Ablaze {Marvel} ||2||

21. Tony Stark and Firefly

I blew out a breath as I stood before Stark Tower. Seth had just dropped me off, and the car had merged back in with traffic. I licked my lips. Last night, nothing strange had happened. It was pretty tame, which either showed progress or none at all. The real test would be the days following the injection.

Acting normal, I strutted into the tower.

"Welcome back, Miss Rivers," J.A.R.V.I.S. greeted me.

"Hey, J," I greeted the AI's voice. "Where's everyone this morning?"

"Mr. Stark and Mr. Banner are in one of the sitting rooms, watching television. Ms. Potts is still away."

I took the elevator, and like before, J.A.R.V.I.S. gave me the floor that Tony and Bruce were on. I entered the sitting room, and both their heads turned to me.

"Hey, Girl on Fire," Tony said casually. "We were wondering where you'd run off to."

Ah, I knew this was bound to happen. Best to get it out of the way now. "I was out."

"Apparently. We missed you last night."

"By missed he means worried," Bruce corrected. I smiled a bit. "He was about to send out an APB for you."

"I was only gone for a night," I said. "I came back, and in one piece." I flaunted myself as proof. "See?"

Tony rose from the couch, and I saw above his head to see the news. I wasn't really focusing on what the topic of discussion was. All I knew was that the newscaster on the screen had a bad makeup job done, and apparently nobody told them that prior to airing the broadcast.

I sighed heavily. "What?" I asked a bit impatiently.

Tony's brown eyes inspected me. "Nothing, nothing." He walked closer to me, circling, making noises under his breath.

"I'm fine."

"It's okay to not be, Kia," Tony said seriously. "I mean, you've had it pretty rough these past few months. Nobody blames you for being stressed out."

"Why is it that I'm the one who's perfectly calm, and you look as though you're stressed out?"

"It's because there's something...off. Where'd you go last night, Kia?"

"Out, like I told you."

Now Bruce rose off the couch, only to walk around it and perch himself on the back of it. He had thin purple bags under his eyes, like he hadn't gotten much sleep.

"Where?" Tony persisted.

"Why does it matter to you?"

"Well, for one thing, you left your bracelet here in the tower. I couldn't track your phone, which I feel like I need to do at this point if you try and run off again."

"Tony, relax," I said. I'm surprised he hasn't tracked my phone. Some genius.

Tony stopped, eyes widening a bit. "Did you just call me 'Tony'?"

"Why is everyone so shocked by this?" I threw my hands out in exasperation. "Yes, I decided to call you by a name that everyone calls you. Don't give me reason to stop now." I smiled wryly.

"Did you hookup with someone last night?"

My mouth dropped. "Oh my god, Tony! Really?"