little piece of heaven (tony stark's daughter)

16

rosie's p.o.v

"pep's on her way, she should be home any minute and then she'll come straight down to see you" dad tells me. he's sat on the bed and i'm lying in his lap. he tried to braid my hair but it's not the same as when pepper does it and i miss her. i'm also really bored, there's absolutely nothing to do here.

i tilt my head to look up at him, deciding that it's at least worth a try. even if he says know at least i can say i asked "can't we go up there?".

he pauses, just staring at me before biting his lip "i don't know roos, it's not been very long since you had surgery". 

"i'll let you carry me" i activate my puppy-dog eyes and turn so i can rest my chin on his stomach. he can't last against me for long if i'm being cute.

he holds the eye-contact for a moment before rolling his eyes with a sigh "come on then". he holds me to his chest and swings his legs off the side of the bed, picking me up and balancing me on his hip as he stands up.

i'm wearing light grey sweatpants and a white vest top, my hair in this messy side braid with half of my hair falling out of it because hair isn't dad's strong point. it's certainly a look. i keep my head on his shoulder as he carries me to the elevator. once we're inside he frowns down at me "you're so manipulative".

i grin and press my face into his t-shirt. his chest is warm without the harsh metal of the arc reactor and one of his hands is drawing circles on my back. i feel safe and warm, but i want pepper too. when dad used to go out drinking she was the one who'd spend time with me and i've never been away from her for so long before.

everyone's in the living room when we get there and they look up from whatever they're doing. "hey roo" nat smiles from her position on the couch. everyone murmurs a greeting but eye me as if i'm about to explode. who knows, if jarvis was wrong about the extremis then maybe i am. that would be a surprise.

"rooster" rhodey nods.

i open my mouth and stare accusingly at dad "you told them!" i try my best to stop my face from contorting into a smile but dad snorts and i lose my composure.

he grins, clearly proud of filling his role as dad by embarrassing me "yep, like i said before, it's cute". he heads towards the couch but pauses when jarvis speaks.

"sir, miss potts has arrived and is on her way up".

i squeal and wriggle in dad's arms, trying to get down to the floor "um" he raises an eyebrow "no, we had a deal" he reminds me. 

"please" i pout again, i want to go see pepper.

"no" he responds, pushing my bottom lip back in with his finger and pulling me back into my original position "i'm not risking you tearing your stomach again". 

"fine" i grumble, wrapping my arms back around his neck and putting my cheek on his shoulder. he does however carry me right over to the elevator so that when it opens pepper will be right there.

and then she is. 

neo is at her feet and he bounds into the room to say hello to everyone. usually i'd be all over him, i see pepper and we make eye contact and i surprise even myself by bursting into tears. i get major deja vu as she steps out of the elevator murmuring an "oh baby girl" before taking me out of dad's arms and into her own. 

she takes me over to the couch and sits down with me in her arms. "oh don't you ever scare me like that again" she tells me, cupping my face in her hands and wiping away the tears that are falling down my cheeks

"i didn't really have a choice" i sniffle and she rubs her hand on my back.

"i know roos, i know... who did your hair?".

i let out a miserable sounding laugh as i remember the pathetic braid "you need to give daddy lessons because he isn't very good".

"traitor" dad scoffs from where's he's standing behind the couch "i tried".

pepper starts to pick the braid apart "she's right, you need lessons". her hands comb through my curls, gently tugging out the knots that dad has created "this is what you become without me".

"hey! she asked for a braid and i produced a braid" dad protests, his ego obviously slightly damaged. 

pepper fights a smile "i'd say this is about 12% but an argument could be made for 15".

he chuckles and shakes his head before leaning down. pepper tilts her head over the back of the couch and they kiss.

"gross" i mumble having calmed myself down. i'm secretly happy though, i love seeing my dad and pepper together, it makes us seem more like a normal family.

"shush you" pepper pulls out the rest of the braid and starts to plait it again.

once she's done, we just sit there for a while. i can feel pepper's heartbeat and it makes me feel comfortable and loved. dad has moved to sit on the couch so that him and pepper are also snuggled together. it's cold outside, which makes the inside feel even warmer. the room has fallen silent, everyone doing their own thing, and i can feel myself growing tired. i haven't been able to stay awake for very long at a time over the last few days and i think this is the longest i've been conscious so far.

as i start to drift away i'm reminded of what i thought were my last thoughts as i began to fall from the sky, the last things i said to dad. so my eyelids drop shut and i nestle my head into pepper's stomach and before i fall asleep completely i break the silence.

"i love you mommy".