I forgot to mention that I don't own the Avengers, J.A.R.V.I.S, or Pepper. I do own Genevieve and Manny, though.


Tony loved the moments of privacy he could get down in his workshop. Don't get him wrong. He loved Genevieve even more than those moments, but he found himself needing a break every once in a while. Besides, he had a household of babysitters up for the task of watching their favorite little girl.

He was currently working on his Mark 44 armor. He'd had to promise Pepper that he wouldn't become obsessed with Iron Man again before she let him continue his work. Her one condition was that he spent plenty of time with Genevieve. He liked to think he was keeping his end of the bargain. Just not necessarily right now.

The rhythmic clinks of his tools against the gold titanium alloy soothed him, and he actually found himself humming quietly. Upon realizing what he was doing he stopped, of course. Why did Genevieve insist on watching Disney movies so much? He had several of their songs memorized without even trying to.

But unfortunately, the familiar sounds of the work done on his armor were interrupted all too soon. His workshop wasn't completely soundproof, so he could hear the incessant shrieks of laughter from above, as well as deep "neighing" and Manny's high-pitched barking.

Letting out a brief grunt of annoyance, Tony set his tools down and mounted the stairs back up to the living room/kitchen area. Upon reaching the floor where the sounds were coming from, a surprising sight greeted him.

Thor was on the ground on his hands and knees with Genevieve perched on his back, while Manny trotted along at their heels. Gen looked impossibly small sitting there considering how large the god of thunder was.

"Um..." Tony blinked, lost for words for a moment. "What the he-"

"Language," Genevieve scolded, sounding and looking identical to Pepper with her disapproving look.

Tony smiled in dry amusement before settling for, "What the heck are you doing?"

"We are playing Asgardian cowgirl," Thor answered for the two, craning his neck to grin up at him.

"This is my horse," Genevieve went on with a bright smile as she patted Thor's head. "He has eight legs and his name is Slippy."

"Sleipnir," Thor corrected.

"That's too hard to say," Gen insisted with a firm shake of her head that sent her curls bouncing and swaying to and fro. "I like Slippy much better."

Tony arched an eyebrow, but didn't comment on 'Slippy.' Instead he said, "So let me get this straight, Point Break. You take a trip to Asgard, and the first thing you do when you get back is give my daughter a horse ride?"

Thor tilted his head for a moment, considering the question, before nodding and offering a close-lipped smile. "Yes."

Manny barked, and Tony could have sworn the look on his little face read, "Hey, what about me?"

"Oh!" Genevieve exclaimed, reaching down over Thor's shoulder to pet the dog. "And Manny is our sheepdog."

Manny sat down and wagged his tail happily, panting as he did so. The way he panted made it look like he was smiling.

Tony, meanwhile, pinched the bridge of his nose. "Right. Okay. You guys have fun with that. I'm just going to-"

"Will you play with us?" Gen interrupted, beaming up at her dad. "You can be the sheep."

The ridiculousness of the statement had his back stiffening and he once again found himself at a loss for words for a minute. "Genevieve?"

"Yeah?"

"What makes you think I would want to be a sheep?" he asked, feeling sarcasm creep into his tone.

He immediately felt guilty when his daughter's face fell. Correcting himself, he said, "I mean, of course I want to be a sheep!"

She perked up at that, her eyes glittering with delight. "Yay! I know you'll make the best sheep."

"Indeed." Thor nodded. "Your father will make the most glorious sheep."

Tony smirked as he got down next to the two. "You bet I will. No one does a sheep impression like Tony Stark."

That was probably because Tony Stark had never done a sheep impression before. His first few attempts had both Genevieve and Thor laughing like crazy. In fact, Gen was giggling so hard that she almost tumbled off of Thor's back a few times.

But after a few minutes of pushing the heat in his cheeks down, Tony managed to pull off a decent bleat and the three (excuse me, four) of them got on with their game. Tony surprised himself by spending a good half hour being herded around the living room by Manny the sheepdog and being 'roped' by Genevieve the cowgirl. (The rope was really just a piece of yarn fashioned in the shape of a lasso.)

The second time he was lassoed by his daughter, Tony pretended to choke from the yarn around his neck. "Oh no! You got me! I'm finished! Oh, what a world!" he cried, promptly collapsing in a fetal position with his legs and arms in the air.

Manny began yapping and circling the 'dead sheep', while Tony tried not to push the puppy away when it licked his face.

"I didn't mean to kill him!" he heard Gen whisper to Thor who in return said, "In your defense, the sheep does not seem to be the strongest one in the flock."

Tony mentally stuck his tongue out at the god when he felt a small hand pat his cheek. "Daddy? Are you really dead?"

He waited long enough for the girl to ask her question again, this time in a more worried tone, before he suddenly surged upward, grabbing her under the arms and swinging her around. Manny yipped at them as Tony did so as if to say, "Me next, me next!"

"Gotcha!"

"Daddy!" Genevieve shrieked, surprising him by slapping his arm. "Don't do that! You scared me!"

Tony laughed, pulling her close to rest on hip and giving her curls a brief kiss. "Sorry, Genny, but you're too easy to trick. I couldn't resist."

She squirmed out of his arms and back over to Thor, mounting his back once again. "Slippy? Get him."

Tony felt his eyes widen (partially as part of the game, but partially because he hadn't been expecting that), and he began to run away. "No, anything but the wrath of Slippy the horse!"

When the other Avengers heard the commotion, they emerged from their rooms to find Tony Stark being chased by a Thor riding Genevieve and an ecstatic, barking Manny.

But instead of questioning the odd scene, they shook their heads. There was never a dull moment when Genevieve Stark was around. That was for sure.


I don't know about you, but when I was little, I loved getting "horsie rides."

Reviews are definitely appreciated. *offers a Genevieve smile*