Hi, I'm not dead. Not sure that's a good thing.

Thank you for reading! For putting up with my bad writing and terrible updating schedule. This is a shorter chapter but I hope you guys enjoy, got some fun things coming up. (If I can ever UPDATE!) Having a job sucks. Also anxiety. I hate dealing with people. Love you guys though.

Words: 1,208

Ada sleeps better than she has in a long time that night. She thinks it's from the pure physical exhaustion she feels. Though why that hasn't worked from just lack of sleep in the past, she'll never know. But when she wakes, feeling very well rested, she can't find it in her to care.

Stretching her arms over her head, Ada yawns, wincing when her sore muscles twinge. Apollo looks up from his spot at the end of her bed when he senses her movement, all sleep vanishing from the dog's eyes.

"Why're you looking at me like that?" As an answer, Apollo wines quietly. "Right. Bathroom." Pulling herself to her feet, Ada grabs her shoes and starts towards the door, Apollo right on her heels.

After the four-legged animal is finished outside, he and Ada make their way into the kitchen. "Well, good morning, sunshine," Sam greets the teenager with a smile, earning a hum in response. "I didn't realize rats nests was an acceptable hairstyle."

"You don't have hair," Ada spins on her feet to face him. "So you can't talk."

"Excuse you, I have hair," Sam runs his hand over his buzzed head. "I just choose to keep it short."

"Mhm," Ada waves him off before opening the fridge. It doesn't hit her until a few seconds later. She's hungry. And she wants to eat.

"Want me to make you something?" Sam asks, all joking tones erased from his voice. "Waffles?" He grins when Ada looks as if she's thinking about it before the girl nods.

"I'll help."

And that's how, ten minutes later, Tony finds the two, somehow covered in the ingredients and batter, laughing while continuing to cook as if it's completely normal. And maybe it is, they're not exactly your typical family.

Standing in the doorway, Tony takes a moment to watch his daughter, a smile on his face. She looks better today. Well-rested and happy. Truly happy. That's not a sight he sees on her often.

"I hope you're both planning on cleaning this up," He says, finally announcing his presence. "Because I'm not doing it."

"Apollo is helping," Ada grins while gesturing towards the white dog - the flour almost blends in with his hair but Tony can see it - who licks the dropped batter off the floor.

"I can see that," Tony watches the dog while moving around the counter. He stops next to Ada and smiles down at her, placing his hand on the back of her neck before kissing her forehead. "Sleep okay?"

"Yeah," She whispers, nodding once in response.

"Good," Gesturing towards the cooked waffles, the billionaire looks between her and Sam. "Are these edible?"

After breakfast, and a l̶o̶t̶ little of cleaning, Ada gets dressed and heads outside to take Apollo for a walk. The weather is sunny and a little warm for the dog who pants happily at her side. It'll start getting cold soon enough, though. And school will start quickly after. Ada finds she has mixed feelings about that. On one hand, she'll be glad to go back to something so normal. On the other, being around so many people, probably some asking about what happened. It just feels like a lot.

Sighing, Ada sits on the ground under a shady tree and pulls her sketchbook from her backpack. Apollo lies by her side, content to just rest and listen to the birds chirping and singing around them.

"Good boy," Ada says while scratching behind his ear before opening the book in her lap. She flips through the pages looking for an empty one when it lands on a drawing she never finished.

A heavy feeling suddenly rests on Ada's heart as the drawing of Jamie stares up at her. Though he's smiling in the picture, she can't help but see that confused, heartbroken look on his face from when she last saw him.

Snapping the book closed, Ada throws it back into her bag before climbing to her suddenly restless legs. Apollo, though looking confused at his human's change in behavior, follows after her.

Returning inside, Ada takes to searching. The stone in her gut grows heavier and heavier by the second and by the time she finds Pepper, she's nearly changed her mind. Nearly.

"Hey, sweetie," Pepper greets when the teenager enters the room. "Everything okay?"

"Uh, yeah," Ada nods, bringing her hands together in front of her. "I was uh, just wondering..." This is harder than it should be.

"Wondering what?" Pepper asks gently, setting her book down to give the teenager her full attention.

"Can we go into town?" Ada forces the words out before she can convince herself not to. Pepper looks a little surprised at her question but doesn't immediately dismiss her. "I mean, just for a bit. I'm just starting to feel a little cooped up. It might be nice."

"Yeah," Pepper nods with a growing smile. "That would be nice. Just us or Tony as well?"

"Just us," Ada winces when she speaks a little too quickly. It's not that she doesn't want him to come. She just figures this will be easier if he's not there. "I mean if that's okay."

"That's perfectly fine," Pepper stands, smile still pulling her lips up. "I'll go tell him we're going out for a bit and you tell me when you're ready to leave."

"I'm ready when you are," Ada shrugs, realizing after she's said this that she's not sure she is. "Or maybe give me a few minutes."

"Okay," Pepper chuckles. "I'll come to find you in a bit."

"Thanks, Pepper," Turning away from the woman, Ada rushes back to her room, Apollo matching her pace easily.

Her clothes are fine, Ada decides. She doesn't really care too much about that. Her hair has since been brushed since that morning but the length is still uneven. She braids the shorter side of her hair back into a french braid before straightening the rest to get rid of the frizz.

"Good enough," She mumbles to herself before turning to Apollo. She grabs his service dog vest and crouches in front of him and holds it open. She's never put it on him before and wasn't expecting him to just walk right into it. "Well, then. You look very handsome."

Wagging his tail, Apollo lets Ada clip the vest on before the girl stands and motions for him to follow her out of the room.

"You ready?" Pepper asks when they meet in the hallway and Ada nods.

"Yup,"

"Alright. Tony says to have a good time, and to bring him some food," Pepper recounts the words her fiancée told her and Ada huffs a laugh. That's not all he said, but it's all Ada needs to know. He's worried about why she suddenly wants to go into town but Pepper assured him that she would be fine. She'll also be keeping a close eye on her.

Why is Ada going into town? I'm pretty sure I made in obvious but I don't know. Let me guys know what you think!

Teaser: "That's embarrassing," Ada mumble with a sniff, her hand going to rest on Apollo's head. / "Great, now I have to deal with two children."

Anyone got any words of wisdom about life?

'-'