My Neighbor, Mr. Rogers

Chapter Fifteen - Chocolate Milk

Tony had offered Steve and I rooms in the tower so we could stay the night, I'm assuming because he knew Steve would be here late chatting with Thor. So when my eyes started getting heavy and I noticed that the group was wanting to talk about things that I wasn't cleared to hear, I excused myself and went to bed.

The guest room was nice, of course, but the bed was where it's at. It's absolutely amazing. I was asleep in just a few minutes. Unfortunately, it didn't last.

I wake with a start, sweaty and with tears streaming downs my face and into my hair.

'Gross.'

My heart is racing. I can't remember what I dreamt, but I can guess. Lately, my only nightmares have been either of Steve being killed by bad guys in a myriad of ways – 'I'm apparently very creatively morbid' – or imagining my mother's final moments. Whichever was tonight's, I know I won't be going back to sleep any time soon.

I lie a moment longer before deciding to go get myself a drink or something. I had brought basketball shorts, Tribble socks, and an oversized Nerd Herd shirt for pajamas; so I don't worry about changing before venturing out into the dark.

The long hallways have dim lights positioned every so often allowing me to see well enough. It's almost three in the morning, and I'm not sure if everyone made it to bed yet. But just in case, I tiptoe past Steve's room and the other guest rooms on the floor before I make it to the elevator. Once the doors slide shut, JARVIS asks, "where to, Miss Éowyn?"

"The kitchen, please." The first time I had heard JARVIS speak out of nowhere, I nearly jumped out of my skin. While I'm mostly used to him now, I still find him a little unsettling. And it doesn't help that Tony programmed him to only call me by my first name. There's nothing I can say to get JARVIS to call me anything else.

In no time at all, the elevator doors open again and I find myself in the kitchen. Knowing I'd never be able to find a light switch if there even is one, I ask, "JARVIS, would you please turn the kitchen lights on to about 40%?"

The lights glow to life and I move to the fridge to see if Tony has any milk. "Yes, good..." I stick my head further in, searching for one more ingredient... "JARVIS, does Tony have any chocolate syrup?"

"Third shelf, behind the mayonnaise, Miss Éowyn."

"Ah. Thank you, JARVIS." It may seem strange, my being polite to an AI, but I've learned from the mistakes of others in almost every science fiction show ever made – be nice to the machines. Besides, JARVIS is so nice, I usually think of him as an actual man somewhere who just does everything for Tony remotely.

Anyway, I have milk and chocolate syrup now, so I set them on the counter and grab a whiskey glass. Tony would probably yell at me, but it's the exact right size, what's a girl to do?

After mixing my drink and putting the milk and syrup away, I sit myself at the bar and start sipping. I glance around the kitchen, looking for some monotonous drudgery to fixate on with the hopes of lulling myself back to sleep. I find nothing. Tony's kitchen is far too fancy and shiny to be dull. Sighing pathetically, I turn back to my drink.

"Lady Anne?" A voice calls from the dark. Not startling at all.

"Yeah?..." I scan the black hallway across from me. Thor steps into the lit kitchen and I relax a bit. "Oh, hello Thor."

'Very casual. Excellent progress.'

"I thought you had retired for the evening?" He asks politely as he crosses his absurdly large arms beside me.