The door slides open just after a few minutes Hermione wakes up. Shocked, she jerks her head towards the door with her heart pumps fast in her rib cage. She sighs when she only catches a figure of Tony heading closer towards her with a tray of her breakfast. Is he really trying hard this time?

"You're awake!" Tony cheers noticing her daughter shifting into a sitting poisition on her bed. "I bring you your breakfast," he says as he gets closer to Hermione and carefully puts down the tray on Hermione's lap like yesterday. "Here. Eat up!"

Hermione scans the happy meal in the tray: toasted bread, bacon, scrambled eggs and an apple. Just the same as yesterday's -- exactly the same except a particular liquid in a hot water bottle. The girl frowns at the sight.

"What's this?" she asks lowly as her hand reaches the bottle.

"Tea," Tony answers shortly while Hermione sniffs the smell inside the bottle. "I thought you would get bored if I bring you another milk."

Hermione leave the bottle lidless, letting the tea to cool down a little bit. Tea is, in fact, one of her favourite drink lately. Precisely when the new year that she turns eighteen comes. "Thank you," she mumbles.

Tony smiles from ear to ear.

There's nothing much happening while Hermione is savouring the taste of her breakfast meal. She, indeed, feels so hungry as soon as she opened her eyes from her sleep. Thankfully, Tony didn't sleep-over in her room last night; hence, the good sleep she received.

As Hermione continues crunching up her toasted bread, Tony watches his daughter eating without caring the world. Still Helen. He remembers when she was young, whatever Harriette cooks Hermione would finish them all especially when it comes to grilled fish. There was one situation where Hermione fell asleep after ten minutes after dinner for eating too much while they were watching a movie. Tony can't help but to smile at himself with the memory.

As the sun peaks through the narrow space in between the curtains, the lights in the room automatically switch off. Spontaneously, Tony and Hermione jerk their head up to the ceiling with the sudden barely-darkness of the room, but as soon as Tony realises what's going on, he stands up and skids to the window and pushes the curtains, opening the windows. The morning cool breeze blows into the room from outside, giving a slight chill to the father and daughter.

"Phew, it's cold isn't it? The wind outside?" Tony comments on the weather as he walks back to Hermione. "But you always loved cold." Tony suddenly laughs. "Remember when you were eight or nine when it was December where the snow rains heavily? Yet you still want to go out to play with the snow despite the coldness." To Hermione's dismay, Tony reminisces back the time.

"You remember? No?" The old man sighs. "Or, do you remember when you were having a flu? You were only six back then. You had a quite flu for weeks yet you still wanted to go out and wanted me bring you to a waterfall. And that waterfall was naturally cold." Tony laughs again at himself. "I wonder if they still have it now."

"They do," Hermione, to Tony surprise, replies but with a flat tone. The whole time Tony was telling about the old memories she doesn't want to remember because of her mother. She watches Tony who looks at her with a quizzical look. "Only that it's no longer free."

It takes Tony a few seconds to accept that Hermione is actually talking to him. Quickly, Tony replaces her shocking expression into excitement. "Oh, really?" Tony replies in over-excited expression. "They must be rich by now. I mean, that place is really cool to hang out with family and friends and colleagues although the water is freaking cold."

"Hmm," Hermione only hums.

The girl takes the last sip of her tea. A nice tea that she wished she could have any time she wants because it's a good. Closing the hot water bottle, she put it back on the tray and pushes a little farther from her laps indicating that she's done eating. Understood, Tony grabs the tray and put it on the attached table to Hermione's hospital bed.

Then, they sit in silence once again. But unlike yeaterday, Hermione didn't lie back on her bed after eating. She's still in a sitting position, sitting there quietly and patienly waiting for her father to speak up. She doesn't care what Tony wants to talk about but she wants Tony to speak. It reminds her back to the time when she was little, and her father would tell her a bedtime stories before she goes to sleep.

Just then, Tony sighs. A guilty sigh that he has been letting it out ever since their second encounter. It was when Tony collected all the information the Villa tended to keep from people's eyes that yet Tony succeeded discovering them all with his more-advanced technologies. Until now, he can't feel fine. He couldn't feel fine knowing that he'd broke their promise.

"I'm sorry," Tony expresses without warning, that brings Hermione in daze.

"Excuse me?" Hermione wanted to say it in her soft and full with manner voice but it rather came out sarcastically.

"For bringing you back here," Tony states. "I apologise."

Hermione can't help but let out a sigh that Tony cannot comprehend.

With an eyebrow raised, he looks at his daughter in bewilderment. "I apologised. You still want to make this hard?" he asks in annoyance, looking at Hermione sharp into her eyes.

Hermione tries to stay calm and shakes her head. "I am not in a mood to fight today," she says, returning Tony's sharp look with her dead look. "I want to go out."

Tony tenses. The air caught in his throat as if he'd been knocked out. "The rule says you can't go out until they call you," the father states.

"Can I go out if one of you with me?" And the first person comes to her mind is Iron Man.

Tony ponders for a second. "I guess." He shrugs hesitantly.

Hermione gives a small bitter smile. "Great," she says with no emotion -- didn't want to show any emotion in front of Tony. "Like I said I have nowhere to go eventhough I am completely capable to get out of this place."

"Mm," Tony hums to himself, wanting to say something but decided against it, knowing that Hermione won't like it.

So Tony waits Hermione doing her morning routines on his seat. He spends his free time thinking. Thinking of Pepper, thinking of his old life, thinking of Hermione and thinking of the latest meeting he attended with the rest of the Avengers and some S.H.I.E.L.D agents. He is thinking how fast everything has been going on but still, he feels so guilty towards Hermione no matter how many times he says sorry. And he won't sit still of Hermione won't say that she accepts him back -- or show that she accepts him once again.

Later that moment, Hermione exits the washroom with jeans and a stripe short-sleeved t-shirt. They must've put them in there for her.

Without saying anything, Tony gets up from his seat, leading Hermione towards the door.

~

"I don't want to burden you or make you feel sadder, Helen," Tony speaks as they walk in the quiet hallways alone. One or two agents pass but only once in awhile.

Hermione didn't answer.

"Can you tell me more about Mom when I'm... gone?" Not that it just hard to let the last word out but it feels weird to use the word because it's not like he's dead or something?

Hermione shoves her hands into her jeans as she looks up straight to the front while walking, not once looking down watching her steps. For her, to face a man like Tony -- that she's still in dilemma either to accept him back or not -- it's not worth it to show how small she is. It's not worth it to pretend that she's sad or show that she needs someone to hug her or to lend her their shoulders. It's even worth to show that she's very sensitive with the topic.

The dark-eyed girl let out a short breathy chuckle, and stay the smirk on her lips. "I want to kick your ass for asking that question but I think you should know," she says. "She's... strong." It's the first thing that comes up to her mind. Only a few seconds after saying it, she realises it didn't answer Tony's question.

"I mean... she's... she's really heartbroken," Hermione answers truthfully. "Mm, maybe she didn't think that you would leave her forever for the first month but when you still didn't pick the call on the second month -- with an extra news about how you go around with a new girl that's all over the TV -- plus you didn't even write or pay a visit for us, she really took it seriously. I mean, if I were her, I would feel the same way."

Tony let out another sigh of guilty. "I didn't mean to do that," he mumbles to himself. But with the quiet surroudings, Hermione can hear him clearly.

He turns to Hermione. "Trust me, Helen," he convinces her. "I- I really, really tried to get back. Really. I really tried to call like a month an a half or so after that but the line went dead."

"Yeah, they cut the phonw line because we didn't pay the bill," Hermione interjects.

"And I really tried to get back but I was really busy. I really was. I tried to use my free spare time to get to both of you but every time I wanted to start the engine, Pepper would call me and-"

"Pepper." The name is like a poison to her ears. "That's her name?" She looks at Tony with a mocking look.

"Her name is Virginia but I call her Pepper for some funny reasons. Yeah, whatever. It's not about her now." Tony rolls her eyes.

Hermione laughs dryly. "It's never about me either, Mr. Stark," she says with pretended cheery voice. "I'm just an assassin. I am no good to anyone."

"We have a few assassins here and they work really well with us," Tony tries to cheer Hermione up. Keyword: tries. He knows it won't mean anything to her. "One of them is Natasha Romanoff. She's-"

"Someone called me?"

•

Double update for you to make-up the crappy previous chapter 😉