A/N: The next chapter of the book written by anxious. soul and edited by myself.
Days turned into weeks as the Stark's got to know their newest family member and vice versa for Nebula, who was slowly getting used to her new family. She was getting more comfortable as they smiled and comforted her on her bad days. So far, she hadn't gone outside of the Stark Mansion or property, not that she had a problem with it thinking back to the area she had roamed before Howard found her. It wasn't a pleasant place. The smells, the sights, the sounds and the snarls she got from all the strange people who had rushed past her on their way to work. However, here, in the large, light and lovely house, she found herself calling it home. She found herself fitting in and growing to love her family, especially the little boy far too smart for his age and far too lonely for a child.
—LINE BREAK—
Dawn appeared fresh and rosy-fingered. The sunlight slipped through the curtains of Tony's bedroom. Nebula had been moved to the room beside Tony's once said room had been decorated and styled to suit her tastes.
Sunlight hit his face, the child blinked sleepily before his cinnamon eyes cleared and he sat up. Rubbing his eyes and shielding a yawn, he snucked a glance out of the gap in the curtain as he slipped some socks on. It was a lovely day and he smiled. Sneaking down the stairs of the quiet manor, he found Jarvis in the kitchen.
"Good morning, young sir." He said with a smile, handing the four-year-old a small glass of milk, who smiled appreciatively.
"Morning, Jarvis. What time is it?"
"It is almost nine. Your father had to go to a meeting early this morning and your mother has decided to have a little lie in. I suggest you don't wake her, Anthony. She has been working a lot at the minute and needs to recuperate."
"What does that mean?" He asked, eyes furrowed in confusion and the ageing butler smiled before crouching down to Tony's height.
"She needs to rest, young sir."
"Oh, okay. Thanks!" He exclaimed giving the Englishman a childish grin that had the adults restraining a coo every so often due to the sheer adorableness of said grin. "Where's Nebula? It's a really sunny day and I wanted to take her to my favourite spot outside."
"I believe young miss is still in her room. She should be awake, I know she tends to wake up early and stays in bed reading for a bit. Like you, she does enjoy learning and is incredibly fascinated with literature." Jarvis answered and grabbed the empty glass to wash it up, "Shall I prepare a picnic basket for you both?" Tony beamed again.
"Yes, please! That would be great!" he exclaimed and rushed off to get Nebula out of bed.
—LINE BREAK—
The blue-skinned girl was indeed awake. Her curtains were open letting the sunshine filter in as she read peacefully in her bed.
"Nebby!" The door slammed open and whilst the girl had previously jumped at the sound, she had grown used to her brother's loud entrances. She sighed and bookmarked her page before placing the book on her bedside table, seconds before Tony leapt onto her bed and consequently, her.
"Good morning, Tony. Must you call me that?"
"It's a nickname, so yes." He answered as though it was a proper explanation. Nebula just shook her head at his antics.
"Is there a reason you're in here?" She asked raising an eyebrow…or at least she seemed to as she didn't actually have any hair.
"Yes." He nodded before pulling her out of bed and to the wardrobe, "We're having a picnic in the gardens! Mummy is sleeping, she needs her rest." He said with an odd tone of seriousness, "And daddy is at work, so it's just us -and Jarvis!"
"Okay. It is a nice day." She murmured before shooing the little boy out and grabbing some clothes. She ended up going with a cute and loose dress.
—LINE BREAK—
About ten minutes later the pair appeared in the kitchen dressed to go out to the garden. Tony, being the cheeky gentleman that he is, had Jarvis sighing as he grabbed the basket that was a bit too big for him and began to lead Nebula out to 'his' spot. She ended up grabbing hold of the other side of the basket when Tony almost dropped it and together they carried it and set up at the top of a small hill, within eyesight of the manor. (Don't worry, none of the public or press could see either of them, in fact, they were rarely a problem at the manor as the house wasn't publicly known and was on the outskirts of the city, plus there were tall fences and walls).
They laid down on the blanket above the dry grass.
"See that cloud? It looks like a robot!" Tony exclaimed and Nebula furrowed her brows in confusion.
"What?"
"Right there."
"Tony, what are you doing?"
"Cloud watching! You have to use your imag…in…ation." He said the word slowly as it got tangled on his tongue, "See! That one right there going over the sun looks like a rubber ducky!"
The pair spent hours outside, watching the clouds forming shapes as they ate.
"Nebby."
"Yes, Tony?"
"Do you…" He sat up and his fingers had found themselves tangled in the hem of his shirt, "Are you happy here with us?" Nebula sat up too and faced her little brother.
"I will never forget my birth family." She said after a while, her head tilted back towards the darkening sky as she spoke before she looked back at the boy, "But, I am happy here. I am very happy with being apart of your family and lives." Tony beamed at her, "Thank you for accepting me, little Phoenix." Tony's beaming smile faded as he furrowed his brows in confusion.
"Why are you calling me 'Phoenix'?" He asked,
"Well it means 'dark red' and you really like that colour. Plus the Phoenix symbolises rebirth and in a way second chances, you are my second chance at having a family." She mumbled a little bit embarrassed but Tony knocked her over seconds later in a hug.
"I love it! Thank you, Nebby!"
—LINE BREAK—
The sky was dark by the time Howard returned home. Only an hour or so remained before his children would be sent to bed so he called them into his office. Kneeling down to their height he handed Nebula a silver cuff. It was about 0.5 inches wide and seemed to fit Nebula's blue wrist perfectly as she put it on and looked at it in awe. Five coloured gems lay inside the cuff in a purposefully wonky line, they were purple, blue, black, red and gold. The first three being Nebula's favourite colours and the final two being Tony's.
"It's beautiful." She whispered, her eyes were slightly moist when she looked into Howard's eyes, "But it is not my birthday or a day of celebration." She said in a way of asking what it was for, yet avoiding asking a question.
"Tony came up with it actually. Now, I mean no offence Nebula, but you are not a human. Because of your appearance, going out in public would cause an uproar and publicity that no one wants. So, Tony and I together came up with this little thing. It will make you look like a human if we go out into public. That way you can come with us and enjoy yourself. It won't come off of you unless you want it to. You have to simply close your eyes and imagine a human version of yourself that is, your skin colour, hair colour and length and eye colour."
"But how is that possible?"
"By no means is this bracelet man-made. It's a trinket of magic I had recovered. It's perfectly safe though." He added smiling gently before he and Tony watched Nebula close her eyes and transform into a pale girl with long brownish red hair and hazel eyes.
"Pretty!" Tony giggled reaching out to touch her long locks as Howard smiled and handed her a mirror. She tentatively touched her face as she looked into the mirror.
"Do you like it?" He murmured.
"I do!"
"I don't want this to cause you any self-confidence problems. You are a beautiful girl just the way you are, we only need this bracelet to avoid unwanted interactions. You understand that, don't you, Nebula?" Howard said firmly, placing his hands on her shoulders as the façade faded away returning her to her normal self.
"I do, dad. I appreciate you both giving me this opportunity to go out more and learn of the world behind the house." She gave them both a smile and Tony threw himself at this sister, hugging her tightly before Howard himself joined the hug.
A/N: And there is the third chapter of the book. For those who are reading my other books, a short notice. I had a very busy schedule with the farewell preparations and all the other shit that I had no time to update any of my books so please put up with me for a while as it might take a while to type out the chapters.
Anyways... hope you all liked this chapter! All comments and criticism accepted and appreciated.
Thank you all for reading!
Rasi10 signing off
Published on 18 February 2018