Ch.13 : Kiddo.....Rose......Sweetheart

                                    

                                          
It had been 5 hours since Rose and Tony started tinkering around the lab....and now it was covered with bits of scraps everywhere. As Rose was lost in her world working on the robot she and Mr. Stark were currently working on she felt her phone buzz. Taking it out of her pocket her eyes widened at the numerous missed calls followed by text messages from both her mom and dad.....messages which read stuffs which would land her in trouble if Mr. Stark saw them once.....texts which made her little childish heart ache with pain. She had failed to realise how late she was...she didn't want to leave but had no other option. She would do anything to avoid her parents at the moment. She was sure she won't be able to take whatever was about to come towards her. "You're meeting hell when you arrive", read the last msg by her dad. 
The mere thought of what all she could go through at reaching home made a chill run down her spine as she shivered dropping the screwdriver she held in her hand with a clang on the ground. This caught Tony's attention as he hurried over to Rose to make sure she wasn't hurt. "Are you fine Kiddo ?" , asked Tony in a panicked voice....too panicked maybe. Just the thought of his.....umm....THE kid getting hurt scared him...yeah..THE kid. "Y-yes .....yes Mr. Stark I-I am fine just...just I didn't realise how late it is and I missed calls from my parents.....they-they must be very worried.", stuttered Rose in a very poor way to hide her fear. "Oh shit kid....even I didn't realise how late it was...don't worry...I'll talk to your parents and Happy would drop you home", said Tony. Just as Rose was going to deny him speaking to her parents Tony bend down to pick up the screw driver.....and.....he noticed...........a scar.....scratch that....a big deep wound covered in dried blood and traces of dried ointment which seemed to have been applied the day itself. He was still in his sitting position in front if Rose as he asked , surprise lacing his voice. "What happened to your leg kid ?", asked Tony. Shit.....no no no no...I can't let him know.....as the thoughts ran Rose's mind she tried covering her leg wound with her right hand. "N-nothing Mr. Stark...yk g-got hit by the corners of our dining table...it's noth-", just as Rose was about to finish her banter Tony bomb dropped a new question at her, "What happened to your hand....was it the dining table too?", cause unbeknownst to Rose her sleeves had been pulled up when she bend down to hide her leg wound, revealing the one on her hand which was also in a pretty bad shape. Just as Tony was about to grab her hand Rose wheeled back.....she couldn't belive how careless she was....how could she have let Mr. Stark see all that...he would think of her as a freak now. 
Tony rose to his feet as he walked towards Rose who slowly backed away wheeling her wheelchair. " Let me see it Rose ", said Tony in an urgent voice which was very unnatural for Rose to hear since she was used to him being goofy and funny all the time. She was used to him calling her Kiddo but she knew things were messed up when he called her by her name. It was getting too much for Rose....so much that the only thing that came to her mind was to turn around her wheelchair and rush out of the lab. But just as she was about to exit through the doors rang Tony's voice, "Friday lock the exits.", locking all the possible exits from the lab. Rose turned around now facing Tony as he ran and approached her making her slowly back away....as tears threatened to flow down. Tony's heart clenched at the sight of her tears but he had to make her speak today. He had been noticing her scars ever since she started her internship but always erased the wicked thoughts by telling himself she was clumsy cause someone hurting an angel like Rose always seemed so unreal....but today...it doesn't look like something which was a result of just being clumsy. Just as Rose's wheelchair back hit the closed door of the lab Tony forcefully grabbed her left hand pushing her jacket sleeves up her hands. What he saw next made him loose control of his emotions. Rose's hands were littered with scars and scratches....old and new ones....deep and light ones....raw and dry ones....were those cigarette marks ??. "Who.....who did this to you Rose ?", asked Tony in a deathly calm voice maintaining a tight grip on her hands to oppose Rose's struggle to hide them again ..... "No-No one di- " , Rose tried to say but only got silenced by Tony grabbing her other free hand and bringing the sleeves up revealing the same scars and shouting "WHO TF DID THIS TO YOU". Rose shrinked in her wheelchair and shut her eyes tights which let the tears she tried controlling fall down her cheeks drop by drop. "I-I am sorry", said Rose softly as she started shaking in fear and getting flashbacks of her father screaming at her. But this time instead of the screaming being followed by glass bottle being broken at her head......it was followed by her being pulled into the strong, protective and caring arms of Mr. Stark. Her head laid on his chest as his hand laid softly at the back of her head, his other arm wrapped protectively around her small frame. "No no sweetheart, there is nothing for you to be sorry about. The people who did this to you are the ones who are to be sorry. I'm so sorry I lost my anger..I'm sorry sweetheart. Cry as much as you want...the entire team is here to hold you through it...I am here to hold you through it.", said Tony...his own voice coming out shaky from anger and dismay but was still weirdly comforting for Rose. Tony felt Rose's grip tighten around his waist even more as she grabbed the back of his sweatshirt. He tightened his grip around her. "I am here sweetheart I am here", he replied as they remained in the same position for a long time. 
Rose's cries had now ceased to silent sobs.....still each one of those sobs were like stab wounds to Tony's heart. She sniffled silently, both of them still holding on to each other like letting go off might kill them. Tony's sweatshirt were now wet due to the tears but he didn't care....all he cared about was his tiny.......he meant....THE tiny kid in his arms who had managed to win the hearts of the mightiest superheroes on planet earth. "Do you want to share who did this to you??....we can wait some more time if you aren't comfortable rn. I - I can call Nat and Wanda if you feel like it would be better with them", said Tony in a poorly masked angry voice but still soft and gentle for Rose. At her silence a doubt aroused in his heart making him afraid that he had made her uncomfortable. But it soon left when she started speaking. " It-it's....D-dad and M-mom....dad and mom.....they did this to me ", shakily replied Rose as the dam broke again and she started crying her heart out. Tony couldn't believe his ears.....how....just how could someone do this to their own child. He was speechless. The lack of reply from Tony scared Rose as she thought he didn't believe her. "Please belive me it is th-", before Rose could finish Tony tightened his grip around her. "I do believe you sweetheart.....I believe you...I am just too stunned to speak....wh-why...just why did they do this ?", asked Tony....surprise, desperation, anger and sorrow evident in his voice...his own tears threatening to fall at any time but he knew he had to be strong for Rose. "I-I don't know.....they were never that sweet .....they mainly ignored me but....but after that day when I got paralysed in am accident....they started the torture...... m-maybe it is my fault.....no one wants a paralysed wheelchair ridden child...I'm just a burden.....mayb-", but before Rose could complete her sentence she was hushed by Tony. "Shh sweetheart.....don't you dare say that ever again....THEY are the ones who don't deserve you. You are the such an intelligent and wonderful person.....you are not a burden, you are the only person who can light up our dull world. We care for you so much and my heart aches to know how low you think of yourself....you aren't allowed to do that....you are amazing." , said Tony...his voice full of love and appreciation for the little girl. "It's been a long day....you must be tired...would you like to sleep a bit ", asked Tony even though he didn't want to leave her behind and hold her in his arms for the rest of his life...but he knew he had to inform the avengers and make a plan of revenge on Rose's parents who even dared to do those terrible stuffs to her and to make that plan, he needed Rose to be away for a bit. "Y-yeah....I'd like that....I feel so tired", replied Rose surprised when instead of getting wheeled Mr. Stark picked her up in bridal style wrapping his arms protectively around her small frame...her head landing on his chest. It felt so warm and comfortable. She felt safe and loved. Rose didn't want this time to ever end. It had been ages since she felt such comfort. Her eyes closed withing seconds as she felt herself slipping out of consciousness into a dreamless sleep for the first time in years. Although just before getting engulfed by the darkness her thoughts raced to when she had heard her classmate's dad's calling them sweetheart....she wished her would call her that too.....did Mr. Stark call her sweetheart??
On the other hand it surprised Tony how protective he was over her. He never knew himself he could have been this gentle, but something about the kid made him so. He wanted to protect her from any harm in the world. Upon picking her up it shocked Tony for probably the hundredth time in the day at how light she weighed. She was so thin and fragile which was impossible to guess under the oversized clothes she wore. Her face even though filled with childish sweetness had traces of hidden sorrow and fear which made him wrap his arms even protectively around her. He realised Rose had fallen asleep as he very carefully took her to the medbay so as to not wake her up and asked Friday to call the avengers......they are up for some serious bring down hellfire thing . 
Tony remembered his colleagues calling their daughter by various names which made him wish he could have someone to call that too. Did he call Rose Sweetheart ??