Frostbite

One

"You know, we're missing you upstairs," I announced, bouncing down the stairs to Tony's lab. Tony ignored me, still focusing on his computer. I quickly punched the code for the door and approached him quietly.

"Tony?" I drawled, tapping on his shoulder. He jumped and whirled around, trying to strike me. I easily ducked and grabbed his shoulders.

"Jesus- sorry, Melanie. Don't sneak up on me like that," he huffed, obviously annoyed. There were dark circles under his eyes; he still wasn't sleeping.

"Uh- I called you from the stairs. That's not really being sneaky," I argued, cocking an eyebrow at him, "Pepper said that you better bring your ass upstairs, because she cooked an extravagant meal and expects you to eat it."

"I'll be up. Let me just finish-"

He turned back towards his work, and I grabbed his arm and forced him back around. He sighed and crossed his arms, just staring at me expectantly. I pointed at his wall of Iron Man suits.

"You're obsessing. Look at all of these, Tony. You need to talk to someone, or hell, at least talk to me! You saw something up there in space and it scared you, which is understandable. But no one can help if you won't open up, Tony."

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, "I can't protect you, or Pepper, or anyone from what's up there. How can I rest knowing that you're unsafe? I'm your big brother, and I'm supposed to look out for you, Mel."

"You're right. You're my big brother and you are supposed to protect me. But not from aliens, that's not your job and it shouldn't be. You're supposed to look out for crappy guys and making sure I'm taking care of myself and stuff like that. Simple, normal stuff, Tony. Ever since mom and dad died you think you have to look out for me every single second. You take the weight of the world on your shoulders, and it's going to kill you. At some point you have to just take care of yourself," I told him softly, grabbing his hand reassuringly.

He closed his eyes for a few seconds and when he opened them again, his eyes were glistening. He wrapped me in hug, and I squeezed back tightly.

"You're right. I'll try and do better," he promised, grinning down at me. We broke apart, and I glanced over at a picture that I had noticed hanging on the wall. It wasn't there before. It was a photograph of Tony and I with dad at one of his expos. I think I was eight, so Tony would have been fourteen.

"Where did you find that?" I asked, smiling and nodding towards it. Tony turned to see what I was talking about.

"Oh, that. It was in an old chest. We don't have many pictures with dad; I'm surprised that one even turned up," he huffed. His mouth twitched into a small frown.

"Dad might not have shown it often, but he loved you, Tony. I wish you'd realize that," I mumbled, staring at the picture. We both looked so happy, and dad was beaming with pride. He had always encouraged us to follow in his steps. Maybe a little too fervently.

I could remember when I told dad that I had been accepted into Juilliard. He was so upset that I thought he was going to go into cardiac arrest. He told me that I had no future in the arts, that it was a foolish dream. So, I applied and got accepted to Columbia and shortly after they both passed away. At the time, I felt that if I didn't attend Columbia I would disappoint dad, so I mastered in biophysics. Kept the Stark name strong... After I graduated, I held a position with the Stark Industries board until I was kidnapped.

"You didn't have to follow through with Columbia you know," Tony spoke up, reading my mind. He began fidgeting with some of his tools lying on the table.

"You know how dad was... I would've been a disappointment otherwise. He left his legacy for us to uphold," I scoffed.

"Yeah, dad would have thought so, but mom wouldn't have. She would have been so proud if you had gone to Juilliard like she did," he told me with a small smile. Mom was the nurturing, accepting one. God, I missed her.

"Well, it's too late now," I sighed, leaning against one of the tables. I held no interest in that career field anymore. He patted me on the back, and I stuck my tongue out at him, earning an eye roll. There were footsteps on the stairs, and we both turned to see that Pepper was the one stomping down.

"Happy and I are waiting for you two! You were supposed to drag him up here, Melanie," she chastised. We could only stare at her like deer in headlights.

"You have two minutes to get up here," she growled, turning on her heels and stomping back up the stairs. Tony looked at me sourly.

"Good job. You got us both in the doghouse," he groaned before changing the subject, "Speaking of houses, when will your condo be ready?"

"The day after tomorrow," I replied, heading towards the door. I had closed on a luxury condo in D.C. recently.

"You can stay as long as you want Lanie. We miss you around here," Tony confessed.

"I'll only be gone a little over a week, just up until the holiday. I'm too excited about this place to not go settle in," I bounced. He laughed and opened the door to let me pass through.

"So, I hear Rogers has been around a lot," he smirked at me as we climbed the stairs. Damnit, Natasha.

"You've been talking to Nat?" I asked sneakily.

"Just for- Hey, don't change the subject. C'mon spill! You're smitten, aren't you?" he teased. My cheeks turned hot, and I picked up my pace. He sucked in a surprised breath and quickly caught up.

"Oh wow- You really have feelings for him?" he observed, cocking an eyebrow at me. I did have a crush on him like some pathetic schoolgirl, but I didn't want to admit it.

"No! Of course not. We just work together," I denied, turning into the dining room. Happy and Pepper were seated at the table, waiting on us.

"I can tell when you're lying," he snickered and tugged at a strand of my hair, "Steve and Lanie sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-"

"How old are we?" I hissed at him, plopping into the chair beside Happy. They were both laughing at Tony's dumb joke, so I ignored them and started piling food onto my plate. Tony sat across from me and did the same. He kicked me from under the table and winked.

"Invite him to Christmas," he suggested, grinning at me. I nodded and smiled back, glancing around at my little family. I missed this; it was blissful.