said confused.
"Not important. I'm going to go fix this." I said getting up.
"Uh Nora it's two in the morning." Wren said.
"Or I can wait until later." I said
"That's a better idea. Night Nora."
"Night Wre.." But he had teleported before I finished.
The next morning I went on my run which Wren decided to tag along for and came back to the penthouse and showered. I made us French toast and a side of eggs. I got dressed in grey skinny jeans, a white tee and a chunky knit grey scarf. I wore thigh high suede heeled boots and a leather jacket. My hair was down in loose waved and I my necklaces were under my scarf so they couldn't be seen. I packed my black purse with my keys and wallet and I was ready to go.
"What's with the jacket and boots?" Wren asked when he saw me.
"They look cute and they make me feel confident." I said.
"You're just going to talk to your father not a firing squad, you'll be fine." Wren said.
"Okay, I got this." I said pumping myself up.
"You do." Wren said guiding me out of the penthouse.
"What are you going to do the rest of the day?" I asked.
"See the sites. I'm thinking I'll go see the statue of Liberty." Wren said.
"Sounds fun." I said.
"Shouldn't take long. I'm just teleporting there." Wren said.
"Wren no, if you're doing the tourist thing then do it like a tourist." I said locking up.
"But it takes too long, and it's crowded." Wren complained.
"That's part of seeing the sites."
"But its so tedious." Wren said.
"Just try it out. Just once, if it doesn't work out then do your thing." I said.
"Fine," he said before teleporting us downstairs.
We went outside and to my surprise Happy was downstairs.
"Morning" he said.
"Uh, morning."
'Where we off too?" happy asked.
"Tony's at the tower right?" I asked.
"Uh yeah he's been locked in his lab since last night." Happy said.
"Drop me off at the Tower then you can give Wren a ride to the port. He want's to go see the Statue of Liberty." I said.
"Good choice. No fog so you'll get a better view." Happy said.
"Yeah, good for pictures." I said.
"First stop." Happy said.
"okay I can do this."
"You can. Just get in there and talk it out." Wren said.
"I'm going to do this."
"You are now go." Wren said opening the door.
"Okay. I got this. Thanks happy." I said as I got out of the car. I walked into the elevator.
"What floor Miss?" Jarvis asked.
"Whatever floor Dad's on?'
"Sir has asked to not be disturbed," Jarvis said.
"Override First Priority." I said.
"User Stark, Nora E. Override accepted." Jarvis said and the elevator started going up. Then the doors opened and I was in the lab. The music was blasting as loud as it possibly could. I saw Bruce sitting in a lab bench with noise proof head phones on. The entire room was huge and had a glass divider between both labs but it wasn't enough to sound out the rock music. I walked over to the interface on the glass and I shut the music off.
"Don't turn off my music." I heard dad say.
"Too bad we need to talk." I said. Dad turned around, saw it was me and went back to.
"There's nothing to talk about." Dad said going back to work. "You made it very clear you weren't staying."
"Yes there is." I said walking over to the other side of his lab table. "Dad I want to stay, I really do but I'm not ready to tell the entire world that my name is Nora Stark and that I'm Tony Stark's daughter!" I shouted.
"You lied to my face for an entire month Nora! You had your mind made up from the beginning. What was the point of all of this?"
"The point was that I wanted quality father daughter time. I wanted us to be a family I still do but I can't make this public."
"Why not?" Dad said.
"Because I don't want to live under a microscope." I said.
"I think you're exaggerating." Dad said.
"When was the last time you when out in public without a disguise and you didn't draw a crowd?" I asked.
"A few days ago." He said.
"Coney island doesn't count," I said.
"Uh…"
"Exactly. Dad you can't be out in public longer than five minutes without drawing a crowd." I said.
"Want to bet on it?" dad said.
"Let's go." I said. We walked out of Stark Tower and walked on the street. Two minutes in and an elementary school class field trip stopped to crowd around us.
After signing autographs and a bunch of pictures we went back to the Tower.
"Okay so you were right." Dad said.
"Yup." I said as he poured us drinks.
"And you may have a point." Dad said taking a drink.
"I do but that doesn't mean I shouldn't have told you sooner." I said.
"I shouldn't have thrown a tantrum last night."
"Why are we so bad at talking to each other?" I said.
"I was raised by Howard and you were raised by me." Dad said. I finished my drink in one go. "But all things considered you're the person I'm most honest with."
"It's not that your honest it's that I see through your bullshit just like you see through mine." I said pouring myself in another drink.
"You grew up to fast. And since Geneva you've changed." Dad said.
"That cave in Afghanistan changed you. Becoming Iron Man changed you. We're constantly changing dad."
"I know but after that you're just darker." He said.
"I'm the same Nora Dad just a different outlook on life." I said. "Priorities shifted, that's all."
"I can see that." He said taking another drink. "So we've got four days before Pepper gets back, what do you want to do?"
"Not sure. How are things with you two?" I asked.
"It's good. A lot better since I blew up all my suits." He said and I just gave him a look. "What?"
"You know what." I said.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Dad said finishing his drink.
"I saw what you were working on and your plans for the new Iron Legion." I said.
"They're just plans." He said.
"Dad look who you're talking to. We make plans when we're awake then we try going to sleep and the only thing we see when we close our eyes are those plans and the best way to improve the replusers by rerouting the circuit directly to the reactor instead of bypassing it." I said.
"You really want to go down there don't you?" Dad said.
"So bad." I said
"Lets go.' He said putting his glass down.
We spent the entire day and half the night building a Iron Legion Drone Prototype. And by prototype I mean the first one that was fully functional and would be what the rest of them would be based on.
It wasn't until Wren Jarvis alerted us that Wren was waiting in the common room that I realized how late it was.
"Oh crap it's two in the morning." I told dad.
"Oh, so it is." He said.
"I got to go. Wren's in the common room." I said.
"You know you can stay the night right?"
"You do know you just made this sound like a booty call right?"
"Eww, Nora." Dad said.
"Night." I said getting in the elevator. I went up to the common room and found Wren enjoying the view.
"Hey sorry about that, got caught up in the lab." I said.
"It's fine, I got things off the list." Wren said.
"I though you were doing the tourist thing?"
"I did I just teleported to avoid traffic."
"Oh Wren. You missed the point."
"It was worth it found this place in Brooklyn that makes the best cannoli's." he said.
"You better had gotten me some." I said.
"Of course, left some on the counter. They're going to go good with tomorrow's coffee."
"Sounds good let's go."
The week came to an end and with it my month in New York. Dad had finally accepted that I wasn't staying and he understood why. We spent the last few days visiting his favorite places in the city and on the last day I convinced him to visit Gramps and Grams graves. We didn't stay, long just enough to leave flowers and pay our respects. After that we went for a drive and went back to that pier.
"So, after the surgery I wanted to get rid of this but I figured we started this together we should end it the same way." And with that dad pulled out the arc reactor from his suit pocket.
"Hard to believe this little thing led to this." I said.
"Yeah, kinda hard to let go huh?"
"Nah I still got this." I said pulling out my arc reactor necklace. 'Want to do the honors?" I asked.
"You designed it." Dad said.
"You created the new element." I retorted.
"It's an olive branch throw the damn thing already." Dad said.
"An olive branch is only when we're arguing and are trying to make peace. We're not arguing and we're as close to peace as we'll ever be." I said. "This is all you. That thing was in your chest for almost five years. Say goodbye." I said handing it back to him.
"If you insist." He took it and looked down at it before throwing it in the ocean.
"Better?" I asked.
"Lighter. Lets go." He said. "It's your last night in town and we are ending it with a bang."
"Just remember I'm not twenty one yet." I reminded him
"When has that ever stopped anyone?" dad said.
Dad ended dinner at the same sky-high restaurant we went to last time. It was closed down again and this time.
We laughed, we cried. We each had a bottle of very expensive wine and got very emotional but it was the best way to end my time in New York. Dad surprised us by switching out plane tickets for a trip on his private jet. Wren wasn't happy with the idea but once he was on the plane he forgot all about his fear of flying.
"You're calling me at least once a week and I get a text a day." Dad said.
"Course." I said.
"I'm serious Nora."
"So am I." I said. "And I expect a visit every other month at least. And Skype calls twice a month minimum. I know you're busy and…"
"I'll make it work." Dad said before pulling me into a hug. "Call me when you land."
"I will. Be careful Dad."
"I'm the Dad, I should be telling you that."
"I'm not the one who flies around in a high tech suit fighting crime." I said.
"I've toned it down." Dad said.
"Remember who you're talking to, I know you can just sit still. You're going to get bored and start tinkering and find something or someone to fight and I'm not saying don't do it, I'm saying give me a call so I know where to look for you if something goes wrong." I said.
"I've said it before and I'll say it again. You're the Robin to my Batman kid and I don't know what I'd do without you." He said.
"I'm more of an oracle than Robin." I argued.
"Mh, nah, if you had a choice you'd be out there with me."
"Would you let me if I wanted to."
"When hell freezes over." Dad said making me laugh.
"I wouldn't steal your thunder. I got to go. See you next time." I said hugging him again.
"See you in a few weeks." He said kissing the side of my head and letting me go. I boarded the plane and took a seat across from Wren.
The plane took off and Wren went to grab a snack.
"Hey look what I found." He said coming back with a bottle of Champagne.
"Huh," I grabbed the tag on it.
For when the nerves kick in-TS
I smiled and handed the note to Wren. He read it and chuckled. He popped the bottle open and poured us each a glass.
"To new beginnings." He said.
"To new beginnings." I said as we clinked glasses.
"I hope you enjoyed your vacation because starting tomorrow you're training starts." Wren said.
"Training?" I asked.
"You think I haven't noticed how shaky your abilities have been? It took you twice as long to move that glass of water across the table this morning. You've been slacking and you're lucky you haven't been in danger but that isn't always going to be the case. You need to be prepared so I'm going to teach you everything I know. I hope you're ready." He said with a smirk.
"I hope you're ready too."
"Ready for what?" he said.
"I'm introducing you to everything you missed in you're childhood starting with Disney. And when you're ready, we're going to Disney World." I said.
"Oh great another tourist trap." Wren groaned.
"Correction, not just any tourist trap. The greatest tourist trap in the world. Also the happiest place on Earth." I said. "Let's see if that can get you to crack a smile."
"We'll see." Wren said reclining his seat for a nap.
I took out my Starkpad and started working on one of my projects. I was working on an app to make communicating from one hospital to another faster. Say in the middle of a surgery something comes up and you need someone to bounce ideas off of or a second opinion this app would connect you to another doctor in another hospital or around the world. It would also be a great learning tool for residents when they start performing surgeries on their own.
Time flew by at before I knew it we were back in Dallas. We got all of our things, which in my case was three giant suitcases dad had someone pack with all the clothes he bought me. How they got everything in three suitcases I will never know. I texted Dad when we landed and he replied:
Good to know, the rest of your things will be there in a couple of days.
Rest of my things? I thought I got them all.
"Are we grabbing a cab?" Wren asked.
"No I left the SUV in long term parking." I said grabbing a trolley to put all my bags in.
"SUV?" Wren asked. "I'm not carrying all of this. Follow me." He said. I followed him to an empty hanger. Wren then teleported us along with all our things to the parking structure from last time. Luckily I had parked in the same area and we didn't have to walk far.
We loaded the car up and we were off.
"I need to stop by Jess and Sam's place. Gotta pick up Axl and if you don't stop by we'll both get lectured." I said.
"Wouldn't think of it, they called or emailed me everyday. Jess is funny." Wren said.
"Yeah she is. I bought them so many things. Both my carry ons are things for both of them." I said.
"I thought she banned gifts for the rest of the year?" Wren asked.
"She'll forget about it when she opens it." I said turning onto their block.
"Probably won't help that I bought them something too. I passed by this toy story FAO Schwartz and I got a few things for Connor." Wren said rubbing the back of his neck.
"A few things?" I asked.
"Sam mentioned he liked trains so I may have gotten him a train set, and a few trains." He said. "and a train whistle with a hat."
I couldn't help but laugh at that. "That kid is going to be spoiled."
"And I don't feel the least bit guilty about that" Wren said. We parked and pulled out all the souvenirs.
"Get ready" I said as I rang the doorbell. We heard a bark and a kid yelling loudly followed by footsteps coming to the door. Jess opened the door.
"Ahh! You're back!" Jess said pulling up both into a group hug. Connor hugged Wren's leg and Axl nuzzled against my leg.
"We're back." I said.
"Get your butts in here." Jess said pulling us in.
"Nora!" Sam said coming over and greeting us. He pulled me into a hug and after we pulled apart he pulled Wren into one. "Welcome home" He told Wren.
"Thanks, it's good to be back."
"Unca!" Connor cried out. He lifted his arms up telling Wren to pick him up. Wren smiled and picked him up.
"Hey bugger, you got big." Wren said making Connor laugh.
"Get comfy guys, burgers are almost ready." Sam said.
"Need a hand?" Wren asked.
"Sure grab a beer." Sam said and Wren followed after him.
"So, How was New York?" Jess asked.
"Pretty good. Got to spend time with my Dad. He tried to convince me to move to New York." I said.
"What?!" Jess said.
"Yeah but I said no. Home is here, I'm not ready for a hug move. Maybe down the line but not now. How've you been?" I asked.
"I got promoted." Jess said.
"That's amazing!" I said.
"Yeah I'm in charge of scouting for new pieces. I'm going to LA next week to check out a few shows." Jess said.
"I'm happy for you. Speaking of art…"
"Nora no…"
"Too late. This one's for you." I said handing her a bag.
"I can't.." She said.
"You can. Thank of it as an apology for that Wren bought Connor." I said.
"What did Wren get Connor?" Jess asked just as Connor walked in with a train conductor hat and using the train whistle.
"Aww that's so cute." She said pulling out her phone to talk pictures
"Give it a few hours." I said. "Now open."
"If you insist." Jess said. "AH! Those are Manolos. This is Gucci. This purse is Marc Jacobs. That's Prada! Saint Laurent sunglasses. I can't take this. Nora this is too much."
"Trust me its not. I have three suitcases and a trunk on the way of things my Dad's personal shopper picked out for me and he bought before I even got to New York." I said.
"It's true" wren said walking in with a plate of burgers. "I think you'll have to turn one of the spare rooms into a closet."
"Nora, I don't know what to say." Jess said tearing up.
"Just say thank you and that you'll wear them." I said.
"I will." She said pulling me into a hug.
"Oh I wanted to let you know, the contractor finished the remodel and I had one of the rooms redone for Connor. If you guys ever need a break or need to go out of town. We can take him." I said.
"You had a room set up for Connor?" Jess said.
"And a play room along with a spare room for you guys if you ever end up coming over."
"You're spoiling us." She said tearing up.
"You spoil me too. Don't think I didn't notice Axl's hand made sweater of how I mysteriously have a freezer full of homemade food after you come over."
"I didn't want you to live off hot pockets and granola bars." Jess said.
"I know and I love your cooking."
"Burgers are done." Sam said walking in. Wren quickly chopped up some tomatoes and lettuce and onions. Jess quickly cooked some bacon and pulled out an avocado.
We each built our burgers and sat down to eat.
"So what are you guys going to do now?" Sam asked.
"I have a few interviews lined up but meanwhile I'll be working at the Veteran's hospital." Wren said.
"I found a fellowship at Dallas Presbyterian. I'm thinking doing a second specialty in Cardio or Ortho. Still haven't decided." I said.
"You should do cardio. It's a longer fellowship but you need a challenge." Wren said.
"True, plus cardio thoracic, I'll be an expert on almost every organ in the body." I said.
"You could always do Neurosurgery." Sam said and Wren and I just looked at each other and laughed.
"What's so funny?" Jess asked.
"Neurosurgeons have the highest failure rates out of any surgical field yet they're arrogant and think they rule the world." Wren said.
"You guys should have met Montgomery. He flunked out of his surgical residency and joined the medical corps as a last ditch effort. He worked under Stephen Strange, apparently he got on his bad side and Strange blacklisted him from every major hospital in the US." I said.
"What did he do?" Sam asked.
"He called Strange out for turning down patients on the basis that they weren't a challenge or wouldn't add to his reputation." Wren said.
"What a douche." Jess said.
"That's what Montgomery called him." I said.
After Lunch we decided to head home. We gave them our gifts and we went home. I turned on the radio and flipped it to a classic rock station and started singing along to Whole Lotta Love. Then Wren started singing and it was carpool karaoke.
We got to the house and unloaded the car.
"You ready?" I asked.
"New beginnings right?"
"Right, let's do this." I said putting my hand on the door handle.
"User identity confirmed, welcome home Ma'am and welcome Major Spencer." Friday greeted as we walked into the mudroom.
"The wall paper's gone." Wren said.
"Well according to someone it looked like an old lady lived here and since Nana died almost ten years ago I thought it might be time for a change." I said.
"The place looks great. Can't believe the contractor managed to do all of this in a month." Wren said.
"Yeah, I can see why dad recommended him. Look at the kitchen." I said.
"Stainless steel everything. Marble countertops. This place looks even better than before." Wren said.
"Wait until you see your room." I said.
After half an hour of us running into every room and checking out the new game room in the attic we thought it was time to start unpacking. That took most of the day at least for me it did. Dad had actually thought ahead and had my closet expanded.
"Knock knock. Oh shit, you're closet's the same size as my room." Wren said.
"Not my idea. It was pretty big to begin with." I said in my defense.
"Just came by to say go to sleep early. Training starts tomorrow bright and early." Wren said.
"Don't you think you're going a bit over board?" I said.
"You let a ten year old get the drop on you." Wren deadpanned.
"Ten year old Russian trained assassin." I reminded him.
"Still a ten year old Nora."
"Okay maybe I could use a bit more practice." I admitted.
"Good. I'll meet you upstairs at 0500. Wear comfortable clothes." Wren said.
"Can't wait." I said but he had already teleported out.
Notes for after they meet again: