"Dad, you're home!" Maria Stark greeted her father happily as he walked through the elevator doors. His assistant – and her best friend- Pepper Potts trailed after Tony, binder in hand and stress marks on her face. Three months Tony had been missing; three months he had been lost in Afghanistan. Pepper and Maria had gone absolutely nuts worrying about him. They obsessed about finding him. After some time they realized all they could do was wait, and it drove Maria insane.

"Hey kid," Tony responded as he made his way to the bar. Maria frowned but kept her mouth shut. Her father's drinking habits were one thing they fought about constantly, but she wasn't going to argue with him today. She was just happy he was alive. He was the only family she had left. However, Pepper wasn't as lenient.

"Tony, it's not even noon yet."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Pep, I haven't had a decent drink in three months. Let me have this." He left no room for argument as he grabbed his glass, and the bottle, and made his way to the lab. Maria shook her head as one tear fell from her eyes. She quickly wiped it away; there was no room for tears in the Stark household. But she had missed her dad, so much. Even though they rarely spoke, his presence in the house was comforting, a reminder that she wasn't really alone. Then he was gone, and Maria was haunted by the memories of loneliness and despair she had felt when her mother died. Except this time, there was no agency who could locate a missing family member, no one she could live with. The fear of living on the streets again followed her everyday Tony was gone, but he was back now. No need to worry.

"So, uh, I saw the conference," Maria muttered quietly. Not that she could have avoided it if she wanted to. Every channel was covering Tony's decision to shut down the weapons division of Stark Industries. Most were blaming it on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, others said that Tony's captivity opened his eyes to the devastation in the Middle East, and some even speculated that perhaps Stark had joined the terrorists and was making sure the U.S was left defenseless. Maria had rolled her eyes and shut the television off but she was angry. Not because of his decision, no, she was very proud of her father for that, but because he didn't come to see her first. Instead she had to find out from the news stations that Tony was alive. She was his daughter, but more importantly, she was an after-thought.

Pepper gave Maria a hug. "I know it's hard sometimes sweetie. I tried to convince him to come home first but you know how your father is once his mind is set." The red-head chuckled. "It's still so weird to call Tony someone's father. And it's already been almost two years since you came to live with us." Her blue eyes widened. "Your birthday's coming up soon!" Maria mentally rolled her eyes. If there was one thing Pepper sucked at in normal conversation, it was changing the subject. But she played along.

"Yeah, I'll be seventeen next week. Do you think he'll remember?" Maria asked with a small, sad smile. Pepper ruffled the younger girl's long dark hair.

"Maybe but if not just use his credit card to buy yourself something nice. I do it all the time," Pepper answered with a small laugh.

"How do you do it Peps?"

"Do what?"

"Deal with Dad ignoring you all time. Sometimes he acts like we don't exist and just stays in his lab all day."

Pepper held the girl at arm's length. Maria had her mother's heart-shaped face and plump lips and her father's dark hair and brown eyes. The girl had also inherited her father's intelligence and loner attitude, preferring to keep company with Pepper, Rhodey and Happy, rather than meet new people. But she had grown up with a mother who loved her dearly. Pepper remembered when Tony had been dating Anna. He had found her at some café downtown on a lunch break. She had been a school teacher and had a heart so big it was only rivaled by her daughter. They broke it off a few months later, but Tony never told Pepper why. Apparently he didn't know either. Pepper guessed that Anna had found out she was pregnant and didn't want to raise a child in Stark's world. She could hardly blame her.

Pepper had done some digging and found from neighbors and friends that while Anna couldn't spoil Maria with material things, she more than made up for it in the love she gave her daughter. It must have been a hard transition to go from a loving mother to a father who barely acknowledged your existence.

Pepper sighed and patted the girl on the cheek. "Eventually you get used to it. Or you fight to make him see you. That's all." She smiled. "Come on. Let's go for some ice cream."

Maria nodded and let herself be dragged out the door. It didn't stop her from taking one last look at the staircase to the lab, hoping Tony would come up to see her. No surprise there, he didn't.

Actually, he didn't come out of the lab for the next two weeks. And he forgot her birthday.

Maria normally didn't go down into the labs, although she had access. Tony knew she was a genius too and acted accordingly. She thought that they might have had something to talk about but he liked to keep to himself while working and she kept her distance. The night of the banquet, Maria decided to work on something for the first time in months. Her original intent was to try and create a holographic body for JARVIS but then she stepped foot in the lab.

In the center was the most obnoxiously painted metal suit she had ever seen –not that she had seen a metal suit like this before, ever, but the red and gold was really bright. "Whoa," she breathed, walking around it, taking in every detail, every inch of gold-titanium alloy. This is what Tony had been working on these past few weeks? Quickly, Maria rushed over to the desk and pulled up a screen. The blueprints for the suit were still there. She sent them to her own files, but then paused. "JARVIS, why are you letting me take the files?" If Tony didn't want Maria snooping around then JARVIS was always there to keep her out. She may be a genius but she wasn't Tony fucking Stark and still had no idea how to get around the AI.

"Mr. Stark never gave specific instructions to keep the data protected from you," the British voice answered.

"Okay," she nodded to herself slowly. "But if he asks…"

"You did not touch a thing," JARVIS completed her sentence. Maria smiled widely.

"I knew there was a reason I loved you Jay."

"If I had emotions I'm positive the sentiment would be returned Ms. Stark."

Maria laughed and started fixing the calculations to match her own body. It would take a while, especially if she was going to keep this from Tony and Pepper, and she was going to have to be really careful about getting the right materials. But she would do it. She was a Stark after all.

The night Obidiah attacked Tony, she had taken her fitted green and silver suit for its first test flight. It flew like a dream as she travelled over the California coast. Never had Maria felt so free, so alive. She always had someone or something holding her down. First it had been the death of her mother, which she was still trying to deal with. It was hard but she was making progress. The nightmares didn't haunt her every night and the suffocating feeling she constantly had in her chest was slowly going away.

After her mother died, Maria was tied down to the streets of New York, the need to survive. And now she dealt with a man who didn't care about her. She was no idiot; she knew Stark took her in as an obligation. He didn't really care about her and she was learning to be okay with that. But a little voice in the back of her mind told her she didn't have to be ignored. She could leave, be her own woman, take care of herself. And as Maria flew around in circles and loops, she closed her eyes and tightened her resolve.

"JARVIS?"

"Yes, Ms. Stark?"

"Set a route for New York, and make sure everything's up and running at the smaller Stark home," Maria commanded, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Would you like me to inform Mister St-"

"No. Actually I don't want him to even know the house is in use. Keep everything on the down low Jay."

There was a pause.

"Very well Ms. Stark. Calculating fastest route to New York. Would you like me to order some clothing for you as well to be delivered?" The British voice almost sounded disapproving.

"That'd be great Jay. Thank you." Maria sighed. The computer cared more about her well-being than her own father did. Maybe getting away is exactly what she needed.

"One last thing Miss, would you like me to leave a message for Ms. Potts?"

Her breath caught in her throat. Pepper was her best friend and she would be devastated. "Just tell her I'm sorry," a few tears rolled down her face, "and that we'll see each other again soon." And then she was gone, a streak of light following her as she travelled through the sky.

Down below, Pepper made a wish hoping that Tony survived the overload.

Tony looked up and thanked whatever force out there that he was alive.

Maria never crossed their minds.

Her disappearance wasn't noticed until Rhodey came for a visit.

"Hey guys. Where's Maria? I have a gift for her." Rhodey loved bringing Maria gifts back from the various places he had visited. This time he had a hand crafted bracelet from India. It was supposed to ward off negative thoughts. Pepper stood up. "I'll go get her. We haven't seen her lately. She's probably locked in her room working on some project."

A few moments later, a very distraught looking Pepper came back. "Tony, she's not in her room. JARVIS said she's not even in the house."

"Relax Pep, she probably went for a run this morning or something and got distracted." Seeing the worry not leave the red-head's face he sighed. "Jay, when did Maria leave this morning?"

"Miss Stark did not depart from the house today."

Tony furrowed his brow. "But she's not here right?"

"That is correct, sir."

"JARVIS when did Maria leave?" Tony said level-headed. He needed to be calm. If she had been kidnapped, JARVIS would have let them know immediately. She probably went out last night and went wild. But inside he was freaking out. Where was his daughter?

"Miss Stark left nearly a week ago sir. I'm surprised you have not noticed her absence yet."

"Not now Jay. Pep I need you to go make a few phone calls. See if you can put out a missing person's report." Pepper nodded, a few tears on her heart-broken face, and left dialing phone numbers. "Rhodey…" he trailed off.

Rhodey understood. "I'll try and pull some strings. We'll find her Tony. She couldn't have gone far." And then he was gone too, phone pressed to his ear.

"She's her father's daughter," he muttered to himself. Pepper had said those words to him once not too long ago. "She's my daughter, of course she went far. She's not an idiot. She's probably on the other side of the world by now." Tony sighed, pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes, and then went to make himself a nice strong drink. They'd find her soon. They had to.