I do not own Marvel. And there's some fairly mild cursing happening here.

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The champagne flutes were of the finest crystal glass, and they were all raised with smiles, as the toast rang out. "A toast for Maria Natalia Stark, may she grow up to be as clever and as capable as both of her mothers, and with none of the nonsense of her father!" Tony, who was the one who said the words, deadpanned this toast without as much as a twitch, even though the words made everyone else laugh. Including Pepper, even though she hit him playfully on the shoulder while she laughed.

Little Maria Natalia, as tradition dictates when giving a child their name - though this is normally done by baptising, not a champagne toast, granted - was in the arms of her godmother, though she was soon handed over to her doting godfathers.

The occasion was small, private and quiet, but it was as classy as anything presided over by Tony Stark could be expected to be. That is, very classy.

They were on the roof terrace of Stark Tower, all dressed in white and gold, with the now named baby dressed in delicate white lace. The public would soon know, of course, but this soft little celebration, this moment, it was all theirs.

The ground floor of Stark Tower was an impressive sight no matter when you came there. Claire had needed to get used to it, back when she first arrived, never mind getting private access to go further up than general staff were allowed.

Tonight, it was lit by thousands of twinkle lights, with the full effect of every single one out of the many grand chandeliers, and the huge space was crowded by people dressed beyond the nines.

All of the Avengers were there - even Bruce and Bucky had been persuaded, given that they could so easily escape back upstairs if need be - and Tony Stark was of course in his finest form, dressed up with glittering diamonds at his cuffs and his trademark media smile unleashed at full force.

Pepper looked every inch like the almost all-powerful CEO that she was, even standing next to him. She was dressed in a sparkling lavender gown, her strawberry blonde hair falling down her back in luxurious waves. She had Natasha on her arm, who of course looked just as good, in a turquoise dress which showed off just how good ballet can be for your figure.

Bucky and Steve were side-by-side as well, both dressed in dark suits, matching each other not exactly, but effortlessly. Pepper had offered to dress them, and they had agreed. Bruce hung near them, accompanied by Clint, both faultlessly dressed up as well. All four of them took turns giving Claire a hand, as her brand new Louboutins came with far higher heels than she'd been accustomed to. She coped well, generally, but all four men were just a tiny bit more inclined to take her arm than even normal, just in case.

She'd matched the black shoes with a flaming red dress, different from what anyone might have guessed her style would be, and all her jewellery were gold pieces. Even the hem of her dress sported delicate gold embroidery. It was a clear statement of support, and Tony had beamed when he first saw her.

Rather predictably, there was a lot of speculation sweeping the room, about pretty much everything, making Bruce, Bucky and Steve stick to their corner, Clint sport ridiculousness just for the hell of it and showing off to trained eyes just how good Pepper and Tony were at working any room they were in.

One person who was not at all taking part in the gossip, but who was working the impressive gathering with some serious skills of his own, was Bruce Wayne. Wayne Incorporated and Stark Industries were both superpowers in their own right, and as such, no one was surprised when Pepper and the billionaire Bruce spent a good fifteen minutes talking together with intense focus.

More surprising, after their little impromptu meeting, the second Bruce went to see the Avengers' own Bruce, spending well over an hour discussing science until Tony Stark just had to join them and start an argument that was clearly - it was visible from even the other end of the room, where Claire kept an eye on them - all in good nature. It still baffled most people, but it was far from a secret that Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark actually always got along like a vaguely drunk house on fire. Or something.

Because she was watching her boys, it didn't escape Claire that Bruce Wayne kept looking over in her direction with interest, but she didn't wonder at it particularly. Not only did most of the room do the same - though not as persistently - but she assumed she might well come up in the science talk. She had a point there.

Either way, Pepper provided ample distraction by every few minutes introducing her to another important person from somewhere in the broad organisation tree of SI.

It was just after one of the main SI bosses had left her, delighted to have been able to have an actual development conversation with someone from the internal R&D, that she spotted them.

She first thought she was mistaken - after all, it had been years and they had no reason to be here - but as they came closer to her, still without having seen her, she had to admit it to herself. Nevermind that they probably hadn't been looking or were even aware that they had; but they'd found her.