The next morning went by pretty quickly. I took a shower, got dressed in jeans and a baggy band t-shirt that Tony bought for me because all of my other clothes were too 'girly' for him to be hanging around. Even though I made some snide, sarcastic comments back to the billionaire, I still accepted it because it was very comfortable to wear.
Once I threw on my shoes, I went down the hall to look for Pepper - who I quickly found eating an apple for breakfast and reading on her tablet. I wondered if she was reading about Tony on the news or if it had anything to do with me.
Instead of snooping, I spoke up, "Hey, Pepper. I'm ready when you are."
She snapped her attention up away from the tablet before sending me a smile, "Oh, great. I hope you don't mind if Happy drives us."
So I shrugged my shoulders, "As long as it's not Tony."
"I heard that!" the sudden voice made me almost jump out of my shoes. I turned my head and watched Tony jog into the kitchen, grab some snacks, then kiss Pepper on her cheek. He stuffed a chip in his mouth before pointing towards me - mock - menacingly, "I know where you live, kid." Then he disappeared into the elevator, likely going to his evil lair.
With a huff of amusement, Pepper commented, "Let's go before he blows this place up trying to fix that robot-"
"That ties your shoes," we said in unison.
"Yes!" I exclaimed, "That thing is oddly creepy..."
The two of us hopped on the elevator after Tony but went down to the parking garage. I noticed Happy waiting for us by standing next to one of his black SUVs. I wondered if it was one of Happy's favorites to drive. He must feel important driving it around. I greeted our driver with a wave then hopped in the back with Pepper.
Since the drive was long because of traffic, we managed to stay entertained by talking amongst each other. Pepper talked about the places that she visited, so I would remark how jealous I was that she got to travel, which made Happy chime in that if he ever got his license to pilot then he'd take me anywhere I wanted to go. I was grateful at how sweet Happy was but I doubted he would get a license to fly. Besides, I took it as a challenge to learn how to fly an actual plane first. I figured it would help with the phobia of flying.
We stopped in the parking lot of the mall. It was crowded because it was a Saturday but I was too focused on having fun with Pepper. It was a girls' day out that I drastically needed. I hadn't hung out with Cassie for weeks and practically forgot how to relax.
The first place she took me was a nail salon - which I might've encouraged because of the foot spa. The bubbles made it so fun and calming that I couldn't turn it down. I asked for the special 'Captain America' nails because I figured it would get under Tony's skin and - quite honestly - they were very cute. I pulled off blue so much better than fire red. I probably would've made Happy get Hulk green nails if he hadn't stayed back in the car.
When our nails were done, Pepper and I continued our long trek through the mall. I got a pretzel from Aunty Anne's so I snacked on it as we walked.
"What kind of style did my mom have?" I wondered randomly, after swallowing a bite of the delicious pretzel.
"Hm, she went through different phases," Pepper admitted, still glancing around the stores.
After a moment of thought, I continued, "Do you remember her style when she was my age?"
Pepper looked down at me and chuckled, "Oh, that was a time." When I gave her a questioning look, she elucidated, "Your mom had this crush on a boy in some rock band, so she dressed up all rocker. She even died her hair black, with box dye."
I winced, "Oof... Talk about bad choices." The two of us giggled in fondness. I loved learning more about my mother and Pepper seemed to love talking about her. Although, after thinking harder, I asked a difficult question, "Do you ever wonder if the plane crash wasn't an accident?"
So Pepper looked down at me but her eyes were soft with grief, "Honestly, I try not to think about it a lot. The only thing I really think about is how proud she would be. You've matured into such a beautiful and brave woman."
"Thank you, Pepper," I smiled genuinely. I tried not to think about the crash a lot either but I would be lying if I denied that it came up ever so often. Especially through dreams. What life would be like if they were alive.
However, I turned back to the shopping spree when I noticed a store. I pointed so Pepper took me into the shop to look at all of the hipster-style clothes. Even though I had never worn anything of this fashion, I wondered if I could pull it off. Maybe try something new now and again. I bought a few dresses and even a pair of overalls that looked cute. There were some baggy-fitting shirts so I grabbed those then closed it off with a pair of sunglasses. I didn't know if I'd look good in the outfits but I was definitely going to try.
Since Pepper had stolen one of Tony's many credit cards, she used it to pay for the clothes. I didn't feel bad to use Tony's money - especially because I knew he wouldn't mind in the slightest. Although, for these clothes, he might have a say about it.
"What do you think about buying some new clothes for Tony? I'm sure he could use a little fashion advice from us," I shot a smirk to Pepper.
"There's a Nordstrom over there," the woman pointed then took the lead to the high-end store.
After living with Tony for a while, I figured out quickly to stop looking at price tags if it wasn't my own money. So I walked through the store and immediately went to the men's sections. I couldn't remember ever seeing Tony wear polos so I grabbed a few and went to a different section. It was still hot outside but I found sweaters that I just had to get for him.
Pepper glanced at all of the clothes that I brought back to her and narrowed her eyes, "Tony would never wear this... I love it." She grinned and marched with me to the checkout. I had even grabbed skinny jeans for Tony - who would probably have a heart attack if he tried them on - so when we swiped our card it sealed the deal.
For the next hour or so, we shopped a bit more. I bought new shoes but didn't need much else in my wardrobe which meant the rest of the time was spent goofing off and having fun. There was never a time that I hadn't had fun with Pepper so I appreciated the time to hang out with her. Even happy thought it was amusing when we brought back all of the clothes and showed him the ones for Tony.
The rest of the day was spent grabbing ice cream, then going home to show Tony his new clothes. He was a good sport and did a fashion show for us - upon the request that we weren't allowed to take pictures. I don't think I had laughed so much in a while so it was nice how relaxed everyone was. This was one of the best days ever.
(Posting this one too because it's pretty short! Thanks to everyone for reading!)