Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or any other Marvel characters. I only own my OC.
A/N: Anyone else still recovering from Avengers: Endgame? Cause I still am. Anyways, I do not own any of the books/movies mentioned in this chapter. However, if you don't know any of the Scary Stories to Tell in The Dark book (s) then good for you...or maybe not? I guess it just depends if you like being scared or not as a kid. For me I LOVED the book series and the illustrations were haunting. I've always been interested in horror and that's something I haven't grown out of. The Goosebumps series was also good but for me personally they weren't really scary. If anything they were more fun to read than scary. And the show is really cheesy and the acting isn't the greatest but I still think it's awesome. I still get a lot of nostalgia whenever I see a Goosebumps book nowadays. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Also...11 years ago today Iron Man was released. We love you 3000, Tony Stark.
"In your life you will meet shooting stars. You will see them, make your wish and see them disappear." ― Nahiar Ozar
Chapter 7: Like a shooting star
Grace right now was at her favorite place in the whole world...other than her home of course. Now what might this place be? It'd be smart to assume that a girl, at her age, favorite place would be Disneyland or maybe even Build-A-Bear Workshop.
However, that's not where Grace was at.
No, instead the young Stark girl was at Barnes & Nobles...and she was loving every second that passed by.
Grace managed to finish The Wonderful Wizard of Oz the night before (she stayed up a couple hours after her supposed bed time) and now was looking for her next read.
Her class lessons for the day had already ended. They went on as usual. With the exception of her apologizing to Claire. Which as far as apologizes went, Grace thought her apology to Claire went well. There was no awkwardness or animosity coming from Claire and Grace was glad the older blonde forgave her. The Stark girl did feel terrible for acting the way she did with her. Claire didn't deserve it. That's why Grace put in twice the effort when it came to her math lesson today...and thanks to her dad (who had helped her out) she was able to understand the fraction problems that were given.
"Hey, Grace, what about this book?"
Grace, who had been facing the book shelf, quickly grabbed the book that captured her interest. Turning around to face Pepper, she hid said book behind her. Once facing Pepper, Grace saw how she was holding the book Alice in Wonderland. Grace politely shook her head. "No, I want something different." She told the redhead. Which was the truth. Although she liked the friendly fantasy genre, Grace wanted to read a different genre now.
"Different how?" Pepper questioned as she put the book back on the shelf where she had found it.
"Different like this." Grace happily showed her the book she had been hiding behind her.
Pepper took one look at the book's cover and nearly let out a gasp. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. The name of the book was one Pepper recognized. Except it wasn't the name that bothered Pepper as much as the cover. The cover of the book was of a scary looking scarecrow. How was that appealing to Grace?! She herself was unnerved from just looking at the cover. Pepper's gaze gladly moved from the cover to Grace instead. "Sweetie, that's a scary story book."
Grace nodded her head. "I know that." She easily responded as she re-read the title of the book. The young Stark girl was not at all bothered by the disturbing cover that was displayed right in front of her. Grace also didn't seem to notice the heavy dislike and nervousness Pepper had for the book.
Pepper tried yet again to make her see reason. "I'm not sure you should get that."
Grace looked at Pepper, her happy expression falling little. "Why not?"
"Because I don't want you waking up in the middle of the night from a nightmare." Pepper admitted to her. She thought that if Grace read that book she'd have nightmares for days, maybe even weeks. Although it was technically a kids book, Pepper still thought it was too much for Grace to handle at the moment. The book was called Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. That was just a recipe for disaster. Grace thought otherwise.
"I won't." Grace quietly assured Pepper.
Pepper knew she had to come up with a solution. She didn't want to cut Grace off from her reading but she also didn't want her reading something that scary. Luckily a book section caught her attention, allowing an idea to finally form. She gave Grace a smile. "How about I recommend a different book? It's still on the scary side but I'd feel more comfortable with you reading it."
Grace nodded her head and watched as Pepper picked up a book. Her eyes examined the cover when the redhead handed it to her. "R.L. Stine...Goosebumps?" She read with bemusement. The cover of the book was of a clock with a weird looking bird coming out of it. Which made sense since the title was called... "The Cuckoo Clock of Doom." Grace said tilting her head slightly, unsure.
Pepper knew the Goosebumps series were scary stores too, but in her opinion they were a bit more kid friendly. She'd feel a lot better if she saw Grace read the book and not suffer through nightmares. If she can handle this book then perhaps she'd be able to handle the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark later on. "Give it a try you might like it." Pepper tried encouraging her. The redhead could see how Grace wasn't still sold on the book. She thought for a moment and then came up with something that she knew would capture Grace's total interest.
"It has time travel."
Grace's posture straightened. Her dark brown eyes lit up with excitement. "Like in Back to The Future?" She had seen the trilogy with her dad and she absolutely loved them. The first one with Marty going back in time being her favorite.
"Sort of like that." Pepper answered her.
Grace contemplated, looking at the book again. It didn't take long for her to come up with a decision. "Okay, I'll read it." She said, giving the book a chance.
Relieved, Pepper smiled. "Okay let's get in line then."
The two of them began heading towards where the line for the cashier was at. All was smooth until they passed a book section that had Grace stop in her steps. The six year old was paying close attention to a certain book now. She looked at the book with puzzlement. "IT?" She said aloud, frowning now. In her young mind she was wondering what kind of author named their book IT. Grace hardly thought the paper boat on the cover was this IT. "What's IT?" She decided to ask Pepper who had come to her side.
"Oh, don't worry about that because that's a book you're not reading until you're older." Pepper told her in a motherly tone. Grace wanted to question why but Pepper was already leading her to the line for the cashier register again. Grace glanced back to where the book was and stored the author's name in her head. Though she knew she wouldn't forget so easily. After all, who could forget the name Stephen King.
This time they got in line with no interruptions. Happy, who had been watching them from the side, joined them. Grace gave him a wave which was one that Happy returned. It was very common for him to tag along whenever Grace went out with her dad, or in this case with Pepper. After all, as her dad had told her, Happy was not only his driver but also his bodyguard. And that extended to her and Pepper as well.
From behind them, Happy noticed someone got in line as well. It was a dark haired woman who looked to be in her late twenties to early thirties. He noticed that the woman was looking at Pepper with interest. He made sure to give her a hard look when she appeared to go closer to the redhead. The woman took this as a warning and instead made their presence known verbally.
Hearing someone speak from behind them caused Pepper to turn around. The redhead was puzzled as to what this woman wanted. She was about to ask her when she noticed how her attention wasn't on her anymore but rather on Grace.
"You're Grace Stark, aren't you? Tony Stark's daughter?" The silence seemed to be the yes she was hoping for. The woman gushed causing Grace's mood to deflate. "Oh my God, you are! You look so much like your father! Aw, it's so adorable."
Grace felt her heartache. She wanted to say, I look like my mom too, but she didn't. Grace knew she couldn't fault the lady for only saying she looked like her dad. After all, her dad was Tony Stark. A famous person. Plus, this woman was a stranger and had no idea who her mom was. Besides all that, there was another reason why Grace was getting uncomfortable. She just didn't like the attention that was being thrown at her from this older woman. It was just weird. She was still getting used to it.
This sort of thing happened before. Usually whenever out with her dad but in those situations it was her dad who got most of the attention. He made sure to be in the spotlight more than her. Grace appreciated that. However, her dad wasn't here...so the spotlight was just on her. There was a bit of relief that it wasn't someone from the press with a camera. Still, it was weird to have someone just focusing on her. This never happened before when she had been at this Barnes & Nobles. Usually she received stares from people but they've never gone up to her and actually started talking to her. Having Happy around helped because his presence made people feel unsure to approach. That wasn't the case today.
Grace fought against how uncomfortable she was feeling. She didn't want this woman to think she was a rude person. Therefore, she tried her best at an attempt at a smile. "Uh, thanks." She softly said. The next thing the woman said wiped the smile off her face.
"Can I get a picture?"
Grace's eyes widened. Thankfully Happy stepped in realizing this interaction had gone far enough. "Excuse us, ma'am." He said coming in between the woman and Grace and Pepper. Thus shielding Grace from any chances of her getting photographed.
Pepper could tell the woman was about to say something but thankfully she never got to hear what she was going to say. Right as that was about to happen the line moved forward. Pepper, along with Grace, let out a relieved sigh.
Pepper quickly purchased the book for Grace and they managed to leave Barnes & Noble with no hiccups. It was then when they were in the car with Happy driving that Pepper asked Grace the question that was on her mind. "You okay?" She asked, concerned. She knew how uncomfortable Grace got whenever the public recognized her. That was a risk whenever she went out. But what was she supposed to do? Stay inside her home forever? No...that was just impossible.
Grace breathed in and out, shaking off any nerves that remained. "Yeah...I'm okay." The encounter could have been worse, way worse. Grace was glad it hadn't and she hoped that any future encounters would be as quick and done with as this one had been. Cut off before anything could happen.
But of course (as she'd come to find out) they weren't all going to be that easy.
Funny enough it wasn't a nightmare that woke Grace up that night. No, instead it was a loud crashing sound followed by various car alarms. The car alarms stopped shortly after they went
Curious just as much as she was a little worried, Grace got out of bed. Dressed in her blue and red Pokémon pajamas and bunny slippers, she silently made her way into the living room. Her silence broke once she was there. Grace let out a gasp when she saw the broken piano and a giant hole underneath it. Immediately she had one thought. "Pepper's not gonna like this." She said to herself.
In a way she was dreading but also interested in seeing Pepper's reaction. Grace had a good guess it would be like the one she had in the lab. Grace avoided any broken pieces of the piano as she cautiously looked down the giant hole. She already knew who was responsible for the broken piano and giant hole. It was pretty obvious who the culprit was. After all it was just her and her dad, and the last time Grace checked she wasn't blasting holes or breaking musical instruments.
Grace carefully walked around the hole making her way down to her dad's lab. Her worry from before grew more. She kept telling herself that her dad was okay and that it had been a lab accident...of some sorts. Nothing major...well, major enough to cause a giant hole but not major enough to harm her dad. Pretty soon Grace came face to face with her dad's glass door that led inside the lab. The worried thoughts from before were still around but now Grace was searching for her dad from outside the lab.
Grace memorized the pass code but she highly doubted she would be allowed entrance even if she punched in the numbers. When it came to her dad's lab he was super cautious about who he let in. Grace bet the lock pad had fingerprint analyzers or something. Those who entered the pass code were her dad and Pepper. Not to mention her current height prevented her from any attempts to begin with. So instead she let her eyes roam inside the lab until (thankfully) they landed on her dad's form. She started to wave her arms in order to get his attention.
Tony's eyes widened a bit when he saw his daughter on the other side of the lab's glass door. "Grace?" He questioned after he told Jarvis to let his daughter in.
As soon as she was allowed to open the door, the six year old came running to where he was. "Dad, are you okay?" She questioned right away.
Tony whimsically gestured to the ice pack he was carrying before putting it on his head. "Just living the life, sweetie." He said, giving her a small smile.
Now that she knew he was okay, Grace moved onto her next question. "Dad, why is there a giant hole in the middle of the living room? The piano is broken to pieces." She wasn't really that upset about the piano but she was curious as to how it even broke in the first place. What exactly had her dad been up to?
Tony gave her a fake serious expression. Grace right away could tell it wasn't real one. She could always tell when her dad was being real serious or not. His expression didn't fool her. Somehow though, Grace didn't think that her dad was doing this to fool her but rather to amuse her. Which of course did amuse Grace as much as raising her curiosity. "Dad went on a little adventure."
There was silence on both ends. Grace stared at her dad intently and without even breaking eye contact she was able to connect the dots. Her face broke out into a large smile as she jumped in place from happiness. "You flew, didn't you? You really flew this time!"
Tony was once again impressed by his daughter. She was able to figure out he flew without even seeing the full suit he built. True there was a giant hole but he could come up with different explanations that didn't include flying. However, Grace came to that one conclusion right away. She really was a smart kid. He nodded his head, proud to admit the truth of what he was able to accomplish. "Yeah."
"You must have looked like a shooting star!" Grace exclaimed, her dark brown eyes gleamed with animation.
Tony smiled, ruffling his daughter's hair. "Yeah...I guess I must have."
Grace let out a giggle. "My dad can fly!" She shouted to no one in particular. The young girl was just really excited with this new development. How many kids can say that their dads can fly? And she didn't mean like a person flying an airplane. She means actually flying. She couldn't think of anyone at the moment that could say that except for her.
Tony gently booped her nose. "I sure can, kiddo."
Grace already thought her dad was cool but now she knew for sure that he was the coolest dad in the world. When her excitement lowered she turned to a much more serious route.
"Hey, dad?"
"Hmm." Tony hummed as he readjusted the ice pack on his head.
"You should fix that fast." Grace looked up at the giant hole above them. "Pepper's not gonna be happy when she sees it."
Tony followed her gaze and let out a halfhearted chuckle. "Nope, she's not."
Speaking of Pepper...
Grace noticed that the present she left earlier had yet to be opened. "Dad, why haven't you opened Pepper's present yet?"
Tony lowered the ice pack from his head. "Oh..." He said looked at said item. "I was busy with the whole flying thing that I forgot, but I'll open it now."
Grace wanted to follow and see what the present was but she decided to give her dad some space.
Tony put aside the coffee that was there along with the ice pack before finally opening the present Pepper had left him. The wrapping had been simple and it didn't take Tony long to see what was behind the brown wrapping paper. It was the original arc reactor inside a glass display case. The one he asked Pepper to remove, causing quite the amusing scene.
When she asked him what he wanted her to do with it he told her to destroy it, throw it away.
She hadn't done any of those things.
Instead she gave it back to him with words that made him smile.
Grace noticed the smile on her dad's face and came a bit closer this time. "What is it dad?" She softly asked him.
"Just something...something meaningful." Tony told his daughter before turning to fully face her.
As he did this Grace got a look at the present. Her eyes lit up with intrigue at what she saw. However, it was the words that left a warming feeling inside her. The words she read were: Proof That Tony Stark has A Heart
"Is that?" Grace asked, looking between the blue light on her dad's chest and the present Pepper gave him.
"Yeah." Tony nodded. "It was the original one."
"So it's like your heart." Grace quietly said.
Tony gently put Pepper's gift on the lab table. "That's just one of the proofs." He earnestly said to her. Tony then came to her level by bending one of his knees. "But you know what? The main proof that I have a heart is a six year old girl who has a love for reading and likes listening to classic rock bands."
Grace smiled realizing what her dad meant by that. She brought him into a hug without saying anything else to him. Tony right away returned the hug, enjoying the father-daughter moment they were having. After a few seconds passed he started to hear Grace giggling. This bemused him.
"What's got you giggling?" Tony amusingly asked his daughter as he pulled out of the hug.
Grace let out one more giggle before answering. "Pepper thought I would wake up from a nightmare but I didn't. You woke me up instead."
Tony knew about the Goosebumps book Pepper had bought for Grace. He was amused that his daughter wanted to read scary stories now at her age. He didn't start reading scary stories until he was at least 8 years old. However, she was a curious child so he knew it was only time before her readings expanded to other genres. He felt bad though that he woke her up. "Well, aren't I a great dad?" He said, sheepish.
Grace became earnest. "The greatest."
Tony smiled softly at what she said. He kissed her forehead before he stood up. "Let's get you to bed. I don't want you waking up grouchy."
"I don't wake up grouchy." Grace retorted calmly. "You do." She said with a small pout. Now normally she wouldn't put up a challenge when it came to sleeping but something in her wanted to see if this little plan of hers with joking around her dad would work. Much to her delight her dad reacted the way she thought he would. It was quite amusing to see it play out.
"No, you do."
"No, you do."
"No, you―wait a second, are we really having this conversation?" Tony questioned, puzzled by what just happened. How did the conversation even lead to this? It came out of nowhere.
Grace played innocent and shrugged her shoulders. "You started it."
"No, you―" Tony paused. He looked at Grace with narrowed, amused eyes. He knew what she was trying to do now. Sneaky little thing. She really was his daughter. "Nice try but it's not gonna work this time." He said, chuckling. "Now let's get you to bed." He started to lead Grace upstairs.
Grace sighed, dropping the act. "Fine...but you almost fell for it again, huh?"
Tony nodded his head. "There's that Stark attitude." He answered, smiling. "It's only going to grow stronger as you get older."
And how right he was about that.
