Chapter 2

Speaking of Fears

When the morning sun began trickling in through the cracks in the drapes, Emily felt refreshed and back to her bubbly self. With only a slight headache. On instinct she jumped out of bed and threw open the drapes, but as soon as her brain registered the drop to the cement below…

A blood curdling scream clawed its way out of her throat and she thrust herself backwards in terror. But she didn't stay there for long. Dressed in nothing but her baggy t-shirt and panties she grasped at the carpet in a frantic attempt to scurry away from the windows; only stopping when her spine crudely slammed into the coffee table and her backwards mobility was halted. Her heart pounded against her ribs and she feared it would break the laws of physics: firing from its boney cage only to slam to the window she stared at with wide hazel eyes. Her breathing became more desperate as she sat against the coffee table but she couldn't process anything - other than her fear - let alone come up with a way to ease her mind.

That was where Tony found her.

He didn't think twice at how much the door to her room cost - he just blew it away. Rushing to her side he scanned the room to try and decipher what had caused the scream he'd heard. When he found no hoards of aliens, no unearthly-weapons, and no physical threats he relaxed. Turning to Emily he knelt beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Emily! Emily!" Gently but with purpose he shook her and she snapped her gaze from the horizon to his concerned eyes.

Fear was in control and her mind was numb to everything else. She didn't even realize that he was standing there in a tank top, loose-fitting pants, and a prototype Iron Man hand. Signs that he'd been able to hear her from down in the depths of his workshop.

"What happened?" he prompted.

All she could manage was a shake of her head. Too busy trying to calm down her heart and regain control over her breathing to accurately explain her current position.

Tony took another look out the window before he sighed. "Right, the height thing."

When she nodded he ran a reassured hand through his hair.

"I-I," she stuttered. "I can't move."

Her words were barely audible.

Nothing more was said as Tony picked her up and headed for the hallway where Pepper was standing: concern etched into her soft features. Tony jerked his head towards the drapes as he scooted past her in an effort not to worsen Emily's panic attack. Quickly she walked in to close them.

Calmly, Tony sat Emily down on the floor in the hallway where there were no windows showcasing the height of the building. With a patience no one would ever associate with the infamous Tony Stark he waited for her to stop hyperventilating, for her body to stop shaking, and for life to come back to her eyes. He, rather awkwardly, sat down beside her and when Pepper came back into the hallway she did the same: though a tad more gracefully.

Even when her panic attack was over no one said a word. Tony just put an arm over her shoulders and she felt her muscles loosen before rubbing her face with the palms of her hands. A light pink beginning to appear on her cheeks.

"Christ," she muttered. "How did I manage to forget that of all things?"

"Alcohol does that," Tony chuckled and Pepper shot him a look.

Emily managed a weak smile.

"Are you going to be okay, staying in the Tower?" Pepper asked, worry present in every word.

Emily just sighed.

"It's not too late to see about living in the dorms…" Pepper trailed off as Emily shook her head.

"I'll be fine. I just forgot is all," she tried to joke.

Pepper didn't say anything but Emily was sure she didn't buy it.

Tony cleared his throat. "Are you hungry? I'm hungry. We should get Shwarma."

Emily appreciated the change of topic. If Pepper asked her about moving to the dorms once more she didn't think she'd be able to decline again.

Cautiously she pulled herself to her feet, making sure they were still functional, before throwing a smile and small 'yes' in Tony's direction. Even though she was wearing such 'risqué' attire she had no desire to go back inside that room. Not at the moment anyhow. She needed a little more time before she was willing to brave those drapes - those windows - again. With a smile stretching ear to ear, Tony jumped up, wrapped his arm around her shoulders again, and - once Pepper had gotten up off the ground - they all headed for the elevator.

As they made their way to the floor where the kitchen was located, Tony asked Jarvis to place an order to the Shwarma place he'd grown to like and in twenty minutes the doorbell echoed throughout the tower. He sprinted off to claim their food while Pepper sat with Emily.

Moments later he returned; food in hand. Immediately he pulled the styrofoam containers out of the paper bag; offering Emily a confused look when she placed bowls filled with burrito ingredients on the table.

"Just in case the Shwarma you love so much tastes like Dad's attempt at meatloaf."

"Fair enough."

Emily plopped into the seat opposite Pepper and shot her an apologetic look when she noticed the look on her face. It wasn't Emily's idea of a balanced breakfast either but she figured it never hurt anyone to break the rules once in a while. Popping the top of the soda can Tony handed her she raised it up.

"To family!"

"To family!" Tony cheered.

They dug in and let silence claim the conversation while they focused on eating. Eventually the silence was broken but for once it wasn't Tony who broke it.

"Damn this is actually good," Emily said through a mouthful of Shwarma. She was hunched over the table trying to keep it from falling to the floor, or out of her mouth, with a look of pure shock that Tony had been right plastered all over her face. It was a look she didn't make very often.

Tony raised an eyebrow and she caught the 'I told you so' in his eyes but didn't throw a sarcastic retort back at him; she was too preoccupied with the food in front of her. And much to everyone's surprise, Emily managed to finish an entire burrito along with the Shwarma Tony'd handed her and still get up to help put everything away.

As she put the beef in the fridge, laughing at something Pepper said, Tony grinned. It was as if everything that had happened that morning had been just a bad dream. In less than an hour he'd managed to get her smiling, laughing, and back to her usual self.

"You going to assist or just sit on your entitled ass?"

He opened his mouth to tease her but the look Pepper shot him made him reconsider. Quickly he got to his feet and began placing food in tupperware; avoiding Emily's triumphant gaze. Besting his cousin wasn't nearly as important as staying on Pepper's good side.

Luckily the clean up went by faster than he had imagined. Just as Emily put the last plate in the dishwasher he nudged her arm.

"Ten bucks says I can best you at Scrabble."

There was fire in her eyes when she replied. "I'll make you eat those words."

As fast as she could Emily sprinted to the cabinet he kept the board games in, grabbed Scrabble, and returned; slamming the box onto the table harder than she had meant to. It wasn't until everything was in place that she sat down and Tony offered her a drink. She took one look at it before snorting and handing it back.

"Yea. Fool me once and all that."

Tony offered her an innocent smile but he knew she could see through it. It had been worth a try though.

"My headache just passed, thank you very much, and I have no intentions of inviting it back."

"Worth a try," he shrugged.

Emily pushed the box filled with pieces towards him. "You still have a chance to save face and forfeit."

"That's my line," he replied, taking what he needed to start. And when he was ready he motioned to the board. "Ladies first."

"Age before beauty," Emily cooed.

A quick drink and he laid out his first word: S-T-A-R-K. Emily rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. She was too determined to beat him at all costs to be sidetracked by idle banter.

Forty minutes, and three games, later she had indeed made him eat his words.

"You mentioned something about 'besting' me earlier… Gee, how'd that work out for you?"

"I demand a-"

"Tony you have work to do." Pepper's voice interrupted his stubborn request for a rematch and he sighed. He could tell she wasn't about to let him weasel his way out of working.

Emily giggled. "It's okay, I'll kick your ass again later."

He snorted but got up and followed Pepper out of the room, leaving Emily to pick up. Not that she minded. He now owed her forty bucks and the game was an easy one to put away.

Soon enough she was standing outside the door to her room.

Cautiously she pushed the door open, holding her breath the entire time, only to let out a sigh when she noticed that the drapes were concealing the windows. Fears squashed she sprinted to her dresser to get dressed; opting to throw on her favorite pair of jeans and white T-shirt.

After pulling her hair into a high ponytail she took a quick peek in the bathroom mirror to check that there were no unseemly bumps. Content at her appearance she returned to her room only to dig through her backpack, which often doubled as her purse, and pull out her tattered and worn copy of White Fang. The splotch of ground-in dirt on the bottom of the cover reminded her of home and she paused to inhale the smell of the book. That familiar ache returned and she had to clench her jaw to keep from crying.

"Easy, Emily," she told herself. "It's going to take more than a day to feel at home."

Her thumb ran over the scarred surface as she flopped on the couch and found a comfortable position. The pages were tattered and the text was fading but they simply told the story of a thoroughly loved book. It was one she had had since she was too young to read on her own and it was one she swore she'd have in her hands the day she died.

Tenderly she opened to where she last left off and began reading; soon forgetting that she was in a strange city on a fancy couch miles away from the only home she had ever known.

For the next week Emily's days passed in a fairly uniform manner and there were no repeats of that first morning. She had learned quickly not to open the drapes so early and usually let Pepper - who had also seen about getting a replacement door as soon as physically possible - do it. And when they were open she made sure not to stare directly out the windows. Or come within five feet of them.

Regardless of her fear of heights - and earlier panic attack - Emily spent most of her time holed up in her room reading the books her mom sent. Nearly all of them were the books she owned, plucked right off her neatly organized bookcases, but her mother had surprised her by including a few new ones.

Those were the ones she started with.

At first she'd groaned at the sight of Animal Farm, assuming her mother bought it solely because it had "farm" in the title, but once she started reading it she was hooked. It had been one of the books her classes never got around to reading back in high school and it had slipped her mind after graduation.

Fahrenheit 451on the other hand had her screaming and swearing at every page. It wasn't easy for a book-lover to read a book about burning books; she nearly threw it across the room at one point but stopped herself when she realized she'd ruin it. But when she'd finished it she'd shoved it into the back of her bookcase in the hopes that she'd never have to read it again.

She had to reread White Fang afterwards to calm down.

The following day she managed to finish Fever 1793, Lolita, and 1984 in one sitting. Deciding that, if her grandfather were still alive, he would have loved all three. Though he'd probably be more inclined to Fever 1793 than the other two; comparing himself and Emily to Matilda and Matilda's grandfather. Something Emily couldn't help but smile at. The relationships were pretty similar. Besides, her grandfather had been flirting with just about every nurse at the hospital the year before he passed. Her imagined similarities were what made her store Fever 1793 with the other three books she cherished. Making it number four.

Emily took one look at 50 Shades of Grey before deciding that she had been too harsh in her judgments about book burning. Some books deserved to burn. Luckily for the book, though, it was August and there was no reason to use the fireplace in her room. So she chose to just bury it in the depths of her underwear drawer.

Since she didn't have much else to do in the tower other than read she finished all the new books in no time and soon grew bored rereading ones she had already read so many times before. Thus, on occasion, she looted interesting ones from Tony's personal library. She was well aware that he had stored the books away from public consumption for a reason, going so far as to place them in their own room, but on a rather intense boredom streak she hacked the electronic security system. Which wasn't hard considering how well she knew Tony. Once she had made it in she figured she deserved some sort of prize. It completely snowballed out of control after the first book and there were days when she would brazenly take books without checking to see if the coast was clear. One particularly boring day she took books on five separate occasions.

He hadn't seemed to notice yet.

When she wasn't stealing books or reading she watched movies or called home to check in. Her phone calls were typically centered on how Tony was doing and if Pepper was still around, but she'd manage to squeeze information about her animals out of her mother and remind her that someone had to take Seeker for walks. 'He's getting fat,' she'd complain. Her mother would just laugh and agree to tell one of Emily's brothers to do it. Which she knew wouldn't happen.

As upbeat as Emily seemed to be the one thing she refused to do was leave the tower and no matter how many times Pepper asked she wouldn't change her mind. She was terrified of the height but the pollutions in the air outside were just as terrifying to her. So she'd just shake her head and politely decline. Unless Tony was the one asking, of course. In which case she'd snort and say 'the thought of choking on the exhaust and cigarette smoke of spiteful strangers might appeal to you but I rather prefer my lungs stay tucked away in my ribcage, thank you very much'. Or the shortened version; 'no way in hell'.

Either way he'd laugh and leave it at that.

Eventually Emily found herself running out of reading material. There were still books left in Tony's library she hadn't taken but she was sure that he'd notice if she took any more. He was already missing a good third of his bookcase. Besides, no matter how much she loved reading, if that was all there was to do, even she'd grow tired of it.

Back home she only read when she didn't have to go take care of the animals but here, in the tower, there were no such responsibilities. And she soon came to the conclusion that if she didn't find something else to do, and pronto, she'd go crazy. Originally she meant to ask Tony for some sort of pet - anything to give her something to do - but quickly decided against it when she remembered Tony's horrible tendency to undermine training. Such as the year her father presented to her an eight-week old Newfoundland puppy. To which Tony presented table scraps. Even to this day Seeker was notorious for begging and stealing food strait off the counter. Not to mention her brothers and father had decided that, if Tony could do it, they could too.

They were the reason she worried that, without her there to take him for walks, he'd be morbidly obese by the time she returned. A scary thought considering how hard it was for him to lose weight.

No, a dog or any sort of animal was definitely off the list of possibilities.

An idea for a new hobby was bestowed upon her that Friday before she could think of a different idea. Pepper had popped her head into Emily's room to inform her that Tony had to go to a few meetings and wouldn't be around much of the day. Pepper didn't have to include the part where she'd be accompanying him since Emily was well aware that, without Pepper's nagging, Tony would never show up.

After they'd left and the tower became eerily quite, Emily recalled the Iron Man suit's glove Tony had been wearing during her panic attack. Instantly she had an unearthly urge to see just what he was working on. And how the suit worked. She hadn't been able to get her hands dirty in any sort of engineering project since Tony's last visit - some two years ago - and it was more than overdue.

Immediately she'd tossed her book on her bed and ran to the workshop; disregarding just how possessive he was over his stuff.

She groaned upon discovery of the lock but didn't let it deter her. She tampered with it for a few minutes only to let out a snort of disapproval before leaning against the wall and sliding to the floor in utter defeat. Unless Tony had his thumbprints laying around there was no way Emily was going to break in. Not in the short time Tony was gone, anyway.

'Figures he'd program it with the one thing I can't hack… quickly,' she snorted.

Even if she wanted to do her own work, her own project, all the equipment was on the other side of the door that stood high above her; mocking her. She just glared at it with her arms crossed.

Then it hit her.

"Hey Jarvis!" she cooed.

"Yes, Ma'am?" responded the program.

"Could you open the door for me?"

"I'm afraid not, Ma'am. Mr. Stark's orders."

She scowled before making a decision that would haunt Tony for the rest of his life: she went to find Jarvis' mainframe. In less than three hours she managed to both override Jarvis' programing and implement a shut down feature only she could work. The override had been her original plan but after contemplating how long it would take Tony to fix things - not long at all - she opted for the shut down. She had no intentions of actually using it. It was just… blackmail against him and the program itself.

She was related to Tony.

When the workshop door opened she screamed in giddy anticipation of something new but, before she got sucked into anything, she sprinted to her room to grab her favorite CD. When she returned to the workshop she bolted to the DVD player and popped it in. Music began pouring from the speakers and she cranked the stereo to a roaring level that made the room shake. Satisfied everything was in order she dove for the first thing she could tinker with.

And so it was in the middle of Tony's workshop that they found her. The stereo was blaring Sold by John Michael Montgomery, tools were strewn across the tables and she was hunched over the shoulder piece of his newest suit model. After days of nothing to do with her time Emily was so enthralled in what she was finally able to do that she didn't hear Tony yell at her over the music nor did she hear him storm over to her side. She did, however, feel his hand on her shoulder. Surprised she looked up but offered him a sweet grin.

"What do you think you're doing?" Tony hissed.

Emily had known the moment she'd broken in that he'd be pissed but she just rolled her eyes. "Your sensors were all wrong. The way you had it set up the suit would be able to sense you but wouldn't be able to sense anything in its way."

Tony's face showed how badly he wanted to be angry at her but when she handed him the glove she'd already fixed, anger turned to intrigue. He rolled it over in his hands and took close looks at the improvements before snorting in approval.

"So," she muttered, fidgeting with the tool she was holding, "am I allowed to stay?"

"Only if you get out of my chair."

She laughed before hopping up and letting Tony take front seat.

"By the way, your suits look like giant Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup cans."

It took minimal begging on Emily's part to convince Tony to let her assist him the next day. She might have figured out how to improve the suit's feature but Tony was the one who did most of the work. Emily's job was to grab what he needed and stay out of trouble. Which was actually a lot to ask of her. As much as she was grateful to be allowed in the lab with him, she wasn't pleased about the lack of things for her to do, which meant that her mind kept wandering off and she was constantly fighting the urge to grab a piece of the armor, grab a chair, and actually assist him. So she did the only thing she could to keep from getting kicked out: she rambled.

"Everyone missed you at the family reunion you know."

He heard her but didn't say anything.

"You might be obnoxious and self-serving but we still care," she muttered, more to herself than him. "Especially after what happened last year…"

Immediately he understood what she was trying to get at. "Millie-"

"Don't you dare 'Millie' me," she snarled. That nickname was something that haunted her even in her nightmares and Tony knew it. The whole family knew it. And they knew not to use it in any circumstance. He only used it when there was something he was trying to avoid. As much as she didn't want to see the look of panic and fear in her cousin's eyes again she knew it wasn't going to help to keep it locked inside.

"Look, we saw the footage - we saw you fly into that hole," she tried again. "Mom started crying, you know."

He stopped what he was doing and Emily held her breath. "I'd ask if they got my good side but I don't have a bad side."

His words sounded like Tony but the shaking in his voice gave him away. She scowled at the back of his head.

'Dammit Tony, stop deflecting.' Emily sighed. Apparently this was going to be harder than she had originally thought. But she wasn't about to let it go. If she had to come to grips with her fear he had to come to grips with his.

"Tony-"

"I wasn't supposed to be a part of it but I was. And I did what I had to, okay?" His voice carried a hint of venom in it and she saw his arm tremble.

"Yea. Okay, Tony," she said, her voice was calm even though there was a storm raging in her head. But Emily was very in tune to the signs of a panic attack so she dropped the subject. Even she knew that the last thing he needed was his cousin causing a break down.

There was silence between the two for a while as Tony went back to work, trying to forget what Emily had brought up, and she returned to pacing the lab. Eventually she laughed and hopped up on a vacant table.

"Remember that time you came to visit and we damn near blew up the barn?"

Tony gave her a mischievous grin before saying, "what do you mean 'we'?"

She rolled her eyes. "Tony, I was five. That was all you."

"You were a very manipulative five year old."

"If that's true than I worry about you being the CEO of a fortune 500 company," she teased. "To think that you were so easily manipulated at the age of twenty-eight by your five year old cousin."

"Whatever happened to that tractor, anyhow?"

Emily snorted. "Dad had to take it out back and shoot it." Tony chuckled but Emily shook her head. "No, seriously. He had to shoot it. I mean, you did try to modify it so it could challenge race cars. No one was confident enough to touch it seeing as you added a Nitrous Oxide tank…"

"I forgot about that," he smirked.

"You still owe us a new one, by the way."

"I thought I already paid for it?"

"Being nearly bludgeoned by my mother doesn't count."

He chuckled.

When silence took over the lab neither complained. Tony continued to work on his suit while Emily assisted as best as she could; doing her damnedest to keep out of trouble and avoid touchy topics.

"How's that thing you call a dog?"

"Seeker is just fine. He's fat but happy."

Tony grinned and she rolled her eyes. "I can't believe I only had him for a day before you managed to ruin him."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"So you don't remember sneaking him a full turkey leg from under the table?"

"Who?"

She punched his arm. "Very funny Tony."

"I believe you were - are - overreacting."

"No, I reacted exactly as I should have. You started it," she paused. "My brothers decided to finish it. I can only hope that mom makes them walk him while I'm here."

"It can't be that bad."

She snorted before leaning on his back and looking at the suit piece in his hand. "Tony, you don't know the half of it."

He gave her a skeptical look before letting it go and focusing on his suit. "Hand me," he waved towards the end of the table unable to find the word. When Emily grabbed the tool he nodded. "Yes, that."

And so the rest of their day was spent talking about childhood memories, failed experiments, and joking with one another. Tony even let her take the lead with the suit at one point but it didn't last long when she started giggling about chicken soup for the soul and how his suits were akin to chicken soup for the flesh. Which then led into a ridiculous ramble about the plausibility of a zombie apocalypse. By the time they parted for bed Tony had forgotten about Emily bringing up the alien invasion.

She hadn't.

Author's note:

So I usually wouldn't post chapters so damn quickly since I really want to give myself time to write them, edit them, and pace myself. But I had a shitty day and figured posting the second one would make me feel better.

I won't be posting anymore this week. And I'll be getting on a better schedule but for now… have chapter 2!