Disclaimer: I own the character Carter and nothing else in this fic. Enjoy!
Carter's eyes shuttered closed after her pronouncement allowing her fathers time to process her words. Hearing nothing she slowly opened her eyes to fix them both with a blank stare, it was what Nick called her 'Agent' face, and she had long since perfected it.
Steve's face showed a mixture of sadness, the depths of which she wished to never explore, and fear, an emotion she used to think her Pops was not capable of feeling. Her dad however she knew was schooled in keeping his emotions hidden if required, she had learned that the first time she saw him on the television giving an interview. Though he had relaxed considerably around the Avengers since Loki had tried to take New York there were still times when the old Tony Stark came out to play – this was one of those times. Carter almost flinched away from him when she saw his face, blanker than her own but she stood her ground.
None of them spoke. Then Carter rose from the carpet and began to move towards the stairs at the end of the hallway leading from the common room's floor. "What was your plan?" Tony called after her before she could leave the floor.
A weak smile overtook Carter's face as she turned to look her dad square in the face, "Trust me, you don't want to know."
"Oh, but we do," Tony replied, his voice colder than Steve had ever heard it before, "Why not share with the class kid?" he exclaimed, his raised voice bringing Nat and Phil to lean into the living room. Clint made his way over to Tony, "Listen mate maybe this isn't the best time…"
"The best time, really Legolas? My daughter just tried to commit suicide because of some freakish crap that happened to her in the future and you're telling me to hold onto courtesy?" Tony's voice never changed in pitch but the sarcasm and anger was evident in the way he roughly pushed Clint away from himself. Before anyone could stop him he grabbed Carter by the wrist, but she didn't even flinch.
"Tony…" warned Bucky's voice before Steve could step in…but Tony was too busy staring down his daughter.
"Oh, and did I mention that she knows how to cure herself of this s**t?" hissed Tony, his grip on Carter's wrist tightening as he spoke. When Steve made to intervene Tony pulled Carter behind him, twisting her wrist, "Not one step closer Cap. I want the truth." It was as if he was outside of himself, the man in front of them wasn't Tony – this was Tony sacred and vulnerable reacting before someone else could hurt him.
"How did you figure it out?" whispered Carter, and all eyes snapped to her as Tony turned to face her again.
"This wasn't what was supposed to happen…" he mimicked, "What are you playing at – doing this to yourself?" his grip loosened as he made to shake himself from his frenzy when Carter's other hand came to rest on the hand holding her wrist.
"Break it," she said, a profound melancholy in her voice.
Tony tried to pull back from her, but her grip tightened now, twisting so that he could feel the fragile bone beneath her skin, "You can't can you?" she released his hand, watching him stumble back into Steve's arms.
She looked up at them, tears swimming in her eyes but unshed, "I told you," she said, "You wouldn't want to know."