My first night here and I'm not even tired...
Calico found herself lying awake late that night, staring at her digital alarm clock (It read 1:34 AM, if you were curious). She wanted to explore the house more (At that time, there was very little chance of her running into Tony or Pepper.) but she was scared that she might make too much noise, and wake everyone up...
... Then there was the fact that she couldn't tolerate sitting in the dark for another ten hours or so, and the fear of waking anyone up went out the window.
Little Calico slipped out of her silk sheets, pulled shorts on under her large "Alice Cooper" shirt, and gently padded out of her room, shutting the door behind her. She was surprised to find a light illuminating the floor below her. She tiptoed down the stairs and quietly walked in the direction the light was coming from.
She found herself in the kitchen with Tony Stark sitting on the marble island, happily munching on what looked like it was at one point a hard-shelled taco, oblivious to her presence. He was wearing a black tank-top and drawstring pants, and his chest was still glowing (she'd have to ask what that thing was sometime soon).
For some reason Calico found the scene before her pretty funny, and a series of low giggles passed through her lips. Tony's brown eyes widened as he dropped his food on the ground and turned toward Calico with a slightly panicked expression. When he realized it was only Calico he looked sadly at his lost meal, but then he raised an eyebrow at Calico.
"...Sorry you lost your food?" she awkwardly offered, feeling her face warm up.
"It's not the food; you scared the hell out of me! I just finished watching a shitload of horror movies." Tony stated, cleaning up the mess on the otherwise clean floor.
"But you're Iron Man!" Calico blurted.
"Iron Man doesn't stand a chance against those creepy ass giggling-little-ghost-girls."
"Oh. I guess that makes sense..." Calico mumbled something about Iron Man and creepy little children in white.
"Why are you awake?"
"I don't sleep much..." Calico said, ignoring the snappy 'Why are you awake' phrase that was lingering in the back of her throat.
She folded her hands in front of her and stared at them, feeling her face get progressively warmer. Tony snickered at her discomfort as he tossed his trash.
"Not very good with people, are we?"
"No. That's part of the reason I'm here, actually." Calico admitted, looking over at the older man with shy silver eyes. Tony pointed to the door and walked into the living room with Calico following suit. He plopped down on the sleek black couch, Calico sitting a cushion away from him, curious to see what he wanted.
"Alright, I want to know why you have to live here." Tony said after a couple seconds of silence.
"... I'm a - er... I don't..." she stammered, averting her gaze away from his accusing brown eyes. After he looked at her strangely (and she dealt with a few awkward sentences that made her sound as if she had suffered brain damage), Calico sighed and ran a small hand over her reddened face.
"You're a lot smarter when you're not speaking."
"Oh, shut up! I meant to say that my parents put me out." Calico spat. Tony tilted his head to the side. She looked in the opposite direction.
"Why the hell would they put you out? You look pretty harmless."
"Because I like sciencey things... Technology and engineering, you know? And my mom wanted me to be..." Calico pouted. "She wanted me to be a social little lady. A housewife. That's not who I am." Calico looked mildly surprised at her own solid, non-stuttering voice.
"That's it? Your mom put you out for being a nerd?"
"You said it like an asshole! You like the same things. Hello? Iron Man!"
"But I don't look like a nerd."
"Not everyone's so lucky... She pretty much wants nothing to do with me. Pepper somehow caught wind of this, and she had me flown here."
"Not a very long story, eh?"
"You have a right to know if I'm gonna be living here. Don't worry, I'll get a job."
Tony chuckled.
"You're fine. What are you, like eighteen? Can you even legally find work? You're like three."
"Err, I'm actually twenty-three. With a college degree."
"Close enough! But money isn't an issue. I'll always have enough of that. Pepper will problably take care of you too- you're like her unofficial child." Tony leaned over and gave Calico's cheek a playful pinch. She snickered.
"You're pretty cool. For a genius-billionaire-playboy." Calico smiled crookedly. She'd suddenly felt like she'd known Tony for as long as she'd known Pepper (that is to say, well, her whole life).
"You're not bad, either. For a Potts."
"I mean, I guess..."
Pepper walked into Calico's room early the next morning to find her bed empty and her sheets messy. When it was confirmed that she wasn't in the bathroom either, she headed toward the living room because it sounded like Tony left the television on again.
She stopped and had to cover her mouth when she saw her cute little Calico asleep in a cute little ball, with her shiny pumpkin-colored curls, covering half of her face. Pepper pulled out her phone to take a picture.
"About to take a picture? Bit creepy, don't you think?"
"Oh, shush Tony. Why is she down here?" Pepper asked when she'd gotten what she wanted.
"Oh, you know. We went out and got drunk. Nailed a few dames, broke a few car windows."
"... Don't joke like that. Go get dressed."
I had to add this chapter because my friend was like "Joi-Su, why the hell is Calico living with Tony? Can the next chapter have them getting to know each other? Blah-ddy blah-ddy blah~!"
Oh, and if you guys want to give me any ideas, that'll be cool. Remember to review for continuation! Even though if you don't review, I'll still probably continue. XD
Summer means more updates, guys!