“No, I don’t read minds. I’m not interested in your secrets.”
It hurt, a little, the way his emotions went from amusement to not-quite-fear. She hadn’t realised she’d been hoping for acceptance from Tony Stark, of all people. Stupid. The smile got a little more bent, fading from her green eyes.
“The world needs you. That’s all. Better you don’t die.” Unspoken, the word ‘again’ hung off the end of the sentence.
“Oh. Well that’s good. The last thing I need is all my secrets being found out.”
“Then again, that could actually be pretty fun. Having to deny all of those secrets knowing full well that I know damn well they’re true.”
He tilted his head slightly. Honestly, this kid had absolutely no idea, did she?
“The world needs me, huh? Well, let’s just say that I’m pretty sure the world would be a far better place without this particular Tony Stark.” He shrugged lightly, his gaze wandering for a moment. “With men like me, the world needs more heroes.”
“You don’t get to make that choice.” Her vision blurred for a moment, gaze falling out of focus. “Why do you say that?” A strange, neutral mask seemed to settle over her features.
She hated this. Now that he’d said that, she’d feel compelled to get to the bottom of it, to try to fix it if that was possible. Bad enough he was breathtaking, now he was a broken bad boy as well? Stupid, stupid, stupid and too late.
“Are you not making up now for your past?”