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MARVEL
──── ❝ look alive.❞

CHAPTER ONE
.ೃ࿐, marvel
*ೃ༄ ﹌﹌﹌ღ ‗ ❍ . . . . .🧸🩰
•◦• ACT ONE
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   IT WASN'T LONG BEFORE THE  strawberry blonde haired woman swiftly made her way to her boss's house, her high heels clipping against the concrete as her high ponytail swung to and fro. her lips were painted red, and she lowly muttered to herself as she retrieved the spare key that the billionaire had given her. she shoved the key in the hole, twisting it about before pushing her way into the large home.

her voice bounced off of the walls as her eyes scanned the interior, green globes falling on the man who stood in the kitchen. his eyes didn't leave hers as she approached him.

"Tony? what happened? i was running errands when you-" he cut the frantic woman off by placing his large hands on her forearms, an unreadable expression on his features.

"fix it." he said curtly before stepping to the side, allowing Pepper Potts to see the small girl that sat on a stool.

"oh!" Pepper visibly flinched, eyes wide and slightly stumbling backwards.

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

"tony, don't you think you should've said something? i mean, this is ridiculous-" she whispered loudly to the man, the vein becoming prominent in her forehead. he ran a hand over his face, a frown on his lips as he sighed tiredly.

"i don't know, alright? it was a long time ago. we were crazy in love but, way too young." he waved his hand with a shake of his head. Pepper narrowed her eyes, jutting out her chin as she gritted her teeth, glancing at the little girl who hummed to herself. catching Carmen's gaze, Pepper gave her a small smile.

"didn't even last longer than a year, and we never had a baby." the billionaire mouthed the last bit as he defended himself. Pepper sighed deeply, straightening her posture as she clicked her tongue.

"okay, Tony. but, for arguments sake, is there the tiniest possibility that this little girl could be yours?" she pried, her eyebrows pinching together as her ponytail bounced with every movement of her head. Tony rolled his eyes.

"no. no way! once we separated it was final. she came by one last time to pick up her things and then we. . ." he froze, staring at nothing in particular as he recalled the passionate kisses that were shared, and the tearing of one another's clothes as they eagerly found their way into the bedsheets. Pepper shut her eyes, her lips parting in shock as the man glanced at Carmen.

"alright," Tony clapped his hands together, "is anyone else hungry? you know, maybe i should send happy to pick up a cheeseburger. Carson, you want one? what about you, pep?"

"My name is Carmen. And who's happy?" Carmen asked, though she wasn't acknowledged.

"oh, my God, Tony!" she waved her hands around, "when did this happen?"

the man tossed his head back, staring at the ceiling as he thought to himself, "you know, i don't think that really matters. i mean it was a long time ago—" after receiving her heavy glare, he gulped.

"about eight, nine years ago." he lowly informed.

Pepper nodded, tip toeing towards the girl with a small smile on her red painted lips. she took in the little girls features, small freckles coated her nose and her lashes nearly grazed her cheekbones.

"hey, honey. can i ask you a question?" Pepper said
sweetly.

Carmen tilted her head, small pigtails bouncing as she laughed to herself, "you just did."

Pepper folded her lips inward, glancing at Tony momentarily. taking in a sharp breath, she flashed her a smile once again, despite the jokes she was making, "how old are you?"

"eight."

Tony's eyes widened, his lips parting in shock as Pepper passively grinned, "wow. congratulations, Tony."

the man said nothing, running his large hand through his hair before strolling through the kitchen. Pepper reached over to grasp the note that Carmen's mother had supposedly written to Tony, unfolding it and clearing her throat as her green eyes scanned over the writing. Carmen watched her with big doe eyes, a small smile on her lips as Brandon whimpered from beside her.

"okay, sweetheart. well, it says here that your mother isn't coming back for a month." the woman found herself frowning in shock. what kind of mother would leave her daughter with a stranger for a month? she would no doubt be questioning this woman Maria when she returned. she was lucky that Carmen had even made it here safely.

". . .she's on her way to Africa." Carmen slowly nodded.

"oh, please. what kind of mother leaves her kid in malibu to fend for themselves-" tony called from the opposite end of the kitchen island, shaking his head with a small shrug.

"she's on a water sanitation project bringing fresh drinking water for the drought-ravaged children of the Sudan." Carmen informed, her eyebrows inching together as a frown coated her pink lips. Pepper glanced at the man, blinking slowly.

"so, she just left you here?" Pepper couldn't help but feel a tad skeptical.

"i begged her." Carmen nodded her head, "i said, 'we'll, why don't i stay with my father?' and then she said, 'we'll, baby, he doesn't know about you yet.' and i said-"

"alright, you know what? i'm calling bullshit." Tony threw his hands up with a small shrug of his shoulders.

"Tony!" Pepper's eyes widened as an audible gasp fell from her lips, "don't worry, honey. we're gonna figure this out. is there any way i can contact your mother?"

Carmen shook her head, swinging her feet back and forth as she stared up at the strawberry blonde woman, "her cell won't work in Kassala."

"does she have an email?" Pepper pushed, tilting her head.

"they don't have internet there."

Pepper nodded, and Tony strolled toward them once again, staring down at the little girl once again, "yeah, alright. and how did you get here, again?"

"we flew to malibu together, and then she put me in a car." Carmen slowly explained with the slightest eye roll. she was beginning to grow tired at the constant questions being hurdled in her direction.

"and, the car magically dropped off you at some man's house? i mean, what is this, the storks?" he asked with a scoff. Carmen frowned at his words.

"your not some man. you're my father."

he quickly nodded, "yeah, so you've said."

Carmen quickly dropped the good girl act that she was portraying, scrunching her nose at him as she clenched her jaw, "want a paternity test?" the eight year old hissed, her fingers curling tightly around the stuffed bunny in her grasp.

"you know what, how about we all just calm down." Pepper's left eye twitched as she stared at tony. she cocked her head to the side, signaling for him to trail behind her, leaving the little girl all by her lonesome.

"Tony, this is terrible. i mean, there's no way we can keep this quiet! the last thing we need is the media finding out about her. if she really is yours, then they'll make you out to be the guy who had a child and left her mother to fend for herself." at her words, Tony groaned, walking back towards Carmen and gently spinning her chair around, he placed his large hand on her shoulder before staring at his assistant with wide eyes.

"Pep, we don't even look alike." he flashed a toothless grin. Carmen craned her neck to stare at him, copying his smile and staring at the nice woman.

she sighed, squinting her eyes, "of course." she said shortly. the two looked identical. the same large doe eyes, the small dimple pressed into their cheeks.

neither Tony Stark or Pepper Potts were expecting the small child to appear unannounced. but, after the most recent tragedy in Afghanistan, they supposed they should always expect the unexpected.