Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OC, Poppy Potts!

Chapter One

2015, New York City

-:-

"Ladies and gentleman, we are now arriving at our destination, JFK. Please fasten your seatbelts as we prepare to land. I want to thank you personally for flying with us today…"

Poppy Potts pulled her headphones from her ears as she hears the overhead announcement from the flight attendant, through her music. Poppy followed suit with her neighbour to her right, beginning to fasten her seatbelt, turning her eyes to the window to her left-peering down at the sea of lights amongst the dark night, that was otherwise known as New York City. 10 hours of travelling, Poppy couldn't be more glad to be seeing the birds eye shot of the big city.

A smile crept across her lips as she thought of her sister, Pepper, who she hadn't seen in a good year—at her graduation—waiting for her in arrivals. The smile twitched downwards moments later; she knew Pepper have questions after the abrupt out-of-the-blue call to announce she was moving to New York… in a week. Despite their 15 year age gap, Pepper knew her well enough to know brash decisions weren't her thing—Poppy was a planner, a meticulous one at that. If Poppy made a plan, there was no doubt that it was planned down to the very last detail. Poppy's decision to go to college in Scotland, for example; she exhausted every possible options before she fully made her decision to move across the oceans to study. Henceforth, Poppy knew Pepper would have questions—and even though she anticipated them, it didn't mean she was ready to answer them.

The plane shook as it hit the runway of JFK, jostling Poppy out of her thoughts momentarily. She blinked, refocusing her attention on the image through the window; they had now landed at JFK, the airport lit up with beaming bright lights that reflected in the wet tarmac—residue of the recent rainfall. It felt strange to think how things had changed in a matter of week; one week prior she was sitting in her cosy apartment with Tom, watching a re-run of FRIENDS of Netflix; now she was back in the US, permanently. Something she would never have anticipated. She thought Scotland would be her home from now on. How wrong she was.

Poppy felt movement next to her, she turned to see her neighbour, a businessman, standing up to straighten his suit and proceed to collect his belongings. Poppy followed suit, tugging her headphones from around her neck, and shoved them in her rucksack along with her book, and other belongings she had used for entertainment during the journey. Poppy stood, bones whining as they moved for the first time in many hours, uncomfortably clicking her neck. Hell, Poppy hadn't done a long-haul flight like this since she came back to the US for Christmas two years ago. All the other times, her parents and sister had came to her.

Poppy shuffled behind the long queue of people departing the plane, grasping tightly onto her rucksack, as she felt the nerves kick in. She knew Pepper would understand, of course, but Poppy just didn't feel in the right place to talk about it yet. Poppy chewed on her lip as they stepped into arrivals. Immediately Poppy's eyes went to find Pepper's distinctive strawberry blonde hair through the crowds of people waiting behind the barrier. Considering it was such a late flight—it had to be almost midnight in New York right now—the airport was really full of people waiting for the people they knew.

"Poppy!" Poppy paused her searching as she heard a familiar voice call out over the buzz of the airport. "Poppy! Over here!" Poppy's eyes followed the direction of the sound was coming from, eventually landing on the statuette of her sister—looking just how she remembered her the last time she saw her, except she had bangs now. She was dressed in a loose—but expensive—looking Oxford shirt and snugly fit jeans. In her hand, she was waving a white board with her name elegantly written in Pepper's perfect calligraphy. Pepper was beautiful as ever.

Poppy surprisingly felt a surge of emotion as her eyes landed on her sister—perhaps because it was such a relief to see a familiar, homely face after the week she had had. Nonetheless, Poppy managed to keep her emotions at bay as she advanced on her sister. Pepper was practically jumping on the balls of her feet in excitement, pulling her into her arms the moment she was within reach.

"You have no idea how happy I was to hear you're moving here—I mean, totally out of the blue so a little shocking—but happy overall." Pepper gave her a tight squeeze, pressing her tightly against her body. She smelt just like she always did—Pomegrante Noir from Jo Malone, mixed with the subtle scent of vanilla (presumably her shampoo).

Poppy smiled awkwardly. "Thanks, Pep. I know it's so last minute, I really appreciate you letting me crash while I find my own place. Honestly, I'll be completely out of your hair—you won't even notice I'm there."

Pepper waved her hand. "Don't be ridiculous. I wouldn't have it anyway. Besides, Tony has more guest bedrooms than he ever has guests in a year—so really, no foul."

Poppy blushed as she thought of Pepper's boyfriend, the infamous Tony Stark—billionnaire, genius, and last but by no means least, Iron Man. Of course Pepper had been working with Tony Stark long before he became Iron Man as his personal assistant, back when Tony appeared on tabloid headlines for leaving nightclubs with a different woman each night, rather than as he is now—for saving the life of millions from an alien attack. Even so, Poppy had never met the guy, despite the fact they had been dating for a long time; studying in Scotland partly being the reason for this, that and, frankly, knowing Tony's track-record with women, Poppy was secretly doubtful they would last. Despite their on-and-off relationship, they had lasted longer than Poppy—or the rest of the world—could have anticipated.

"Tony. . . um, Mr. Stark—he doesn't mind does he?" Poppy awkwardly responded.

Pepper snorted. "Don't call him Mr. Stark unless you want to inflate his ego anymore than it already is—and seriously, I think we would need a bigger tower if it gets any bigger." Poppy bit her lip, acknowledging Pepper hadn't properly answered the question. Pepper noticed this, and nudged her lightly. "Hey, kid, don't worry—Tony has much bigger things going on to worry about you crashing for a few months." Pepper paused, thoughtfully. "Though, I gotta warn you. Tony can be quite . . . pushy. When I told him you suddenly decided to move over here, he got a bit curious. And when Tony gets curious, he gets pushy. And tad annoying." Pepper rolled her eyes.

"Right." Poppy breathed.

Pepper held up her hands. "But just to be clear—you don't have to tell him anything. Your business is yours. And the same goes for me—you don't have to tell me anything, unless you want to." Pepper quickly added at the end. "I'm always here for you, just come knockin' when you're ready."

Poppy smiled with a sense of relief—relief that Pepper was probing for questions right away. "Thanks, Big Sis."

"No problem, Little Sis." Pepper grinned. "Now, let's get going—I'm sure Happy is getting pretty impatient right now."

"Happy?" Poppy repeated, brows furrowed.

"Tony's personal driver and Head of Security." Pepper responded. Poppy lifted her eyebrows but simply responded with a nod. Inwardly, she was asking herself, who would seriously name someone 'Happy' and if this Happy really lived up to his name. Pepper linked her arm through hers, causing Poppy's arm to be yanked upwards due to their height difference. Whilst Pepper had a model-esque stature, with her 5"8 frame, Poppy on the other-hand had taken over their mother, standing no taller than 5"3.

Pepper chatted to Poppy as they collected her suitcases, loading them onto a trolley and headed out of the airport. Mainly Pepper complained about Tony, or Stark Industries—now she was CEO of Stark Industries, she no longer served as Tony's personal assistant, which was probably for the best, only now she had an entire company to run, and a demanding boyfriend. Poppy listened silently, imputing here and there, but secretly she was nervous to finally be meeting Tony Stark in person after seeing him on every newspaper tabloid, TV screen and in Pepper's phone-calls. And worst yet, to hear Tony was curious about her, made things even worse.

Pepper led Poppy to a sleek black car waiting outside of the airport. Poppy took in the car with wide eyes, almost completely missing the man who hopped out of the driver's seat.

"Happy, this is Poppy. Poppy, this is Happy." Pepper introduced Poppy to the man dressed in a smart suit.

Poppy smiled shyly at the man. "Hello." Giving him a tiny wave, to which he returned with a kind but also slightly tense smile.

"Shall we?" Happy opened the car door. "You have a call with Shang-hai in two hours."

"Of course, thanks Happy." Pepper nodded, slipping into the back of the car.

Poppy quietly went to collect her things, but was interrupted when Happy reached down to collect them. "Thank you." Again, Happy said nothing, heading straight to the trunk to offload her suitcases into the car. Poppy bit her lip and slipped into the car after Pepper, who was already engrossed in her phone. Poppy settled into the back of the car, acknowledging the car was equally as sleek and expensive—if not more so—inside as it was outside.

There was a moment of silence, as Poppy strapped herself in and tucked her rucksack between her feet. "Don't take him personally." Pepper spoke suddenly. Poppy looked at her sister confused. "Happy." Pepper responded to her silent question. "He takes his job as Head of Security very seriously."

Poppy opened her mouth to respond when the driver door swing open and Happy got in. Poppy shut her mouth and sat in silence as Happy started up the car and begin to pull out of the airport. The car moved so silently, Poppy could barely tell they were moving until she looked out of the tinted black windows to see the airport begin to distance from them. Poppy swallowed thickly as she watched the airport disappear. This was it, Poppy—new city, new life. You can do this.

-:-

The drive from JFK to Stark Tower took over an hour, but three quarters of it was spent asleep. As she watched the cars pass them leaving the airport, Poppy felt her eyes droop—exhaustion from the long day of travel finally hitting her like a ton of bricks. The next thing she knew, she was falling asleep to the soft hum of the car and the tapping of Pepper's phone as she responded to e-mails. And then, what felt only a minute later, she was being shaken awake. Poppy groggily opened her eyes to see they had stopped, and Pepper was next to her, shaking her awake. Outside, she could see Happy unloading the car of her suitcases. Past Happy, Poppy could see the gleaming entrance to Stark Tower.

"Did I fall asleep?" Poppy groggily spoke, wincing as she peeled her cheek from the glass of the window.

"Yep." Pepper responded with a soft grin. "Hey, have you always snored?" Poppy groaned with a blush. Of course she knew she snored, Tom would always pick fun of her when she did. "It's cute."

"Cute?" Poppy responded with humorous confusion. "Since when has snoring been cute?"

Pepper chuckled. "C'mon, let's get you to bed. It's late, I'll give you a proper tour round tomorrow."

Poppy hummed in response, nothing sounding better than laying on bed sheets right now.

The two sisters exited the car, Poppy with slightly wobbly feet, and was lead into the tower's entrance by Pepper, as Happy directed the lobby assistants where to take Poppy's luggage. Poppy was so exhausted she couldn't even bring herself to be concerned about her luggage, or even be amazed as she stepped into the Stark Tower lobby for the first time. She followed behind Pepper as she greeted the security guard sitting behind reception, and swiped the card that opened the elevator with a soft ding. Pepper wrapped her arm around Poppy's shoulders, to which Poppy rested her head against her sister's shoulder for support.

Poppy felt her eyelids droop, thankful that she was rested on her sister for support, as she was almost drifting off once more when… "Mom called by the way."

Poppy groaned. "What did you say?"

"Nothing. I told her to speak to you directly, after assuring her I would do my utmost to make sure you are looked after." Pepper responded. "You know you can't avoid her forever—also, who announces to their parents that they are uprooting their entire life, and moving country, by e-mail?"

Poppy groaned, rubbing her eyes and pulled her head away from Pepper's shoulder. "What? I figured considering they off on their missionary in Hati, saving lives and all that, I would do them the courtesy of not dealing with my crap."

Pepper shot her an un-impressive look. Poppy simply began studying the number on the screen rise higher and higher. Floor 108? Are you kidding me? Poppy shook her head. The elevator came to a soft end as they reached their destination. Poppy sighed, lugging her rucksack back from the ground, slinging it over her shoulder, and waited for the doors to slide open.

"You have arrived, Miss and Miss Potts."

Poppy jumped at the voice that sounded around them. It was a male voice—with a distinctly British accent. Pepper didn't look in the least bit surprised when the voice sounded. "Thank you, J.A.R.V.I.S." Pepper thanked politely, as the doors slid open.

"You are welcome, Miss Potts."

Pepper smiled. "J.A.R.V.I.S., where is Tony right now?" Poppy stood completely still, baffled on what was going on, looking around—fastening her eyes on the security cameras—as her sister and the voiceless person conversed. Who was this J.A.R.V.I.S? And what kind of name is J.A.R.V.I.S?

"Mr. Stark is in his lab, Miss Potts. Should I make him aware yourself and Miss Potts have arrived?"

Pepper shook her head adamantly. "No, I think it would be a good idea to leave the welcome party until the morning, don't you? Also, perhaps call me Pepper from now on—to avoid confusion?"

"Certainly, Miss Pepper."

Pepper opened her mouth to correct the overhead voice, but seemed to change her mind against it. "Ah, close enough. It's too late to be arguing with an AI right now. C'mon, Pop, I'll show you to your room."

Poppy, mouth agape, quickly had to shut her mouth to stop herself from looking like a complete dork and obediently followed behind her sister out of the elevator. "I'm sorry, did you say A.I.? And who is this J.A.R.V.I.S?"

"Oh, J.A.R.V.I.S is an A.I. created by Tony." Pepper responded as if it was nothing. "J.A.R.V.I.S stands for Just A Rather Very Intelligent System. He operates the entire building head-to-toe, and knows pretty much everything, so if there's anything you need to know about anything—just ask J.A.R.V.I.S"

Poppy felt like she needed to pinch herself in that moment to make sure she still wasn't dreaming. She knew Stark was a genius—but creating artificial intelligence… now, that's a completely different level, out of this world level. Poppy shook her head, pushing the amazement out of her brain, before she became too overwhelmed and turned her attention to her surroundings. The elevator had brought them to a long, but large corridor. Pepper pointed out a few necessities as they made their way down the corridor—communal area, kitchen, etc. etc.—until they stopped at a door.

"And this is your room," Pepper announced as they came to a stop outside a closed door. Poppy looked for the door-handle but saw none. "It's password-protected. It's set to your birthday, so easy to remember." Pepper pressed the wall to the side of the door, where a digital keypad appeared. Poppy watched with curiosity as Pepper keyed in her date of birth, the blue keypad flicker green and the door slid open. "After you." Pepper grinned, gesturing with a hand for Poppy to go first.

Poppy slowly stepped over the threshold and into her new bedroom. "Jesus Christ." The words slipped out of her mouth before she could even stop it. The room was, for better words, massive—bigger than she had ever stayed in before. Hell, she was pretty sure this was the size of her and Tom's flat back in Edinburgh. The room was painted a soft grey, in the centre there was a large king-sized bed with red bedding (symbolising the Iron Man colours, she assumed). One side of the room led through to a more-than generously sized en-suite and the other side led through to a walk-in closet.

"Pepper, I can't accept this." Poppy spluttered. "Surely this should be saved for important guests or one of the Avengers, like Captain America."

"Don't be ridiculous. Steve has already got his designated quarters a few doors down."

Poppy swallowed thickly as she thought of the blonde hero. "Captain America is staying here?"

Pepper shrugged her shoulders. "From time to time. Right now, he's on a mission. We probably won't be seeing him for a good couple of weeks, or maybe even months." Poppy held back a sigh of relief. The last thing she wanted was to be embarrassing herself in front of a member of the Avengers. "But you'll probably see some of the others around here every once and a while."

"O-Others? You mean the other Avengers?"

Pepper nodded. "Though it's only Bruce that's here at the moment. His quarters are across the hall." Poppy visibly gulped. Pepper snickered and nudged her sister softly in her side. "Don't worry, Bruce is great—he normally keeps to himself though. He spends the most of his days in the lab with Tony anyway. You'll barely see him." Poppy nodded. "Why are you so worried anyway? Surely you realised staying here would involve passing an Avenger or two in the corridor, didn't you?" Pepper responded with a amused grin and cocked brow.

Poppy sighed. "I knew I would be seeing Tony, I figured that was a given, but I never thought I would be having my morning coffee with an Avenger." Poppy thought how weird the prospect sounded. "I guess it's just a bit odd is all—I had obviously seen them on TV, and heard about it all from you, but it still didn't feel quite real, y'know?"

Pepper gave Poppy a comforting squeeze on the shoulder. "Honey, don't worry, the overwhelming feelings will soon ware off when you realise you're actually living with six incapable adults—and then you start to wish you never came here at all." Pepper chuckled. "I'll leave you to get some sleep. I'll come down in the morning and give you a proper tour."

Poppy nodded. "Thanks Pepper, again—for everything."

Pepper smiled, giving her sister one last hug and kiss on the forehead. "Don't sweat, sis. Sleep tight." Poppy watched as Pepper walked out of the room, giving her one last wave before the door automatically shut behind her, then Poppy was left to her own thoughts, suddenly realising how very awake and how very alone she suddenly was. It felt like all the previous exhaustion had gone away, her mind suddenly buzzing with overwhelming thoughts and feelings as she came to terms with her surroundings.

She was in Stark Tower, ran by an A.I. called J.A.R.V.I.S., and within walking reach of an actual Avenger. Poppy pinched herself on the arm, and was unpleasantly surprised to released she was in-fact awake, and this was her life right now. Nonetheless, Poppy attempted to settle herself into her new foreign surroundings—she headed to her luggage, which must have been brought up to her room by the lobby assistants prior to her arrival; how they managed that, considering herself and Pepper were hardly side-tracked, she doesn't know. She pulled out her nightwear, her toothbrush and facial washes and headed for the en-suite bathroom to begin her usual nightly routine—peeling out of the clothes she had travelled in, and into her soft cotton night-shorts and tank top; brushing her teeth and washing her face thoroughly.

As she applied her moisturiser, Poppy evaluated her reflection—taking note of the very prominent dark circles beneath her eyes, contrasting against her porcelain skin. Unlike Pepper, who was naturally tanned, Poppy was fair with freckles scattered across her nose and cheeks. Poppy had really taken over her mother in most respects, which Pepper looked exactly like her father. Poppy had a head of curly red hair, a heart-shaped face, and a nose that was slightly upturned at the tip.

The only feature herself and Pepper shared, were the colour of their eyes—a green-blue hue, but even Pepper's seemed to shine that bit brighter against her tanned skin, whereas Poppy's were paler, softer. And while Pepper was tall and statuesque—like something straight of a catwalk runway with her legs for miles—Poppy was wide-hipped, fuller bust and short-legged, which made Poppy a pretty self-conscious teen growing up in Los Angeles, where everyone soaked up the sun, whilst Poppy burnt.

It was why Poppy loved Scotland so much, the lack-there of sun made her pale skin fit in just perfectly.

Poppy felt a sharp twinge of sadness as she thought of Scotland, but quickly casted it aside. New beginnings, Poppy—remember? Poppy sighed, heading out of the bathroom, back into her new room where she collected her tablet and headphones from the rucksack, then headed towards the king-sized bed, slipping underneath the covers, and began listening to her music. She rested herself against the soft pillows, shut her eyes, and let her mind and body become absorbed by the melodies seeping into her ears. As she lay there, letting her body soak into the soft mattress beneath her, she wondered what tomorrow had in store for her.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Welcome to my Tony/OC story. I have been really getting into some greatly written Tony/OC fanfics at the minute, and it's inspired me to start one of my own. I'll name the stories below, so you can check them out! I'm excited for this story, I have no idea what people will think to it as it will be Older Tony Stark (I think he's in his early 40s pre AoU, I need to do my homework lol, and Poppy is around 23/24 so there's quite an age gap!), but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

Great stories you MUST read after this:

Providence of the Universe by toniestark

Metamorphosis by Jagged Hearts

One Word from You by Lucky Striker's alter ego