So, last month due to some short-term projects and my actual life being far too busy, there was no update. This month, I am glad to assure you all we are back to business. (Though a week late. I am still silly amounts of busy) On to the story!
No copyright infringement is intended.
TapTap
Claire could swear that she'd never forget that moment. Not just the actual occurrence, but the feeling that accompanied it. Part of her just knew somehow that it'd stay with her. Probably forever. Her life had changed a lot, and quickly so, but she had never before been so aware of all which had shifted. Things truly wouldn't ever be the same, and suddenly she knew.
How she hadn't known before that moment, now that she did see, astonished her, but fact was that she hadn't. Change had snuck up on her, and she simply had not realised what picture she was staring straight at.
It had started like any normal morning: well, normal since actually normal had totally ceased to be a thing, anyway. Steve had been making enough pancakes to feed a medium sized army (or a group of Avengers, minus Thor) in the kitchen, assisted by Bucky, who had been getting out condiments and stopping Clint from stealing all of the food before it was ready. Bruce had been making waffles, and Natasha had been getting out ice cream to go with them - Pepper wanted it with everything lately, and while nobody argued with Pepper at the best of times, pregnant Pepper was just getting her way. Period - while Tony was sitting on the kitchen bench by the expresso machine, looking very much like he was actually sleeping. As far as not normal went, this was the normal kind. Perhaps apart from Tony sleeping.
Breakfast was loud and boisterous (it didn't help that Tony woke up) and everything was typical for being around the Avengers. Though Pepper fondly rolled her eyes and Natasha half-smiled in that way she had, Claire knew that they appreciated their odd family - yes, that was what they were - and she loved the mess. She just did. The chaos fed her, somehow.
After it, Clint left to that place he always left to, Pepper grabbed more ice-cream and stretched out, shoeless, on a comfortable couch which had somehow (probably because of Tony, Claire just assumed that much) appeared in Natasha's ballet studio, where the Black Widow withdrew to do what to Claire's untrained eyes looked like very advanced ballet.
Bruce disappeared to his lab with Tony in tow, and Steve and Bucky went out to shop for baby clothes. Still very much like any day, this left Claire alone in the main part of the tower, tidying up a few books someone had forgotten spread over the carpet. Judging by their titles, she had absolutely no idea what they were about, nevermind who had left them there. She just put them on the coffee table.
She was still getting up from the carpet, still wearing pyjama bottoms with cars on them (Tony had left them on her bed as a gift - Jarvis had confirmed as much and no one else in the tower were her size anyway - when she moved in and they were the softest thing she owned, so she just wore them) and a silly novelty t-shirt with the arc reactor printed on it (much to the delight of everybody with a sense of snark in the tower, specially Clint and Tony) when there was a knock on the door.
Whoever came talked to Jarvis and was apparently let in, because the door opened. Standing there by the couch in her silly missmatched pyjama, Claire was ready to call for Pepper to come handle the woman in a neat suit - matched skirt and jacket in grey, with a blouse - but the woman her age nervously cleared her throat and smiled.
"Miss Thomas," Claire blinked, "I brought the ownership papers for the takeover. They need to be signed by Mr Stark, and here is the quartely lab report from external R&D for you. Thank you, ma'am." Accepting the two thick folders out of sheer instinct, Claire had not yet managed to gather her wits when the woman turned around and left the room, once again communicating with Jarvis on the other side of the door. Probably, she suddenly realised, because she didn't have authorisation to use the private lift that went this high and had to be granted access by the AI.