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bubblesong) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
synthneon2025-06-10 12:40 am
bubblesong) wrote in synthneon2025-06-10 12:40 am
🫧 mcu/nikke ||
[ Little Mermaid slips quietly down the stairs into the glass doors of the workshop. Golden colored eyes scan the workshop, realizing that the lights are off. That alone is unusual for the ungodly early hours of the morning when it comes to the Malibu mansion, but also because there is no music.
Or sounds.
She can account for every car being in it's place from where she stands.
Her hand raises to unlock the door and she slips inside. Since the room is already quiet, she decides to not make any jarring noises if possible. Both hands quietly ease the door shut and she practically tiptoes through the usually loud and bustling workshop. Her hair is braided in an attempt to keep it from dragging on the floor, but yet it still manages to touch it with the ends regardless. ]
Uhmm... ooo.
[ The nervous hushed sounds come from her as she continues her tiptoeing search through the workshop. She's nervous to call out to the man she's looking for in case it startles him.
Everyone is aware that things haven't been the same since they returned from New York City those months ago. Little Mermaid had been overjoyed to return to the Malibu mansion, but made sure to keep the emotions to herself. Especially at seeing how rattled Tony Stark had been. Of course, he had been his usual abrasive, sarcastic, funny self, but they could all tell something was different. Rhodey tried to help when he could, but was brushed off. Pepper does what she can when she stops by after being at Stark Industries all day, but generally the conversations always break down into work and what not to do or what to do with the direction of the company.
She's wanted to help too. She's always wanted to help.
But, does someone like Tony Stark need her help? Does a hero like Iron Man who can fight along side people from other realities, spies, massive shapeshifting men, and even the original super soldier need her help? She's was designed to be a support not an attacker to her squad. The squad that was deemed such a failure it caused the Goddess of Victory project to come to a close. The squad that had been forced apart in their mission that was supposed to redeem them and rewrite their ending. She couldn't even take the hand of her dearest friend when her friend needed it the most. How could someone like Tony ever really need her help in anything?
That was why the comments from the interviewer had rattled her so much. She doesn't want to be a failure or just another woman that Pepper takes out of the house one day. She wants to be helpful, to have a place she belongs, to be more the failure she had been labeled. She wants to be special like Pepper is to him. Not the exact same, as one can never truly replace another, but she wants to be apart of his life.
Maybe one day she can truly earn the title of "Goddess of Victory" to someone.
Tony doesn't need a Goddess of Victory. He's his own maker of victories.
Little Mermaid stops at one of the work tables.
Then, she leans over it slightly.
Tony is sitting on the floor, pressed against the work table, breathing heavily and shaking.
She bites her lip to keep from saying his name in relief that she found him. Instead, she carefully and quietly, tiptoes around the side of the work table. Then, she moves down to be on her knees. She hasn't moved to be exactly next to him. There is still plenty of space to give him room. Her eyes drop to his shaking hands before looking back up at his face in what she can make out in the darkness. The light from his arc reactor is dimmed through his shirts, but she can at least make the outline out in the darkness.
Slowly, one hand reaches out to rest beside him. She hesitates with her fingers curling slightly. He hasn't reached out to her--should she even reach out to him first? ]
... Tony? [ Little Mermaid speaks in a whisper as to try and not startle him.
The notion isn't hard. There had been a time when that was all she could speak in. ]
Or sounds.
She can account for every car being in it's place from where she stands.
Her hand raises to unlock the door and she slips inside. Since the room is already quiet, she decides to not make any jarring noises if possible. Both hands quietly ease the door shut and she practically tiptoes through the usually loud and bustling workshop. Her hair is braided in an attempt to keep it from dragging on the floor, but yet it still manages to touch it with the ends regardless. ]
Uhmm... ooo.
[ The nervous hushed sounds come from her as she continues her tiptoeing search through the workshop. She's nervous to call out to the man she's looking for in case it startles him.
Everyone is aware that things haven't been the same since they returned from New York City those months ago. Little Mermaid had been overjoyed to return to the Malibu mansion, but made sure to keep the emotions to herself. Especially at seeing how rattled Tony Stark had been. Of course, he had been his usual abrasive, sarcastic, funny self, but they could all tell something was different. Rhodey tried to help when he could, but was brushed off. Pepper does what she can when she stops by after being at Stark Industries all day, but generally the conversations always break down into work and what not to do or what to do with the direction of the company.
She's wanted to help too. She's always wanted to help.
But, does someone like Tony Stark need her help? Does a hero like Iron Man who can fight along side people from other realities, spies, massive shapeshifting men, and even the original super soldier need her help? She's was designed to be a support not an attacker to her squad. The squad that was deemed such a failure it caused the Goddess of Victory project to come to a close. The squad that had been forced apart in their mission that was supposed to redeem them and rewrite their ending. She couldn't even take the hand of her dearest friend when her friend needed it the most. How could someone like Tony ever really need her help in anything?
That was why the comments from the interviewer had rattled her so much. She doesn't want to be a failure or just another woman that Pepper takes out of the house one day. She wants to be helpful, to have a place she belongs, to be more the failure she had been labeled. She wants to be special like Pepper is to him. Not the exact same, as one can never truly replace another, but she wants to be apart of his life.
Maybe one day she can truly earn the title of "Goddess of Victory" to someone.
Tony doesn't need a Goddess of Victory. He's his own maker of victories.
Little Mermaid stops at one of the work tables.
Then, she leans over it slightly.
Tony is sitting on the floor, pressed against the work table, breathing heavily and shaking.
She bites her lip to keep from saying his name in relief that she found him. Instead, she carefully and quietly, tiptoes around the side of the work table. Then, she moves down to be on her knees. She hasn't moved to be exactly next to him. There is still plenty of space to give him room. Her eyes drop to his shaking hands before looking back up at his face in what she can make out in the darkness. The light from his arc reactor is dimmed through his shirts, but she can at least make the outline out in the darkness.
Slowly, one hand reaches out to rest beside him. She hesitates with her fingers curling slightly. He hasn't reached out to her--should she even reach out to him first? ]
... Tony? [ Little Mermaid speaks in a whisper as to try and not startle him.
The notion isn't hard. There had been a time when that was all she could speak in. ]
no subject
He hears the whisper as she says his name quietly. Of course he knows that voice; of course he knows the sound of her walk, of her moving around. At some point, he memorized it, even though it hasn't been long since they met. Something about that quietness of her voice makes him want to recoil. Not push her away; he'd never do that. But he's never been good at being seen. Sure, he can be seen when he's performing, when he's acting like Tony Stark, genius billionaire playboy philanthropist, or whatever the hell he said once.
When he's not playing that part? Being seen is the last thing he wants. Well, actually, that's not true. He still likes being seen even when he's supposed to be "off".
This... this situation is not that.
You shouldn't see me like this. You shouldn't see me at all. No one should.
Tony doesn't speak out loud because his teeth are clenched too tightly right now to allow for speech. But he can still think, and God, he wishes he couldn't.
I know what this is. This isn't the part they put in the papers, on the headlines. Genius Tony Stark- that's easy. This... this is what makes people leave.
He leans his head back against the cold surface of the work table, eyes shifting to look up at the ceiling. That really doesn't help either, but he wasn't expecting it to.
It takes a second for him to find his voice, and a few more seconds to at least try to make it not sound so strained. ]
Hey, Ariel. Let me guess, I woke you up. Figures.
... Sorry.
no subject
[ It's not a lie. She doesn't truly need sleep to begin with, but her mind has been far too busy to sleep. Not with the way things have changed since New York and the conversation with the woman who invited herself into their dinner. Pepper had told her the woman was from "Variety Fair", some fancy magazine that did interviews and other things. The interviewer and Tony had a history--which simply just made her feel even smaller. Pailing in comparison.
She had come down, expecting to find Tony adjusting a suit. Building a new one. Doing anything other than the festivities that surround the decorations adorning the Malibu mansion. Decorations Pepper had insisted that go up for the season. Decorations that made Little Mermaid realize she hadn't celebrated Christmas--let alone any other holiday--in a very very long time.
Now that he has addressed her? She crawls the few extra spaces to sit next to him. Feet tuck underneath her and for a moment she says nothing. She doesn't move. She can recall seeing similar expressions on soldier's faces. The ones that had tried to stop Anachiro only to see their friends and brothers-in-arms cut down beside them.
Little Mermaid frowns. Maybe it's best not to ask Tony what really happened in New York.
Instead, a different approach.
One hand raises slowly so he can watch it in the dim ambient lighting of the workshop. She slowly lowers it, fingers gently sliding over his. Palm rests atop his hand before pressing the smallest amount of weight to it. Then, fingers curl to wrap around his. A part of her feels selfish, as if she shouldn't be trying to have the contact when he is in such a state, but this isn't just for her. She is trying to help him. ]
We should go out for breakfast. [ Amber eyes glance up at him, speaking still in her hushed voice. ] Later. once you're feeling better. Somewhere close and small. O-or, I could make something here for you. If going out is too hard.
no subject
The flickering workshop lights form patterns on the floor and walls and in a weird way, they highlight the things that Tony would just as soon hide: the dark circles under hsi eyes, the way his mouth tightens and goes slack again. He stares ahead, posture slouched in that way that says he didn’t so much as sit; he collapsed. Right now, he's not Tony Stark, genius. He's Tony Stark, a man held together by sheer momentum and a to-do list he keeps rewriting in his head at whatever ungodly hour this is. ]
You know, I used to build things down here because I wanted to. Now it feels more like I build things or I- I...
[ He can't finish that sentence. It's too vulnerable, too open, and while he's willing to open up to her, he just can't be that open right now. ]
You didn’t have to sit with me. Honestly, I wouldn’t blame you if you ran.
[ But then she suggests breakfast, and then he smiles. Sort of. It's too quick, too automatic, a little too mechanical. ]
Yeah... Yeah, we should do that. Breakfast. Later. Or now. Whatever. I'm good.
[ But it’s a lie, and he knows it. Still, he finds he can't tell her the truth, not yet. He can't put it into words that the idea of going out makes him feel like he's about to rattle out of his boots.
And there's the fact that the idea of sitting somewhere small and warm and safe, pretending he belongs in a world that still has things like pancakes and conversation? It feels like someone else's life. It doesn't feel like it belongs to him, at least not right now.
So he says yes, because it’s easier than explaining how wrong he actually feels right now. He figures she can see through it, though, which is why he intentionally keeps his gaze turned away, eyes looking anywhere but at her. Still, if she looks, if she insists on seeing him, she'll see the real truth in his eyes.
He doesn’t mean it. He’s not going. Not really. But he won’t fight her on it either. Instead, his fingers shift under hers, curling just a little. ]
no subject
Why she focuses on him and only him is far more personal and is a deeper feeling.
Her chest tightens and her breath catches silently in her throat. Her "heart" pounds. Others would say she is smitten as many other women are when it comes to the billionaire playboy philanthropist. "Smitten" isn't the word she would use to desribe it. That word needs to stay locked up inside otherwise he may truly push her out and tell her to leave.
He trails off and begins another thought. It isn't uncommon for him, but Little Mermaid can tell it's not his usual ramblings and his mind moving in so many different directions. No, he is avoiding something and doesn't want her to know what that might be. Maybe she hasn't earned the right to learn that knowledge--maybe it's only for those that have known him for years and years.
Tony smiles. He has his "press and big shot" smile. A smile he wears when he is smarter than everyone else in the room. Then, a gentler smile he shows her and Pepper. This smile isn't any of those smiles. It's wrong. The smile e gives is one she knows so very well... because she has worn it so much. A smile that makes people think it's okay when the world is farthest from being right.
Her fingers curl around his more once they shift.
Then, she moves.
Her hand pulls from his only so she can raise her arm to wrap around him. It guides him to rest his head against her bosum. Then, it rests against the side of his head, fingers gently moving to brush the strands of his short hair. Her other arm circles around him. By holding him maybe he can grasp the sort of escape he is looking for. An escape away from prying eyes and from the world itself.
She gently rests her cheek on the top of his head.
If he listens closely? He can even hear the gentle sound of her core. A hum instead of a traditional heartbeat. A sure sign to show she isn't human and never will be again. ]
... we were supposed to be the secondary team to help the Goddesses. The ones they could call in to help if they were overwhelmed. We would have deployed with them and fought to keep people safe from the sort of things that came through at New York. [ Her arms around her tighten slightly to show a secure hold. No one is coming to find them. ] ... they called us the "Old Tales", because we were named after fairytales too.
[ He knows some pieces of her story. Names. Fragments. Now, maybe he needs to know more. That way he knows he isn't alone in what he's struggling with. ]
We never fought at their side. We never had the chance. They gave us our first mission... and... [ a sound of discontent leaves her but she quickly pushes it down. Words right now. Not sounds. ] Cinderella was corrupted. She saw us but didn't see us. She attacked us, the facility, and all the people with us.
We failed before we even got to fight. They shut down the Goddess of Victory program. They--they labeled all of us as failures. Even after they brought Cinderella back to us. Even after we found out it was our own teammate that corrupted Cinderella. We tried to complete our mission even when they turned on us... and... we were separated. I don't know if they ever found the way to complete it.
[ A reason why she feels the way she does about him. He sees the girl that rushed out to join an experimental program to become a heroine. Someone like Captain America or the Goddess Squad. Someone to help everyone she ever met. The girl she can't remember. He still sees her as human.
She loves him for that. ]
I was so scared when Cinderella came back. [ Her voice is laced with so many emotions then: pain, regret. Her voice wavers more than usual. ] I was so scared that it wasn't really her; that it wasn't the teammate that I saw as my dearest friend. That she could still be the heretic that hurt me and everyone else. I was... she reached her hand out to me... and I couldn't take her hand. I pulled away... and left her hand reaching out to me.
[ She turns her head to press her nose against the top of his head. The arm wrapped around Tony drops and so that once more her fingers curl around his. The hold is secure, understanding, loving.
A small debate internally happens before she presses her lips to the top of his head. Her voice still wavers, but, there is an undertone of conviction with a decision made. ]
Even if you don't ever reach out to me? I'll hold your hand. I'll be right here holding you up. I'll hide you away so no one sees when things are bad.
So, please, don't pretend things are okay if they aren't. If you need me to look away so you can not be okay? I understand and I'll look away. But... but, I'll still hold your hand. Even when things are okay? I'll reach out.