The nightmares were very much present once the sun sunk into the sea. Perhaps even more so now, than they were before. Or maybe it was because of the fact that William could relax just a dat bit more. Just a little more than he did on his own.

He didn't want to, God he didn't want to and he kept telling himself that this snarky man and his magical house were dangerous and could be lethal, but so far, Tony hadn't done anything.

Well, he had. But that just included a whole lot of eye-rolling, snarky remarks and shoving weird technology at Will's face.

The word danger kept repeating itself in his mind over and over again, but his body didn't seem to comply and although he tried his best not to, he felt somewhat secure in the house. It was a peculiar feeling that was most of the time reserved only for those with calm, steady lives.

But with the feeling of security, he had to pay a hard price in the face of headaches and night terrors that drowned him in the dead of the night. He'd wake up, reaching out for a phantom, either a friend or a foe he could not tell. But all the while only one thought would cross his mind.

Kill.

Kill whoever it was that had made fun of him in his youth, kill whoever it was that had bolted down an iron collar around his neck, kill the emotionless doctors with their god awful white coats while they auctioned him off to strangers with evil intent. Kill the men that threw him in a ring with a pack of wolves so they could tear each other apart for money and sport.
Kill them for keeping him alive when all he wanted, was to die.

It would take a while for him to shake off the hurtful hands of doctors, the cold metal around his wrists and the burning in his veins, the numerous injections and heavy punishments in the name of obedience.

All this for what? For their twisted ideas of new-age soldiers.

He'd hold his breath and lay on the hard floor with Dog always close to him. Will had a tendency to ball his fists and hit his head to stop the noises, stop the scratching of his nails against the iron walls and the sound of saws and terror-filled screams of experiments that never made it past the first injections because the serum would burn through their organs slowly before the body could get used to it.

And one night, the dog had stuck her snout in between Will's balled fist and his head, taking the hits herself. Realizing that, he'd stopped with his left hand and continued with the other, only for the dog to repeat her actions.

Instead of hitting the animal, he had latched himself onto her, hugged her large body close to his and tried to get his breathing under control.

He would lay on the floor with Dog until sunrise. Dog's paw had healed nicely, making her lean on it and he knew she would soon be rid of the cast.

His mornings were restless and quiet, he filled them with workouts and writing. But that was one of those mornings where William had gone outside and sat down on a little wooden boat ramp. His one foot was in the water and the other was up, resting his journal on it as he scribbled down words from his last nightmare.

The sun was slowly, steadily rising as the sky got lighter. Dog was lazily dozing off next to him, kicking her leg as she huffed in her sleep. Probably chasing butterflies and sparrows in her dreams.

The sound of the cold morning breeze was drowned out by the erratic sound of pen flying over pages of paper.

𝓘𝓽 𝔀𝓪𝓼 𝓬𝓸𝓵𝓭 𝓪𝓰𝓪𝓲𝓷, 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝔀𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓱𝓪𝓭 𝓼𝔀𝓮𝓹𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓻𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓬𝓵𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓯𝓻𝓸𝔃𝓮𝓷 𝓶𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓶𝔂 𝓫𝓸𝓷𝓮𝓼. 𝓣𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝔀𝓪𝓼 𝓶𝓾𝓭 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓹𝓲𝓮𝓬𝓮𝓼 𝓸𝓯 𝓯𝓵𝓮𝓼𝓱 𝓵𝓪𝔂𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝓻𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭.
𝓼𝓶𝓮𝓵𝓵 𝓸𝓯 𝓻𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓮𝓷 𝓯𝓵𝓮𝓼𝓱.
𝓘 𝔀𝓪𝓼𝓷'𝓽 𝓪𝓵𝓸𝓷𝓮. 𝓙𝓸𝓱𝓷 𝔀𝓪𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮. 𝓗𝓮 𝔀𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓷𝓾𝓭𝓰𝓮 𝓶𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓪𝓴𝓮 𝓶𝔂 𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓭 𝓸𝓯𝓯 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓫𝓾𝓻𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓫𝓸𝓭𝓲𝓮𝓼.

𝓔𝓪𝓰𝓵𝓮𝓼, 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝔀𝓪𝓼 𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝓫𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓮𝓪𝓰𝓵𝓮𝓼. 𝓜𝔂 𝓵𝓾𝓷𝓰𝓼 𝓱𝓾𝓻𝓽 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝓘 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓴 𝓲𝓯 𝓮𝓪𝓰𝓵𝓮𝓼, 𝔀𝓱𝔂? 𝓦𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓲𝓼 𝓲𝓽 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓮𝓪𝓰𝓵𝓮𝓼? 𝓣𝓱𝓮𝔂 𝓪𝓵𝓼𝓸 𝓻𝓮𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓭 𝓶𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓻𝓸𝓼𝓮𝓼, 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓲𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓷𝓮𝓬𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 𝓫𝓮𝓽𝔀𝓮𝓮𝓷 𝓻𝓸𝓼𝓮𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓮𝓪𝓰𝓵𝓮𝓼?

ＥＡＧＬＥＳ ＡＮＤ ＲＯＳＥＳ

He underlined the last part, trying to rack his brain for any sort of meaning behind them.

He growled in frustration and sunk his shaky fingers into his messy hair as he dropped the journal on the wooden ramp, pulling his legs up to rest his head on his knees.

Trying to remember was like running headfirst into iron wall and no matter how much he tried to claw at it and push through it, he couldn't. He was starting to lose it again, but before he could raise his fists to his own head, Dog had woken up only to push her snout between Wills knees and chin to cover him in kisses.

He kept his eyes shut as he tried to take a deep breath in and focus on the lush nature around the lake instead. He focused on the heavy breathing of Dog near his ear, the low sound of two dragonflies zooming past and the gentle, small waves as they gently kissed the wooden ramp in the morning mist. His ears picked up the sound of dragging feet as Tony emerged from the house, once again, nursing a cup of coffee as he slowly made his way towards William.

He pushed himself up, snapping the journal shut although he had written it in Russian to prevent the man from reading it. Even though he was convinced he had magic glasses that read the language for him.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you don't sleep. Ever." his voice was slightly raspy and still heavy with sleep as his dark eyes took in the waking nature. With dark red pyjamas, messy hair and half-closed eyes, the man looked a mess. William didn't bother to answer, he knew the talking house told Tony whenever the nightmares got bad for him, but the man had never done anything about it, which Will was grateful for.

If he had ever entered the room while he was stuck in a nightmare... He didn't want to think whose face would it be he'd see instead of Tony's.

"I have to leave." his voice was cold, distant. Even though he felt hesitant saying it. The lines between a guest and a prisoner were non-existent with this man.

Tony spat out his coffee, some droplets falling on his crumpled pyjamas.

"Good morning, Tony. How'd you sleep, Tony? That's good to hear, I too, got four hours of sleep tonight." the man said, sarcasm dripping from his every word as he tried to swipe the coffee stains away with no success.

Will didn't reply as he looked at Tony, shoulders tense as he tried so hard to figure his reaction out. He was agitated and tired, half-asleep even.

Will knew he should have left earlier, he hadn't seen Tony's child ever since he had appeared in their home, he had heard a conversation between Tony and his wife a day earlier, she was coming home soon. And Will knew Tony would prefer if she didn't meet him.

Understandable.

He didn't want to be a burden to the man any longer, he didn't want his demons to come crawling in and ruin the peaceful, heavenly place on the edge of a lake. It wasn't fair to Tony.

It was his piece of heaven, not Williams.

In fact, he should have high-tailed it out of there sooner. But that damned house... It had closed a door in his face the first night he had tried to leave after being unable to sleep. The female voice had told him he was unable to leave unless Tony said otherwise.

So now, standing outside, it was time for him to call off his house.

Realizing he wasn't going to reply, Tony just turned around and started heading back into the house.

"It's too early for this, have some espresso, tell me a thing or two about your hundred secrets and I might consider letting a foreign Spy run off into the woods like some runaway. Oh, wait, you probably are." he muttered as William trailed him, confused at his so-called sarcasm as he listened intently.

Inside, the house had already finished with a cup of coffee as Tony was reaching for it as it sat inside of a machine, Will eyed it suspiciously.

He didn't trust a machine that could make him coffee without him seeing how it was made and what was put into it. So, he just grabbed the black cup and held it. Tony said nothing.

"Three days later and you're still stiff as a pole. Where'd you get your super-human powers? Don't give me that look, you healed nearly as fast as Captain America and your heart rate beats 220 per minute, which, is too much in human standards. Granted it gets lower when you get into your emo-mood and glare at the ceiling, but still." he ranted, turning on the TV as he took a sip of his coffee.

William stared at the flat screen, amazed by the flashy colours.

It was awesome.

Wait, Captain America?

"Well, yes. Although I prefer Capsicle since he was sleeping under the ice after his dramatic fall." Will looked at him strangely, not having realized he had been thinking out loud.

It must have been another Captain America, or was there just one? Was there a Captain America back in the... Whatever the year was it? Or was it just something he had made up? What kind of surname is America anyway?
His hands itched for the pen and he wanted to write it all down, but he didn't want to write in Tony's line of sight.

"Enough of Golden Boy. Why are you so against telling me everything? The unknown is killing me!" he exaggerated as Will slowly slid on the couch, still holding the cup of coffee hesitantly.

"How.." he trailed away, uncertain if he was allowed to ask questions.

"How, what? I'm not a psychic, Spy. I can't read minds." he took another sip of his coffee, only to realize his cup was empty.

"How'd you know about my heart rate?"

"Eh, FRI keeps dabs on you. Like she does with everyone in here." he said nonchalantly. It took a second for William to realize he called the house FRIDAY. "Are you gonna drink it?" he pointed at the cup in William's hand. He held it out for Tony who accepted it happily.

The man drank an unhealthy amount of caffeine every day.

However, Will was snapped out of his bubble when a familiar face stared back at him from the corner of his eye.

"-- the funeral of Johnathan Kent Lawford will be held on Monday. Where the World War II veteran will be honourably sent to his final journey. Next up is bingo-" William didn't care to listen as the pictures changed and Johnathan's face was no more.

Tony had stopped talking, his now curious eyes flickering between the TV and Williams stoic expression. He didn't need to be a genius to realize the news had a heavy impact on him.

"So that was the friend huh." the silence was the loudest answer he'd ever receive from William. Not having a clue how to handle the brooding man beside him, Tony decided it was time to actually change out of his pyjamas now.

"Well, I'll be back in a few and we'll see about that transport." he left William in the living room, knowing he needed a moment alone. Tony wasn't even sure he had heard him.

Returning some time later, he found William standing by the locked door, eyes filled with anger as he glared at the door handle. He had tried to leave and FRIDAY had immediately activated the lockdown protocol. Earlier he had simply gone out barefooted with a journal and a pen dangling between his fingers. But now he was fully clothed, boots tied tightly and despite not knowing where his bag was, he was ready to leave it all behind. He would have stolen another one on the way.

"Yeah because running off into the forest with nothing is just such a wonderful idea." Tony said with a hint of disappointment. Though he sobered up as Will turned around slowly, his furious eyes now focused on Tony. The man was immediately on high alert, ready to active his suit. But he was curious and wanted to see what Will was capable of.

"Cat got your tongue? And here I thought you were smarter than that." he said nonchalantly, not missing the narrowed eyes that flashed red.

Tony was intrigued.

"But then again, you write journals. I did get to read one page. And that was clearly a sign that you should reserve a place in a mental hospital, preferably look for a one with extra locks." his hands were balled into fists now, but his expression was deadly calm, except for the thunder in his eyes.

Tony felt as if he was so close to the big reveal of Spy's secrets. Just one little push.

"You're just scared, aren't you? Weak and alone."

Williams mind was running through hundreds of scenarios, he could take his own pen and stab it into Tony's throat, right through the jugular. He could jump the man and simply break his neck with one fluid motion, an easy kill. He could punch his hand through his chest and-

Then William realized what was so wrong with Tony. What it was that had kept him on his toes. There was a heartbeat, though faint it was there. But it was also mixed with nearly silent buzz. As if his heart was constantly humming quietly.

Realizing that made the tunnel vision decrease and he could think somewhat straight again. He was startled, though his heart rate was steady and calm. He had been so close to giving in to the bloodthirst again. If Tony had made one unexpected move, Will was sure he would have bounced and not even the most painful hit would have kept him back.

He was fighting an inner battle, feeling on edge as he realized the untameable beast within had been nearly released from its chains. He didn't want to hurt the man, he didn't want to be that kind of a monster again. But being locked up, unable to move was really agitating him.

"No, I just have a funeral to attend." he said, his shoulders dropping as had tried to shake off the tension in his body. Tony looked thoroughly disappointed. Eh, it was worth a shot he thought to himself.

"your things are in my car, I'll drive you to the nearest town." Tony was not happy, but he could respect his decision to attend a funeral.

He just needed to figure out what was the connection between Spy and Johnathan Lawford. Luckily, they had a long car drive ahead of them.

A/N

Don't forget to drop a comment!

Watch me trying to make up for all of those months I was AWOL.

Okay, so, Tony is pretty mellow in my universe, but he's Dad Tony and not the I've-Got-No-Plan-So-ATTACK Tony. Though he is also that tony, but just also...dad tony? Does that make sense?

It's just I don't see Tony as someone who'd lock someone else up unless they've directly done him harm. He'd probably just eat pizza and try to figure them out.

Heavy 8-9 feels on this side of the screen.

Also, if ANYONE feels like they wanna make some graphics or whatever I'd be super happy *.*

LlTTLE PROMO

I have a new book up, Black Magic. A necromancer student, the ghost of Tony and depressed Peter Parker. 😇

Anyways, until next chapter

Take care and lots of love!
Author xx