Bruised (Irondad)

17

And so things became smoother.

Gianna became much more comfortable around the Avengers. Perhaps it was because they'd seen her in her zone.. maybe she just accepted that she was sticking around. Whatever the reason, everything became much brighter. Sinister undertones seemed to lighten, shadows of doubt melted away.

So much so, in fact, that when Gia woke up before her brother one morning, she left the room without him. It was early, the kind of early that you only see when you wake up before a natural time, anxious and lacking in direction, when you don't really want to get out of bed but you need to do something or you'll sink into your head and drive yourself completely and totally insane.

She slipped out of bed, pulling an oversized hoodie over her tank top and shorts, and made her way to the kitchen. She hadn't consciously expected to see Steve Rogers standing on his tip-toes to reach the top cupboard, but to be fair, enough weird and wonderful things have occurred in her life to prevent things from shocking her too much.

It was certainly a sight, the great Captain America struggling to reach a box of Strawberry Poptarts, his fingers just brushing the corners. The redhead just stood and watched for a few moments, smiling to herself before her instincts took over. She did what she was trained to do, subconsciously, but it still happened. The girl blinked for a moment and the box shifted forwards, not by much, just about a centimetre, but it was enough for Steve to reach it and pull it down from the cupboard. He didn't seem to notice that it moved, simply satisfied with the box that was now in his hands.

A flick of a red curl caught his eye, prompting him to turn towards the movement. Once he made contact with her eyes, however, he wasn't quite sure what to say. He turned back to the toaster, dropping two Poptarts in. "Do you want one?".

He turned again to face her, expecting a nod or shake of the head, certainly not expecting her mouth to open.

"Yes please, Mr America Sir".

Steve couldn't help the shocked smile that fell across his face. He'd researched selective muteness when Stark had first informed the team and discovered that some people never get over it, especially if it's a consequence of child abuse.

Gianna simply carried on as if nothing happened, hopping up onto a stool at the breakfast bar and watching as Steve shook himself off and forced himself to drop another two Poptarts into the toaster instead of continuing to stare at the five year old.

"Call me Steve, Mr America makes me feel old... older than I am".

He watches out of the corner of his eye as Gia seems to consider this for a moment, wondering whether she'll speak again or if it was just a slip-up.

"I get that", she cocks her head to the side, brows furrowed, "Sometimes people call me Miss Bell, but I don't really like it".

Not willing to let the spontaneous conversation die out, he presses forwards, "Why's that?".

She huffs out a dry laugh, something that Steve has witnessed Tony do during many conversations on topics which make him uncomfortable, "It's what everyone called my mom, where ever we went. She was a magnet for rich old men who overused last names".

The bluntness and pure honesty of the statement takes him aback a little, but the smile she sends in his direction reassures him that this is nothing but pure Stark intelligence and satirical humour.

"What do you prefer?".

"Gia or Gianna are fine.. some people call me Annie which is also fine. To be honest I'm okay with being called anything so long as it doesn't make me think about my mom".

Steve nods silently, taking a moment to ponder his next move. He really doesn't want to slip up and ruin whatever might be beginning, children are tricky to level with. "You're up early". He cringes as soon as the words escape his mouth, that's probably not the best conversation topic for a child with trust issues.

"So are you".

Aaand she's definitely a Stark.

He chuckles, "You got me there".

She grins but rests her chin in her hands, elbows resting on the counter, as if preparing herself to reveal something. "Sometimes", she starts, "sleep just isn't as easy as it should be".

"I understand", the Poptarts spring out of the toaster and Steve grabs them, placing them onto two plates, "it doesn't come easily to everyone".

Gia hums, nodding her thanks when Steve slides her a plate. and leans against the bar opposite her.

"Steve?".

He looks up to meet her eyes.

"I'm going to ask something super personal and you don't have to answer and you can definitely just tell me to go away or whatever but I just want to know".

He frowns, "Go on".

"Do you ever get nightmares?".

It's certainly not the question he was expecting. Maybe he thought it would be about being in the ice, or what it's like to be a superhero, this is unexplored territory, he's never spoken to anyone about this before. Perhaps a five year old is the place to start.

"Yeah, I do".

Gianna takes this information in with a bite of her Poptart, not breaking her eye contact with the Avenger.

"Do you?", he prompts.

Her eyes flit to the counter, tracing the simple blue pattern on the rim of her plate.

"Sometimes".

Steve raises an eyebrow, "Are they about your mom?".

"Sometimes".

She goes quiet again, meek and mild like before and for a moment Steve worries that he's pressed too far.

"I think that you should talk to Tony", he tries to meet her eyes by cocking his head to the side, "He wants you to talk to him about these things, and it might help them go away".

Gia looks up, picks her plate off of the counter and flashes a smile at the avenger, "Thanks for the Poptarts".

And then she's gone, back into her room as if none of it ever happened.