Family Therapy

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Madonna Inn or no, Tony was making good on his commitment to seek therapy. Or, in this case, facilitate it.

Every part of him was anxious, but he had some chamomile tea beforehand and prayed that the beta blockers were working their magic. And, of course, none of that showed on his face. To the world, he was the picture of cool. But all the adrenergic response inhibitors couldn't scrub the deep seated unsettled feeling that plagued him. It was almost existential. What caring god would decide that Tony Stark was the only adult around both informed and caring enough to round up some teenagers and a child for a mediated counseling session? Who was allowing this?

Alright. Deep breath. The young trio were seated around in his room. It was the most neutral, private setting he could think of. All of his clutter was pushed back into the bed area and arranged somewhat professionally. The drawing boards were covered with his spare sheets to reduce the amount of distraction and preserve the privacy of his work. Liz and Annie were seated on either side of Peter on the red sofa, and Tony was seated himself on the beige plush bench across from them, pulled in closer to provide some sense of intimacy. The candles already there provided some soft, warm lighting though Tony really was at a loss with the rocky interior. He'd grown desensitized to them but once he had to meditate over how it'd lend itself to a collective emotional breakthrough the damn walls just taunted him all over again. Tony told himself that if he ignored them, so would everyone else. Hopefully.

Alright. Go time. Tony pitied the universe where he was a social worker but many of the concepts and skills involved were translatable from his past life as a business man. Set goals and expectations. Identify and meet the needs. Strategize.

"Alright." Tony leaned back on the bench. "Before we all start talking, I think it'd be helpful if we all went around in a circle and expressed what we're hoping to get out of today. What we want to understand, what we want to change, what we want others to know."

Comments

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"No one's telling you you're wrong to feel a certain way. Feelings aren't--they aren't right or wrong. And wanting your parents by your side--that's just... natural."

For much of Tony's existence, his life was divided into two chapters: the moment before the news broke of his parent's death and after. He was intimately acquainted with how painful that truth was--so much so he threw himself headlong into business just to avoid thinking about it. That he was having to guide a new generation through the coping process was...ironic? Ironic.

"I'm gonna help you understand this, Hon. We've all got expectations. And expectations...they're these beliefs we have about the world. And hopefully they've got logic to back them up, but by and large they're based on feelings. Your reasonable desire to have your mom and your dad back? It's setting up the expectation that Peter can be the same man."

Tony sipped his juice again. The pauses and glucose helped him choose his next words as carefully as could be. "And because you have the expectation that Peter is your dad...then you naturally feel betrayed when you see him with someone who's not your mom. And you feel afraid that it'll lead into a future where you'll be replaced."

[st_ayedhidden]

Considering the idea that Peter wasn't her father had never truly occurred to Annie. It hit her in the chest like a baseball. Annie understood enough to know that a 16 year-old version of Peter Parker wasn't "her" dad, but Annie figured he would grow up to be him.

"So..." She said at barely a whisper. "You're saying... Peter's not my dad in the future?"

She looked at Tony with big, stunned eyes.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

She was a quick study. Unfortunately.

Tony put his hand over one of her fists still balled up on her lap, giving it a firm squeeze, keeping her grounded.

"I've met a lot of people here who say they know me. But it's not me. The Tony Stark they know--he's still Iron Man, he still saves the world, and he's got a lot of the same life experiences but the events don't line up with the ones I've lived."

[st_ayedhidden]

This time when Annie began to cry, it was silent. She didn't sob or sniffle, but tears escaped from the sides of her eyes and she couldn't seem to stop them.

If he's not my dad... then I'm alone here.

"Then he doesn't really love me," She said after a minute. "He can't. Not like family does. Not like -"

Her lip quivered and Annie felt numb. She closed her eyes at the stinging of her face and couldn't bear to open them again.

"I want to go home," She managed to say with a quiver.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Seeing her tears pour down her cheeks stung in the heart of him. He’d come to view Annie much like he’d viewed Peter and even Liz—a child. His. And speaking so much as a word to hurt her was like a knife he was twisting in his own gut. But it only hurt this much because she was allowed to live a comfortable lie for so long. The least he could do was give her a soft place to fall, regardless of what happened.

“Annie.” Tony repeated her name again, cupping her cheeks. Her grief was getting away with her and he had to pull her back. He couldn’t dull the sting but he could clear the misconceptions.

“Just because we’re not from the same world doesn’t mean we can’t love you. I know it’s not the same as having your mom and dad around. Nothing can be. It’s not fair. I’m sorry.” He cleared a few tears from her pale cheek. “Peter, Liz, me—we came together because we want to help you. We can only help each other by being honest. We’re not abandoning you.”

[st_ayedhidden]

Annie shook her head as much as she could with his hands by her face.

"It doesn't matter" she said quietly. "None of it matters. Daddy's going to be dead back home because of me like Hawkeye said and everyone else will still be dead and I won't ever get to see him again and I'll still have to hide and-and I'll never see him again."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“Honey, take a deep breath for me.” Tony kept his voice soft, free of any urgency. Pepper had done the same thing for him in a few instances where he’d begun spiraling. “Just like that. You’re okay.”

[st_ayedhidden]

Annie took several deep breaths. Her chest went in and out of her little frame. Eventually she stopped crying and grew very still. Her eyes looked somewhat sunken. She frowned.

"I'm tired..." She said softly.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

That was it for today. He hadn’t expected this all to resolve itself in one session. “C’mon. A nap will help.” Tony picked her up, letting her arms rest over her shoulder as he stood. He tsked at his robot, which followed suit with the juice. He set Annie down on one side of the bed.

“Drink your juice, Honey.” He nabbed it from the bot’s grip before it had the chance to get overzealous, setting it on the bed stand. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

[st_ayedhidden]

Annie looked to Tony quietly with eyes that looked tired and defeated. She looked like a child who was told Santa wasn't real, but truly took it to heart. She curled up on the side of the bed.

"I'm okay," She replied about the juice. "I'll drink it later."

She blinked to Tony, the closed her eyes with a soft frown.

The world was suddenly a lot more complicated for Annie than it had been an hour ago.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony waited by Annie’s side until she fell asleep. It didn’t take long, with how the girl exhausted herself. He ran his hand over her forehead, clearing some red strands away from her little face. Collecting himself with a final glance and a sigh, he quietly rose from the bed and exited the room. Peter and Liz weren’t far—he instructed anyone to wait around the empty coffee stand around the corner.

“She’s asleep.” His arms were folded loosely in front of him. “We had a lot to discuss.”

[st_arkintern]

Peter and Liz are sitting against the wall when Tony emerges. Peter quickly scrambles to his feet when he hears the door open. He smiles thinly as Tony makes his approach.

"What'd you talk about?"

[st_hotflashes]

Liz was a little less fast on her feet, but she stood too. It was probably obvious she had been crying for a little bit, but had pulled herself together after short period. Her smile was reserved as she joined Peter's side. This was really more family business right now, so she didn't say anything.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“She admitted she doesn’t hate you.” Tony nodded to Liz. “You’re the outlet for every sad, mad, confused feeling she gets being away from her parents.”

Tony looked back to Peter. No use belaboring it. “And she is. I made it clear we’re not from her world.”

[st_arkintern]

"You can't know that," Peter protests, and he doesn't even know why he's arguing it. He knows that it's always been far more likely that he wasn't her father than he was. He knows that it's probably better for his relationship with Liz if she isn't his child. So why does it matter?

Peter looks over at the door, then looks back over at Tony.

[st_hotflashes]

Liz pressed her lips together, hands clasped in front of her as she watched them talk. She felt bad for Annie - if Mr. Stark really told her that, then that was going to be a big blow for the little girl.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“I do know that.” Tony immediately replied, turning towards the boy. “All the stories she’s told me? Thor? You? Doesn’t add up for our timeline, Pete.”

[st_arkintern]

"She doesn't even know anything about the Avengers," Peter continues to protest. "She told me that something happened to the Avengers, that -- that she went into hiding and that they never spoke about the Avengers at all."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“You know who she does know?” Tony stood firm. “The X-Men. You know how many mutants here know ‘me’? Most of them. You know how many I know? None of them.”

[st_arkintern]

Peter doesn't stand down.

"You know what else Earth didn't know just ten years ago? That there were superheroes out there. That aliens were real. That people with powers actually existed." Peter takes a half-step forward. "You not knowing the X-Men doesn't mean that they don't exist now or won't exist in the future. It means You Don't Know."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Tony’s expression shifted from stoic to a look of concern. He’d expected some resistance to telling Annie—he didn’t anticipate Peter ferociously clinging to the idea.

“I’m not ancient news to them, Peter. They’re getting actively antagonized by some Tony Stark a fair bit younger than forty-seven.”

[st_arkintern]

Peter briefly deflates, but then rises up to the challenge again.

"Do you know if those X-Men are even the same ones from Annie's world?" he asks. "There's two other Peter Parkers that I've heard about since arriving here, and two different X-Men from two different timelines told me about them."

Peter takes a breath and looks at Tony, his gaze steady.

"I can't believe you told her that. She's eight years old."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“Doesn’t matter. She’s not from our world. And you’ve known it. You don’t protect anyone by keeping the truth from them.” Tony had maintained control of himself all afternoon, though it slipped towards the end.

“Say I kept the truth from her. Let her live a comfortable lie. She carries on, waiting with baited breath for the day you’ll somehow become the father she lost, condemning your girlfriend and secretly resenting you for every second you’re with her. Does that sound fair to absolutely anyone in this equation?”

[st_arkintern]

"You know what doesn't sound fair to me?" Peter shoots back, flinging an arm out toward the door. "Not at least talking to me about what you were going to say to her first."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“I’m sorry. It wasn’t my intention to blindside anyone today.” Tony followed Peter’s motion before looking back to the boy. “I didn’t see us going down this route so quickly when I sat down with her one on one.” And he hadn’t. But it had to be said. There was no other way to ensure the girl could start working towards a healthier relationship with Peter and with Liz.

“Peter. I respect the love you feel for her. I love her, too. And she knows it. But you’re not her father.”