Parasite *•.¸♡ 𝙏𝙤𝙣𝙮 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙠'𝙨 𝘿𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧 ♡¸.•*

The Calm Before the Storm

Stopping in front of the teenager, Tony repeatedly opens his mouth before shutting it again. He's never been great with things like this. He has nothing to say. What could he possibly say? Nothing could make what he did right, and he has no idea how to convey just how sorry he is.

Back in the lab - present time:
To both the Stark's surprise, Tony wraps his arms around Ariana and pulls her close. Ariana stiffens, not having expected this. Tony's never been one to be physically affectionate towards Ariana. Mostly because he felt weird being her foster parent. He wasn't sure if she would want him to try and be like a normal dad to her.

Snapping her out of her slight panic, she hears the quietest whispers coming out of Tony's mouth. Over and over his broken voice repeats: "I'm sorry–I'm so sorry." Almost as if he thought it was his fault, Ariana thinks.

That's because he does. Words can't describe how heartbroken and angry Tony is. All of this is his fault. He can never make it up to this wonderful kid. Not ever.

Ariana returns the hug, gently rubbing his back, trying to silently convey to him the message that it is okay. Not like he'd ever believe it.

This interaction is odd for both Starks. The elder is never vulnerable in front of others; he hates it. Every emotion he feels is covered up with sass, sarcasm, and jokes. As for the younger, she can't even remember the last time someone has done something like this for her. The last time someone was upset about the things she went through—not mad at her, but because of what horrible people have put her through.

They didn't know it, but they both needed this more than anyone could ever possibly realise.

After a few minutes, Tony has stopped his nearly-silent cries. Stroking her hair and holding her tight, he promises, "I'll never let you go again."

They stood there in each other's embrace for what felt like hours. Though, it was only twenty minutes. Friday tried her best to not interrupt the moment, but the person on the opposite end was getting impatient. Unfortunately, Friday, with much remorse, had to interrupt this beautiful father-daughter moment. "Sir?"

Both jumped apart at the sudden noise. Tony glares up at the ceiling, "what?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but Thor has been calling you for some time."

"I don't care, I was having a moment with my-" his eyes widen and dart over to Ariana- "daughter..." It had left his lips before he even registered. He didn't mean to say it. Surely it was too soon, surely Ariana didn't feel the same. He messed up. He's pushing her too fast. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

His thoughts are stopped when a shy smile appears on her face. Instantly his heart rate drops down to normal.

His daughter. His daughter! He really has a daughter! She thinks of him as a dad. He is elated.

"I apologise, sir, but Thor is insisting you both come to the dining room at once."

Not minding the interruption anymore, due to the intense glee he felt having successfully called his little Ariana his daughter, he walks over to his daughter and wraps an arm around her to go up for dinner.

The Avengers smile, finally seeing Ariana out of her room. Some shocked glances are exchanged from the look of pure joy in the grin Tony hasn't been able to wipe off his face. As the pair sit down, Wanda hops up, announcing she'll be right back with dinner.

It was Wanda's first time cooking a meal for the whole team, and she was excited—not to mention nervous as well. See, the reason everyone had to be at the table in order to eat was that she wanted everyone to have some. Around the tower, if you didn't come to dinner on time, there most likely were no leftovers—what with a god, two supersoldiers, advanced beings, and incredibly active people? Surely, they all have quite the appetites.

Wanda had already set aside a serving for Pepper, seeing as she was at a formal event—being the CEO of a business makes her a very busy woman. The container is set in the refrigerator with her name on it. Containers with names on them are a very serious deal at the Avengers tower. The only person that would probably be able to get away with stealing someone else's food is Ariana since everyone is enamoured with her. Not that Ariana ever would, of course.

The smell of whatever Wanda had made makes everyone even more hungry. After everyone is served they dig in. Wanda's eyes scan the group, hoping that everyone likes what she has made.

Ariana takes her first bite and pauses as soon as she sinks her teeth into a familiar substance. Her eyes shoot over to Wanda. Noticing that Wanda is probably hoping everyone will like her food, she continues to eat, regardless of what her common sense was telling her. She didn't want to make a scene by spitting it out. That would be horrible!

See, the thing about Ariana is that she has had issues with something in the dish since she was little. For some reason, shrimp has never agreed with her very well. It's never been quite too serious. In fact, the last time she had shrimp she only showed symptoms the next morning. Ariana figures she will be able to inject her EpiPen before she goes to bed without anyone being any the wiser.

The last thing Ariana would want to do is make a scene; especially on the first night that Wanda cooked for everyone. She believes she owes it to her to suck it up since Wanda has been so kind to her. Of course, she does not look at this situation logically. She is practically endangering her life in order to keep everyone happy. Though, this is far from the first time she's done this type of thing.

After eating all of the food, the team goes to watch a movie. Since Ariana has been alone, most of the team have expressed their wish for her to come to join them. So, when Ariana goes to get her EpiPen she is stopped and asked if she isn't coming. Of course, this makes her feel bad. Figuring she still has time, Ariana abandons her plan and follows the team to the couch.

Halfway through the movie, Bucky glances over at Ariana to see if she's enjoying the movie he picked. It was one of the first ones he watched after Steve found him. It's had a special place in his heart since that day. A demanding voice startles everyone in the room, "Friday turn on the lights."

Confused, Steve grabs the remote to pause the movie. Most of the team, including Ariana, looks at Bucky–who had interrupted their movie. Following his gaze, the adults turn to see a splotchy Ariana. Tony jumps up from his position on the couch, confused and scared. A lot of others follow.

It becomes hard to breathe. She feels like she's suffocating. Cursing to herself, she jumps up from her spot on the couch and bolts to head to her room. An arrangement of panicked "Ariana!"s are shouted out and she stumbles to her room. It isn't surprising that she doesn't make it far. Collapsing to the floor, she internally curses her luck. It's never been this bad before. Why now? There is a good reason for it, but it's not like anyone would know about it.

She tells the people who already gathered around her to grab her EpiPen from the cabinet in her room. Tony's jaw ticks. Why was he never informed of her allergy? What the hell is this bullshit?! Bucky and Steve both race to her room. Bucky nods his head in the direction of her closet to tell him that he's going to check the cabinet in there. Steve nods as he turns to run to her bathroom to check the medicine cabinet.

Bucky soon finds the EpiPen and races back out to the living room, completely ignoring Steve who is frozen in the bathroom.

Bucky hands off the device to Bruce who takes care of it efficiently. Tony ordered one of his robots to bring them a gurney to carry her to the infirmary. As her body is being carried, the team follows, worried beyond belief. Most are wondering what the reaction was from, having not seen the EpiPen.

Banner didn't have the heart to break up their discussion to inform them it was the shrimp from dinner. Because, although they would figure out eventually, he wants to let the panic gloss over before starting anything else up.