AN: Disclaimer, I don't know anything except my OC. I hope you enjoy this one-shot,
Much Alike
A young girl of the age of nine sat at the bench of Stark's workshop, leaning against the table with her red hair falling into her eyes, she followed the older man around the room. Her eyes were eager, taking in everything from the man's handy work to Jarvis in the background. The two males were working on a machine to help around the workshop. "Dad, why don't you just put a rotator in it?"
Tony looked up from the machine to his daughter. She was a spitting image of Pepper except for the eyes and grin that flashed across her face regularly. "Good thinking Ace." He watched her face brighten at the compliment, he use to find kids' somewhat annoying but once Pepper and himself had their own, his perspective shifted. He realised that sometimes he could easily over think things, her new look on projects gave him another way to look at the problems. "Why don't you see what your mum's doing?" Pepper was constantly telling their daughter to get out more. She was somewhat worried that their girl wasn't getting the usual childhood, then again Maddie was a Stark.
A groan slipped from Maddie at her father's words, she would much rather stay down here in the workshop than sit down in front of the TV. "I'd rather stay here with you." And Javis. Maddie found Javis entertaining at times, the constant debating between her father and the voice.
Tony took a quick glance at the young girl, seeing too much of himself in her that it worried him sometimes. "I heard there may be chocolate brownies involved." Once again, Maddie's face shifted to its usual glowing smile.
"You aren't lying are you?" A frown appeared between her eyebrows' as she stared at her father. "Javis?"
"Yes Miss Stark?" She pulled a face at the formal greeting but didn't complain about it this time, she had others things on her mind.
"Is mum making brownies?"
"I do believe the ingredients are sitting on the kitchen bench Miss Stark."
Jumping off the stool at the bench, Maddie made her way towards the glass doors. "Thanks Javis."
"What about me?" A cheeky grin crossed Maddie's face at the tone of her father's voice.
"Nope, you said I couldn't help today so Jarvis beats you." The girl said going up the stairs to the main house. Ever since Maddie had learnt to speak, Tony realized the pain in the ass he could be with people, but he wouldn't have it any other way.
Maddie didn't need Javis to locate her mother, the nine year old knew exactly where she would be. Going to the second floor she didn't bother knocking on the wooden door and entered the office. Sitting at the desk with a computer and paper work spread out in front of her was Pepper. "Hey Mum." Maddie came to the side of the desk.
"Afternoon baby girl." Pepper turned away from the work, her warm tone matching the smile.
At the mention of 'baby', Maddie's eyes went to her mother's stomach where her sibling was growing. The bump wasn't too big but still noticeable, the reason to Pepper doing her work at home. Maddie was quite excited to have a sibling though underneath there was an emotion of something else, fear. She couldn't help the worry about what would happen. She wasn't dumb enough to think that nothing would change, she wouldn't be the only one anymore and she was slightly scared that she would became a background piece, even more if her sibling happened to be a boy. She almost felt bad at the times as she leashed out her parents, she had yet to talk to them about it - what if they found it silly of her? Or got mad?
"Are you almost finished with work?" There was as light plead laced in Maddie's voice.
"I don't think there is any harm in finishing now." Pepper placed her hands' on her stomach, Maddie's eyes taking in the movement. "What do you have mind?"
Maddie couldn't stop the smile from reaching her lips. "Brownies."
Pepper rolled her eyes with a smile and got up away from the desk to the follow the girl to the kitchen, she should have known what the request was. Maddie was very much like her father in liking to invent new things in the workshop, but the girl also had a passion for cooking and the taste of chocolate.
Maddie didn't need any prompting, she went straight to the fridge and got the rest of the ingredients needed to complete the brownies, like eggs and butter. She reached for the coco powder while Pepper measure the flour, she simply watched her mother for a second. Maddie didn't understand why people would use boxed desserts while one could make it from scratch and feel proud of the end result.
She pulled the tray out of the draws and covered it in layer of butter to grease it before placing it beside her mother who was mixing the mixture together. She slightly winced at noticing they forgot to put the oven on and quickly set to work in starting it, she figured it would warm quickly enough and waited for Pepper to finish with the mixing bowl so she could lick the sides.
Maddie was laid out on the couch, the licked clean mixing bowl sat beside her abandon while her head was hanging off the edge of the couch as she watched the evening cartoons. Her mother had gone for a nap a short while ago, leaving the house slightly quiet with her dad downstairs. "Your face is turning red." She glanced at the runners in front of her, unlike other fathers, Tony let the kid do as she pleased, he didn't see how Maddie could learn if she wasn't experience things for herself. The runners moved and Tony took a seat beside Maddie, trying to decide on how to approach the subject. "You excited about having a sibling?"
"Yep." Maddie popped out the P, her eyes still trained upside down on the TV.
Tony kept both eyes on her, he had noticed a slow change in his daughter but he thought maybe he was over thinking things but Javis had spoken out of concern this afternoon, it made his suspicion heighten. "How would you feel sharing a room?"
"No!" Maddie let the word slip out harsher than expected - she couldn't lose her room as well as everything else. "I mean, I rather like having my own space." She quickly glanced over at her father and felt her heart sink at the unreadable expression on his face.
"You know you can talk to me about anything right?" He saw the hesitation in her eyes' and knew he had hit the mark. "Doesn't matter where I am or what I'm doing, I'm here for you."
She looked away from the TV, wanting to speak up but once again feeling unsure. "I know." She passed the opportunity and turned her attention back to the cartoons.
…
Maddie brushed her shoulder length, red hair and placed the black fedora hat, the one Bruce had brought for her, on her head. She couldn't help but wonder if her new sibling would look like her? Or more like her mum? Or maybe a spitting image of her dad?
She quickly put on her yellow jeans and black sparkly shirt with gold printed stars, not wanting her thoughts to stray any further than she already wanted. She threw on her red leather gloves, thinking of ways to keep her mind occupied for the next few days. "Jarvis?"
"Yes Miss Stark."
"Where is mum and dad?" She questioned, thinking of the best place to get some space.
"Mrs Stark is in her office while Mr Stark is in a meeting with Mr Fury." Jarvis stated with fact, making Maddie wonder why her father hadn't mentioned it the other night.
"Thanks Jar." With her father in a shield meeting, the workshop would be empty leaving her to do as she pleased for a few hours. She finished with putting on her brown, lace up boots and walked down to the workshop. She came to the security pad, with ease Maddie put in the code that she had learnt months ago without her father realising.
The sliding glass door opened for her, allowing Maddie to step through without any issues. She went straight to the scrap pile that her father had left from previous projects. Pushing herself over the side of the large scrap bin to see what she could find - surely she'd be able to make something out of bits and piece of metal and wires.
Tony had gotten home from a meeting with the rest of the Avengers, it wasn't until he got to the lounge that he realised the house was surprisingly quiet. Pepper had mentioned that she was going into the office to drop off some paper and a brief meeting, leaving their little girl home with Jarvis.
Walking through the house, he briefly looked into his daughter's room before heading down to the workshop. He could take a guess at her location even if he had made it quite clear about the area, she had a habit of slipping past the rules.
He chuckled under his breathe at seeing Maddie sitting at one of his work benches, bits of metal and wires covered the table along with black smudge on her cheek. "What cha making their Ace?" He moved closer to see the outline of the machines shape, it look like…
"A dog." She simply stated, her eyes not wondering from the structure in front of her. "So I have someone, like you have Jarvis."
"Well if you need a hand, I'll be over here." Tony offered, a small smile playing on lips as he went over to the other work bench where a busted part of his ironman armour was waiting to be fixed.
"Dad," She asked sooner after.
"Yeah." He watched the small lines form between her eye brows.
"What can I use to make him walk?" She stared at the parts she had done.
"Wheels?" He threw the option out there, allowing her to make the decision as it was her project.
"What about the stairs?" She wanted the dog with her everywhere.
"Make some legs." He suggested.
"How?" She had always made little things, nothing as complex as mobile legs.
He walked over to one of his draws, filing threw the sketches until finding the one he wanted. "This should help guide you." Putting the instructions in front of her, he watched her pour into the information. "Call if you need a hand." She simply nodded her head, eyes on the paper in front of her as he left to go upstairs after hearing Pepper moving around above.
Maddie briefly heard her father leave the room as she read over the instructions for the mechanical legs. She hadn't watched her father do anything like this in the workshop, sometimes he'd work on his ironman suits but they were already together, she was working from scratch but it was something new and exciting to learn.
Tony came down the stairs to find the girl hadn't moved from her original spot. "Ace?" She hummed in answer, her head still bend over the plans. "Dinner is ready."
"Not hungry." She simply said, eyes on the task. He frowned at her tone, the kid he knew didn't pass up a free feed.
"Get your ass up there now." The tone of his voice made her pause at her work before making her way to the kitchen. That wasn't the Tony Stark or Iron man everyone knew, that was her father.
Once upstairs with a bowl of stir-fry that her mum had cooked, she sat on the couch with her parents. She quickly ate dinner and headed back down to workshop to continue her project, Maddie predicted she could have it finished by tomorrow lunch time if she could talk her mum into letting her stay up a few hours later.
Pepper shook her head, watching her daughter head downstairs. "She has too much of you in her."
Tony gave her a sheepish grin. "And all her looks from you." He leaned forward and placed a kiss on Pepper's cheek before collecting her bowl. After putting the bowls in the dishwasher, he leant back against the island counter and watched Pepper rub her round belly. It didn't matter what anyone said, he had a delightful family in front of him and a remarkable rascal in his workshop, he couldn't have been happier.