Lily's P.O.V.

The next month went by so fast. My life quickly fell into a schedule that rarely changed, other than weekends. Those were impossible to predict. Although my schedule was quite constant, my dad and Pepper's were not. They were constantly busy, traveling here and there, staying in the office all night and occasionally saving the world. As much as I hated this, I kind of liked it. Those chaotic days where the only times that I had the entire house to myself. It took me a while to get that privilege, though. They kind of edged me into it, giving me a few hours here and there. It wasn't until the end of May when I got my first full evening alone. My dad and Pepper were going out for supper and then going to some award show that my dad refused to take me too.

I was studying for my finals that Saturday afternoon when I heard a knock at my bedroom door.

"Come in." I said, spinning my chair around to see the entrance.

"Hi!" My dad replied, closing the door behind him and sitting down on my bed. "Lily, I have to talk to you about something."

"Yes..." I said nervously. My dad never came and talked to me in private like this. Was he dying? He couldn't be dying! Was Pepper dying?

"Well... Um... I was going to um... I was wondering if I could... Um..."

"Dad?" I urged.

"Lily, I want to ask Pepper to marry me." The words came out in a huge rush as though he had been keeping them inside for far too long.

I stared back at him in shock. Okay, that was not what I expected him to say.

"Is that okay?" He said quickly, seeing my expression, "I won't do it if you don't want me to. I won't do anything without your permission, so I thought that I should ask you first. It's not like it would make that much of a change in our lives, she already lives here. I just sort of wanted to make it official, you know, becau-"

"Dad!" I interrupted to stop his rambling. "I have no problem with you marrying Pepper. I would be fantastic if you married her! I am so excited for you!" I jumped off my chair and ran toward my bed and pulled my dad into a hug.

"Thanks Lily, that means a lot."

"When are you going to ask her?"

"I was thinking tonight. We are going to go have supper together before the award ceremony. I thought that it would be a great place to show her ring off to the world. Speaking of the ring, do you want to see it?"

"YES!" I almost yelled, bouncy slightly on the bed.

My dad reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small grey box. I took it from his hand and opened it. Sitting inside the light blue velvet was the most beautiful ring that I have ever seen. It was so simple and elegant, very unlike my dad and very much like Pepper. It had a simple thin silver band that widened before reaching the blue stone in the middle. There was something very unique about the stone. It was the exact colour of the arc reactor in my dad's chest. Just before I closed the box, I noticed writing on the inside of the band. I pulled the ring out of the box for a closer look. Written in the cursive writing of jewelry makers were the words 'Proof that Tony Stark has a Heart.'

"Dad! It's beautiful!" I said, giving the box back to him. "What does the inscription mean?"

"Oh, it's just an inside joke kind of thing that I have with Pepper. It's complicated."

"She will love it. It suits her perfectly."

"I really hope that she does. Do you think that she will say yes?"

I looked into my dad's eyes. There was genuine fear in them. He was honestly scared that she would say no.

"Dad, Pepper loves you so much. It is obvious to everyone. She would never say no. If she wanted to leave, she would have done it by now."

"Are you sure? I mean, there is a big difference between dating and marriage. I don't have a great track record with relationships. What if she is scared that I cannot commit to marriage and runs off."

"Dad, have you ever thought about cheating on Pepper?"

"No! Why would you ever think that I would cheat on Pepper?" He sounded very offended.

"Exactly my point. I know that you would never cheat on her or leave her and she knows it too. You have nothing to worry about."

He took a deep breath.

"Thanks, Lily. I needed that support."

"Any time."

"I have to go get ready for the big night. I'll call you as soon as I ask her, okay?"

"Okay."

My dad walked towards the door. Just before leaving, I called after him.

"Dad? Wait!"

He turned around in the doorway.

"What?"

I took a deep breath.

"Can I have a friend come over tonight?"

"A friend?"

"Yes, a friend."

My dad walked back in, closed the door and sat on my bed.

"Who is this friend of yours?"

"His name is Alex Fisher. He is my partner in my robotics class. You know, the one that I am building the Dalek in? Anyways, we aren't quite done it and it's due next week. I thought that this weekend would a great time to finish up. He is living in residence, so there is no room there to work and we have the whole shop with all the tools that we need, so I thought that our house would work great."

"So," My dad cut in, "You are asking me to give you permission to bring home a boy from L.A. to our multi-million dollar mansion for the first time when I am not home."

"It sounds bad when you put it that way... All we want to do is work!"

"I know that's all you have intentions on doing, but Lily, I am the master playboy. I know how one thing can lead to another and-"

"Dad! Stop. Nothing is going to happen! We are just friends!"

"Lily, I'm still not sure. It's not that I don't trust you. I trust you with my life. It's that I don't trust him. I don't want him to take advantage of you. Lily, you have to remember who you are. You are a Stark now and you are next in line to own Stark Industries. That basically paints a huge target on your back. Do you know how much money people would pay for a picture of your suit? Or even you bedroom? Lots of money. I just don't think that tonight is the best night. Why not tomorrow?"

"He's working tomorrow." I said, looking down at my feet. I understood where my dad was coming from, but it didn't mean that I liked his response.

"Okay, Lily." He said, sighing. "I will give you this once." My eyes shot up to meet his. "If anything happens, this will never happen again, do you understand?" I nodded vigorously, my body full of excitement. "Also, this has to pass by Pepper. I know that this is my house and everything, but she still has some say. I'll go talk to her, but there is a 99% chance that she will say yes. You might as well call Alex now. Also, I want him here half an hour before Pepper and I leave so I can meet him. Deal?"

"Deal!" I answered.

At 5:00, I sat by the door window waiting for Alex to show up. Both Dad and Pepper were ready and sitting on the couch, teasing me for my nervousness.

"Lily, you see him every day, there is no need to be nervous." Pepper said.

"Yeah, but he doesn't meet you two every day!"

"Oh, don't worry, I'll be nice." Dad said, smirking.

"Yeah, right! You will probably threaten to blow off his head with your suit or something!"

"No! What do you take me for? As I said earlier, I am a former playboy. That would make me a traitor. But, seriously Lily, be careful."

"I am not going to sleep with him!" I snapped.

Just then, a car pulled into the roundabout.

"He's here!" I yelped.

I watched nervously as he made his way up the steps to the door. He rang the doorbell and I waited a few seconds before opening it.

"Hi!" I said.

"Hello." He replied. He looked absolutely terrified.

"Come in!" I said, making room in the doorway. He walked inside and glanced around.

"Nice place."

"Thanks." My dad said from the living room. Alex jumped almost a foot into the air.

"Ah... Hi! I'm really sorry, sir. I didn't see you there. Uh... I'm Alex Fisher, your daughter's lab partner."

"I know who you are. And don't call me sir. It makes me feel old. It's just Tony. Oh, and this is Pepper." Pepper waved from the chair in the corner. "Come, sit down!"

Alex walked awkwardly into the living room and sat down in the other chair. I sat on the couch next to my dad.

"So, Alex. I hear that you are an engineering student." Pepper said, trying to make him more comfortable.

"Yes, I am. I am in my first year of electrical engineering."

"Great choice. What do you want to do with your degree?" My dad asked.

"I want to work do more of the whole R&D stuff. I want a job that is different everyday and not the same stuff over and over again."

"I know what you mean." My dad said, sighing. "Anyways, what do your parents do?"

"Dad!"

"Tony!" Pepper and I said at the same time.

"What? I was just curious."

"It's okay." Alex said, "My dad is a family doctor and my mom is a professor in experimental physics at the university."

"Impressive. Do you want anything to drink?"

"No, thank you."

"Are you sure? I'm getting water. Pepper? Lily? Anything?"

"I'll have water too, please." Pepper answered.

"Me too!" I said.

"Actually, on second thought, I will have a glass of water, please." Alex said

"Okay! Four glasses of water, coming right up." My dad confirmed before heading out to the kitchen.

Pepper turned to Alex.

"I know that you are scared of Tony. I can tell whenever you look at him. Don't be! He doesn't get offended easily and loves to joke around. Just be yourself and he will stop being so weird. He is trying to make you uncomfortable."

"Um... Okay..." Alex said, still uncertain. He had every right to be scared. My dad built weapons for how many years and he just happened to use all of that technology in a super suit. I would be scared too.

My dad soon came back with a bunch of glasses and passed them around. He sat back down and looked at his watch.

"We will have to go soon, Pepper. I don't want to be late for our reservation."

"Tony Stark is telling me to not to be late. How ironic is that?"

"I can be on time!" My dad said defensively.

"Yeah, maybe for R&D meetings. For everything else, half an hour late is early."

"That is not true! I showed up on time for the board meeting yesterday!"

"That is only because it was at nine and I dragged you there straight out of bed. Also, that doesn't really count because you slept through the entire thing!"

"So?"

"So? How on earth are you going to get any notes down or learn anything if you sleep through the meetings?"

"I have you for that."

"That's not my job, Tony. I just do it because I know that you can't function without me."

"Uh, yes I can. And, if you don't recall, I changed your contract do that you do have to attend all my meetings and take notes."

"Whatever, Tony. It doesn't matter."

I watched as Alex eyes shot back and forth between adults during the whole exchange. It was as though he was watching a game of tennis. I was used to their constant bickering by now. It was just normal day to day stuff for me.

The whole group went into a very awkward silence after that. My dad finished his water and started taping random rhythms onto the side of his glass. He could not sit still for ten seconds.

"Well, Tony." Pepper finally said, "We should go."

"Yep." They both stood up. Pepper walked towards the stairs to the shop while my dad made a bee-line for Alex before I could stop him.

"Listen to me, Alex. If you hurt my daughter in anyway, I not think twice about hurting you. You know, I have a nice suit downstairs that I might even wear for the occasion. It's a real favourite of mine. Also, I know just the place to get back up. Have a great night."

With that, my dad joined Pepper at the stairs. I could hear them bickering about something the entire way down. Yep, they were definitely meant for each other.

I waited until I saw my dad's Audi drive out of the driveway.

"We're clear!" I said to Alex, who was way more relaxed.

"You're dad is scary."

"Only if you make him angry. I have yet to do that, but I know some people who did. Believe me; it's not pretty."

"I believe it. Did he just threaten me with his iron man suit?"

"Quite possibly. I don't know what other suit he has in his workshop. Don't worry; you have nothing to worry about. Hey, do you like Kraft mac and cheese? I know where I can find a whole cupboard full."

A.N. Snow day! It kind of sucked that it was during spirit week and I am missing pyjama day, but oh, well. It gave me an excuse to stay in my pyjamas all day at home! Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. I really love comments, so leave me one! I don't want to have to take out my suit... ;)