There's A Spark

Part 10: partners

To her surprise, Tony didn't press her tardiness too much. He sent her up to her room as soon as they got home and told her to be in the workshop early the next morning, whether she felt sick or not. Which seemed acceptable to her. 

So, as she had been instructed, she got up at 5 in the morning to take a quick shower and got dressed. She honestly hadn't drunk enough to have a hangover but 5 hours of sleep wasn't exactly enough for her and she just hadn't gotten the smell of cheap beer out of her hair.  She thought back to the night before and smiled. To her surprise it had been rather fun. She had hung out with all kinds of people though hadn't really made any new friends but she was content with the 3 friend groups she often hung out with. Her mind wandered to the boy she had run into at the end of the night, barely having caught a glimpse of him yet she knew exactly what he looked like. Would she see him at school, or did she just imagine having seen him before? A smile crept on her face as she thought. "Had a good night?" Natasha asked as Y/N walked into the kitchen.

"It was fun. Thank you for helping me get ready. It felt nice to just be a teenage girl for once." Natasha nodded as a form of 'you're welcome' before moving on. "So, find out anything about this interesting boy." She nudged with a smirk "I saw your smile just now."

"Oh yeah, no, not really. Didn't really get the chance to talk to him." She shrugged her shoulders as she prepared her simple breakfast of toast and jam. but as soon as she was done it got yanked from her hands. "If you ever want to see this toast again, you better start talking." 

"You do know I can just make a new one right." But the bag of bread got taken from her as well as Natasha looked at her with an intense gaze. "I'm being honest here, I didn't get to talk to him. We don't know each other that well anyway. Nat, give it back! I need to be downstairs in 10 minutes." Natasha took a bite from the toast, tossing her the bag with a mischievous smile.

"You're insufferable." Y/N scoffed, yet a smile found its way onto her lips.

"Ooooh, big words. I'd almost be intimidated." She laughed at Natasha's comment, deciding to have her breakfast on the way downstairs, leaving Natasha in the kitchen with her taunting comments and smirk.

"So, what did I need to be here this early for?" She asked as soon as she arrived to where Tony was working. He probably hadn't even gone to bed yet, knowing him. She glanced over his shoulder as she took another bite of her toast. "Hey, no crumbs on the workspace. What are you? Gretel? There's a whole trail here." Tony commented, she rolled her eyes at his over exaggeration.  "I want you to meet someone." He swiped towards the big screen and a face appeared. She looked about her age and Y/N immediately knew who she was meeting and why.

"Hello, Y/N. It's nice to meet you. Tony has told me some great things about you." She spoke in a slight African accent.

"It's nice to meet you too Shuri. I have heard quite a lot about you too, I was wondering when we would meet." She smiled at the screen. Its was no lie. She had heard about Shuri after the avengers had met her brother, T'Challa. This genius teen was about the only one she could relate to among the stories she had been told. "I've heard quite the same. Tony tells me you're working on what you call Nano-tech, I would like in. I've been working on something similar and I think we could help each other out." she rather agreed. (Just pretended this is right before she created the suit from the black panther film) They decided to get to know each other, already planning their work and sharing concepts and Tony couldn't help but smile. He never knew how to be a good father, how to raise a child. He assumed that keeping her away from the avengers, away from danger, was what he was meant to do. However now she was working with them and their allies, she had never been happier. He sat there observing the exchange between the girls for about an hour.  

"I'm going to send you some vibranium. That way we'll be able to work on our little project together." Shuri spoke with some excitement in her voice. 

"Is that allowed? I thought you wanted to keep the vibranium in Wakanda?" That had been her only worry in trying to make her suit, yet it proved to be easier than originally thought. 

"I'll talk to my brother. It will be no problem. I will see you again in a few days, yes?" She asked, ready to get started with her newly acquired friend. Y/N nodded "See you then." With that the call got disconnected and Tony stood up. Unexpectantly, he wrapped her into a hug, resting his chin on her head and his slight stubble getting stuck into her hair. She raised her arms confused, lightly resting her hand on his back. "Okay. what's this for?" Tony wasn't exactly the type of person to hug her whenever, so to say she was confused was putting it lightly. "I'm proud of you Y/N" He muttered with a kiss to her forehead. "I told the Avengers they are allowed to help you train if you want to. I am not going to hold you back anymore. I just don't want you to get hurt."