The sheets were cool on Rebecca's legs as she stretched under them the next morning. It was dark inside her room, the shutters blocking off any sign of light from the windows. She assumed it was early, but gathering the time it took for her to successfully fall asleep the night before, it could have been late in the day. Just as he began dozing off once again, she was interrupted by Jarvis.
"Good morning Miss. Stark," the window shutters disappeared and the natural light made her pull the sheets over her face. Jarvis continued informing her on the weather for the day and her plans.
"Plans?" she spoke. "I plan on sleeping." Lifting the sheets, she buried herself beneath them and tried to ignore the brightly lot room.
"Miss. Potts requested your morning wake up at this particular hour as you're attending a press conference in the city today." Jarvis informed once again.
Rebecca groaned, still covering her face in the blankets before she finally forced herself out of the bed. It was clear that she wasn't getting any more sleep other than the few hours she had, so she decided to take a nice warm shower. This press conference was sure to be a bore, and it was guaranteed to drag on about nothing important. When she was younger, Tony tried to avoid taking her to these types of things, the crowds used to frighten her, so whenever she would go, Tony would let her sit on his lap or stand next to him as he held his part of the conference. Now she was older, she took a seat in the crowd with the others most of the time if she wasn't sitting by herself, avoiding reporters of any type as they always asked her about her fathers increasing involvement with the armed forces.
"I didn't think you'd actually get out of bed." Pepper commented as Rebecca walked into the kitchen. She was dressed very neatly, as always for this type of event, and her hair was out naturally smooth and straight, looking very mature.
"Yes, well it wasn't without protest." Rebecca took the jug of orange juice out of the fridge, pouring herself a small glass. "Do you think Happy could stop at Starbucks on the way?" she asked, an appetite for a chocolate croissant.
Pepper smiled. "You know he will, he can't stand saying no to you." She was right. Happy was the only other relatively close friend that Tony had other than Rhodey, Pepper and Obadiah, and he still saw her as the same little girl he knew from years ago. He'd always take her for ice-cream and all sorts of sweets when Tony was very busy, he was one of the only people he trusted enough to take care of his daughter when such situations arose.
Rebecca sat in the back of the limo with Pepper, eating the chocolate croissant she'd just bought.
"How long do you think this press thing will go for?" she asked Pepper who was preparing the file for Obadiah. "I just don't wanna be sitting with the board members for long."
Pepper folded the file shut, setting it down next to her on the seat before glancing at her watch. "Should be finished within the hour, but be prepared for a bit longer." Rebecca groaned at the answer, resting her her head back on the seat.
"You know those reporters always sit around me asking questions non-stop, I can't stand it for more than an hour." she explained. "If that."
"I know they're a bit much, but it's good to come to these things since you seem to have an interest in the weapons manufacturing." Pepper pointed out. "And you seem to enjoy it."
"It's not that I enjoy making weapons, I like enhancing them. Making them better. I mean, I've been around it my whole life. I do not enjoy the press stuff, I don't enjoy everyone knowing my life story and acting like I'm so important." she told Pepper honestly.
Pepper frowned. "Your dad didn't want this for you, you know that, right? He didn't want you brought up in the public. That's how he was raised, and he tried so hard to protect you from it. But your family name is known all across America, there's no escaping that."
"I know," Rebecca nodded. "It's not his fault, it's no ones fault, it's just the way it is."
The press conference was just as dull as it was expected to be. Rebecca sat in the back row with Pepper, ignoring the flashes from cameras pointed her way. She hadn't been to a press conference in months, so everyone was eager to speak with her. Obadiah spoke to the listening crowd for about an hour, taking questions and comments from them regarding Stark Enterprises' future with the military.
"Stark Enterprises is continuing to support the military with advancing technologies in weapons." Obadiah explained with a relaxed tone. "In fact, Tony Stark is conducting a weapons demonstration at the moment, which is why he couldn't make it here today and he sends his regards."
Rebecca and Pepper both smiled at the last comment, knowing very well Tony could care less about this conference. It continued to go on for a while longer, but when it finally ended, Rebecca followed Pepper over to Obadiah in a separate room from the press.
"Look who it is!" Obadiah beamed when he saw Rebecca close behind Pepper, giving her a small but welcoming hug. "What made you want to come to this? Thought you hated these things."
"I do." she looked around the room. "But I figured I better show up to one every now and then, just to show I actually have an interest in the company."
"That's a girl." he encouraged. "Pepper, are these files all up to date?" he asked quickly when she handed them to him.
"Yes. Up to date as of three hours ago, all in order and ready for review." she informed him in a professional tone.
"Perfect." he smiled. "You're wonderful. So, Rebecca, have you thought any more about your involvement in the company? Not long now 'till you're eighteen."
Rebeca shrugged. "Not really. I mean, I have a considerable amount of interest in the weapons manufacturing, but I'm still weighing up my options…outside of the company." she looked over to Pepper, who was smiling happily, proud that she was at least considering some alternatives.
"Well, whatever you decide, there's always room for you here, it's your family name after all."
Rebecca spend the afternoon loading paint samples from all sorts of cars into her programmer in order to get the best color in her car. From hotrods to completely out there cars, she meshed different colors together and developed her own shades, excited to get the job done. It was early in the evening, so she wandered around the house trying to find something to do since her car work was put on hold, waiting for a particular part she'd ordered. When she made her way into the living room, Pepper was sitting on the couch watching the television intently as the press conference was being shown. She leaned against the doorway watching quietly.
"It was an unexpected appearance today at a Stark Enterprises press conference with Rebecca Stark, daughter of weapons designer Tony Stark, sitting amongst the members as her family company was being discussed. No comments were made by the sixteen year old genius when she was questioned about her potential involvement in the future years of Stark Enterprises, fuelling speculation that the youngest Stark is about to take a step in a different direction to her father, turning her back on the company her legendary grandfather worked his whole life to establish and continue on a path of success."
Rebecca folded her arms, watching as the news reporter continued her cover of the press conference, mentioning the weapons demonstration that was taking place. Pepper turned her head and noticed Rebecca standing in in the doorway.
"Oh," she fumbled with the remote, adjusting the volume before taking note of Rebecca's solemn expression. "Is everything okay?"
Rebecca nodded, changing her attitude. "Yeah, fine." she moved to take a seat on the adjoining couch. "Have you heard from dad, or Rhodey?"
Pepper looked at her watch. "I'd say they would be doing the demonstration now. Obi will call when they're done, he'll be contacting your father in a few hours to make sure everything went alright." Rebecca nodded, and Pepper could see she just wanted her dad. "Hey, how about some Chinese food? I could order some in, watch a movie or something?" she suggested comfortingly.
Rebecca grinned at Pepper's efforts. "Sure, sounds good."
After being informed by Obi that the demonstration had went well, Rebecca had returned to the workshop to clean up most of her tools and make way for the full car body scan that she would run later on in the night in preparation of the paint measurements. There were useless parts all over the place, parts she'd ignored after ripping them from the car itself.
''I guess you didn't hear me ask you to organise this stuff huh.'' she shook her head, referring to the robotic assistance.
She scraped them all up off the floor and placed them in the bin, ready to dispose of when she caught the attention of the folder on Tony's desk. Walking closer, it became more familiar. It had 'Stark' written boldly on the front, proudly displayed. As she took a seat, she ran her hands across the leathery texture of the book. She remembered the folder, it was home to all her certificates, degrees and accomplishments. When she opened the front page, she had seen that Tony placed her three letters from Harvard at the start, adding them to the collection. The way he documented all of her achievements, no matter how small or extravagant, was admiring. He was so proud of her, and he never doubted anything she set out to do. School certificates, exam distinctions, early scholarship awards, early university acknowledgments all littered the pages of the folder. Rebecca sat there for almost an hour just going through all her old school awards, feeling nostalgic even though she was only sixteen, her childhood seemed so long ago although she was still a child really.
"Rebecca," Pepper's voice came through the intercom. "are you down there?"
Rebecca pushed the button to allow her to respond. "Yeah, just cleaning up."
"Okay, I'll see you in the morning. I promise you can sleep in as long as you want."
Rebecca smiled. "Goodnight Pepper."