“I don’t think I’ve ever felt more disappointed in you.” [ for whoever! ]
Thank you, darling. Coming right up!
MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR SHADOWS. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.
Charlie didn’t know how long the car had been parked. It could be five minutes or an hour or two but she hadn’t moved, not even an inch. The dread had settled in her stomach and felt like ice - there was nothing she could do about Tony’s anger but she was terrified to see what shape it would take. Fun uncle Tony was gone, and she knew it.
Happy opened the car door for her, a sure indicator that she had sat there too long, and it was with heavy footsteps that she left the car and entered the New Avengers Facility. She wasn’t ready to face Tony yet and was relieved to find Pepper in the hallway in front of his office though she didn’t look particularly thrilled to see her.
Charlie approached slowly. “How bad is it?“
Pepper sighed. “Bad enough.”
“He might kill me bad or he can’t believe I did this bad?“
Somehow, Pepper chuckled. “The jury’s still out.” She hesitated. “He thinks of you as his daughter, Charlie.”
Charlie nodded. “I know.” She hung her head as she passed Pepper and opened the door to Tony’s office. She had been in that very office a million times before but the energy was different now, she didn’t feel as welcome or like she could do or say whatever she wanted. It was like walking into the principal’s office that one time in the late eighties when she’d called her teacher a sexist asshole.
Tony turned to face her. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt more disappointed in you, Charlie.” It was worse than she’d expected, so much worse.
She hesitated. “I know I screwed up.“
“Screwed up?“ He roared. “You disobeyed a direct order and put the lives of innocent people at risk. You’ve never been this reckless.“
Charlie knew it wasn’t the time but this wasn’t entirely her fault. “If you’d just given Peter the time of day, maybe he wouldn’t feel the need to prove himself and do impulsive things. I tried to stop him.”
Tony seemed taken aback. “That still doesn’t excuse your behavior.”
Charlie scoffed. “You’re right, it doesn’t but I’m not going to apologize for telling Peter who I am. Do you have any idea how many citywide disasters we avoided because I talked him out of doing something he didn’t think through?“
Tony was quiet.
“I didn’t think so,” Charlie said and turned on her heel, leaving the office and Tony behind.
(gif credit to @curious-kittens-ocs - thanks, darling!)