"𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐒-1" (Slow Updates)

𝖛𝖎. ❝Not the best.❞

━━━━━━━━━━━

𝐌𝐀𝐘𝐁𝐄 𝐈𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 the fact that Valerie was tired after all the test runs she had completed with the 'NSDP' a day prior, but Val didn't give a very exciting reaction to the announcement that Tony made in the morning.

"We are going on a trip!" 

The words might not have processed in the girl's brain just yet as she just stared at her father's smiling face while her brother rejoiced and danced around in joy, "I'm so excited! Let's scream! Ahhhhhh! IAM SCREAMING--Why aren't you screaming, Val?" Alex dialed down his excitement as he saw his sister's blank expression, "You, of all people, love to go on vacations! Remember the ski trip last December with mo—"

Talking about Athena was still a sore topic for Valerie. She missed the woman immensely. Alex stopped as his sister glared daggers at him daring him to complete the last word.

"Where are we going?" She asked, although still rather less enthusiastic about it. 

"Some place." Tony answered.

"Which one, though? Where is it?" 

Tony noticed his daughter's snappy behavior but just left it at that, thinking that she was just not a very pleasant morning person, "Some place on the face of this earth. The location is a surprise."

Valerie opened her mouth to let out a snarky comment in the form of a question, "Don't. I'm not taking anymore questions." Tony stepped in as the girl rolled her eyes while muttering something along the lines of  'stupid secrets',  under her breath.

"When will we leave, dad?" Alexander asked, struggling to keep his chuckles in as he watched his sister's agitated state in amusement. 

"In an...." Tony checked his probably expensive watch, "...hour! Go to your rooms and get ready! Your new stuff is already packed in brand new suitcases." 

Just as the man said that, Happy came at the breakfast table with a total of four bags in his hands. All of them were packed with new clothes that Tony had personally selected (with the help of Pepper but he won't admit that) for his children. He'd picked all types of clothes for the two; swim wear, tops, t-shirts, even summer and winter wear--everything from scarves to socks. Of course, not to forget designer jewelry.

"New..." Valerie trailed off,

"...stuff?" Alex completed the thought.

"Yeah, it's nothing. Just go and get ready." Tony shrugged off the questioning looks his kids gave him before they finally left the room. 

He was determined to patch things up between himself and Valerie on this trip.

━━

Things weren't off to a great start. 

Turns out, the private jet that they were going to be taking broke down at the last minute. It malfunctioned out of nowhere. 

Tony was pretty bummed out by the news that Happy gave him, 'Just great..' , he thought. It would take at least three to four hours for it to be repaired. 

Tony Stark was crazy rich and had a ton of private jets under his name, but, he only had two kids, who requested that he book the trio some tickets from normal airlines. 

Normal,  was an unfamiliar term, almost hurtful to Tony's ears.

If you even know a smidge about Tony Stark, you'd know that he isn't the person to take normal and low-cost  plane tickets. But when his kids persuaded him with Alex's puppy eyes and Valerie's albeit rare, grumpy-pouty face, he caved.