I Thought You Were Different: Part 3

Mama

Some Language (yes, some from Steve)

"So you're really doing this? You're really going to fly around in that thing?"

"Flashy, right? I'm not sure about the gold, though," Tony smirked, holding his chin in hand thoughtfully, "it's a little ostentatious, don't you think?"

"What do you mean? You're usually so discreet," you scoffed in heavy sarcasm.

"Watch it kid. Tell you what, hey J, throw a little hot-rod red in there."

Finding that to be just one too many eye-catching features, JARVIS finally joined into the discussion with his own point of view, which you always welcomed. Ever since Tony had taken you in as a child, JARVIS was quickly your closest friend, even though he was an A.I. "Oh, yes. That should help you keep a low profile, sir."

"See? Eddie gets it," you laughed, "I don't see why you don't get it."

"Hold on, did you just call him...Eddie?"

"He told me that you named him after Edwin Jarvis," you replied, but quickly slunk away out of fear that you had overstepped your boundaries when his expression dropped. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. I won't call him that again."

"No, it's fine," he chuckled dryly, "I think it's kinda cute."

"I am not 'cute' sir," JARVIS interrupted. "Let's clarify that immediately and commit it to memory."

As the parts began to come together and Tony's various bots took their positions around the suit, you watched with wide eyes and an eagerness to see the finished product. Even more so, you were eager to see your dad in it, and once he proved it to be safe, you would convince him to make one for you. "If I had one of these, I'd go all black. Maybe just a little silver around the trim."

"Well it's a good thing you aren't getting one," he smirked, dodging the swing of your arm. "Hey, watch it! I'm serious!"

"Why not?!"

"You can barely drive a car, much less one of these!"

"I bet I could," you goaded, nudging him with your shoulder. "I bet I could keep up with you, old man, and then some."

"I know what you're doing."

"What? Speaking the truth?"

Tony was so close to taking the bait; he was so close to telling JARVIS to start assembly on a second suit, fueled only by the look in your eye that dared him to do it. You had quickly become a master at bending Tony's will to your demands, and this was no different. It had been your one unwavering talent since he took you in.

"Tell ya what," he finally offered, "throw together a real design, with schematics and 3-D models...everything...and if it actually works, I'm in. I'll do it."

"No shit?!"

"Hey, language," he scolded, pointing as authoritatively as he could, but the grin curling the edges of his mouth gave him away, "but yeah, no shit."

"How do you feel, (Y/N)?"

"Does it matter? Would it change anything?" you slowly opened your eyes and asked the man in the black lab coat, your voice flat and emotionless to him as you witnessed the death of another treasured memory. When you turned to face him, you were taken aback at how young he looked, maybe barely eighteen at best, and you had to fight the urge to wonder if he had grown up here and if this was all he had ever known. A pang of sadness hit you as you felt remorse for the joys in his life that he would never know, and the faces of your children flashed through your memory. You had to push them away just to find the will to let this continue.