Dream: 3 years earlier
Dad and I are sitting on the couch, watching a James Bond marathon. We're sitting close together and I have my head on his shoulder with his arm around me.
"Hey Dad?" I ask quietly.
"Yeah?" comes his soft reply.
"Can I ask you a question?" I sit up a bit so I can look him in the eye.
"Anything darling. You know that."
"Who's my mom?" I say after a breath.
Dad sits up and looks at the wall blankly, as if remembering a ghost. He sighs deeply then turns to me.
"I guess I ought to tell you, you've asked enough times now. Aly, your mother is- was a wonderful human being. She was beautiful, intelligent, and the most humane human being. But despite all of that, she had demons. She so open and fun, but she became reclusive, private, withdrawn the longer she and I were together. When she discovered she was pregnant with you, she almost never told me. She had wanted to leave, to have you and put you up for adoption, because she would never abort a child, even an unwanted one. She-"
"She never wanted me? She hated me?" I was in shock. I had always pictured a kind, caring woman, who loved everything and everyone.
"No! Never say that!" Dad suddenly shouted, nearly coming out of his seat. He looked at me, with a terrified look and instantly went back to his quiet self. "Sorry. I didn't mean to shout. She loved you, but she had always sworn not to have kids, because she feared her demons would become yours."
"But who is she? What was her name?" I begged to know. This is the most he's ever said about her and this conversation won't end until I know her name.
"Her name. That's…. a complicated topic. She, well, she never really told me. You see, she was the type of person who had secrets, so many secrets that sometimes it consumed her. I had surprised her with a simple question once, 'Where were you born?', and she immediately said "Russia," but then she had a look of terror overcome her, and instantly yelled, "NO! PENNSYLVANIA!"
"Was she a spy?" I was a little impressed that my dad could get a girl like this.
"I don't know darling. When I met her, she was working at a little cafe on the outskirts of New York City. She never really spoke about her past. When we first started dating, she asked me to not ask her about her family, said that it hurt to think about them. I always assumed they had died in a car accident or something." He looks at me with a sad smile, eyes crinkling just a bit at the corners. "The name she told me, right before she left, was Sonya Salinsky."
I wake up, tears streaming from my face. "I need to find her. I need to find my mom," I whisper to myself. And only Tony can help.
I go to the main floor, where we ate dinner that first night, and made myself a bowl of cereal. I sit quietly at the bar eating, when Clint staggers into the room, still drunk on sleep.
"Good morning," I say as brightly as I can muster, considering my dream.
"Hggh," he grunts in response. As Clint continues to make himself coffee, Tony emerges from his lab, with grease on his face, hands and shirt. Just as Clint finishes making his coffee the way he likes it, (sugar, no cream), Tony grabs it and downs half of it without blinking an eye.
"Daaamnnn itttt, Tonnyyyyy! That was mineee!" Clint whines.
"Yeah and it's good, but coffee's better black," Tony replies, then proceeds to finish it.
"Self-centered, billionaire bastard," Clint mumbles as he again fixes up a cup of coffee.
"Thanks for the compliment, overrated, smartass Katniss," Tony says, with a smile and wink at me, letting me know that this is all in good fun. Clint squints at Tony, grumbles something under his breath and let's it rest as he comes around and sits next to me at the bar, pouring himself a bowl of cereal too.
"Whatcha got planned for today, Aly?" He says, using his little nickname. It was either Aly or Mini-Tony, and Tony and I immediately shot the latter down.
I shrug. "I dunno, maybe I'll head into work, but I am due for a vacation, so I think I'll call in those vacation days instead."
Clint and I, over the past few days, have grown much closer, so he's gonna pry when I mention work. "That's right, you said you worked. Where?"
I chuckle, and glance over at Tony to make sure he isn't paying attention, but he's too busy being chewed out by Pepper, who just came into the room from her and Tony's suite, for almost blowing himself up while working on one of his suits last night. "Ironically, at that idiot's company."
Clint's jaw dropped. "You work for Stark? But you're only, what, 17? Don't you have school?"
"I used to, but I graduated from college a while ago, so I got a job in R&D. I really like it. It let's me use my hands, which is important, because I kinda have a hyperactive brain. Working with my hands slows my mind and I can focus."
"Jesus, so now I've befriended yet another brainiac. I just can't catch a break, can I? I am literally surrounded by smart people." Clint's face falls, and he lets out a big sigh. I nudge him with my arm and grin at him.
"You're smart, Bird Brain. But you're smart in a different way. You know what's going to happen in a battle before it does. Saved my ass a couple times too," Tony replied, walking around the bar to sit next to me.
"Wow, praise from you Stark? Are you sick?" Clint says, with a mocking look of shock on his face.
"Legolas, I'm hurt. I've complimented you before, but you were probably too enthralled with your arrows to hear me," Tony replies, defending himself.
"Not that I've heard since Clint's arrived," I said. "But let's settle this now. J?"
"Yes, Alysha?" comes the robotic reply.
"How many times, within this month, let's say, has Tony complimented Clint, including just now?" I ask with a smirk on my face.
"Including the compliment from only a moment ago, the total is 2 times in the past month," JARVIS states.
"AHA! See Stark!" Clint yells, leaping off his chair in triumph.
"Dammit, J! I thought you were on my team!" Tony complains. "Hey, wait a second, why are you calling him 'J', Alysha? Only I call him 'J'," Tony turns accusingly towards me.
I get off my chair, laughing, drop my bowl in the sink, and head towards the elevator. "It's not my fault that your AI loves me enough to want to have a bit of fun with you, right J?"
"Of course, Miss Banner. All in the name of fun, sir." JARVIS replies, with a slight tone of delight.
"Turned on by my own creation! Pepper, do something. She's stealing JARVIS from me," Tony whines, as he wraps her in a bear hug.
"And on that note, I'm going to make my leave and head to the epic hot tub I found while exploring. Would you care to join me, Pepper? Maybe a, oh I don't know, girl's day? I kinda need to go shopping, and you've got the unlimited Stark card right?" I smirk.
"That sounds perfect. You go get your stuff and I'll meet you down at the hot tub, okay? Then we'll head out for a day of shopping," Pepper says quickly, slipping out of Tony's arms.
"No! Last time you went shopping, Pep, you spent $2,000! On basically nothing!" Tony protests. "And now that Alysha's going it'll be $4,000! No! No no no no no!"
"Anthony. I haven't had a girl's day since Nat went on her mission and Hill was assigned back to Washington. I deserve to splurge, considering you do that everyday with your suits! Now, Hill is still gone, and Nat isn't back yet, so I'm taking Alysha. So deal with it," Pepper says, back in CEO mode.
"Yes, ma'am," Tony mumbles, tail tucked between his legs.
"I heard my name?" A pretty-looking redhead steps out of the elevator right behind me, nearly making me jump out of my skin. Being too entertained by watching Tony get sassed, I didn't hear the doors open.
"Natasha! Welcome back! How was the mission?" Pepper says as she goes to greet her with a hug.
Natasha warmly accepts the hug. "Went as scheduled, except for a little mishap that involved me having to slit someone's throat, but….." She trails off as she notices me. "Um, and you are?" She asks me.
I swallow. "Hi, um, my name's Alysha Banner," I introduce myself, extending a hand for her to shake, unsure if that's the right move. I've heard of stories about the infamous Black Widow, and since she apparently just slit a guy's throat with no issues, I'm a bit wary of her.
She looks surprised, but shakes my hand anyway. "Banner? Like Bruce Banner? I didn't know he had a daughter."
"Yeah, neither did any of us. Hey, babe," Clint says walking up to her, planting a kiss on her temple.
"Me and Alysha were thinking about having a girl's day, hot tub, shopping, the works. Would you like to come? We can fill you in later," Pepper asks.
"Honestly, that sounds incredible. I'd love to," Nat sighs.
"But, Nat," Clint frowns. "I've missed you,"
"And I've missed you too, but I need some decompressing, and the hot tub is calling my name. I'll see you tonight, okay?" She smiles up at him, and pecks his lips. She turns to me and Pepper. "Let's do this then."
"Yay! I'm so looking forward to this," Pepper says, clapping her hands in a child-like manner. We three girls pile into the elevator to get our girl's day going.
Yes, so Clint and Natasha are together. Sorry but I think they are cute together. Anywho, yay! Chapter 5 is done! Did you like it? I hope so. I worked all weekend to try and finish it, but now it's going to be another several days before I update, cause my schedule decided to cram everything into a week. Work everyday, school everyday, rehearsals for the play I'm doing, yeah. Busy. So that means if you have any ideas about how you want this thing to go, have at it!