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marvelstarker-mha98 · 3 months

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The Runaway Distance Life Of A Little Stark chapter 33: The Warehouse

Pairing: Tony Stark & daughter!Reader, Maria hill & Tony stark, Maria Hill & Reader, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanoff, Thor odinson & Bruce banner, Steve rogers & Tony Stark, Maria Hill & Avengers, JARVIS & Tony stark, FRIDAY & Tony stark

Summary: flashback, Avengers arrives in the warehouse, tony meets someone for the first time Warning: Flashback Co author with: callikc Tag: @venomsvl @geeksareunique

You were exhausted.

It was a few weeks after The Mandarin destroyed your childhood home, and you had spent hours attempting to fix up something you'd retrieved from the rubble.

A stuffed bear.

It was your lunch break and you were huddled behind a desk on the SHIELD helicarrier with an empty coffee cup, a very messy lab, and a tablet playing a YouTube video on how to sew. You'd think that being one of the top engineers at the top spy agency in the world would grant knowledge on basic sewing ability.

Nope.

You were hunched over the table with a tiny needle in one hand and the tiny thread in the other. Your eyes were narrowed and your hands were trembling as you tried desperately to thread it correctly.

"All I want..." You muttered, attempting it again. "Is to fix... This damn ear!"

You sighed in exasperation as you yet again missed the eye of the needle.

As you dropped everything out of frustration, the door to the lab opened with a ping and Hill walked in. She had a cafeteria tray in her hands which consisted of an apple, a bottle of water, a main meal, and a side of cake.

She knew you well enough to know that you wouldn't eat unless reminded, and the fact that the only wrappers in the room were instant coffee ones, her worries were justified. Not to mention she was certain that Fury wouldn't approve if his star engineer wound up starving to death.

"Hi." You mumbled.

She couldn't resist a smile. "Rough day?"

"The roughest."

She walked over and set the tray down on the only vacant bit of table left over. As she caught sight of your tablet playing the sewing video, she arched a brow.

"The Director really wasn't kidding."

You lifted your head slightly to glance at her. "Hmm?"

"Sewing For Dummies." She read aloud.

"Oh." You dropped your head again. "I can make an AI, I can solve the most complex sums and equations, and I can maintain any kind of engine, but I can't thread a goddamn needle."

"Nobody's perfect."

"But how hard can it be? I mean, sewing is sewing!"

"Yeah, it is kinda embarrassing." She teased. "You're a genius and you're beaten by a thread."

You playfully glared. "Shut up."

"Hey, it's fine. Let me."

"What, you think you can do it?"

"I know I can."

You scoffed. "Bit cocky there, Agent."

Hill teased you with a smile once more before shooing you out of the chair. You grumbled about it but pulled up another chair from one of the other desks anyway.

"Eat." Your friend told you, motioning to the tray she'd brought in.

You sat down with a huff. "Yes, Mom."

She ignored the mumble and picked up the thread you were trying to tame. She licked her thumb and index finger before gently placing them over the end to ensure that no stray bits stuck out. You watched intently the entire time, munching on the cake.

"This the bear you mentioned to Director Fury?" She asked.

You nodded.

"What's the story?"

You held up a finger and swallowed your current mouthful before explaining.

"It belonged to Pepper. She loved it, and she's probably heartbroken. I found it in the rubble a couple weeks back."

Hill picked up the needle next, bringing it to her eye level. "Heartbroken is a strong word for a teddy bear."

"It's the only suitable one." You shrugged. "It's only a bear but it's been everywhere. Pepper's had it since she was little and kept it in Malibu with us."

"I see. Sorry about Malibu, by the way. It can't be easy."

"No, it's... It's not." You slouched in your chair as memories started filling your head again. "Even though it didn't feel like home, it still meant more to me than I realized. There were ups and downs and fights and laughs and I experienced all my firsts in that place. I even discovered SHIELD there."

"Yeah? How'd that happen? Stark?"

"Nah, Dad didn't tell me. I found my grandpa's old journals, though. Howard. He talked about being recruited for the SSR and founding SHIELD and marrying my grandma having my dad. I never met him, but I felt like I knew him. Actually found the warehouse files in that hidden box, too."

Hill paused what she was doing. "The warehouse? I thought you just found it?"

You stopped eating, realizing the slip up.

You could attempt a lie. You did a lot of it growing up and you seemed to have a knack for it. Still, this was Maria. She was probably the only person from work that you considered a genuine friend. She would probably detect a lie instantly anyway.

"Sorry." You apologized. "Might have bent the truth a little."

She didn't seem mad or anything. Just curious.

"Howard had a file on the warehouse then." She stated.

"Yeah, sorry. Apparently it's a Stark thing, hoarding secrets."

"I had noticed."

"Again, sorry."

"What was it for? The warehouse?"

"Just storage, I think. But there was something else."

You moved the food tray to grab a remote and tilted it towards the ceiling, hitting a button and watching as a screen slid down.

"Movie night?" Hill joked. "What's next, a romantic dinner?"

You smiled and rolled your eyes. "Next week, sweetheart."

You waited until the screen was fully down.

"FRIDAY." You called. "Turn off the lights and bring up Project U.N.Y.S.B."

Tony sat quietly in the quintet.

He was focused solely on the ground as his thoughts were consumed with your last words. Even though he had only heard it once, the entire will seemed to be stuck in his head. He didn't have anything better to do on the flight other than analyze it.

The Avengers were each doing their own thing as music played through the speakers. While Tony was thinking, Natasha was co-piloting the jet with Hill as Steve talked to them about where they were going, Bruce had his own music and was listening intently to his headphones, Clint was apparently passed out on the other bench, and Thor was watching the clouds roll by without a care in the world.

Tony gradually tried to move his mind away from your words and attempted to look at a photo nearby. It was the photo of you posing like him that he had found a few days ago. It was resting on top of your SHIELD uniform right beside the medals they had awarded you.

It was hard to imagine you that happy. All he'd ever known was your anger and resentment. Sixteen years of frowns and tantrums. The only genuine smile he could vividly remember was the one you gave him on the day you died.

"Hey, Tony?"

He tore his eyes away from the picture and found Steve now sitting next to him. He nodded to acknowledge the captain.

"We've got an ETA of three minutes." Steve told him. "Agent Hill said we'd be there in no time."

As he said this, Natasha switched off the music. Clint shot up immediately.

"I was listening to that!" He whined.

She smirked. "Sorry, princess."

"Come on, that was a good song."

"Were you really listening?" Tony questioned with both an amused and genuinely curious tone. "You looked dead."

Clint pouted. "It's called beauty sleep."

"Ah. Right. You might want to clock in another decade, Aurora."

After the comment, he slouched back against the wall of the jet, glancing over at the picture again. Steve noticed and followed his gaze, a sympathetic expression on his features.

"You doing okay?" He asked.

The other man simply shrugged.

"It's still hard to believe." Steve confessed. "Ellen was just... Sorry, I mean (Y/n). She was so... Normal."

Tony scoffed in amusement. "What did you expect?"

"I don't know. She's your kid so I guess I expected... A lot."

"Gee, thanks, Cap."

"No offense. When I met her as Ellen she was kind. And generous. She made it a mission to help me feel at home when I woke up. I guess I just didn't expect that. From anyone, really."

"What'd she do?"

"She improved the suit. Made it modern but kept to the original design. She got me one of those tablet things for drawing, too. She always stopped to talk to me when we passed in hallways."

"So that's where it came from." Tony mused, having wondered about the suit for quite some time now. "She was right there the whole time."

"Yeah... She was amazing."

The other man eyed his friend. "You didn't have a thing for her, did you?"

"No!" Steve sat even straighter, his eyes wide. "I wouldn't, Tony."

Although he spoke the truth, it wasn't the whole truth. After running into you several times and having lengthy conversations about many different things, there had been a moment or two when Steve couldn't help but wonder what would happen if he had built up the courage to ask you out for dinner or a drink. Luckily he hadn't, especially since Tony probably would have killed him for it.

"Just making sure." Tony said. "How are you doing, by the way? Improved much?"

Knowing he meant the injuries from the Triskelion, Steve nodded. "Good as new."

"Great. Sorry to hear about Barnes. I guess HYDRA really gets off on ruining lives, huh?"

"Yeah, sure seems like it."

"You gonna go out and find him?"

"I've got to. He's my best friend and he's... He's lost. I gotta help him."

"No, I get it. Good luck."

"Thanks."

Just then, Hill stood from her seat. She turned to address them all.

"We're almost there." She said. "(Y/n)'s place should be visible through the window."

Tony was the first to stand.

Through the dissipating clouds he could spot what appeared to be a very old warehouse building sitting next to a gorgeous lake. There were even more buildings among it, three main ones and several smaller ones dotted around.

All of these structures were bordering a luscious clearing of towering grass and a driveway system. Furthermore, behind all of this was what appeared to be a thick forest decorated with hundreds of trees. There were murmurs from all of the Avengers as they each took in the place.

Thor was particularly amazed by all the greenery. "Lady (Y/n) left such a majestic place?"

"Majestic isn't the word I'd use." Clint commented, eyeing the wild lawn especially.

"Looks pretty good for abandoned." Bruce argued. "It's quiet."

"Peaceful." Steve agreed. "What do you think, Tony?"

Tony was subconsciously smiling a little as he observed the grounds and the lake. True, it was overgrown, but it was actually a nice place from an aerial view.

"It's nice." Was all he managed to say.

It was a simple review, but the others could hear the emotion behind it.

"I bet it was a SHIELD base." Clint guessed. "Abandoned, obviously."

Natasha took a moment to consider the warehouse as well. "Some rich guy's place."

"Hospital." Bruce said. "It's big enough."

"Some kind of training ground?" Steve also guessed.

Tony didn't put in an answer, he continued to just watch as the buildings drew closer.

It was hard to believe that after half a decade of searching, you could have just been Upstate the entire time. It was actually a big knock down to him. Years of looking all over the country and you were a matter of miles away.

How didn't he notice something?

"You're both right." Hill said, looking to both Clint and Natasha. "Agent Romanoff, care to take over?"

"Got it." Natasha nodded, taking control over the jet.

"There's another clearing just past the stacks."

With the landing being taken care of, Hill moved to a different spot, typing in a code on a keypad. After taking confirmation, a blue outline appeared in the wall which soon revealed a hidden compartment. From inside this she took out a tablet of some kind.

"Stark." She called, getting the man's attention. "Take a look at this."

Tony walked over as she projected the tablet screen into a hologram. Everyone watched curiously as the title 'Project U.N.Y.S.B.' appeared.

"What's this?" Tony questioned. "A new design? A mission? SHIELD sex tape?"

She gave him a look. "No. U.N.Y.S.B. goes with the warehouse. Upstate New York Stark Warehouse Base. It's got everything about this place inside."

"So what's the story?"

"The warehouse was being renovated decades back by Howard Stark before it was abandoned when he died."

Various reactions were shown.

Nastasha victoriously punched Clint's shoulder and he in turn muttered something about owing twenty bucks on a technicality, Steve was genuinely surprised to find out that his old friend owned the place, Thor of course didn't know the significance of the name so couldn't have much of a reaction, and Bruce was pleasantly surprised too. Tony, on the other hand, found himself both bewildered and shocked.

His dad owned it? How? For how long? Why this place? How could you have just happened to stumble upon it?

"Did (Y/n) know?" He asked. "Is that why she came here?"

"All I know is what she told me." Hill shrugged. "She was thirteen, found a box in your library from Howard's stuff."

"Why didn't she tell me?"

"Apparently you were busy with... Other things. It was one the few things she took when she disappeared."

Tony went silent. He knew that 'busy' meant he had simply just neglected you. Looking back he hated himself even more. He wished he could tell his past self to just put away all the damn inventions and listen to you for once. He wasn't his dad's biggest fan either, but nowadays he wouldn't have minded looking through it all with you.

Before he could ask anything else, Nastaha successfully landed the jet.

It felt like an age before the door finally opened onto a grassy clearing.

It was slightly more trimmed in this part of the warehouse estate. The trees were more scarce and they could only just see the sparkle of the lake from over the tips of the small mounds of greenery. The smell of the outdoors was actually very appealing, too.

"Follow me." Hill instructed, leading already.

The Avengers - for once - did as they were told, and promptly followed her towards the largest of the buildings. As they made their way across the clearing, she also pointed out the smaller structures, labeling them as storage and advising them to not mix up the buildings.

Finally, they reached the main entrance.

"Ready?" She asked, the question mostly directed at Tony.

He took in a sharp breath and shrugged. "Do we get a choice?"

With that confirmation, Hill revealed a key from inside her bag and slotted it into the door.

"So, my old man owned this place?" Tony clarified.

"Yeah."

"And now (Y/n) wants us to have it?"

"It's what she put in the will. She thought you could make better use out of it than an old storage compound."

He nodded and remained silent, simply watched as the door finally opened. He couldn't help but wonder what your life was like here. Did you enjoy it? Were you ever scared? How long exactly did you stay there? What was it like for you going constantly between here and Queens? Why did his father build this place?

The first room was dark.

Too dark.

As the slither of light expanded to reveal more of the cream walls and rough floor, something small emerged from the darkness, glowing and making the sound of a low groan as it approached.

Thor immediately went on the defensive, Mjölnir grasped tightly in his hand. Without warning he threw the mighty hammer in the direction of the glowing and groaning and a loud shatter followed suit, many of the other individuals jumping at the crash. With a slight thruming sound, the hammer returned.

Now with the door fully open, the source of the noise was revealed. In a pile of rubble - bits and pieces still sparking - looked what appeared to be a tiny robot.

"The oppressor has been defeated." Thor declared.

Hill turned to him with a deadpan look. "That's a cleaning bot."

He frowned. "A cleaning... Bot?"

"(Y/n) made a few to keep the place in check when she was away."

Clint smirked. "Impressive, big guy. The oppressive cleaner has been defeated."

Natasha smirked. "Really saved us there, Thor."

Thor didn't care about their teasing, but he instead looked to Tony. "My apologies, Stark. Allow me to clean the mess."

"No need." Hill told him. "Like I said, (Y/n) made a dozen different models."

True enough, four more cleaning bots appeared from slots in the wall. Each one was a different color - blue, red, orange, and pink - and made their way over to the mess of their predecessor. They simply formed a circle around the mess and all at once vacuumed it up as if nothing happened.

"Cute." Bruce commented.

"You knew about these." Tony stated, looking at Hill. "Have you been here before?"

The woman shrugged. "After (Y/n) told me about it. She showed me around a few times."

"Any tourist activities you recommend?"

"Just take it all in. As much time as you need."

Hill knew FRIDAY was around somewhere but she didn't want to tell him about that just yet. She thought it would be better for him to discover it himself.

The group had split up shortly after arriving at the compound.

Natasha had found her way into what appeared to be an old gym of sorts. It was well lit due to the wall-high windows on one side of the room and a lot of the equipment looked like it had been used recently, by Hill or by you she didn't know exactly.

The room itself seemed split into rows, each one with a different kind of equipment such as legs, arms, weights, and gymnastics etc. Natasha passed these rows curiously until she came to a door. Opening this, she was pleasantly surprised to find a shooting range.

She wondered why you would have one to yourself if you worked for SHIELD. Agents were of course required to use the SHIELD ranges for their training, but it was an elective for the engineers and scientists also. It was still useful, though, and she could already see herself spending some time there to brush up on her skills.

She moved towards a further back room and found the weapon storage. Among this was also a set of suits.

For her.

There was a white one labeled 'The Winter Widow', and a black one just like her usual suit named 'The Spare.'

Natasha couldn't help but smirk.

Steve had wound up on the other side of the main building, crossing some red tape that blocked the area off.

It was a large space covered by dust and grime, most likely part of the warehouse that you hadn't touched. It was extremely spacious, too. Perhaps it could be renovated into a series of bedrooms or offices, perhaps even a debriefing room for their missions.

Bruce had found a lounge, or at least the potential for one.

You hadn't done much to the original space, but a few red couches and coffee tables had been dragged into the area and made up to look like a living room. However, it wasn't this arrangement that intrigued him, it was a framed picture beside the television that had been set up.

After moving closer and putting on his glasses he realized that it was himself and you in the picture. He gently lifted it up and caught sight of his own signature glinting in the dim light. You had asked for it during your first meeting if he remembered correctly.

He also noted objects from later interactions that had also been signed such as a 'besties 4 life' mug and a copy of his very first dissertation on gamma radiation.

Bruce found himself smiling as he set the picture back down. Even if it had been a while, he was still grateful that you spoke to him about science instead of The Hulk like everyone else wanted to.

"Pop Tarts!" A sudden shout exclaimed.

Bruce, startled, turned around to see that Thor had joined him in the lounge area and was now looking through the kitchen side of the room.

"These Midgardian kitchens are a wonder!" The god continued to exclaim, shaking the box vigorously. "Lady (Y/n) has excellent taste!"

He quickly proceeded to rip open the box and take out the first packet, his eyes alight with excitement. During this little moment, he locked eyes with Bruce who was still watching in silence.

"Are they not free?" He questioned.

Bruce raised a brow. "I mean... (Y/n) said the place was ours."

Soon enough, more of the cleaning bots from before had shown up to hastily sweep away the crumbs at Thor's feet.

Clint, contrary to the rest of his team, had strayed from the central buildings. He headed over to the place he imagined to be a hangar. There was no particular reason why, he was just intrigued to see if you'd made use of the space. From the outside it looked like an abandoned pool house or another storage unit. Hill hadn't mentioned it, probably another reason he was interested in seeing inside.

The entrance was a pair of sliding doors. He pulled them both aside and let the light stream in. Other than the parts the outside illuminated, it was pitch black.

"Should've paid your bills, Little Stark." He remarked, stepping inside.

He used the flashlight from his cell phone to light the place up and look for a switch. Thankfully, there was one. Once it was flipped, blinds covering all the windows began to flip and lift up slowly.

Clint winced a little from the direct light. However, once his eyes adjusted, he was stunned by what had now appeared in the room.

"Holy... Shit." He grinned.

Tony had found Howard's journals.

It was the very same box that you had stumbled upon over a decade beforehand. While the rest of the team explored, he had spent the hour reading entry after entry until finally he was at the last one.

December 2nd, 1991 Electricity is a work in progress.

The warehouse compound is still under construction while Maria and I look for the new interiors.

The medical wing needs more gurneys.

Perhaps we could turn the west wing building into a library or pool. Might be nice.

It's a nice place to retire. H.S

Tony could tell that from the date alone that it was the last entry. Exactly two weeks later, Howard and Maria Stark would die in a car accident.

Tony missed his mother just as much as he missed you. His dad, on the other hand, was a very complicated situation. He didn't know much love growing up but even after all of that, Howard was still the man who raised him. Of course a part of Tony would always mourn. Still, he also knew that his rough upbringing was also his own fault. He was a difficult son, he was aware, and he wished he could change it. Perhaps in another life things were different and he had both parents and his little girl back.

"Mr. Stark?" JARVIS spoke up.

Tony quickly closed the journal, putting it back with the other ones.

"What's up?" He asked aloud.

"Forgive me for the intrusion, but I detect a familiar presence nearby." The AI explained.

"Oh?"

"I believe the source to be the room named 'Laboratory - Lair of Genius', approximately two minutes walk away."

"How fun. We love ominous presences."

Tony pushed the box to the side as he got to his feet and started walking. The corridor was dark, but just bright enough to navigate.

"What's that familiar presence exactly?" He asked.

"Another artificial intelligence, I believe." JARVIS told him.

Before long, Tony stopped at the door his friend had mentioned and saw a plague stuck to it with the name and your initials inside. Was it your vacation room? A hobby house?

With his heart pounding, he pushed open the door.

Inside was a room that was both messy yet organized, much like his own rooms back home. In one corner was an area dedicated to plans and prints. It had a couple of tables pushed together and the surface was dotted with blueprints and rough sketches of potential projects or inventions.

In another corner was a laundry basket overflowing with clothes. Some were also scattered on the floor among shoes and different kinds of cloth. Hidden among all of this litter was a certain file labeled 'ULTRON' that he hadn't noticed yet.

A tall mannequin stood beside the couch/bed as well. It was dressed in a white suit, much like Natasha's black one. There was a chest of drawers by that too which contained headphones, weapons that looked magnet-operated (like when Steve's shield returned to him during the fight), stationary that was probably a little more lethal than it looked, and a dozen bullet casings.

Tony only glanced at this, however, as his attention was instead drawn to a notebook that lay open in the lab area of the room. It was a calendar with schedules and dates marked down for various projects you had been working on, as well as parts of the compound that needed fixing or improving.

Tony had mixed feelings about it all, both in awe of your workload and dedication but also concerned since it looked like a hell of a lot packed into one. Your sleep schedule couldn't have been healthy.

He observed the rest of the lab area and noticed a switched off computer blinking red.

Tony put it aside for that moment and turned on the computer. Instead of just the power light, the entire screen flashed brightly. A form of scanning technology seemed to assess the entire room - and himself - before it turned green and disappeared. The next thing he knew, a hologram resembling a sound bar filled the room.

"Hello, Mr. Stark." It greeted in a female automated voice

Tony raised a brow, intrigued. "Hey..."

"My name is FRIDAY. I'm the artificial intelligence created by Miss (Y/n) Stark. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

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