Tony was used to existing on little sleep, but the events of last night weighed heavily on him. He could only give a sigh of relief as he drove up the winding hill that led to his mansion. After Kendis had a breakdown at the clinic, he gently escorted her to the car, but her silence during the drive made him uneasy.

Her whole body was limp and practically unresponsive, and Tony wondered if he should have put his foot down about her going to the hospital. Kendis was autistic, and he had been scared that the overstimulation from being poked and prodded by strangers would push her over the edge.

When Tony first suspected he had ADHD, he did a lot of research. Since Autism and ADHD had a lot of overlapping symptoms, he had gone down a long rabbit hole about neurodiversity.

He suspected that Kendis was probably in the grip of a shutdown.

Tony wasn’t used to feeling so helpless. He didn’t know how to help her, so in the end he just left her alone and kept an eye out for her as he drove home.

During the long drive, he reflected on the evening’s revelations. Between one blink and another, he had slipped into another world where magic and fairytale creatures existed.

The scientist in him wanted to scoff at it, but with the evidence of Kendis’s magic back at her house, it was undeniable. He wanted to explore it all, test it, and quantify it; however, he was self-aware enough to admit (if only to himself) that the existence of magic terrified him.

Tony knew how to fix a circuit board, how to charm the pants off board members and military brass, and how to navigate the traitorous waters of high society. But magic? Magic was an unknown element, a wild card, and he didn’t deal well with things he didn’t understand.

Tony could just pretend magic wasn’t real. He could just shove that knowledge into the same mental junk drawer where he kept all the stuff he didn’t want to deal with, like his parents and Tiberius Stone.

However, there was something about Kendis that pulled him to her like a magnet, and the more he got to know her, the stronger the pull became. Tony had a feeling that Kendis was a kindred spirit. Kendis and him were orphans who carried the heavy weight of their parents’ legacy on their shoulders.

She hadn’t said it outright but Tony could read between the lines from the way she had talked about her past. Especially when they had brought up the reporter who had stalked her as a beetle.

Tony really had to control his rage over how Kendis was left to fend for herself as a kid. It made him want to go back in time and curse out every adult that had failed her.

Tony was surprised by his own feelings. If anyone had asked Tony two weeks ago if he had any protective instincts, he would have vehemently denied it. But the moment Tony had seen that black envelope on Kendis’s desk and the terror in her eyes, he had immediately wanted to find the asshole who had hurt Kendis and introduce them to his fists.

And now that he knew the name of Kendis’s stalker, Tony wouldn’t stop until he found Chester Coil.

Once Kendis was asleep, Tony had Jarvis check the city’s cameras. Given how much magic messes with tech, he knew Jarvis’s chances of finding Kendis’s stalker were pretty slim.

Tony’s fists clenched around the steering wheel. He hated being so powerless, especially when someone he cared about was in danger.

And no matter how hard he tried to deny it, Tony cared about Kendis.

Sighing heavily, he turned into his circular driveway and parked the car.

“Kendis?” Tony’s hand was right by Kendis’s shoulder, but he didn’t touch her. He figured that wouldn’t end well, given last night.

Kendis groaned, and Tony called her again, louder this time. She jerked awake, shooting straight up in her seat. Kendis aiming her wand at him.

Tony put his hands up. “It’s just me,” he said softly.

Kendis blinked and groaned before dropping her wand. Then she opened her mouth as if to speak then closed it.

“S-sorry,” Kendis got out while shaking her head. Tony knew that when she was in a shutdown, it was probably hard for her to talk, so he shrugged off the apology and got out of the car.

Hurrying around to the other side, he opened the door for her and offered his hand. “Welcome to Stark Manor.”

Kendis simply nodded and took his hand as he helped her out of the car. Her wide, curious green eyes traveled across the mansion.

Tony tried not to preen with pride. Kendis had missed her chance to take in the mansion in its full splendor because she had been sleeping as he pulled up, but this view was just as good.

The mansion was majestic, especially with the morning sunlight hitting the waves of the ocean just right in the background.

However, she didn’t react at all as they moved towards the door. Feeling disappointed, Tony put his finger on the fingerprint scanner next to the door, and it pinged.

“Welcome home, sir,” Jarvis said, and Kendis jumped.

“It’s okay,” Tony said, “That’s just Jarvis.”

Kendis frowned at him in confusion.

“I am Jarvis or Just a Rather Very Intelligent System, an artificial intelligence created by Mr. Stark. I take care of the house and anything else that Sir requires,” Jarvis answered. “It’s my pleasure to meet you, Mx. Black. Don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything.”

“He’s my robot butler,” Tony said proudly. His bots were practically his children and to be honest, the closest he would ever get to having kids of his own. He loved all four of his creations, but he was most proud of Jarvis. “There is nothing on earth like him.”

Kendis’s eyes widened, and then she stared at him, for a moment. Her gaze felt like it was penetrating his very being, and a subtle smile touched the edges of her mouth.

“What?”

Kendis shook her head. “Sleep.”

Tony rubbed the back of his head and felt his cheeks flush. “Yeah, let me show you to the guestroom.”

They walked through a pair of glass doors into the foyer. He showed her the modern-style living room before leading her to two sets of stairs. The one on the right was a long staircase leading to his lab, but he hurried past it, and they climbed three short steps to a bigger area.

To the right, there was his small galley kitchen, which stuck out in his mansion. Tony could’ve had a massive industrial kitchen, but he knew he wouldn’t use it.

Past the kitchen, glass doors opened onto a balcony. The dining area was located on an open-air landing with a view overlooking the kitchen. On either side were separate staircases.

Kendis’s eyes traveled to each set of stairs and then, frowned at him.

Tony shrugged, admitting, “I have no clue why I thought so many stairs would be a good idea—and I was the one to design the place.”

From the kitchen, Tony climbed the stairs to the second floor, walking past the modern dining room and down a long hallway. This route took him past another waterfall and his bedroom. Then he led Kendis down the hall to where the guestrooms were.

Tony opened one of the doors, “Rhodey usually sleeps here when he comes to visit. I gave him an entire wing but he refused to sleep there.” Tony shrugged. “He says it’s too far from the kitchen.”

In the guest room, there was a large Japanese-style oak bed with white linens on a taupe rug over hardwood floors. Two small matching oak tables with lamps hanging above them were positioned on each side of it. In the far corner of the room, there were two doors with one opening to the bathroom and the other to a walk-in closet.

Tony turned to look out through the ceiling-to-floor windows that framed a breathtaking view of the ocean.

Kendis patted him on the shoulder as she walked past him into the bedroom.

“So, um.” Tony shrugged awkwardly. “I’ll leave you to it then.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem,” Tony replied, as he pointed to the door. “I’m just going…right. Um, see you later.”

Tony closed the door and made a beeline for his lab. He’d had enough emotions for the day and needed the comforting logic of some code.