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

A/N: Guys I am on a roll with these updates. I enjoyed writing this chapter! :D Shout out to all you Black Widow fans out there. This was for you. Also, if you read my story Floating On Air I am going to work on that next. A chapter should come out in a week or two...hopefully. I make no promises. :P Also, excuse the college talk but I have been watching a lot of Gilmore Girls as of lately. Grace strikes me as the type to want to go to college at a young age as a way to prove herself though. We all know that she isn't a super genius like Tony or Howard when it comes to math and science, but it's been proven that Grace excels in reading and writing. Not to mention she's more of an emotional intellect.

There's an episode in Young Sheldon where they do a study on Sheldon and Missy, and Missy does a great job distinguishing the emotions in the painting they showed them, proving she has a higher EQ than IQ. That's how I imagine Grace to be.

Anyways, the next chapter will include the scene in Monaco, and Grace will meet Justin Hammer. We can already guess how she's gonna react to him :P You get a hint in the beginning of this chapter.


"She's an old soul with young eyes, a vintage heart, and a beautiful mind."― Nicole Lyons


Chapter 13: Dark red haired beauty

"This is really good Grace." Claire Owens praised the seven year old. A few days had passed since D.C. and Grace, her dad, Pepper, and Happy were now back in Malibu. Before returning to Malibu, Grace had watched her dad on TV appearing in court because of the whole subpoena thing. She had to stay back with Happy since Pepper had been the one to go with her dad. Although she hadn't been there in person she saw the whole thing on TV. That certainly had been interesting to watch. From watching, Grace learned two things thanks to her dad.

Those two things were that Justin Hammer was a mindless man, and that Senator Stern was a grumpy looking man.

Since returning to Malibu though, things had fallen back into schedule regarding her homeschooling. Hence why Claire was there with her. They were currently in Grace's bedroom, with Claire sitting across from where Grace was sitting. They were right at the end of Grace's lesson plan for the day.

Claire was just reading the narrative writing assignment she had assigned Grace. The point was for Grace to write about her weekend, if she had gone somewhere or done anything fun or interesting. Naturally Grace wrote about the Stark Expo and how exciting it had been watching her dad on stage.

Now Grace didn't have to write more than half a page but she went above and beyond and wrote four pages instead. Claire was impressed by how much detail the seven year old put into her writing. Not to mention Grace wrote the whole thing in cursive and her handwriting was very neat. Her spelling accuracy was also on point. What stood out the most to Claire though was how Grace had been able to do all that in under ten minutes.

That indeed was very impressive. If it hadn't been obvious yet to Claire that the young Stark girl's strongest skill wasn't just in her reading but also in her writing, then this writing assignment sure showed that.

"You didn't have to write the whole thing in cursive." Claire by now had read the whole thing and was now skimming her writing. She wasn't by any means upbraiding Grace for the use of cursive. She had been actually pleasantly surprised to see that the four pages were done in cursive. Before today the young Stark girl hadn't written four pages in cursive. The most she'd done is one page. Claire was even beginning to think that Grace's cursive was better than her own.

Grace nodded her head. "I know but after I signed a boy's Iron Man helmet at the expo I wanted to continue with my cursive."

"Well, your cursive is outstanding." Claire smiled at her. "I'm glad to read that you had fun at the expo with your dad." She reached for her bag to take out a binder. After putting away Grace's writing assignment in the binder, Claire took out a blue folder from her bag. "So, now that we're done with today's lesson, I'm just going to give you the homework assignments that you'll return to me the next time I see you."

Just as she had been out of the house to go to New York for the Stark Expo and then D.C., Grace was soon going to be out again. This time she would be going further away. She along with her dad, Pepper, and Happy were going to Monaco. This was a huge deal for Grace because this would be the first time she would be flying out of the country. So to say she was excited would be an understatement. She really couldn't wait to go because her dad told her the trip was going to be more like a small vacation than a business trip for them.

They were going for the Grand Prix Historique de Monaco, but her dad made it perfectly clear to Grace that this trip was going to be fun. He promised that they'd spend time together, and Grace had been happy to hear that. She loved spending time with her dad and now she was going to spend time with him in a country she hadn't been to before. Even though her birthday had just passed, the trip to Monaco felt like another birthday present from her dad.

"I promise I won't forget to do my homework assignments." Grace replied back to Claire with a serious face. That wasn't surprising to hear. Claire had come to learn that when it came to her studies, Grace took things very seriously, even for a seven year old. The blonde woman hadn't even dealt with another tantrum when it came to her teaching math anymore. Whatever Grace's dad told her last time sure left an impact on the young girl.

Claire gave her another smile. "I know you won't forget."

"My dad told me the flight is going to be thirteen hours long. I think I'll just do my homework then." Grace paused briefly and a thoughtful expression appeared. It was one Claire found adorable because of the way Grace pursed her lips and furrowed her eyebrows. "But I might also end up reading this new book I got. I've been wanting to read it and I think the plane ride will be a perfect time for me to start it."

Claire just shook her head now, finding it amusing at how serious Grace was being. "I'm sure you'll be able to finish your homework and read your book too. Like you said, it's a thirteen hour flight. I wouldn't worry so much. Just don't forget one thing though."

Grace instantly gave her undivided attention, already waiting to take a mental note with what she was going to say. What shouldn't she forget?

Claire tried to appear serious with what she was going to say but she instead went with the lighthearted approach. "To have fun."

"Oh, yeah." Grace quietly said before she fully got a hold of herself. She smiled brightly now. "Of course I'll have fun. My dad's going to be there with me. So will Pepper and Happy."

"That sounds nice. And hey, you can write about the trip when you come back." Claire casually told her, and right away she saw Grace's dark brown eyes practically light up.

"I'd love that!" Grace exclaimed.

Once again Claire was amazed but not really surprised by her response. Now most of the kids she taught wouldn't have been this overjoyed after having been told they can write another paper. Actually, none of them would have been overjoyed.

"Can I tell you something?" Grace suddenly voice lowered, as if she were about to reveal something important to her.

Claire was intrigued. She nodded her head. "Of course."

Grace looked around, despite already knowing it was just the two of them. She did this more out of humor than seriousness. When her eyes locked with Claire's the older woman noticed the excitement shown in them.

"I've decided that I want to go to Wellesley for college."

Claire blinked several times, not at all expecting to be told that.

Grace was barely seven years old and she was already talking about which college she wanted to go to. In all her life Claire had never met a kid (a young one at that) who spoke so eagerly about which college they wanted to attend. The talk about college didn't usually start until high school age, sometimes even middle school age. Grace, however, wasn't like most of the kids she taught...she was different. That's what Claire liked about her. She stood out, and the way she stood out was very endearing.

"Wellesley is a wonderful school." Claire nodded her head. That was true. Unfortunately Claire couldn't say she graduated from there. She had gone to USC. However, she knew about Wellesley. It was an all female college that was very prestigious and highly respected. The college also had a good writing program. She actually knew a friend turned author who had gone there.

"They have an excellent writing program there." Claire shared with Grace.

"I know." Grace immediately chirped.

"And how do you know that?" Claire decided to ask her.

Grace shrugged her shoulders. "I looked it up." She started to simply answer the older blonde. "After my Appendectomy I had to stay in my bed. So I spent most of my time on the laptop my dad gave me. And one day I wanted to read more about the college my dad went to. I knew it was in Massachusetts, so I looked up other schools in Massachusetts and Wellesley popped up."

Well that explained how she knew about Wellesley. Still, Claire wanted to know something else now. "Your dad went to MIT." She stated more than asked. She knew very well Tony Stark had gone to MIT, it was something he often brought up when he had been interviewing her for the job as Grace's homeschool teacher. He sure liked to talk about his college days to the point where Claire wanted to roll her eyes at him.

Grace nodded her head. "Yeah, MIT."

"And what did you think about it?" Claire finally asked.

"It sounded nice but..." Grace bit her lower lip, suddenly shy.

Claire furrowed her eyebrows. "But?"

"It's not for me." Grace quietly answered her.

"Why do you say that?"

Grace let out a sigh. "Well, my dad went there. Which is cool and everything, but it's a math and science college."

"I'm sure MIT has a writing program too." Claire softly told her. What Grace said about MIT was true, it was a college known for its math and science majors. However, she had heard about the writing program there. It was a good program despite it not being as well talked about like the math and science programs there.

"Yeah, but in order to get in I need to be good at math and science, right? And you know that I am not very good in math and science. I try though, but I'm not a super genius like my dad or my grandfather...Howard. I'm just me." Grace lowered her eyes, disappointed. Claire frowned, not happy with the way Grace talked about herself. It wasn't a tantrum like the one she had thrown before but it pained her more hearing her talk that way.

She was about to comfort her when Grace lifted her gaze. Claire saw that the sadness that was once there was now slowly being replaced with what looked like optimism. "But that's okay because like my dad told me...there's different kinds of smart people." Grace then smiled a small smile. "Besides...I like writing."

Claire had to smile at her sudden upbeat demeanor. "Yeah, I know you do."

"You mind not telling my dad or Pepper about Wellesley?" Grace asked Claire. "It's just that I want to keep it to myself for now. And I also want to work on getting in by myself. I know my dad would want to help...but I want to prove that I can do it on my own."

"I won't tell. With your writing though, I have no doubt that you stand a very good chance in getting in." Claire truthfully told her. Grace was still so young, and there was always the possibility about her changing her mind about which college she wanted to go to. Maybe in a few years she would even change her mind about going to college in general...although something told Claire otherwise. Grace really was being serious about her future education. Also the fact that Grace wanted to get into Wellesley on her own was admirable.

So yeah... if Wellesley was her dream college, Grace had a chance to get in like everyone else. She just needed to work hard, and Claire knew Grace would do that. She was determined like that. Claire smiled at the seven year old girl, once again thinking that Grace Stark was a very special girl.

A sudden knock caused both Grace and Claire to look towards the entrance of the bedroom. They weren't at all taken aback to see that it had been Pepper who knocked.

"How's everything going?" The redhead asked as she now made her way inside Grace's bedroom. From the looks of it nothing indicated that she had heard their previous conversation, much to Grace's relief.

"Everything's great, we were just finishing up actually." Claire kindly informed the redhead. "The folder I gave Grace has the homework assignments that she needs to do. And as I told her she'll need to give those to me the next time I see her."

"Sounds good." Pepper nodded her head, smiling. Claire noticed that her smile was way brighter than usual. She wasn't the only one to notice though.

Grace had too. From the moment Pepper walked into her bedroom she saw how very happy she looked. She also saw that she had an extra spring in her step when she walked over to them. Claire, however, didn't know the reason behind Pepper's happiness...but Grace did. The seven year old knew it wasn't just because of the trip they were going to take.

No, her dad had also told her that he made Pepper CEO of Stark Industries. Grace had reason to believe that her dad did that because of him being Iron Man now. Even at her age, Grace was aware that doing that must have been a huge move. Her dad had been right in choosing Pepper as CEO though. Honestly, Grace didn't want anyone else other than Pepper in that job position.

Like her dad, Grace trusted Pepper. She would be great as CEO. Grace just wondered who her dad would get for his new assistant now. She hoped it would be someone nice.

As a way to celebrate Pepper's new job as CEO her dad had taken them out to dinner. It was at some fancy restaurant in Malibu. He had gone all out for Pepper but Grace knew the redhead would have been fine with having a simple dinner at home. Her dad though was just trying to make it special. As he always tended to do when it came to Pepper and her. He, however, seemed extra pushy when it came to celebrating which puzzled Grace a bit. He really upped the antics when he bought out the restaurant for the whole night for just the three of them.

When asked her dad simply said it was because he wanted to make it a good memory for them. His answer sounded so genuine that Pepper and Grace accepted it, not wanting to ruin dinner.

"I'll be making my way." Claire then announced, drawing Grace's attention. The blonde woman went to stand up, her bag in hand. She looked down at Grace from where she remained seated. "I'll see you when you come back from your trip. Remember to have fun, Grace."

"I will." Grace waved at her retreating figure. "Bye Claire."

Claire returned the wave as she made her way out. Once it was the two of them, Pepper sat in Claire's previous seat.

"Did you have fun with today's lesson?" Pepper asked after Grace handed over the homework folder to her. She was going to hold onto Grace's folder until they were on the plane. She'd be expecting Grace to ask for the folder once they step foot on the plane, ready to start her homework. Always the hard worker when it came to her studies.

Grace nodded her head. "Super duper fun." She exaggerated but Pepper knew her answer, even with the dramatics, was genuine. "Where's my dad?" She then asked the redhead.

"He's with Happy." Pepper let her know. "Getting ready to box."

"Box?" The excitement could be heard in Grace's voice. She jumped out of her seat. "I want to see that."

Pepper smiled in amusement. "I had a feeling you would." She commented as she also got up. "They're in the fitness room. I'll be there in a few."

"Where are you going?" Grace asked, curious.

"Well, first I am going to hide your homework because I know you're eager to start it even know you need a break." Pepper joked, although a part of her was also serious.

The bashful smile on Grace's face made her shake her head in humor. "Then I need to do something else." She further explained to the younger girl.

"Work related." Grace evenly told her.

"Work related." Pepper repeated with a nod.

Grace threw her another smile as she made her way out. Before exiting her room she turned around, throwing Pepper a hopeful expression.

"Can I at least start one page?"

Pepper didn't budge. She pointed to the door. "Go find your dad."

Grace let out a dramatic sigh, facing forward again. "Fine."

It was funny, Pepper thought, watching Grace leave her bedroom. Usually it was Tony who sounded exasperated whenever he got told to do something by her, or was reprimanded for acting foolish. She imagined Tony never got bothered over wanting to work when he was younger. Of course based on how he was now he probably didn't have as much love for his studies like Grace did.

No, that was just Grace's thing, Pepper now thought with a smile.


The fitness room was one of the rooms Grace liked about their house in Malibu. Although she wouldn't say it was her favorite room. No, that was the movie room. That's where her dad and her had their movie marathons. The fitness room, however, was now a room she often visited because that's where her dad spent most of free time since arriving from D.C...other than his lab of course.

What was cool about the fitness room was that there was a boxing ring right in the middle of it. That's where her dad and Happy were at. They were both in boxing gear and Grace watched as they were sparring. This had been going on since Grace made her presence known in the fitness room. From the moment Tony saw her, he excitedly told her to watch as he was yet again going to win another round. That only made Happy give his boss a pointed look which in return made Grace laugh.

They both looked so determined to win.

"The notary's here!" Pepper suddenly announced as she walked in during the current match. "Can you please come sign the transfer paperwork?"

Grace connected her gaze with Pepper. She happily waved at her, content at seeing her again. Pepper waved back from where she now stood, nearing the sitting area.

Tony kept his eyes on Happy, ducking the hits he was trying to make. "I'm on Happy time!" He dodged another hit as he called out Grace's name. The seven year old awaited to hear what he had to say. "Watch this, sweetie!"

Grace tilted her head, curious to what her dad was going to show her. Her dark brown eyes widened when her dad hit Happy in the face. She examined the man's face and she relaxed when she saw no blood. It was a fast move but she had a feeling that it wasn't done entirely fair. She had to admit...it was a cool move. Poor Happy though. She winced when she saw the displeased look Happy had on.

Tony saw it as well. "Sorry." He breezily apologized to Happy.

Happy was still annoyed at the move that was made. "What the hell was that?"

Tony shrugged his shoulders. "It's called mixed martial arts." He began hopping in place, ready to continue their match. "It's been around for three weeks now."

"It's called dirty boxing." Happy corrected him with a glare. "There's nothing new about it. All right, lift them up. Come on!" He went to his boxing stance again.

Grace was waiting for them to start boxing again, but she was thrown off when they had both stopped to stare at something behind her. When she turned around too she realized they weren't staring at something but rather at someone. It wasn't Pepper though. No, her dad and Happy were now staring at the woman who had walked into the fitness room.

"I promise you this is the only time I will ask you to sign over your company." Pepper said once the woman was next to her, folder in hand. Everyone's attention was still on the new woman...especially Grace's. The young Stark girl blinked with an awed expression as she stared at the woman.

The woman was dressed very professionally. She had on a white blouse, which was neatly tucked in the black pants she was wearing. Her hair was red, but it wasn't the same color red as Pepper. No, the woman's hair was a dark red and it was currently styled in neat waves, falling past her shoulders. The color complimented her fair skin tone.

Grace thought there was a classic movie star look about her. The dark red haired woman just stood out. She really was beautiful. She reminded Grace of one of those actresses from the old movies she'd watch with her dad. Actresses like Audrey Hepburn and Lauren Bacall.

Actually the longer Grace stared at the dark red haired woman the more she got a Lauren Bacall vibe from her than an Audrey Hepburn vibe. Lauren Bacall, from her works in movies, exuded mystery. And there was definitely something mysterious about this woman. However, that most likely had more to do with how Grace didn't know her. She was a stranger... but yet Grace's walls of wariness weren't up.

Happy was the first of the three to gather himself. He tapped on Tony's shoulder, reluctantly getting his attention. Now it was just Grace who was just staring at the woman, watching the interaction between her and Pepper.

"Lesson one..." Happy began saying to Tony. "Never take your eye off―"

Tony didn't let him finish. He quickly kicked the protective pad Happy had on his stomach causing him to land on one of the sides of the boxing ring. Tony then delivered a round of hits before Happy finally called it. Once he didn't need to focus on his boxing, Tony turned his attention onto what was currently interesting him. As he did this he noticed how Grace was still looking at the woman too.

"What's your name, lady?" Tony loudly inquired, and the dark red haired woman looked at him.

"Rushman. Natalie Rushman." The woman evenly answered him.

Tony nodded his head and then pointed to the boxing ring. "Front and center, come into the church."

Pepper's expression was one of bafflement before immediately getting a handle of herself to protest. "No, you're seriously not asking her to do that."

Tony disregarded her concern. "If it pleases the court, which it does."

Pepper let out a sigh and she was about to reassure Natalie that wasn't necessary. However, when Pepper looked at her she saw how unbothered she appeared to be from his request.

"It's no problem." Natalie reassured her with a brief smile.

"Sorry, he's eccentric." Despite Natalie not being bothered by Tony, Pepper still apologized for his behavior. She figured by now that she'd be used to apologizing on his behalf, but whenever she had to say this to someone entirely new it just made things awkward. At least in her opinion it did.

Grace, who had been quietly watching, smiled a little when Natalie passed her. She had been so focused on her that she didn't even realize what was happening until Natalie returned the smile. Her smile made Grace notice that her eyes were green. They weren't as light as Pepper's own green eyes but they were still striking. She sighed when Natalie entered the boxing ring, her heels now off. As her dad and Natalie began eyeing each other, Grace found herself siding with Pepper. What was her dad thinking asking her to enter the boxing ring? Natalie must have thought he was odd.

The staring match between her dad and Natalie continued and Grace couldn't tell if that was necessarily bad or good. It was awkward though...so maybe that answered her question. Grace frowned when she saw her dad drink from his water bottle. From the looks of it her dad wasn't drinking water. It looked dark. Grace had no idea what it was but if her dad was drinking it then it must have been okay.

"What?" Tony asked after drinking from his water bottle. Natalie hadn't said anything though. He held in a smile when Natalie's response was just a silent stare. It didn't at all reveal what she was currently thinking. Deciding to amuse himself, Tony pointed to Happy. "Could you give her a lesson?" He asked him as he took off his boxing gear. He stepped out of the boxing ring, giving Grace a pat on the head as he passed her.

Grace smiled but her gaze went to Natalie who was now beginning to converse with Happy. Tony on the other hand took a seat next to Pepper in the sitting area.

"Who is she?" Tony asked right away.

Pepper wasn't surprised at such a question. She took out her cellphone and started texting. "She is from legal, and she is potentially a very expensive sexual harassment lawsuit if you keep ogling her like that."

"I need a new assistant." Tony casually brought up to her.

"Yes, and I've got three excellent potential candidates." Pepper informed him. "They're lined up and are ready to meet you."

Tony watched Natalie in the boxing ring. "I don't have time to meet." He said, trying to sound dead serious. "I need someone now, I feel like it's her."

Pepper looked up from her cellphone to give him a pointed look. "No, it's not."

"But look, Grace has already taken a liking to her." Tony brought up to Pepper. Both adults saw how Grace was watching Natalie with Happy. There was a smile on her face as she did this. Pepper just sighed, still not agreeing with Tony.

"That doesn't mean anything."

"I think it does." Tony simply retorted. "Grace is a very good judge in character."

"She hasn't even spoken to her." Pepper flatly told him.

Tony shrugged his shoulders. "Not yet."

Pepper said nothing that time, just followed his gaze to where Natalie was with Happy in the boxing ring.

"You ever boxed before?" Happy asked Natalie.

Natalie nodded her head. There was a small smile on her face. "I have yes."

"Like Tae Bo? Booty boot camp? Crunch? Something like that?" Happy asked her, causing Natalie's smile to slowly disappear.

Grace didn't like seeing her smile fall. It was clear the question bothered her. "Why does that matter?" She questioned, finding herself coming to Natalie's defense. "Boxing's boxing, right?"

"Ah, but some boxing classes are better than others." Happy informed the seven year old.

Grace said nothing then, waiting to see what Natalie would say or do. Before she could though, her dad called for the older woman's attention.

"How do you spell your name, Natalie?"

"R-U-S-H-M-A-N." The dark red haired woman clarified, throwing him a quick glance.

Tony began typing her name on the holographic table that was next to them.

Pepper let out a huff. "What? Are you googling her now?"

"I thought I was ogling her." Tony easily sassed. Once pressing the search button a bunch of files with Natalie's name popped up. He was right away impressed by what he found.

"Oh, wow, very, very impressive individual." Tony nodded his head.

Pepper shook her head. "You're so predictable. You know that? You did this with Claire too." She frowned, bringing up Grace's homeschool teacher. Tony had done a similar search on the blonde after he met her in person. Claire's looks of course caught his attention. Pepper was just glad Claire never did fall for Tony's flirtatious act, not that she actually thought he was interested in her. Besides, Claire, as Pepper had come to know, cared more about her job than getting involved with someone. Not to mention, it was obvious the blonde found the Stark man irritating at times. Still, Tony liked having good looking women around him. Pepper was sure that was the case with Natalie now.

Tony continued with his search, passing file after file. "She's fluent in French, Italian, Russian, Latin. Who speaks Latin?"

Pepper gave him a side glance. "No one speaks Latin, it's a dead language. You can read Latin, or you can write Latin, but you can't speak Latin."

Tony kept scrolling, his eyes widening a bit with what he saw next. "Did you model in Tokyo?" He rhetorically asked Pepper after seeing some alluring modeling photos of Natalie. "'Cause she modeled in Tokyo."

Pepper just shook her head at his absurdness.

As this was going on Happy was giving Natalie some pointers. The dark red haired woman though wasn't really listening to what he was saying. She sneaked a glance to where Tony was. Happy saw this and was going to correct her.

"Rule number one, never take your eye off your―"

Happy once again was unable to finish his sentence. The second Natalie felt his hand nearing her face she had turned around and took hold of it. Grace watched with wide eyes as Natalie expertly pushed his hand away as if they were nothing, followed by her wrapping her legs around his head, flipping him over. The whole thing had happened so fast that Grace couldn't help but think the whole thing was cool. There was no way she could keep that amazement to herself.

Tony had been amazed too, but Pepper was more thrown off. Her yelling out Happy's name expressed that.

"That was amazing!" Grace jumped in place, animated by what she just witnessed. It looked like a fighting move that was straight out of an action movie. She strangely found herself wishing she could do that fight move. "Where'd you learn to do that?" She asked once Natalie had let Happy go. She was fixing her outfit as Happy hurriedly gathered himself.

Natalie simply smiled at the young girl once she was out of the boxing ring. She now stood next to her. "Oh, just at some obscure boxing class I took in Los Angeles." The brief smug look she gave Happy had Grace giggling. Since Happy wasn't seriously hurt, Grace found the way Natalie proved him wrong with her boxing skills to be funny.

"The class certainly paid off." Tony commented, also impressed. He was making his way over to them. "That's what I am talking about."

"I slipped." Happy tried to play it off. There was embarrassment but he didn't want it to show.

Tony wasn't about to have that. "You did?" He rang the bell that was next to the boxing ring. "Looks like a TKO to me."

Now that he was closer, the dark red haired woman looked his way. "I need your impression." She asked, her heels now on and the folder she had been carrying was in her hands again.

Tony got a thoughtful expression as he took her in. "You have a quiet reserve? I don't know you've got an old soul."

"I meant your fingerprint." Natalie stopped him before he could go on with what looked like an amused smile. She opened up the folder she was carrying to the page where it had the box for his impression.

"Right." Tony nodded his head.

As that was happening, Pepper finally made her way over to them. She stood on the other side of Grace and looked between Tony and Natalie. "So, how are we doing?" She asked, all professional. There was no real animosity in her tone, but it also wasn't as friendly, like when Pepper asked Claire a similar question not that long ago.

"Great. Just wrapping up." Tony left his thumb print on the box that was on the page before looking at Pepper with a smile. "You're the boss."

Natalie elegantly threw a few of her loose waves over her shoulders. "Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"

"No."

"Yes."

Grace had to stop the smile that wanted to escape from hearing her dad and Pepper speak at the same time.

Tony and Pepper quietly exchanged looks to see which one would win the speaking match. A few more seconds passed before Tony caved. He gave her a cheeky smile without saying anything else.

Pepper returned the smile, though not as playful. "Yes, that will be all, Ms. Rushman." She assured the dark red haired woman. She gave her a polite nod of dismissal. "Thank you very much."

Natalie returned the nod before she started making her way out. For some reason seeing her leave had Grace reverting to her shy side. Maybe it was because the excitement from her performing such an awesome fight move in front of her was settling down.

"Bye, Ms. Rushman." Grace shyly called out. She was still greatly amazed by the older woman.

Natalie stopped to look at her. Given her age, Natalie found her sudden shyness to be sweet for a kid. It was a complete contrast to how excited she had just been. "Goodbye, Miss Stark."

Grace wanted to laugh at hearing someone call her Miss Stark. It was just too formal for her liking. Maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal to be addressed so formally if it had been someone who she didn't know or like. And although she didn't really know Natalie, Grace found herself liking her. "You can call me Grace." The young Stark girl quietly told her.

Natalie still heard her. She managed to give her another smile. "Well, in that case you can call me Natalie." She told her before she went on her way, her heels clicking as she did so.

After Natalie was gone from their view, Tony looked at Pepper with an excited gleam in his eye. "I want one."

"No." Pepper right away dismissed with a halfhearted smile.

Grace broke the silence that had surrounded them.

"Can I get a Barbie doll that looks like her?" Tony and Pepper stared at the young girl in bewilderment after she made that comment. Even Happy was looking at her the same way. They all knew that Grace really wasn't one to play with Barbies, so it was really bemusing to hear her ask for one. The Stark girl quickly took notice of their staring.

"What?" Grace blushed, lowering her eyes to look at her blue shoes. "I like her hair." She sheepishly told them.