(no subject)

[ahollowman]

There was something niggling at Tony Stark since Pride. It wasn't anything important particularly, just the sort of thought that followed him around, popped up when he was by himself working in the shop, relaxed, listening to something good he'd heard a million times.

Who exactly was the mystery girl that was seeing Jessica Drew?

Yeah. He knew her name. It wasn't that hard after they'd met face to face a few times. Thank you, social media. Especially you, Eduardo Saverin, Cameron Winklevoss.

Anyway, it was an oversight on his part that he hadn't met the white-haired girl yet. She had some kind of cold powers? What did they call her? Didn't matter, she had cold powers, and Darrow was only so big, so PEGGI could find her thermal signature eventually. And PEGGI did.

Tony chased after the marker on his HUD, catching up eventually as she made her way down a sidewalk at night. He hovered nearby in the ELMO suit, glad all over again that it didn't utilize jet propulsion anymore, was whisper-quiet as a Dyson fan. It let him watch her. Not in a creepy way.

Maybe a little creepy.

Her hair caught his attention more than anything, a pale and thickly braided whip of it that seemed to glitter under the city lights. He thought of a vacation he'd gone on once with his parents to Yellowstone in the off-season when they had more of the park to themselves. Hiking in the early morning on a January day so cold and bright that almost imperceptible microscopic ice crystals hung suspended in the air.

Diamond dust.

Tony cleared his throat from where the suit hung a few feet above and behind her, repulsors glowing their dull, gentle blue..

"Hi."

Comments

[ahollowman]

"Wow." From birth, that was oddly heavy. He was familiar with some of Wanda's problems, concerns, and yet Wanda hadn't come into abilities like hers until she was nearly grown.

"I'm sorry to hear all that," Tony said, and although the words smacked of platitudes, his voice was honest and filled with sympathy. He smiled at Elsa in a way that threw into relief the crow's feet around his eyes.

"Actually, I'm gad you two found each other. You and Jessica. I don't know her very well, but I know what it's like to feel like someone you're with doesn't understand too much of you. Even if they want to."

[frozenfractals]

The subject can be a terribly difficult one, heavy with the weight of all those years Elsa lost, the ones she spent locked away, keeping to herself. Her childhood was a lonely one. Her parents wanted so much, she knows, to help and to understand. They never could.

But here she is, and she has Jessica now. Tony's words are so kind, so understanding, and it moves her. She smiles, even reaches out to touch his arm for a moment. "Thank you," she says. "I'm so grateful for her. It was... very difficult, growing up, but it's easier here with her. And nice." She huffs out a laugh, all soft relief. "So nice not to be the only one who can do extraordinary things."

[ahollowman]

When the touch on his arm isn't as chilly as he expects it to be, he gives an oddly giddy smile. He understands Elsa's abilities are magical in origin. And the adult in Tony thinks that word is an excuse for a real explanation, but there's a child somewhere deep inside him that still thinks there was a little bit of magic in that January Yellowstone blue sky.

He darted his brows and glanced off to the left, thoughtful.

She'd said extraordinary, not magical, not supernatural, not inhuman. Extraordinary. Sometimes, he felt like he might fit that category. Other times, he felt alone and vulnerable and the odd man out.

Well, anymore he just felt lonely, and he was half to blame for that.

"Must be nice. Feeling like you have somewhere to fit with her. She why you started doing this whole thing? Not a bad motivator."

[frozenfractals]

Elsa nods. It's the truth and there's no reason to say otherwise. She wouldn't be here doing what she does without Jessica. She'd probably be home already, alone in her apartment, steadfastly avoiding magic.

"She helped me learn how to trust my powers," she says, soft and slow. "I — they can be very dangerous. But if I can use them to help people, then I will." It's a duty she has, the same as her royal obligations. She was born into power and she has to use it wisely and for the benefit of others.

[ahollowman]

Tony is reminded of Wanda. Young, incredibly powerful, still learning her skills. Worrying some days still that she might be dangerous. But still wanting, needing to do what she could to help.

He turned his head away for a second, knowing his expression must have turned to something between familiarity and shame. He'd called Wanda a weapon once, in a fut of frustration.

Now all he could see was kids, with too much responsibility.

"She's smart. Good moral compass. You two found each other, that's a blessing. This place isn't all bad, all the time."