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Sunlight shone through the blinds, forcing me to bury me head into my pillow. With a grumpy huff, I lifted my head and glanced at the clock. 6:30 am. I debated going back to bed before a low growl from my stomach made my decision for me.
Tossing the sheets aside and swinging my legs over the edge of the mattress, I stretched a bit before heading to the connecting bathroom.
After a quick shower and brushing of teeth, I changed clothes and glanced at the calendar. It had been around a month and a half since I first met Howard and started working on Project REBIRTH.
I headed downstairs and was met with an empty floor.
"I guess Howard is still asleep... Let's see if there is anything to eat."
I headed into the kitchen and sifted through the cabinets. Nothing usable. Checking the fridge resulted in the same. Nothing useful as well.
With a sigh, I took out a piece of paper and scribbled down a short note just in case Howard woke up when I wasn't there. "Went out for groceries. Just to let you know. -April"
I pocketed the spare key that Howard gave me, grabbed my bag, and left the building towards the nearby grocery shop.
I walked into the store and browsed the aisles, meanwhile thinking of what I could make for breakfast. Settling for the traditional american breakfast choice, I grabbed a sack of flour, a carton of eggs, butter, milk, syrup, and as an added indulgence, chocolate chips.
Taking my basket to the register, the woman quickly tallied my purchases.
"That will be $7.20 miss."
I got out the rest of the money I saved for the week and found that I was short a few cents. Disappointed by this, I decided to put the chocolate chips back, apologizing.
"That is alright ma'am. Your new total is $6.50." I handed $7 over.
The woman tried to open the register, but for some reason, it wasn't moving. Giving it a few more presses of the button with no success, she looked back at me.
"One moment please." she said before waving to someone behind me.
A man, I could tell was the manager from his clothes, came behind the counter. The woman quietly whispered into his ear. The man gave a small scowl at the machine while the woman was looking very nervous. He tried the buttons and even gave the object a few smacks but could not open the register.
"Sorry for the hold up miss, our register is always acting up and I've tried everything I can without breaking the darn thing," the man said.
"That's alright. I can wait, but if I may ask, could I take a look? I work with machines fairly often and I may be able to fix it for you."
He hesitated for a moment before relenting by stepping to the side.
"Go on ahead, but don't try anything funny. I got my eye on you," he warned.
I nodded my head and made my way around the counter, pulling out my small tool kit.
"Ah, old tech. We meet again," I mused in my head. I pulled out a small flat-head screwdriver I kept in my bag and went to work. I managed to pop out the drawer, but knew that wasn't the permanent solution.
"Okay, so i got it open, but just doing that won't stop it from getting stuck again. Most likely there is something wrong with the mechanism inside."
I removed the drawer full of money and handed it to the man.
"Hold this please," I said.
The man gave a puzzled and shocked look, but held the drawer anyways.
Looking into the small compartment, I scanned the components before a small gear and screw caught my eye; they were the culprits. I tightened the screw and refitted the gear, giving it a test turn. I smiled and turned to the man.
"You can just slip that in now, and it'll be all fixed sir." I said with a smile.
He popped the drawer back in and tested it out.
"Why, it's good as new! Thank you Miss, you've saved me the trouble of buying a new register. How could I ever repay you?"
"Well... If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I was going to purchase this bag of chocolate chips. I didn't have enough money though."
"Consider it done." The man smiled, handing me my 50 cents change and the chocolate.
Taking the groceries back, I raided the cabinets for a bowl, wooden spoon, frying pan, two plates, and spatula. Next, I opened the pantries and picked out the rest of the ingredients Howard luckily had.
I hummed a tune as I started to mix the ingredients in one bowl and heated up the pan on the stove.
Just as I placed the pancakes on the plates, I heard some shuffling from the living room. I looked up and smiled as a half-asleep Stark was slowly walking into the kitchen.
"What time is it?" he asked.
"Morning. It's 9am by the way," I said, setting both plates and the syrup on the table.
"What's this?" he asked groggily.
"Chocolate chip pancakes. Made by yours truly," I said, taking a pair of forks from a drawer and handing one to him.
"Where did you find all the ingredients anyways? Groceries aren't due until later today" he asked, now more awake.
"I went out and got everything this morning." I sat down and grabbed the small bottle, drizzling some on top of my pancakes.
Howard nodded sat down as well, but just stared at the pancakes.
"What's the matter?" I asked.
"I'm not really one for sweets," he said, poking it with the fork.
I laughed a bit in between bites. "Who knew Howard Stark didn't have a sweet tooth. Why not try it at least? Here." I got up and got some leftover butter from the fridge.
"Try this instead of the syrup."
Using his fork, he cut a small piece of butter and smeared it over one of the pancakes. Cutting a bite size piece from it, he popped it into his mouth.
"Wow, this is actually pretty good!" he said, taking another bite.
I smiled. "Told you so."
Howard's POV
I smiled as I took a second bite of the pancakes. I never really did like sweets, but for some reason I couldn't help myself.
"You doing ok with money? I thought you hit your budget when you got those kids icecream yesterday in the park," I said when I finished my plate. "And you refused my money when I offered."
I got up, placed both of our plates in the sink, and took out two cups from a cabinet. After setting up the coffee machine, I sat back down across from April.
"I did not steal it," she said defensively.
I gave her a fake skeptical look, and we both laughed.
"I had a few dollars left, but didn't have enough for the chocolate chips. Luckily, I did a favor for the manager at the grocery store down the street and he gave me the chocolate as payment"
"Favor?"
"I fixed the register drawer. Simple loose gear."
"Well, aren't you a lucky dog"