Hi everyone! This is my first Avengers fanfiction, so please go easy on me! I will introduce the others later, and this story shall be written in Charlotte(Charlie)'s POV and Tony Stark's. I hope you enjoy, and please give me feedback!

Charlie

"Fifteen cents your change, Miss," The Cabbie hands me a nickel and a dime which I shove into the deep recesses of my pocket. I open the car door, only to be hit by the warm Malibu spray. I wrinkle my nose at the feeling.

As I pull my thread-bare knapsack out of the car which contains the few valuables the orphanage let me keep, I hear the Cabbie whistle. "Quite the place you got here Miss. Who're ya stayin' with?"

I grunt as I heave my backpack onto my shoulder, before glaring at the rather large house in front of me. It's big, and fancy, and everything I try to avoid. In other words, it's normal.

"My Aunt," I tell him. "Unfortunately."

He doesn't seem to catch the last part though, as I shut my door. I hear him whistle once more, before the cab skampers off down the long driveway again. I squint against the sun's glare as I turn back to the mansion.

I stare at the piece of paper my agent gave me, re-reading the directions. It says 10-8-80 Malibu Point 90265 just as it did five minutes ago. It's signed with her scrolly script, the N too big for my liking. Scowling, I shove it back into my pocket, before trudging towards the door.

I haven't even raised my fist to knock, when the door flies open, and I'm engulfed in a hug. When she pulls away, I see that her normally perfectly styled red hair is disheveled, and her eyes are puffy from crying. She looks how I did a few hours before.

"Oh my gosh Charlotte, I'm so sorry," She tells me ushering me inside the fancy home. I follow reluctantly and shrug.

"It was an accident," I mumble, although the words get caught in my throat. The backs of my eyes prick with fresh tears, but I push them down. Everyone esle thinks it's an accident. Why can't I?

"I know sweetie, but I'm still sorry. I just can't believe that Elaine is-"

I hug my Aunt to cut her off. Even though I've come to terms with the fact that my mother and father are dead, doesn't mean I want to hear someone say it outloud. It was bad enough at the orphanage I stayed at for a few nights. I definitely don't want to relive that.

She hugs me back, before pulling away and forcing a smile onto her face. I can always tell when she's not really smiling, because when she genuinly smiles, she gets this glimmer in her green eyes. I know because I do too, and we both have the same green eyes. They were my grandmother's. And my mother's.

"Well," She says, looking me over. "Enough of that. Look at you. How long has it been, seven years?" She asks me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as we walk farther into the mansion.

"Eight," I tell her quietly. After my Aunt got a job working for her current boyfriend, I hardly got to see her, and that was when I was nine. My mom always said that He would have a bad influence on my Aunt, and as a result, she would never take me to visit her. But sometimes my father would arrange 'accidental' meetings, and to me they were the best present he's ever given me.

"Well, we'll have to catch up then, won't we," She tells me as we walk into the spacious living room. The one wall is madee completely out of glass, and I can't help the fact that my jaw drops when I see the view. It's hard to believe that my Aunt lives here. That I'm going to be living here.

"Where's..." I trail off, not quite knowing what to call her boyfriend. Especially when he's the richest guy on the planet, probably the smartest guy on the planet, as well as, well, a superhero.

"Tony?" She asks, catching the implication of my question. I nod, not taking my eyes off the view. "He's at a meeting, but will be home in time for supper. I can't wait for you to meet him," She tells me, smiling. I force a smile and try to nod back with enthusiasim. It doesn't quite work out that way.

"I'll show you were you'll be staying," She tells me, steering me away from the window, we head to the staircase, when it catches my eye. The big, black, elegantly carved grand piano. My Aunt notices, and smiles at my slightly. "Do you still play?"

I shake my head, my throat tight. "Not anymore," I whisper before walking up the stairs. My Aunt frowns slightly, but follows me up. I haven't played the piano since Peter... and that happened three months ago. Before the accident.

Pepper leads me to a wide room. Its' modern and spacious, with a huge bed beside the windows which half face the ocean, and half face the valley. It's beautiful, and I can't help but be a little shocked.

"I know it's a little bare, but I figured you might want to decorate it yourself. Perhaps we could go shopping one day to get somethings," She offers tentativley. I smile and wrap her in a hug.

"That would be wonderful. Thanks Aunty," I whisper into her shirt. She smiles, and pulls away to walk to the closet.

"Well, it's not completely bare. I bought you some clothes to start off, because I figured most of your stuff was left behind. I hope they fit," She tells me, opening my new closet. I stare at shock at what's inside.

It's like my Aunt knew what I've always wanted. She has several pairs of jeans and several [plain back t-shirts folded on shelves for everyday where, exactly what I always wear. But hanging on the hangers are a handful of elegant designer dresses like the ones she always wears. They range from midnight blue to evening black, and come in several different styles. I touch one tentatively to make sure it's real.

"I know you aren't totally into the whole dress thing, but we usually attend quite a few gala's and such due to Tony's lifestyle, so I made sure you had some. If you don't like them we can reurn them," She hastily adds on. I shake my head.

"No, they're beautiful. Thank you," I tell her genuinly. She smiles and wraps me in another hug.

"Miss Potts your water is boiling," A detached voice suddenly rings out through the room. I jump a little, and My Aunt chuckles.

"Don't worry," Pepper tells me. "That's just JARVIS. He runs the house."

"Right," I say, still a little wary. "A talking house."

She laughs, and we make our way downstairs.

We spend the next hour making dinner, and catching up. She tells me about how she got her job as Tony's secretary, to how she became his girlfriend, and how crazy her life has been ever since. I tell her about how life has been, and how I miss my parents. She doesn't hesitate to comfort me, and that makes me feel special. I can't remember the last time someone comforted me.

"So," she asks me as we pull the giant pizza out of their huge oven. Everything in their kitchen is like a touch screen with a million icons. It took me forever to figure out how to get the water dispenser to work. I guess that's what happens when you live with a genius. "Why did you stop playing piano. You used to be amazing."

I hesitate slightly, but decide to tell her as she places the pizza on the counter. She goes to fetch a pizza slicer.

"Do you remember Peter?" I ask her quietly. She looks confused.

"How can I not? You two were attached at the hip," She jokes. I smile, but it's the ghost of a smile.

"I thought so too. But a few months ago, we had a fall out. He turned into a jerk, and left me to hang out with some sluts just like he said he never would do. I haven't played since then. I just haven't had any inspiration too," I admit, my chest aching. It was much more than a fall out, but my Aunt doesn't need to know that.

She frowns as she starts to cut the pizza. "That's too bad, he was a really nice boy. I'm sorry to hear that Charlotte. But you shouldn't quite just because of someone else," She tells me. I just shrug in response. She sighs. "Well, you're enrolled to start school tomorrow at Malibu High. Maybe you'll find a new bestfriend," She tells me hopefully. I just nod.

Truth is, I don't want to find another friend. When I lost Peter, it cut me deep in a way that I couldn't fix. I don't want that to ever happen again, and the only way to guarantee it, is by not letting others in again. I'd rather stay at home with my books. The knowledge I attain from them is at least certain and permanent. Something friendships are not.

She opens her mouth to say something, when suddenly the glass panels in the living room open. I frown and try to figure out what's going on, but all I can see is a falling star. Wait. I look closer and realize that it's certainly no falling star, and it's coming towards us fast. I watch in shock as none other than Iron Man flies into the house, and lands in the middle of the living room, the windows close, and suddenly the floor opens up.

"Welcome home, Sir," The voice my Aunty called JARVIS rings out. I watch in fascination as metal arms reach out of the ground, and undo the suit swiftly. In a matter of seconds none other than Tony Stark walks out,leaving me jaw dropped.

I had never exactly grown up with a lot of money. Pepper had offered my mother money, but she refused to accept anything that came from Tony Stark. So as a result I grew up in a rather quiet neighbourhood, in a sleepy town in Canada. And although we had a television, we couldn't afford cable, so the only time I ever watched television was through store front windows.

Because we didn't have Internet connection, I never had any social networking accounts like other kids. I've never had a phone, and I can literally count the number of times I've been on Youtube on my fingers.

But even though I was that socially disconnected, I still knew that Pepper was dating a superhero. Peter's family had everything, and I would always go over there to find out about stuff and to research. I know all about Iron Man. I saw pictures of New Mexico after supposed gods visited. I heard about the scientist who changes form. All that crazy stuff that happened in New York I know about, although knowing and believing are two completely different things.

Of course, I know nothing of what's happened in the last three months, since Peter and I... went our seperate ways. And then the accident happened two weeks ago, and even more so I haven't really paid attention to what's going on.

So to see Tony Stark in the flesh is kind of a big thing for me, if you catch what I'm saying.

"Hey Pep," He says as he walks towards my Aunt, he gives her a quick kiss before heading to get a glass of water. He sees me, sniffs the air, then says, "Give the pizza girl a tip, it smells great. Where's it from, Dominos?"

Immediately my awe is gone replaced with distain. Pizza girl? Really? I know I don't exactly stand out from a crowd, but seeing as how my Aunty's the only other person here, could it honestly be that difficult to take to seconds to look and see that I'm not even in a Pizza workers outfit?

My Aunt Pepper clears her throat. "Actually Tony, she-"

He sighs overdramatically while filling up his water. "Pep, I thought we've been over this. If I gave an autograph to everysingle girl scout that came by, I'd have a lineup outside my door."

I now know why my mother never liked Pepper's boyfriend.

"Tony, remember what your publiciter said. And she's not-"

"Are we talking about me?" He rudely cuts her off again. I know if I was my Aunt, I'd snap in impatience, but she just smiles softly like she's used to this. "Cause last I checked, I was the one who flew around in the suit, and advertized the Expo, making me the publiciter, amd I right?" He leans back on the counter and sips his water. My Aunt seizes the opportunity.

"Tony, this is Charlotte. My niece. The one I told you was going to be living with us now," She tells him softly. I see his eyebrows draw together in confusion.

"I certainly don't recall that conversation," He says quickly in between gulps.

"To be fair, Sir, you were half drunk," JARVIS rings out from around the room. My Aunt smiles and nods.

"Thank you JARVIS. You were," She directs back to Tony, who just shrugs. "But that's not the point. The point is that she's living with us now, and you're going to have to play nice," She warns him.

"If that's possible," I find myself mumbling outloud. Tony's eyes narrow at me.

"Did you say something? Or was I hearing things?" He asks somewhat rhetorically. I answer it anyways.

"Maybe you're hearing things. Most geniuses are actually phsycos," I tell him, narrowing my own eyes. He stands up and rubs his jaw in contemplation.

"Huh, I can't tell whether that's a compliment or an insult."

"Let's go with insult," I snap back at him. I don't know why, but he gets under my skin. I scowl at him.

"Looks like Pizza girl has a backbone," He says. "I'm good at breaking bones."

"I can tell. You obviously have social issues," I retort. My Aunt puts a hand on my shoulder, but she's glaring at Tony.

"All right you two. Now that we've got the meet and greet over with, why don't we eat dinner?" She says through her teeth. Tony ignores her.

"I don't know, is Pizza girl ok with it?" He asks.

"It's Charlotte," I snarl back.

"Charlie?" He asks somewhat innocently. My chest constricts at my parents old nickname for me.

"Just Charlotte," I say through gritted teeth.

"Uh-huh," He says, crossing his arms. "Whatever you say, Charlie."

I can't take it. My eyes prickle with tears. Only my parents ever called me Charlie. My parents and Peter, the only people who aren't here anymore. Pushing away my Aunt's hand, I run to the staricase. But not before I shout over my shoulder, "Screw you."

And then I run before my facade breaks down again, and I let the tears flow free.

This is going to be hell.

Thanks again, and please review!