little piece of heaven (tony stark's daughter)

part 2 - prologue

"i am iron man"

the words bounce around my head like a curse, chanting themselves like a sick mantra.

i am iron man. i am iron man. i am iron man.

i hate it, i hate it so much, because ever since my dad opened his mouth and spat those exact words out, he had not shut up about it.

the media's painting him as a hero, not that he isn't but it all feels a little plastic. tony stark, iron man, saviour of us all. lord praise tony stark. as if his ego needed boosting. his disappearance is pretty much forgotten, as is my three month nap, and i get the feeling that this is as close to normal as we're going to get for a long time.

especially since every so often my back and head start to bleed, and it's getting more frequent.

i haven't told my dad. he's too wrapped up in his metal clothing and booming self confidence to notice and so i haven't exactly had to try very hard to hide it.

i want to tell him, i really do, but i actually don't, in fact i currently can't think of anything worse. he'll go all mama bear and hover over me for the rest of my life, in addition to the fact that i'm completely aware that this is far far out of his ability range and he won't be able to do anything at all. that, in turn, will frustrate him to the point of unlimited worry and i won't even be able to go pee by myself.

so here i am, sat in the toilets at the stark expo, waiting for blood to stop pouring from my head. no matter how many times it happens, it doesn't become any more pleasant. the stickiness is unpleasant as it matts itself into my hair, the substance staining my skin and clothes. luckily, my back isn't currently bleeding and so with some tissue pressed to my forehead i'm managing to keep my blue dress bloodless.

my cheek is squished against the wall of the stall as i wait it out. i'm slightly more uncomfortable than usual because i know that at some point pepper will come looking for me and she'll freak out if she finds me covered in blood wandering the halls of this huge building.

if pepper found out i think she'd freak out more than dad, she might even die on the spot..

i pull the tissues away from my head and feel my head to reveal that the bleeding has decided to stop. with a sigh of relief, i stand up and flush the mountain of blood-stained paper away before unlocking the stall door and leaving the restroom.

i'm a little light headed, naturally, and the lights in the hall are bright, but i still wasn't expecting to fall over when i saw dad and happy running towards me.

"oh thank god there you are! where the hell have you been ti- oh.. you okay cub?" dad stops abruptly as i stumble to the floor, trying to catch myself on the wall on the way down but failing miserably and still landing with a thump.

i nod slightly as i clamber to my feet, slightly worried that if i open my mouth to give a verbal response i'll send myself spinning. i have to blink a few times before the world becomes stable even after the small motion of my head. dad walks towards me and lifts me onto his hip "i think someone is tired and clumsy" he jiggles me a little and i have to close my eyes, pressing my head into his shoulder.

"i want my bed" i complain quietly. it's not a lie, i do, and i am tired. i didn't want to come to this whole expo thing but pepper insisted, adamant that it'll be good for me to start getting used to the press. i don't want to get used to the press, i hate them. however, i'm not about to argue with pepper because she's scary when she's mad.

"i know cubs" he places a hand on the back of my head to shield me from cameras as he walks into the lobby, shouts and screams filling my ears. i grumble something inaudible even to myself as happy fights through the crowd, making a path for dad to carry me through.

despite my exhaustion and the persistent call for cosiness and comfort, i don't go straight to bed when we get home. my legs hate me for it as i drag myself out to the balcony connected to my bedroom. the cool air is a relief against my flushed cheeks, the stress of this evening's events clearly getting to me. i lean my small body against the glass barrier surrounding the fake-grass platform and stare across to the sea. i've always found the ocean rather calming, the rhythm of the waves washing my mind clean.

not tonight though, some things can't be forgotten, no matter how temporarily.

i can't keep this bleeding thing a secret forever, someone is going to find out at some point and i'm going to be in deep trouble for not telling dad. additionally, i get the feeling that this is just the start of something so much bigger, especially because my powers are nowhere near developed yet. right now, i would appreciate someone from asgard popping down to give me a little bit of moral support, but it's fine, i guess i'm alone on this one.

i turn away from the night-covered world and head back inside, getting ready for bed. once i'm in my light pink nightshirt, i pad down the stairs to locate my dad. he's exactly where i thought he'd be, in his lab. my feet move quickly across the cold floor across the room to where he's tinkering with something.

"night night" i force a small smile when i reach him. he's been a little awkward with me lately, and it's made me awkward too. my dad hasn't had much time for me now that he's the supposed dad of america too. i think i preferred being an only child.

he looks up at me momentarily, then turning back to whatever he's doing, a small knot forming in my stomach "night cub".

i frown "aren't you going to tuck me in?".

he doesn't even look up at me this time, too preoccupied with his oh so important work "i'm a little busy right now rose, you're a big girl now you can go to bed by yourself".

i stare at him for a moment, a little taken aback "i'm eight" i say shortly. sure, i'm clever for my age but i still want to be tucked in by my daddy.

"exactl- look rosie i really haven't got time for this and it's past your bedtime, i'll see you in the morning".

so i go to bed by myself, i tuck myself in, and i have to tell jarvis that i love him so that he says it back because no one else will.

we're back bitches :)

hold onto your hats because this is the start of iron man 2 and it's gonna get intense. there's gonna be a lot of tension between tony and rosalie sorry it has to happen whoops. there'll be a lot of development of rosalie and some breakthroughs :))
can't wait to get this started properly, hope you're as excited as i am xxx

see you on the flip side

arwen <3