Thanks to everyone who has reviewed my story so far :) I'm still trying to think of a good title, so if you have any suggestions, please let me know.
Alexis opened her eyes to the bright morning sunlight coming through the gigantic window that made up the wall to her left. She sat up slowly, blinking a few times as her vision cleared. She looked around in confusion. The last thing she remembered was listening to boring sport talk on the couch next to Mr. Stark. Climbing out of the bed, she realized he must have carried her there when she fell asleep. She sighed, embarrassed at her behavior.
"What time is it?" She mumbled, to no one in particular. She slid off the edge of the bed and landed on bare feet, wondering where her shoes went.
"It is 7:08 A.M," Jarvis's voice made her jump a bit. She hadn't expected a reply to her question.
"Oh," She felt a bit foolish. "Where's Mr. Stark?" She asked the AI.
"Mr. Stark is still asleep in his room, would you like me to wake him?"
"Um, no, That's ok." She said quickly, she was still wearing the Iron Man shirt and jeans, to her relief. She wandered out of the room, down the hall to the main room. Not sure what to do, but thinking about cartoons. The house seemed to be empty, she padded across the carpet in her bare feet, grinning as she relished the freedom.
"Hello, Alexis." Pepper greeted the girl as she too entered the room. Alexis smiled shyly back at her.
"Hi," The reply was almost too soft to hear.
"Don't tell me Tony let you sleep in those clothes." Pepper said with a sigh, knowing that was probably what happened.
"I fell asleep before pizza," the little girl sulked. She had been looking forward to the pizza.
"Oh, well you had a big day yesterday, huh?" She smiled. "There will be more pizza, don't worry. It's Mr. Stark's favorite after all." Pepper glanced at the blackberry in her hand. "Do you want anything for breakfast?"
"Um.." She thought about it for a second, then nodded her head.
"What would you like?" Pepper asked while going through a new message for Tony on her phone.
"Cereal!" She chirped. For the past months she had been eating runny eggs and toast, and what they called oatmeal, though she called it gruel. "Not oatmeal." She added quickly.
Pepper smiled, " Well that's easy." She turned to the kitchen. "We have some in the house, I'm sure." She started toward the kitchen, Alexis followed behind her. Pepper rummaged through the large kitchen, pulling out a bowl and the cereal. The little girl watched, climbing up onto a stool the stood beside an island table in the center of the room. Ms. Potts set the bowl of "Froot Loops" in front of the child and glanced again at her phone.
"I have to go, sweetie." She said as she put a spoon next to the bowl. "Mr. Stark usually doesn't get up this early, but you can get Jarvis to wake him if you need anything."
"Ok.." She replied as she dug into the colorful food. Pepper smiled, then left the room, answering her phone as she did so. She inhaled the sugary cereal, then drank the milk that had turned a strange shade of green. Not knowing what to do, she dumped the bowl in the sink, to sit with a few other dishes.
Alexis grinned once more, she could do whatever she wanted, no one was there to tell her what to do. She ran to the couch and jumped up, landing on a cushion. She picked up the remote and turned on the giant television, flicking through the channels and landing on a cartoon that looked half interesting. There was a fight scene and explosions. She watched until the end then couldn't seem to find anything else to watch.
"What time is it now, Jarvis?" She asked the computer, sure that she had killed some time.
"It is 7:34 AM, Miss." Jarvis replied after a short pause.
"What time does Mr. Stark get up?" Alexis was starting to feel bored, she kicked her feet out, back and forth.
"Mr. Stark usually rises at 8:30, would you like me to wake him?" he asked her again, and she swore he sounded amused.
"No.." Alexis jumped off the couch and fell as she tripped over her own leg. She got up and brushed herself off, then approached the window again.
"Are you alright, Miss?" Jarvis asked the child, referring to the fall.
"I'm ok," she chirped, feeling full of energy this morning. She guessed it might have been all the sugar in the cereal. She hadn't had any sugar in a long time, and certainly not since she had been a child again. "You can see me?" She asked as she realized there must be cameras.
"Of course, there are cameras in every room." Jarvis explained easily. " I monitor the premises in case anything should happen that requires emergency action."
"Oh." Alexis shrugged it off, not caring too much. She grinned as an idea popped into her head. She took a deep breath and leaned forward, dropping on her hands and flipping up on her hands, so that she stood on them. The girl walked on her hands around the room, thankful for her training for once.
"I have to warn you that your actions could result in injury." Jarvis's warning didn't bother the small girl, who continued on.
"I'm ok," She replied with a grin, looking out the window. The sea floated above a clear blue sky, she giggled at the scene. Jarvis didn't say anything more, but less then a minute later Tony Stark came running down the stairs. His eyes scanning the room as he entered, and stopping on the upside-down child.
"What-" His voice cracked, he had obviously just woken. His black hair stood at all directions on his head and he was only wearing a pair of boxers and an undershirt. Alexis wobbled and fell onto her back, startled.
"Oh, Hi," She sat up to look at him, rubbing the back of her head where she had connected with the floor. "Jarvis said you don't get up til 8:30.." she tilted her head to the side.
"You were engaged in dangerous activity.." He said, quoting what the AI system had told him.
"I was walking on my hands, pretty neat, huh?" She grinned at her guardian. "I said I was ok though, cause Jarvis warned me not to.. I guess that's why you're up?" Her grin faded as she realized it was her fault.
"Yeah." Tony didn't seem impressed, he ran a hand through his disheveled hair. The little girl looked at her feet sheepishly, still rubbing the back of her head, where a bump was forming. "Is your head ok?" He asked gently.
"Just a bump," she dropped her hand and and put on a smile to prove she was fine. Tony walked over to her and knelt down to examine her head.
"Hmm," He looked at the child in the eyes. "No more handstands." He stood and yawned, making his way to the kitchen. Alexis followed behind. Tony began to prepare coffee, the little girl wandering around him, not standing still for a moment.
"You break into the coffee already?" He joked, noticing the change of behavior in the child.
"I can have coffee?" Her eyes lit up at the mention of the caffeinated drink she hadn't had in too long of a time.
"No." Tony said quickly. "No." He repeated shaking his head to emphasize the point. She pouted and shrugged, it was probably for the best, she was hardly able to sit still with the sugar coursing through her. "Are you always this energetic in the mornings?" His eyebrow arched, watching the bouncing child.
"Not usually," She replied happily. "I had cereal for breakfast." She grinned up at Tony.
"Oh," He made a mental note to watch her sugar intake. "Pepper was already here then? Or did Jarvis tell you where everything was?"
"Pepper." The little girl answered. "But she left again to do something." She pouted slightly again. "Not even a little coffee?" She made her best hurt puppy look, eyes wide, bottom lip slightly sticking out.
"Sorry, kiddo," Tony said, trying not to look at the pouting child. "Not until you're older."
"Mr. Stark," Pepper walked in at that moment, a stack of files held in her hands. She raised a single brow at his attire, or lack of. "Why are you not dressed?"
"Oh, hey Pepper," Tony poured a cup of the coffee he had just made and took a sip. "I was woken up earlier then usual, guess I forgot." He smirked at the blush on his assistants cheeks. She was trying to avoid looking at him. Alexis looked between the two and giggled, drawing the attention to herself. "What's so funny?" Mr. Stark asked, still smirking.
"Nothing, Sir," She replied automatically. Alexis had a tendency to laugh at times that were incredibly appropriate, even during training. She had uttered the same answer to that question many times. Tony frowned at the response, although the little girl smirked, not realizing what she had said. Without warning, he scooped her up into his arms and held her there, so they were at eye level.
"No more 'sir' anymore, ok?" He seemed worried about the child that he held. It was obvious to Alexis as she looked at the face of the man in front of her. She hadn't meant to say sir, it just slipped. It worried her as well. She nodded and threw her arms around his neck, feeling very young at the moment. Tony rubbed her back as he held the small girl and she buried her head against his shoulder, partly from embarrassment. "It's alright," he said softly. Pepper approached the pair, concern painting her features as well.
"Do you want to talk about it?" The red head asked in the same tone she had used on Tony when he had first got back. She ran a hand over the short hair on the little girl's head.
"It's just.. I always got in trouble when I laughed at something before," Her voice was muffled against Tony's shoulder. Pepper sighed sadly, Tony just frowned, knowing something wasn't right. He knew it from the moment he had seen her. A little girl with a shaved head and no parents living at a military base, none of it made sense. From the look on his assistant's face, he guessed that she was beginning to suspect something as well.
"Well, not anymore," Tony held the girl a little a bit tighter, before placing her back down on the tiled kitchen floors. She stared at her feet, feeling a little uncomfortable. "Why don't you go get ready, kiddo?" Alexis nodded and left the room to get dressed in some of the other clothes Pepper had brought back yesterday.
"Why would they treat a little girl like that?" Pepper said softly after the child was gone. She frowned and crossed her arms. Tony sighed deeply.
"I don't know, something's going on there.." He took a sip of his coffee and frowned once again. Pepper nodded in agreement.
"Should I schedule an appointment with General Edmonds?" She asked
"Wait until we get the adoption settled, then yes," Tony scratched his chin where the stubble was starting to poke through. "That should only take a couple days, right?"
"Well, usually it takes a few months, but I'll see what I can do to speed it up," Pepper seemed to notice that her boss wasn't dressed once again. "Why don't you get dressed while I do that? You have an appointment today at eleven thirty, for lunch with a client."
"Sure," Tony smirked playfully. "You don't like looking at my half-naked body?"
Pepper rolled her eyes and turned around. "I'll be in the office if you need me Mr. Stark." Tony chuckled softly and returned to his morning routine.
Alexis came running down the stairs, ignoring another warning from Jarvis that she was in danger. She ran into the kitchen, now dressed in clean clothing and stopped when she noticed Tony staring down at her, not looking pleased.
"I was only running," she whined a bit, knowing why he was upset. She put on her widest smile and pulled at the tips of her hair. "I think my hair's getting longer," She tried to change the subject.
"No more running on the stairs," Tony was serious, not something that happened often. "Why don't you watch T.V.? I have to get ready for a meeting later." He put down the, now empty, mug. Alexis nodded and ran to the main room, throwing herself onto the couch.
"Ok," the girl smiled and turned the television back on. As she watched the brightly coloured characters, her mind drifted to her time in the military. She had never signed up, but was 'drafted'. Without her own permission, everyone in her small group had been. She shut her eyes tightly, trying to block the memories that threatened to flood her mind. She wondered about her friends, she had been friends with a few of the soldiers, even before they were soldiers. She sighed as she realized she may never see them again. Tears escaped from her eyes, they were quickly wiped away with the grey sleeve of the shirt she wore.
She stood up quickly, determined to find something to take her mind off of the unpleasant thoughts. The little girl wandered though the large house, not sure where she was going and not caring too much about it either. Her head turned as she heard Mr. Stark's assistant talking on the phone.
"Yes, Mr. Stark would like to hurry up the process as much as possible." Alexis looked into the room that was clearly an office, a desk and computer in the centre, Ms. Potts behind them. "Thank you, three days?.. Yes that will be fine." The woman smiled and took a note. "Thank you again, Bye."
"Hi," Alexis said uncertainly from the doorway.
"Oh, Hey." Pepper smiled at the child. "Do you need anything?"
"No.." The girl sighed. "I'm bored."
Pepper had been prepared for this. Sometimes Tony just didn't think of the mundane everyday things that needed to be done, but not Pepper. It was her job after all, to keep things running. She reached into her desk and pulled out a box of crayons and paper, she had picked them up yesterday along with the clothes.
"Why don't you draw a picture for Mr. Stark?" She asked the child, handing her the crayons and paper. Alexis smirked a bit at the idea, but accepted the box. She took a seat on the ground and placed the paper in front of her. It was something to do after all.
"Ok," She said, picking out a red crayon first. She had an idea of what she wanted to draw already. Pepper smiled and went back to her work, keeping an eye on the quiet child as she did.
"Hey Pepper, do you know where-" Tony walked into the room and stopped his sentence as he saw the child sitting on the floor. "Oh, never mind, found her." He grinned and the annoyed look on his assistants face and approached the girl. "what are you drawing?"
"Done!" Alexis grinned up at Tony, who had pretty good timing. She lifted the picture up for him to see. "It's for you." She waited for his reaction.
Tony looked at the picture, eyebrows raised. "You did this all by yourself?" He seemed disbelieving.
"Yep," The little girl smiled. "Do you like it?" Tony looked to Pepper, silently questioning her if she had helped with the drawing. She understood and simply shook her head, leaning over to see why Tony was so amazed.
"Y-Yeah," he didn't know what else to say. "It's really good, kid." The picture was too good. Tony was sure it was beyond the skill level of any ordinary five year old, who mostly left colourful squiggles and stickmen on paper. But this picture was of Ironman, drawn in red and yellow, no gold crayons he guessed, and it was fairly accurate. He reached out and took the paper from the tiny hand that held it out to him. The child was getting more and more confusing by the hour.
"Thanks!" She chirped. Pepper frowned at the drawing in thought, she hadn't been paying attention to the child as she had been working. "You think I'm weird." Alexis said suddenly, picking up on the glances between the two adults in the room. She sulked a bit, putting away the crayons strewn across the floor.
"No, it's just.." Tony paused to think, Alexis looked back up at him. "This is really really good, you know? I don't know any other kids your age who can draw this well."
"Oh," She knew she had messed up, not acting like the child she was suppose to be. But she had told Tony the truth already, he just didn't believe it. Not that she blamed him. "I used to draw a lot," she explained truthfully. Alexis stood and stretched, after sitting for what seemed like a very long time to her. In reality it was just under an hour. Tony knelt down on one knee, an idea forming in his mind.
"You seem pretty smart for a kid your age too.." He nodded as he said the words. "Do you want to play a game?" He picked up the crayons and paper as he asked the child. "If you win, we'll go to the toy store and you can have anything you want." He grinned, knowing that no child would refuse.
Alexis tilted her head to the side and smiled, that would certainly cure her boredom. She nodded her head and followed Tony to the desk. He wrote something on the piece of paper with the crayon, then lifted her onto the chair so she could see. She looked at the paper, it had a grid with empty circles and filled in circles.
"Ok, with this game, you have to draw a line that goes through all the circles.." Tony handed the child a different colored crayon. "But, you can only go through each square once, and you have to turn this much.." He made a ninety degree angle with his hands. "When you go through a filled in circle." He smiled at the little girl. "And, you only get two minutes."
"Tony, you can't be serious." Ms. Potts frowned at him. "She's only five, you can't tease her with toys like that." She looked at the size of the crudely drawn puzzle and seriously doubted that even she herself be able to solve it in the time given.
"Well, you don't know until you try, right?" Tony grinned. "Ready?" Pepper sighed and gave up, content to console a crying child afterward.
"Yep," Alexis grinned, it was going to be easy. She was the 'smart one' of all the elite soldiers after all, the one that had taken to the intelligence 'enhancements'. Alexis pushed the thoughts away as she stared at the page, waiting for Mr. Stark to say begin.
"Ok... GO!" Tony said, glancing at his watch to keep a track of the time. Alexis dragged the green crayon across the lines of the grids, keeping a set pace that allowed her to think ahead to where the line would turn next. Pausing only once as she came to the end and completed the loop.
"Done!" She put the crayon down on the desk and smirked up at Tony.
"Hmm, one minute.." He picked up the paper and checked to make sure the child had finished the puzzle correctly. She had.
"Yay! I win!" She hopped off of the chair. Tony glanced at Pepper who seemed shocked, which was pretty much how he felt. "I can have any toy?" She questioned.
"Yeah.." Tony looked over the paper again, almost not believing that it was correct. Alexis frowned at his behavior, she didn't think it was that much of a stretch that a five year old could solve the simple puzzle. She sighed and regretted her decision to show off a bit for a toy. Pepper cleared her throat, Tony looked up at his assistant.
"Shall I go make that appointment for today, Mr. Stark?" She was referring to the meeting with the general and he knew it. Pepper seemed to be standing a bit farther away from the child, as did Tony.
"..No," He shook his head as he thought about it. "We'll stick to the original time, Ms. Potts." Alexis pouted and crossed her arms, she hated being treated like some sort of disease. She was used to it from her time at the base, but it bothered her more then anything. She walked to Mr. Stark and tugged on his pant leg to get his attention. He unconsciously took a step backwards. Both adults were thinking that the child wasn't quite normal, and they were right of course.
The little girl pouted and crossed her arms, feeling like she might cry. It happened a lot since she was very young again. A side effect, she was told. She just couldn't help the way she reacted at times, though she tried. Tears began falling down her cheeks, she backed away from the billionaire genius who had taken her in. Tony watched her carefully, not sure what to think about her behavior.
"I just did the stupid puzzle!" She yelled at him, continuing to back up until her back was against the desk. "I'm not a freak," She continued to sob, the loud cries sounded foreign to her own ears.
"I never said you were a freak." Tony wasn't sure what to do, he looked to Pepper who seemed to be just as lost as himself. Tony sighed as he regarded the crying child, she seemed as normal as any other five year old at the moment. Mr. Stark approached the little girl and knelt down, he vaguely thought about his expensive suit as he did so. He reached out and pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back reassuringly. The child continued to bawl, the sound muffled in Tony's jacket. "Shhh, It's ok,"
He pulled back as the sobs faded into soft whimpers. The little girl looked at him with red puffy eyes and wiped her running nose with her sleeve, sniffling as she did.
"Uh," Tony looked around for some tissue, smiling when Pepper had some ready and held out to him. "Don't use your sleeve to wipe your nose," he gently admonished, using the tissue on the kid's nose. Then on his jacket, which he quickly realized was futile. Alexis hiccuped softly in the aftermath of the cries, hanging on to the expensive jacket's sleeve. "I know." He stood and picked up the little girl as he did. "Lets go get that toy, or a couple of them." He smiled at Alexis, waiting for her response.
"Ok," she said, resting her head against his shoulder. She was emotionally exhausted. She rubbed at her eyes, which were still wet and sighed.
"Maybe a nap would be better first, Tony." Pepper advised.
"But it's not even lunch time," Alexis whined a bit. She didn't want to take a nap so soon after waking up, even if she had tired herself out.
"Yeah, I could use a nap," Tony joked, smiling when he got a grin from the child in his arms. Pepper sighed, trying to think of someone she knew that could recommend a good nanny. She wasn't sure if Mr. Stark was mature enough to raise a child on his own, and she didn't have the time to do two jobs. "We'll take a short nap, then go get toys." He added, Pepper smiled.
"Alright," Alexis agreed, as long as it was a short nap. Tony winked at Pepper and carried the small girl back to the main room.
"This is where I take all my naps," he said as he laid down on the couch. Alexis curled up next to him and yawned. Tony smiled and threw and arm around her. "Jarvis, wake me up at ten thirty please."
"Yes, sir," the AI darkened the windows so less of the sunlight could come through, and the pair fell asleep almost instantly.