little piece of heaven (tony stark's daughter)

4

rosie's p.o.v

i must've fallen asleep at some point because pepper shakes me awake a few hours later.

"feeling better?" she asks, knowing that i won't but also knowing that i'll lie and nod, which i do, earning a sympathetic smile. "i made fajitas for you, they're in the kitchen. i have a business event to go to, happy is watching tv in the living room and i'll be back in a few hours, you'll probably be asleep" she plants a kiss on my forehead "be good for happy, i'll see you on your birthday".

her attempt at excitement is disheartening, i had hoped that she'd forget my birthday and i could just not turn eight until daddy came home but apparently not. even so, she could try a bit more to lighten the mood. i love pepper, she's been around for a few years now and never fails to make me smile with her kind words and beautiful laugh, except for now. not much could make me smile now, except for daddy. the only thing that ever bothers me is her formality around my dad, i just don't understand it. sure, he's her boss, but it's been long enough for them to form some awkward kind of friendship so why can't they just be normal?

i don't eat the fajitas, instead of heading to the kitchen i go down to the dance studio with my ballet shoes. i want to go en pointe one day, daddy has a picture of my mommy en pointe when she was younger. sometimes i think that if i could be more like my mama it would make daddy miss her less, but that's hard because i never knew her.

i end up dancing for ages, and when i'm done i sit down on the floor with my sketchpad and pencil. my hand just seems to move by itself, scribbling across the page as if it has a mind of it's own.

i'm not sure who i'm drawing until it's done. it looks like my mum, but she's wearing a golden leaf crown and a long flowing dress. sprouting out of the top of her head, above the crown, are two small horns. the defining feature though, are the pure white majestic wings that are attached to her back. she looks like an angel, wide blue eyes like mine, flowing blonde waves that tumble down to her waist.

i'm shocked when i look at the time and see that it's almost midnight, there's only about thirty seconds left until my birthday. i was born exactly on midnight, the 22nd of february, my daddy said that this year we'd sit and watch the clock change together. pepper should be back by now and i wonder if i should go and try to find her in the next 25 seconds. i decide against it, realising that if i don't manage to find her it's just embarrassing. besides, i was supposed to be in bed four hours ago.

i watch the seconds decrease, until fifteen when i see something move out of the corner of my eye. someone darts across the room, and they're standing in the corner. my heart leaps into my throat as i watch them watch me "um.. hello? are you looking for my dad because he's not here right now, pepper should be upstairs though" i manage to stay mainly composed as i remind myself that they're probably just lost and looking for someone else. at midnight though? don't question it, daddy probably had something odd scheduled.. no he wouldn't, we had plans.

the person doesn't say anything, but walks towards me as i walk backwards. once in the light i can see exactly the lady i drew, horns, wings and all. just as beautiful as i drew her to be. "mama?" i stop backing away and freeze. confusion washes over me, fear possibly but i'm not as scared as i should be. something about her is calming, homely. she smiles, warmth flooding her perfect features. her eyes sparkle and glint in the light.

"hello baby" her voice is almost lowered to a whisper, but i hear the words as clear as day. i open my mouth to speak again, but out of the corner of my eye i see the clock change, and my senses are suddenly overwhelmed. the mirrors that line the walls suddenly shatter, glass showering me and my mum. i open my mouth to let out a scream but the sound never arrives, everything around me goes dark and my body hits the floor, pinpricks of glass imprinting into my skin, probably drawing blood. the pain lingers for a moment, i hear pepper shout my name and it's most likely her footsteps that i heard running down the stairs, but before i have a chance to even try to move, i lose myself to sleep.

at least, that's what i thought it was.

makes sense, your dad goes missing after glowing red, you see your dead mum, wall length mirrors mysteriously shatter on you, so you go to sleep.

yeah rosalie, sounds plausible.

narrator's p.o.v

rosalie wasn't breathing when pepper potts found her lying in a puddle of blood, scattered with shards of glass. her usually fair skin was paper-white, a harsh contrast to her bright lips. happy called an ambulance whilst pepper restored respiration in the newly eight year old.

the redhead watched helplessly as her boss' daughter, the little girl who she'd grown unbelievably fond of was hooked up to machines and wires. the usual spark of life she held was missing, and she couldn't help but think about what tony would think if he could see us now.

rosie's p.o.v

"oh for god's sake is she going to sleep forever?"

"shut up venus be patient"

"as if you're not getting bored of waiting"

"of course i am but i understand that she's small and fragile and will take her time"

i open my eyes slowly, the two unfamiliar voices around me making me nervous.

"both of you be quiet she's waking up, venus go get mum" another voice joins in the conversation, this one more calm.

once everything comes into focus, i see the owner of the voice.

he's got brown eyes tinted with red, fluffy chestnut hair. his face softens into a smile when we make eye contact, revealing perfect white teeth. "hey sleepyhead, how are you feeling?".

i stare at him for a moment, thoroughly confused, slightly terrified.

"oh um.. sorry, i'm mars.. your brother".

i feel my eyes triple in size, words failing me, my brain running at 500 miles an hour.

"mars in what world did you think that that would comfort her?"

i turn my head to see a girl. she resembles my mum quite a bit, blonde curls and smooth skin, but her eyes are a yellowy-orange. she rolls her eyes at mars and moves to kneel next to the bed i'm lying on.

"i'm saturn" she introduces herself as i sit up "i'm your sister, from your mum's side, mum is on her way with venie now and she can't wait to meet you".

"my mum is dead" i manage to choke out, the words scratchy on my throat.

mars and saturn look at each other for a moment and it's clear that neither of them know what to say. i take a deep breath to calm myself down, i need to take things in my stride. this is weird enough without me having a meltdown. "am i dead?" i ask.

mars chuckles "no, not quite, you're just not on earth".

"how the hell did i get to another planet in my sleep?" i frown at him and he laughs again.

"mum brought you here" saturn smiles, clearly trying not to laugh.

"my mum is dead!" i exclaim, exasperated more than upset. why can they not understand?

"not quite" mum walks into the room, wings and all, royal and beautiful. she almost seems to glow, her radiance unlike any other woman i've ever seen. not that i've seen many other women with horns and wings but you get the gist.

she's beautiful.