Chapter 14

"Well that certainly went well," Pepper said, helping Alyssa climb into the car. She cast one last look at the New York State Office of Children and Family Services before getting into the car behind her. Settling in her seat, Pepper let out a breath of relief, the tension easing from her shoulders.

Alyssa's adoption couldn't have gone better, not that it would have gone any other way considering Tony's efforts to smooth out any wrinkles in their case.

Forming a fake identity for Alyssa hadn't been difficult, they had killed off her 'relatives' in the invasion and told the story of how Hulk had rescued her from some Chituari and brought her to the tower where she'd been living for the past month.

They had been a bit suspicious about why Tony had applied for adoption first and soon after his CEO was applying for it but Pepper had convinced them that it was only because she'd won their hearts and they wanted to help her in any way they could.

The rest of the process was laughingly easy, they had even exempted them from the six week living period rule because Alyssa had been happily and healthily living with them for the past month, Plus Pepper suspected that they already had their hands full and didn't want another case on their hands. So, now there was only one thing left to do.

"How would you like some ice cream, Alyssa." Pepper asked, turning towards her "To celebrate," She clarified at the confused look on the kid's face.

Alyssa hesitated a bit then with a smile said, " Yes, I'd like that. Please." She proceeded to look down at the book she was reading.

Pepper's face fell a little but she quickly regained her composure before the little girl could see it. She commended Alyssa's manners, she really did, it was adorable and a good thing to nurture for the future but, she really didn't like that this was the only side she got to experience.

She had seen Alyssa snark with Tony, seen her act silly to make Bruce laugh, she'd seen the girl and Dum-E form a team that sometimes drove Tony absolutely crazy (even if she knew he secretly loved it), but with her, with her Alyssa was this image of perfect manners and politeness that made her realize that her initial reluctance to the kid's presence might not be as forgiven as she had believed.

It's not like she could tell the kid that she'd changed her mind by spying on them through JARVIS, that she'd seen how happy and well-cared for she was and that she couldn't ask Tony to send Alyssa to foster care after she'd accepted that she'd managed to find a place in both his and Doctor Banner's heart.

A small hand on hers made Pepper look up, Alyssa was looking at her with big worry-filled eyes, "Are you okay, Pepper? Did I make you late? We don't have to get Ice cream if you're late."

That was another thing. Living with Alyssa was easier than she'd thought, she had expected at least some trouble but the kid was good at compromising, too good; it said a lot about her previous living arrangement.

"What, No." Pepper shook her head, putting the tablet on the free seat between them," I had the whole day cleared up. Plus I'm really looking forward to that ice cream, aren't you?"

Alyssa nodded then she seemed to be lost in thought, Pepper waited patiently for her seeing that the kid wanted to say something, finally, Alyssa looked at Pepper through her eyelashes and shyly asked," Can we get some for Mista Bruce and Mista Tony?"

Pepper pretended to think for a second then she nodded her head, smiling gently at the child, "Of Course. I'm sure they'd love it."

With a bright toothy smile, Alyssa turned back to her book, visibly happier than before.

Pepper was stunned for a second, she'd never seen that particular open happy smile directed at her before. She absently told the driver where to go and picked up her tablet, determined to get at least some work done on the way. Pepper cast one last please look at the kid, at her adoptive daughter now, before getting back to work.

It was the first time Alyssa had asked her for something since the first dinner night, and while it still didn't mean that she was fully comfortable with her caretaker, it was a step in the right direction.

Alyssa helped Pepper carry the ice cream inside, holding the bag that had Bruce's favorite ice cream flavor (provided helpfully by Jarvis) with both her hands, she had a skip to her steps as they walked inside the tower. The receptionist waved at her and because her hands weren't free Alyssa gave the lady an extra bright smile in greeting.

Pepper smiled down at the little girl whose happiness was contagious enough to make the grumpiest of people smile, heck Pepper was sure she'd seen Happy fist-bump her when she had her back turned, Happy.

The moment they stepped into the private elevator, Jarvis chimed in.

'Welcome back Miss Potts, Little Miss. Sir has been made aware of your arrival.'

"Hi, Jarvis! We brought ice-cream," Alyssa spoke excitedly then her smile drooped a little, " Oh, I am sorry, you can't have it, can you? "

'Don't worry Little Miss, I do not require sustenance, at least not in the way of material food.'

A confused look took over Alyssa's face and she seemed to ponder Jarvis's words. Pepper was about to explain when Alyssa nodded her head.

"Your sus-sustenen…. .ance-" She pronounced carefully," is electricity."

'That's a part of it, yes.'

Alyssa made a face," Does it taste nice?"

Before Jarvis could reply, the doors to the elevator opened. Pepper tried not to show her disappointment, she was really enjoying that conversation;Leave it to Alyssa to get upset over an AI not being able to eat ice cream.

As the doors opened Alyssa's whole attention zeroed in on the dark-haired genius standing near what he had declared to be his work table.

"Hi Mista' Tony," She called out, making the man look up from the tablet he was holding with a smile," We got….ice cream." She just seemed to realize there was another person present there with Tony, Steve Rogers. And just like that, all of her excitement seemed to disappear.

"Looks who's here, the ladies of the hour," Tony called out, opening his arms. He beckoned them to come closer, "The desert tells me they just couldn't resist giving in to my-excuse me-our genius plan, could they?" He smirked.

"Yeah yeah, because your plans never backfire" She raised an eyebrow, a smile tugging at her lips at Tony's careless shrug. "And Hello Captain Rogers, how are you doing?" Pepper placed the tab with Alyssa's files on top of the table, Tony swiped it from under her hand and projected the papers to Jarvis, possibly for a read through.

"I am perfectly alright, Ma'am, and just 'Steve' is fine." Captain Rogers didn't look fine, he looked stressed but it would've been rude to point out so Pepper didn't instead she took the ice cream tub from Alyssa-who had finally come closer and was standing next to Tony, one hand clutching his shirt, her eyes locked on Captain Rogers- and placed it on the table.

"It's time for celebration," Tony declared in an overly dramatic manner," Jarvis let Brucey-pie know that he's needed here stat. We have ice cream here and making it melt would be a sin against humanity."

"Or we could just put it in the fridge, Tony," Pepper added.

"A sin." Tony reiterated, looking so serious that Alyssa couldn't stop a giggle. Tony looked pleased with the reaction, He ruffled Alyssa's hair making her move even closer.

Pepper's eyes lingered on Alyssa for a while, she had been almost skipping a few moments ago. What could have changed in that time?

"I should get going, I wouldn't want to intrude" Captain Rogers scratched the back of his neck.

"Oh, I am sure it's fine, right Tony?" Pepper looked at the genius in question, who just shrugged," You can stay if you want."

"Well, I don't really have anything else to do, so if you'll have me?"Steve said politely, he then asked," May I ask what the celebration is for?"

Tony cleared his throat, "To welcome our newest roommate-"

"Adopted kid, Tony" Pepper corrected.

"-Officially, of course. Though it's fine if you wanna leave, Capsicle. I am sure you have a lot of important soldier/spy/agent-what is it you do nowadays?- things to do."

Captain looked back and forth between Alyssa and them, "I am sorry but you're adopting the kid hulk kidnapped?" He sounded a bit incredulous and….wary?

"Technically it's Pepper who is adopting her but yeah." Tony raised an eyebrow, straightening up as he waved away the projections in front of him. " You got any problem with that, Old man?

Alyssa hid behind Tony, peeking from behind his leg to look at the other adults.

"What about her parents?"

"Gone. Died a long time ago." Tony answered flippantly.

"And her guardians?"

"The invasion."

Captain looked a bit frustrated," And you really thought this was the next best idea?"

Pepper frowned, her lips pursing. The elevator opening cut off whatever reply Tony was going to give.

"Did we do it?" Bruce asked, stepping out of the elevator, he looked both nervous and hopeful.

"We did it," Pepper told him with a relieved smile, her shoulders losing some of the tension, things had been getting too heated up. The last thing they needed was for Tony and her to tear into the newly thawed Captain, even if the thought held its appeal.

"Mista Bruce!", Alyssa ran towards him and hugged his legs, she looked up at him and while Pepper couldn't see the look on her face, she could imagine the happiness that must be shining through," I get to live with you and Mista Tony now, for real."

" Yeah you do." Bruce said, bending down to pick her up, Alyssa laid her head on his shoulder once she was hoisted up, "Oh you guys got ice cream. Wanna help me with the toppings, Alyssa?" The kid nodded into his shoulder, Bruce met Tony and Pepper's eyes meaningfully and carried the girl to the kitchen.

When Bruce and Alyssa came back from the kitchen, the three adults were sitting on the sofas. The signs of Tony and Steve's argument were evident on their faces, eyes turned away from one another, faces a bit red, and expressions hard. Pepper just looked exasperated, she was rubbing her forehead with one hand as she looked at Tony.

As soon as they noticed Alyssa, they tried to wipe away any animosity. Steve's expression smoothed out and Tony turned his whole attention towards Alyssa.

Pepper helped them scoop out ice cream and they chose their toppings. Bruce pretended not to notice as Tony 'sneakily' added more toppings to his ice cream when he was busy making small talk with Steve; after all, it was making Alyssa giggle and that's all that mattered.

The mood lightened up to a point that if it weren't for the slight tension between Steve and Tony whenever Steve looked at Alyssa then Bruce wouldn't even remember they were arguing before. He made a point to ask Tony about it later.

As their conversation moved more towards the business side of things, Bruce noticed Alyssa hiding a yawn behind her hand; She was clearly bored, so when she looked towards the windows then back at him, eyes asking for permission, he didn't hesitate to nod his head.

Alyssa climbed down from the sofa and went to sit at her favorite spot near the (now repaired) windows. She sat cross-legged and stared out the window, Bruce remembered her telling him how she loved watching the birds and the buildings.

She was used to playing outside so being cooped up was doing her no good, Bruce made a separate note to talk to Tony about taking her to parks and stuff. Kids her age needed friends, correction, friends that weren't created with coding and wire.

"-and then there's the tech Damage Control collected, we have our hands full. It's awesome." Tony finished with a grin.

Bruce turned to see Steve's reaction but was surprised to see the captain was no longer in his seat. He looked around and saw the soldier standing next to Alyssa, bending his head a bit to talk to the kid. Bruce's shoulders stiffened a bit but he forced the feeling down; Captain wasn't going to hurt Alyssa, Plus perhaps talking to him could resolve her apparent dislike for him.

Deciding not to point out the development to Tony (who was deep in discussion with Pepper), he just sat back, keeping his ears on the ongoing conversation and his eyes on

the duo near the windows.

Before his eyes, Alyssa abruptly stood up, She turned sideways so Bruce could see she was glaring at the captain. She stared into his eyes. He stared back.

Oh no, he knew that look.

Bruce stood up gaining Tony's attention before he could do something Alyssa stomped on Steve's foot. Steve let out a little oomf sound and stumbled back, looking more surprised than hurt.

"You're nothing but a meanie and I don't like you!" Alyssa glared at him again before running past them towards her room.

"Bruce," Pepper put a hand on his forearm, worry shone in her eyes.

"I'll...I'll take care of it," Bruce took a single calming breath before following Alyssa, he could hear Tony shouting behind him.

"What just happened? What did you do, Rogers? I swear-"

"I didn't do anything," Steve replied," I was just asking her if she...if she was okay living here. I didn't mean to upset her."

"That better be what happened," Tony said, a warning clear in his voice, then Bruce heard him coming behind him. He soon caught up to Bruce and they reached her room together. They shared a look, this is not how they wanted her to see her new room but what could they do.

They opened the door expecting to see her brooding on her bed and…..nothing-Alyssa wasn't there.

Tony put what was meant to be a calming hand on Bruce's shoulder and turned to the one person that surely knew what had just happened, "Jarv where's our mini rage bomb?"

"Sir, Little miss is down in the lab with Dum-E.'

Wait. What?

"How?" Bruce asked, a bit astonished, he looked around the room as if Alyssa was going to come out of hiding," We saw her run towards her room. She has to be here,"

"Well, she isn't," Tony spoke absently as they walked out of the room, closing the door behind them. They had seen her turn, he was sure of it, so how did she-?, "Jarvis, did you see how she got down there? Did she pass us by without us noticing?" which was unlikely.

There was a small pause, making Tony raise an eyebrow. Jarvis was..hesitating?

"I don't know sir," the AI admitted," there was a blind spot in my camera and then she was in the lab."

"Jarvis...you have no blind spots."

"Yes, I am aware sir."

"It must have been one of her abilities," Bruce said thoughtfully as they entered the elevator, making Tony nod, he'd been thinking the same thing.

Tony noticed that the Captain and Pepper were no longer in the penthouse; If Pepper wasn't already the CEO of the company he would have given her a raise for taking care of all the messes he left behind, she was a goddess, a goddess that deserved the latest pair of shoes she had her eyes on. He nodded to himself then turned to Bruce who still looked a bit stiff, "You okay, buddy?'

"Yeah," Bruce adjusted his glasses," just a bit shocked, I guess. She's never acted out like this before." He shook his head.

"I know. Still can't believe she actually stomped on Rogers," Tony chuckled," They grow up so fast," He wiped an imaginary tear from his eye, seeing the humor in the situation now. Didn't he call her a Tiny avenger before? It proved to be quite fitting; Their Thumbelina had a fiery temper.

"You realize we're gonna have to talk to her about her behavior towards Steve," Bruce turned a scrutinizing gaze towards him.

"What about it?" Tony met his eyes, his own gaze unwavering "He must have said something to her and she reacted, so what?" He shrugged.

"Tony," Bruce said in a reprimanding voice.

" What? She has the right to dislike people," Tony threw back, raising an eyebrow as he did, "The next thing I know you'll be tutting at me for not worshiping the ground Captain America walks on. " He made a face at the thought.

"Tony I am not...you have a reason to dislike steve. She-" Bruce pointed vaguely towards the door of the elevator,"-doesn't. And baseless dislike or hate is irrational and destructive."

" Yeah, yeah" Tony rolled his eyes," Fine. But, I won't be participating in all of this." He waved a hand," I don't need my hand in turning her into a capsicle fan."

The door opened, Tony let out a small breath of relief seeing the kid sitting on the couch with Dum-E standing in front of her, beeping in what was meant to be a comforting tone. Seeing them Alyssa ducked her face as she hid behind Dum-E.

Dum-E, the traitor he was, moved away the moment the two scientists came closer, going to his box of stuff in a corner. Bruce and Tony walked on over to sit at her either side as Alyssa pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and hiding her face.

"Sooo that was really something, huh?" Tony pulled gently at her ponytail. "Didn't know our kitten had claws."

"You doing okay, Alyssa?" Bruce asked the kid softly.

Hearing their gentle tone Alyssa raised her head a bit to peek at them, she gave a small nod.

"Alyssa," Bruce began, maintaining his gentle tone, " That wasn't very nice, what you did upstairs. I know you don't like Steve but why?"

"I dunno," The kid mumbled, her voice barely audible as she stared down at her lab.

"There must be some reason?" Bruce pushed," It's not like you to act this way. Did he say something"

Tony noticed Alyssa getting upset again," It's fine. You don't have to explain if you don't want to," He butted in ignoring the betrayed glance Bruce threw his way, "Just avoid getting into fights with guys four times your size will ya? No matter how amusing it is."

"Tony," a warning was clear in Bruce's voice," She has to know that this is not okay. It's not really fair to Steve for her to act so rudely for no reason." He turned to Alyssa again, "So, I ask again, did he say or do something to hurt you, because we can talk to him if he did,"

Alyssa finally raised her head, "He...he said I shouldn't stay here." Her voice trembled a bit, "That it isn't safe, that...that he'd ask the angry man to find me a new home." She looked angry as tears glistened in her eyes, "But I told him, I told him I wanted to stay here! That we were a family and he...he said we weren't, that I didn't know better and that you were putting me in danger, that you were being irr-irresponsible."

"That son of a-"

Bruce slapped his hand on Tony's mouth, stopping him, " He shouldn't have said that to you and we will talk to him about it, promise. But Aly, He's looking from the outside, He hasn't been here long, and what he sees is two superheroes adopting a kid out of nowhere-agh Tony!"

He pulled his hand away from Tony's mouth and wiped it on his trouser," Did you seriously just lick me?"

Tony stuck out his tongue then wrapped an arm around Alyssa's shoulders, "Want me to blast him with a repulsor?" He whispered in a conspiring tone, pushing down the simmering anger in his stomach.

"Tony, No!" Bruce exclaimed.

"Tony, Yes."

Alyssa let out a small giggle, cuddling into Tony's side. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Bruce looked to the sky as if asking for help.

"Right. Where were we?" Bruce thought for a while, " Steve. Okay. What he did was wrong. He acted rashly, but that doesn't make what you did okay."

Tony absently wondered if Bruce realized how parent-like he was acting. He was full-on dad mode.

"He doesn't think we are a family," Alyssa said in a weak voice.

Bruce leaned forward and softly caressed her cheek," So what? Him not believing it won't make it any less true."

Alyssa sniffed then nodded," Yeah."

They stayed silent for a while.

"Alyssa, I understand what happened now but you disliked him before this, didn't you? Don't think I didn't see you glaring at him, young lady."

"I just don't like him," Alyssa pouted, She refused to elaborate on her answer, looking away stubbornly.

Tony and Bruce shared a look, Tony shrugged his shoulders conveying that he had no idea what to do here. Bruce looked like he wanted to say something before he closed his mouth and a thoughtful look took over his face.

"Alyssa, just because Steve is our teammate doesn't mean you have to hide what's bothering you about him. You know you can tell us how you feel, right? We won't punish you for it."

Alyssa was such an outspoken kid that Tony hadn't even considered that she might be afraid to share what she thought, but if what they thought about her relatives was true, it wouldn't be a surprise if they forced the kid to agree to their own views about people.

Not for the first time, Tony wished her relatives were alive so that he could make their lives a bit more….difficult.

After that, it only took the kid a few moments to break.

"He closed the hole in the sky when Mista Robot was still in there." She blurted out then elaborated when she saw the shock on their faces, "I saw it on the news. He told them to close it, he almost left Mista Tony with the bad guys!"

Oh.

A warmth bloomed in his heart seeing the protective look on the little kid's face," I am touched, Thumbelina, truly, but you don't have to be so angry on my behalf, It'll probably make the patriot cry."

"He was rude to Mista Bruce and Mista Giant too." Alyssa grumpily pointed out.

"His concern was pretty valid," Bruce pointed out gently," Hulk can be a bit unpredictable."He explained, running a hand on her head.

Alyssa shook her head, still pouting a bit, "I still don't like him." She crossed her arms in front of her.

Tony could understand that sentiment. He took a small breath and braced himself for what he was about to say, "I hate saying it," and really he did," but Rogers isn't really evil, Kiddo. Maybe a bit stuck up, judgemental, self-righteous-"

"Okay we get it, Tony," Bruce interrupted, a bit exasperated but it was clear he was curious to see where Tony was going with this.

"-But not completely evil." Tony completed, ignoring the interruption, "Plus he's a senior citizen so maybe just he needs his not so good behavior pointed out."

Tony could feel Bruce's astounded gaze on him; He knew it was kinda weird, him defending Rogers in a roundabout manner, but he didn't need his bitterness to seep into the little girl's heart. She deserved to not carry such weight.

As for the adoption thing, it's not like Rogers could do anything. He'd just have to live with the thought that they were now a family and if he did try anything, well, the name 'Tony Stark' evoked fear for a reason.

"I guess…" Alyssa looked down, her face nose scrunched up as she concentrated," I guess..I'll say sorry to him if he didn't know he was being mean," She looked at them for approval.

"Well that's a start," Bruce smiled," Though we'd appreciate it if you talked to us next time if you're worried about something, we'd like to help."

"Yeah?" Alyssa turned big hopeful eyes towards them.

Tony ruffled her hair, messing up her ponytail, "Of Course, kid, you're the one that keeps saying we're a family and that's how families work don't they?"

It was the first time he had admitted out loud what they were-Alyssa's smile turned blinding, Bruce ran a nervous hand through his hair but his face conveyed his happiness- and it felt good, really good.

Tony cleared his throat," Sooooo now that that's over, are we seriously going to ignore that our twitchy witchy girl can apparently teleport?"

Guys we hit 3.5k followers and 2.5 K favorites on Fanfiction and 1k Kudos on AO3! Woohoo!

This was such an amazing surprise to come back to, Thank you so much, everyone, for all your love and support. BTB couldn't have gotten to this point without you cause I know for a fact that there were times that I only wrote a chapter because your comments encouraged me. I am so thankful for each and every one of your reviews, favorites, and bookmarks.

Now that's I've gushed about all of your love, let's go back to the chapter, shall we? So we finally know what problem Alyssa had with Steve (Some of you were exactly on point with your guesses!) and we see the effect of his behavior on Alyssa along with some fluffy moments. Soooo onto my favorite part, asking you what you thought about the chapter:

1) What did you think about Steve's reaction to the adoption and Do you agree with Alyssa's behavior as its result?

2) What was your favorite scene from the chapter?

3) I'd also love to know if you're reading BTB exclusively or if other stories of mine have seen your love too. If so, let me know the stories you are following (have read).

Once again, Thank you so much for reading. I love to hear your thoughts even it is a one-line comment.

-Ms