"Tasha! Wake up," Amelia said while she poked the redhead, she was sat on top of her on the bed as she waited for the woman to stir.
It was barely even 6 am when the small red headed child came barrelling into Natasha's bedroom and jumped right on top of her to wake the redhead who was yet to stir.
"Tasha," Amelia said as she continued to shake poke the woman.
After a few more pokes at the older woman, it didn't take Natasha long to stir from her sleep as she squinted her eyes open and spotted the eight-year-old sat literally on top of her.
"You're awake," Amelia exclaimed happily at the sight of the woman awake while the redhead didn't look as enthusiastic about being woken up.
"I'm awake," Natasha stated in agreement.
"I'm bored, Tasha!" Amelia was quick to pout and move around on the bed.
Natasha took a brief look at the time on her phone beside her before she groaned inwardly. "It's early, детка. Go back to sleep," she mumbled before she started to close her eyes again.
Amelia wasn't happy with that and she didn't want to go back to sleep.
"Tasha, come on, wake up," детка said as she started to shake the older woman again for her to wake up.
Natasha remained to keep her eyes shut as she lazily pushed Amelia to lie down on the bed. "детка, go back to sleep," she mumbled.
Amelia huffed and sat back up on the bed in protest. "But Tasha, I am bored," she insisted as she once again poked the woman awake.
"And I want to go back to sleep," Natasha said in a hoarse voice, moving her hand to push the eight-year-old back down to lie in the bed as she pulled the duvet over her. "Close your eyes and sleep, Малышка," she told her.
"Tasha!" Amelia whined as she rolled over and started to poke the woman's face.
Natasha exhaled a sigh and opened her eyes, coming face to face with the eight-year-old. "You're not going to let me sleep are you?" she questioned.
"Nope," Amelia stated with a grin on her face.
Natasha groaned and she soon realized she wasn't going to sleep any time soon. "Alright, alright. I'm getting up!" she told her as she opened her eyes and sat up in bed, she rubbed her eyes.
"Yes!" Amelia cheered as she jumped up and down on the bed.
Natasha narrowed her eyes to the child who had way too much energy this morning. "You know you're a pain in my ass, right?" she stated as she threw back the duvet and climbed out of bed.
Amelia plopped down onto Natasha's bed and gasped. "You said a bad word!" she exclaimed.
Natasha rolled her eyes as she walked out of the room and down the hall, into the kitchen. "What do you want for breakfast, Amelia?" she questioned the eight-year-old who was following her closely behind.
"Doughnuts!" Amelia exclaimed as she climbed onto the chair in front of the counter.
Natasha gazed over at the clock, she already knew that today was going to be a long day. "You can't eat doughnuts for breakfast, how about something else instead?" she offered.
Amelia shook her head. "No. I want doughnuts," she insisted.
"You can't have doughnuts," Natasha repeated as she resisted the urge to roll her eyes again while she moved over to the coffee machine to turn it on.
"But I want them," Amelia said.
Natasha exhaled a sigh, "Okay, listen, how about we go and get doughnuts later?" she offered and paused while she opened the cupboards. "For now, we'll stick with... Cereal, hey, lucky charms. They look good, right?" she questioned.
"Doughnuts would be so much better," Amelia mumbled as she pouted.
Natasha nodded as she grabbed a bowl out of the cupboard and poured the cereal in, she added the milk and a spoon and placed it in front of the eight-year-old. "I know, but for now you'll have to deal with these," she gestured to the bowl of cereal in front of her. "Look, they've even got marshmallows!" she pointed out.
"Are you done with your breakfast?" Natasha questioned walking back into the kitchen now ready for the day as she wore a white blouse, a pair of black slacks and heels.
"I'm all done. Can I watch cartoons now?" Amelia asked she jumped off the stool and walked over to put her bowl in the sink.
Natasha looked over at the time and shook her head. "We don't have time for that this morning," she told her.
"But I always watch cartoons after breakfast!" Amelia said confused.
"I know but not today," Natasha started, the last thing she wanted was for this to cause any upset, not now when they would have to leave in the next hour. "The mission starts today and I have to make a good impression with Mr Stark so turning up late isn't an option," she told her gently.
Amelia frowned and looked at the redhead woman confused. "What does that have to do with me not being able to watch cartoons?" she asked.
"You have to get ready," Natasha pointed out.
"Why can't I watch them while I get ready?" Amelia continued to ask.
Natasha shook her head. "You can watch them later on when we're back home, alright?" she suggested patiently to the eight-year-old who was not happy. "Right now, I need you to get ready. Make sure to pick up anything you want to take with you as well," she reminded her.
"Okay," Amelia mumbled unhappily as she slowly walked back to her new bedroom to find some clothes to wear.
"We're here," Natasha announced as she pulled up outside of the large mansion.
Amelia climbed out of the back seat of the car and her eyes widened as she looked up at the size of the property in front of her. "Woah! This place is huge!" she exclaimed.
Natasha hummed in agreement as she took Amelia's hand in her own. "Got everything you need?" she questioned.
"Yep," Amelia agreed and motioned to the backpack she had on her back, alongside her elephant who was tucked away inside.
"Good," Natasha said as the two of them walked inside the reception area.
"Can I come with you to meet Mr Stark?" Amelia questioned excitedly, looking around in awe.
"No. I need you to sit and wait for me, okay? I won't be too long," Natasha told the redhead child as she motioned to the chairs. "Sit," she ordered.
Amelia pouted at Natasha. "Can I not just look around and explore? This place looks so cool," she said with curiosity in her eyes.
Natasha shook her head in disagreement. "No, if you are bored then you have your backpack so you can read or something, but don't move from this chair and wander off," she stated as she waited for the blonde woman, she knew as Pepper Potts to meet her.
"Got it," Amelia said as she exhaled a sigh and dug her book out to read.
Natasha sat beside her as she waited for Pepper Potts to meet her and it didn't take too long for the tall blonde woman to walk out.
"Hi, sorry about your wait," The woman quickly apologised as she looked up from her phone. "I'm Pepper Potts," she introduced herself.
Natasha smiled and stood up to shake her hand. "Hi, my name is Natalie Rushman and I'm here from legal," she introduced herself to the blonde woman in front of her.
"And who might this be?" Pepper questioned, glancing at the eight-year-old child sitting on the chairs while she read the book in her hands. "Hi there," she waved slightly and smiled.
"Hi, my name is Amelia!" Amelia told the tall blonde woman.
"Miss Potts, this is my daughter Amelia. I hope you don't mind, I had no choice but to bring my daughter along with me as my babysitter cancelled last minute," Natasha quickly made up an excuse. "I promise you that she won't be any trouble," she added while she gave her a reassuring smile.
"It's not a problem at all," Pepper said while she smiled at the brunette child who smiled back.
Natasha smiled gratefully before she looked at Amelia. "I won't be too long. Stay here sweetheart," she told her.
"Please come this way," Pepper Potts told Natasha with a polite smile.
Of course, Amelia didn't listen to that.
All she wanted to explore and if Natasha wasn't going to willingly let her, she would go about it sneakily. Amelia climbed off the chair she sat in and wandered down into a nearby room where she heard a lot of commotion.
"Hi," Amelia said as she waved shyly as she walked into a room and saw two men standing in a boxing ring.
"Hi," One of the men said as she looked at her confused.
Amelia gasped and her eyes widened in amazement at the man standing in front of her. "Wow! You're Tony Stark. You're the man who builds the robots! " she exclaimed.
Tony continued to look confused. "Yes, I am," He looked back at Happy who seemed just as confused. "Happy, who is this kid?" He questioned baffled.
"I don't know who she is," Happy answered while he looked clueless.
Tony turned back around to look at Amelia. "What's your name, kid?" He asked.
Amelia walked further into the Gym and smiled at the two men. "My name is Amelia Rushman," she told them. "It's nice to meet you, Mr Stark," she said in awe of the man in front of her.
"Okay, Amelia. It's nice to meet you too," Tony said politely before he raised his eyebrow in confusion. "May I ask what you're doing in here?" He questioned.
"I just wanted to explore," Amelia told the man who she was still starstruck over.
Tony couldn't help but chuckle at the eight-year-olds excitement. "How old are you, Amelia?" He asked.
"I'm eight," Amelia told him.
"Oh, cool," Tony said as he nods. "Do you know how to box?" He asked.
Amelia giggled and shook her head. "No, I'm only eight Mr Stark!" she told him.
"Oh, right, yes of course. That was a dumb question for me to ask," Tony said as in realisation. "How about you sit down and watch the two of us box instead?" He suggested.
"Okay. That sounds like fun Mr Stark," Amelia agreed as she moved over to sit down in front of the boxing ring.
"Watch and learn, kid!" Tony stated as he playfully winked at her before he turned his attention towards the other man.
Amelia couldn't help but laugh as she watched the Tony and Happy box when she heard Peppers' familiar voice.
"The notary's here! Can you please come and sign the transfer paperwork?" The blonde woman called out as she walked into the room, she was surprised to find Amelia sitting on the chair. "Hi Amelia, when did you get down here? I thought your mom told you to wait in reception for her," she questioned.
"I told her that she could sit down here and watch the two of us box, besides," Tony told Pepper as he looked over at her while he paused. "I'm on happy time," He added before he turned back around and hit Happy in the face.
"What the hell was that?" Happy questioned annoyed. The two of them continued to bicker as Amelia immediately called Happy out on his language.
Amelia gasped and pointed her finger at the man. "You said a bad word!" she exclaimed before she looked at Pepper. "I wanted to explore and come meet Mr Stark!" she explained with an excited look on her face.
"Your mom will be worried that you wondered off Amelia," Pepper pointed out.
Not even a few minutes later, Natasha rounded the corner as she saw the two men boxing inside of the ring and automatically, their attention shifted to her but she was completely thrown off when she spotted her eight-year-old child sitting down on the chairs with Pepper stood beside her.
Remaining in character undercover, Natasha sauntered over to the chairs and crouched down to Amelia's level while she whispered to her.
"Amelia," Natasha stated in a tone of whisper, however, the tone of her voice was visibly annoyed that the child didn't bother to listen.
"Hi mama," Amelia said innocently as she looked up at the redheaded woman innocently.
"I told you to wait in reception for me," Natasha said, her voice was barely louder than a whisper but Amelia knew she had upset the woman.
"I wanted to explore," Amelia mumbled as she pouted.
Natasha tutted and shook her head. "And I specifically told you that you couldn't do that," she said sternly.
"I'm sorry," Amelia was quick to apologise. "Mr Stark told me that I could watch him box with Happy," she exclaimed excitedly, forgetting all the guilt of disobeying Natasha.
"Fine, just sit here and don't move unless I tell you," Natasha stated firmly before she turned her attention to Pepper Potts, she walked toward Pepper with the paperwork in her hands and handed her a pen for her to sign. "I need you to initial each box," she instructed the women to sign each page while she kept an eye on Amelia out the corner of her eye.
Amelia didn't say anything further as she watched from her spot to where Tony kept his eyes focused on Natasha in curiosity. The man was distracted by the woman until Happy tapped him lightly on the back of his head, it wasn't enough to hurt him but it did pull his gaze away from the redhead. "Lesson one. Never take your eye off..." Happy's speech was cut off by Tony turning around, kicking him and sending him crashing into the corner of the ring.
"Wow. That was impressive," Amelia exclaimed.
Tony flashed the eight-year-old a grin as he picked up his bottle and drank the green liquid.
Meanwhile, Happy looked completely out of it as he recovered from the action. "That's it. I'm done," He stated as he took off the headgear that he wore
"What's your name, lady?" Tony questioned Natasha as he focused all his attention on her again.
Natasha looked straight back at him while she remained undercover. "Rushman. Natalie Rushman," she told him curtly.
Tony looked completely bewildered as he looked between the woman and the child in surprise. "Amelia, she's your mom?" she asked the eight-year-old.
"Yep, she's my mama," Amelia confirmed with a grin.
"Huh. You don't seem like the type of woman to have a kid," Tony stated as he looked at Natasha. "Front and centre. Come into the church," He motioned for her to join him in the ring.
Pepper looked at the man surprised. "No. You're seriously not gonna ask..." She started but Tony cut her off.
"If it pleases the court, which it does," Tony interjected.
Natasha looked at Pepper and smiled. "It's no problem," she said before she walked forwards to the boxing ring.
Amelia didn't say anything but had an excited look on her face as she knew what was going to happen. It wasn't known to any of them yet, but Natasha could definitely fight.
"I'm sorry. He's very eccentric," Pepper continued to tell Natasha who walked forward to the ring.
The whole time, Natasha never broke eye contact with him while he slurped on his green liquid from the bottle in his hands that in Amelia's opinion, looked completely awful.
"What?" Tony asked as he finally stopped drinking the green liquid before he turned to Happy. "Can you give her a lesson?" He questioned motioning toward Natasha.
"No problem," Happy obliged as he walked over to Natasha.
Amelia wanted a front-row seat to watch Natasha wipe the floor of the man standing in front of her. Standing up, she walked over to stand near the ring as Tony exited. Giving her a small fist bump, he walked over to his girlfriend while Amelia focused all of her attention on Natasha who stood still in the ring, all while Happy belittled her, unbeknownst to him of how Natasha would react.
"Have you ever boxed before?" Happy questioned amusedly.
"I have, yes," Natasha agreed with a smile on her face before she looked over in Amelia's direction and give her a small wink.
"This is going to be good," Amelia said quietly and she couldn't help but grin, excited to see what was going to happen next.
"What, like, Tae bo? Booty Boot Camp? Crunch? Something like that?" Happy continued to ask.
Amelia didn't say anything else but knew from the look on the older women's face that she was annoyed as she stood there with her hands on her hips.
"How do I spell your name, Natalie?" Tony questioned from where he was sitting looking at the table in front of him.
"R-U-S-H-M-A-N," Natasha spelt out the last name she was using undercover like it didn't surprise her that Tony would look her up on Google, so she was already prepared for this.
"What, are you gonna google her now?" Amelia heard Pepper question the man from where they both sat.
Amelia didn't bother to listen to the rest of the conversation as she look over to the ring and watched as Natasha kept herself calm all while Happy continued to belittle her.
"Rule number one, never take your eyes off your opponent," Happy said as he went to take a swing at the woman but he was stopped by Natasha grabbing his hand, she flipped him over and had her legs over his head as she sent him crashing down onto the mat all while Happy let out groans in pain.
"Oh, my God!" Pepper all of a sudden shrieked out as she stood up from her chair.
Amelia's eyes widened in shock as she couldn't help but smirk as she saw Natasha continue to have Happy pinned on the floor while he continued to grunt out in pain.
"Happy," Pepper stated concerned for the man.
"That's what I'm talking about," Tony remarked as he walked over to them while Natasha moved to stand up.
"I just slipped," Happy told them to cover up what happened while he stood up.
"You did?" Tony questioned
"Yeah," Happy agreed while he still felt in pain.
"Looks like a TKO to me," Tony stated as he rang the bell and Natasha left the ring acting like nothing happened.
"That was so awesome, mama!" Amelia exclaimed excitedly as she wrapped her arms around the older woman.
Natasha gave her a small smile and put her heels back on before she picked up the black folder and walked back over to Tony. "Just... I need your impression," she told him.
"You have a quiet reserve. I don't know, you have an old soul." Tony stated.
Amelia couldn't help but giggle while Natasha herself looked amused at the man.
"I meant your fingerprint," Natasha said while she smiled and handed him the paperwork.
"Right," Tony agreed.
Pepper walked over to the two of them. "So, how are we doing?" she questioned.
"Great. Just wrapping up here," Tony stated as he imprinted his thumb on the paperwork. "Hey. You're the boss," He smiled at the blonde woman.
Natasha smiled and closed the paperwork. "Will that be all, Mr Stark?" she questioned.
"No," Tony stated.
"Yes, that will be all, Miss Rushman. Thank you very much," Pepper interjected with a smile.
Natasha nodded in their direction and gave them a small smile before she looked at the eight-year-old girl. "Come on Amelia. It's time to go home now," she stated as she held out her hand for her to take.
"Okay," Amelia replied, she was disappointed she never got to see any of the cool robots like she wanted to. "Bye," she said as she took hold of Natasha's hand she offered out.
"It was nice to meet you, Amelia," Pepper said waving at the eight-year-old.
"Bye, kid!" Tony stated while he waved at the kid.
Natasha gave them both a smile before she turned to leave, her job for the day was done but she already knew this was going to go further than just a simple signing in legal terms.
The next step was to make herself known as his personal assistant.
"Can we go and get them doughnuts now, Tasha?" Amelia asked from the back seat of the car.
Natasha raised her eyebrow and glanced in the rear-view mirror to see the eight-year-old sat in the back. "You want to get doughnuts after that little stunt you pulled back there?" she questioned.
"You promised that we could get them earlier!" Amelia exclaimed as she pouted and crossed her arms.
"That was before you completely ignored what I told you," Natasha told her as she shook her head and turned her attention back to the road in front.
"But Tasha-" Amelia whined from the back seat as Natasha interrupted her.
"No. You can't just ignore what I say, Amelia!" Natasha said with a raised voice.
"That's not fair!" Amelia continued to pout and kick the back of the driving seat in anger.
"Don't kick my chair," Natasha warned the eight-year-old. "If I tell you not to do something then it's for your safety not just because I said it for the sake of it," she told her.
"I'm sorry," Amelia mumbled an apology. "I just wanted to explore the mansion and meet Mr Stark as well!" she told her.
Natasha exhaled a sigh and shook her head. "The next time I tell you that you need to sit and stay put, I mean it!" she told her sternly.
Amelia ducked her head and pouted. "I know and I am sorry Tasha..." she paused to look at the redhead. "So, can we get them doughnuts now? Pretty please," she pleaded.
Natasha chuckled and shook her head. As much as she wanted to be annoyed, she couldn't but let herself crack a smile, after all, Amelia had met Tony Stark now and seemed to have made a good impression on him.
"Alright, fine. We'll go and get doughnuts," Natasha caved into the agreement.
"You have icing all over your face, детка," Natasha laughed as she sat in a nearby diner opposite the eight-year-old who clearly enjoyed her doughnut way too much.
"I like it!" Amelia grinned and licked her lips.
Natasha couldn't help but laugh and shake her head as she grabbed a napkin to wipe the child's face off the icing. "That's better," she stated as she finished wiping it off. "I think you had more over your face then you had eaten it," she teased.
"It was so good!" Amelia insisted while she grinned. "Can I get another one?" she asked.
"I think that's enough for now," Natasha told her as she dropped the napkin on the plate in front of her. "We still need to eat dinner later and that will spoil your appetite, малышка," she told her.
Amelia pouted. "Please? Just one more, Tasha," she said while she batted her eyelashes at the older woman.
Natasha let out a laugh and shook her head. "You should know by now that doesn't work on me, Amelia," she paused while the younger girl pouted.
"It was worth a shot," Amelia mumbled as she shrugged her shoulders.
Natasha couldn't help but roll her eyes as she stood up from the seat and held her hand out for Amelia to take. "Come on, let's head home now," she said.
•
Another update,
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