Taffdog19943: They are quite adorable! Glad you enjoyed it x

M: Thank you so much!

BraziaRios: They adore them thank you!

Guest: Thanks!

Guest: No I'm not. (I so am lol)

Skyxcx: Thank you.

Apologies for the wait, real life stuff popped crept up on me. Hopefully the chapter makes up for it, hope you enjoy!

Davina bounced in her seat anxiously as the plane finally began to take off, unable to help herself as her thoughts wandered to what would happen when they got to California. Madison snorted at the sight as she opened up her magazine, but was soon distracted as Davina began to rabbit on nervously whilst voicing some of her fears regarding their trip aloud. "Do you think I'll be able to see him right away? Do you think he'll be really busy or-"

Madison patted Davina on the shoulder. "Don't forget to breathe in between sentences honey. Of course he'll want to see you, all those months without Chatty Kathy here would be enough to make anyone depressed." It was clear from the little she'd seen so far, that Davina was filled to the brim with anxiety over seeing her dad once more. Though she had tried to hide it in an effort to appear more laidback then she felt, it was clear to Madison that the two of them would have a lot to talk about when they reached Malibu.

Davina blushed, sitting back in her seat in an effort to get more comfortable. She hated going on planes, but that was the last thing she was thinking about at that moment in time. "I'm just really nervous." She admitted sheepishly, causing her mother to smile at the sight. What would he say? What would she say? This was unprecedented territory for Davina, it wasn't something she could just ask Samara to look up for her in her books in an effort to have some form of preparation.(She had asked, there were indeed no books on long lost reunions with absentee fathers.) She'd been so afraid that things might have ended up a different way with the two of them, but now that she was on her way to see him again she had no idea what to expect. When Davina thought about what she would do or say when she did see her dad, there was a big resounding blank that filled her with more dread then she cared to admit.

"Hey, D? He's going to want to see you. He meant what he said." Madison assured her with a nudge, causing a small smile to form on Davina's face in response. Her mom had always been able to read her like a book, pulling a simple look from her face and drawing an accurate conclusion. It was comforting, if not a little eerie at times.

"Is he okay? Like okay okay?" Davina wondered, causing Madison to squirm uncomfortably in her seat. What could she really say? Tony hadn't exactly discussed all of the grim details with her, but from what she could garner his captivity had been long, hard, and though he wouldn't admit it, pretty traumatising. There really was no way of perfectly explaining something like this to someone of her age, but given how perceptive Davina could be it would be hard to hide it from her for long.

"He seemed fine enough," she plastered on a smile for her daughter's benefit, "he was complaining about the food in the hospital when I spoke to him."

Davina snorted at the comment, slightly more assured than she had previously been with the comment. "Sounds like Dad."

Madison nodded along, hoping to ease her fears about the upcoming reunion. "As long he's complaining about something, I wouldn't be worried. Your dad's famous for it. He once went on an hour long rant about how all fine dining restaurants should include shawarma." Madison recalled, shaking her head fondly.

"How romantic." Davina snickered to herself, as some rather unique imagery came into her mind as she pictured the incident.

"Oh it was." Madison grumbled with a roll of her eyes. "I bought one on the way home just so I could stuff it into his face. Twenty bucks says he'll get some food when we get there." Davina held out her hand for Madison to shake.

"You're on!"

"So we're just gonna wait here?" Davina checked, as the entered Tony's house. It was weird being back here for Davina, her last visit having been filled with bouts of anger that had resulted in her indirectly blowing up at her father. She took a moment to stare at the wide expanse of space, her gaze landing on the winding staircase leading upstairs, as well as the window in the living room that gave a glowing view of Point Dume.

Madison nodded as she finished locking up, coming to join her daughter in the living room. "That's what the security guy at the airport said." She confirmed, swinging the keys she'd been given at the airport buy a guy from Tony's security team. "Apparently your dad's plane landed a half hour ago, so it'll just be us until he's seen to." She explained, as both of their gazes landed on the same object.

"TV?"

"Read my mind." Madison nodded, moving in sync with her daughter as they dropped on to the wrap around couch. Davina let out a squeal of victory as she managed to grab the remote before Madison, sticking out her tongue in triumph.

"Haha!" Davina laughed triumphantly, as Madison shook her head with a chuckle. "Jarvis was that a victory or was that a victory?"

The A.I was quick to respond. "That indeed was a victory Miss Maddox."

Davina held out a finger to the open air, wagging it in approval. "See? Victory." As the two of them fell into a fresh bout of laughter, Davina switched on the television as she chatted along with Jarvis. "So how's the house been since I was last here Jarvis? Was it awful without me?"

"Positively ghastly."

Davina placed a hand to her heart, grinning all the while at the great compliment the A.I had afforded her. "Aw! I missed you too!" Jarvis was probably one of the few things her dad had invented that Davina didn't hold some form of resentment towards, as she found him more akin to an invisible housekeeper then an artificial computer system Tony had created. She could recall her dad telling her once that Jarvis had in fact been based on a real person, named after the Stark family butler Edwin Jarvis who'd died when she was a baby. She'd seen a few pictures of Edwin before, littered in the family albums she'd found hidden away in one of the storage rooms in the house.

Davina paused in consideration, unresponsive even as her mom stole the remote from her to change the channel.

That had been nice of him, naming Jarvis after the guy who'd looked after him for so long. Her mom would always smile at the mention of the A.I, a funny look passing over her face just as it was in that moment, as she listened to the A.I speak to her.

Maybe her dad wasn't as unsentimental as she had previously thought.

Maybe.

She wouldn't get her hopes up just yet, not if there was a possibility of them being dashed once again.

No. She would wait, she would see whether or not he was the same as before. She couldn't help but feel justified in her thought process, especially after all of the things he'd pulled in the past. Passing her off to Pepper, Happy, Rhodey, (and one time with just Jarvis) on visits, treating her more like a visiting acquaintance and not like a daughter and just being a general flake. Davina knew that words only stretched so far with Tony, it would be his actions she'd judge him by when she finally got to see him again.

As though her thoughts were sensed by the television, it was at that moment in time that Madison flicked over to a news channel. The camera was pointed towards a familiar face, seated for some reason on the floor as he munched away at a cheeseburger. "Hey turn it up!" Davina urged her mom, waving her hand enthusiastically as she recognised the sight of her battered father. She failed to notice the hesitation on her mother's face, warring with whether or not to do so before eventually complying with her wishes. He looks bad. Davina noted, taking stock of the arm he had in a sling along with the numerous cuts she could see scattered across his face. She bit her lip, her nerves significantly rattled once more as she tuned her attention to what Tony was saying.

"-never got to say goodbye to my father. There are questions I would have asked him, I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the news reels." Davina narrowed her eyes at the comment, watching closely as a contemplative look appeared upon her dad's face. He was having doubts about his work?

It was always an odd thing for her, hearing about her grandfather from her father's side of the family. Despite never meeting her mother's father either, Davina knew next to everything about Marcus Maddox. He had loved to play baseball, he had grown fruit in his spare time, and had broke his back working overtime to send her mom into private education where she had consequently met her dad and uncle Rhodey. He'd been the only person to support her mom when she had wanted to pursue acting, and had continued to support her throughout her career attempt despite the ruckus it had caused in their family. It had broken her mom's heart when he'd died, her eyes glazing over in sadness whenever she looked over his pictures. But she was always willing to talk about him, always coming up with a new story from her childhood to gift to her.

Howard Stark on the other hand, was a completely different story. He felt more like a stranger then a long gone family member, as she knew as much about the man as everyone else did, with a few extra details she'd gleaned over the years for herself. He'd founded her dad's company, and hadn't been particularly close with his own child. During her research for a project on figures in history, (she had picked Lady Liberty of course), Davina had came across a photograph of Howard with the woman in question, faces smiling for the photo op with Marlene's arm slung through his. He'd apparently been involved in the making of both her and Captain America, which had caused a small pang of pride to emerge within Davina. Her Grandpa had known two of her favourite real life superheroes! That was so cool! Had he been friends with them? But she had never tried to ask her dad, sensing she'd get nowhere with him.

"I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability."

A chorus of questions erupted from the reporters, before Tony selected one. "What happened over there?"

"I had my eyes opened!" Tony replied, standing up to return to the podium. "I came to realise that I have more to offer this world then just making things blow up. And that is why, effective immediately I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International. Until such a time, as I can decide what the future of this company will be, what direction it should take, and one that I'm comfortable with-"

Davina turned to her mom as the press erupted on TV, noting the equally shocked look on her face as well. "What does that mean?"

Still blinking in surprise, Madison searched for a way to explain as she scratched at her forehead. "Well... urgh. It's kind of like a toothpaste factory announcing that they're going to stop making toothpaste. I don't really know what that was all about. It's urm. Kind of complicated to be honest honey."

Davina sat back against her seat, a rather large smile erupting on her face, that made quite the contrast to what others were feeling at that moment in time from her father's announcement. He was going to stop making weapons. That was huge! She but back a nervous giggle, as her mind became abuzz with what that actually meant.

After the rather surprising turn of events they'd witnessed taking place at the press conference, Madison had ordered takeout for the pair in an effort to kill time as they waited for Tony to return home. The kitchen itself had been a bust, most of it having been seemingly cleaned out by Pepper due to expiration dates. She expected restocking Tony's fridge was the last thing on her mind right now though, if the looks she'd witnessed for some time between her ex and his assistant were anything to go by. Madison smiled fondly at the thought of the sweet red head, silently hoping to herself that Tony would eventually get a clue and ask her out.

"Do they have American food as takeout in China?" Davina pondered aloud, crinkling her nose in thought as she poured out her Chinese on to a plate.

"Nah."

"Ah."

Silence filtered between the two of them as they sat and ate, the quiet briefly breached as Davina wondered why they didn't get Chinese more often. Her Mom cited the ridiculous price range, and then there was silence once more. Sensing that they couldn't tiptoe around the subject any longer, Madison let out a sigh as she sat down her fork. "So sweetie, about what you saw..."

Davina looked up from her food, startled by the sudden noise. "It's good right?"

Madison smiled despite herself, as a small but certain smile began to form on her daughter's face. "It's just... we've never really talked about it have we? What your Dad does for work? And with what we just saw on the television-"

Davina shrugged, as she used her fork to shift her food from side to side distractedly. "I didn't really like the thought of it before you know? It-" A look of guilt washed over Davina, as the words began to form in her mind. She looked up at her mother, as she chewed at her lip worriedly. "It kind of made him sound like a bad guy." She hated to say it, but the thought had crossed her mind in the time since she had found out.

"Oh honey." Madison closed her eyes, feeling helpless with the situation, especially since Tony wasn't there to explain. She took a hold of Davina's hand, squeezing it in assurance as she tried her best to explain. "Sometimes people have good intentions, and if they have the means they set out to try and make the world a little better for the rest of us." She began, a thoughtful look appearing on her face that Davina couldn't quite decipher. "But sometimes things go pear-shaped, or things don't quite work out the way you want them to. I know it gave me a bit of pause when I found out what your Dad's family did. And though it's a stupid, stupid job your Dad never should have gotten himself into, I do think he was well-intentioned. Kind of a dumbass, but a good one."

Davina nodded at her words, trying to process them the best she could before she turned to her Mom once more. "Do you think he knows that now, and that's why he said all of those things?"

"I hope so." Madison smiled warmly, pulling Davina in for a cuddle. "I really do." Madison planted a kiss on Davina's head, rubbing her shoulder as she hoped she had done her best to ease her worries. "I love you D."

"Love you too."

A moment later the two were startled by the sounds of the house's door opening, unintelligible chatter pouring into the house. Realising Tony had finally made it back to his house, Madison slipped out of her stool as she gave Davina one last squeeze. "Davina why don't you stick these in the dishwasher, I'll be five minutes." She offered her daughter a reassuring smile, piling up the two plates for her. "Okay?"

"Alright." She nodded, complying with her request as she moved to do just that.

Madison slipped out from the kitchen area, making her way out and into the foyer area of the house where Tony and Pepper were piling inside. "-and the stock drop alone! What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was thinking-" Tony ground to a halt mid-sentence as he caught sight of Madison leaning in the doorway, a brow cocked as she observed the positively martial display. "Mads." He breathed, running the hand that wasn't in a cast through his hair as he realised who else would be in the house with her. "You're here. And early." He acknowledged. "How've you been?"

"Fine." She shrugged, failing to hide how awkward she felt with the situation. Madison turned to Pepper, offering the woman a friendly smile to counter how out of place she clearly felt. Madison liked Pepper Potts a great deal, and knew it required a great deal of patience to deal with Tony on a daily basis. They'd fast become friendly with one another after Pepper had began relaying how Davina's trips to Malibu had gone, their friendship soon cementing after Madison had realised the ways the redhead had gone to to give Davina some sense of normalcy. "Hey Pep, would you mind checking on Davina in the kitchen? Make sure she hasn't dropped any cutlery?"

Pepper glanced warily between the two, before nodding in agreement. "No fireworks you two." She chastised lightly, referring to their all too common habit of dissolving into arguments, most commonly over his lack of parenting. With one last glare of irritation at Tony and a friendly pat on Madison's shoulder, she moved past the two of them and made her way out of the foyer.

He looked rough. Bruises and small cuts littered all of the visible parts of his body and along with the arm in the sling told her all she had to know about his time in captivity. He looks different. She decided. He looks the same, but something's changed. She couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Mads." Tony greeted, grinning broadly as though nothing had even happened to him. More akin to a kid in a candy store, then someone who had just escaped three months of captivity. Tony had always had strange coping mechanisms. "Did you miss me?"

"No." Madison replied, in perfect deadpan.

"You sure?"

"Positive." The pair broke into mutual smirks, their friendship seemingly secure. Madison shook her head, giving his uninjured arm a gentle shove. "I see you and the Mrs aren't agreeing over your latest stunt."

Tony cocked a brow at the mention. "She's not the Mrs."

"Not yet anyway. And yeah I saw that," Madison acknowledged, noting how nervous he seemed. "Davina did too."

The billionaire blinked wildly, as he processed the small piece of information. "She did?"

"She did." Madison confirmed, only serving to add to the look of nervousness that was further increasing on his face. "Not to pry or anything, but what brought on the sudden anti-weapon stance?"

Hackled by the question, Tony simply offered a shrug. "I saw some stuff over there, and realised..." He trailed off, as a serious of memories flashed through his mind. "I haven't done an ounce of good in my life have I? All I've ever done is contribute towards hurting people, and not just in my line of work. Only good thing I ever did was her, and you did all of the hard work."

"Tony?"

"Hmph?"

Madison pressed on, seeing no use in delaying the inevitable as she cut straight to the point. "Did you mean what you said about being better? For her? Look I get it, near death experiences and all, they'll make you see things a little clearer. But how do I know you won't eventually toss her with Pepper or Rhodey again? Will this newfound perspective of yours just be another 'Tony promise?'" She asked, folding her arms in a silent demand for an answer.

The man in question pulled a face. "'Tony Promise?'"

"You said the exact same thing when she was born," Madison reminded him, causing Tony to look down guiltily as he recalled the event. "I'll be better then my Dad, I'll be there for her when she needs me. And you know what, I believed you. We weren't together anymore, but you were always there when I needed help with her. Hell you doted on her! And then you fucked off to Malibu and started acting like she didn't exist."

"Madison-"

She shook her head, her face and voice a perfect mask of calm that hid the anger quivering beneath. "You made her cry Tony. You made our eight year old, who still loves you despite being ignored for half her life think that she embarrasses you. I know you've been through hell, but God I could strangle you right now."

Tony let out a groan at her words, his guilt only furthered by her words. She thought he was embarrassed of her? Shit. Despite the state of anxiety he was still in over the thought of actually being able to talk to her once more, his need to make amends with her was further resolved. He'd inadvertently done the very thing he'd sworn to never do to his own kid. He'd been acting just like his Dad. "I'll talk to her." Tony assured her. "I'll apologise. I just... She actually believes that?"

Madison nodded, a look of overwhelming sadness forming on her features. "Make it good Tony, because I think it's your last shot." Without a further word Madison turned away, indicating with a sweep if her hand to follow her back into the kitchen. His nerves mounting Tony followed after her, resisting the urge to run the other way as he reminded himself that this was a self-made predicament. As they drew closer Tony heard a sudden squeal of laughter that he knew for certain didn't belong to Pepper, trickles of conversation filtering through before he finally made it through the doorway.

"-and then I threw the compost pot at his head in retaliation! We ended up making Mr Martin really mad, but Parker should know better then to start a compost fight with me." Davina recounted to Pepper, giggling as she recalled the particular incident. "It took forever to clean up."

Sat across from her on a stool was Pepper, smiling all the while at her story. "So why did you two end up fighting again?"

Davina simply shrugged, setting her palms down on the counter top. "He said Lady Liberty's staff wasn't as cool as Cap's shield."

Madison took the pause in the flow of conversation to clear her throat, catching both Davina and Pepper's attention to their sudden re-entry into the room. Tony felt a part of him crack inside as Davina's eyes landed on him, her enthusiastic grin shifting to something more akin to a polite smile. She lifted her hand slightly in greeting, acknowledging his presence at once without hesitation. "Hi."

"Hi." He sheepishly waved, feeling dumber then he already did as she looked away from him.

Davina herself turned to glance at her Mom, a silent conversation unfolding between the two as she confirmed that she would be fine. Madison nodded covertly, turning her attention at once to Pepper. "You know I can't ever find my way around here, could you show me the bathroom?" She signalled the other woman with her eyes, shifting them indiscreetly to the nearest exit from the room.

Pepper was quick to realise the hint, scrabbling up from her stool to join Madison's side. "Urgh yeah! It's right through here." The woman excused, looping her arm through Madison's as the pair made their way out of the room.

Davina snorted at the display, feeling no need to hide her amusement in front of Tony. "Subtle." She commented aloud to herself.

"Very." Tony agreed.

The two of them locked eyes for a moment, sharing a smile before Davina looked away once more. Tony took a few tentative steps forward to gage her reaction, noting that she appeared as uncomfortable as he probably did to her. With his free arm he pulled out the stool Pepper had just vacated, settling down as he thought of how best to drum up any sort of conversation. "So urgh… plane ride okay?"

Davina shook her head. "No. I don't like planes."

"You don't?"

She offered him a shrug, tapping her fingers anxiously against the counter. "They give me the heebie-jeebies." Among the less then stellar connotations that came with Davina's thoughts on planes were of course her trips to Malibu. But others included turbulence, which while she had been told numerous times was harmless, never failed to make her stomach climb up to her throat.

A moment of silence stretched out between them, wearing unbearably thin before Davina spoke up once more. "How's the arm?" She pointed, gesturing to the injury wildly. "Hurt much?"

Tony glanced down at the arm in question, before shaking his head in response. "Nah, looks worse then it is. I've had worse." Namely the almost fatal injury that had resulted in the arc reactor in his chest. He wondered how she would react, if he told her about that. "So..." Tony dragged out the word, hoping for something else to draw from but coming up blank. "This as awkward for you as it is for me?"

"Yeah." Davina agreed with an almost comical lack of hesitation, pulling a face all the while. "You usually go down to your workshop by now."

Though it stung, Tony knew he deserved that. Letting out a tired groan, Tony stared at the counter for a moment, composing his thoughts the best he could manage. He looked up once more, eyes baring into Davina's. "I haven't been a very good Dad to you have I?"

Davina shook her head in confirmation, crossing her arms as she stared at him with an uncompromising look. "No you haven't." It felt odd finally saying it aloud with the man in question sat right across from her, but with the issue having been building up inside of her for so long, it felt good to finally voice it aloud. "You never wanted me around."

"Kid that's not true."

Davina held out her hands in surrender, looking much older than her eight years conveyed. "Really? Then why did you ignore me?" She demanded. She deserved some sort of an answer, after everything that had happened. "I-I tried so hard to get you to like me Dad." She admitted, emotion clouding her tone as she blinked back tears. For Tony, it was probably the worst possible thing he'd ever had to hear. "But nothing ever worked, so why? What did I do wrong?"

"Nothing. Kid you didn't do anything it was all me, I was being an idiot. So stuck up my own ass I didn't even see-" Tony shook his head, as he let out a sad laugh. "You could never embarrass me, you know that? I screw things up without meaning to, and I hurt the people around me. I didn't want to do that to you, but when I was away... I finally saw what I'd been doing to us. I don't know you. But I want to, because when I was over there I realised I do want the whole Dad thing. Even if I'm not very good at it. I want to know all about your friends, your school, New York, watch you graduate, and start college. The whole shebang. I want to do better, I will do better, if you still want me around."

Her mind racing, Davina took a moment to think over his words. The whole shebang, huh? Davina observed him for a moment, watching closely as he began to wring his hands nervously as he awaited her reply. One last chance. She determined, her mind finally made up. He really does seem like he means it. "Okay."

Tony looked up, the word struggling to register as he stared at his daughter in disbelief. "Okay?"

"Okay." The duo broke into laughs, the tension between them finally snapping in half as they reached a new level of understanding. It was weird sensation for Davina, laughing with her father, but it definitely wasn't a bad one.

As their mutual laugh began to dissipate, Tony raised a brow at her. "So can your old man get a hug?" Tony could barely blink before he realised the little girl had stepped off of the stool, racing around to the other side of the counter. He barely had time to crouch down to her level, before she had her arms wrapped around him in just about the best hug he'd had in a long while.

"I missed you dumb-dumb." Davina teased.

Tony smiled, hugging her back. "I missed you too."