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November 23rd, 2008
14:15 PM
It had been three weeks since Charlotte's seventh birthday, and things in the Stark household had appeared to return to its usual schedule. Pepper was trying to find a healthy balance of work life and home life. Charlotte's new schooling year was in full swing and she had noticed a distinct increase in the level of her school work. And Tony had been spending every second of the day in his laboratory - this came after Obadiah had informed her dad that the company he had inherited, it was his legacy, had frozen him out of any of their business.
With her father no longer working at Stark Industries, her mom had begun working longer days at the office, picking up the flack on her father's behalf. Charlotte had gotten bored with spending all day with Hugh as her only source of company, and then spending the evenings alone until her mother came home.
"Not the car, not the car!" Charlotte heard her father yell as she tiptoed down the stairs, trying to sneak a look at whatever project he had been working on for the past few months.
As she watched him catapult himself over the vehicles and over one of his desks, her dad kept exclaiming, sending masses of paper scattering across the room. She was watching in awe as her dad seemed to fly. She knew it was some sort of technology that he was using, but in her seven-year-old imagination, her father was soaring before her very eyes.
As he neared the solid concrete wall, Tony threw his hands out in front of him to stop the forward motion. This motion sent him back over the way he came. The bright lights that were emitting from the metal contraptions he wore on his hands, flickered a few times. Charlotte had no idea as to what they were, but she was fascinated by the technology.
As he hovered over the table again, Tony gave a kind of hysterical, anxious laugh, shouting out reassurances to himself, "Could be worse! Alright, we're good! We're fine!"
Are you? Charlotte thought to herself as she completely descended the staircase, without being heard.
It seems like Tony was actually getting the hang of the motions, flying back to his original starting position- holding his feet together and his hands out to his side, Tony continued to descend gently and effortlessly to the ground. The lights on his hands suddenly cut out and Charlotte gasped inwardly as Tony allowed himself to fall the remaining few feet to the ground. Sparks flew from his mechanical boots as he stumbled to find his footing.
Stepping up to the plate, her dad gave his boots a kick, in an attempt to recalibrate them. This time, though, a set of robot arms came from in front and behind him. Piece by piece, more components of the newly updated suit of armour was screwed into place, over Tony's body.
Charlotte squealed to herself while still trying to remain hidden.
"Dad is a robot!"
-----
16:12 PM
After witnessing him crash land in his new-fangled suit multiple times, Charlotte decided to announce his presence by bringing her dad an ice pack. Tony was obviously taken aback by his daughter's sudden appearance. While quickly trying to scramble together any sort of viable excuse as to what she had witnessed, he came to the conclusion that it simply could not be done.
The father and daughter were now just sitting across from each other, staring at one another as Tony held the makeshift ice pack to his head. At one of the counters, Charlotte was perched on a stool, watching him avert his eyes from hers to kick a discarded piece of equipment. The girl was startled by the abrupt action.
"Sorry, honey. I'm just frustrated." He apologized, his foot stung a little from his aggressive outburst.
"It's okay. You hit the wall really hard, are you okay?"
Tony let out a tired sigh, exasperated from his experiments. "I didn't realize you were watching me. How much did you see?"
"I didn't see anything," She muttered, giving her dad a coy smile. "I didn't see you use rocket boots to fly around the room. I also didn't see you fly into the wall. Or the desk. Or the window..." Tony laughed and shook his head, earning a giggle from the child. The sweet moment was short-lived as Charlotte folded her arms over the desk and rested her head there. She gave her dad a worried look. "I guess it was a little scary."
Immediately, Tony felt guilty. Firstly, he had been spending as much time with Charlotte as he should have been, leaving her alone for most of the day. And now he had scared her with his reckless and impulsive nature. He could have easily been seriously hurt, and Charlotte would have witnessed everything.
"I'm so sorry, honey, I didn't want to scare you. Come here." As she jumped off the stool and stepped towards him, he beckoned softly when his eyes tracked her little frame. He wrapped an arm around her torso as the space between them closed, and embraced her tightly, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about my project. And I'm sorry I scared you." Tony placed a kiss on top of her head, snuggled the girl deeper against his chest, the metal of the arc reactor was cool against her flushed skin.
"You always say that you shouldn't keep secrets." Charlotte pouted.
"I know I do, honey."
"I don't like being alone all of the time. I want to come and see you down here, but J.A.R.V.I.S won't let me in." She mumbled into his chest, ignoring the gentle hum of the arc reactor.
Tony paused for a moment, his jaw tensed as he thought seriously about what she had just said. His brows pinched as he spoke. "J.A.R.V.I.S?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Add Charlie to the verified security protocol for the lab. But only when I am present."
"Certainly, sir. Miss Stark's fingerprints have been added to the code pad."
Tony glanced down and, when she leaned back, saw his daughter give him the best and most sincere smile, raising her face from his chest.
"Thank you, dad." She whispered happily, her smile was beaming brightly.
He smiled down at her and kissed her head again. "Don't tell your mother."
