The Bittersweet Between My Teeth

Stark Tower was such an impressive building, causing pedestrians to crane their necks as they walked past it on the sidewalks of busy Manhattan. It was constantly having work done on it, with construction workers going in and out of the place like bees tending to their queen. In this case, their queen was Anthony Stark. Tony Stark was a genius, handsome, and incredibly sarcastic. The girl currently standing at the front door of his building was a perfect replica of him, suave, put-together, and the embodiment of a girl raised in New York. “No press! Get the press away!” Tony shouted at Pepper Potts as he stared at the security cameras that Jarvis had focused on the front door.

“She isn’t press, Tony. She’s your sister.” Jarvis said in his proper British accent. “Sister? I don’t have a sister.” Tony said, running his hand through his hair, flustered. “She has the same genetic makeup as you do, sir. Unless you had a daughter at a very young age, it would be reasonable to guess that she is your sister.” Jarvis said. Tony sighed, watching the girl at the door with dark eyes. She was dressed in faded blue jeans, a white tank top, and a leather jacket. Her long black hair fell past her shoulders, and she had bangs that hung over her eyebrows. Brown eyes were framed by long black eyelashes, and she wore next to no makeup.

What concerned Tony the most was the camera around her neck, dangling just below her chest. It looked expensive. The last thing he needed was someone coming into his newest project and leaking information on his technology. Finally, he backed down, after realizing that the girl wasn’t going to leave. Part of the billionaire was hoping that the girl downstairs was indeed Raven Stark.

Raven watched as the door sprung open suddenly, and she ceased investigating the security device that was denying her access to her brother’s latest project. Taking it as an invitation, she walked into the building. An elevator stood in front of her, and she stepped inside. Her heart was racing, and she knew that she had to figure out what floor he would be on. Coming to a conclusion, Raven slid her fingers over each button before stepping to the back of the elevator and leaning against the wall. It took ages to get to the top of the building, and when the elevator stopped, the door opened to reveal a very cross Tony Stark. Raven bit her lip, and he stared at her with one hand preventing the door from closing. “Did you really need to send the elevator to every floor? Honestly? That’s such a waste of my precious elevator.” He said.

She couldn’t stop herself, and despite the fact that Tony was beyond pissed off, she threw her arms around him. Tears sprung to her eyes, and Tony moved his arm to hug her back. “It really is you, then?” he said quietly. Raven nodded, and Tony squeezed her tight. “We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.” He said, pulling her out of the elevator and leading her to a sofa nearby. Pepper was waiting with a pot of tea and several cups on a coffee table, and she beamed up at Raven. “You’re really Tony’s sister?” the redhead asked, standing up to shake her hand as Tony led Raven over to her. “I am.” Raven choked out. It had been sixteen years since the two had last been together, and Pepper was in absolute awe of the similarities between the two of them. Side by side, they looked the part of brother and sister.

“Raven, this is my assistant girlfriend, Pepper Potts. Pepper, Raven Stark.” Tony introduced. “Assistant girlfriend, Anthony? How does that work?” Raven asked. Tony laughed loudly, helping his little sister onto the couch. Pepper poured her a cup of tea, green tea, based on the smell, and set it down in front of the teenage girl. Tony sat down on a chair perpendicular to the girls, and Pepper sat back down. All of a sudden, Raven’s phone started to ring loudly. “Who is that?” Tony demanded, giving her a reprimanding look. “My boss. Shit… I was supposed to work in an hour…” Raven said apologetically as she pulled her phone out of her pocket.

She hurried to the opposite end of the room to pick up her phone. Tony and Pepper looked at each other, and Pepper gave him a smile before kissing his lips quickly. “I absolutely adore her, Tony. Maybe she should move in.” she suggested quietly. “NO. No fucking way am I having a teenage girl move in with me. She’s probably got a life of her own, anyway. We can visit on occasion. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Pepper.” Tony replied in hushed tones, glaring at his girlfriend. Raven walked back over and sat down, shoving her phone back into her pocket. “So! Raven, tell me about yourself. I’m sure Tony would love to hear it all.” Pepper pushed.

Raven looked over at Tony, who had a peculiar look on his face as he stared at her. “Actually, let’s not do that. Raven, I think you should go. I don’t like this idea.” Tony announced, getting to his feet. Raven stared at him, and Pepper’s jaw dropped. “Tony, what are you doing?” Pepper hissed. Raven stood up, grabbing her purse and rushing to the door to the elevator. “No, Miss Potts… Don’t worry. I get it. He never wanted me around.” Raven choked out, pushing the button to the elevator repeatedly. No response came from Tony, which Raven took as his affirmation of his rejecting her. Her eyes blurred, and she stepped into the elevator and hit the button for the ground floor.

The journey back to her school from Stark Tower became one big dream for Raven. She could hardly see as she took the subway to go back to her waiting dormitory, and as she tried to dial in to call in sick to work, she misdialed twice and ended up harassing unsuspecting people. The subway was full of people staring at the poor sobbing mess of a usually put-together girl. When she finally reached her stop, she shoved through a crowd of people to get out of the subway terminal. When Raven walked up and out of the subway station, someone bumped into her hard, sending her forward several steps. Raven would’ve fallen hard into the cement, breaking her camera in the process, if not for the arm that pulled her up at the last second.

“Are you alright?” A male voice asked. The person adjusted Raven so that she could stand solidly on the sidewalk, and she turned her face up to see her rescuer. People were staring at him as if he had accomplished some miraculous feat by saving her from falling over, but Raven was more concerned in thanking the teenage boy that stood there. Tall and lanky, he had messy brown hair, deep brown eyes covered in glasses, and the most adorable puppy dog smile to match his puppy dog face. He was holding a skateboard in one arm, and Raven’s arm with the other. “Why are you crying?! You could have a much worse savior, you know.” He joked, laughing. Raven cracked a smile for the first time since her brother’s rejection, and she thanked him quietly. “Where are you headed? I’ll walk you there. So you don’t fall over again. You never know with these sidewalks.” He offered.

“I can make it…” She told him. “Wait. Let me try again. Peter Parker. I’m not a kidnapper, sex offender, or pervert.” The boy said. “Raven Stark. I’m going to the New York Institute of Photography.” She answered quietly. “College girl? Awesome. I’ll be sure to tell all my friends that my new girlfriend is a college girl.” Peter Parker joked, tugging on Raven lightly to start her walking down the street towards the school. Sure, he was awkward and a little goofy, but Raven was so glad for the distraction.