Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or any other Marvel characters. I only own my OC.
A/N: Just a heads up I wrote this chapter when I was still feeling anxious over things. The whole quarantine thing finally got to me. I hope despite all that, that the chapter still came out okay. I also want to say, for those who don't know yet, I published a story called There In Spirit. It has one-shots with the Avengers and Grace. Mainly it's about the Avengers POV but it focuses on the relationships Grace has with them. There's already three chapters published. Check it out if you haven't yet. Anyways, happy readings...can you tell from this chapter how much I miss going out? Especially to amusement parks...not that I went to them a lot but seeing videos of roller coasters makes me miss the idea of going to those places.
"There are two types of people in the world: those who prefer to be sad among others, and those who prefer to be sad alone."
― Nicole Krauss, The History of Love
Chapter 16: Birthday bash gone bad
'Grace's day', as Tony had called it, first consisted of Grace and him going out to eat at In-N-Out Burger. One of the main reasons they ended up going there specifically was because of how much Grace liked their milkshakes. Tony also happened to be a huge fan of their animal fries. So they drank their milkshakes, ate their cheeseburgers and animal fries before going to The Last Bookstore.
Once there, Tony did indeed buy the Dawn Powell book Grace had mentioned to him...along with twenty other books from various authors. They were all books that Grace had shown interest in reading. Her dad even had a list of the names of those books in his cellphone.
Grace had been shocked, even reluctant, to accept that many books since she just thought they were going to buy just one. No matter how many times she told him she was fine with just one book, her dad kept saying it wasn't a big deal buying more. Eventually, Grace just gave up trying to convince her dad and he ended up buying a total of twenty-one books for her.
After book shopping, Tony and Grace spent the remainder of their day at Universal Studios. Surprisingly, up until now, Grace hadn't been to Universal Studios. She'd been to Disneyland with her dad before but not Universal Studios. With the time he had left, Tony wanted to take Grace there. They did the Tram Tour, watched the various live shows they had, and went on all the rides there.
The Revenge of the Mummy ride ended up being Grace's favorite. Tony expected that because the movie The Mummy was one of Grace's favorite action adventure movies. A part of him still thought the ride would have spooked her a little but it didn't. The seven year old wasn't scared in the slightest, not even how fast the ride went, both forwards and backwards. Not even the darkness that surrounded the majority of the ride got to her. She really did love the ride and the rush it gave her.
Tony knew that going out in public after what happened in Monaco wasn't wise, but given circumstances he found that he didn't care. All he really cared about was making sure Grace was having a fun time with him, because unknown to her this was going to be the last father-daughter day they were going to have. And thankfully it was a day well spent with him.
Grace didn't know the real motivation behind Tony wanting to make the day special for her. She went along with everything though because she saw how happy it made her dad...and after the scary situation with the bad man in Monaco she wanted to see her dad happy again.
Unfortunately, things didn't go back to how they were before the whole Monaco incident once they returned to Malibu. Grace could tell that her dad wasn't being himself...and that concerned Grace. Her concern grew even more after the abrupt so-called 'statement' her dad gave outside of his home regarding the Monaco incident. His exact words had been: "I'm sorry. I'm fine. He's toast. I won. Iron Man is back on watch."
Since then the news had been calling her dad erratic...and as much as Grace didn't want to agree with that, each passing day was becoming hard for her to deny. Especially today because it was her dad's birthday, and he was having his birthday party at their house.
Grace honestly thought her dad would have cancelled the party. Especially after what happened in Monaco, but also because he didn't have a birthday party last year either. He opted to do something small instead, like what they did for her birthday. Except it wasn't Grace's birthday, it was her dad's, and he wanted a birthday party...so he was going to get one. At first Grace had been for it, despite not being a huge fan of having a lot of people inside their home. But her dad's recent odd behavior made her think that having a birthday party wasn't such a good idea after all.
But the party was still happening.
One of the things that was keeping Grace content ( even with the huge loud crowd) was the smile her dad gave her when he saw the cake she had baked for him. It was a rainbow cake covered with gummy bears on the outside. Pepper had helped her make it.
Speaking of Pepper, Grace would have felt more comfortable if the redhead was there with her. However, Pepper wasn't with her yet because she had gone off to do some work stuff, and she needed to get her dad his birthday gift as well.
So since Pepper hadn't been there when Grace needed to get ready for the party, Natalie was the one who helped her pick out a dress and did her hair. That was a first but Grace gladly accepted Natalie's help.
Natalie did her hair in loose curls and recommended Grace wear her past knee length light blue dress that had sparkles near the ends of the skirt with a pair of grey flats. The dress was one of the many dresses her dad bought for her on a whim those last couple of days. As it turned out, along with him buying her books, he also bought her a bunch of clothes. Now it wasn't like Grace wasn't grateful, because she was, but him buying a bunch of clothes for her just increased her concern.
Every time she tried to ask why he was doing that her dad just changed the subject and went on to buy something else for her. It was definitely odd and Grace felt a sort of unsteadiness because of it. But she risked the chance of seeing her dad sad again...so...she stopped asking. She now had two closets full of clothes though.
Thankfully once the party guests started arriving, Natalie stayed by her side as her dad mingled with them. Natalie was pretty dressed up herself. She was wearing a cheetah-print dress and her hair was down in wavy curls.
Grace felt less anxious next to the older woman but the nervousness still remained as she took in all the people that now surrounded the inside of her home. She didn't recognize any of them. Grace's guard was held up high and as if sensing that, Natalie took her to the main living room to sit down on the couch.
Sadly the dark redhead didn't remain by her side long after that because her dad had her dealing with the people in charge of parking. Apparently more people were showing up than expected and parking was becoming an issue now. After Natalie politely excused herself her dad took her spot on the couch next to Grace. It was then that Grace finally had the chance to give him his birthday gift.
Her dad's reaction made her feel small by the way he just took it from her and asked someone passing by to put it on the table with all the other gifts people brought. He went on to bring her over to a group of people across the room who were drinking from champagne glasses and laughing at something she didn't even want to know about. It didn't take long for her to see that they were drunk or close to getting drunk. As Grace stood there next to her dad, (feeling so out of place) she realized that he was in the same drunken state as all these other people, and that made her want to run away from him.
Grace had never seen her dad drunk before. She'd seen him drink a few times but never to the point where he lost control. And right now it didn't look like he was in control anymore. Not based on the way he was laughing loudly, and the way he was beginning to lean from side to side. It wasn't until she saw him chug down a drink from a female server that she finally left his side.
The seven year old didn't look back until she was far enough and when she did she felt the same pain from before when her dad passed on her gift return. From the looks of it her dad wasn't even fazed that she had left his side. Or maybe he just hadn't noticed her leaving. Either way he seemed to be more interested in the new drink he had in hand.
Grace faced forward, beginning to feel both sadness and anger...but strangely it had more to do with herself. She didn't like seeing her dad the way he was at the moment but it was his birthday...and he was an adult. So he was allowed to have fun and drink if he wanted...but still, something told her it had more to do than just celebrating his birthday.
That's what had her sitting on the living room couch again, away from her dad. Although he was allowed to drink that didn't mean she wanted to be near him while he did that. She hoped that Natalie by now had returned from the parking issue but by the looks of it she wasn't. Perhaps she was somewhere else in the house. She too was allowed to have fun. Grace didn't blame her for not wanting to stay the whole night with her. That still left Grace alone though. Well, she wasn't 'alone' because a lot of people surrounded her but she felt alone on the inside.
She spent the time watching people before she thought about going to her bedroom and grabbing a book to pass the time. Then she thought that staying there entirely while the party occurred would be better. Before she could do either of those things the sound of someone hitting a microphone caught her attention. Her eyes widened when she saw her dad where the DJ was set up. What had her eyes widening was that her dad was now wearing his Iron Man suit over the expensive suit he had on.
The Iron Man suit's face-plate was open, leaving people to see her dad's actual face. Even from where she was sitting she could tell that his eyes weren't focused as they usually were, and there was a lopsided smile on his face as he began spinning the DJ's records. She winced when her dad playfully fist-bumped the DJ. She knew that must have hurt even if it had been a playful fist-bump.
"Grace?"
The seven year old girl immediately recognized that voice. She felt like she could breathe normally again when she saw Pepper. The redhead was wearing a simple but elegant black dress, and her hair was done in a neat ponytail. "Pepper!" She said the name with such relief that it had the redhead frowning at how uncomfortable she appeared.
Pepper was standing next to the couch, birthday gift in hand. Her attention was on the youngest Stark and not the party guests that filled the Malibu mansion. "Grace, honey, where's your dad?"
Grace lowered her gaze to stare at her grey flats. She didn't say a word, just pointed to where her dad was. Pepper followed to where she was pointing and her frown deepened when she finally caught sight of the older Stark. "Oh, Tony." She felt disappointment but also anger at the drunken state he was in. A part of her was also angry at herself for not seeing this coming based on how he had been behaving lately.
Pepper let out a sigh before grabbing Grace with her free hand. Grace reacted immediately and got up from the couch. She gladly followed Pepper as she began leading her out. Grace had no issues with that whatsoever. As they were making their way out though the house, they ran into Rhodey. Even with the serious expression he had on, Grace still greeted him with a smile.
"Hi, Uncle Rhodey!"
The Colonel's serious expression faltered once he caught sight of Grace next to Pepper.
"Hey, Bubbles." Rhodey replied with a small smile when he came to a stop. Bubbles was a nickname he'd given her after Grace had made him watch a marathon of The Powerpuff Girls when he visited her a while ago. After watching a couple of episodes he ended up telling her that the character of Bubbles reminded him of her because of how kind and cheery she was. Hence why he now sometimes called Grace, Bubbles.
Rhodey went on to greet Pepper but stopped when he saw the frown she had on. His serious expression came back. "Pepper?"
"Can you stay with Grace?" Pepper hurriedly asked Rhodey. "I need to get some air and I don't want to leave her alone right now." She originally wanted to take Grace with her outside but now that Rhodey was here maybe he would be able to watch her for a bit while she got a hold of herself. She never liked seeing Tony flat out drunk, and it had been a while since his last drunk incident.
Rhodey took a step closer to her. "What's wrong?"
Pepper looked towards Tony, features filled with worry. "I-I-I don't know what to do."
Rhodey followed her gaze and anger filled his eyes once he saw Tony drunk off his ass. He was currently dancing with a champagne bottle in one of his hands. "You gotta be kidding me."
The three of them (along with the rest of the party guests) watched as Tony fell to the side, landing on the shelf that had several alcohol bottles. His reaction to that was only to laugh before he got up and stumbled his way back to where the DJ was at. Grace, however, still stared at the scene with uneasiness. She wasn't even aware that she had begun shaking. Rhodey noticed though.
"That's it." Rhodey shook his head, ready to go outside and take out his cellphone. "I'm making―"
Pepper managed to stop him by grabbing hold of one of his arms. "No, no, no. Don't call anyone." She pleaded with him. She glanced at Grace, her heart breaking by how she was shaking. Pepper let go of his arm as she went to stand even closer to Grace.
Rhodey looked at Grace again, and her clear distress from the loud crowd that surrounded them, and also from watching her dad stumble around from alcohol, had his protectiveness for her ignited. "Pepper, this is ridiculous!" He heatedly told the redhead as he pointed to where Tony was being a drunken fool. "Look at how he's behaving, and in front of his own daughter! Doesn't he see how uncomfortable she is? Look at her, she's shaking! And to think that I just stuck out my neck for this guy!"
Tony was his best friend and this was how he acted after helping him out? Honestly, that hurt Rhodey but what hurt even more was how Tony seemingly didn't care that his daughter was seeing him drunk off his ass, and how it was affecting her. Did Tony forget about the conversation they had not that long ago?
Besides that conversation, the Stark man had made a promise to him and Pepper that he would get his act together once Grace came into his life. That the old Tony, the one who would go out and drink irresponsibly, and hookup with random women, would no longer make an appearance. He had been doing so well...and yet here Tony was drunk.
"I know. I know." Pepper answered, trying her best to calm the Colonel down. "I get it. I'm gonna handle it, okay? Just let me handle it." She told him, now ready to take charge...or at least try to.
"Handle it." Rhodey sternly replied with a short nod. "Or I'm gonna have to."
Pepper gave him one last nod before walking away. As soon as she was gone, Grace went to stand next to her Uncle Rhodey.
Rhodey felt a bit of his anger leave him when he stared down at the young girl he considered his niece. She looked smaller than usual and he knew it was because of how uncomfortable she was at the moment. He patted her shoulder hoping that would in some way make her feel better as they watched Pepper walk over to Tony. The Stark man was currently up front on the stage with the DJ, a microphone in one hand and a champagne bottle in the other.
"You know..." Tony began saying, his words slurred. "The question I get asked often is, Tony, how do you go to the bathroom in that suit?" He paused and closed his eyes. A few seconds passed before he opened his eyes again with a crooked smile. "Just like that!"
While the crowd erupted with laughter, Rhodey remained far from amused. Grace didn't laugh either. She actually wrinkled her nose, completely grossed out.
Pepper finally got on stage with Tony. A tight smile was on her face once she managed to take the microphone from him during his laughing fit. "Does this man know how to party or what?" She asked the crowd, though she paid more attention to Tony than their cheers. "Unbelievable! Thank you so much! Tony, we all thank you so much for such a wonderful night. And we're gonna say goodnight now, and thank you all for coming."
The crowd began groaning after hearing her say that. Grace didn't groan. She was glad, and based on Rhodey nod she could tell he was too. Her dad wasn't feeling the same way, and she could by the way he started shaking his head.
"No, no, no." Tony began repeating. He gave Pepper a pout. "We can't. We didn't have any cake, we didn't blow out the candles! And Grace made the cake! It has gummy bears...and it's rainbow! It's so beautiful." He said before madly giggling. "Like you." He whispered that last part but Pepper still heard him.
The redhead managed to set aside her feelings. She lowered the microphone away from them before looking him in the eyes. "You're out of control." She whispered to him. "Trust me on this one, okay?"
Tony leaned towards her, a drunk smile on his face. "You're out of control, gorgeous."
Pepper once again remained unfazed at how close he was to her. "It's time to go to bed. It's time."
"Give me a smooch." Tony got closer to her. He felt disappointment when Pepper moved, trying her hardest to stay away from him.
"You're not going to be happy about this." Pepper quietly told him.
Tony kept up with his flirtation. "Come on, you know you want to."
Pepper sighed hearing how slurred his words were. This wasn't a meaningful moment, unlike the other times in the past when he had been close to her. Not to mention she smelled the alcohol on him, and that really ruined things. And then there was that other thing he had done. "You just peed the suit." She brought up, not amused at all.
Tony sighed, fixing his posture...or at least what he thought was fixing his posture in his drunken state. "I know it has a filtration system." He explained to Pepper.
Pepper shook her head. "It's not sexy."
"You could drink that water." Tony said which had Pepper sighing.
"Just send everyone home, okay? It's time to..."
Tony finally nodded his head. "If you say so."
Pepper felt relieved. "Okay, I'll take this." She took the champagne bottle that he had been holding. "You take that." She handed him back the microphone." There were no witty remarks about handing him things and Pepper was glad for that. Not that he had ever done that to her specifically. Even when he was drunk he wasn't acting the way he would with others. At least there was that.
"Pepper Potts!" Tony happily announced and not long after a few claps were heard. "She's right. The party's over." He was taking a few steps forward, stumbling like before. "Then again, the party was over for me, an hour and a half ago. The after party starts in fifteen minutes!"
The crowd broke into loud applause. Grace frowned when she heard her dad say that. One glance at her Uncle Rhodey and she saw the mad look he had. Pepper looked more sad than mad. Grace too was going towards sadness.
"And if anybody, Pepper, doesn't like it, there's the door." Tony then carelessly pointed his left hand to the side. Instantly there was a blast from his repulsor and everyone watched as the pane of glass from the decor that had been there shattered. There were gasps and screams and a few people ducked but none had been near enough to actually get cut by the glass.
Soon that sudden shock turned to a frenzy of laughter from the crowd. Grace remained scared. She had jumped and screamed when she saw the blast and the glass shatter. She even went to stand behind her Uncle Rhodey. Her doing that had Rhodey looking at Tony with complete anger again for scaring her more than she already was. Not that Tony noticed because how could he? He was drunk and behaving like a complete fool.
A blonde woman that was in the front of the crowd suddenly tossed a champagne bottle into the air for Tony to explode. That's exactly what the billionaire did by using his hand repulsors again. Glass shattered from the blast, and miraculously no one got hurt.
Grace nonetheless had screamed and that was the final straw for Rhodey. "That does it." He muttered. The Colonel wasn't going to stand back anymore. He was going to handle things now.
Rhodey looked to where Pepper was, away from the stage now. He debated taking Grace over to her. However, at the last second he caught sight of Natalie, Tony's new assistant. Seeing as that was the better option (since she wasn't as close to Tony as Pepper was), Rhodey quickly brought Grace over to her.
The dark redhead didn't look bothered at their arrival.
"Stay with, Natalie." Rhodey firmly told Grace when he brought her next to the older woman. Grace didn't say anything, just huddled to Natalie's right side. The dark redhead gave him a single nod, which was enough confirmation for Rhodey to know she had Grace under her care. The Colonel then left to go down to Tony's lab...ready to do what needed to be done.
The madness from the crowd was still going on. Tony was ready to shatter another champagne bottle but he took everyone by surprise when his eyes started wandering around. They seemed to light up when he saw Grace. He smiled crookedly again.
"Grace, sweetie, if you thought that was cool watch this!" Tony exclaimed, raising his right hand. This time a different blonde threw a champagne bottle and like before Tony blasted it. More people took cover from the glass, even Natalie had to duck her head but not before fully shielding Grace behind her. Yet again, no one by the looks of it got hurt.
People were just cheering as if it were no big deal that her dad was using his repulsors indoors to destroy things. Not Grace though. The seven year old was freaking out.
That's not cool! Grace didn't scream this time but the thought did scream in her head. Her dad's drunken state was really starting to scare her to the point where it felt strangely familiar...and it was because of that strange familiarity that she ran straight to her bedroom.
"Grace!"
Even with the crowd's loud cheering, Grace still managed to hear Natalie calling out her name. Grace felt bad that she took off but her fear beat her guilt. She had a need to hide, and there was only one place she felt would provide safety for her.
Grace also only needed one thing in that moment that would make her feel better...or at least somewhat. That was her brown plush bunny Chorejas, and it was in her bedroom. Once she was in her bedroom, Grace immediately went to grab her plush bunny. With Chorejas now in her hands, she quickly got under her bed.
Grace then closed her eyes and repeated the same sentence over and over again in her head.
I'm safe. I'm safe. I'm safe.
She had no idea why all this felt strangely familiar. It was like she had gone through this before...but she hadn't...right? The seven year old was too nerve-wracked to look into it. She instead hugged her plush bunny as if her life depended on it. A gasp escaped her when she felt (rather than heard) a powerful shake. It almost felt like an earthquake. That had her heart racing even more.
What was happening now?
A knock on her bedroom door had her opening her eyes again. There was another knock before she finally heard the door open. Then she heard footsteps followed by a soft voice.
"Grace? It's okay. It's me Natalie. I need you to come out, alright? I need to get you out of here."
Maybe it was because of how kind Natalie's voice sounded, or maybe it was because of how much Grace now just wanted to get out of the house, but she had found no difficulty in coming out of her hiding spot. She was still holding onto her plush bunny when she revealed herself to Natalie. It was a sight that had the dark redhead almost softening her features from how innocent she looked.
However, she knew there was no time to dwell on that because she needed to focus on getting Grace out of the house. With what was currently happening with Tony and Rhodey, it wasn't smart to have Grace upstairs in her bedroom.
"Hurry." She gently prompted, sticking her hand out for Grace to grab. She let out a small breath of relief when Grace took hold of it. She began to lead the seven year old back downstairs. They hadn't come across Tony or Rhodey but they sure heard the ruckus they were making.
When they arrived at the living room, both of them noticed how empty it was now. Going towards the front entrance they realized soon enough that the party guests were now outside of the mansion. The party guests still had a good view on the inside.
"Natalie!" Pepper yelled at the darker redhead. Unlike the party guests she still remained inside, worried for the youngest Stark. She felt the panic from not seeing Grace in the crowd start to go away once she saw the seven year old.
"It's okay, Ms. Potts. I found Grace. She was hiding under her bed but she's safe." She reassured her but then watched as Pepper hurriedly brought Grace to her side. Pepper then sent her a glare. The darker redhead right away knew she was mad. She, however, played innocent by putting on a puzzled expression. "Ms. Potts?"
Pepper kept glaring at her, holding onto Grace. The young Stark girl just looked between the two women, quiet yet observant. The hold on her plush bunny tightened.
"Don't you Ms. Potts me!" Pepper pointed at her and Grace frowned. She didn't like that Pepper was yelling at Natalie. Grace didn't think Natalie had done anything wrong. So why the yelling? She would have said something but everything was happening so fast, and Grace was still scared. That's what had her remaining silent as Pepper continued her yelling. "I'm onto you! You know what? Ever since you came here, I―"
All three of them let out loud surprised gasps when the ceiling came crashing down. Pepper let out a loud scream when she saw that it had been Tony and Rhodey who caused the ceiling to fall not that far from them. Grace just stared at the scene of her dad, now wearing his full Iron Man suit fighting another one of his Iron Man suits. It was the silver one. Unlike Pepper and Natalie, Grace had no idea yet who was the person inside.
Happy, who had been outside, immediately came inside to get Pepper and Grace away from the ongoing fight. "Pepper! Grace!" He started to drag them outside but not without Grace looking towards Natalie. She wanted the dark redhead to come with them. However, when she glanced her way she saw that she was heading in the other direction. At the very least she was going away from the fight that was going on...a fight that her dad was in and she had no idea who was in the silver suit. She was about to find out though.
"Who is that?!" Grace finally spoke again once outside with the rest of the party guests.
Pepper's response was quick. "It's Rhodey!"
Grace's breathing was uneven from the running, and she felt so many emotions at that moment. Surprise being the strongest. Rhodey? Her eyes widened. Her dad was fighting her Uncle Rhodey? Dios mío.
"You want it? Take it!"
Grace heard her dad say to Rhodey and she nervously watched as he flipped her Uncle Rhodey to the floor. They were causing some serious damage to the house but that wasn't what Grace was worried about. She was worried that they were going to cause some serious damage to themselves.
"Stop! Just stop!" Grace yelled out. Her pleas sadly weren't heard by either her dad or her Uncle Rhodey. Both men continued to throw punches at each other before Tony got the upper hand and smashed Rhodey onto the kitchen counter.
With one of them down the fight came to a brief pause. This allowed the party guests to take their fair share of photos and videos. Tony took notice of this when he turned around to face them. Running high from anger that the fight provoked, Tony let out a yell hoping to scare away the party guests. Luckily it did just that. It wasn't until they scurried away that he saw his daughter next to Pepper and Happy.
Grace was holding onto Pepper's waist, her expression filled with total fear. He felt like a monster now. Forget the party guests...his daughter had heard him yell and Grace had never heard him yell. He took a step forward but stopped when he saw his daughter flinch, her hold on Pepper clearly tightening.
He really did scare her...and that broke his heart.
Tony then felt pain from his head, and that was because of Rhodey. The Colonel had gotten back up and used a huge piece of the counter Tony had smashed him into to hit him. The hit had been so strong that it had Tony landing into the fireplace. Grace cried out but felt some relief when her dad managed to get his head out of the fireplace. She was so glad he had the face-plate on.
Her eyes widened once more when she saw how both her dad and Uncle Rhodey were pointing their hands at each other. That only meant one thing and she wasn't ready to see that. Neither were Pepper and Happy, which was why they quickly began moving farther away. Despite not wanting to see her dad and Rhodey fight, Grace's pleas continued up until they were at a distance.
To her horror there was a large explosion with a bright light. From where she now stood, Grace still felt just how powerful the explosion was. She had almost fallen to the ground had it not been for Happy. Her nerves grew at the sight of the smoke cloud that now surrounded the mansion.
"Dad! Uncle Rhodey!" Grace hysterically called out. It was dumb but she wanted to run back to make sure they were okay. Happy had a hold on her, and no matter how much she struggled, he wouldn't let go.
"I'll check." Pepper quickly offered. That didn't lessen Grace's nerves but it did stop her from stepping on Happy's shoes.
When she was close enough, Pepper saw just how damaged the Malibu mansion was. There was glass shattered everywhere and all the furniture in the front was destroyed from the blast. That was all fixable. She was more worried about Tony and Rhodey. Her worry grew when all she saw was Tony leaned against on what she guessed was the fireplace. At first she thought he was knocked out, but hand motion let her know otherwise.
"Tony, where's Rhodey?" Pepper asked with full concern. The Colonel who had been wearing the silver Iron Man suit was still to be seen. She feared the worst.
"He took off." Tony simply explained. Tiredness could be heard in his voice now.
Pepper didn't sympathize with that, and since she knew that Rhodey was okay, she let Tony have it this time. "God, Tony, what were you thinking?!" Pepper was the angriest she'd ever been now. He couldn't remember the last time Pepper had yelled at him like that...or was there ever a time? Regardless, Tony didn't reply back with a witty comeback. He couldn't find the strength within himself to do so.
"Getting drunk and losing control in front of Grace." Her next words hurt Tony on a whole new level. "You're just...God, you're just like Miguel!"
Despite not having the emotional strength to form a flippant response, Tony still wanted to decline that right away. However, he soon began to realize how awful he'd been. Pepper was right. He was like Grace's dear Uncle Miguel and he hated that. The Stark man had no one to blame but himself.
He needed to apologize to Grace...he needed to make things right...he needed...but then he remembered her scared face. That the only reason she had looked that way was because of him. Oh God...she probably didn't want to see him after the way he behaved. After he had yelled.
No...he needed to go away. That's what he needed to do. With new found strength, Tony got up and began walking towards the balcony.
"Wait, Tony! Where are you going? Tony!" Pepper was still angry at him but that didn't mean she stopped caring about him. Not to mention she didn't want him to leave. He couldn't just do that. "What am I going to tell, Grace? That you just left her?"
Tony reached the end of the balcony before glancing back. "Yes."
Pepper now began shaking, and it wasn't from anger...it was from sadness. "No, Tony. You do not get to do that to her! You do not get to walk out!" She couldn't see because of his face-plate but tears were going down his face.
"I'm sorry, Pepper." Tony softly told her. "Tell Grace that I love her and that I'm sorry for what happened. She deserves a better dad."
No, she deserves you, you idiot. Just get your act together!
That's what Pepper wanted to say but she was only able to get his name out as she watched him take off into the night sky.
"Tony!"
Tony Stark left without looking back. He left without seeing Pepper's distraught expression, and he left without seeing his own daughter's tears as she watched him leave from where she stood.
The hold on her plush bunny Chorejas finally loosened, causing it to fall on the ground.
A/N: Also in case you guys are still confused, Grace's sudden nervousness and need to hide when seeing Tony in a drunken state does have to do with her Uncle Miguel, and you guys can guess why.
