Fic dump
Okay, so here are a few fics, some of which have been sitting around for while. They're all based off of RPs between empty_splendor and myself, which are based on an AU that revolves around some Stark kids we made up.
Title: Another Day
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Maria/Tony
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Word Count: 1135
Warnings: Depiction of convulsions
Summary: Prompt: Maria takes care of Tony on a bad day
Beta: pandanoai
Author's note: This is post-Dark Reign, post-brain delete, so Tony's not in the greatest shape. Victoria is my Stark girl, the adorable demon spawn of the union between Maria Hill and Tony Stark. She has the Extremis.
Today was a bad day.
Once Maria had gotten Victoria set up in the living room with a box of brand new crayons and a fresh pad of paper with orders to JARVIS to keep her occupied for a bit, she went upstairs to Tony.
He was in bed, curled into his side with the sheets drawn close to him and a waste basket within arm's reach and cane not too far from it. The bedside table had a glass of water and a can of ginger ale if he got adventurous, and the remote to the TV if his headache went away - which it probably wouldn't. Maria checked in on him, before going to the linen closet and grabbing a washcloth. She went to the bathroom and ran it under cold water before returning to him and putting it on his forehead.
He smiled up at her, weak and shaky, "Might not want to stand too close."
Maria went around the other side and sat on the bed, not so much out of fear that she was between him and his trash can, but because she wanted to make him feel more comfortable. She sat beside him, knees drawn close to her chest.
They sat in almost silence for a minute, with only Tony's stifled shivers filling the air. It had been three years since Tony's...downfall, and he was still recovering. He didn't really have good days, just bad days and days where he could walk on his own.
"How's Vic?" He asked finally, voice hoarse.
"She's all right," Maria said with a nod. "JARVIS turned on Animal Planet for her so she could draw some new things."
Tony laughed, though it might have just been a cough. It shook his body and the bed, making Maria bob a bit on the mattress. She put a hand on his back and rubbed some, knowing it wouldn't do much for the cough, but it might sooth him some. He let out a long sigh once he had finished.
"Every day's an adventure..." he groaned.
"Always has been with you," Maria said quietly.
Tony moved his head so he could see her She gave him an apologetic look.
"I didn't mean--"
He waved a hand, "It's okay. I've never really been the best person to be around."
Maria's mind flashed to SHIELD, to being on the run, to everything they had been through, "Not any worse than me."
Tony sighed, "Sorry..."
"Nothing to be sorry about," Maria started to rub his back again.
Tony didn't respond.
The rest of the morning went on in a similar fashion - with Tony laying in bed, threatening to throw up and Maria saying close. She went down around noon to check on Victoria and look at the pictures she had drawn. Nearly half of the pad was full of meerkats, panda bears, and chimps, all drawn as realistically as the four year old could (which was pretty close considering). The girl had problems with creativity, so she'd been transitioned from coloring books to blank pages of paper in hopes of drawing it out of her. She was working on a picture of a puppy right now, JARVIS having paused the show for her to have a reference. Maria watched Victoria work, stroking the girl's hair as the picture was formed. When she was done, Victoria looked up to her mother.
"That's fantastic, sweetheart," Maria smiled.
Victoria nodded and looked down at the picture, "May I show them to father?"
Maria hesitated a moment. Tony wanted to try and nap, so she had given him some privacy.
She gave a small nod, "Let me go see if he's awake, all right? If he's not, I know he'll want to look at them later."
Victoria nodded and returned to looking at the TV as JARVIS continued to play the show. Maria went up the stairs and to the master bedroom.
Tony was awake, but she didn't think it would be the best time for Vic to come up. The twitching had started. Since he had wreck his nervous system (again, from what Maria had heard), Tony had a constant, mild case of the shakes, hardly noticeable on a regular occasion. But on bad days, they were full body convulsions that sometimes strung together to give the appearance that he was having a seizure -- thankfully he hadn't had an actual seizure in months.
This was when she felt the most helpless, when he lay in the bed, limbs moving against his will and getting tangled in the sheets. There was literally nothing she could do, nothing that the medications weren't already supposed to be doing. She couldn't hold him, try to comfort him. All she could do was make sure there was nothing to hurt himself on and wait.
And that's what she did. She waited, stayed with him the entire time even though looking at him made her stomach churn, made her own body ache in sympathy. She didn't watch him, knowing that he hated anyone to see his weakness, but she knew more than anything, he didn't want to be alone.
The jerking began to wane off eventually. She wasn't sure how long it had been going on, how long ago it might have started since she had been downstairs. She moved cautiously over to the bed, putting a hand on his back when she got close enough. He twitched, but she wasn't sure if it was because of the touch or not. He looked up at her, not even trying to act strong any more. She sat down on the bed and he curled into her lap. She held onto him, guiding a hand up and down his side.
He took deep breaths, in and out. She remained quiet, knowing that he would speak when he was ready to -- or rather, when he was able. After a few minutes, he cleared his throat.
"So...the nap didn't happen."
Maria gave him a smile, though she didn't laugh. That was what he needed, to have that appearance that this didn't get to him, that he was still strong, even though everyone knew he wasn't.
"Victoria wants to show you what she's drawn," Maria offered quietly, smoothing his hair down some. "When you're feeling better."
"Maybe..." Tony swallowed hard. Maria reached for the water as he continued, "Maybe later tonight."
Maria helped him drink, holding it steady for him because his hands were still shaking. He swallowed and rest his head back in her lap.
"Tell her I'm sorry," he said in a low voice, sounding sleepy.
"It's okay. She knows you're sick. Just...take your time. Don't rush anything."
He gave a half nod, eyes closed. His breathing even out and Maria knew he had finally fallen asleep.
Title: Home Again
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Peter/Fan Character
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Word Count: 832
Warnings: Talk of break-in, kidnapping, and assault
Summary: Prompt: Isabel comes home after Osborn takes her in for "questioning"
Beta: pandanoai
Author's note: This is semi-post-Dark Reign (if that makes sense) and, of course, post-OMD. Isabel is e_s's Stark child and is the daughter of Beth and Tony, and in this fic is dating Peter. This takes place after Osborn sent Bullseye and Venom to her apartment to bring her in for questioning about Tony's plans. The awkwardness between Peter and James is entirely my and Panda's fault because we somehow turned it into something of a love triangle while e_s was running to the store.
Isabel unlocked the door and walked into the darkened apartment, flanked by Peter and James, who had insisted on going with her. It was the first time she had gone home in four months and everything was just like she remembered. She was actually surprised that she hadn't been evicted, but apparently someone - she suspected the Avengers or one of their associates - had been paying her rent during her... time away.
The original plan was for her to go to Germany and stay with her mother, but that had been scrapped and she had spent the last few months hiding in Steve's old apartment, cleaning up after all of the Avengers (mostly Logan). She flipped on the light switch by the door, like she always did, but this time the light brought with it a flash of memory - hands grabbing her from behind, dragging her away. She shivered a bit, swallowing hard. James put a hand on her shoulder and she gave him a soft smile. Peter seemed to be preoccupied with checking the apartment, making sure it was actually secure, and had wandered off into the back rooms.
Izzy left James and walked further into the small living area, arms crossed over her chest. She felt out of place in her own home. She let out a deep breath that seemed to echo around the empty room. Peter came back around the corner.
"Everything looks all right," he offered, though his voice sounded a bit uncertain. "I mean, from what I can tell."
"I wouldn't let her in if it wasn't okay," James said, in a low voice and Peter responded with a slight glare.
"I meant that nothing was missing," He countered.
Isabel just smiled, but there was no feeling behind it. Peter turned and gave her a kind look. He went over and put his hands on her shoulders.
"You'll be okay," he said gently. "You're safe now, I promise you."
Izzy smiled again, this time with more feeling. She knew he was just as scared as she was, that he still blamed himself for Osborn getting a hold of her, for the still fresh scar on her neck even though she told him time and again that it wasn't his fault. She saw his eyes drift to that scar for only a moment before looking her back in the eyes.
Isabel gave him a small nod. She leaned in to kiss his cheek, "Thanks, Spider."
She pulled away letting her hair out of her ponytail, to cover the scar, and headed back into her bedroom. As she did so, she noticed that James seemed to be preoccupied with studying her bookshelf.
She walked around the bedroom slowly, making a mental checklist. Peter was right, nothing seemed to be missing. She had been the only thing they had wanted.
She kept her arms drawn close to herself, not touching anything- like she was in the home of someone else. She let out a frustrated sigh. She went back out to the living room where the boys seemed to be standing in an awkward silence. They tensed when she came back in.
"I can't do this," she announced, voice wavering just a bit.
She saw the boys exchange a look. They both moved to speak, but then stopped, cutting each other off... another look between them.
Isabel rolled her eyes, speaking before either of them got another chance, "I can't live here again. I'm going to move."
"Yeah, okay," Peter rubbed the back of his neck, brow furrowed.
"You can stay at the apartment until you find a place," James offered.
"Or with me," Peter countered, rather quickly.
Isabel smiled, grateful and just a little amused, "Thank you."
They both smiled in return - which was a little off putting on James.
"I'll just... grab some stuff," Isabel thumbed over her shoulder. "So you won't have to go shopping for me again."
She thought she saw a shudder run through the two of them as she turned to go back to her room. She let out a deep breath as she lugged out her suitcase from her closet. It would be good to move, even if she didn't know where she would go- add to that the fact that housing was hard to find in New York... but this was the last place she wanted to be - well, here and the Tower.
Both her homes were gone now. So now she needed to find a new one, start over and all that. Osborn was gone, that was behind them. Her father was...alive, as far as she knew. But right now, she had to worry about herself.
She packed her luggage - some clothes, some toiletries, some books, and her laptop. She'd call her boss tomorrow, let her know she could start writing articles again, start getting a pay check again.
She would get past this, put it behind her, or at least shove it aside for a while, because that's what Starks do.
Title: Wedding Day
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Maria/Tony
Genre: Fluff
Word Count: 309
Warnings: Swearing
Summary: Prompt: Maria gets ready on her wedding day
Beta: empty_splendor
Author's note: This is old, old, old, not even within the new, revised timeline of our RP AU (where Maria doesn't come find Tony until Victoria is three. Oh, and they're not married now, never were). But, I still sort of like this because it sort of shows the simple life that the two more or less retired to, without fame or fortune or superheroing.
Maria wasn't sure what made her agree to this. The ceremony, not the marriage. It wasn't anything big, no -- just a few odd friends between the two of them -- but it was enough to get her nerves worked up. She would have preferred going to Vegas and being wed by a guy dressed as Elvis that to do something like this.
She was wearing in a sundress bought a Macy's, extra-large since they couldn't find a maternity dress in white, with a pair of shoes borrowed from Pepper. She didn't have a veil, but she did have a bouquet -- a couple roses supplemented by flowers from the front yard. She looked at herself, discontent while Pepper pinned her dress back to make it look more flattering.
"This is insane."
"What is?" Pepper asked, talking around the safety-pins in her mouth.
"Getting married."
"You're already married," Pepper pointed out.
Maria rolled her eyes, "Having the ceremony then."
"You have to have a ceremony. You're a woman. It's required that all of us have dreams of princess weddings." Her voice was deadpan.
"Yeah, right. And how many princess weddings have brides that are six months pregnant?"
"Probably more than you'd think."
Maria sighed. Pepper looked at her finally, their eyes meeting in the mirror.
"You're nervous. It's okay to be nervous. I was. I know Tony sure as hell is. It'll be, like, twenty minutes, and you're done."
"Twenty minutes of everyone staring at me in this ridiculous dress..."
"Maria," she put her hands on the other woman's shoulders, "You've faced down the Skrull armada. You can walk down that aisle."
Maria snorted, "Yeah, that's what you think. I fucking hate heels."
Pepper laughed a little, "You look fantastic. Just remember, little steps."
"Yeah, yeah," Maria muttered. She took a deep breath, giving herself a once over, then nodding. "Okay."
Title: Another Day
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Maria/Tony
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Word Count: 1135
Warnings: Depiction of convulsions
Summary: Prompt: Maria takes care of Tony on a bad day
Beta: pandanoai
Author's note: This is post-Dark Reign, post-brain delete, so Tony's not in the greatest shape. Victoria is my Stark girl, the adorable demon spawn of the union between Maria Hill and Tony Stark. She has the Extremis.
Today was a bad day.
Once Maria had gotten Victoria set up in the living room with a box of brand new crayons and a fresh pad of paper with orders to JARVIS to keep her occupied for a bit, she went upstairs to Tony.
He was in bed, curled into his side with the sheets drawn close to him and a waste basket within arm's reach and cane not too far from it. The bedside table had a glass of water and a can of ginger ale if he got adventurous, and the remote to the TV if his headache went away - which it probably wouldn't. Maria checked in on him, before going to the linen closet and grabbing a washcloth. She went to the bathroom and ran it under cold water before returning to him and putting it on his forehead.
He smiled up at her, weak and shaky, "Might not want to stand too close."
Maria went around the other side and sat on the bed, not so much out of fear that she was between him and his trash can, but because she wanted to make him feel more comfortable. She sat beside him, knees drawn close to her chest.
They sat in almost silence for a minute, with only Tony's stifled shivers filling the air. It had been three years since Tony's...downfall, and he was still recovering. He didn't really have good days, just bad days and days where he could walk on his own.
"How's Vic?" He asked finally, voice hoarse.
"She's all right," Maria said with a nod. "JARVIS turned on Animal Planet for her so she could draw some new things."
Tony laughed, though it might have just been a cough. It shook his body and the bed, making Maria bob a bit on the mattress. She put a hand on his back and rubbed some, knowing it wouldn't do much for the cough, but it might sooth him some. He let out a long sigh once he had finished.
"Every day's an adventure..." he groaned.
"Always has been with you," Maria said quietly.
Tony moved his head so he could see her She gave him an apologetic look.
"I didn't mean--"
He waved a hand, "It's okay. I've never really been the best person to be around."
Maria's mind flashed to SHIELD, to being on the run, to everything they had been through, "Not any worse than me."
Tony sighed, "Sorry..."
"Nothing to be sorry about," Maria started to rub his back again.
Tony didn't respond.
The rest of the morning went on in a similar fashion - with Tony laying in bed, threatening to throw up and Maria saying close. She went down around noon to check on Victoria and look at the pictures she had drawn. Nearly half of the pad was full of meerkats, panda bears, and chimps, all drawn as realistically as the four year old could (which was pretty close considering). The girl had problems with creativity, so she'd been transitioned from coloring books to blank pages of paper in hopes of drawing it out of her. She was working on a picture of a puppy right now, JARVIS having paused the show for her to have a reference. Maria watched Victoria work, stroking the girl's hair as the picture was formed. When she was done, Victoria looked up to her mother.
"That's fantastic, sweetheart," Maria smiled.
Victoria nodded and looked down at the picture, "May I show them to father?"
Maria hesitated a moment. Tony wanted to try and nap, so she had given him some privacy.
She gave a small nod, "Let me go see if he's awake, all right? If he's not, I know he'll want to look at them later."
Victoria nodded and returned to looking at the TV as JARVIS continued to play the show. Maria went up the stairs and to the master bedroom.
Tony was awake, but she didn't think it would be the best time for Vic to come up. The twitching had started. Since he had wreck his nervous system (again, from what Maria had heard), Tony had a constant, mild case of the shakes, hardly noticeable on a regular occasion. But on bad days, they were full body convulsions that sometimes strung together to give the appearance that he was having a seizure -- thankfully he hadn't had an actual seizure in months.
This was when she felt the most helpless, when he lay in the bed, limbs moving against his will and getting tangled in the sheets. There was literally nothing she could do, nothing that the medications weren't already supposed to be doing. She couldn't hold him, try to comfort him. All she could do was make sure there was nothing to hurt himself on and wait.
And that's what she did. She waited, stayed with him the entire time even though looking at him made her stomach churn, made her own body ache in sympathy. She didn't watch him, knowing that he hated anyone to see his weakness, but she knew more than anything, he didn't want to be alone.
The jerking began to wane off eventually. She wasn't sure how long it had been going on, how long ago it might have started since she had been downstairs. She moved cautiously over to the bed, putting a hand on his back when she got close enough. He twitched, but she wasn't sure if it was because of the touch or not. He looked up at her, not even trying to act strong any more. She sat down on the bed and he curled into her lap. She held onto him, guiding a hand up and down his side.
He took deep breaths, in and out. She remained quiet, knowing that he would speak when he was ready to -- or rather, when he was able. After a few minutes, he cleared his throat.
"So...the nap didn't happen."
Maria gave him a smile, though she didn't laugh. That was what he needed, to have that appearance that this didn't get to him, that he was still strong, even though everyone knew he wasn't.
"Victoria wants to show you what she's drawn," Maria offered quietly, smoothing his hair down some. "When you're feeling better."
"Maybe..." Tony swallowed hard. Maria reached for the water as he continued, "Maybe later tonight."
Maria helped him drink, holding it steady for him because his hands were still shaking. He swallowed and rest his head back in her lap.
"Tell her I'm sorry," he said in a low voice, sounding sleepy.
"It's okay. She knows you're sick. Just...take your time. Don't rush anything."
He gave a half nod, eyes closed. His breathing even out and Maria knew he had finally fallen asleep.
Title: Home Again
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Peter/Fan Character
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Word Count: 832
Warnings: Talk of break-in, kidnapping, and assault
Summary: Prompt: Isabel comes home after Osborn takes her in for "questioning"
Beta: pandanoai
Author's note: This is semi-post-Dark Reign (if that makes sense) and, of course, post-OMD. Isabel is e_s's Stark child and is the daughter of Beth and Tony, and in this fic is dating Peter. This takes place after Osborn sent Bullseye and Venom to her apartment to bring her in for questioning about Tony's plans. The awkwardness between Peter and James is entirely my and Panda's fault because we somehow turned it into something of a love triangle while e_s was running to the store.
Isabel unlocked the door and walked into the darkened apartment, flanked by Peter and James, who had insisted on going with her. It was the first time she had gone home in four months and everything was just like she remembered. She was actually surprised that she hadn't been evicted, but apparently someone - she suspected the Avengers or one of their associates - had been paying her rent during her... time away.
The original plan was for her to go to Germany and stay with her mother, but that had been scrapped and she had spent the last few months hiding in Steve's old apartment, cleaning up after all of the Avengers (mostly Logan). She flipped on the light switch by the door, like she always did, but this time the light brought with it a flash of memory - hands grabbing her from behind, dragging her away. She shivered a bit, swallowing hard. James put a hand on her shoulder and she gave him a soft smile. Peter seemed to be preoccupied with checking the apartment, making sure it was actually secure, and had wandered off into the back rooms.
Izzy left James and walked further into the small living area, arms crossed over her chest. She felt out of place in her own home. She let out a deep breath that seemed to echo around the empty room. Peter came back around the corner.
"Everything looks all right," he offered, though his voice sounded a bit uncertain. "I mean, from what I can tell."
"I wouldn't let her in if it wasn't okay," James said, in a low voice and Peter responded with a slight glare.
"I meant that nothing was missing," He countered.
Isabel just smiled, but there was no feeling behind it. Peter turned and gave her a kind look. He went over and put his hands on her shoulders.
"You'll be okay," he said gently. "You're safe now, I promise you."
Izzy smiled again, this time with more feeling. She knew he was just as scared as she was, that he still blamed himself for Osborn getting a hold of her, for the still fresh scar on her neck even though she told him time and again that it wasn't his fault. She saw his eyes drift to that scar for only a moment before looking her back in the eyes.
Isabel gave him a small nod. She leaned in to kiss his cheek, "Thanks, Spider."
She pulled away letting her hair out of her ponytail, to cover the scar, and headed back into her bedroom. As she did so, she noticed that James seemed to be preoccupied with studying her bookshelf.
She walked around the bedroom slowly, making a mental checklist. Peter was right, nothing seemed to be missing. She had been the only thing they had wanted.
She kept her arms drawn close to herself, not touching anything- like she was in the home of someone else. She let out a frustrated sigh. She went back out to the living room where the boys seemed to be standing in an awkward silence. They tensed when she came back in.
"I can't do this," she announced, voice wavering just a bit.
She saw the boys exchange a look. They both moved to speak, but then stopped, cutting each other off... another look between them.
Isabel rolled her eyes, speaking before either of them got another chance, "I can't live here again. I'm going to move."
"Yeah, okay," Peter rubbed the back of his neck, brow furrowed.
"You can stay at the apartment until you find a place," James offered.
"Or with me," Peter countered, rather quickly.
Isabel smiled, grateful and just a little amused, "Thank you."
They both smiled in return - which was a little off putting on James.
"I'll just... grab some stuff," Isabel thumbed over her shoulder. "So you won't have to go shopping for me again."
She thought she saw a shudder run through the two of them as she turned to go back to her room. She let out a deep breath as she lugged out her suitcase from her closet. It would be good to move, even if she didn't know where she would go- add to that the fact that housing was hard to find in New York... but this was the last place she wanted to be - well, here and the Tower.
Both her homes were gone now. So now she needed to find a new one, start over and all that. Osborn was gone, that was behind them. Her father was...alive, as far as she knew. But right now, she had to worry about herself.
She packed her luggage - some clothes, some toiletries, some books, and her laptop. She'd call her boss tomorrow, let her know she could start writing articles again, start getting a pay check again.
She would get past this, put it behind her, or at least shove it aside for a while, because that's what Starks do.
Title: Wedding Day
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Maria/Tony
Genre: Fluff
Word Count: 309
Warnings: Swearing
Summary: Prompt: Maria gets ready on her wedding day
Beta: empty_splendor
Author's note: This is old, old, old, not even within the new, revised timeline of our RP AU (where Maria doesn't come find Tony until Victoria is three. Oh, and they're not married now, never were). But, I still sort of like this because it sort of shows the simple life that the two more or less retired to, without fame or fortune or superheroing.
Maria wasn't sure what made her agree to this. The ceremony, not the marriage. It wasn't anything big, no -- just a few odd friends between the two of them -- but it was enough to get her nerves worked up. She would have preferred going to Vegas and being wed by a guy dressed as Elvis that to do something like this.
She was wearing in a sundress bought a Macy's, extra-large since they couldn't find a maternity dress in white, with a pair of shoes borrowed from Pepper. She didn't have a veil, but she did have a bouquet -- a couple roses supplemented by flowers from the front yard. She looked at herself, discontent while Pepper pinned her dress back to make it look more flattering.
"This is insane."
"What is?" Pepper asked, talking around the safety-pins in her mouth.
"Getting married."
"You're already married," Pepper pointed out.
Maria rolled her eyes, "Having the ceremony then."
"You have to have a ceremony. You're a woman. It's required that all of us have dreams of princess weddings." Her voice was deadpan.
"Yeah, right. And how many princess weddings have brides that are six months pregnant?"
"Probably more than you'd think."
Maria sighed. Pepper looked at her finally, their eyes meeting in the mirror.
"You're nervous. It's okay to be nervous. I was. I know Tony sure as hell is. It'll be, like, twenty minutes, and you're done."
"Twenty minutes of everyone staring at me in this ridiculous dress..."
"Maria," she put her hands on the other woman's shoulders, "You've faced down the Skrull armada. You can walk down that aisle."
Maria snorted, "Yeah, that's what you think. I fucking hate heels."
Pepper laughed a little, "You look fantastic. Just remember, little steps."
"Yeah, yeah," Maria muttered. She took a deep breath, giving herself a once over, then nodding. "Okay."