𝐒.𝐇.𝐈.𝐄.𝐋.𝐃. 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐑

ELEANOR

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'Hello, mum,' I spoke evenly into my phone. 

My mother was the last person I felt like talking to when I decided to aimlessly move around my room, hoping to clear my fervent thoughts. I wanted to listen to a familiar voice and me being a gifted audience; just hear. Something to keep my mind deviated. Besides, I was never the one to leave voice-memos yet here I was, eating my words. 

'I know you're worried,' I mused, 'but get this. I am alright, Tony's alright and we're fine. And, whatever the Colonel told you is true. I do have er, an electromagnet elbowed into me—'

'Eleanor? Please be there, darling—hello?'

My mother's voice was awfully calming even in her distressed state. Madeline Preece was an aloof woman—she respected the state of calmness and valued loyalty. She was a prim and proper English-bred woman who brought me up with the same optimism as her. She was known around the town for her ever radiant features and about how she never looked a day over thirty when she was in her soaring fifties. She was your typical British countrywoman with a green thumb and a tiger mom. Fierce, passionate and hot-headed—I took most of her emotional traits rather than physical. My dad was a lost cause after I turned ten so she took it upon herself to culture me to the best version of myself till it was time for me to part my mother's wing and head out into the real world.

I never knew I needed her until now, a warm feeling radiating over my chest and caging me back home. I could remember her every gentle divot and feature as I pressed my fingers into my eyes, stupidly trying to push the tears back into the ducts. I attempted to choke out a response.

'Mum,' I murmured, my quiet steps coming to a halt. I grappled the phone like it was my life source, leaning into the nearest support. 'Hi.'

'Christ,' she relievedly whispered, fighting off a sob. There was a whole range of emotions—anger, fright, and obvious distress. 'Elle.'

'Yes, it's me.'

'You cannot begin to imagine how worried I was and—and I'm still your mother! I have a right to talk to you when I want to. Omigosh, baby girl, are you alright? Are you hurting a lot? And electromagnets, sweetheart? That Stark fellow is turning you into one of him already.'

My mother's flaxen face had the efficiency to pull out the secrets in me. The cat was out of the bag before she worked her magic. There was no hiding from her and just the thought of that had my heart banging up to my throat. 

I laughed despite the sinking feeling in my chest. I mustered up the strength to respond in a light tone. 'It was necessary. I would've died if it weren't for him.'

'And, I am forever grateful,' she hummed back. 'The media is discussing so crudely about the poor lad but I know the man better than I know myself. He would've never.'

Indeed the truth. Tony Stark was a mommy's boy—a world-known matter and charmingly lovable. He's never met Mrs Preece and like me, most of their conversations were over the phone. Yet somehow had curled a path into my mother's heart. 

'It's all a sham,' I rolled my eyes, my immediate instinct to defend Tony no matter how big the rift between us was. 'A lot is happening here, mama. I don't follow myself.'

'You're clever, Eleanor,' she reassured to the best of her effort. 'I know you will find your way around.'

I stayed silent, the comforting tone of her voice felt like a tender blanket cocooning me in the snug. Strangely, I didn't feel alienated by the fact that I was on a flying ship with strangers onboard and a woman out to get me. For once, it felt uncertain to not be able to face Tony and just the mere thought of him reduced me into a feverish mush. 

'I just,' I heaved out a hard exhale which morphed into a lonely sob. After that, I couldn't stop the tears from falling off the edge. 'I miss you. I miss home. I want to come back to you right now.'

'Sweetheart,' she whispered.

'I don't,' I sniffled weakly, 'I don't feel right anymore.'

'Oh, baby,' she sympathized, her voice enduring yearning. 'Does it hurt? The thing in your chest?'

I shook my head dumbly, forgetting that I was on a call. I cleared my throat to rid of emotion and answered back softly. On impulse, my eyes dipped to the element crater in my chest and my fingers lithely touching the cool metal. 

'Not at all. It's very heavy though,' I sighed dismally.

'You have to wear that god-awful thing in your chest for the rest of your life?' She squalled, jumping to conclusions. 'How're you going to bear my grandchildren? Run a household? You better not be thinking of remaining a virgin, young lady, I'm putting my foot down—'

'Jesus Christ,' I hissed, palming my forehead in sheer discomfort. She had no boundaries when it came to linguistic parenting. Leaving no holes barred, I slumped into myself feeling my cheeks heat up. 

'I'm not a virgin!'

'Spinster, pardon me. I know you're not a virgin—remember twelfth-grade formals?'

'Mama!' I hissed, utterly horrified that she had brought up the almost slip-up I had with an embarrassing couple of teens. I wasn't a rebel at that age, I was just curious and ready to enjoy the full access of my one-night freedom.

'We definitely do not want another visit to your gynaecologist, do we now?'

'Seriously, I will hang up on you.'

'Then tell me you and Tony are planning ahead,' she pressed on, taking a more serious turn in the conversation. 'Tell me you both are serious with this relationship and that I should expect wedding bells sooner.'

'I wouldn't know,' I answered truthfully, biting down on my lip. 'I mean, Tony's not the settling down kind. His mind works exclusively. It's hard to assume.'

'Haven't you asked?'

I gnawed the side of my lip. 'I don't want to make him awkward.'

'It's not awkward at all.'

'But I know his answer. He's not the type, I'm telling you.'

'It's time you gave yourself a break from everything, darling,' she clucked her tongue. 'You've been fighting all your life. You need to breathe for a little while.'

'What do you mean?'

'I mean that you should come back home for good,' my mother sounded wearied, heaps of nostalgia in her voice. 'Like one of those days. Just you and me?'

I smiled on instinct. 'And what about my work?'

'To hell with them,' she scoffed. 'They can do without you for a few weeks. What do you say, baby?'

'And Tony?'

'He'll understand,' she drawled out in a small whine, hearing the whinny of a horse from the other end. I let out a small laugh. 'He's a terrific man. Besides, he'll want what's best for you. For you to breathe easier.'

The only way my fear could evaporate was if Zeke was handled. How could I tell my mother about the stances that we were in? I was propelled into anxiety by her words that should've calmed me, managing to utter a few words.

'I can breathe when I am with Tony,' I replied candidly. 'I love him, mama, and I think that's all I need now.'

'What about what you want? Is that not important, child?'

'Not now,' I said with finality. 'Things will come around. Just... not now.'

Matrimony and Tony were two ends of the spectrum. Striving to force them together would mean rupturing the time-space continuum and it didn't seem too compatible. I would love to but with the state of matters around us and Tony's avenging dilemma—it seemed too far-fledged to approach.

'I'm going to call you later, mum,' I muttered morosely, how much ever I did not want to close the call. I loved her to death but her words were starting to make sense and that was the last thing I wanted on my agenda. 

'No, Len, no,' she said loudly. 'Do not shut me out. I want an answer.'

'For what?'

'You're not serious, are you?' She drily asked. 'I want to know what you're thinking. Why can't you understand that I want you to be happy?'

'Look, I have to go,' I finished, my voice clipped. 'We can have this pointless, stressful chat after I finish this.'

'Eleanor, listen—'

'Stop it.'

'All right. Be like that.'

'I will, thank you very much!'

'Fine.'

'Fine!'

'I love you,' she said softly.

I let out a small breath, shaking my head desolately. I could never not fall for the maternal sorcery she had bound on me. 

'I know.'

I flung the phone onto the mattress with an agitated grunt. There was the feeling of being emotionally bankrupt - nothing left to say and nothing left to feel. The gloom was haunting, wildly peeling open a void in me as I sunk into the covers with my hands into my hair. What the hell was doing here? I'm supposed to be in my office, with Cal and working on my next story. Since when was my life an action-drama just waiting to unfold?

A knock sounded on the door and the visitant invited himself in before I could holler at them to leave. I ousted the harrowing thoughts the held me securely, facing the intruder with a vague visage. To my absolute anguish, it was Tony with a contrasting relaxed expression and his eyes fixed on my figure. I could see my reflection in the mirror that was upright behind him, a woman I couldn't recognize at all. Lifeless, pale and downhearted—something I could have never let myself feel if I were back at the States.

'She didn't seem too off the charts with her anxiety.' 

Tony's claim was brimming with nervousness, picking on the edges of his shirt sleeves. The scent of his cologne pricked my nostrils when he shifted closer, my eyes finally lifting from the floor to his eyes and discretely taking in his outlay. He had obviously attended a conference, the SHIELD badge sewn into his grey vest and his sleeves rolled to the curve of his elbows. At any other time, I would've found it hot but now all I could think about was how much he had heard.

I sent him a knowing look. 'Eavesdropping?'

'My curiosity expanse is insensitive,' he said, quirking a brow. 'I like to know everything.'

'It doesn't matter,' I waved it off as unimportant. Like I always did—oblivious to what was occurring around me. I shouldn't be breathing if it weren't for Tony but all my mind seemed to instil was the polar opposite of what could've been. The pessimist in me grew with the seconds, my fingers clutched together in an anxious gesture.

'Honey, you can't keep things bottled up,' he said softly. From my periphery, I saw him move closer and settle himself beside me. He stretched his legs apart so that his knee grazed mine, a small gesture to show that he was listening and present. 'I know your worth, Elle. Other people don't have the privilege but I do.'

My heart warmed at his words. I craned my neck to toss him a grateful grin to which his face lit up with a smile of his own. I got sincere with my thoughts and my brain-and-mouth filter vanishing. 'I know this is going to sound like a hackneyed phrase—'

'Yeah, not a huge fan either.'

'—but, this is all very brand-new to me,' I shared anyway, with tints of discomfort at his former words. I let my hair curtain my cheeks in an embarrassed gesture and shaking my head. 'Zeke was never the one to treat me right in terms of love but you, Tony, you really just keep me hoping for more of this. And it feels foreign.'

'I want to keep this between us because of that. I have no idea what to expect, and I like that. It's just two of us in this, the world doesn't get a say,' I said. He nodded along. 'And maybe someday, when we understand and progress, I'll be ready to share a part of us with them.'

He stared at me like I had pulled out a bone from my ear. If you observed closely, you would see the unexpected short-circuiting in his brain. He resembled an animated toy from a cheap claw-machine—so funny, I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

'What?'

'This,' he remarked about something that started to appear indefinitely Italian, 'is why you're you. You know nothing. Zip. Zero. Zilch. You never wanted terms of endearment, you don't want my raw, untamed masculinity—' I scowled, '—you are flawlessly flawed! And I really don't care. Which is why I,' he drawled, 'love you.'

'Aw,' I cooed with a provoking smile, 'look at you speaking your heart and all.'

He peeled my hand away from his cheek with a deadpan. But I caught it and placed it back with a frown. 'You won't let me have my moment, will you?'

'It's nice. It's different,' I shook my head, widening my grin. 'I love you too, nevertheless.'

'Easy there, Blue,' he whispered, a laugh pealing out of me when he had a  name for my eyes. 'Don't want to start something on an intelligence vessel.'

Tony slipped on a carefree smile at my latter words, the one where only a side of his lips lifted as if granting himself a split moment of grace. He moved in to press his lips at my widow's peak and his hands resting beneath my ear, letting it stray there for a while and relishing the moment. It was warm and giving—until I felt something vibrate fervently against my waist. I gasped.

'That's me,' he sighed and I shot him an apologetic look spelling out maybe later.

Easing the wafer-thin, fibre-glass-resembling tablet from inside his suit, Tony was quick to run a few commands before the screen showed him what the emergency was about. I shuffled closer on the bed to peer in only to spot a bright green, flashing box which contained the capital letters that flared out 'Source Locked'.

'The tracers are online,' he breathed out, a proud grin colouring his face. 'See? I caught him, I told you—'

'Tony.'

'Yeah, not the time,' he muttered.

I cut in, tapping elsewhere on the screen to view the locations on the virtual world map that pulled up. There four blinking dots on the screen and with another tap, the country names flashed. 

'Long Island, Valencia, Tokyo, and Los Angeles,' I read out consecutively. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. 'Why these cities?'

As if a bulb had flickered alight in his brain, he slapped my hand away and tap-tap-tapped in a few alphanumeric keys. I watched on to realize that he was starting to pull up all the locations of the different Stark facilities around the globe. I still sent him a confused look to which he rolled his eyes.

'So if you were to give Stark Industries a killing blow—cripple it even—then these are four to hit,' he explained. 'Take them all out and the company falls.'

'He doesn't just want to kill you,' I whispered in awareness. His nods were in rhythm with mine, swallowing down the anxiety that had built up in him in a second. He nimbly finished for me.

'He wants to kill Stark Industries, too.'

∞

[ all I can say is - oh shit. see you in the next chapter! ]

[ update (18.01.2020): edited! ]