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❪ MALIBU , CALIFORNIA ❫ june 2008
Bella looked up at the Malibu blue skies as she held her father's finger whilst they walked to where Rhodey was showing around new pilots. As always, she had Mr. Snuffles on her right and her dad's finger in her left. The seven year old is dressed in a sweet yellow dress that comes to her knees and some new yellow vans that Pepper got her with red roses up the heel, like Beauty and the Beast, her small feet pitter-patter against the ground as she walks. Her eyes hold a look of innocence that promises a darling smile and a bit of trouble.
"Where should we go after this?" Tony asks calmly, looking down at her.
"Uh, how about Burger King?" She grins hopefully, looking up to him.
Tony winces, "Maybe, maybe." Belly lets out a low hum as she spots her Uncle Rhodey stood with the new pilots.
"The future of air combat. Is it manned or unmanned?" Very insightful, Bella thought, pursing her lips as they walked towards him, "I tell you, in my experience, no unmanned aerial vehicle will ever trump a pilot's instinct, high insight, that ability to look into a situation beyond the obvious and discern its outcome, or a pilot's judgement." Perhaps she could be a pilot, that would be super fun. Rhodey had taken her up in one of the fighter jets once, it was like she could reach up and brush her fingers against the baby blue canvas, touch the soft clouds that she expected to feel like marshmallows. The idea of flying is extraordinary to her, it's everything she wants to do.
"Colonel?" Stark interrupts. "Why not a pilot with the plane?"
Rhodes chuckles, "Look who feels out of the sky. Mr. Tony Stark, and his little troublemaker, Bellybutton." She laughs, running towards her uncle Rhodey as he picks her up, tickling her ribcage, "I hope you like shawarma, Belly-boo-boo, because that is what I shall be bringing to dinner tonight."
"You're coming to dinner!" Belly squeals excitedly, as he holds her up, her fists making a small movement of excitement. Rhodes laughs, "I have to show you all the new figurines Happy got me, he got me so many new ones. And Pepper got me new sneakers, look at these." She points down to her sneakers, they're yellow vans with roses up the side, "Like Beauty and the Beast!"
