Chapter Text
Mindful of the sound he was making, Tony walked through the west wing halls. He had heard his Aunt Peggy had arrived that morning, and was eager to find her. The hallway approaching his father study was lined with family portraits, none he wanted to be in, from over the years. Glancing over his shoulder he bumped into a table that had a glass vase on top. Tony never cared for the vase, but he was quick to catch it before it could fall. His mother would have had a heart attack
“She can’t stay here! Why did you even come here with Nastia, Natalie, or whatever she’s called?” Tony heard his father yell as he got closer.
“It’s Natasha. Please listen to me, Howard. This is just a temporary arrangement until we find her a suitable home. It’s been hard to find foster homes for all the ‘dance academy’ girls and you know-” Tony heard his Aunt Peggy approach the door and his brown eyes widened. How’d she realised he was there? His Aunt came into view with a raised eyebrow and scolding look; however, she said nothing as she closed the door. Tony cursed his Aunt Peggy and moped. Why did she have to be so secretive??
Aunt Peggy had just barged in with some of her agents and gone directly to his father’s study. It was unusual, to say the least. For one, it was the middle of the night. Yet, Aunt Peggy always woken him up to say hello, and it’s not like he would’ve mind. And there was also that weird conversation. Why would girls from a dance academy need housing? Were they orphaned girls? Or maybe they were from another country and just needed some place to sleep during their stay in the States? Aunt Peggy did say it was only temporary.
Also, who was Natasha? And where was she? Tony hadn’t seen anyone other than the cars lined out front and Peggy. Was the girl that important?
Tony wondered how old she was. He hoped she was around his age. Maybe they could spend some time together? Maybe they could even be...friends?
It wasn’t like Tony had a lot of those. Sure, Ty was his friend, but the other kids in his class didn’t even speak to him. Why would they? He was at least 4 years younger than them, and too smart for his own good. Tony couldn’t blame them. I mean, in two years I’ll start college. The others must be as intimidated by me as they are jealous.
Sometimes being a genius sucked.
Tony retreated from the hallway, but not before he spared a quick look back at the door. Maybe the girl had answers. He just had to look for Natasha, wherever she was. He turned to the right at an intersection corridor, and began walking down the new corridor when he heard someone clearing their throat.
“And where do you think you’re going, young master?”
Dammit. He should have known Jarvis would be lurking around.
Tony tried to sound nonchalant, but even to his ears, it sounded fake. “I was just, uh, you know, I had to go to the bathroom.”
Jarvis wasn’t impressed. There was no bathroom in this hall, but Tony could never really lie to him.
“Well then, let me walk you back to your room. You wouldn’t want to stay awake strictly longer than necessary, no?” Jarvis smiled slightly, knowing Tony couldn’t object without blowing his flimsy excuse for a cover. The boy sighed and began walking back to his room.There was nothing he could do. Finding Natasha would have to wait until the morning.
Tony awoke determined to continue his investigation. Howard was nowhere to be seen, likely having left for some business at Stark Industries already. When Tony tried to ask his mother at breakfast about Aunt Peggy (he only ever saw Maria at breakfast), she told him she needed to rest and scurried away to her room. Tony followed but the door was promptly shut in his face.
Well. Back to the kitchen, aka where the only people willing to talk to Tony were.
Jarvis was making scrambled eggs, in true British fashion, and turned to face Tony when he entered.
“Good morning, young master. Fancy some eggs?” He said looking over his shoulder to the boy.
“Thank you, J. But I’m not here to eat.” Tony replied, but then added after quick consideration: “I mean, I won’t say no to food, but I’m looking for a girl? Have you seen a girl? Natasha? Did Howard tell you anything about her? Can I see her?”
Jarvis put a portion of scrambled eggs on a plate with two slices of bread while he listened to Tony ramble. He put the plate on the table and looked pointedly at Tony. “Eat and I’ll tell you.”
Tony almost wanted to refuse on principle, but it wasn’t exactly a hardship to eat breakfast. While he started chewing on the honestly delicious eggs, Jarvis told him what he knew. “There is indeed a new guest at the mansion. Young Natasha will stay with us until Miss Carter finds her a better home. Be considerate with her, she is likely nervous and suspicious. You can find her in your mother’s gardens.”
Tony, without hesitating, shoved the rest of the eggs and the bread in his mouth and jumped off his chair, then shouted:“Thanks, J!”
Finding Natasha was more difficult than he’d have thought. He didn't think the girl would go very deep into his mother's garden. Maria demanded to have a large garden filled with flowers, some exotic, and over the years more had been added on. After a good 30 minutes of walking around without seeing a single soul, he flopped down on a bench a stone bench near the fountain. Could it be she was avoiding him? But why? They hadn’t even talked!
Tony thought about giving up and walking back to the manor. He looked around the open area glancing past the green hedge. He almost thought he was hallucinating when a red-headed girl appeared in front of him, startling him violently. Where…? He could have sworn she just materialised out of thin air.
She haughtily looking down at him and shook her head. Tony took note of how pretty Natasha was with hair like flames framing her pale face and vibrant green eyes. There was a certain menacing grace to how she stood, as if she was a tiger waiting to prowl and he was the prey. It was a bit scary, actually.
She stared at him, a challenge in her eyes, before declaring,“Хватит искать меня.”
Tony stared back, shocked. Was that russian? Was she a commie? Before he could ask her anything, she slipped into the shadows, leaving him alone again.
He had the feeling it wouldn’t go over well if he tried to follow her. Instead, he went to his room and sat on his bed, pondering.
Natasha was intimidating, even though she didn’t look much older than 10. Also, she hadn’t spoken english to him. Which meant russian was her mother tongue. And it was almost certain she couldn’t or wouldn’t speak english.
Okay.
No problem, he could handle that. He just had to learn russian!