Jayden woke up early.
There were no nightmares or anything unpleasant that would've warranted an early awakening. Instead, her whole body buzzed with excitement before her groggy mind could figure out why.
She groaned and turned over to her side. Squinting, she noted her surroundings were caliginous. Dawning light peeked from behind her curtains, giving her enough light to glimpse her clock displaying 6 AM. Her first instinct was to relax back into a dreamless sleep, but then her mind caught up to why she woke in the first place.
Christmas.
She leapt out of bed, albeit clumsily so, almost falling flat onto her face as her legs became tangled in her fallen bed sheets. She hurried off the floor and over to the window. It was just as she hoped; the snow from yesterday's downfall was still there.
She spun on her heel and ran straight to the living room. The glorious tree, while unlit, stood proudly by the windows, guarding the colourful wrappings of presents at its feet. There were many of them, and she could hardly believe that some of them had her name on. Hers.
She had presents. Actual presents. She paused in a small reminiscence. She and Curls had once wondered what it would be like to be a part of it. Now, only one of them was here to experience it.
Sitting cross-legged in front of the tree, she bit her lip, her fingers twitched from where they clutched her knees; itching to rip open the packages and discover what they were hiding within. She knew she should wait for the adults, but the thought of opening her first present was too tempting.
Almost thoughtlessly, her arm stretched out. As her fingertips brushed over red packaging, something from behind made her arm snap back.
"Hey! Hands off!"
She turned wide-eyed at Tony, standing at the doorway with his hands on his hips. "I-It was only going to be one."
"Nu-uh, you've gotta wait till Pep gets up," he tutted, making large strides towards the sofa and sitting down, twisting to face her.
"But-but it's my first present ever."
"Which is precisely why she wouldn't want to miss it."
She glanced at the present before looking back at Tony with the biggest puppy eyes she could muster.
"Nu-uh, those adorable green eyes won't work with me today."
Jayden reluctantly pulled away from the tree, hugging her knees. "I never thought I would have presents."
"You thought we'd just pass today by without thinking of you?"
"No. I mean, we- I used to dream of it, but I would never believe it would actually happen," she answered, eyes glued to the gifts. "Presents, Santa, Christmas... it was a fairy tale. Something I could never have."
"Happy to be the one to prove you wrong."
"It feels too good to be true sometimes. Not just Christmas, all of this." She circled her wrist, gesturing to the surrounding penthouse. "It feels like it's going to be suddenly ripped away and-and I'm going to wake up back in the lab."
"Come here." Tony itched away from the couch and pulled her into him, her cheek against his chest. "I keep telling you. That won't happen. You're protected. You're here."
She sighed and closed her eyes, focusing on his drumming heartbeat instead of the wetness on her cheeks.
"It's Christmas. You can't be crying sad tears. It's against the rules."
YOU ARE READING
Unforeseen¹
FanfictionJYD2641 had enough. In her seven years, she's only ever known the cruel hands of her doctors, who were determined to make her the next Winter Soldier. All she'd ever known was death, pain, and fear. Instead of a parent's loving embrace, she had the...
