*** Ta da! I am not dead...yet... But there is a moment in here when a song is sung and, while some of you may recognise it and the movie it is from, in my universe that movie isn't made because it's a special song for particular characters. Anyway I hope you all enjoy the chapter!***
***Alexis POV***
"I do believe that your comprehension of the Asguardian language is growing by the day, Aithne." After breakfast, Loki decided to give me another lesson in his language while the others were all busy with Avengers work, or in Tony's case, Stark Industries work.
"Do you really think so?" I ask as I pick up the papers that I had been using during my lesson with Loki.
"I do, Aithne, " Loki placed a soft hand on my shoulder, ignoring the soft flinch I did. " I may be the infamous 'God of Lies' but I would not lie to you, dear heart."
A grin lights up my face, as I stack the papers neatly on the coffee table, before turning to Loki. Leaning over I wrap my arms around his neck. He stiffens at my touch but slowly his arms wrap around me as I whisper "Thank you so much, Loki."
Pulling away, I fall back onto the couch. I groan as pain shoots through my side.
"Are you okay, Aithne?" Loki exclaims as he reaches for me.
I wave a hand as I push myself up. "I just forgot about my ribs," I say sheepishly as I manage to sit up.
"Need to be more careful there, doll." Turning around, I see Steve and Bucky walking over to us.
"Buck's right. We don't need you getting any more injured than you already are, " says Steve as he walks past, and sits opposite me.
"Besides how do you forget about cracked ribs?" Bucky snorts as he sits by Steve.
I shrug."I guess I am just special," I laugh as I scoot back into the cushions bringing my feet up.
"That you certainly are, Aithne." Loki chuckles leaning back. "However I do wish that I could aid in your healing in some way." Looking over to him, I see him glaring at his hands before seeming to shake off whatever was weighing on his mind.
"It's okay, Loki." I say, "I am perfectly fine healing the way I usually do. In fact I heal even better now since I have Dr Cho's special medicine."
"Dr Cho certainly is a genius when it comes to advanced medicine," Bucky says, before clapping his hands together. "Anyway we just came back from a horrendously boring meeting, so I am up for some fun. "
"Like what?"
"Well we got a whole tower to explore, but I know the best level to go to," Standing up from the couch he waves his hand. "Follow me."
The rest of us look at each other and shrug before following.
"By the way, doll. Where did you put my hoodie?"
"Oh I had to go up to my room before and I got too hot so I put it in my room. Did you want it back?"
Bucky waves his hand in dismissal. "Nah. I was just curious. Anyway, onto the road to have some fun."
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"You think you can take on the God of Mischief in a battle and come out victorious?"
"Well given how well you 'took over the world' I don't believe you'll be much of a challenge."
"You will regret those words mortal. I will leave you pulverised in the dust."
"Mortal? Just because you live for 5,000 years doesn't mean you are any less 'mortal' than any of us."
"Mortal or not, I will still le-"
"So are you 'mortal' people going to play or spend the entire time smack talking?" I innocently asked, causing Loki and Bucky to look over at me. "It's just air hockey."
"A battle is still a battle though," Loki insisted.
"That's great. But please just play already. I wanna see who wins."
"Me too," Steve chims in from beside me. "I want to see if Bucky has what it takes to win."
"So less talking and more action please," I order, grinning at the glares sent towards Steve and I. Loki and Bucky readied themselves. Seconds passed before Loki quickly hit the puck towards Bucky's goal.
Steve and I watched chaos start to arise in the game. Loki was getting more and more frustrated that the puck never went exactly where he wanted it to go, and Bucky was getting frustrated at Loki's quick reflexes.
"How long do you think this game is going to last?" I whispered to Steve as it was five minutes to the game and no one had scored a point yet.
"I have no idea but neither one is letting up," came his reply.
"Should we go find another game to play?" I ask standing from where I was sitting.
"Yeah. This game will probably take forever after all," Steve groans as he stands.
Wandering around the room looking for a game, I spot Pacman in the corner. Tugging on Steves sleeve, I led him over to it.
"Pacman? What's that?"
"It's a game where you have to collect all the dots while avoiding all the little ghosts. But when you eat these bigger dots,"I point to the dots on the screen, "then the ghosts turn blue and you can destroy them and send them back to home."
"Sounds confusing," Steve mutters, staring at the screen.
"I'll show you," I say as I start up the game. "This game is an old classic. Everyone knows it," Glancing over at Steve, I amended what I say. "Well most people know it."
Soon the classic sound of Pacman was competing with the yelling that was coming from where the air hockey was being played. I got past the first level easy enough and soon it was having many close calls.
"Dang it!" I yell as my final life was taken by Blinky, the red ghost.
Laughing, Steve ruffled my gently, mindful of the cut on my head. "Maybe you'll do better next time. But for now, I think it may be getting close to lunch."
My stomach grumbles as I open my mouth to reply. "Lunch might be a good idea," I grin, as I cover my stomach. "Sounds like my stomach likes that idea very much."
Steve laughs and turns to go towards Loki and Bucky who are still battling over air hockey. Walking closer, I see that Bucky has one point over Loki at 5-4.
"Hey guys, Alexis and I are going to head back up to the common floor for lunch."
Loki and Bucky keep up the ferocity of their attacks and don't reply. Steve looks at me, and I just shrug. "I suppose they will come up when they are hungry?"
"Yeah probably." Steve gestures for me to follow him. "Come on. Let's go see what's for lunch and leave those two to their game."
Steve and I head out and just as the elevator door closes, we hear, "DANG IT."
We glance at it each other before dissolving into giggles.
"Sounds like Buck ain't too happy," Steve chuckles.
"Who do you think will win?" I ask as the elevator shoots up.
Steve contemplates for a moment. "I am not actually too sure, I have to say. They are evenly matched in the game that's for sure."
"That's true." I giggle thinking about the yelling that came from the game. "I'm not sure either. But I guess we will find out eventually."
**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
"Ah. Just the people I wanted to see." Tony's voice greets us as we walk into the room. I look around and see him sitting at the table. "We have no food so someone needs to go get groceries some time, but for now what do we want to order for lunch. I was thinking that of that Indian place down the road."
"Yeah sounds good to me," Steve says, as he sits down at the table.
"What about you, Shortcake?" Tony asks, "Sound good?"
I nod as I go and grab my stash of papers from the coffee table. "Yep. Sounds yummy."
"Brilliant. Jarvis, who else is in the tower and expecting to be here for food? Actually. Never mind that. Just order the usual for the team and leftovers can go in the fridge."
"Yes Sir. The food will arrive in 30minutes as per the usual time."
"I'm just going to take these up to my room. I'll be back in a bit," I say, walking to the door.
"Okay, Shortcake."
Heading back to the elevator, I step inside and Jarivs automatically takes me up to my wanted level. "Thank you Jarvis," I say, stepping out of the elevator when it stops.
'You are most welcome Ms Alexis. Also Mr Stark wanted to ask if you could please bring the jacket that is on his bed down to him when you come back."
"Okay. I can do that," I say, stepping into my room. Placing the papers on my desk, I also grab Bucky's hoodie off my bed. Just in case, I think as I walk out towards Tony's room. Walking in, I spot the jacket easily. Grabbing it from the bed, I turn to walk out the room when a picture catches my eye. Curious, I walk over to it. Placing the jacket and hoodie on the bed, I pick the picture up. It was of Tony when he was younger sitting in a chair with a young girl sitting on his lap.
Who is she, I wonder. I've never seen Tony this happy. The Tony in the picture was grinning as the little girl was obviously in mid laugh. Her eyes seemed like they were staring right out of the picture into me. Her eyes remind me of someone. But who? Setting the picture back down on the dresser, I pick up the jacket and jersey once more. Looking back at the frame, I see words written on the bottom of the frame which said 'Mio Angelo'. What does that mean? Unbidden, the words 'My Angel,' came into my head. Strangely enough the words sounded like they were said by Tony. Shaking my head, I turn from the picture. I feel like I know her. But how? I wonder as I walk out the room. And how did I know the translation of the words?
Stepping into the elevator, I head back down to the common room floor. The picture was still on my mind. I could always ask Jarvis who it is, I reason. No, I better not. It was a private picture after all. If he wanted to talk about her then there would be other pictures of her in other rooms. Shaking my head, I try to rid myself of the curiosity I have about the girl. I just want to know why she seems so familiar to me.
Stepping into the room, I see that Tony and Steve have made their way outside onto the balcony. Shrugging on Bucky's hoodie, I make my way outside, and hand the jacket to Tony as I sit beside him on the outside couch.
"Thanks Shortcake," Tony smiles as he grabs the jacket from me and puts his arm around me. "How are you doing anyway?"
Leaning into him, I shrug, "I'm okay."
"Pain levels all okay? You need to take more pain pills when lunch arrives. Don't forget."
I nod and rest my head on his shoulder. "Sounds good," I smile.
"Anyway, Fury was saying how there might be another mission coming up soon," Steve says as he and Tony continue on the conversation.
"Who's causing trouble this time?" Tony groans.
"Who else? Hydra," Steve says rolling his eyes. "I thought by going into the ice I put a stop to them but the organisation just seems to never die ."
"Well as the Hydra quote goes 'Cut off one head. Two more shall take its place'," mocks Tony before shaking his head. "Did Fury say how long it might take?"
Steve shook his head and shrugged, "He isn't sure about the intel so he's sending Nat and Clint to make sure. We will know when they get back. But you would know this if you came to the meeting."
Tony waves his hand dismissively. "I knew you would get me all caught up. Besides Pepper had been reminding me of my company meeting for weeks to make sure I didn't miss it, and sometimes I feel like keeping my employees on their toes by actually showing up on time," he smirks, as Steve and I just smile and shake our heads. Tony softly squeezes me close with his arm and rubs my arm. "Gotta make sure my employees and Board of Directors aren't slacking off like their dear ol' boss is after all."
We all laugh before Jarvis interrupts, "Excuse me Sir but the lunch delivery is here."
"Thanks Jar," Tony stood up and stretched. "I suppose I'll be nice and go and get it for everyone. I'll be back in a moment. Try not to miss me while I'm gone," he says as he winks playfully at me.
Steve and I watch as he walks out of view before turning to look at the skyline. A peaceful quiet falls between us as we sit and just enjoy each other's company.
After a few minutes, a song enters my head, and I start to hum softly.
"What is that song you're humming?" Steve inquires, making me jump slightly. "I don't recognise it but it sounds nice."
I feel my cheeks heat up, "Oh, I didn't realise you could hear me."
Steve smirks, "Super soldier remember? Got enhanced senses as part of the deal."
"Oh. Right. I forgot," I say, laughing sheepishly. "I seem to forget that I live with actual superheroes now."
Steve laughs, "I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing."
"I think it's good. Means you are stuck up," I tease. "You are actually human beings who eat and everything."
"That is true," he agrees before saying, "Anyway you got me off track. I am still curious about that song. It sounded beautiful. Do you know the words?"
I think for a moment trying to recall the song. "I don't remember all the words but it goes like this." I take a deep breath and start singing softly.
***(Play the video)***
"Ripensa a me
Non dimenticarlo mai
Ricordami
Dovunque tu sarai
Lo sai che..."
***Tony's POV***
Man, we eat a lot of food, I huff as I dump everything onto the kitchen counter.
"Ah," I hissed, waving my hands to try to cool them off. The containers were getting hot by the time I got back up to the common floor. Grabbing Steve and I's food, I pause before I realised that I didn't know what Alexis wanted. Geez what sort of person am I. I didn't even ask what she wanted. Shaking my head I walk out of the kitchen and see Steve and Alexis still sitting outside. Well we order basically everything so where should be something she will like, I reason.
Walking over to the balcony door, I open it ready to call out to Alexis, when I see that she is singing. I wonder what she could be singing. I couldn't hear the words but it sounded so familiar. Quietly, I shut the door behind me and walked over quietly. As I got nearer, I began to make out the words.
"...e tu sarai vicino a me
Ricordami..."
I felt the air freeze in my lungs. That was her song. That was the song I sang for Ayden. How does she know it?! I shook my head and took a shuddering breath before my thoughts got too out of control. No Tony. This was a lullaby that your mother sang to you and you sang to Ayden. Surely it is one that other families know and sang to their kids. Taking another breath, I listen to Alexis.
"Ripensa a me.." She sang softly, before coming to a stop. "That's all I know of it. I am sure there's more but I can't remember it."
Taking a breath, I start singing softly, causing Steve and Alexis to turn to me.
"Sentendo questa melodia
Uniremo con le note il cuore e le anime
Il tuo amore rimarrà
Sempre per me"
I finish singing and sit beside Alexis who looks at me with something that could only be described as wonder. "How'd you know that song?" I ask, softly. Afraid of the answer but unsure as to why.
"I don't know. I've just always known it," She pulls her knees up to her chest and continues, "Whenever I have a quiet moment or feel scared, that song just comes into my head."
"Your mother or father never sang it to you when you were younger?" Steve asks, curious.
"No. Or at least I don't remember them singing it. What language is that anyway? It's so familiar. Like I've heard in a distant memory."
I speak up, "It's Italian and it's a lullaby that my mother used to sing to me to get me to fall asleep, or to comfort me. I never knew that anyone else knew it. I had never heard anyone else sing it before."
"Oh," Alexis whispers. "Did I sing it right?" She asks, looking up at me.
I couldn't help the soft smile that I gave her as I placed a hand on her knee. "You sang it as if you had grown up speaking the language, Tesoro."
"Tesoro?" She asks, before I hear her mutter, "I feel like I've heard that before too."
"It means 'sweetheart' in italian. I grew up with the language since my mother was italian. I don't use it as much as I used to but I still can get by," I explain.
"I like it, " she blushes. "Sounds pretty."
I chuckle and go to ask what she wants for lunch when I hear the voices coming out onto the balcony. Turning, I see Loki and Bucky walking over.
"So who won air hockey?" Alexis asks.
***Hope you enjoyed! And I hope the song worked!***