more like gremlins

Sophie let out an amused scoff. Maggie was absolutely right. Helen was the type of daughter her mother wished she’s had. On the other hand, Sophie was more boyish, absolutely uninterested, and lost in the matter of fashion and how being girly in the true meaning of the word. She’s got beautiful features, inherited from her mother and also Quentin’s big blue eyes, but other than that? The fashion industry was pretty far away from her range of interests.   Moving towards the next wall with the new collection, Sophie reached for one dress - deep green, the only colorful color that she was willing to accept. “Maybe we could bring some booze and sneak out on the roof?” The mischief flashed in her sapphire eyes. However, Maggie’s idea was even brighter. “That’s excellent!” She exclaimed. “They never disappoint when it’s about dissing each other. I love scandals.” 

She couldn’t help but snicker lightly at her cousins words. It was true. There had never been a situation where their fathers didn’t start to bicker with each other sooner or later. Maggie had always wondered why exactly they didn’t get along. Her father didn’t speak about it and she honestly didn’t want to ask Quentin personally either. All she knew was that it had to do with something that happened in the past and that Quentin had been an employee of her father at one point. Shrugging to herself she didn’t want to think about that anymore. Her attention was drawn to dark blue dress.

Sophie only rolled her big blue eyes and nodded her chin. “What is the point of even going there? We aren’t twenty-one. We cannot even drink. I am not interested.” She sighed then while her fingers were running alongside the stack of clothes hanging on the wall. 

“To be honest I think the only one who is interested is Helen, and also only because she gets a new dress because of it.” Maggie would honestly never understand her sisters love for fashion, it was just ridicules in her opinion. At least her cousin was supportive and thought the same. Nobody needed these stuffy and boring events. “Maybe we are lucky and can leave early this time.” She mumbled as she too, searched with a bored expression for a dress.

            “Wandering through the shopping mall to get the dress for a stupid charity ball is the last thing I intended to do on Sunday morning. Mark me as bored and angry.” 

ᴛʜɪɴɢʏ ғᴏʀ // @thesnarklings​

“Don’t sass me. Sometimes I have the feeling you and your sister do it on purpose and laugh about it behind my back.” Even now he wasn’t exactly sure if she was telling the truth and was really Elyse or if she was mocking him again. Knowing them it would be possible. His youngest children had always been the biggest troublemakers. “Whenever you’re ready. I just need to grab my keys and jacket and then we can go.”

A bright smile appeared on her lips as he told her they could go right away. The sooner the better, less of a risk for her cover to be blown by someone. “You’re the best, dad!” Almost jumping a little, the young woman led the way for her father to follow. This was just too easy.

But that was when her beloved twin stopped them for a moment.

“Hey Pipes, have you seen my shirt? You know, the one you borrowed two days ago.” Elyse couldn’t have picked a worse moment to burst in. Piper’s eyes immediately moved to her sister, begging her to stop before her father realized she had been lying all along.

“Huh, I could’ve sworn it was the other way around.” But who knew? Maybe both had changed their minds now and simply switched. Having twins was definitely very confusing sometimes and he marveled at the fact that his wife was always able to tell the two apart. At Elyses question he arched an eyebrow. Somehow he had expected such a thing from her already. “I am not even surprised, but sure. I’ll get you that dress you want. And it’s been the second time I’ve confused you two. Last time you little gremlins only pretended that I’ve mixed you up.”

“....”

“Of course I can keep my kids apart.” Even if it was harder to keep the twins apart. He still regretted the day were he got the two of them the same Iron Man onesie when they had been babies. He really hadn’t been able to tell who was who then. “To be honest I was pretty sure it was Piper who dyed her hair, not you Elyse.”

“Seriously, dad? Again?” Piper sighed with fake annoyance as she crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m Elyse, not Piper.” They would never grow tired of this. Confusing their father was one of their favorite things to do; and it was so easy. “You really can’t keep your kids apart, can you?”

Her smile caused him to smile as well. It was good to see that he had managed to cheer her up at least a bit. Of course he was still not happy about the whole situation, but getting angry at Helen would gain them nothing. His daughter needed support right now. He wiped her tears away with his thumb before giving her a small kiss on her forehead. “Always Helen. You can always count on me for support. No matter what.” And he meant it. What kind of father would he be if he didn’t support his daughter?

“Hey…have some faith in your old man. Have I ever done something stupid?” There was a small pause. “Okay don’t answer that, we all know I have.” It was a serious situation but he was doing his best to cheer her up a bit and sooth her as best as he could. “We’ll tell her about it together. You don’t have to be afraid Helen and I am sure your Mum will accompany you to the doctor. I’ll definitely tag along as well if you want me too.”

He was stroking soothingly over her back, holding her gently as she cried in his arms. What was the correct reaction in such a situation? Was there even a correct one? God he and Pepper needed to talk seriously about this, but most important right now was that Helen got the comfort she needed, especially since her ex-boyfriend had left her. “We are going to figure it out together. You, your mum and I.” He gave her a light squeeze. “Doesn’t  matter if you decide to keep the child or not, we’ll support you.” A small pause. “And I am still going to punch your ex in the face, even if you shouldn’t be pregnant at all.”

Well…his reaction hadn’t been the best, he had to admit it. But then it wasn’t everyday that your underage daughter tells you that she is pregnant. Tony could feel the rage bubbling up in his chest when he heard that her supposed boyfriend left her, but he suppressed his anger. It would do no good right now. Still…if he got his hands on the boy…Shaking his head he gently reached for Helens hand so he could pull her into a hug. She needed his support right now. “Hey….it’s okay. Everything is okay. We are going to find a solution together…and you’re gonna tell me his name so I can find the guy and punch him in the face.”

It was no secret that Tony and Pepper had been worried about their daughter in the last days. Helen had locked herself in her room and only came out to grab some food or go into the bathroom. So he was glad that she had opted to finally talk to him. However he wasn’t exactly happy about what she had to tell him. “You’re what? Helen you’re just seventeen, besides: Since when did you have a boyfriend in the first place?”

A soft chuckle left her at the girl’s obvious enthusiasm. It was something she would never get used to. A few people over the years had expressed some sort of awe at her, but they had always been far quieter than Judith in doing so. Perhaps that was because they knew the reality of what she did, and perhaps that would affect her goddaughter’s own view of her as she grew up and came to that realisation herself, but for now Melinda would just smile and go with it. No need to wipe away that innocence just yet. 

“I love you too, honey,” she smiled, one arm wrapping around the girl as she snuggled in closer. If anyone walked in right then, they would possibly be quite surprised at the sight. At least, those who didn’t know Melinda well would; those closest to her were well aware that she wasn’t quite as much of an ice queen as people thought. 

“So,” she started, clicking the button on the top of the tablet she had been working on to turn the screen off. “What will I need to do for this?” 

Judith admired different people, her siblings, her parents, her uncles and aunts. But her godmother had always had a special place in the young girls heart. She admired her siblings for how much more confident they seemed how much more present they were, she loved it about them. Her parents were two of her greatest role models, manging family life and business so well, she wanted to be like that once she grew up. Her uncles and aunts, who wouldn’t want superheroes as their family? But Melinda was special. The way she treated her, how she cared for her, it made her feel special.

Giggling softly, Judith thought about it for a moment, trying to remember what her teacher had told them. “I need to talk about you a bit. I need to say what your job is and why you are my role model and... and if it is possible you could come to school with me. We get to ask questions after the presentation and maybe you could show us some things? You are just like Mulan it would be so cool if you could show something like that!”

Tony didn’t hesitate and returned the hug of his daughter, just holding her close for a moment and enjoying it. He knew that he should spend more time with Judith alone, but it was hard to give all his children the same amount of attention and Judith with her shy personal was often overlooked. He pressed a kiss against her forehead before letting go of her. “I promise I’ll hurry. Go upstairs and tell your Mum and your siblings that I am on my way okay?” 

Twenty minutes later he headed upstairs as well, freshly showered and ready to join his family for the movie night. He didn’t even try to hide his smile when he spotted Pepper on the sofa, already surrounded by their children. He carefully tried to squeeze himself between Pepper and the kids and it didn’t take long until his daughters were already clinging to him. “Apparently I’ve been missed.” Leaning over he gave Pepper a kiss. “You can thank Judith for coming and getting me out of the shop….and making sure that I showered before coming to you.”

Nodding excitedly the young girl rushed upstairs to tell her mum that he’d join them soon enough. Pepper was currently making some popcorn, which had to be a lot since the children ate so much of that stuff, sometimes she wondered where they left all of it. The gremlins had already found their spots on the huge sofa, leaving just enough space for their mother to fit in. Margaret had been the first one to get the bowl of popcorn, sharing it with her siblings.

Melinda’s expression, which was already far softer than most people would have believed possible, softened further at the request. She had never considered herself to be a role model, never aimed to be the person others wished to imitate. Even after becoming Judith’s godmother, she had never imagined fulfilling that role. All she had wanted was to do right by the girl. 

Perhaps when Judith grew older and started to discover more about who Melinda really was she would see her godmother differently. Maybe that wasn’t a bad thing; Melinda was flawed and she knew that. There were many reasons that no one should wish to be like her. Yet if Judith saw her as someone to idolise at this moment in time, then who was she to discourage the idealistic notion of a child? 

At least, that’s the reason she told herself she went along with it all. If she was honest with herself, then she would have to admit that some not-too-small part of her was warmed by how innocently her goddaughter saw her. 

“Of course,” she smiled. “I’d really like that.” Even as she spoke, she realised just how true those words were. Yes, she was far from perfect, but to have someone look at her as though she was? It was strange, but a good kind of strange.  

Among her siblings, Judith always had been the one to disappear. She was quiet, didn’t cause trouble and was a very peaceful and calm person. Usually, when playing with her siblings, nothing bad ever happened. Their parents were always so amazed by it. However, with Melinda, though still being quite shy, she felt like coming out a lot more. If only for the fact that she saw what her godmother was capable of even though she wasn’t that different at all.

So when Melinda agreed to join her for the project, Judith couldn’t stop herself from beaming and quickly leaning forward to hug the older woman. “Thank you! No one else will have someone as cool to introduce. I love you, Melinda.”