Tony looked down at the official papers in front of him, his eyes glued to some very specific words. Full custody of Grace Emilia Greene to the father Anthony Edward Stark. He could feel his heart racing as he read the words over and over again, convincing himself that this was real. Tony Stark had a daughter, and his daughter finally had a father.
Grace was sitting beside him as the last of the papers were signed, watching as he scribbled his name across each line. A signature that people waited in line for, that people begged for when seeing him at an event or out in public and that Tony would give without even looking at what he was writing on. But Tony had paid great attention to his signature this time. It was the most important one he had ever made.
"Alright, these will be filed and sent to the appropriate people, but otherwise, congratulations," the lawyer smiled. "You've got a daughter."
Tony's lips twitched up into a grin at the official title, turning to Grace who had the same pleased smile on her face. He reached his hand out to her, immediately feeling his heart skip when Grace grabbed it and wrapped her fingers around his.
After all these years of dreaming, Grace had a family, and Tony was going to do everything humanly possible to keep that family safe.
Pepper had been waiting outside the lawyer's office, tapping away on her phone and returning as many emails as possible before the rest of their day began. Tony had wanted her to come in with them, to be there for that moment, but Pepper insisted it be between him and Grace. It wasn't that Pepper was any less a part of this new family, but she knew this had to be for Grace and Tony.
She had watched the man she loved change so much in the past few weeks, in all the best ways, and she was so proud of where they were now. Pepper couldn't help thinking back to Tony's younger years when the idea of an unexpected child would induce panic and chaos, comparing it to right now.
"You have school arranged, I assume?" the lawyer, Joe, had asked a week ago.
"Yes, it's all sorted," Pepper assured.
"I've got tutors lined up for whatever she needs," Tony added. "Textbooks, that whole school checklist, it's all done."
Joe smiled at the man.
"Sounds like you're all set then. Do you have any concerns? Any questions?" he wondered.
"Uh, no," Tony shrugged, shaking his head. "Not really. She's a good kid."
"And a teenager," Joe added. "They're unpredictable. My daughter was a handful at Grace's age, and especially at sixteen."
"Trying to scare me off?" Tony asked, a smirk on his lips.
Joe had been his lawyer for years now and was in charge of the majority of Stark Industries legal teams. There was no one else Tony would have trusted to go through this process with, and it was clear now that they were talking as friends rather than attorney and client.
"Being a father is more rewarding than anything I've ever done in my life," Joe assured. "I'd give up everything I own and everything I am for my kids, so I'm not trying to scare you off. It's going to change your life completely, and that's not a bad thing."
"Any tips?" Tony asked, feeling his nerves appear.
"Keep an open mind," Joe advised. "Just keep in mind what you were like at her age."
Tony chuckled lightly, shaking his head.
"And if my fifteen year old self was a bratty asshole?"
Joe laughed, shrugging his shoulders and leaning back in his chair.
"Try to deal with it in the way you would have liked your own parents to deal with you," he continued. "And keep in mind, when you're a teenager, everything is a big deal. And for Grace, this is all new territory. She's been in so many homes with different parenting techniques and different rules, so she's going to be just as confused as you are."
Pepper looked over to Tony with a small smile, reaching over to rest her hand against his leg. A moment later, she felt Tony's hand cover her own. He was scared of being a father, but not for the reasons he used to be. Grace could throw anything at him that she wanted to, Tony would be there to deal with it. Above all, he wanted to be a good father.
The office doors opened a few minutes later and Pepper looked up to see Tony walking out with his arm slung around Grace's shoulders, mid-laugh. They looked so happy and so at ease. A few weeks ago, neither of them thought they would ever have this, and here they were. Officially father and daughter.
Although the addition of 'Stark' to Grace's name had never been discussed, and for now they were happy to leave that matter alone. Tony didn't need her to have his surname to feel like her father, and he would never ask Grace to lose her mother's name.
"Everything went well?" Pepper asked, standing up and stepping into Tony's arms.
"It's all done," Tony grinned, pressing a kiss to her lips before pressing another to her forehead. "All official."
"No longer an orphan," Grace sighed with a smile, standing by their side.
It only took a moment for grateful tears to well up in her eyes, and no matter how hard Grace tried to hold them back, they spilled over and rolled down her cheeks. Bringing her hands up to cover her face, Grace desperately tried to compose herself before she felt Tony's arms wrapping around her.
Never in her life did she think it would be possible to be in her father's arms, to be comforted by her dad and feel protected by his embrace.
Grace had no idea how heavily this would hit her. It was just a few words on paper, and yet it meant everything.
"Thank you," she whispered to him, hugging him back with all her strength.
"No," Tony shook his head. "Don't thank me, you don't owe me anything."
"I had no one,"
Tony could feel his heart aching in his chest.
"Well you're always gonna have me," he promised, squeezing her tight. "Always."
Grace walked through the main corridor in the mansion, watching her friend's face very closely. She wondered if Lewis was making the same expressions she made when coming here for the first time. Wide eyes, mouth hanging open, unable to process how much one single tile must have cost. Everything was shiny, everything was new. It was overwhelming for anyone, but coming from their background, there were just no words.
"You...you live in this?" Lewis asked, reaching out to run his hand over a marble ornament.
"I know it looks fancy," Grace nodded. "But it's really homey. You should see my room, I have all those books you gave me stacked up-"
"Lewis!" Tony's voice came into the room. "It is Lewis, right?"
The boy just stared back at the man, his mouth once again hanging open in awe.
"Y-yes Mr. Stark," Lewis stuttered.
"Just Tony," he insisted, extending his hand to shake. "It's nice to meet you, Grace talks about you all the time, now I can put a face to the name."
Of course Tony had already put a face to the name days ago when Grace first mentioned inviting her friend over. She was so nervous to ask Tony that she took all afternoon to actually bring it up over dinner, and Tony couldn't help grinning at his daughter's excitement as she explained how she had grown up with Lewis and never wanted to miss spending time with him. Tony wanted nothing more than to keep Grace comfortable and involve as much of her life in this transition, but that didn't stop his curiosity getting the better of him.
"Y-yeah, nice to meet you too," the boy smiled. "It's been really weird around home with Grace gone. A lot more peaceful."
"Hey!" Grace scolded, pushing him off is balance with a shove.
"I'm kidding," Lewis laughed, standing up straight. "I really miss you. It's gonna take a while to get used to."
Tony looked between the two with a grin. He was glad Grace had a friend like Lewis in her life, especially during this big change. Grace was getting more and more comfortable here as the days went on, but he knew she would need someone to talk to who wasn't her father or Pepper. She needed friends, she needed to be a kid, and Lewis was good for her.
"Well you're welcome here anytime," Tony told him. "I know Pasadena is an hour away, but don't worry about bus fares or cabs, okay? I'll take care of it."
"Oh, no you don't hav-"
"It's done," Tony insisted, holding his hand up. "Now, go be kids."
"We're fifteen," Grace shook her head.
"Okay, well go be fifteen year olds," he corrected. "Just, you know, sensible ones. And maybe don't go out too far without me or Pepper or Happy with you, okay? If you want to go to a movie or something just let me know. And if you're going to go swimming or anything just make sure you tell me that's where you're-"
"I promise I'll tell you if we're going anywhere," Grace assured, letting out a small laugh. "We're probably just going to stay in my room and hang out."
"Okay," Tony nodded, a small wave of relief rushing over him. "I'll leave you alone, I won't be the annoying parent, going now."
Grace smiled over at Lewis as he watched Tony turning his back and slowly stepping away. She was glad that Lewis was finally seeing the real Tony Stark, her father, rather than the man the media loved to provoke. These were the two most important people in her life, and she really wanted them to get along.
Tony wandered back into the living room, spotting Pepper sitting along the couch and deciding to sprawl out by her side.
"Should I have done the whole 'keep the door open' speech?" Tony asked, resting his head on Pepper's shoulder.
"They're just friends Tony," Pepper explained.
"I know," he sighed. "But you know...he's a boy, and they're fifteen, and I know what fifteen year old boys-"
"Not all fifteen year old boys are going to be like you," Pe
Pepper joked, reaching out to run her hand over his.
"I just hope she isn't going to be like me,"
"What are you worried about?" she asked, moving to make Tony look at her. "Is this about what Joe said?"
"Joe didn't say anything that I hadn't thought about already," he admit. "I just want to do right by her, you know? I don't...the way I was when I was her age, it was because my parents weren't around. My dad made no effort to be part of my life and my mom was just blind to it all. They were never home, always travelling, and they had no idea what was going on with me. They only started paying attention when I got in trouble and it started to hurt their reputation. I don't want Grace to ever think that she has to do anything like that just to make me pay attention to her."
Pepper cupped Tony's face in her hands, pressing a kiss to his forehead and running her fingers through his hair.
"You are not Howard," she told him firmly. "In just over a month, you have shown her more love than you even realize. You are her father, Tony. You saw how happy she was that day. She has a family now, and you are doing everything right by her."
"I might not be Howard, but I am Iron Man," Tony continued. "What if I'm away too long? What if I take on something that's out of my league?"
"You always do that anyway, and it's worked out so far," Pepper smiled. "Not that I'm encouraging it."
"Every time I go out there in the suit, it's always been you on my mind," he told her sincerely. "I have to make sure I get back to you and make sure you're safe. And now I have Grace. If something happens to me...I can't do that to her. I can't do that to either of you."
"Tony," Pepper sighed, still running her hands through his hair. "You're scaring yourself. You can't think like that, you're going to drive yourself crazy."
"I just want to be a good father," he sighed.
"You are being a good father," she insisted. "Thinking about all of this just proves that. You care, Tony. More than I've ever seen you care before."
"I can screw up being CEO of the company, I can even screw up being Iron Man, but I can't screw up being her father. That just can't be an option."
Lewis walked around Grace's room, peeking out the windows at her incredible view of the beach and the city in the distance. This was a house they used to picture when explaining their fairytale lives to one another, pretending they had a real family out there just waiting for them in a mansion with everything they could ever want. Now Grace had that as her reality.
"This is like a holiday house," Lewis shook his head. "And you live here."
"I'm still getting used to it," Grace laughed, watching the awe on her friend's face.
Then Lewis turned his gaze to an outfit hanging by her wardrobe, and Grace prepared herself for the insults bound to come her way.
"What is that?" he asked, his voice riddled with disgust.
Grace let out a long groan, folding her arms.
"It's my school uniform," she explained. "What's wrong with navy?"
"What's wrong with navy? Forget the colour, you look like you're enlisting for the actual Navy in this thing! It has collars, and ties!"
"Hey, it's actually one of the nicer uniforms for private schools, okay?" she defended, standing up to shove the outfit inside the wardrobe and pull the door closed.
Lewis stared back at her then.
"A private school?"
Grace rolled her eyes, letting herself fall back onto the bed.
"They're not so bad,"
"Private school? When have we ever met someone from a private school who wasn't a total dick?"
"They have better support for me," Grace defended. "And better security."
"Security?"
"Yeah, security," she repeated, throwing her hands up in frustration. "The whole world knows about me now."
Lewis ran his hand through his hair, shaking his head in disbelief. He knew the life Grace had now and what she was going to be living in, but the reality of the situation seemed to be hitting him just now. Tony Stark was a high profile person, and now Grace was too. Everyone wanted to know more about her, wanted pictures of her, wanted anything they could get their hands on.
"Was the private school Tony's idea?" he asked cautiously. "I mean, wanting that security for you? He's Iron Man after all, he could get the press to stop chasing you down somehow."
"He doesn't want Iron Man to be my dad though," she shrugged. "And neither do I. None of this has been easy, you know? I want keep some parts of my life normal, and if that means going to a private school to make sure my life stays private, then it's really not a hard choice. Tony just...he wants me to be okay."
Lewis smiled, moving to sit beside her on the bed.
"That's good," he nodded, reaching over to put a hand on Grace's shoulder. "Honestly, he's nothing like what I thought. He's so much more...lame, you know?"
Grace laughed, finally breaking away from her nerves and frustration.
"Lame?"
"Yeah, you know, like a dorky dad," Lewis explained, chuckling. "I mean, your dad is Iron Man, and he's still just like every other guy with a kid. He's so normal."
Grace smiled at that, leaning over to grab Lewis up in a hug. Normal was just what she wanted. A lame, dorky dad was something she had dreamed about for so long, and although Tony was far from the average father, she was glad that Lewis could see what she did.
"Promise you'll visit?" he asked, hugging her in return.
"Of course I will," she assured. "And you too?"
"Well Tony just offered to pay for cab, so I guess I'll be visiting more often. But I'm starving, what has your guest gotta do to get a snack?"
