A/N: This is my first fanfic so please be gentle. I don't have a beta yet so if you're interested please PM me.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything; however, I did borrow the name Stark for my OC Chris.
Chapter One: The Prodigal Daughter Returns
Chris fumbled with her keycard and dropped it on the ground. Cursing under her breath, she bent over to retrieve it only to have her bag slip off her shoulder and spill its contents. Brushing her long sable hair out of her face with a frustrated sigh, she gathered her belongings back into her bag and gave up pretending to be something that she wasn't.
"Jarvis," she whispered.
"Yes, Miss Stark?" Her relief was palpable when the AI responded in a whisper.
"I appear to be too jetlagged to function like a human being. Please unlock the door and do not tell Daddy I'm here. I don't think that my usual surprise is going to be much fun tonight. I just want to go to bed.
"Of course, Madam."
With a click, the door unlocked and Chris let herself into the penthouse. She didn't bother with the light and tiptoed across the living room heading for her bedroom. Suddenly, she found herself flat on her back with a knife to her throat.
"Who are you? Who do you work for?" a low voice hissed in her ear. The knife dug into the flesh of her neck. Tears filled her brown eyes as the knife pricked her skin.
"Jarvis?" Chris whimpered. The lights came on stinging her eyes.
"I have alerted your father." Jarvis started to say but before he could complete his sentence, Tony strode into the room. He took in the situation and walked over to the bar.
"How about you get off my daughter, Legolas, so she can come over here and give me a hug?" he asked as he poured two shots of whiskey taking one for himself and placing one on the bar.
Clint looked at the woman finally taking in her features and recognized her as the mystery woman that appeared in almost all of the pictures scattered around the penthouse. He stood up with a sigh, looked down at her apologetically, and offered her his hand. She just stared at him. Tony sighed.
"Clint this is Antonia Christine Stark, my daughter. Chris this is Clint," Tony said dismissively. Chris reluctantly took his hand and he helped her to her feet.
"It's Agent Clint Barton, actually. I work for SHIELD with your dad." She pulled back with a nod and walked over to her father. He enveloped her in a hug and whispered something in her ear. Clint looked on in surprise as she stepped back and laughed. That was when Tony noticed the line of blood on her neck. He grabbed a towel from the counter, pressed it to her neck, and glared at Clint.
"Jesus Barton! Did you have to get so fucking overzealous?"
Clint flinched. "She was an intruder. If you hadn't kept the fact that you have a fucking daughter, who of course, has access to your penthouse, I wouldn't have taken her down." Chris took the towel from Tony and pulled it away from her neck. A thin line of blood about two inches long had soaked into its fibers. Once the danger had passed, she had been smiling and somewhat amused by the situation but she wasn't smiling anymore. She turned to Clint.
"My face is on every wall in this room and I had a suitcase for fuck's sake! Obviously, I belonged here!" Clint had the decency to look chagrined.
Tony picked up the full shot glass and offered it to her. She took it gratefully and knocked it back like a pro. Like father, like daughter. Tony smiled and poured himself another shot. Clint narrowed his eyes.
"Why didn't you tell us you had a daughter? Shit we had bets going as to who this girl was. We've asked everyone including Jarvis but none would say a word." A look of pain crossed Clint's face. "Shit! I just lost fifty bucks!"
Tony snorted, "Natasha didn't tell you? Shame on her for not telling you before you bet that she was a past mistress. You should have known better. Everybody knows that Pepper's the only girlfriend that I would ever keep pictures of after we split up." Hearty laughter erupted from Chris.
"Wait, Tasha knew?" Clint interjected but Tony gave him a look that implied that Clint was not living up to his super spy reputation before promptly ignoring him.
"Daddy, Pepper is the only real girlfriend that you've ever had and that lasted what, a year?" she asked before downing another shot.
"That's not true, baby. You know that I loved your mother." Chris gave an unladylike snort and poured herself another.
"What? I did!" Tony said in mock outrage. He ruffled her hair and took the bottle from her. He poured himself another shot before putting the bottle back under the bar. She watched him and shook her head then patted him on the back.
"Love usually lasts longer than a month, Daddy. Or so I've heard." She walked over and picked up her things where they had fallen. Tony chuckled as Clint rushed over to help.
"Let me get this for you," Clint said grabbing the handle of her suitcase. She started to say no but thought better of it when the whiskey joined her jetlag and made keeping her eyes open intolerable. She walked over to the door of what the Avengers had dubbed 'the mystery room'. As she approached, it unlocked with a click and she pulled it open. The lights came on as she entered.
"Thanks, Jarvis," she said and gestured for Clint to set her bag at the foot of her bed. He set it down without comment.
"You're welcome, Miss Stark. Should I wake you at seven?" Chris looked at the clock on her nightstand and read 2:09 AM. She cringed.
"Better make it eight or I'll be the biggest bitch this penthouse has ever seen."
"Very good, Miss Stark. Pleasant dreams."
She looked at Clint and raised an eyebrow. He had walked over to her dresser and was running a finger along the top of it. He looked up at her.
"It's clean," he said surprised. She nodded, not sure where he was going with this line of questioning.
"This room has been locked for the past six months. Why is there no dust?" Chris grinned and picked up her suitcase. She put it on the bed and unzipped it before throwing the lid back.
"Jarvis keeps it clean for me," she said. "I never warn Daddy before I come home. I like to surprise him, but Jarvis always knows." She pulled out a sheer nightgown of blue silk and laid it on the bed then continued to unpack. Clint's throat dried out as he watched her walk a handful of lace panties with matching bras over to her dresser. He'd noticed her soft curves when she'd been beneath him on the floor but considering the circumstances hadn't really thought about them. She moved to pull more clothes from her suitcase but Clint barely noticed. Fleeting images of what must be under her clothes right now dominated his thoughts. He gave himself a mental shake and cleared his throat to chase them away.
"Isn't that kind of dangerous considering his lifestyle?" She laughed at this and moved her now empty suitcase to the closet.
"That's exactly why I like to do it. It throws him off his game. The fact that he has pictures of me everywhere adds to the fun. I usually play the outraged lover," she smirked and shook her head, "Those poor women." She picked up her nightgown. "You would think that I wouldn't be so much of a secret," she added as she went into the bathroom.
"Well your dad certainly kept it from us," Clint projected.
"He was just having fun with you," She said and stepped back into her room. Her nightgown hugged the curve of her breasts and draped over her generous curves gracefully leaving a lot to the imagination but its sheerness teased Clint and assisted him with deciding what to imagine. "Honestly, he's never hidden me. I'm listed as his heir and my birth is a matter of public record, but I've always done my best to stay out of the public eye. I'm not like, Daddy." She walked over to her bed and turned down the sheets. She looked back him and said, "It was really nice meeting you, Clint. Do you think you could get the door on your way out?"
Clint wrenched his eyes away from her well-rounded ass and tossed her a rakish grin before walking out of the room and closing the door behind him. He made his way to the bar thinking that he would join Tony for a drink but he was already gone. He shrugged and headed off to bed.