[IC] Hooked on a Feeling

[Morose]

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Guinevere Stark

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"Right, mentioning things to parents...." Guin grumbled. She kept on stretching her arms out a little more, even cracking her wrists to try to loosen them up. Admittedly, having Lance for a pillow the entire night had made it a lot more comfortable than it could have been. She then stretched her legs some and let out another yawn, before she finally got up to her feet. "Guessing you don't want to volunteer to tell our parents then?" she asked Lance, figuring she ought to get changed out of her PJs soon enough. Pepper would have a meltdown if she went out in public with bedhead and penguin PJs on.

"Oh of course, the great Tony Stark, genius of our generation, was known primarily for his true talent - party planning," Banner quipped, shaking his head. He found it easier to talk to Tony than he did his own son. And as the thought occurred to him, Banner couldn't help but feel a great wallow of self pity over that. It was just pathetic. Banner then got up, grabbing the newspaper from the counter and opening it up, putting his glasses on. "And let's not forget how we defeated Loki - through a well selected playlist of songs you can dance to...."

Pepper couldn't help but laugh at Banner's jokes. It wasn't often that Dr. Banner started to sass people, but she enjoyed it quite thoroughly when it happened. She then smiled back at Tony. "So, party planner, go plan us a date then," she told him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Unless you need time to recover from Bruce's spot on insults."

[BlueSky44]

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Lance Banner

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"Oh no, you ideas and plans, you get to go talk to them. You know I don't exactly like talking to them or suggesting things, since for me it usually doesn't end well. Besides, you suggest it, your dad will most likely say yes, I suggest it and people might say no. So we are better off if you talk to them, and I just sit here and keep quiet or something," he said to her with a small laugh. The sad thing was, for the most part it was true, he felt like not many people tended to listen to his suggestions or something strange like that.

"Ok, did you two have some sort of conversation and this is Pick on Tony Day and I missed the memo? I swear, you two are not the best to be around," he said with a sort of huffy breath, but he had a smile on his face. "Alright, I'll see about coming up with a plan for a date or something Pepper, I promise."

[Morose]

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Guinevere Stark

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Banner didn't even look up from his newspaper, but he smirked slightly. "It's not the eighties anymore, no one sends memos...." Banner muttered. "And besides, it's a week long event, got too much material to work with for it to only be a day...." Pepper then pulled out her phone and flipped through it, pulling up the Facebook event that she and Banner had made - which was indeed called Pick On Tony Week. She couldn't help but giggle at her longterm boyfriend, though she also had to wonder if maybe Tony would finally get around to proposing. They'd been together for more than a couple of years now, at any rate. She'd even had a long conversation with Bruce about it while they made Tony carry all of their things inside.

Of course, as happy as Bruce was for his friend, he also felt a bit jealous. Tony had a long term girlfriend and full custody of his kid. He had a family. Banner, on the other hand, had a son that he couldn't connect with anymore. Even though he had custody of Lance, it didn't mean anything really since Lance refused to look him in the eye. He didn't know what had happened to cause his son to hate him like that, but Banner knew that ultimately, he had to be responsible for it. He always was responsible.

"Oh, so it's just a plan for a date? Then I guess I'll just plan to spend time with you," Pepper teased Tony with a smirk.

Back in the living room, Guin raised an eyebrow. "Why would me suggesting something cause it to be more easily accepted? It's not like I can bribe my dad with his own money or something," Guin pointed out, laughing slightly. "But fine, Lando. I'll propose the idea to them, but then I get to pick the first ride we go on - deal? And I've already picked it and it's Jurassic Park, since that ride is literally worth dying for."

[BlueSky44]

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Lance Banner

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"Because you're you. I mean seriously I swear everyone will do whatever you say. Most people around here generally ignore my existence or something... Everyone listens to you..." Lance said softly, looking away from her for a moment. It bugged him to know that it was true, but he had to admit it. His own father didn't even really try to talk to him a lot, which wasn't helping their relationship all that much, but he accepted the fact that no one listened to him. "Anyway, go talk to them alright?"

"Wow, you two are so mean to me, sometimes I wonder why I even bother hanging around you two! A whole week? That is just plain wimpy, should at least have made it two" Tony said with a laugh. He knew they were just teasing him, and he decided to go along with it. It wasn't like he could easily tease them back, especially since he knew he gave them a lot of material to tease him with.

[Morose]

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Guinevere Stark

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"People don't do just whatever I say, Lance," Guin pointed out. "If that was the case, then Dad would've pulled me out of boarding school years ago...And I never would have been sent to rehab, since I hated that place and begged him to not make me go....Plus, George Lucas also would've cast me as Jaina Solo in a movie, but you know, just goes to show that not everyone listens to me...But Lance, no one means to ignore your existence. And I hope you never feel like I do that, because you're my best friend. You're like my twin brother from a completely different set of parents who was born a few months earlier than I was...." Yeah, Guin knew that the analogy didn't quite work, but she was worried about Lance. She didn't want to leave him alone, as with the way he acted, she wouldn't be surprised to find out he was admitted to a mental health ward for a suicide attempt. She kissed his cheek, before she headed off (ideally with him tagging along) to find the adults.

"You know, Bruce, me and you could go do something and leave the Iron Baby at home," Pepper offered. "He can babysit the kids."

Banner chuckled a bit, nodding. "...Can't believe you think you warrant an entire two weeks of our attention..."

"It's the ego talking - his superpower."

[BlueSky44]

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Lance Banner

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"Yeah, well whatever... They still listen to you more often... I mean seriously what person let's their kid build a blaster that could kill someone?" he said, muttering the last part as a reference to what had happened the day he had met her. Lance wasn't too thrilled at the idea of joining her to go find the adults. He waited a moment, before he let out a sigh, getting up off of the couch to walk with her. He really wanted to be left alone or something, but he doubted that Guin would let him.

Tony just laughed a little bit, rolling his eyes at the pair. They definitely knew how to tease a person or something, but he just shook his head, still smiling at them. "Hey, I don't have that big of an ego... Okay, maybe I do, but still, it isn't big enough to be a superpower!"

[Morose]

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Guinevere Stark

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"It was perfectly safe and that was five years ago or something!" Guin protested. She doubted Lance was ever going to let that one go. He didn't seem to realize how cool the blaster had been - and what a great challenge of engineering it had been for her to make it! Hardly any other twelve year olds knew how to make blasters. They didn't even know the difference between resistors in parallel or in series! They wouldn't be able to wire a circuit if their lives depended on it! If she ever had kids - and she really did not plan on that ever happening - she would want them to have basic competency with at least one field of engineering before they started high school. Anything less and she'd be letting them down.

Guin walked into the kitchen, just in time to hear her father going on about his ego. "Yeah, just doesn't have the same ring to it as When Captain America throws his mighty shield... Though I guess - When Iron Man flexes his huge ego... isn't too terrible," she chimed in. Captain had been the world's first superhero and even though he was "dead" at the time, they had made a cartoon about him in the 90's. Guin still got the song stuck in her head occasionally. Whenever Steve was around, she made sure to play it when he entered the room. It was even set as his ringtone and as far as Guin knew, he hadn't figured out how to change it yet.

Banner looked up as Lance came into the room, unable to not smile slightly. His eyes flickered towards his newspaper but then they went right back up to his son. He knew he ought to say something to Lance, but he wasn't really sure what to do. "Hi, buddy....You sleep okay?" Banner asked softly, figuring it'd be better than his usual silence. Pepper, meanwhile, frowned a bit at Guin when she saw the rats' nest that was her sort-of stepdaughter's hair. "Guin, please take a comb to your hair or something. You look like you were raised by Tony."

[BlueSky44]

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Lance Banner

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"Whatever you say Guin, whatever you say," he said with a smile, as he followed her. She had almost shot him with that blaster, at least it had felt like she was going to. That thing had terrified him, and he had always wondered if Guin knew that shooting a blaster off at someone was generally not how you make friends. He never was going to let her live down that entire situation, since he found it funny when he thought about what had happened then. Lance looked up when he heard his dad, "Yeah... Fine..."

"Wow, a shot to the heart right there Penguin. I mean it, you wound me with that one. My ego is not that big," Tony said with a laugh, before looking over at Pepper and rolled his eyes. "She technically was raised by me Pepper, her hair doesn't look that bad. At least she didn't fall asleep at a desk or something, that probably would have given her an even worse hairdo."

[Morose]

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Guinevere Stark

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"I'm sorry, but when did you become a parent?" Banner teased Tony quietly. From what Banner knew, Tony only really picked up the parenting slack once he became Iron Man. Before then, his parenting style was very sporadic - he'd send Guin away to boarding school, have Pepper and Happy handle the paperwork, and then randomly give her loads of attention when she was home. It didn't surprise Banner at all that with a childhood like that, Guin had ended up turning out to be a little female Tony. He was honestly just waiting for the day she showed up to an Avengers meeting and insisted that she was going to replace her father as Iron Man.

"Hey, my dad's not that bad of a parent," Guin quipped at Banner, partially defending Tony. Banner's eyes flickered over to Lance again, but he didn't say anything. He knew that he himself really was that bad of a parent, but there wasn't much he could do about it. The more he tried, the more things seemed to just get worse. He didn't want to put Lance through any emotional pain period - and if his attempts at being a parent were what was causing it...then Banner didn't want to push it.

"You know, Bruce, you aren't that bad of a parent either - you and I are getting plenty of practice having to parent Tony," Pepper joked. "I think we know everything not to do at this point."

[BlueSky44]

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Lance Banner

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Lance couldn't help but let out a small laugh at the entire conversation, though he wasn't too sure if his dad was one to talk about being a good parent or whatever. He tended to ignore all of that stuff, and he didn't know what his dad thought about his own parenting skills. Watching the confrontation between Guin defending her dad and his own father making a comment about it. "...Well, he tries, I will give him that," Lance said with a small laugh.

Tony faked a hurt look directed at Banner and Pepper, "You hurt me with your words. You two don't parent me at all! Okay... Maybe Pepper does, or did at one point, back when well, what sometimes feels like forever ago... Anyway, doesn't exactly matter now does it?" he said, shaking his head slightly, but he gave Guin a smile.

[Morose]

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Guinevere Stark

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"True, if we had been better parents, you wouldn't have slept with Madison Cromwell and you wouldn't have had your little accident," Banner muttered, his eyes flickering over towards Guin. He had read the papers. It hadn't taken the press long to figure out that Tony had to have been sleeping with Maddie while she was filming a season of some reality dating show. It wasn't like Maddie had tried to hide the fact that Guin was her kid, either. She did at least eleven exclusive interviews (though were they really exclusive at that point?!) as soon as Stark Industries released a statement saying that Tony had an infant daughter, roughly a year after Guin was born.

Guin stared at Banner for a moment, and then glanced over at Tony, Pepper, and Lance, before she ran off to her room at the Malibu house, not wanting to talk to anyone. She hated being reminded of who her mother was and the fact that she hadn't been wanted - that she was just a mistake, an accident, something that never should have happened. She wasn't supposed to exist. Once she reached her room, she shut the door behind her and slid down to the ground, pulling out her walkman. She hit play and Here Comes the Rain started to play.

Pepper sighed, holding her tongue. She had sworn she'd never say anything about it, no matter how much she wanted to. "Really, Bruce?" she asked pointedly. "She was just starting to act normal again."

[BlueSky44]

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Lance Banner

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"Wow... You really are an idiot..." Lance muttered. Tony let out a sigh, before he moved to go follow after her, but Lance stopped him. "I'll go, since I kind of want to punch someone right now," he whispered before he headed off after Guin. Lance walked up to the door, not sure if Guin would open it up or not, he figured she wanted to be alone, but he was not going to let her be, no matter what she may think.

He hesitated for a moment, before he knocked on the door. "Guin? I know you're in there... It's me... Listen, can you open up the door so we can talk or something? I know my dad is an idiot or something, but I'm sure that isn't true... I don't think your dad thinks of you like that, he cares about you Guin... Actually I stopped him from coming over here, since I figured you didn't want to talk to him right now or something..."

Meanwhile, back with the adults, Tony walked over to Banner and smacked him upside the head. "You really need to watch what you say Banner, otherwise there might be more problems. You know what? At least my kid likes being around me, and doesn't hate my guts."

[Morose]

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Guinevere Stark

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Truthfully, while Guin didn't want to talk to anyone, talking to Tony would have helped right then. Hearing from someone else - no matter how well intentioned - that her father didn't think of her as a mistake only made it worse. She knew logically that Lance had stopped him from coming over, but emotionally, it was something she needed to hear from Tony. Hearing it from Lance only made her doubt even more that it could have been true - that if her father couldn't even say it to her, then there was no way it wasn't a lie just said to make her feel better. "Go away, Lance," Guin mumbled, not moving to open the door. It wasn't locked, however.

Back with the "adults," Banner stared at Tony, before he punched him across the jaw, not even changing a shade. "You think I don't know that Lance hates me?" he muttered. "But at least my son isn't a fuck-up...He's got more character than your kid will ever have..." Banner mumbled, shaking out his wrist. He generally let Hulk do the punching, but right now, Puny Banner was firmly in control.

"Quit it, both of you!" Pepper shouted. "You are acting like teenagers!"

[BlueSky44]

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Lance Banner

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"...Guin..." Lance said softly, before he opened the door slightly, poking his head in. He let out a sigh, before he pushed the door open even farther, enough so he could walk in. Walking over, he gave Guin a hug, "Hey, it'll be alright... Don't worry Guin, you'll see... Look on the bright side, at least when most people find out who your dad is they don't become afraid you'll get mad and become like him..." he said softly, giving her a smile.

"You want to say that again Banner?" Tony said, glaring at him. He was pissed off, and what Banner was saying made him ignore Pepper's words entirely. "At least if my kid has problems I do something about it! That kid literally ignores your existence, and doesn't like to tell you anything!" With those last words, he pushed Banner onto the ground, not even caring anymore.

[Morose]

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Guinevere Stark

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"Tony, are you nuts?!" Pepper asked, grabbing onto him and pulling him away from Banner. She didn't want to be anywhere near Banner if he was about to Hulk out. And while he didn't seem to be turning green, she doubted that would last much longer if Tony kept on hitting him and shoving him around. Pepper didn't want Banner hitting Tony either, but at least Tony didn't turn into the Hulk if someone attacked him. As he was so fond of pointing out, he was Iron Man all the time.

"Pepper, stay out of this!" Banner snapped, getting to his feet. "You guys are pathetic if you think a little argument is going to make me lose control..." he mumbled, taking deep breaths but he was still incredibly angry with Tony. "At least my kid didn't just about overdose!" he shouted, glaring at Tony. "Lance is gonna be something one day - he's better than I am and that's the point. Your kid? She's worse than you are - probably her greatest accomplishment..."

"STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!" Pepper stressed.

It was probably for the best that Guin couldn't hear the shouting from her room. Her earbuds fell out as Lance hugged her, but she didn't move to put them back in or turn off the walkman or anything. "...I shouldn't exist, Lance...My parents didn't want me," she muttered. "I'm just a waste of space, an accident...Hell, if I wasn't here, then at least I'd be helping to end overpopulation or some bullshit..."

[BlueSky44]

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Lance Banner

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Tony fought against Pepper's grip, "Maddie isn't even her mom!" he blurted out, not even paying attention to what he was saying anymore. His mind was racing, but he wasn't listening to anyone as he kept trying to get to Banner. "And at least my kid probably doesn't want to kill herself on a daily basis! You idiot, Lance has been fighting depression but you haven't even noticed, and you were saying that I wasn't a good parent? At least I pay attention to my kid unlike you who basically doesn't seem to care about the kid!"

"...It is better than feeling like the entire world doesn't want you to exist..." he muttered, getting really close to actually admitting to Guin about his depression. It wasn't something he talked about a lot, his dad didn't even notice it. He was pretty sure that Pepper probably figured it out, and if she knew odds were that Tony knew, and yet his dad was still oblivious.

[Morose]

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Guinevere Stark

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Guin nodded, resting her head on Lance's chest. "The whole world thinks that I'm just a stupid addict..." she muttered, her eyes watering. "I-I made a mistake and because of my fucking mother, everyone knows about it..." She bit her lip and shut her eyes. What Banner had said hurt a lot, mostly because he dug up old wounds. She knew what he thought about her - there was a reason out of all of the Avengers, she didn't think of him as an honorary aunt or uncle. Maybe when she was younger, but she always felt like he was judging her. "....Can you just hold me...." she then mumbled. She was hurting and knew that being alone was probably a bad idea - even though it had been her first idea.

Back in the kitchen, Pepper was keeping a surprisingly strong grip on Tony. "The two of you need to drop this, right now, before you break California!" Pepper hissed. She knew the type of destruction that happened when superheroes fought and the Malibu home was quite literally on a cliff. With only one Iron Man suit that Tony had brought, she wasn't even certain if it was meant for fighting the Hulk. Of course, she also realized that neither Tony or Banner seemed to be in their right minds.

Men. So typical...

Banner was beyond angry, still not transforming into the Hulk as he stared Tony down. "You really think I'm dumb enough to believe that whore isn't your kid's mother?!" he shouted, gripping the side of the island counter. "And I do my fucking best for my son! How fucking dare you say I act like he doesn't exist! The only reason I get up in the morning is for Lance! The only reason I haven't tried to eat a bullet again is for him! He's all I got, you rich asshole! You don't understand what it's like to have nothing! Everything you have came from your father's company!"

[BlueSky44]

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Lance Banner

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"Sure Guin..." he said, giving her a smile, just holding her in his arms. He thought for a moment, before he decided against it. The thought of telling her about what went through his mind, the fact that during the entire time she was gone, he had felt so alone, and even thought about killing himself numerous times. He did cut his arms a few times, but he bandaged them up again and because of the fact that he wore long sleeves on a daily basis, he was able to hide it. Wasn't like his dad really cared about him. "I don't think you are a stupid addict..."

Tony finally calmed down, seeing the light if you will. He took a deep breath, before looking at Pepper. "You're right Pepper... Banner, I'm sorry... It's just when you started saying those things about Guin... I lost it... And for the record, Maddie isn't Guin's mother, since I accidentally blurted it out, might as well tell you the full truth... Probably should go talk to her..." Tony said, getting out of Pepper's grip and walking towards Guin's room.

[Morose]

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Guinevere Stark

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"Don't want your apology, Iron Brat," Banner muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets as Tony walked off. He then looked at Pepper, glaring at her. He knew that if Tony knew Lance was depressed, then Pepper knew as well. And why they had decided to withhold that information from him, he wasn't sure. It was definitely something he'd be calling Tracey about to let her know later, as that's what parents did - they communicated! "What the hell is he talking about anyways, Pepper? Everyone knows he slept with anything that moved - including Maddie Cromwell."

Pepper sighed, making sure the kids weren't within earshot. "Guin's real mother didn't want her to know - so Tony asked Madison Cromwell to pose as her mother."

"....And he thinks I'm a bad parent?! That's the worst idea I've ever heard!" Banner exclaimed.

Back in Guin's room, Guin hadn't moved. "Well, you're biased anyways," Guin muttered. She doubted Lance would ever say anything bad about her, even if it was true and she deserved it. He was just too nice of a person sometimes - all of the time, really. However, and while she'd never admit it, being held did help her calm down slightly. She didn't want to seem like she was dependent on anyone else, but the physical contact was soothing in its own way. She had read up on the biochemical explanation for it once - that the brain releases endorphins when you're held, even if you're having a panic attack, and because of that you are eventually calmed down. "I don't even think Dad will ever trust me again...."

[BlueSky44]

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Lance Banner

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"He will Guin, don't worry about it... Things like that take time, but things happen, we all make decisions that we have to deal with, the consequences and the benefits... It is just how life works..." Lance said with a smile. Sure, he probably was biased towards Guin when he spoke to her, no matter what, but that didn't mean what he said wasn't the truth. He usually didn't say anything at all if a mean thought crossed his mind talking to Guin or anything.

Tony walked up, knocking gently on the open door. "Knock knock, can I come in?" he said as he entered the room. Lance let go of Guin, standing up again. "I'll let you two talk then," Lance muttered, before leaving the room, heading back to where Banner and Pepper were. "So..." Tony said, sitting down next to Guin, giving her a smile.