Chapter 5
“Bump me one more time and I’ll rip your wheels off.” Dum-e beeped indignantly before rolling back further to build up more momentum.
“That better be the sound of you getting back to your port.”
It wasn’t…
And with one last battle beep the metallic creation accelerated into the back of the stool nearly knocking the man off altogether.
“You little…” Tony dropped his blueprint pen on the table before spinning himself around to face the insistent little monster.
Dum-e in turn dropped the sizable package he had been holding before speeding away back to his port.
He shot the robot a withering glare before focusing his attention on the package.
“What’s this?”
Dum-e beeped.
“Alright, alright. One beep for yes. Two for no.”
Dum-e beeped once more.
“Is it from Pepper?”
“Beep. Beep.”
“No? Do I personally know the person who sent this?”
“Beep.”
Tony quirked a brow.
“Did they give it to you?”
“Beep. Beep”
“Then why do you have it?”
There was a beat of silence before the little robot rolled over to the tables next to the door before bumping into the closest leg a few times.
“Someone left it on the table?”
“Beep.”
He picked up the package and gave it a shake.
“Heavy. Probably not in pieces… Is it dangerous?”
Dum-e gave a whirr.
“Yes or no bud.”
“Beep. Beep…...Beep”
“No and yes?”
The little bot wheel itself back to its port, deciding to watch from a distance.
Tony just rolled his eyes before grabbing a pair of scissors he had thrown haphazardly on the table. Before cutting at the tape.
Which took a while because the sender had gone crazy with said tape.
Not that he minded terribly. His interest was piqued.
A few more moments of cutting got the box open as he gingerly removed what looked like a sturdy coal grey matte box.
At least it had looked like a box within the confines of the box he had removed it from.
He came to see that it was in fact a book of some sort, with crisp white, surprisingly thick paper bound between two sturdy black covers.
Sort of like the covers of the official engineering notebooks the interns at Stark Industries were given…
He shook the subconscious thought aside as he ran his hands down the sleek front cover.
And then all in the span of half a second his hands froze, unable to get past the sudden wall of worry.
Or uncomfortable curiosity, which was rare for him.
Who was it from? Who would do something like this?
A few faces popped into his mind before his brain settled on one curly haired genetically mutated teen who fit the bill a little too well.
Access to a Stark Industries engineering notebook?
Check.
Access to his lab?
Check.
Ability to make Tony feel all of the emotions?
Unfortunate yes.
And if it were anything like previous surprises he had given Tony, this one was going to be interesting.
They always were. And the outcome emotions were normally varied so he’d really have to 100% dive in.
But he had a feeling, He had a horrible feeling that this little suprise was gonna make him cry. Just a little.
Maybe a tear?
Possible watery eyes?
He took a deep breath before turning the cover.
Mr. Stark. I know they won’t replace the ones you lost in the museum, but I hope it helps.
It was penned in decent handwriting on the front page with no signature, but he knew.
He knew as he flipped page by page through photos he hadn’t even known existed.
Some of the team, some of himself. Some of him and Pepper. Some he had taken with Peter. Most of them genuine and candid.
Picture after picture of happiness.
This was real.
Not the fake shit they had plastered all over the walls of the museum.
It was reality.