Shadowplay | Tony Stark

TEN - BREAKING THE ICE

"Sorry I'm back later than I said I'd be, everything alright?"

Mila was sat on the sofa her head resting on her palm as she watched TV in the dim light of a tall lamp that stood in the corner of the room, the house otherwise doused in darkness.

Tony had been gone since before she and Tristan had woken up that morning. He'd told her the night before that he was heading to New York for work but would be back later that night, and for her not to worry because everything would be fine.

And he had been right. Mila and Tristan had had a beautiful day together playing in the sunshine and watching the fish in the lake, chasing each other round rows of trees and discovering a shed full of old sports equipment in the backyard, the only thing that interested Tristan out of it all being a soccer ball.

They had been gone from Chicago for just over four days by that point and it wasn't until midday that Mila received her first piece of communication from her friend and co-worker, a phone call that almost made her heart stop when it lit up the screen of her mobile.

She'd thought a lot about what to tell her friends back home and had practiced over and over again in her head what to say when the call or text eventually came, but when it actually did, the script practically disintegrated in her mind.

Carly and Mila had known each other since high school and while they'd never been incredibly close in their younger years, working at the same salon had cast a friendship between them.

Mila had expected a call a lot sooner from her truth be told, being one of the handful of people from home that she felt actually had her back, and in a way, she was relieved amongst the anxiety when the radio silence was finally broken.

"Hey, how are you? Are you guys alright? I called round earlier but I saw your car was gone. Did you hear what happened down at the sheriffs office?"

Mila cleared her throat, swallowing thickly before answering, "Hey, yes I saw it on the news, are you OK? Was anybody we know hurt? I took Tristan down to Florida, we're staying with my parents for a little while."

"Oh thank God," Carly breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm fine, everyone is apart from the officers. Honestly, I have no idea what's going on, I don't think anybody does. When are you due back? Did you reschedule clients?"

Prepared as always, Mila had cancelled all her outstanding appointments at the salon and reassigned them to other stylists for the time being, Tony's lack of enthusiasm about the possibility of a return home making it difficult for her to plan anything for the foreseeable.

"Yeah I took care of all that, don't worry. I think I'm gonna stay down here for a while given everything that's happened, Tristan likes it down here, too. You'll look after yourself though, won't you? Keep yourself safe, Carly."

"Of course, of course. I'll keep you updated if I hear anything, too. Tell Tris I say hi."

"Sure thing. I'll talk to you soon."

The relief Mila felt once the call ended was euphoric, convinced that she'd given enough authenticity for Carly to not ask any questions or raise any with anybody else.

Lying scared her, but Mila had accepted the fact that in her situation, Tony Stark knew best. And if Tony told her to lie to protect herself and more importantly her son, then she'd lie through her teeth for as long as necessary.

It was almost midnight when Tony finally walked back through the door. Mila was tired by then after another exhausting day of chasing after Tristan who had far more energy than anybody she'd ever met, but she found it impossible to relax enough to sleep without Tony in the house with them, just incase.