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

A/N: Here's something random, I wrote some of this while watching episodes of Kitchen Nightmares on my laptop and the Dodgers game on my TV. I'm not even a huge sports person but I figured why not watch it. As for Kitchen Nightmares, I just love that show.

I also do not own the book mentioned in this chapter.


"But you know all about that, being sorry and having no words to say something when you know you should but you just can't"
― Heather Gudenkauf, The Weight of Silence


Chapter 18: Trying to make amends

"Grace did well today." Claire Owens proudly shared with Pepper Potts. The two women were sitting in the living room of Pepper's apartment. The blonde woman had come over to her place for Grace's homeschooling lessons. For obvious reasons, Claire hadn't gone over to the Stark mansion in Malibu. Claire had been informed on why but in all honesty Pepper already figured that Claire must have known of the mansion's disarray state because of what was reported on the news. It wasn't exactly like they could hide what occurred that night. There had been a lot of partygoers.

The blonde also knew of Tony's departure from not only Pepper but Grace as well. Her response to that information had been professional and she didn't pry any further. Pepper knew to expect that from Claire given her kind nature but she thanked her regardless. So the homeschooling continued and the hours for the day just ended. Grace was currently in the bathroom giving the older women a chance to talk freely.

"That's good to hear." Pepper answered somewhat relieved but not entirely. She then asked Claire the question she was most curious about. She felt comfortable enough to bring it up to her. Not to mention she trusted that Claire wouldn't lie to her when it was a question about Grace. "Was she talkative today?"

Claire briefly paused and it was enough time for the concern Pepper had for Grace to double. "Well, I noticed she wasn't as talkative." The blonde woman was honest with her answer. "But she did tell me a few things, and one of those things stood out to me."

Pepper's expression was now a mixture between curiosity and concern. "Do you mind telling me what that was?"

Claire replied quickly because she saw the redhead's worry. "Not at all. She told me she read a few poems by Sylvia Plath." She added the next part after glancing at the bookshelf Pepper had in her apartment living room. "From The Colossus and Other Poems."

Pepper let out a sigh. "She found the book of poems shortly after I brought her to my apartment. I didn't want to upset her more than she already was, so I let her read it."

"I have to say, I didn't start reading any of Sylvia Plath's work until I was fourteen." Claire shared with her. "At that age I couldn't quite grasp her writing. I was told then by my teachers that I was too bright eyed to fully understand her. Even now I have to say that still applies." She lowered her voice. "From what Grace has told me, she's the opposite. She understood right away."

Pepper's light green eyes widened a bit. "Oh, well, what does that mean? Did the poems disturb her?" She was now really starting to regret letting Grace read the poems. She should have just let her read one of the other books she had but at the time Grace had been so interested in that book of poems. As she told Claire, Pepper also hadn't wanted to cause Grace any further hurt, even if it meant taking a book away from her.

Claire shook her head. There was a smile on her face that didn't quite reach her eyes. Pepper thought that was unusual because whenever Claire smiled it was usually bright. "No, I don't think so. Actually, her analysis on the poems she read were very detailed but they were done in a dismal way almost."

Pepper furrowed her eyebrows, not quite comprehending. "So does that mean she didn't like the poems?"

"On the contrary, Grace said she loved them." Claire softly told her. "All of them to be exact."

"And I think I know why." Pepper muttered now understanding. She should have understood sooner. The poems were on the emotional side and with how Grace was currently feeling it only made sense that she was able to connect with them in some way. The redhead asked her next question that she urgently wanted the answer to. "By any chance did she mention her father to you?"

Claire now looked sad as she shook her head. "No."

"It was worth the ask." Pepper murmured and then cleared her throat. "She hasn't brought him up to me since that disastrous night. I keep expecting her to but she just doesn't. She hasn't even said his name."

Claire decided to say her opinion on the situation. "It's only been what? Two days." Her voice was one of optimism. She gave Pepper a reassuring look that she thought would help in making her feel better. "Things can still be remedied."

Pepper wished she had the same level of optimism as Claire. However, as the days went by without any word from Tony, her optimism began to lower. "I hope so." She faintly replied.

The two women continued to talk with Pepper reminding Claire that Grace and her were going to New York again for the Stark Expo. Apparently Justin Hammer was going to make a presentation and as much as Pepper didn't want to go, she had an obligation as CEO of Stark industries. The thought of Tony being there of course crossed her mind, but with him being completely silent these last couple days, she highly doubted he'd show up.

Claire made sure to personally hand Pepper the homework assignments Grace needed to do before leaving. The redhead already knew Grace would start working on them during the plane ride. The blonde said her goodbyes with Pepper responding with as much enthusiasm as possible. Enthusiasm at the moment was difficult to maintain but she sure tried, especially when speaking with Grace.

Pepper's gaze wandered onto Grace when she walked into the living room. She had to stop herself from crying when seeing the seven year old standing there as she held onto Chorejas. Grace had been carrying the brown plush bunny everywhere with her since the night Tony left. She even slept with the plush bunny, which wasn't unusual but Pepper noticed how tight her grip now was. It was like Grace was afraid her bunny was going to go away...just like her dad.

Pepper pushed away her gloom and forced a smile. "Hey, sweetie." She walked over to her. "Claire said you did a really good job today."

Grace didn't respond to that causing Pepper to look at her with worry. Claire told her she hadn't been as talkative today but with her Grace at least would always respond, even if it was without her usual merriment. But now she was quiet and she wasn't even looking directly at her. "Grace?" She quietly asked as she put a hand on her shoulder.

Grace finally looked at her with despondent dark brown eyes. "Am I going to be permanently living with you now?" She asked in a small voice.

Pepper knew that question was bound to come up. She was surprised it hadn't come up sooner but even though Grace hadn't asked it, she probably was thinking it. And now that the seven year old asked, Pepper was still not ready to answer her just yet.

Since Tony had returned from his kidnapping, he had done the paperwork with making Pepper Grace's legal guardian if anything were to happen to him. However, Tony wasn't dead. He was...well, who knows where he was at the moment. But Pepper didn't want to say either yes or no to Grace's question if she was going to live with her for now on because of the possibility that Tony would come back for her.

Tony had to come back. He couldn't just leave Grace like that. But then she remembered his drunken state and the way he carelessly tore his home with guests and Grace inside.

Pepper was conflicted and because of that she let out a tired smile. "We'll figure all that out later."

That was her answer to Grace and Pepper was relieved that the seven year old didn't question her further. She instead nodded her head before lowering it.

"Why don't you start packing, okay? I'll be there in a minute." Pepper softly told her.

Grace didn't say anything that time, she just turned and left for the bedroom that had sort of become hers. She says sort of because it didn't feel like her real bedroom. Her real bedroom was elsewhere, but since she couldn't go back to her home in Malibu, Pepper had been kind enough to fix the bedroom to her liking. She'd also gone out and bought her a few outfits. Grace had thanked her, and although she appreciated Pepper for everything she was doing, she still deeply missed her dad.

Pepper's smile dropped and a sad expression finally set in when Grace was no longer in the living room with her. She'd seen Grace lower her head, and her not replying just made Pepper even more upset. Her throat was starting to hurt from refusing to cry. She walked over to the kitchen to get a glass of water. After downing the water, she set the empty glass into the sink.

She would have just left the kitchen if it hadn't been for the blue colored paper that stuck out from the trash can. It caught her attention because she recognized it as one of Grace's notebook papers. She had seen the Stark girl writing on that colored paper before. She furrowed her eyebrows wondering what it could be. Curious, Pepper plucked the paper out and smoothed away the wrinkles.

When Pepper finished reading what was on there she had to wipe a couple of tears that fell down her face.

She couldn't hold them in anymore.


Breaking the perimeter was such a cake walk.

Not that Tony thought it would be very difficult for him to break in the first place, but considering it was S.H.I.E.L.D. he was expecting a bit of a challenge. Coulson threatened him by saying he'd taser him if he tried to escape and then watch Supernanny as he drooled on the carpet. Tony found that threat to be amusing and almost made the quip of suggesting to Coulson to watch Kitchen Nightmares instead.

However, Tony kept that comment to himself. But he sure didn't listen. He left his mess of a mansion with no issues whatsoever.

Now that he was out he had only one place in mind. The Stark man knew Pepper at this time of the day would be at Stark Industries, and in order for him to make things right he needed to start with her. Then hopefully once she forgave him, then maybe, just maybe, Grace would too.

He just needed to talk with Pepper first and explain to her as much as he could. Along the drive there he bought strawberries thinking that would foolishly break the iciness that would mostly likely be there when he arrived.

Which he was right about.

The moment the receptionist reluctantly let him inside Pepper's office he felt just how cold it was in there.

Pepper was on a phone call and the only look she was giving him was a fiery one. He could tell the phone call was stressing her out though, and the news station that she had on wasn't helping with that. Tony muted the TV as he sheepishly walked around the office, waiting for Pepper to finish her call.

"Will Tony Stark be there?"

That question had been about if he was going to be at the Stark Expo. Tony looked her way with a hopeful expression. She was still on the phone, but he decided this was his opening to finally start a conversation with her. "Will I?"

Pepper stared at him sternly. "No, he will not." She answered and went on to focus only on her phone call.

"I would like to be." Tony quietly said as he took a seat across from her office table. The box of strawberries was next to him. He waited until Pepper finished her phone call until he spoke again. Thankfully it didn't take too long. "Got a minute?"

Originally Pepper thought that him finally being there was a good thing. That he finally realized his mistake and was trying to make amends...but then she thought about it better. He chose now to come back? Two days later after no communication whatsoever? He couldn't have reached out earlier? Or when Grace was with her? Maybe there was a reason for why he couldn't but she just couldn't accept that at the moment. Also the way he looked so nonchalant on the outside was severely pissing her off.

Pepper's answer was short. "No."

Tony wasn't thrown off by her coldness. "Come on, you just got off the phone. You're fine." When she silently continued to stare at him, he gave her a pleading expression. "Thirty seconds?"

His dark brown eyes reminded Pepper of Grace's and that had her glancing down at her watch. "Twenty-nine, twenty-eight..."

Tony hurriedly went to reply. Unfortunately what he had to say wasn't really put together. He knew what wanted to say but it was all over the place. There was just so much that needed to be talked about. "Okay, Um...I was driving over here, and I thought I was coming to apologize, but I'm not." He inwardly cringed from having said that. He didn't miss the way Pepper's light green eyes hardened when looking at him.

"Oh, you didn't come here to apologize?" The redhead leaned against her chair, her hands folded on her lap.

Tony ignored how much of a huge jerk he sounded...yet again. "Look, that goes without saying, and I'm working on that. But I haven't been entirely upfront with either you or Grace...and I just want to try to make good with both of you." Finally he couldn't handle it anymore and he gestured to the swinging sticks on her desk. They kept slowly moving in a repeated manner and it was getting to him. It actually had been bothering him the moment he first noticed them when entering her office. "Can I move this thing? This is crazy. It's like a Ferris wheel going."

Pepper simply shook her head. "No."

Tony did the next best thing and rolled his chair over to the other side of the desk. He cleared his throat and tried to gather himself again. "Do you know how short life is? And if I never got to express...and by the way this is somewhat revelatory to me. And I don't care..." Once again he put his foot in his mouth.

Pepper raised her eyebrows. "You don't care?"

Tony tried to fix his mistake. "I mean, I care. It would be nice. I'm not expecting you to..." He decided to reword what he was trying to say. "Look, here's what I'm trying to say. I'm just gonna say it."

Pepper jumped right in, no longer able to just listen to whatever he was trying to say to her. "Let me just stop you there, okay." The billionaire shut his mouth knowing it was better for him to let Pepper speak now. "Because if you say 'I' one more time, I'm gonna actually hurl something at your head, I think."

Tony lowered his head but didn't stop Pepper from lecturing him. "I am trying to run a company. Do you have any idea what that entails?"

The Stark man answered this time in a low voice. "Yes."

"People are relying on you to be Iron Man and you've disappeared. Not a call or nothing. Not to me and not even to your own daughter." That made Tony look up again and she immediately saw his crestfallen expression. That, however, didn't stop her from reprimanding him. This was something he needed to hear. "And all I'm doing is putting out your fires and taking the heat for it."

One of the pens that Tony randomly began fidgeting with escaped his hands but Pepper was quick to catch it. She gave him a glare and it had Tony straightening his posture.

Pepper set the pen aside. "I am trying to do my job that you were meant to do." There was silence again and it quickly ended when she noticed the basket of strawberries that were next to him. She now not only felt annoyance but also disappointment because Tony had obviously forgotten something important about her.

"Did you bring me strawberries?" Pepper questioned with a frown.

Tony didn't even nod his head. He just sheepishly stared at her.

Pepper let out a huff. "Did you know there's only one thing on earth that I am allergic to?"

"Allergic to strawberries." Tony mumbled wanting to slam his head onto her desk at his forgetfulness. He felt like an even bigger jerk now at having forgotten something important like that. Of course he tried to make it seem like he knew but he did it in such a lame cringe worthy way. If Grace were there with them she definitely would have looked as displeased as Pepper. "This is progress, Pepper." He gestured to the strawberries and her. "I knew there was a correlation between you and this."

"I need you..." Pepper began to slowly say.

Tony felt some sadness leave him from hearing that. "I need you, too."

...to leave." Pepper finished coldly causing Tony to feel that same sadness return. It hurt even more than before. That, however, didn't mean he was about to give up what he was trying to accomplish by coming here.

"I can't leave, Pepper." Tony shook his head. "I can't leave until I know how Grace is doing. Please, just tell me about her. How is she, really?"

Pepper kept steady eye contact with him. "You really want to know how she's doing?"

Tony let out a sigh. "Yes, I really want to know."

"Fine." Pepper reached for her purse that was under her desk. It didn't take long for her to find what she was looking for. When in hand, Pepper pushed the blue notebook paper to him. "Then read this."

"What's this?" Tony took the paper with furrowed eyebrows.

"It's something your daughter wrote." Pepper told him solemnly. "I found it in the trashcan all crumpled up but it's in her handwriting."

"Grace wrote this?" Tony asked in a low voice. One look at just the first word and he instantly recognized that it was in Grace's handwriting.

Pepper nodded her head. Her light green eyes became almost entirely harsh. "Yes, at my place since you practically destroyed your guys' home."

Tony didn't reply to that, he just kept his head down. He began reading the paper and as he did so he felt so many emotions. The most powerful one being guilt.

A broken promise and not a single goodbye. You left me with tears in my eyes. I called out for you but you ignored me. Within seconds you were gone but the sinking feeling in my stomach didn't go away. I wondered there, and even now, if I am the reason you didn't remain.

Tony almost cried right then and there. What Grace wrote hit him hard. He thought back to when he returned home after being kept as a captive. During their emotional reunion he did promise Grace he wouldn't leave her again.

But he broke that promise.

He abandoned her, and now his daughter thought the worst of him. No, actually, she thought the worst of herself. Because she actually thought she was the reason he left. That was far from the truth. There was a moment of silence, and Tony used that silence to get himself together. The Stark man didn't want his voice wavering from emotion. If his voice wavered then the tears would come. He carefully folded the paper and then put it inside his suit jacket.

His brown eyes connected with Pepper's light green eyes. "Her handwriting is really good." Tony lightly said but immediately backed off from his lighthearted demeanor when he saw the glare Pepper was giving him. She really was upset with him, and he couldn't make an excuse for why she shouldn't. Honestly, he deserved her wrath after the crap he pulled at his birthday party.

"Grace thinks you left because of her."

As much as he wanted to maintain composure he couldn't after she said that. "That's absurd!" He loudly denied. He took a second there to calm down. "Pepper, that's not true. You believe me when I say that. Right?"

Pepper looked more heartbroken than angry now. "I don't know, Tony."

The Stark man had to close his eyes to control the tears that wanted to leave. "Please, you have too." His eyes were closed for a few seconds there and when he finally opened them, Pepper saw how soft they looked. His voice was steady but filled with honest emotion with what he said next. "I love my daughter."

"You had a funny way of showing it the night of your birthday party." Pepper couldn't help but comment bitterly.

"I regret everything that happened that night." Tony hurriedly went on to say. "The drinking and the fighting. I just"

"Just what?" Pepper interrupted in dismay.

Tony was ready to reply but a soft knock followed by a familiar voice caught their attention.

"Ms. Potts?"

Tony had to stop the glare he wanted to let out from seeing Natasha Romanoff enter the office. She obviously was still acting as Natalie Rushman. As much as he wanted to just confront her for who she was, he knew he couldn't.

"Hi, come on in." Pepper gestured for her.

"Wheels up in twenty-five minutes." The dark redhead said as she walked past him to get to her. If there was any shock from seeing Tony, the S.H.I.E.L.D agent sure was hiding it perfectly well. He was supposed to be in his mansion, researching all the stuff Fury had given him about his father. Tony had done that though, and here he was.

Pepper accepted the folder Natalie gave her. "Thank you." She began quickly reading what was inside.

It was then when Tony looked away from Natasha that he finally saw the one person who had been both nervous and beyond happy to see.

His daughter.

Grace was quietly standing next to Happy. Tony almost smiled from just seeing her but what stopped him from smiling was the desolate look she had on. He also saw that she was holding onto that brown plush bunny she loved so much. He noticed how her hold on the bunny tightened when staring at him. The longer she stared at her the more he expected her to say some thing him. But she said nothing. He was beginning to get desperate and would even accept a proper yelling from her...but no. Not a single word came from her.

So he finally spoke first.

Tony began getting up from his seat. "Grace, I―" He immediately shut up when he saw the way Grace took a step back, almost bumping into the suitcases next to Happy. He sat back down, heart shattered. He had a guess as to why Grace had done that. She was scared...she was scared of him. He wanted to weep but instead he took a deep breath.

He wasn't the only one who wanted to cry.

Grace too.

She wanted to cry because her feelings were a mix.

The Stark girl was happy to see her dad. After two days of not hearing from him she was relieved to see he was okay. Only he didn't necessarily look okay. He looked so...exhausted. Like he was sick. Or maybe he was still hungover...Grace knew what that meant and it left an awful feeling in her stomach.

That led to what else she felt. She was not at ease. Like she was scared but not completely. But it wasn't like she felt that way towards her dad specifically. She had never been scared of her dad. Him getting drunk and fighting with Rhodey did make things scary for her, but did that mean she was frightened by the mere sight of him now? No.

Yet she thought back to her hiding under her bed, hugging Chorejas. For a brief moment her Uncle Miguel's face popped into her mind before it went away. That had been strange but Grace's attention was quickly caught by the box of strawberries on the desk.

The Stark girl wrinkled her nose at the sight of the strawberries. Did her dad bring those? That seemed to be the only explanation since Pepper wouldn't buy herself strawberries. She was allergic to them. So why would her dad buy her strawberries anyways? Unless he'd forgotten about the redhead's strawberry allergy. Grace let out a low disappointing sigh. After what happened at this birthday party, the seven year old wouldn't put it past her dad to forget something important like that.

"Anything else, boss?" Happy went on to ask. There was now tension in the room because of the way Grace had reacted to Tony. The adults also didn't miss the way Tony's face fell when Grace took a step back when he tried standing up.

Both Pepper and Tony answered, causing an awkward silence to now linger in the air. That is until Tony broke it with an obvious forced laugh.

"I guess I lost all the kids in the divorce."

Grace's hold on Chorejas tightened. She lowered her eyes. Those two things were noticed right away by both Tony and Happy. Happy gave Grace a pat on the shoulder as a way to comfort her while giving Tony a subtle shake of the head. Tony decided to drop the attempted joke and instead shifted his attention onto Natasha who was still pretending to be Natalie Rushman. He cleared his throat doing his best to not let his irritation slip at the dark red haired woman.

"Are you blending in well here, Natalie?" Tony brought up in a casual tone. "Here in Stark Enterprises?"

Curious now, and no longer letting her sadness get to her at the moment, Grace lifted her gaze. She didn't miss the sharp look Natalie was sending her dad's way. The young Stark girl also became aware of the way her father wasn't the least bit bothered by the dark redhead's staring. Instead he wore a puzzled expression.

"Your name is Natalie, isn't it?"

The way he looked when saying that made Grace frown. She knew that her dad was familiar with the dark redhead. She'd heard him say Natalie's name quite a few times since hiring her. So why suddenly act like he wasn't sure? That certainly was weird.

"I thought you two didn't get along." Tony gestured between Pepper and her.

"No." Pepper calmly denied as she handed Natalie the folder. "That's not so." She added as she stood up, purse in hand.

"It's just me you don't care for." Tony commented aloofly but he didn't miss Pepper's shoulder shrug. That stung more than he wanted to admit to himself. "No? Nothing?" He continued on saying.

Pepper stared at Natalie. "Actually, while you're here, maybe you and Natalie could discuss the matter of the personal belongings."

The darker redhead nodded her head. "Absolutely."

Without sparing him another look, Pepper walked over to Happy and Grace. Pepper put a gentle hand on Grace's shoulder turning her around to face forward. Happy followed them after throwing Tony a nod of the head out of respect. Tony was about to turn around, defeated. But before he did he saw Grace look over her shoulder. Her expression was the same as before but for some reason it gave Tony comfort that she had turned around one more time before leaving the office.

It was like a sign that said: Don't give up.

And he sure wasn't going to.

"I'm surprised you can't keep your mouth shut." Natasha coolly exclaimed, dropping her Natalie Rushman act. She was finally reacting to him being out in the public when he wasn't supposed to be.

Tony turned around the chair to look at her. His expression was now a mixture of wonderment and indignation. "Boy, you're good. You are mind-blowingly duplicitous. How do you do it?" He let out a frustrated huff. "You just tear things...you're a triple impostor! I've never seen anything like you." His voice lowered, and his brown eyes hardened. "Is there anything real about you? Do you even speak Latin?"

Natasha kept her face blank as she smoothly started speaking Latin.

Tony frowned, somewhat shocked that he actually heard her speak Latin. He, however, had no idea what she just said. "Which means? Wait." He hurriedly called out once she was walking towards the door. "What? What did you just say?"

When Natasha turned around the billionaire was able to see a spark of annoyance in those dark green eyes of hers. "It means you can either drive yourself home or I can have you collected. If you don't want to cause a bigger rift between you and your daughter, then I'd go with the first option." She then swiftly faced forward again and exited the office.

Natasha's comment about him causing anymore of rift between him and his daughter had Tony glaring at her but she left so quickly that she hadn't seen it. All he could do was reply in a disgruntled manner.

"You're good!" The billionaire sarcastically shouted. He huffed when he looked back at the basket of strawberries.

Picking them up, Tony walked over to the trash can. He tossed them in but barely any actually made it inside. The mess would have annoyed him but the sight of the 1974 Stark Expo Model that wasn't covered at the corner stood out.

He took the cover off and took a good look at the model. He thought back to what Nick Fury said when he'd been at his home. Fury said Howard had been working on something big, and that Tony was the only one with the means and knowledge to finish what he had started. Tony didn't believe that because he always thought that his father never loved him. Fury didn't think that was true. And the recording of Howard that he saw for himself was proof of that.

"What is and always will be my greatest creation is you."

Tony had barely reacted when he first heard his father say that in the recording he watched. Now...now he felt something. Tony was starting to think that maybe Fury was right...maybe in his own way his father did really love him. That in no way made him forget how his father had a terrible way of showing his so called love for him. He'd been cold and calculating to him growing up. Howard Stark wasn't a warm fuzzy man. His mother had always been the loving one, not his father.

Howard Stark had never been father of the year.

But then again, Tony wasn't either. He'd been a pretty shitty father to Grace on the night of his party.

However, Tony was going to fix that...and ironically enough his father was going to help with that. His father, who he thought for basically his whole life didn't give a rat's ass about him, was now going to help save his life. It was comical that the old Stark Expo model was the missing link he needed.

A small smile appeared on Tony Stark's face. For what felt like the longest time the Stark man was feeling something other than bitterness for his father. It wasn't love exactly but the feeling came pretty close to it...and it was enough for Tony to give thanks to him.