RADIATING VIOLET| t. stark ✔️

TWENTY: The Beginning of the End

I live my day as if it was the last.

Live my day as if there was no past.

The Starks(and Pepper) had finally made it back to Malibu. All Alyssa seemed to do was sleep. Sometimes, the creepy whip guy would visit, she came to know his name as Ivan. She didn't like him. Tony seemed to retract back into himself, all of his promises that he made in Monaco disappeared.

It was like they never even existed.

It didn't bother her, she was used to it by now. 

The girl had been listening to Natalie and Pepper desperately trying to clear Tony's name.

Tony.

It sounds so foreign to her.

Dad.

No. It still isn't right.

She sighed and slowly took her boots off. She placed her legs on the leather stool. Alyssa grabbed a book and began to slowly read. Her eyes began to close and before she knew it, she was out.

"Where is he?" Rhodey asked as he approached the two red-haired women. Pepper sighed lightly. Small snores came from the being on the couch. Alyssa laid curled up on the couch smiling softly. She squirmed and mumbled incoherently her grip tightening on the book.

"Cutie." Rhodey muttered. He slowly approached her as to not wake the small being and pulled the book away. He stopped when Alyssa fidgeted. He could deal with missiles and  guns but a child, that's a whole different ball game. Rhodey breathed a sigh of relief when the girl stopped and he draped a blanket over her.

Pepper and Natalie smiled back like it was the cutest thing ever.

"Don't tell anyone about that." Rhodey commanded.

"Our lips are sealed." Pepper smiled pretending to lock her mouth with her hands. She got another call and quickly went to answer it.

"Where was I? Oh right, Tony?" Rhodey asked.

"He doesn't want to be disturbed." Natalie smiled. Pepper rolled her eyes before whispering, "He's downstairs."

Rhodey sighed and trudged down the stairs to see his oldest friend. Maybe, they shouldn't be friends. Alyssa stirred a bit in her sleep. She blinked her eyes a few times before stifling a small moan and stretched her arms out.

Natalie smiled softly and turned back to work. Pepper was still fighting with reporters and people on the phone. Alyssa twisted in the blanket and muttered a goodnight to the two women as she walked up the stairs. It was late and she was exhausted.

***

"Tony, you gotta get upstairs and get on top of this situation right now. Listen. I've been on the phone with the National Guard all day, trying to talk them out of rolling tanks up the PCH, knocking down your front door and taking these. They're gonna take your suits, Tony, okay? They're sick of the games. You said nobody else would possess this technology for 20 years. Well, guess what? Somebody else had it yesterday. It's not theoretical anymore. Are you listening to me? Are you okay?" Rhodey ranted.

Tony looked up from his spot on the tv and blinked his eyes a couple of times. He sighed softly before turning to grip on the door handle.

"Let's go." He mutters slowly rising from his seat. He gets up to his feet before his leg collapses on himself.

"Hey, man. Hey, hey! You all right?" Rhodey asked running up to stabilize his friend.

"Yeah, I should get to my desk. See that cigar box?"

"Yeah."

"It's palladium." Tony muttered he clambered into the chair as Rhodey pulled out the cigar box. Tony then lifted up his shirt removing the arc reactor and lifted it up.

"Is that supposed to be smoking?" Rhodey asked.

"If you must know, it's neutron damage. It's from the reactor wall." Tony muttered.

"You had this in your body?" The man stifled a nod and turned away from the Colonel in the desk chair.

Time was running out.

"And how about the high-tech crossword puzzle on your neck?"

"Road rash." Tony muttered. The dark mechanic like lines were peeking out the end of his shirt. He licked his lips anxiously. Rhodey replaced the palladium and handed the device back to Tony.

"Thank you." He muttered taking another sip of his weird green drink.

"What are you looking at?" Tony snapped. He watched as his friend eyed him cautiously.

"I'm looking at you. You wanna do this whole lone gunslinger act and it's unnecessary. You don't have to do this alone." Rhodey said.

"You know, I wish I could believe that. I really do. But you've gotta trust me. Contrary to popular belief, I know exactly what I'm doing." Tony sighed groaning once more as he felt the infection spread.

"No you don't. Liz could have gotten severely hurt or worse." Rhodey sighed before realizing that sugarcoating the truth wouldn't help to get his point across.

"She could have died Tony. Pepper could have died. You could have lost them, forever...and-and...it all could have been avoided if you were to just be responsible for once. That kid, that little girl...She's breakable Tony, you must know that."

Tony looked up his eyes met the wall and he couldn't stand to look at him. His friend had the audacity to criticize him after the events that happened in Monaco? He didn't know what it was like. He wasn't there.

The truth finally sunk in and Tony wasn't mad anymore. He knew it was true.

He could lose both of them...

..at any minute.