Chapter 1
It had been several months since Loki's plan to rule Earth had happened and Stark Tower was close to being fully transformed into Avengers Tower. All the Avengers, excluding Thor in Asgard, had just moved into their specific living quarters and only a few more alterations had to be made before the tower was complete. Along with each Avenger having their own living areas there was also a main living area where the Avengers planned to spend most of the time with each other's company.
In the early hours on a Monday, Pepper Potts slowly made her way downstairs and into the kitchen. She emitted a yelp and wore a startled look when she saw Natasha Romanoff already sat at the bar counter sipping at her steaming cup of coffee. "Oh! Sorry…I didn't think anyone else was awake." Which was true. Normally it was just her and Tony, which usually resulted in Pepper not seeing Tony until 12 at a push. Pepper found it hard to adapt to the increased amount of people living in the tower, and still had a surreal feeling knowing a group of superheroes lived in this one building. 'Telling my parents I live in one of the tallest towers in New York with a group of superheroes is definitely going to go down well…' Pepper thought.
"It's fine. There's coffee already made if you want some."
"Oh, thanks." Pepper replied nervously. She wouldn't admit it verbally, but she was kind of intimidated by Natasha and her job, 'It's definitely a…unique occupation, that's for sure' she thought. 'Just don't get on her bad side and you should be fine.' Natasha had been on a mission when the other avengers moved in leaving her to move in later, or more specifically, the day before. Pepper thought she would have felt the same towards Natasha as she did Clint, but when she first met Natasha she knew she may have to sleep with one eye open.
"How long have you been up?"
"Couple of hours."
"Oh…well…did you sleep alright?"
"Yeah-"
"Was everything set up okay? I wasn't sure what you would need exactly. I can get someone to bring anything you need if it's necessary-"
"Really Pepper, it's fine, everything's perfect." Natasha gave a small smile to calm Pepper's nerves and let her know she wasn't going to kill her as soon as she turned her back.
Pepper inwardly sighed with relief when Clint came into the kitchen and automatically moved to the readymade coffee, nursing the steaming mug close to him. This was part of the morning routine that Pepper had got used to; with her being the first awake, Clint soon after and the others gradually appeared at their own pace, awoken by the smell of breakfast. She now had to get used to Natasha's appearance in the tower.
"Morning Ladies" Clint announced whilst shuffling over to sit next to Natasha. It was obvious to everyone that Clint and Natasha had a very close bond; but no one had the guts to say it out loud. "Anything important we need to do today?"
After Loki's attack on Earth the Avengers found their missions slowly dwindle with the majority only needing Clint and Natasha, sometimes Steve. Most of the tasks they were set to do were created by Pepper and consisted of simple things they could do around the tower. Many of the Avengers protested against those, stating "We're almighty superheroes, we shouldn't be doing chores!" and "I'm Ironman! I can fly and shoot repulsor beams that can blow buildings to pieces! I shouldn't be wasting energy finding all the greatest offers in Walmart and using crappy coupons." In the end, they finally gave in to Pepper's nagging and get the jobs done as fast as possible.
"Nothing much really Clint. I need to go to a couple of meetings this morning since I can't see Tony waking up for them any time soon. I do need someone to do a bit of food shopping since Thor decided to raid the fridge like it was his last ever meal before going to Asgard."
After Pepper finished her explanation, Bruce and Steve walked in whilst they conversed quietly between themselves. "Good Morning." Pepper stated brightly.
"Morning" Came the same reply from the both of them. "Where's Tony?" Steve asked as he looked around the kitchen and peered into the main living area.
"Probably still in his own dream world." Pepper sighed while she began to stand up in order to start getting ready for a long list of meetings she needed to attend. "Look I need to get going, I left a list of jobs to do, I don't really mind who does them as long as they get done."
Pepper rushed to the door and started to put on her heels while she checked her phone for any important updates and information about the meetings. After she called a farewell to those in the kitchen, and receiving a chorus of goodbyes, she left heading down to the lobby of the tower.
As she approached the entrance to the Avengers tower she was shocked when she came across a young woman in a suit holding a young infant in her arms. She was quite petite with unnaturally straight hair to her waist. She was currently scanning her phone in one hand, gracefully bouncing the infant at the same time. The young child stared curiously at all the busy people that moved around the reception. The women glanced up and spotted Pepper walking across to the entrance of the building. Her deep, brown eyes flashed in recognition. She started to walk over with a friendly smile, shifting the little girl higher in her arms.
"Erm…Hello, are you by any chance a Miss Virginia Potts?" she asked cautiously.
"Yes I am, and you are?..."
"Ah great! Well Miss Potts, I am Diana Parsons and I work with social services in New York." She handed her driver's licence and details to prove who she was. "I'm here to talk to Mr Tony Stark?"
"Why would you need to speak with Tony?" Pepper asked defensively.
"I need to discuss with him the issue related with his daughter. Social services had to remove the child from her previous home due to claims from neighbours of neglect and abuse from her mother."
Pepper stood frozen in shock not fully listening to the woman in front of her after she claimed Tony had a daughter. Pepper felt conflicting emotions; anger towards Tony and sadness for the poor child. Pepper finally came to her senses and told the social worker to follow her to go see Tony. As the elevator taking them up the tower came to a stop, Pepper thought 'Tony won't know what hit him.'
"TONY!"
"TONY COME DOWN HERE NOW!"
"What Pep?"
"TONY!"
"WHAAAAAT! I'm right next to you Pepper!"
"Oh." Pepper worked to compose herself before she turned to introduce their guests. "Tony, this is Miss Diana Parsons, she's with social services coming to talk with you about your daughter." Pepper stated with a sharp glare at Tony.
"….wha…I-I'm confused, what?"
"Mr Stark it appears you have a daughter. She was born on July 20th 2014 and the birth certificate says you are her biological father. I have all the paperwork and documents to prove it. The birth certificate, DNA tests, the lot." Miss Parsons handed over the documents she was given while she explained to Tony the reason she was here instead of with her mother. Tony looked at them thoroughly, inspecting every inch of writing hoping to catch an error in the paperwork. Unfortunately for him, he found none. He handed them back with a look of pure horror and fear on his face.
"So…if what you say is true…and she is my daughter…what do I do now?"
"Well Mr Stark, you have two choices: keep her, or decline and we'll look for any other living relatives willing to take her. If we find no living relatives she will be sent to live in an orphanage until someone is willing to adopt her. If you do want to keep her you will have to go through a house inspection and come to an agreed date to allow her to come around for a day and I will decide at the end of the day whether or not she can stay here permanently."
Tony looked as if he had been run over with the amount of information the woman was reeling off. He hesitantly replied, "Okay, so, when can we do it?"
"So you wish to keep her Mr Stark?"
"Yeah."
"Well, whenever you feel you're ready Mr Stark."
"Okay, let's make it Wednesday."
'WEDNESDAY?!' Pepper thought, 'How are we meant to get everything we'll need to look after an infant in TWO DAYS?!'
"Very well Mr Stark, I'll come on Wednesday with her."
Tony looked towards the little girl who was currently drooling around a group of small fingers she had decided to gnaw on. "Can...Can I hold her?" Tony asked, sounding much like a scared little boy.
"Sure" Miss Parsons moved the little girl into Tony arms, warned him to have a strong grip since she liked to squirm around. Pepper moved closer to Tony to inspect the child since she never got a chance before.
The young girl had a mass of uncontrollable curls the exact shade of brown as Tony had. Her eyes were big and doey which could pull even the cruellest of people into the adorable void within. 'She could probably melt Natasha's heart and that's saying something,' Pepper thought. She had a little button nose and dainty lips with full cheeks made of baby fat that would disappear as she grew older. She seemed smaller than the average infant; small hands, equally small feet. 'Most likely due to the neglect' Pepper thought. Tony came to the same conclusion as Pepper saw his face harden.
"What's her name?"
"Her mother named her Amelia." A strange warmth swept through Tony at the mention of her name, and he tightened his grip on the small child. Amelia noticed and fidgeted while making disgruntled noises.
"She's currently 11 months old, starting to show the early signs of preparing to walk but shows no signs of speaking. She also shows signs of not having much communication with anyone since she struggles to understand when she is doing something right or wrong when you speak with her."
"Oh" Tony looked down to Amelia, watched her as she looked around her at the room they were in. He watched her as she looked at Pepper, wondering just what was going through that small head of hers. To say Tony felt awkward was an understatement; the unusual weight of a small human, the mild heat of her body, was all very new to him. As if she felt his gaze on her, she turned back round to come face to face with Tony. As soon as their eyes met an instant connection was made, and Tony swore on his life he would do anything to keep her from harm.
"Well Mr Stark, we must get going." She moved forward to collect Amelia from his arms. He instantly missed the warmth that was once there. Amelia made a grunt of protest, instinctively gripping onto Tony's shirt for a second before letting go.
"Amelia and I will be back on Wednesday." As Pepper showed the woman out, Amelia peered over her shoulder to see Tony and made a short, squeak-like sound. Tony felt his heart melt at the sound.
He stared at the door thinking quietly about his sweet, new baby daughter Amelia. After a while his expression changed to a look of realisation and panic.
'Oh no…how do I tell the team I have a daughter?'
Thanks for reading the first chapter in The Daughter of a Genius! Please review and follow if you like the chapter!