Illegitimate Prodigy

Guess who's home?

Weeks turned into months, and Annabelle's grandfather still laid practically lifeless in the hospital. The young Stark spent the majority of her evenings reading a few shorts steps away from the foot of Robert's bed until she slowly fell into a restless sleep.

She noticed that her dreams were being haunted by this masked villain that her father had still yet to find. It almost felt as if the issue fell by the wayside once the Vulture was suddenly MIA. From what she understood, there hadn't been anymore break-ins, and no unusual activity within the storage units that held the remnants of the alien attack on New York. Annabelle was suppose to be on strict watch, and back at the tower at particular time, which she usually failed to do. Her father face timed her on a regular basis, and always started the conversation with " Still at the hospital,huh?" When her father wasn't checking in, it was either Pepper or Happy.

The security with Belle was so tight that her father preferred she avoid going back to school... at least until further notice. Not that it mattered. Days blurred together, and she often had difficulty deciphering what day it was. Even after her mother died, she hadn't felt like she was so... stuck.

As she made her way out of the elevator into the flat of Stark tower, her father's red headed CEO followed close behind. " Are you sure you don't need breakfast, Annabelle?" She spoke softly, her heels clicking beneath her feet.

"I'm not very hungry," she mumbled, flipping off her flip flops under a wooden bench that sat near the front of the apartment. Bare feet meeting the marble floors, she began walking down the long stretch of hallway, and before she met the living area her phone began to ring. Patting her pockets in urgency, her mind jumped to any bad conclusions. 'Was it the hospital?';'Was her grandfather still alive?' She caught her breath when she realized it was just her father.

Thumb quickly swiping the screen, she met the familiar animated face. She tried to make out where he was sitting... where he was calling from, but her eyes were too exhausted to focus.
"Hey," he spoke, his chin tilting down, almost as if it was to focus in on her face. "You look... tired."

Annabelle sighed, her left hand reaching up to ruffle a handful of her hair. " And I see you haven't taken my advice on your serial killer tinted sun glasses," she yawned, her eyes fluttering.

Tony licked his lips, before letting a small smile creep across his features. He couldn't blame her after all. She was HIS daughter, and learned her snarky attitude from the best. "I'll be home today, kiddo," the sentence sounding so unfamiliar from his mouth. It was Tony's attempt to be father-friendly, and make himself sound like a dad. Her father really hadn't been home at all since the Vulture attacked Robert. Annabelle was never certain if he was gone because he was avoiding the situation or investigating it further. "Oh really?" Her voice emitted no surprise, her legs carrying her toward her bedroom. Her hand pushed the door open. "When?"

A movement in her bedroom caused her to scan her eyes upward, only to meet her father's matching hues across the room. His thumb swiped the screen he stared at, his eyes averting from the device up to hers. "Now." He said, a smirk pulling at the right corner of his lips, clearly impressed with himself. At first the gesture caused the young prodigy to stop dead in her tracks. She tried not to change her facial expression too much, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't slightly surprised. She began to move her feet discreetly toward him. "Dad." An audible sigh came out with the word.  

Walking around the bench that sat at the end of the wooden frame that held her mattress, his left arm hung loosely at his side, and his fingertips barely grazed the surface of the comforter on her bed. Instead of wearing a full on suit, he only wore jeans, a t-shirt and a suit jacket. Without trying, she always noticed that Tony looked formal. He was such a pretty boy.  Lifting her arms toward him, he opened his in surprise--expecting a hug.  Before he could even bring her into an embrace(an awkward one at that), her fingertips met his glasses on his face, and pulled them off gently, only to place them on hers.  "I can add this to my Jeffrey Dahmer costume." 

Tony pressed his lips into a thin line, his brown eyes glancing toward the door. Annabelle's dark orbs followed only to see Pepper trying not to break out in laughter. Feeling her father's hand fall to rest on the middle of her back, the young adult gave out a small laugh. "I'm justttt kidding," she said removing the glasses, and tucking them into the breast pocket of her father's jacket, before standing up on her tip toes to kiss him on the cheek. "Welcome home, Tony." 

Cringing somewhat, Tony swung around Annabelle, his back now facing the doorway. Annabelle always assumed he was uncomfortable with affection---at least with his daughter. It never appeared to have settled well with him. That despite knowing he's had a daughter this entire time, the idea didn't become real until she moved into the tower. "Wanna follow me into the shop, I have some news." Belle's eyebrows furrowed, and immediately shook her head. "Can it wait?"

"Why? Do you have plans?" 

"I'm tired," she whined. "What's the rush? Is Pepper pregnant or something?" 

"What?! No. What?..." Tony immediately retorted, and Pepper's eyes widened behind him before leaving the doorway completely. A long pause lingered, Belle's facial expression falling more into exhaustion as she stood waiting for an answer. "Fine,fine." he said defeatedly. " Take a nap. A SHORT ONE---- but be in the shop this afternoon. Deal?" 

Without another word, she backpedaled until quickly turned on a heel to crawl onto her bed. "Deal."