Bruised (Irondad)

8

A few minutes later they reappear, both wearing matching outfits again. Their t-shirts are a light tan colour, a white smiley face in the middle. Gia is wearing black leggings, Geo in matching sweatpants. They also each have a duffel bag on their shoulder which is arguably bigger than them.

Ben takes the bags, carrying them with ease. May holds Peter's and Geo's hands when they walk down the street, Ben uses his spare hand to hold Gianna's. It's only a short walk, about three minutes around the corner, and not much conversation is held. This allows Tony to wonder if the twins will ever trust or love him enough to want to hold his hands.

On a positive note, Gia and Geo have definitely brightened since being around people they trust and love, chatting away to their neighbours and laughing at their jokes. It comforts both Pepper and Tony to know that they aren't scarred completely from the events that occurred with their mother.

Gia seems to almost bounce with excitement as they enter the lobby of the rink, Ben's arm bobbing up and down. He looks down at the child in amusement, though he's no stranger to the girl's love of skating.

They walk straight through the building, without stopping at the reception to pay, which Tony finds odd, but maybe they have memberships or something. No one else seems to be in the building. Once by the rink, they all sit on one of the benches and Ben gives all three of the kids their bags.

What happens next seems well rehearsed.

The three children unpack their bags in unison, taking out a pair of white figure skates, a water bottle and Gia takes out a makeup bag. May takes the makeup bag and pulls out a hairtie and brush whilst Ben starts to set up his phone with speakers behind the desk.

Whilst brushing Gianna's hair into a ponytail, May looks at Pepper "Has she eaten?". It's kind of scary how she predicted the situation, although Tony supposes it just goes to show how well she knows the twins.

"No, she wouldn't touch her dinner or her breakfast" Pepper explains.

Gia's eyes flit to the ground, guilt suddenly overcoming her expression. May presses a hand to the girl's cheek "It's okay honey, we get it".

Ben looks up and digs a hand into his pocket, pulling it out quickly and producing a granola bar. "Here" He chucks it to Gia, who catches it without even trying. She smiles at the man before unwrapping and eating it.

It's good to know that the girl doesn't have an issue with eating in general, it's just a trust thing. That's helpful, trust can be built, eating is trickier.

Ben finishes with the tech just as May ties the elastic into Gianna's hair. The kids have taken their shoes off, leaving them in socks, and are sitting diligently in a line.

"Gianna gets to pick the warm-up music!" Ben shouts from across the room, Gia beaming back at him.

"Can we have panic?".

Ben starts the music and walks over to the kids, "Okay here we go" he claps his hands together, "Peter and Geo I want three laps of the rink, Gia I want five from you".

Tony and Pepper are immediately taken aback, making eye contact with each other.

None of the kids, or May, even acknowledge the difference.

Pepper turns to May. "Is this normal, why does Gianna do more?".

To their surprise, the lady chuckles "Just watch her".

So they do.

Gia runs in line with Peter and her brother to start with, but before long she starts to break off from the group. Her ponytail swings from side to side as she picks up speed, her little feet thumping on the carpeted floor. Every now and then, Ben will shout something like 'Straight jump' or 'Straddle' and all three kids will jump in unison. It's not hard to tell that Gianna is jumping much higher than the other two, and her form is incredible. It's now that Tony and Pepper notice the ultra-defined muscles that cover her body, much more than is typical on a five year old. She laps the boys twice, they don't so much as blink, they're used to it. Gia finishes her five laps only seconds behind the boy's three. Whilst both Geo and Peter are a little red in the face and out of breath, Gianna seems unbelievably unaffected, if not exhilarated.

Stark turns to May with what he imagines is shock imprinted onto his face, "She's five?".

The lady hums in affirmation, "She's incredible".

"Straight into the stretch routine, you guys know the drill!" Ben shouts to the three kids, who automatically begin to stretch themselves out.

All of them are flexible, bending in ways that regular humans shouldn't, but Gianna really starts to take the piss when she bends backwards and practically folds in half. It's as if she's made of rubber, her flimsy limbs twisting into whatever position she wills them into. Whilst the other kids are still trying to get their splits, she slides down easily, even putting her foot up on a little step to push herself further. She's insane.

During the extensive stretching, Ben has produced some mats from a store cupboard and lays them out along the floor. Peter and the twins are clearly used to this, finishing up their warmup and heading straight over.

"Gia are you good to tumble?" The man asks sincerely, placing a steadying hand on the five year old's shoulder.

Tony Stark only knows what tumbling is because of Romanoff. She often incorporates the series of flips and jumps into her combats and the mechanic is always silently impressed.

Surely though, surely she's only going to do something simple.. a forward roll maybe? Because she's five, five years old.

Gia nods, a smile creeping onto her face. Evidently, she's in her element with sport.

Giovanni goes first, performing a simple but clean transition from a forward roll into a cartwheel. Considering his age, it's pretty impressive.

Next up is Peter, being a little older, he manages to pull off two back walkovers, fluidly joined together.

Then it's Gianna. Neither Tony or Pepper are sure what to expect as the two boys and Ben take a few steps away from the surrounding area. May shouts an encouragement of 'You got this Gi'.

The girl walks backwards a little, swinging her arms behind her. The world seems to slow down.

She takes a few running steps forwards, her face twisted in concentration. Her little hands ball into fists before opening again and flexing. She hops from one foot to the other, a little skip occurring between steps before her arms are in the air and her body twists.

Her hands hit the mat, bouncing with a little thud and launching her body back into the air. She pushes her back into a dish shape, bending her knees as her feet meet the ground and she pushes off again. This time she arches her spine, hands hit the floor, then feet, then she's in the air once again. It's higher than before, her back still arched as her legs split and her hands sail down to her sides. One foot touches the mat, then the other, and she puffs her chest out for a moment before beaming as everyone moves on.

And they do, they just move on, as if a five year old didn't just perform an acrobatic move that Natasha Romanoff herself might struggle with. She's five, five.

Tony isn't quite sure what this kid's deal is, but he's determined to get to the bottom of it if it's the last thing he does.