The day after Drew's incident, Kexie's explosion and Astrid's bleeding eardrums, the parents came home. They were relieved to see that Stark Tower was still standing. The group gathered as Pepper read off sleeping arrangements in the hovercraft.
"Stella and Lexie will share a room, Drew and Jamie will share a room, and Astrid and Berwald have single rooms.", she said, frowning a bit when she read Stella's name.
Stella sometimes wondered why her mother even tried. The fake compassion was unbearably obvious. She had heard her parents arguing one time, when she was little. The nightmare plagued her to this day.
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"Why can't you love your child?", Tony asked her, quite annoyed.
"She's nothing like me! I can't love her! She's so unbearably like you!", Pepper raised her voice. Her actions became more angry. She stomped away from Tony.
"Oh, so you can love me, but not the child who acts like me? That makes perfect sense!", he spoke sarcastically. Little 7-year old Stella was watching from behind a wall, her teddy bear in her hand.
"She's such a nuisance! You're a nuisance! I can't bear it!", Pepper screetched.
"Why don't you break up with me then?", Tony yelled back, grabbing the scotch and pouring it in a glass for himself.
"You know what?! I'm leaving as soon as possible!", she said, sitting down on the couch. Stella gasped. Her little brown eyes welled up with tears. She stepped out from the shadows.
"D-Don't leave mommy.", she quietly said. The parents turned to look at her. "I'll be better, I promise." Her bottom lip quivered. Pepper's expression softened a bit.
"Baby, I'm just stressed, that's all. It's nothing you did.", she said.
"Your mom works really hard, Stell. And I am a bit much. It's nothing to worry about.", Tony said, coming up behind her. She turned to face him.
"Can you tuck me in, please?", she asked him, lifting her arms so he would pick her up. He did as she asked and once he tucked her in, she asked him a question. "Daddy? Why does mommy hate me? Am I a pain in the butt to her?" Tony kissed her forehead.
"She's just a but overwhelmed, that's all. Nothing to worry about. Now go to sleep, Stell."
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Stella went down to help Drew clean up the lab. It would be a good escape from her parents bickering.
Meanwhile, Clint was teaching his son some battle strategy. Jamie was a good listener and loved to learn all that he could. After flipping over his father a few times, he pulled him back up.
"Kid, there's really not much I can teach you anymore.", Clint smiled.
"Oh well, there's only so much to learn.", Jamie shrugged.
"I remember when you were really young and you would run around the floor shooting arrows everywhere.", Clint teased.
"Daaaad you're embarassing me.", Jamie whined.
"Or the time when you cried because your favorite arrow got lost."
"Noooo, stop."
"Or the time--"
"Noooooooo. Lalalalala not listening!", Jamie plugged his ears and shouted. Clint put him in a headlock and ruffled his hair. "Daaaaaad!" Clint let go, laughing. Jamie fixed his hair.
YOU ARE READING
Superchildren
FanfictionThe incident with Loki is over, but ever since then, trouble has been brewing in the dark. Just when the world needs them most, the Earth's mightiest heroes aren't available... but their children are.
