Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or any other Marvel characters. I only own my OC.

A/N: Yikes, it's been like forever since I've updated for you guys. I'm sorry about that. I was way more focused on my AHS and IT fanfic. Lately though, I've been getting a lot of motivation to finish this chapter because of all the Marvel trailers that have been released. I mean, Captain Marvel is coming out soon, then Avengers: End Game, followed by Spider-Man: Far From Home. Like damn Marvel, you doing amazing, sweetie. I'm going to be broke this year because of all the movies they're releasing, along with a few other Non-Marvel movies that are coming out later in the year. *cough* IT: Chapter Two. :P Not to mention, I saw that new teaser trailer for the Child's Play remake...I gotta say it caught my attention. I mean, I still have mixed feelings about it because I am such a huge fan of the original, but I'm gonna try to be open minded. Anyways, I'll try to see that movie in theaters when it comes out.

Just a heads up this is more of a filler chapter, kind of like the last one. Sorry. The chapter focuses more on Grace and Tony's father/daughter relationship again. I apologize if that doesn't seem interesting, but don't worry things will start to get more action packed soon. Trust me. I want to try to update the next chapter soon but don't hate me if I can't update ASAP. This is hopefully my final semester for college before I graduate, and although my classes aren't as stressful as last semester I still don't want to lose focus. The last thing I need is to struggle because I am not keeping up with weekly hw assignments and readings.

I'm not gonna forget this story, nor any of the others I have. Just like the rest of my fanfics, this one holds a special place in my heart. I do though want to move forward with the story, that way we can head into Iron Man 2 and etc. To be able to write Grace's interactions with the rest of the Avengers, and then eventually her meeting Peter is something I want you guys to read. It'll definitely take some time but we'll get there eventually. This is also the chapter where we start to see Grace's inner fangirl for Captain America. Which is something Tony is not gonna like :P

I do not own any of the movies mentioned in this chapter. Though, if you've seen Bambi or The Land Before Time you can pretty much understand why Grace gets emotional when watching them. Believe me I can really relate. I still get teary eyed when watching The Land Before Time.

I'll end the author note now...enjoy the fluff you're about to read.

Edited 4/26/2019


"And that is how change happens. One gesture. One person. One moment at a time." ― Libba Bray, The Sweet Far Thing


Chapter 4: Changes are happening

If someone at this very second were to ask Grace how she was feeling her answer would have been that she was concerned. Really concerned because she wasn't just a bit concerned. Her saying that last part would have been a major understatement. The truth was that the six year old was way more than just a bit concerned. Except not only was she concerned but she was also very curious.

And why would that be? Well as of lately the young girl had taken notice how her dad had been acting...weird. Except saying that specific word (even thinking it in her head) didn't necessarily feel right to Grace. As she'd come to know, Tony Stark was very much considered weird by manyincluding herself but that was more out of affection towards her dad. However, as Grace would come to realize, that whole eccentric demeanor Tony had going on was also going to start showing up within herself as she continued to grow out of her shell.

Perhaps the right word to use with how she was feeling at the moment would be secretive. It made total sense to her as to why that word fit perfectly since her dad had been acting secretive towards her. He was being way more secretive than before his three month disappearance. Now it wasn't like her dad was fully ignoring her...because he wasn't. It was quite the opposite actually. They were spending a lot more time together...but really any time they spent now would definitely be considered a lot more than before.

Nonetheless, Grace was happy with the progress her dad and her had been making.

Since his return she'd been practically glued to his side. Not really leaving him during the day unless some very important work matters came up. But even then, as she witnessed with her own eyes, her dad always tried pushing away business matters until the very last second. They'd spend the day doing all sorts of random bonding activities.

Her favorite way of spending time with her dad though was by watching movies together. This of course would later turn into a tradition with not only her dad but with a larger group of people that would enter her life. People who she would eventually consider as family. However, for the time being it was just Grace and her dad. The genres of movies they watched varied somewhat. From action to comedies and even dramas. Her dad had made sure the movies they watched were not only age appropriate for her but that they were also considered classics. As her dad said in his own words, all the movies he chose happened to be "Tony Stark approved."

Besides the classics, they did watch a lot of Disney movies. Grace had told her dad that she wasn't a major fan of the Disney princess movies. She still liked Disney but she preferred watching non-Disney princess movies like Lilo and Stitch, Alice in Wonderland, Toy Story, and etc. She even preferred to watch Bambi. Well, okay maybe not Bambi. At least not anymore. That movie for Grace was now difficult to watch for obvious reasons. It was the same exact reason why she couldn't watch The Land Before Time without crying her eyes out. Those two movies hit her right in the heart because they reminded of her mother and how she wasn't there with her anymore.

Now for the most part all the bonding she did with her dad brought nothing but positivity. Except that all took place during day time. Night time was a completely different story. Which was where the concern and curiosity had sprouted from. Despite her dad being the one to last see her before her supposed bedtime, Grace had been swift enough to notice how he always descended down to his lab. Another thing she took notice was how much time he spent down in the lab at night. At first it didn't really click in her six year old head about how odd that was. Her dad, after all, had always spent a lot of time in the lab even before his three month absence.

However, she quickly came to realize how things weren't exactly the same as before. Deep down she knew things were different now. Grace was so tempted to barge into the lab to see what her dad was doing but she knew that was a huge no no. At least not without his permission to enter his working area. Grace told herself that her dad wouldn't harshly reprimanded if she did decide to pop in. Except when it came down to act on such an idea it seemed that she wasn't going to take any chances. Especially not since everything between them had been great.

Grace debated on asking Pepper if she could talk to her dad for her. Pepper was always one to enter and leave his lab, so Grace figured she would be the right person to ask. Not to mention, just the other day Grace overheard her dad call for Pepper to come down to the lab. Something about the older woman having small hands? Grace couldn't make out why exactly her dad had asked Pepper if she had small hands but with the way he asked that question to the redhead, Grace knew it had to be urgent.

After whatever was needed with the help of Pepper's apparently small hands, Grace tried speaking with her. That didn't end up happening. Pepper had been in such a hurry and politely excused herself, continuing her way further into the extravagant Malibu home. The idea of asking Pepper to talk to her dad for her was then disregarded and Grace was left to swim with her building concern and curiosity.

Despite not getting the chance to ask Pepper what she wanted, attempting to at least ask her proved to be without waste. The young girl had not only seen how discombobulated the older woman had been but also how she was trying her best to hide whatever she was carrying in her hands. Unfortunately Grace didn't get a good look at whatever Pepper had been carrying, but whatever it was she knew it was something her dad must have given her. Something Pepper's small hands were able to grab without causing major damage.

After that Grace's mind settled down somewhat. Maybe all her dad was working on was a new project? It seemed to be the logical answer. That thought didn't fully calm down her concern and curiosity. Grace by this point was done with guessing...she wanted to find out what exactly was going on.

That's why when Grace woke up that morning (after doing her usual morning wake up routine) she headed to the kitchen. The one place the six year old knew her dad would meet her for breakfast. The two of them have been eating breakfast together everyday now since her dad's return. Sometimes even Pepper would join them but not today. It seemed the redhead was extra busy this morning. By the time the young Stark girl arrived at the kitchen her hunger was causing her major impatience. She actually started to make breakfast all alone. Well...she tried to. Grace didn't get very far.

The sight of her moving around in the kitchen caught Tony by surprise. He immediately made his way towards where his daughter was standing behind the kitchen counter. He hurriedly said the usual good morning to her before he headed straight to his question.

"What are you doing, sweetie?"

"Trying to make something to eat." Grace answered as she pulled out a cooking pan from underneath the counter they were behind.

"Need an extra hand?" Tony asked her. Even though it was a question, and if she were to answer no, he was still going to lend a hand. It didn't matter that he lacked major kitchen skills. There was no way he was about to let a six year old prepare breakfast all on her own. Now usually their breakfast would have already been made on the orders of Tony, but it was a Sunday. It had become the norm for Tony and Grace to either go out to eat or order in on Sunday. However, it appeared that his daughter wanted to stay home for breakfast today and she wanted to prepare their meals herself...with his help now, of course.

Grace was quiet before she gave her dad a smile. "Sure."

"What are you in the mood for?" Tony asked as he went to open the fridge.

Grace's dark brown eyes twinkled. "Something with cheese."

Tony briefly paused his movements. After processing what was said he turned to look at his daughter. "Cheese?" He asked, amused.

Grace nodded her head.

That wasn't at all what Tony was expecting to hear from her. He thought she would say she wanted cereal, pancakes, waffles even...but no his daughter apparently wanted something with cheese. What a funny little thing she was. Tony ended up returning a smile to his daughter. "Okay." He answered and then turned his attention to the inside of the fridge. The carton of eggs that was in there lined up with his gaze. "How about I make us some cheese omelets?"

Hearing her dad say that made an unsure expression appear on Grace's face. The twinkle that had been in her eyes dimmed. "I don't know." She softly replied, causing her dad to look at her again. When she saw that his attention was on her again she spoke in a much even toned voice. "You burned the last two omelets you tried to make for us."

Tony let out a gasp, pretending to be offended by what she just said. "I did not!"

"Yes, you did." Grace said not skipping a beat. The twinkle in her eyes had begun to reappear again by the humor that was now going on in their conversation.

Tony basked in the humorous moment they were having. Since his return the both of them have been getting along better and their conversations often had a lot of humor in them. Humor that was now becoming a father and daughter thing. The close relationship they were forming was one he never wanted to return to how it was before. He fought off wanting to laugh by releasing a loud huff. His "offended" act was still there as he continued to speak. "Fine, but that was only because I felt rushed."

That caused Grace's lips to tug upwards again in amusement. "Dad, it took you nearly three hours to make them."

Tony felt the love he had for his daughter grow even more when she called him dad. Grace had been calling him that a lot more and it was something Tony would never tired of hearing. The whimsical moment they were having went on. "Come on, don't be so dramatic." Tony answered, nonchalantly. "It was more like two." After he said neither of them were able to contain their smiles. Tony let out a chuckle as Grace then let out a giggle. "I promise to do my best this time." He told her once they were able to compose themselves.

"Okay, but only if you use Velveeta cheese." Grace brightly told him.

Tony couldn't help the sense of nostalgia that ran through him when she said this. It was true that he was never one for admitting getting nostalgic but that's what he was at the moment. His own father loved that type of cheese brand. Howard used it whenever he ate cheese omelets and even grilled cheese sandwiches. It seemed that Grace shared the same love for the cheese brand her grandfather once had.

Tony looked into the fridge again and as luck would have it said items were in there behind the milk. "We have two packs in the fridge."

"Great!" Grace exclaimed.

This time (much to Grace's relief) it didn't take two or even three hours for her dad to make their cheese omelets. With the help of Grace they were made in good timing. The best part was that the omelets weren't burned either. Which was something Grace was very happy about. Once serving and finishing their breakfast, Grace decided now to talk things with her dad.

Putting aside her now empty breakfast plate, Grace looked at her dad. Her bottom shifted on the seat she was sitting on due to nervousness. "Dad?"

Tony swallowed the last remaining piece from his breakfast before answering his daughter. Yes, sweetie?"

Grace made sure to sound as serious as possible with what she said next. "I wanna talk."

"Okay..." Tony locked eyes with her. His gaze despite being steady was also soft. "You know you can talk to me about anything. What's up?"

"It's about...you know." Grace lamely finished saying. She inwardly scoffed for not being able to phrase her wording better.

Despite Grace not liking how she sounded, Tony knew right away what she had been referring to. The Stark man felt like such a terrible dad again. He had been letting his time in the lab get to him. Not to mention he had been really enjoying spending time with his daughter. Not that the second reasoning was bad, let alone an excuse, because it wasn't. He put the blame more on the lab rather than his daughter because that's what he figured made him completely put that important conversation he needed to have with her off for too long. Tony could no longer put off what needed to be done. It was now time for him to finally tell Grace what he had gone through, and what he had been trying to do in his lab lately.

"How about we go into the living room?" Tony suggested, to which Grace nodded her head right away.

It was then there that they finally talked things out. As they sat down on the couch, Tony opened up to his daughter with what he had gone through during his kidnapping, and of the results. Some might say that telling such things to a six year old was not a wise thing to do but as Tony had come to know Grace was very mature for her age. Besides, it wasn't like he was going into real detail. He just told her enough for her to get an understanding. But even if he had gone into full detail he knew she would have been able to handle it well. She was a Stark after all. Not to mention she had her mother's characteristics...and from what he remembered, Louisa had been one tough woman.

The living room became quiet after Tony had finished telling Grace the part about him now studying the arc reactor that was in his chest. He figured Grace's first comment or question would be about that but to his surprise it hadn't.

"Yinsen, sounds like an honorable man." Grace ended up telling her dad.

Tony was impressed at how well Grace was taking everything. He wasn't in any sort of disbelief because as he already knew Grace was very mature for her age. Though it touched Tony how thankful she sounded when saying Yinsen's name. At this young age his daughter was already twice the kindhearted person he should have been.

"He was." Tony confirmed. After he said this he had to remind himself that Yinsen's death was not a wasted one. Yinsen saved him and in doing so allowed Tony to be reunited with his daughter.

"He saved you." Grace earnestly said.

What he had just thought repeated in Tony's head. "He did."

Grace's eyes softened. "Do you think he's in heaven now?" She asked her dad. In her young mind she told herself that Yinsen was in a better place now. Heaven as she imagined. Her mom Louisa had been Catholic and she always talked about heaven with Grace whenever they would go to church on Sunday mornings. Grace liked to think that's where her mom was as well. Her mom had been a good person, and this Yinsen man saved her dad, which meant he was good too. Despite having her own beliefs, Grace wanted to hear what her dad had to say. He was a smart man and his answer would surely be one that would bring comfort of some sorts.

Unbeknownst to Grace, Tony was at loss for words. Which was something that hardly ever happened. Grace's question had been so random and so innocent that it threw Tony off. He himself had never been a religious man. If anything he did his best to stay away from religion but of course he knew others didn't share the same opinion as him. Tony couldn't also just assume what Yinsen's religion was (or if he was even religious in the first place), but the man did say he was at peace with himself knowing he was going to see his family again. It was that information that allowed Tony to finally answer his daughter's question.

"I think he's found peace now." Tony solemnly told his daughter. "Wherever that might be."

Grace nodded, accepting such an answer. Tony quietly let out a breath of relief that she hadn't pushed for a longer answer. Despite making progress with his daughter, Tony still needed to prepare himself for the more serious discussions that he would later surely have with her. He definitely was not looking forward to the whole "you're growing up to be a young lady" conversation. Perhaps Pepper would do him a huge favor (or even take pity on him) and have that one with her instead.

"So, does that make you a superhero now?" Grace questioned as she pointed to the middle of his chest. Specifically she was pointing to the bright blue light that was underneath the Queen band t-shirt he had on.

This time Tony was not thrown off by her question. It was the one he had expected to hear. "I'm not sure superhero would be the correct term to use, sweetie. As I said I'm still trying to figure this whole thing out." Tony said gently tapping the arc reactor. "See what I am capable of doing." Obadiah had been pestering him since arriving home in having a whole team of engineers analyze his arc reactor. Tony each time denied such a request. This was something he needed to do on his own.

"It's cool to think of you as a superhero." Grace said in excitement. Her dark brown eyes now gleamed with happiness. "Just like Captain America!" She added with admiration.

Tony did his best to bury down any annoyance that wanted to come out of hiding from within. Growing up all his father ever did was talk about how amazing Captain America was. Captain America this, Captain America that. Now Howard for the most part was very cold and calculating towards Tony. He hardly ever said he loved him. Tony already told himself he wouldn't be like that when it came to Grace. Tony was going to be a good father to his daughter. He wouldn't be distant with her like the way his own father was with him. The same father who loved talking about a super soldier who he had been close friends with during World War II, than his own blood related son.

Suffice to say that Tony ended up resenting Steve Rogers. Tony though had done a great job at forgetting that resentment over the years. However, having his own daughter fangirling over Captain America (almost exactly as his father had done) brought back the resentment from his past. He already had to deal with his father admiring the super soldier, the last thing Tony wanted was for his own daughter to start idolizing him as well. Tony needed a brief moment to compose himself.

"I don't have super strength or anything remotely close to what he was able to do, sweetie." Tony answered as calmly as possible, once controlling the annoyance that wanted to escape. "At least not yet." He added that last part more to himself. In his mind, Tony was now more determined to prove that he was indeed capable of doing that. Perhaps with even having more abilities...like flying. Oh, how amazing that would be to surpass the great Captain America.

"Oh." Grace mumbled. She was quiet for a few seconds before clearing her throat. Her gaze on her dad was once again soft. "But you don't really need powers to be a superhero." She earnestly informed her dad.

She had a point there. Tony nodded his head. "That's true."

"Or a cape." Grace added rather quickly.

Tony couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. The harsh emotions he had regarding Captain America were beginning to vanish. His daughter's comments were lighthearted enough for that to happen. "That's right or a cape."

"It doesn't matter if you have powers or not." Grace announced with sincerity. "To me you'll always be a superhero because you're my dad."

The edges of Tony's eyes crinkled due to how much he was smiling. As soon as his daughter finished saying that he had brought her into a hug. Since he was now in much better condition than when he first arrived, Tony was able to use both his arms when hugging his daughter.

"I love you, dad." Grace softly said.

Tony had to tell himself to not cry. He would never get tired of hearing that either. There had already been enough tears shed between the two of them. This kind of moment they were having was heartfelt but it was the good kind of heartfelt, not the sad kind. Tony continued to hug his daughter as the next words left him at ease. "I love you too."

The hug between dad and daughter lasted for a few more seconds before it finally came to an end. Tony was then surprised to see his daughter practically jump from the couch to head to the kitchen again.

A bemused expression was now on his face. "What are you doing now?"

Grace ducked underneath the kitchen counter and began going through the things inside the cabinet. "I want to thank Rhodey." She merrily announced and as she did so, she set a huge bag of flour on top of the kitchen counter. Rhodey had also helped her dad by being the one to have found him. He was very much a good person like Yinsen was.

Tony looked at the flour bag, perplexed. "By giving him a sack of flour? How very thoughtful of you."

Grace giggled, finding her dad's reply to be quite hilarious. "No silly. By baking him cupcakes."

Tony tilted his head a bit processing what she just said. "You're going to bake him cupcakes?" A warm smile spread on his face. His daughter was just too adorable and innocent at times...scratch that all the time. That was something he never wanted to see change about her, especially as she continued to grow up.

"Not just any kind of cupcakes, but thank you for saving my dad cupcakes." Grace told her dad. If Yinsen had been alive, Grace would have made him a batch of cupcakes as well. A whole cake too. She would even throw in cookies. All of which were thank yous for him saving her dad. Though she knew that was hardly enough to repay Yinsen for helping her dad. Except it was the thought that counted, right? Sadly, Yinsen wasn't there to accept all her thank yous. Grace only had the reassurance that wherever he was (whether in heaven or some magical place) he was at peace now.

"Alright, well count me in." Tony said in an upbeat voice as he got up from the couch.

"I can do this by myself, dad." Grace assured as she grabbed a mixing spoon and bowl.

"No, I want to help." Tony insisted. "After all, I am the one Rhodey saved. Which I am eternally grateful for. Besides..." Tony said taking the lighter approach now. "The last thing I need is for you to burn down our kitchen."

In response to this, Grace flicked some flour onto her dad's face.

Tony laughed and did the same to her.

Laughter echoed in the Stark kitchen as they started the cupcake baking process. Needless to say when Pepper finally returned she was not at all pleased with the messy state the kitchen had been left in.