voidtreckernet | Following that other one... [video]

He was just finishing a quick bit of instructions (probably not actually quick, but quick for Tony) to one of the kids about how to hang a blanket when he catches sight of his daughter hurrying toward him.

Dropping to a knee, he caught her in a fierce hug. He'd been so worried about her! It might not have seemed it as he was making himself busy with organizing the distraction for the kids but he wasn't nearly so calm internally. He drew back at her question and put a hand gently to her cheek. "I'm fine. What about you? Did you see it?"

He wasn't going to let her out of his sight! Screw independence, she was going to get wrapped in bubble wrap and armed with a missile launcher.

~~Hey, as long as it's a pink missile launcher..~~

She gratefully accepts the hug though. Madoka really needs it right now. Even though she may not have seen the video, the situatio is still worrying and scary enough for her to want to find some comfort. And who's better to provide some than her dad? Even just being held by him makes everything a bit better.

Madoka shakes her head at the question - though lightly, not wanting to lose that touch on her cheek. "No. Maru made sure I didn't."

(She really isn't mentioning that to get her cat pal some bonus points with her dad, but it's a nice side-effect anyway.)

"But.. do we really have people on the train who'd do these kinds of things..?"

It might not be the intended outcome, but Tony looked in Maru's direction and made a mental note to go thank him before the night was over. He'd gotten over his dislike of that strange cat. He still wasn't the biggest fan that there was some boy in her bed, but he was fairly convinced he'd put enough fear in him that nothing would happen.

Maybe he should see if one of her roommates would spy for him too. Hmm. Ple Two was in her room, wasn't she? He liked her.

He shook his head at her next question. "We won't for long. I'm going to make an example of whoever this person was so that it never happens again. You're safe here."

Usually 'make an example of' might not be the most comforting way to put it when talking about something that seems to involve a cycle of revenge to begin with. But it matters less when it's her dad that Madoka is talking to here - and of course she has faith in her dad of all people. He'll figure out some good way where no one has to get hurt and everyone can be safe. If anyone can, it's Tony.

"You're going to be safe too though, right, dad?" Sure, she knows. He's Iron Man. He's cool and tough and all, but could anyone blame her for worrying all the same, considering the situation? "I don't know what I'd do if you'd get hurt.." Especially now he's her only father left here.

"Of course, sweetheart. Of course. I'll be safe and I'll make sure everyone else is too." He ran his hand gently through her hair. He offered her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, kitten. No one messes with your dad." He playfully ruffled her hair. That remark gave him Mufasa flashbacks but whatever. He could totally pull off being a big lion with his cub.

He looked around the room and wondered what he could do to help get her mind off things. "What would be something fun we could do together? We could dance or go make some cookies or.. I'm pretty good at braiding hair."

"Okay, dad.. I believe in you."

It might sound like a slightly meek answer, but it's mostly since this whole situation still has her kind of on edge compared to usually. It doesn't have much to do with any lack of faith in him - when he says that he'll be safe and keep everyone else safe too, she immediately believes him. Of course she does. Her dad is amazing.

It's his question that makes her stop to think though, until he comes to that last suggestion. It pretty obviously has her interest, since she looks at him with big eyes.

"Are you good at that?" Her hair is starting to get longer with how long she's been here now.. Not to mention it'd just be a relatively relaxing thing to do with him right now. "I.. I think that might be nice. If you don't have anything else to do right now."

It's a complicated situation! And there's a lot of people here. Madoka would understand if someone else needed someone as important as him right now.

Tony leaned in and kissed her forehead. "I couldn't ask for anything more than that."

Stepping back, he grinned watching how his sweet daughter so clearly wanted to say yes but just couldn't quite let go of the worry that she was overstepping her bounds. He didn't know what he needed to do to help her gain more confidence, but he nodded encouragingly. "Of course I am. Haven't you figured it out?" He teased lightly. "I'm good at everything. Go find a comfy spot and I'm going to go over there to see if anyone brought a brush. Alright?" There were a bunch of girls and they were having a slumber party. Someone had a brush! He knew how these things worked!

At least the fact he's still on for it makes her smile a bit. Sure, with Madoka being Madoka she would have done her best to not be disappointed if he had to do something else, but it would've been impossible to completely stop that emotion. Now she doesn't have to feel it at all though - instead she just nods.

"You're right. You are good at everything." It's not even sarcastic or anything. Tony is great at enough of things that she feels like she can flatter him with it. Her dad is great, after all.

And with those words she does as he says - wandering off to find a comfy spot to sit on some pillows, pulling her ribbons out of her hair so it falls down over her shoulders.

It isn't long before he's found exactly what he needed- a brush and (bonus!) a small mirror. He paused to request someone bring out another cup of cocoa for Madoka, but otherwise, he came back to her quickly.

He chuckled as he came back and saw how eager and cute she looked waiting on him. He doubted he could've loved this sweet girl anymore even if she'd been his biological daughter. She was immeasurably precious to him. Sure, it made him a little bit of a bear to deal with regarding her safety, but it was motivated by care.

Sitting down behind her, he handed over the mirror. "Here you can watch and see if I make you look goofy," he quipped. After a brief pause, he leaned closer to whisper, "I promise I won't!"

Honestly, the nicest thing about this situation is absolutely Tony's attitude. It almost doesn't feel anymore like the incredibly strange and disturbing events of earlier today even happened. It's like that was just a nightmare or something with how - in comparison - normal this feels now. Him acting all goofy like that is enough to instantly put her in a better mood.

So there's a tiny smile as she takes the mirror and holds it.

"I know you wouldn't." Although that's more Madoka having just a little bit more faith in Tony than he necessarily deserves rather than her knowing that there's no way Tony could bear pranking her like that for more than two seconds before guilt would start to roll in. "I'm sure you'll make it look cute.. I haven't had braids in a long while though."

Sometimes incidents like this are what help make it all so clear where priorities should be placed. He didn't always give her time to the people who deserved it the most. Pepper knew that more than anyone and it was something he regretted. Now that they were in middle of a big mess, he could only think of the girl he cared about the most.

"We should make sure you get your braids more often," he suggested. He could make this small commitment, couldn't he? It wasn't sure a huge portion of his time and would give them one more nice reason to always be checking in with each other. As he gently brushed her hair, he asked, "Do you want pigtails or one braid?"

Whichever she wished, he accepted easily and went right to work. He had to keep reminding himself not to go too fast though. This was supposed to be a bonding time, not just a rush to get her hair fixed. "We haven't touched base in a while. If we ignore tonight, how have things been for you lately? Are you okay?"

Madoka is such a terrible liar. It's evidenced once more just now by the way she's quiet for a moment after he asks that last question. It's a telltale sign that she has to think about what to answer to that, and it's not just that she has to think since she's not sure of her mood. It's more her trying to determine what the best thing would be to say here, considering how little Madoka wants to bother other people. Even her own dad. There are so many things she kept secret even to her parents back home, after all.

"I've been okay.." She then answers. It's not a total lie, since it's not like she's miserable, but there are quite a few worrisome things that have been on her mind. "It was a little weird though that all of a sudden we weren't able to talk to each other earlier this week, right..?" Back when the translator function on the train started malfunctioning. "Do you think something like that could happen again, dad?"

He feels the guilt the moment she has to think. He's sure some of it is about her considering her emotions but he knows the reason for the rest of it too. She was too kind and too considerate for her own good. It made him want to drag her right into a hug.

However, he wants to hear what she has to say. It's important- she's important. Besides, he was pretty good at hearing what wasn't being said. "It was. It was a good thing I'd taken some classes with Feanor on how to speak Quenya." He thought about it for a moment and shrugged. "It's always possible, but I think what we proved was we'd be okay if it did happen again. There's enough of us that can speak at least one other language that almost everyone had someone they could communicate with. For those who didn't.. well, they might want to start learning now that we can talk to each other."

"What about you? Was there any of the languages you would've liked to have known?"

"Hmm.." She says, just a small sound of agreement that sounds a little thoughtful at the same time. "I was really glad that you could speak Japanese, dad. I would have felt really bad if we wouldn't have been able to talk.." See, admitting to a hypothetical scenario where she would've felt bad is okay enough for her to manage to actually do it. Because it's just hypothetical, then he won't have to worry about it! Admitting to things she does actually feel bad about is much harder.

".. and my English is so bad," she also admits. With a hint of shame. "A lot of people on the train seem to speak it though, right? Maybe it would be good if I learned some more of it, just in case..?"

He meticulously divided her hair with his fingers till he had three sections. With practiced skill, he folded them slowly into a braid. He wanted to make it tight enough to hold well but not so tight her face looked like a washed up Kardashian.

And because he can, he switches to speaking in Japanese with her. "It's hard learning a language when you have no need to use it. I'd be happy to work with you though. We can add it to your school lessons. I'll have more time when my project is done too."

There's no protest, so apparently Madoka doesn't mind the idea of learning more about it from him at all. After all, she's now very much seen the use of learning it. And though she's a little worried in her ability to pick it up very well, she wants to do her best.

But rather than saying anything about it, she's more distracted by the last part of what he mentions. If she wasn't trying so hard to sit still to make sure braiding her hair is easier for him, she would've looked at him.

"What are you working on right now, dad?"

Tony paused at her question. He'd been sworn to secrecy but his daughter also deserved a better answer than 'mind your own business' that he would've told most people.

"One of the passengers is sick and I'm trying to find a serum that will help him recover from it," he explained, gently going back to braiding. She was going to look real cute with the braid, though even as he was doing this, he knew he was going to miss her cute, puffy pigtails.

"Aw.. It's so sweet of you to help them out, dad." It feels a little weird to say that without looking at him, but Madoka is trying really hard to be good and not move her head too much! She knows it'd just make his job a lot harder...

And hey, at least Madoka is polite enough to not dig for details. She feels that if Tony wanted to share them that freely, he would just have mentioned it. So instead it's - of course, as always with Madoka - compassion that kicks in first.

"It must be so tough for them.. It's already probably pretty strange for them to be away from home and having to fight and all, but then they're also sick on top of it all.."

"There, I think that does it." He picked up a mirror he borrowed and offered it to her. "And yes, it's an additional challenge for this person, but they have a lot of friends here. It helps a lot. You're a little angel for caring so much about them."

Just for that, he tugged her closer to him to give her a hug from behind. "It makes me very proud to be your father."

Madoka takes the mirror, ready to look at her new braid, but then there's suddenly that hug. And those sweet words. She gasps a little in surprise, but then smiles a moment after.

"I-- I'm just saying what anyone would say!" Or so Madoka thinks, anyway. Wouldn't anyone be concerned about a fellow passenger who's sick? She feels like it's just the normal reaction to that kind of thing..

"But.. thank you anyway, dad." She pulls out of the hug, just so she can turn around and look at him. "I'm glad to hear it."

Madoka moves the mirror so she can actually see the braid now, and that just makes her look even more pleased.

"And the braid is so cute..! It's true, you really are good at this."

Following that other one... [video]

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