Rosalind Stark
Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel or any characters or variations of Marvel/Avengers. I only own my OCs.
Chapter Fourteen: Brunch
Peter woke up to the sound of clicking high heels. He sat up rubbing his eyes.
"Peter? What are you doing here?" Pepper asked surprised to find the teenager vigilante asleep on the tower couch.
"I guess I fell asleep. I was helping watch Rozz and her mom last night," Peter answered still half asleep. Suddenly he looked panicked, Aunt May was probably worried sick about him. Did he miss school?
"Your aunt'll be here five," Tony informed him entering the room on his way to get coffee.
"Tony we need to talk!" Pepper chased after him. Peter gulped worried that May would be mad.
xxXXxx
"Pepper that's not necessary," Tony grumbled filling his number one dad mug.
"Really cause you seem pretty blind to the facts," she tapped the mug for emphasis.
"She's mine. We cleared that up before she was even born," Tony gaze hardened. Why was Pepper so against this?
"Yes, but we don't know that that little girl is the same one Dr Ewart gave birth to," Pepper stated firmly.
"You think Viv went and found another little girl that's a genius that looks like me?" he gave her a disbelieving look.
"It's a simple blood test. Vivian would also get one to see if she is really the mother," she held up her finger to silence Tony before he could talk back. "What if that is your kid, but Vivian bought her of someone else," she continued.
"What about her pregnancy?" he asked feeling like he was getting in an argument with the national exaggerator.
"Maybe she didn't like how that one turned out," she huffed.
"Okay…" Tony took a swig of his coffee suddenly feeling like it was way too early for this type of conversation.
xxXXxx
May walked out of the elevator with Peter's backpack on her arm.
"May I'm sorry I didn't come home last night," Peter apologized quickly hopping off the couch. He still wore his Spider-Man suit, but had removed the mask.
"I called her last night kid," Tony announced reentering the living room.
"Tony were not done," Pepper barged in annoyed with Tony not taking her seriously.
"Yes we are. I'm not having Rosalind's blood tested," he stated firmly.
"You didn't have a paternity test done when she was born?" May looked surprised.
"No we did one while Viv was pregnant," Tony clarified
"Then why are you worried?" May asked Pepper.
"What if this is a different little girl that just happens to look like Tony or another illegitimate child of Tony's," Pepper suggested. Both May and Peter made a face
"It is possible, but I highly doubt it," shrugged Tony.
"If it turns out she is Tony's child but not Vivian's, Tony could get custody," observed May. Tony froze. It would be a quick answer to custody if that was the case, but he was ninety-nine percent sure it wasn't. Though maybe the blood test could open things up to discuss custody. Vivian entered the living room at that moment.
"You and Rosalind will be having a blood test performed today," declared Pepper putting her hands on her hips.
"And why would we do that?" Vivian glared at the other red head.
Before either one could say anything else, Tony stepped in. "I've got this. Viv can we talk in the next room," Tony guided her to the kitchen.
"Tony why does she want our blood tested?" she shot Tony a similar look to the one she had given Pepper.
"She wants to make sure Rosalind is ours. My blood would be tested too. Before you get mad, she is just being protective," Tony held his hands up defensively even with her hand in a cast Vivian looked ready to fight. "We could do it in the medical floor. No big deal," Tony offered.
"Fine, but she had better back off," growled Vivian. They headed back to the living room.
"Viv says she'll take the test," Tony confirmed joining the rest of them.
"I guess I should go get Rozz. She's not going to be happy about this," grumbled Vivian heading toward Rozz's room. She was still walking with a slight limp.
"I'll grab her Dr Ewart!" Peter went rushing off to get her.
"Wanna join us for a blood test then grab brunch with Pepper and I?" Tony asked May.
"What hospital are you going to?" May asked.
"We are just going down to the medical floor. It should be fast," assured Tony.
Peter comes running back out of Rosalind's room. Rosalind was wearing an oversized ACDC shirt grumbling slightly from being woken up.
"Sure, Peter will need to change though… I brought you clean clothes in your backpack," May motioned to his bag on the floor near the couch.
xxXXxx
After both Peter and Rosalind had changed, they headed down to the medical floor.
"What happened down here?" croaked out Pepper looking at the rearranged medical lab.
"Mommy's been working," answered Rozz smiling widely.
"Then we will need to go to the hospital," Pepper barked out ignoring Rozz's adorableness.
"Why?" spat Vivian already knowing the answer.
"If you've been in here messing with equipment, then how can I trust the results will be accurate," Pepper stated calmly. Vivian was once again looking like she wanted to whack someone upside the head with her cast.
"Viv please. I'll take everyone to brunch after," Tony offered hoping to avoid the fight between the two women.
"Fine," she gave in.
"But I don't like hospitals," Rozz fussed giving her foot a slight stomp.
"We can go to the one I work at… You've been there before remember," May offered trying to comfort the little girl.
"Daddy picked me up there," her smile was back.
"That's right," Tony scooped Rosalind up into his arm. It was becoming oddly natural to hold her.
xxXXxx
Once at the hospital, Vivian and Tony both had their blood drawn.
"You're next," the nurse moved to Rosalind. She looked scared and ran to hide behind her mother's legs. Vivian sighed moving to sit down and pick Rozz up on to her lap. The nurse tried to approach again, but she started crying.
"Rozz, it'll be over in no time," promised her mother.
"Yeah kiddo," Tony ruffled her curls hoping she would calm down. He felt like the worst father in the world yet again.
"Daddy will you hold my hand," she asked wiping her eyes. Tony nodded taking her hand in his. The nurse was quick not wanting Rosalind to wiggle or get upset again.
"There, we have all the samples we need," the nurse gave Rozz a sticker for being a good patient.
"Where are those being tested?" Vivian asked eyeing the vials of blood.
"Next door in the lab," answered the nurse.
"Could I observe?" asked Vivian. The nurse looked a bit confused. "I just want to be absolutely sure no one tampers with anything," she explained.
"Me too," Pepper chimed in.
"Sure I suppose, but the test takes some time," the nurse tried to discourage them.
"I've got all day," Vivian glared at Pepper.
"What about brunch?" Tony asked hoping they would change their minds.
"You can go ahead," Pepper told him.
"Daddy I want waffles," Rozz declared. May and Peter laughed.
"I know a place that has great waffles, even blueberry ones," Tony picked Rosalind up. "You two good with waffles?" he asked.
"I love waffles," declared Peter.
"Rozz be good for Daddy," Vivian told her sternly.
xxXXxx
"Where is everyone?" asked Darcy looking around the tower.
"Stark took his ward, Rozz, and former and current lovers to some sort of made up meal," Loki announced not fully looking up from his book.
"I did not understand any of that," Darcy looked to the only other person in the room.
"Tony took Peter, Rosalind, Vivian, and Pepper out to brunch," Natasha clarified.
"Okay, but where's Steve, Bruce, and Clint?" Darcy asked. She knew Thor was out with Jane since they had dropped her off.
"They are all at SHIELD debriefing and talking to Doom," Natasha shrugged.
"But not you?"
"No, I am guarding the tower," she continued lounging in the living room.
"At least Thor isn't here to eat all the pop-tarts," Darcy signed moving to the panty.
xxXXxx
"We have your table all set Mr Stark," the hostess led them to a table toward the back.
Rosalind giggled following the woman to their table. Tony pulled her chair out for her to sit. "Thank you Daddy," she sat. Several people perked up at hearing her say daddy.
"May thanks for letting Peter skip school," Tony thanked her.
"Yeah Aunt May. It's really cool of you," he smiled wide.
"I figured he could use the sleep after last night. Rosalind, are you having a fun time during your visit?" May asked the little girl sitting next to her.
"Yeah, I never get to visit," Rozz was beaming.
"What would you like to drink?" a waitress asked.
"Coffee, coffee, milk, and?" Tony looked to Rozz for her to tell him her drink order.
"Milk!" she answered happily.
"Two coffees and two milks," the waitress repeated back to Tony giving Rozz a smile.
"What's been fun about your visit so far?" May asked. Peter guessed hanging out with the avengers in his head, but he was wrong.
"Building with Daddy and seeing his tower. It's really tall!" Tony smirked listening to her go on about tall buildings for a bit.
"What's it like where you live in Texas?" Peter asked as their drinks were brought out. Tony told the waitress to bring a variety of waffles with an extra tall stack of blueberry of course.
"Mommy and I live in an old house, but it's pretty and Mommy likes to fix it. My room is gold," she stated that proudly.
"I read that in one of the letters Viv sent me," chuckled Tony.
"Gold is a bit much," muttered May trying not to make a face.
"Viv made a deal with her. If she won a Reed Richards award, she could paint her room any color she wanted," Tony explained. May and Peter froze Reed Richards awards were a big deal. Few children under the age of thirteen ever received one.
xxXXxx
"You really think Tony is going to give you more?" Pepper glared intensely Vivian.
"The only thing I want is for Tony to have a relationship with Rosalind," she glared back just as intensely.
There was a crowd muttering in the hallway. People kept peeking in the doorway.
"It looks like they caught wind of the test," grumbled Vivian not looking forward to the likely media circus that would follow.
Finally one of the Doctors from the group approached them. "Are you Dr Ewart?" she asked.
"Yes?" she raised an eyebrow at the question.
"The Dr Ewart? The one that found the key signs for genetic mutation testing?" the doctor looked shocked.
"Yes… Why?" Vivian again was unsure of what this doctor wanted.
"Your research is incredible! Are you working in New York now?"
"No, I'm surprised my research isn't still hated," muttered Vivian more to herself than the doctor.
The woman laughed. "It took a few years to catch up, but yes your research is still very relevant and much more widely accepted."
xxXXxx
"Aren't you Tony Stark?" a woman in her late twenties asked giving him a coy smile.
"Yes I am," he smiled back. May rolled her eyes while Peter watched awkwardly.
The woman glanced at his company. "How about you ditch the single mom and come sit with me," she ran her hand up his arm.
Tony glanced at the table. Rosalind wasn't even giving the woman an ounce of attention. He gave a slight chuckle before answering. "I've already made plans," he watched the woman coy smile turn to a frown at the former playboy's rejection.
After she left their table, Rosalind asked, "What plans did you make Daddy?"
"You hear a lot more than you let on, don't you?" he ruffled her curls. "I was thinking I was spending the day with you."
"Rosalind have you ever played with a chemistry set? Peter and his uncle Ben loved playing with his when he was little," suggested May.
Rozz's eyes lit up. "Daddy can we get a chemistry set pretty pretty please," she begged.
"Sure, I'm surprised you don't already have one," shrugged Tony.
"Mommy's worried I'd make a mess," she pouted.
"Well we can make a mess at the tower," he grinned. Rozz giggled hopping out of her chair to climb into Tony's lap. People in the restaurant were looking again.
"In a few I have to get back to work. Peter will you be okay on your own?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'll either hang out with Mr Stark or head back home," Peter replied eating the last of his waffles.
xxXXxx
"We can keep Doom until he somehow manages to escape," explained Coulson. The men had finished speaking with Doom and had learned very little.
"His denial of working with Hammer was basically a confirmation. Can't we just bring him in?" asked Banner.
"With his team of lawyers, no way. Just let me handle him," Clint was polishing an arrow.
"Were not taking the law into our own hands," argued Steve.
"Since when!" yelled Clint. He wasn't a fan of Doom or Hammer to begin with and their plan to target a kid was not helping.
"Settle," ordered Maria getting annoyed with the men. Coulson had a tendency to let them get away with things.
"Hammer is likely trying to come up with a back up plan or he may decide to cut and run all together," Coulson interjected.
"Stark's family is still safe in the tower right?" asked Maria assuming Natasha was more than capable to manage security. The men nodded. A younger shield agent squirmed. "Do you know something agent?" she asked.
The agent pulled up a video of Tony sharing waffles with Rosalind at a restaurant.
"Stark," she groaned. Coulson was already heading off to call Natasha.
xxXXxx
Tony and Peter were looking around the toy store for a chemistry set while Rosalind darted quickly around their feet. Peter fidgeted.
"What's on your mind kid?"
"Well I…" Peter trailed off too nervous to asked for advice.
"He likes a girl," Rozz stated while looking at a stack of toys.
"Girl troubles huh?" Tony wore a large grin at the idea that Peter needed girl advice.
"Yeah, it's my friend Michelle… Well Dr Ewart told me that she had a crush on me. She Michelle not she Rosalind's mom," he sputtered quickly back tracking.
"And you like her or not?" Tony asked ignoring his sputtering.
"Well yeah, she really nice in a mean sarcastic sort of way and she is smart and talented," Peter smiled awkwardly trying to explain Michelle to someone who hadn't met her.
"She's pretty too Daddy!" Rozz chimed in. Peter blushed.
"Triple threat kind of girl. Have you asked her out?" Tony held out his hand to Rozz when she started to wander too far away. She took it grinning happily.
"No what if Dr Ewart's wrong and I mess up our whole friendship," Peter panicked.
"Mommy's never wrong," Rozz said with a straight face.
"There you have it kid," Tony chuckled. "But to be honest there is no harm in asking. If she doesn't like you, she will put it off with some sarcastic comment, and you'll both move on."
"Maybe…" Peter checked the time. If he wanted, he could head to school and catch a class or two then go practice and talk to Michelle after.
"Heading to school?" Peter blushed but nodded. He hugged Rosalind before rushing off.
xxXXxx
"You two are still here?" May looked surprised to find Pepper and Vivian still at the hospital.
"Yes, where's Tony?" Pepper asked.
"And Rosalind?" Vivian added.
"Tony took her out to buy a chemistry set after brunch," May answered. Vivian groaned.
"What's wrong with that?" Pepper demanded.
"She's a tiny Tony. Do you think giving her a chemistry set is a good idea?" she asked sarcastically. Pepper couldn't help but grin at the thought.
"Sorry it was my suggestion," May apologized.
"It's fine… I just hope Tony can handle her," Vivian sighed. Pepper smirked, maybe this would bring Tony back to his senses.
xxXXxx
"They just walked in," Natasha informed Coulson as Tony and Rozz walked in.
"Where's Vivian?" Darcy asked looking up from her phone.
"She's still at the hospital with Pepper," Tony answered following after Rosalind who was removing her new chemistry set from the shopping bag to show Loki and Natasha. Natasha relayed Vivian's location to Coulson.
"They didn't eat?" Loki asked curious.
"Daddy had Happy take them waffles!" Rozz giggled showing Loki her new toy. He smiled letting her show off.
"You ready to get messy kiddo?" Tony asked scooping her and the chemistry set up to head down to his lab.
xxXXxx
"Hey loser, are you coming to practice today?" Michelle asked flicking Peter's shoulder to get his attention.
"Yeah, I'll be there," he gave her an awkward smile.
"If you ditch again, I will injure you," she threaten heading out of the classroom.
"Why are you so happy?" Ned asked in a hushed voice. He was expecting some Avengers news.
"I'm going to tell Michelle I like her after practice today," Peter grinned even wider.
"Wow okay, it's your funeral," Ned shrugged turning toward the teacher who was starting their last class of the day.
xxXXxx
Bruce and Coulson walked into the hospital. Fury had ordered for them to protect Pepper and Vivian while they were out of the tower. Bruce wasn't very happy. This was way too crowded of an environment to let the other guy out. They wandered around looking for the lab when they heard some nurses discussing Vivian.
"She would be a great addition to the staff," one nurse commented.
"Yeah, Dr Ewart could really help in our prenatal area," another went on.
"Ladies, we are actually looking for Dr Ewart. Could one of you direct us?" Coulson interrupted them politely. One of them nodded pointing down the hall. He thanked them, and he and Bruce headed that way.
Once in the lab, they found Pepper and Vivian having a stare down.
"Hi Phil," Pepper smiled finally pulling her gaze from Vivian.
"Hi, so why exactly are you two at the hospital," Coulson asked. Pepper explained. Now the dirty look Vivian was giving her made a bit more sense. It seemed like the two could have gotten along after the Doom attack but apparently not.
"I have the results," a woman in the lab announced. Everyone turned to face her. "They are her parents," she said happily. Vivian let out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding. Rosalind was her and Tony's so why was she scared of a blood test.
"So you are going to back off now?" Vivian asked giving Pepper a stern look, but at least it was less intense than the glare.
"That clears that part up, but I still have some questions about finances," Pepper wasn't giving up. Vivian looked ready to attack Pepper. Coulson and Bruce exchanged looks.
"I'll escort Miss Potts to her office while Bruce escorts Dr Ewart back to the tower," Coulson directed. Vivian got a copy of the lab results before leaving with Bruce.
A SHIELD agent drove them back to the tower.
xxXXxx
"Tony what were you thinking!" Natasha growled out at him. She was using a fire extinguisher to put out the flames. Dum-E was currently spraying Tony with another fire extinguisher. Loki was holding Rozz.
"That's enough," Tony told Dum-E wagging his finger at the bot.
"Daddy and I made a mess," Rozz said quietly into Loki's shirt.
"Oh I could see that," chuckled the god.
xxXXxx
Bruce and Vivian entered the main living area of the tower. Darcy awkwardly shuffled her feet upon seeing them.
"Darcy where is everyone?" Vivian asked. She knew what a guilty college student looked like.
"Well Thor and Jane are out on the town. She had a meeting then her and Thor were going to this diner that serves breakfast all day," she babbled on.
"Not the everyone I was talking about. JARVIS?" she moved on to the next person/AI that could give her a better answer.
"Captain Rogers and Agent Barton are still at SHIELD… And Sir, Miss Stark, Agent Romanoff, and Mr Laufeyson are all in sir's lab," JARVIS informed them.
Vivian stared at Darcy for a moment. "JARVIS why did Darcy not want to tell us that?" she asked.
"Likely because of the fire that was just extinguished in sir's lab," JARVIS answered.
Bruce looked panicked heading for the elevator. "Calm down Dr Banner," Vivian told him joining him in the elevator. She didn't what to have an elevator ride with the Hulk.
"How are you not worried?" he asked thinking of all the things that could have go wrong in Tony's lab. Vivian just shrugged.
The elevator doors opened to the lab floor. "Is everyone alright JARVIS said there was a fire?" Bruce asked looking around for injuries.
"Yeah were all fine," huffed Natasha heading for the elevator.
"You okay Rozz?" Viv could already tell by the smile on her face that she was fine.
"Yep. My hair got burned, but Loki fixed it," she held up one of her ringlets.
"It was merely a singe," Loki assured her stroking Rosalind's head.
"Tony," Vivian turned toward Tony.
"We'll give you two a few minutes alone," Bruce interrupted her motioning for Loki to bring Rosalind.
Tony took a deep breath waiting for the fight. They were now alone for really the first time since Vivian had woken up. There was no Pepper in the next room or Steve or Natasha to mediate. They were alone, and he had just shown that he wasn't able to handle their daughter.
"When you do this kind of stuff you have to pull her hair back," Vivian told him.
"What?" he was confused how was she not mad.
"Rosalind, her hair. You have to pull it back into a ponytail or a bun," she shrugged.
"You're not mad about what happened?" Tony asked still shocked and confused.
"Tell me what happened," she crossed her arms tapping her fingers on her cast.
"Well we were playing with the chemistry set, and it was kind of lame. So we spiced it up a little," Tony attempted to explain. A lopsided smile came to Vivian lips.
"And it was Rozz's idea to go big?" she asked already knowing the answer. She knew her daughter after all.
"I shouldn't have gone along with it. I am terrible at this dad thing," Tony tried to redirect the blame at himself.
"Tony this isn't the first time she's started a fire. I know, she's overly curious. There is a reason I no longer own a toaster. You can't be too hard on yourself. No one got hurt. There's kind of a learning curve to the whole parenting thing. It just takes time," Vivian gave him a sincere smile.
"Then stay," Tony blurted out.
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