DDDDUUUUUDDDDEEESSS! I AM SERIOUS! (Insert harry potter joke) There are so many favorites for this and damn! Wow. THERE IS MORE THAN MY OTHER FICS! DUDE! Wow. I love you guys. This helps facing exams a lot. Ya'll are so cool. =) –Radioactive
Shopping, Jobs, Candy, and A Bruce!
It was six a.m. when her alarm went off and she groggily rolled out of bed. She never could sleep in really long without waking up and in this new environment she felt a bit off as any would so far from home and what was once norm. She nearly jumped out of her skin when the British voice of the AI came over the room's speakers.
"Master Stark and Ms. Potts are still asleep Ms. Dewey. At the moment there is no need for you to be awake." JARVIS informed.
"Cool. Cool." Emma yawned rubbing her eyes as she reached for her glasses on the nightstand. Her eyes were not completely horrid but if she wanted to read some on a screen or see tree leaves she needed them. The boxy frames a metallic cherry brought out her green blue eyes. Or so her nana said. "Hey JARVIS, do we have enough bread for French toast?" She asked curiously as she padded towards the door.
"There is sufficient amounts of bread in the cupboards Ms. Dewey." JARVIS replied diligently.
"Awesome." Emma commented as she made her way to the kitchen in her blue plaid pj pants and a large grey Dalek shirt that was very soft.
By seven a.m. she had French toast made and had battled the coffee machine. Pepper had laughed at the sight of Emma ready to attack the high tech espresso machine with a plastic flipper she had used for breakfast. Emma sheepishly joined in as Tony walked in they enjoyed syrup drowned toasted cinnamon bread and it wasn't long before Emma returned to her room to dress for the day.
She came out in a pair of nice dark jeans, her tennis shoes, a tan cami, and a comfy green jacket she had found at Good Will. With phone, id, Stark card all in the many jacket pockets, she went to meet Pepper at the elevator.
Pepper was cladded in a knee length pencil shirt, black stockings, sensible heeled black shoes, a white blouse with a black blazer over it and a designer white leather handbag. Her hair was pulled neatly into a high ponytail.
"Ready to go?" She asked with a pleasant grin.
"Yes." Emma answered politely and joined her in the elevator hoping that this would turn out better than her trips with her family. Rarely did anyone come out intact unless they brought the grandmas.
The event turned out to be very pleasant and fun. Emma learned more about Pepper and the company while Pepper began to see what Tony saw in Emma. Pepper also helped Emma figure out her more business style and of what looked good on her leading the young girl to leave with five suits of differing neutral colors, a few dresses, skirts and blouses galore, and some other clothes that Pepper said would not melt or could handle any explosions or fires Emma might face in the future. Emma considered if investing in a hazmat suit would be best. Pepper laughed. After finding some awesome shoes and accessories, Emma found some for Pepper as well, they had lunch before returning to the Tower with a multitude of bags and large smiles across their faces.
Tony and Emma were in the temporary labs. It held gadgets and gismos a plenty.
Emma had sang those exact words when she entered. Tony surprised her with the reply of;
"And whozits and whatzits galore." At her delighted shock, he smirked and continued to show her around the work space. After the tour, Tony sat her down on a table near his work desk. The mess of documents and papers left Emma wondering if she should carry Band-Aids for paper cuts in her bag before Tony left her marching orders.
"Just go over these reports, highlight and make note of anything that seems odd, important or you don't know about. Stark enterprise does not make weapons anymore for the public. We don't fund any war stuff. We want peace and all that. So anything that seems like it could misled the funds note it and Pepper and I will look into it. If you have any questions or are having trouble ask me, text Pepper, or talk to JARVIS. This way, all I have to do is sign the papers and everyone is happy!" Tony explained joyfully.
"Gotcha. Now what about the 'den mother' bit of my job?" Emma asked as she picked up one fo the manila folders on the long table and turned in her swirly black backed chair.
"That's basically what you are doing. You'll help with shopping, look after the injured—like a mother hen—cook, hang out with us, and stuff. Nothing real big besides playing hostess a few times. We'll work out the kinks when they happen and everyone is here." Tony answered with a wave of his hand as he focused on one of the monitors.
"When they come?" Emma questioned searching for more information. To tell the truth, she was nervous about others entering this new life. She welcomed it but that did not stop her from already becoming protective of Tony and Pepper. She had a bad habit of becoming attached very quickly to people and things like dogs. Made it hard for her to even think about working at a shelter. She cried too much.
Well I have to first fix the place up. Bruce will help us with that and the rooming stuff when he gets here. Then I'll gather the team and pop the question. If we're gonna be 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes' and that whole shabang we kinda need to be team and do team stuff. That's where you come in to help." Tony said pointing a blue pen at her with a grin. She looked up in alarm at him.
"Me!? I can't catch any of you guys if we decide to do trust falls!" She squeaked causing Tony to guff in mirth.
"We should totally do that but mainly as I see it, Pepper has waay too much shit taking care of the company. I'm not putting this on her. I love her and I kinda want her to stay. When I met you in the park you were desperate for a job to help pay the cancer bills. Hell you gave up college to come work for me for your family. From what I can tell so far and what I pulled up on you—yes I JARVIS-ed you—you have all the things I think the team needs as a civilian grounding us assholes down. I mean look at me. I'm pretty awesome but I still know I need my ass kicked once in a while. That's why I have Pepper and love her so much. You get to use that big heart of yours that drove in the rain two hours to pick up your drunk cousin, drove in the middle of the night to fix a friends' tire and get them home safe, and that same heart that gave up its dream to pay off chemo-treatment for her younger brother. All I want is for you to make this place a home and give hugs to people who need them. Okay?" Tony laid it all out for her and she could not stop the tears that formed in the corners of her eyes. As blunt and to the point as it was, she needed it. No one had ever said such nice things to her. Hell, how did he even know about those things! Only the people involved knew as she never told her parents and her cousin and friend stayed closed lip about it since they both were not supposed to be out so late or even out of the house.
"I'll do my best." Emma promised a bit chocked up and turned to the papers not noticing Tony's smile and glance.
"That's all we ask, kid."
With that they slipped into a confronting lull of work which was only broken by a few questions by Emma and the lunch timer.
AND that is how their days followed along with sassy banter and teasing by both. Turns out Emma can be quite the smartass when pushed. Pepper would walk in to have lunch with them and be caught thinking that Tony actually had a sister instead of an assistant. The thought made her smile as Emma handed Tony a wrench and called him some smack talk with the letter 'Q'. Tony rebuffed her with one of 'R'. The CEO could only look on in relief as a family began to form. Thank goodness Emma made sure Tony ate. He was a lot easier to deal with when he had food.
Early one Friday morn, four days until Bruce would enter the Tower, saw Emma peacefully sleeping upon her bed surrounded by reports. Her laptop rested on her stomach and her glasses a stray upon her face. One hand laid on the nightstand covered with M'Ms that Happy had given her when she delivered a report.
Blissfully unaware of the coming storm, she slept on. That is…..until Tony came crashing into her room.
"EMMA!" The billionaire screamed dramatically.
Emma screamed back but retaliated by throwing a hand full of M'Ms at him. With her brothers, one always had Nerf ammo at hand for morning wake-ups. They froze in shock as the chocolate candy bounced off Tony and dropped to clatter on the wooden floor.
Tony stood beside her bed dressed in the same clothes he had on the other night which told Emma he had snuck back down to the labs after both women had gone to bed. His outfit consisted of jeans, an ACDC t-shirt that allowed the blue glow of his reactor to show through and work boots. Emma was in her plaid and DOCTOR WHO mix-match pajamas.
"M'Ms? Really?" Tony laughed causing Emma to shake her head in exasperation.
"What's goin on?" She slurred as she fixed her glasses and struggled to emerge from the depths of her bedspread.
"We have SCIENCE to do! That's what! Come on! The suits ready and so is the gym! Come on! Let's go!" Tony exclaimed and then proceeded to drag the poor girl off to the lab and gym to document his latest invention.
Now growing up with wild cousins and adventurous brothers, Emma had done some strange things. Add a few terms of college to that and not much can phase one. That estimate flew out the window when Tony came into her life. Probably took the last bits of her sanity with it. So it was to say she was unable to categorize slapping her boss in the face with a stalk of Ramona lettuce in the early morn of day. Mornings were turning out the best for comedic happenings with Emma as Tony learned and would endeavor to create more mornings of such actions.
"Did you just smack me with a salad?" Tony asked incredulous as his assistant stood in front of him holding the offending vegetable that had blocked her view of the ham she set aside for breakfast.
"Yup. At least it wasn't a loaf of bread." She replied tacking on the end bit.
"Just who did you smack with a loaf of bread?" Tony asked with a chuckle.
"My younger brother. He had the butter." Emma answered with a grin as she retrieved the ham.
"You are something, M'M." Tony laughed.
"And you're not?" Emma countered teasingly with a smile.
"I am the definition of something, my dear minion. De—fin—ition." Tony quipped back causing Emma to laugh.
"M'M?" She inquired as the pan heated up.
"Could be worse. I could call you lettuce ninja." Tony deadpanned but the grin on his face betrayed him. Emma nearly doubled over laughing before she calmed herself and started making ham, egg, and cheese.
"I love it here." She chuckled under her breath with a relaxed smile.
Tony grinned at her words but said nothing as he helped set the table. He would not admit it yet but Emma was growing on him and it made him happy to have this chance at having a sister he never knew he wanted. The Tower was truly becoming home to the billionaire and he hoped the rest of the team went along for the ride. With their careers they needed a bit of home to come back to.
So on went their days until an additional member came up the elevator.
"Tony, you really didn't need to do this." Bruce once again began to argue but the genius billionaire would have none of it. In all honesty, Bruce truly wanted to take Tony up on his offer but feared his new friend's safety. Bruce hated living at the Helicarrier but at least they could handle and afford the damage if The Other Guy showed up again. Tony had argued that he could afford it too and that The Hulk liked him so Bruce had no ammo to fight with. It had been so long since Bruce had friends and he like a parched man craved the companionship Tony wanted to give. He just did not want to hurt him. If something happened to Tony because of him, Bruce did not know how he would live with himself.
"Stop fighting me on this Bruce. You'll love it once it's all fixed up. Your own lab right next to mine. Full R & D. AND! I have an awesome cook minion. You'll love M'M." Tony went on as he gave the tour of the Tower once again.
"M'M?" Bruce questioned nervously which only grew as Tony sent him a wicked smile and led him to the elevators. Bruce had heard of Pepper before from Tony and worried about keeping her from being hurt by The Other Guy but Tony brushed him off saying he was working on that. Besides the team living with them who else could Tony be talking about? This concerned the good doctor as he did not know how the person would take being stuck in close quarters with someone as unstable and dangerous as himself.
Bruce was completely shocked to see a young women in jeans, purple socks, and a blue casual button up shirt that was untucked and had the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Her murky chocolate brown hair frizzed at odd angles from being tucked behind her pierced ears and fell to just touching her shoulders. Her kind smile and bright blue green eyes backed by red glasses were full of mischief—like Tony's brown eyes—and joy. As the two stepped off the elevator, she shifted a huge stack of manila folders that rested on a tablet set against her left hip.
"Welcome to Avengers' Tower, Doctor Banner. I'm Emma Dewey at your service. If you have any troubles or concerns feel free to come to me for help." Emma chirped and held out her free hand. Tony grinned widely and held up two thumbs up.
Bruce carefully took her hand and gave it a gentle shake.
"Your socks charmed off yet?" Tony teased as Bruce recalled him saying something about that earlier. Emma simply laughed. "Bruce, this is my minion, M'M." Tony introduced. "I have to share her since it's in her contract."
"Dr. Banner is….." Emma drifted off looking to Tony for help as she lost her wording. Tony only gave her the bare idea of who is who and all that last night.
"Big Green giant." Tony stated proudly but Bruce winced.
"Not what I wanted but noted." She commented with a soft smile directed at Bruce. "I meant whether he was a full Avenger or just you're Science Bro. Sorry Doctor. I'm still working on this den mother thing. Though it is awesome to have someone else here to keep Tony out of trouble." Emma added.
"I'm totally getting us matching t-shirts with that on 'em." Tony said tapping on his phone. "Done."
"You-you're not uncomfortable with the um green giant thing?" Bruce stuttered to ask in his surprise at her complete difference to the title of 'Big Green giant' given by Tony.
"Nah. I deal with Tony, how bad could you be? From what Tony told me, you'll probably keep our explosion rates down. That said they insurance offices will be thankful and Pepper will most likely order you a cake." The girl replied off hand. "Now if you would follow me to your temporary room so you can get settled Tony can then finally drag you off to Candyland. Any preferred beverage or food I should know about?"
"Ah green tea please and spicy food. I was in Kolkata, India. And please just…call me Bruce." The doctor replied with a timid smile. Emma smiled brightly at him and jotted down a note on the cover of a folder.
"Great! Tomorrow we can start designing our new digs!" Tony added as he was once again bouncing with hyped up excitement and led them down a hall.
Emma followed with a laugh at her boss' giddiness but would not deny the fact that she too was excited. Ever since she came here she had a spring in her step and a smile on her face. Life was good. She turned to Bruce who walked beside her.
"Welcome to the madhouse Bruce." She said with a kilowatt smile. Bruce returned it with a smaller but still real smile. He was surprised at the amount of safety felt in this place. He hoped it would last and that he could stay.
The rest of the day was spent in the lab, arguing other theories and equations while Emma worked on reports. A few times—most times—she would side with Bruce.
"M'M! You're supped to be on my side!" Tony teasingly whined with a grin.
"Not when you take the route that sends your ass sky high without a suit. I side with safety!" Emma retorted from her claimed seat.
Bruce smiled as he returned to the algorithm and half listened to the bickering duo.
Dinner that night went better than he could ever imagine. Once again he was introduced to a women who held no fear against he only thanks for saving Tony and for being there when Emma wasn't to keep the single-minded genius alive and out of trouble. Emma sent a wide grin to Tony at that while the billionaire huffed.
What really got the good doctor was dinner itself. They sat at the garnet island table in the kitchen instead of the huge and showy dining table in the room next door while they ate roasted chicken with rice and gravy. Something normal and family like was what Emma called it for she told of school nights helping make it for her family. And the conversations! They never forced him to join but they did look for his opinions on things and it was not just Tony but Emma and Pepper went out of their way to make him feel comfortable.
It made Bruce believe this might actually work. He allowed a sliver of hope to fill him as he basked in the warmth the small group gave off. It was a marvelous welcome from the cold he had been used to.
This was long. LoL. The 'marvelous' was not intended but still punny. Steve's coming up soon! How will he handle the madhouse filled with Tony and Emma? Find out next time on! What's this called? Universal Reversal! Whoops Universal Influx. Sorry. Titles are hard! –Radioactive