Study Buddies ✷ Peter Parker (disc.)

[ 059. ] this little family of three

This little family is everything to her, and it has been for a while now. It's not a picture perfect poster child for the perfect American family — it's a blended mess of chaos and love and an overwhelming feeling of warmth whenever they tell each other "I love you" or reunite during Rosie's breaks from school. This little family is not the most normal thing in the world, she knows, but she loves it for that. She loves her aunt and uncle and she's eternally grateful for the fact that she has them.

They're in the kitchen now, just the three of them. Pepper had wanted to have a family breakfast with her little family of three, so Rosie had asked Selena and Indy and Finn if they'd mind giving them some time alone. Finn was the one to give her the go ahead, and the other two agreed. Besides, they're probably having more fun without her, anyways — last she'd heard, they were going to be the three judges of a fist fight between Nat and Clint in the training room (it had apparently been Clint's idea, though, which is absolutely crazy to Rosie; she supposes he likes the idea of getting his ass handed to him in front of an audience).

Rosie had been making the breakfast (pancakes with fresh fruit and a side of scrambled eggs, because it's the easiest thing she could think of making and she didn't have the patience for much else) while Pepper sat at the kitchen table and asked her niece about how school had been going. Tony was on the phone with Rhodey during this — "tell him I miss him and that I still like him more than I like you," Rosie remembers saying to her uncle, who'd tossed a crumpled up paper ball at her in response.

     They're sitting at the kitchen table now, in the middle of conversations about everything and nothing all at the same time while enjoying their breakfast. Rosie keeps nudging her eggs to the other side of the plate with her fork because she really hates for her food to touch. Peppers asks Tony to pass the salt. Tony compliments his niece on her cooking. Rosie smiles. It's moments like these — seemingly meaningless ones, shared with her family and friends — that she likes to remember.

     "So, have you and your friends been having fun?" Pepper asks, just before popping a grape into her mouth. Rosie nods.

"Yeah, honestly, it's been great so far." She smiles at her aunt, absentmindedly chasing her fruit around the plate with her fork. "I know we haven't been here very long, but I know they've been having a lot of fun."

It's true, her friends have been enjoying themselves immensely over the past couple of days — this, of course, doesn't really come as much of a surprise to Rosie. They had been talking about it every day ever since they'd found out this is where they'd be spending their winter break, and she had already known it'd be a fun experience for them. And, yeah, maybe the Avengers have had a tiny bit to do with it.

"They're probably just excited to be in the presence of Iron Man," Tony says, his tone casual, as he pulls his shoulders into a shrug.

Pepper and Rosie can't help but roll their eyes at this.

"Oh, brother," the blonde teen mumbles under her breath. Then, louder, "Don't get a big head, dude."

Rosie feels incredibly proud of her aunt when she snaps back with, "Too late for that," while grinning at her husband.

     There's a clatter of silverware against glass as Tony melodramatically drops his fork onto his plate, crossing his arms over his chest directly after. "Why do you two love to hurt me?" he asks through a sigh.

     "In our defense," Rosie starts, "you walk right into them."

     She shares a look with Pepper, who bites her lip to repress a smile. The elder of the Potts women takes a sip of her water before she leans her head in Tony's direction.