A/N: Another one the day after my come back, wowow progress 😂😂😂
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Type: Pepper & Tony X child!reader

Warnings: None just coot

Requests: Closed

A/N: I am sorry if you find it too long,
Also, it is set before Infinity War ^-^
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Pepper was in a hurry. It wasn't abnormal, God no, especially when trying to navigate the streets of New York because it's apparently quicker than getting a cab. Well, walking or at least half-running is actually quicker than getting a cab. At least on the pavements, the congestion of people moved like liquid particles and always made room for that one person hurrying along to get to work or where ever they were going on a day like today. Her eyes darted down to her wrist, she had enough time to grab a coffee and still get to work for the meeting.

You were sprinting as fast as your little eight-year-old legs could take you. All the while, never looking back to see the officer chasing after you.

The orphanage was despicable. The people who ran it hated children and you still couldn't understand why they still owned the place if they despised the pitter-patter of feet all the time. Not that there was much sound from the children anyways - only when people came to inspect the place, we're the children allowed to make as much noise as they wanted. However the moment the door slammed shut, Ms Brown's croaky, high voice perked up and barked at everyone to be quiet. No one had dared to challenge her.

Of course, it was risky to try and run away too. Some of the older children had tried and failed and were dragged back to the orphanage where Ms Brown would cry petty crocodile tears but again, the moment the door slammed shut, she would beckon the runaway into her office. There would be more barking and snarling and then a sharp sound as though she had hit the child. And she did. The kids would walk out with a red streak down the side of their cheek.

You didn't want that so you simply willed yourself to go faster. Not that it helped much.

Pepper had just walked out of the coffee shop and was about to gain her bearings when someone collided with her legs causing her to spill her coffee down her pristine, white suit.

"Hey - " She began to say until she looked down to see your frightened, wide eyes.

"I - I - I'm really sorry, miss!" Your eyes were shiny and your voice out of breath as you looked back up to the tall lady with ginger hair, "I - I didn't mean to." You squeaked again.

"Hey - hey kid! Lady, lady, don't let that kid get away!" Came the officer's voice as he neared the two of you.

Your eyes desperately looked for an escape route as you looked to either side for a way around the lady who now smelt of really strong coffee except there was no way. There were two intimidating walls of people either side of her. Pepper herself didn't know what to do as she was rather expecting something like an owner and their dog to have caused this mess - not a terrified child.

As a last resort, you tugged the bottom of her white coffee-stained blazer and pleaded, "Please, don't let him take me back; I don't want to go!"

"Miss - kid - " The officer was a tad bit unfit and wasn't really in the best shape which left him panting for air too, "Thank you, Miss, for stopping the runaway." He spoke up once he had finally composed himself.

You almost tried to hide in the lady's blazer given how much you had tried to squeeze yourself to her in an effort to stay out of reach of the officer. You practically clinged on to her for dear life.

Pepper was at a loss for words - she was going to be late for meeting at this rate however the strength at which you held on and the huge eyes full of terror that you had given her told her enough. Meetings could be rescheduled anyways.

"Officer, can't you see she's petrified?" She finally spoke up in an effort to defend you.

"Miss, these things happen all the time, children runaway because they simply want attention - "

Pepper looked shocked at his statement, "Well, if that's your attitude, I don't think you should be an officer at all! Have you even tried to ask why?"

"She's from an orphanage and no because I've been trying to catch up to her!" Retorted the officer who glared at you, "Come on, kid - " He began and tried to reach for your arm.

Before he could you practically cried, "No! No, she'll hurt me! I don't want to go back, please don't make me!" You held on to the woman in the white suit tighter now.

The officer's hand rapidly retracted after that. He didn't want anymore unwanted attention.

Pepper's gaze softened at you but she frowned at the officer, "Shame on you, scaring young girl." She scolded him.

"But Miss - "

"And don't 'but miss' me, do you even know who I am?" Pepper decided it was the point at which she should take control of the situation.

"No - "

"I am the CEO of Stark Industries and if you carry on like this, I will report you for harassment."

"I - I don't think this counts as harassment - "

"The longer you stay, the more it looks like it not only to the young girl but to me too." She gave him a strict glare as she held his gaze.

The officer, now looking quite flustered and stressed about his own career, opened his mouth to speak, "What about the little girl, the orphanage's owner is worried and - "

Pepper responded rapidly, "I will deal with the situation, but I suggest you get back to patrolling the rest of this street."

"I - I - "

"Harassment." She hissed at him a final time.

The officer nodded quickly, "So sorry, kid, have good day Miss Potts."

And off the officer went. Pepper let out a sigh that was meant to relax her before she looked down to your curious E/C eyes again. She offered you a small, reassuring smile. Now what? She hadn't really thought this out. She would probably need to take you back to the orphanage anyway which was the sad part.

"Thank you." You looked grateful for what she did and you were, "You didn't have to - I - I can go now, I'll probably find some place - "

Pepper shook her head quickly, "I'm not going to leave you on the streets on your own, don't be ridiculous." Her brow softened at your words and she crouched down to your height, "How about I take you back to Stark Industries so we can get cleaned up?" She asked you, noticing the rather terrible state you were in.

Your H/C hair was tangled in some places and there marks and holes all over the top and trousers you were wearing. Ms. Brown didn't exactly care enough to buy new clothes for all of you and they certainly didn't get washed often either. She said she was saving money and she was but just not to spend on the rest of the children in the orphanage.

You looked a little unsure but this lady did defend you after all, "Okay..." You gave a little nod, your E/C eyes searching her face for any hint that she was lying.

"Perfect." Pepper smiled back at you again, this time standing up and offering you a hand.

You took it with more of a brighter look about you now, "I really am sorry about your suit." You apologised again, still feeling bad for running into her.

"It's fine, I didn't like this one much anyways." She reassured you.

*  *  *  *  *

Tony had been in his basement, working on some issues with one of his suits. He had been down there for hours and considering he hadn't seen Pepper in a while, he decided to go up to the penthouse, just to see if she was there or not. Normally, she would come down and visit him if he was in the basement so why hadn't she today?

As he neared the penthouse doors he could here laughter from two people - The first he recognised as Pepper's however the second he didn't know at all. It did sound quite like a child though.

"Pepper?" He called as he walked in, seeing her sat there in more smart-casual clothing and next to her was a young girl that can't have been older than ten.

"Are those horns?" Pepper chuckled away appearing to have not heard Tony walk in.

"No! That's silly, lions don't have horns." You giggled away sweetly as you pointed to the mane of the lion you had drawn.

"Oh, I see now - " The bright smile on her lips never left and she hummed another laugh.

Tony had never seen a smile like that on Pepper before and he thought she wore it well. Although, he was still confused as to why this little girl was here in the penthouse.

"Um, Pep?" He called to her again which finally earned ear attention.

"Tony, I didn't realise you were here." The smile stayed stuck to her lips as though someone had glued it there.

You turned around at the sound of another person in the room, "Hi." You gave him a sweet look.

"Hello there." He smiled back to you before you turned around however once you did, Tony beckoned Pepper over, "Can we talk?"

Pepper looked back to you and gently placing her hand on your shoulder, mentioned that she would be back in a moment before  getting up and walking over hurriedly to Tony. As shy did, he would have noticed the extra bounce in her steps.

"Who's that?" He whispered quietly to her.

Pepper looked back to you with a smile of adoration and then looked back, "Oh, Tony, she's the sweetest little girl you could ever meet, her name's F/N L/N, and she was in an orphanage; she ran into me today when she was running away and - I saved her Tony - The orphanage she ran away from was absolutely vile - they were treating the kids there so badly so I - well, Stark Industries bought the orphanage and we'll improve the living conditions and find a new carer for the kids - but I am going to be adopting Y/N because she is simply the most delightful little girl you could ever meet and I couldn't leave her there with that horrid woman who was running the place previously whilst the other's were put into kind foster families so I took her in - "

Tony stopped her there once he had processed what she was saying, "Adopting? As in you are going to be the official legal guardian of her?"

"And you too, I'm hoping - "

"Pepper, honey, are you hearing yourself? You can't just adopt a child after one day." Tony meant this in all seriousness, he didn't want Pepper to be unhappy but still, "And me? I haven't even met her properly yet!"

She still had a fairly nonchalant demeanor about the whole situation, "I have a rescheduled meeting I need to get to in about five minutes which means you get to stay with her for the rest of the afternoon." Pepper offered him an ecstatic smile, "Give her a chance, please. I know you'll like her."

"Pepper - "

She pecked him on the lips and hurried over to the counter to grab her bag, "See you later Y/N, Tony will look after you," Saying her goodbyes, she headed to the door.

You turned around and gave her a little wave but watched as Tony tried to catch up with her, "Pepper, wait - " However she was already gone and out of the door.

Tony sighed before turning to see you looking at him. He gave you a little smile, "Hi there, (random name) - "

"It's Y/N." You frowned a little when he said the wrong name.

"Sorry, I meant, Y/N." The atmosphere was rather awkward for a moment, "So, there is food in the fridge, I can see you're busy drawing, so I'm just gonna go and finish up some work - " Tony looked like he had no idea what to do with himself.

"What kind of work?" Your fire of curiosity was lit as you questioned him, tilting your head to the side.

"Um - just work." He nodded before pivoting on his one foot and heading towards the elevator, "JARVIS keep an eye on her please. I'll be back soon."

"Of course, Mr Stark." Came a voice from over head to which you looked up at the ceiling to find but there was no one there.

When Tony was gone you stood up on the seat (your shoes were new so you thought they wouldn't mind) and scanned the ceiling.

"I don't recommend you stand on the couch Miss L/N." Came the voice known as JARVIS again.

"Where are you? And who are you?" You were rather intrigued with the disembodied voice that was talking to you.

"Just A Rather Very Intelligent System; I am an AI created by Tony Stark." Came the reply.

Your mouth formed a small 'O' even though you had no idea what 'AI' meant, "But where are you?"

There was a pause, "I have no physical form. I am just a piece of very intelligent software with a voice."

Again your mouth formed another 'O'. You sat down and clicked your tongue as you contemplated what to do. You were still curious about what Mr Stark was doing.

"JARVIS, where is Mr Stark?" You asked the AI.

"Currently in his workshop, Miss."

You thought for a moment; he didn't say that you couldn't go down to the workshop, "Could you tell me how to get there? To his workshop?" You enquired with a hopeful tone.

You heard the elevator door slide open behind you, "I can take you there in the elevator."

*  *  *  *  *

Rock music played on the radio as Tony gazed at his metal glove through a static magnifying glass. There was something wrong with his left blaster therefore he needed to try and fix it before something terrible decided to happen again. The metal sparked when he touched it, causing him to spring back in case it started a fire.

"Cool." You let word draw out as you gazed in awe at all of the equipment, "So you are Ironman."

Tony's head whirled around when he heard you voice in surprise. He held his hand on his heart as though he had just had a mini heart attack, "Jeez, kid, don't sneak up on people like that." He mumbled but then he paused as he processed the situation, "Wait, what are you even doing down here?"

"I was curious." You replied as your eyes fell upon one of the old arc reactors in a glass box, "What's that?"

Tony watched you for a moment before he turned the music down, "JARVIS, I thought I told you to watch her!" He yelled up to the ceiling.

"I did and I still am, Mr Stark." Came the honest reply.

You turned around to face him, "You didn't say that I couldn't come down here." Came your retort.

"That - " He thought about what you said and then frowned at the floor and's he realised that he had been caught out, "Is actually very true."

You walked over to view the Ironman armour and poked a piece of the metal just to see if it was real or not.

"Ah - ah, no touch." Tony moved in front of you.

You looked up to him, "What are you doing?"

"Work."

You folded your arms and frowned, "But you said that before."

Tony sighed, "I'm trying to repair my suit."

"Why did it break?" You questioned, trying to see past him.

"Because a bad man broke it." Anyone but you could see he was getting a little tired of the questions.

"I'm not two." Your brow hooded over your eyes again and you paused, looking up at him curiously whilst he look back down to you, "Why are you Ironman?"

"Why do you ask so many questions?" Tony couldn't help but counter your next question. He felt like he was being interrogated.

"I'm a naturally curious person." Came your answer and you held your hands up in defence. You swayed on your heels for a moment looking around the rest of his workshop, "Can I make something?"

The next question was a bit of a shock to his system, "What?"

"Can I make something?" You repeated and glanced up to him, your eyes were wide with the cogs noticably turning in your head.

Tony looked back at you with a thoughtful expression. Well, it couldn't hurt right? And Pepper did ask him to try and get to know you, "Like what?"

You squeezed your eyes shut and thought for a moment, letting the creative side of your brain take over, "A little robot." You answered, opening your eyes with a smile lighting your face.

Tony looked around his workshop and spotted his work bench on the other side of the room, "A little robot." He nodded. There were plenty of spare parts. He looked back to his suit - well, it was a simple problem with a simple solution. He could fix it another day, "Yeah, okay." He smiled down to you. It would be fun to do.

You grinned back up to him with an excited look.

*  *  *  *  *

When Pepper got back, she had a mild panic in wondering where you and Tony could have possible gone until JARVIS pointed out that you were both down stairs in the work shop. She sighed with relief that you hadn't run away again or that something terrible hadn't happened to the both of you while she was gone.

When Pepper got down there she saw Tony working on his Ironman armour and had another meltdown when she couldn't see you. Why would JARVIS lie?

"Tony, where's Y/N?" The worry was prominent in her voice.

Tony looked up from the suit to see Pepper there and was quick to drop everything in order to go over to pepper, "Hey, everything's fine - " He put his hands up in defence as he approached her.

"Where - " She was about to shout but before she could, he brought her in for a short, sweet kiss.

Pepper's anxieties left for a moment until he pulled away with smile on his lips, "Just be quiet, okay. Inside voices." He was being rather mysterious in her mind but did as he said anyways.

Tony led her over to the couch on the far side of the room where you were sleeping with a little robot in your arms. A blanket had been chucked over you by Tony. Pepper gave you a doting look whilst Tony did the same.

"Where did she get the toy from?" She enquired quietly.

"Y/N made it herself - with a little help from me of course but it was mainly her. She really does have an eye for designing." He complimented your efforts when explaining to Pepper.

Neither of them could take their eyes off of you. Tony wrapped his arms around Pepper and rested his head in the crook of her neck.

"I want to adopt her." He whispered.

To Tony, you were the child he had always wanted. Yes, he and Pepper were not yet married but lots of couples started families before marriage. It's not like it was a bad thing. To Pepper, you were the daughter she always wanted and with you and Tony, she felt like she had a complete family.

Pepper turned her head to face Tony with a content smile on her face, "I told you that you'd like her."

Tony smiled back lovingly to his girlfriend, "Yeah and you were definitely right," He grinned, "And she's also going to be my little protégé."

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A/N: I hope you enjoyed that and I really hope you didn't find it too long ^-^'