Notes: ...This story has more followers than any of the ones I'm actively working on, so would it kill you guys to leave me some reviews? *big sad puppy eyes*
Chapter 19: It's Complicated
"So, how do you feel about children, Stark?"
Tony looked up from the half empty glass of scotch he was nursing. Natasha just raised one of her eyebrows curiously as he regarded her with a frown. It was just the two of them seated at the small table on one of his private jets. Hollie was sleeping like a dead thing in the bedroom – yes, the jet had a bedroom. Bruce would have to give her a once-over once they landed, to make sure there hadn't been any real damage done by her basically having some kind of electrocution based miniature heart attack. Her tolerance for pain, Tony was sure, had to be fucking legendary. Though, odds are she felt a lot shittier than she let on.
Clint was up in the cockpit with Happy and Agent Asshole, meaning Coulson who Tony still refused to call by his name for... reasons. ...Like the fact that he was trying to get with Pepper – never mind that comment he made about tasing him and watching Supernanny while he drooled into the carpet during the whole palladium poisoning nightmare.
"Children?" Tony said incredulously and met Natasha's stare. "I don't mind them, but I don't think I'll ever have any. I mean, I don't think I can be trusted with the well-being of a living thing dependent on my not being a selfish drunken ass." Natasha snorted and looked out the window. It was an innocent gesture, but one never could tell with her. Hey, at least he was being honest. He'd thought about having kids a few times, but never very seriously... Considering his inability to maintain a real relationship for longer than a week.
"You could hire a nanny." The spy said with a shrug. "God knows you can afford it."
"With my luck, the nanny would turn to be an alien terrorist after my tech or some shit. What the hell does this have to do with anything? Did I knock someone up that I don't know about, because I swear I'm really careful about -"
"Shut up, Stark. Believe me, I don't want to know your condom size. And no... It was just... Misplaced curiosity." Natasha said flippantly.
"Speaking of misplaced curiosity, who is Angelica? I feel like I'm gonna get my ass kicked for asking, but it's been bugging me since Hollie dropped her name like it meant something to you." Natasha smiled, seemingly sadly and just shook her head.
"If Hollie trusts you, she'll tell you. It's not my place. Though, Angelica will probably know how to murder someone fifty different ways with a tube sock before she's... Nevermind." Natasha said, and giggled.
"Another hot ex-mob girl?" Tony said and downed the rest of his scotch. Natasha outright laughed and took several moments to compose herself. "...What?"
"Natasha, please tell me you haven't been teaching my daughter how to murder people with push-up bras while I've been trying to accept the fact that she can walk better than me by now." Tony startled slightly to see Hollie leaning on the door frame, with an oddly guarded smile playing at her lips. She was wearing jeans and a plain black t-shirt; her armor was stored in the luggage room.
"You have a daughter?" Tony asked shrilly. "Why did no one tell me this?"
"To keep her safe from those that would harm her. There are only four people that know that she exists other than myself, now five." Hollie said with a carefully nonchalant shrug that Tony didn't buy for a second. "...I was pregnant when Natasha recruited me to join SHIELD. Somehow, I managed to keep it a secret, and I made a deal with her and Hill that they would help look after my child when I was on a mission, or find her a suitable family if... Anything should ever happen to me. Rogers and Barton also know."
"Steve?!" Tony blurted. Natasha and Hollie nodded.
"Hollie and Clint were in Egypt on a covert ops mission, and I needed to leave on an urgent call for SHIELD. Steve was the only one available to play babysitter who I could trust. Steve being Steve, he didn't ask – probably didn't want to know." Natasha said with a shrug. "So far he's kept his mouth shut. I don't think he actually knows it's Hollie's kid, though."
She was wrong about that, Tony was pretty sure. He recalled the night he first 'met' Hollie, while he waited in the ER for the others to show up. Steve had seemed oddly distressed when he heard about her condition. Granted, he didn't like to think of anyone being fatally wounded, but Hollie was a SHIELD agent, and he hadn't been on the best of terms with SHIELD lately. Tony could still recall the comment he'd made after they all thought Coulson was killed bout it being the first time he'd lost a solider. No, Steve knew, but kept his mouth shut. It wasn't Hollie he'd really fretted over, but a little girl that was going to lose her mother to a bunch of asshole terrorists.
"Jesus fucking Christ, woman." Tony said shaking his head. "Any more epic secrets you're keeping from us?"
"No, not really."
"I so call bullshit, but yeah whatever. You just gave us the okay to blow your daughter's father, who was your step-uncle, to Hell." He said, feeling strangely betrayed. "Holy shit that's fucked up. Like, someone took the demon offspring of Jersey Shore and a soap opera and made it into a shitty spy novel."
"He raped me." Hollie told him icily. "...Because I refused to murder a child, and that was what it took to keep him from telling Dante and to protect a life far more innocent than mine."
"Oh. Ouch. I'm actually really sorry, that was a really dick thing to say, even for me. I didn't mean -"
"I know you didn't mean anything by it. You're an asshole, not a complete douche." The hacker said with a grimace. "I can't believe I just said that."
"Natasha how long have you kno – Natasha?" Tony frowned; the redheaded spy was nowhere to be seen. Hollie made a small sound of amusement.
"She left almost five minutes ago." Hollie offered with a shrug. "I'm guessing she's reading a bit too far into certain things – not that I can blame her, it's rather obvious. I assume she meant to give us some privacy."
"Privacy? For what? No offense, but we've got to do something about that whole static charge thing before I even think about sleeping with you because – no fuck that. That will suck." Hollie settled into Natasha's empty chair, and burst into laughter as Tony rambled. She couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed like that. It felt strange, but a very nice kind of strange.
"Most likely she was anticipating you spewing some kind of heartfelt confession of unrequited love, judging by your recent behavior toward me. Kind of disappointing, actually. I assume the only thing you have such feelings for are expensive liquor and your right hand." Hollie said dismissively and Tony choked on a sip of scotch from his glass that he'd refilled moments before.
"What the Hell?" He muttered. "I don't do 'unrequited love', maybe 'I hate you less than than my board members and you're a good fuck so let's do it again', but not romantic bullshit."
"Agreed. Though, for me, it's more of 'shut up, put out and you'll make it through alive if I don't have to see you in morning'." Hollie retorted with a coy smile, as she snatched Tony's glass out of his hand and downed the contents in a single gulp.
"I think I like you." Tony said flatly and somewhat breathlessly. And that fucking terrifies me, because I think you might actually kill me if I piss you off enough, Tony thought to himself. "But that isn't what you want," was what he actually said. Hollie smirked and shoved the empty glass back across the table toward him.
"Really? What do I want Stark – humor me."
He should have just stopped talking. Any sane person would, instead of digging himself an even deeper hole than he already had. Tony, on the other hand, just couldn't miss a perfect chance to flirt with danger. He'd probably blame the alcohol later, but his entire life was built on poor choices, so what was one more?
"To be loved?" Tony answered, mentally kicking himself for how uncertain it sounded and how much he really needed to invent a brain to mouth filter. She didn't answer, but the momentary flash of anguish that flashed in her eyes was more than enough of a reply.
"I'm not having this conversation again, not with you." Hollie snapped and vanished back into her room.
"That went well. Yup." Tony said to himself. Why had she gotten so defensive, though? That wasn't like her. Usually she just changed the subject so subtly, no one caught on until bringing something back up wasn't an option anymore. Well, as far as he actually knew her, which (he was beginning to think), was not in the slightest.
I'm also officially the world's hugest asshole.
"How adorable. Are you pining, Tony. It's got to be snowing in hell." Clint said, and just laughed as he slid into the chair the Hollie abandoned.
"God dammit, I am not pining! That would require some kind of romantic interest, and we both know I don't fucking do roman-"
"Some advice, but only because I'm starting to think you're perfect for each other. ...Well, maybe, I'm not sure the world can survive the snark." The archer said, cutting him off mid-sentence and stopping what promised to be an utterly pathetic rant full of pointless denial and veiled self-depreciation. "Hollie doesn't let people in emotionally. Ever. Not even Nat and I, though Nat's probably get a better chance than either of us. Honestly, I think she's afraid since pretty much everyone she's ever gotten close to winds up dead. You know, just putting that out there. Something to keep in mind."
"How the fuck is that relationship advice? It sounds like you're telling me to stay away so I don't get snuffed, but it'll take more than the damn mafia to kill me. ...Not that I wanted, or asked for advice in the first place." Tony grumbled, trying not to dwell on Hollie telling him earlier that 'Everyone I love dies'. She'd said it almost flippantly, with a dramatic air, but now he had to wonder what was true and what wasn't.
"You're the genius, you figure it out." Clint retorted, rolling his eyes obnoxiously. "We'll be landing in two minutes by the way. Still haven't heard from Fury, but we're pretty sure he wasn't in the base we blew up, so that's something."