Raising a Baby (Tony Stark Style)

We Need to Talk

1 month later
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    Alex was changing out of her pajamas and into her designated lab clothes (things she had already ruined with her dad in the lab). She was especially excited because she wanted to help him with this old car he'd been remaking down there.

     But she also had some questions she wanted to ask him. It was becoming apparent to her that the two of them were very, very different.

     She ran down the steps and into the kitchen for breakfast, where she found a bowl of cereal with a sticky note next to it.

     I'm waiting downstairs, it said.

     Tony wasn't sure what he was going to do. Recently, Alex had taken an interest in his least favorite topic: family history.

     Alex had begun to ask questions about her family tree; who was on it, where they came from, what they did.

     Which would normally be okay, but Alex isn't real family with anyone who's on that tree.

     "Morning," Tony said as Alex came running down the steps into the lab. He was sitting on the couch watching TV while he waited for her to finish breakfast. He smiled when she rushed over to him with a hair tie.

     "Can you help? I always do it too loose." She pouted and clasped her hands together like she was begging.

     Tony took the hair tie and motioned for her to turn around. "Do I look like a stylist to you?" He pulled her ginger hair into a tight ponytail. Then he twirled the end around with his finger, he should probably take her for a haircut soon. "Done. Come on, I'm not getting any younger."

     "Thanks. Before we start with the car, can I ask you a question?" She was pulling at her hair. It was a nervous habit she had picked up.

     "Yeah, what's on your mind?" In all honesty, he wasn't paying attention very much. He had already started messing with some of the parts on the coffee table in front of him. Which is exactly why her next sentence hit him like a bus.

     "Am I adopted?"

     Tony jumped and dropped his screwdriver. "What?"

     "I'm adopted, right?" Alex said again. She sounded more sure the second time, but with her young voice it still hurt to hear.

     Her father was at a loss. "Well... um, you see... its more like... um..."

     Alex looked down at her feet. "So it's true then? Because as far as I know, I don't even have a mom. And I don't look like you. And I'm a mutant." She shoved her hands in her pocket.

     Tony sighed and sat back down on the couch. "I was hoping to wait until you were a little older than six. But you're a smart girl, should've known you'd figure it out. But yes, you are adopted."

     "Well then can I ask some more questions?"

     "Don't see why not." He motioned for her to sit, but she shook her head.

     Alex crossed her arms as she searched for something to say. Involuntarily, her wings unfolded behind her. They were up tight and full of tension.

      Tony should have realized she cut some openings into the back of her shirt.

     Alex looked back up at him. "Where did I come from?"

     He crossed his arms before he spoke as well, a trait they both seemed to share. "I found you. I was at a meeting in New Mexico, near the border with Texas. The car wasn't working so I decided to walk, and that was the best damn decision I've ever made. It was pretty cold that January too. But when I was walking past this alleyway, I heard a newborn baby crying."

     "That was me?" Alex asked, looking confused now.

     Tony nodded solemnly. "Yeah, Alex, that was you."

     "So, someone just... threw me away?" There were tears welling in her green eyes, and her upper lip was shaking.

     Tony sighed, this was what he was afraid of. "Alex, we don't know the whole story. We can't just assume things. Just like in science, we have to consider every variable."

     Six years old was too damn young. One week old was too damn young to be abandoned. If they were ever to find her real father, there would be hell to pay.

     Alex did her best to keep from crying. "Why did you keep me? I wasn't yours." Her wings were slowly circling themselves around her, almost like a shield.

     "That doesn't matter. Alex, you were barely a week old when I saw you. You were hungry and sick and I wasn't about to just give you away. I took you home with me and called in a doctor. She made it clear to me that you were gonna need a lot of care, and I didn't, and still don't, trust anyone else to do that," he told her.

     The wings folded away now. This time Alex's tears fell. "A week old? One week? What did I do?"

     Oh hell no.

     "Alex, there was nothing, nothing you could have done. Don't you ever think you did anything wrong. You are an amazing little girl. And you sure as hell are the most important thing in my life."

     Before Tony knew what was happening, Alex jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly. He kissed the top of her head and rubbed soothing circles on her back.

     "Thank you!" she sobbed into his chest.

     "Listen up, I'm only gonna say this once okay?" He continued when she nodded. "It doesn't matter what anyone else says, thinks, or does. Doesn't matter where you came from. Doesn't matter in the slightest whether you're mutant or human. You're my kid, through and through. Capeesh?"

     Alex sniffled and smiled up at him with puffy eyes and stained cheeks. "Capeesh. Thanks, Dad."

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Okay so... I know this one is a little shorter than usual, sorry about that. When it comes to the MCU, the words and actions won't be 100% the same. Not only because of Alex, but also to avoid any copyright issues. But in all honesty, I felt like this was the perfect way to transition into the MCU- I don't have to like it though. For me personally, it hurt to make Alex sad in any way. I don't know. Tell me what you think about it.