A part 3 to the gala series of prompts!

When Tony's girlfriend had informed him that her dearest friend, Ben Parker, had died, Tony never would have been able to predict the events that would come to pass as a result. Of course, he knew that Pepper and Ben had grown up together, and that Ben had custody of his niece and Pepper's goddaughter, Penelope. He also knew that Pepper had silently enforced a barrier between him and the people in her life who were practically family. And he got it. He had always understood. And he'd looked at the occasional picture on her phone of the growing little girl that she loved so much, and of birthday parties and band recitals and Academic Decathlon practices. He also paid for her to attend Midtown when she got in. Well...he funded an anonymous scholarship for which he chose the winners.

And Penelope had been one of the winners.

When he'd met the girl, he'd been sure that she didn't like him. That she wanted nothing to do with either himself or the Avengers, which was kind of strange considering they were famous and also that Penny seemed to have an interest in science and chemistry and engineering...all of which he was pretty decent with if he did say so himself. Still, he'd tried to remember that she'd just lost her uncle, and that her life had been disrupted in the worst way. And the Avengers had followed suit, giving the girl space but always being friendly.

And then the girl had saved his life. Shoved him out of the way of a man with a knife before begging him not to take her to the hospital...confiding in him that she was Spider-Girl, the spider-themed vigilante from Youtube. And everything had changed for the better.

Pepper had finally agreed to move in with him, uprooting Penny again, but this time she hadn't seemed to mind so much. In fact, she seemed to love life at the tower, hanging out with the Avengers and training and having girls' nights with Wanda and Natasha and Pepper. She joined him in his lab sometimes, pouring over her web fluid and helping him with his suits and the two of them sometimes did experiments together after she finished her homework. Never in his life had he thought about having kids, much less a little girl. Much much less a little girl with spider-powers who swung around the city fighting bad guys in a suit he'd designed for her. But he found that he didn't mind. Not at all. In fact, he loved the kid. Loved hanging out with her and loved seeing her around the tower, doing her homework or watching TV.

And he knew the Avengers liked her too. Training with her and getting to know her...protecting her, it seemed to draw them all together in a way they hadn't ever before. For the first time, they actually started to feel like a family.

Pepper had already adopted Penny. And if Tony had his way, he and Pepper would be married within the next year or so, and then he would see if she wanted him to adopt her too. He had a family. A real family. And day by day, he was starting to realize that he was nothing like his father.

That was why he clocked Harry Osborn staring at Penny the moment the boy laid eyes on her. It was like some kind of weird parental instinct rearing it's useful head, and before Penny had ever seen the boy, Tony had shot him a glance. The boy had been standing at the bar, holding what Tony had to assume was a coke because there was no way his staff would ever give a minor alcohol, but, to Tony's surprise, it hadn't been youthful lust on the boy's face. That, Tony would have had to nip right in the bud.

No. It hadn't been lust. It had been awe. And Tony had known it, because that was the way he'd felt when he'd seen Pepper at that party so many years ago, his eyes tracing her face and her hair and that blue dress. Harry's mouth had gone slack, his fingers so loose around the drink that Tony had wondered if he was going to drop it. And then Steve had walked up and Penny had excused herself to get a drink and Tony hadn't let his attention wander for one second. The laser focus had been worth it, because the moment Penny had approached the boy, he'd taken a sip of his drink, only to spill it all over himself as soon as Penny had spoken to him.

And Tony had felt himself soften.

But just because he understood, and just because he thought Harry Osborn's puppy love was cute, didn't mean he was going to let the two of them go upstairs without any supervision. Sure, Penny was a superhero. And yes, she was stronger than most of the Avengers combined. But she was still his kid. So Tony had taken the elevator up to the penthouse right behind them, only to find Penny trying to the stain out of his shirt, smoothly covering for him, and Harry looking starstruck and a little embarrassed.

He'd left the kids to eat Thai food and to watch TV not long after, checking in with Friday every few minutes to make sure everything was staying innocent. And it had. The two of them had just watched TV and chatted and had eaten their dinner before slipping back down to join the adults. And then Harry had gone home.

Only that wasn't the end of it, because the two of them hadn't stopped texting. And Tony knew this because…

Okay, fine, it was because he'd caught a glimpse of her phone and he'd seen Harry's name and then he'd asked Friday and Friday had hacked into her phone but that had felt like way too big of a breach in privacy so he'd just asked her outright. And then she'd told him that they'd exchanged numbers and kept in touch. Also that they were sending each other TikToks whatever the hell that meant.

(Friday informed him that TikTok was a social media platform full of short videos and that had appeased his worry a little.)

All of that had been a few months ago, and it was time for another Stark Industries Gala, which never failed to make Penny roll his eyes like the teenager she was. "How many galas does your company have to throw a year?" Penny asked as Pepper scrolled through images on her tablet, the two of them working to pick out a dress which was a process Penny seemed to have little patience for.

"Well, we have our annual charity gala, the Christmas gala, the Halloween extravaganza…"

Penny snorted. "You're making that up."

He shrugged, a grin breaking through as he reached out, ruffling her hair. "It could be a real thing. All of our galas are for charity, if that helps."

The girl rolled her eyes again, but seemed appeased, and so Tony decided to push a little. "So...do you think Harry Osborn will be there?"

Without missing a beat, Penny nodded. "Yeah, he said that you invited his dad again, so he's gotta come too. Oh, can we order pizza this time? We were talking about movies and he's never seen Frozen!"

Pepper laughed under her breath and Tony grinned. "So...you and Harry, huh?"

It took the girl a moment to catch on to his tone, and when she did, Penny wrinkled her nose. "We're just friends, Tony," she told him, dismissive and all-knowing as only teenagers could be.

Tony didn't push anymore. Instead, he took a seat at the counter beside Pepper and tried to help them pick out a dress before Pepper shooed him away.

When Penny came into the room in her black dress, Tony forgot about Harry for a moment, and the worry that had been building in his stomach ever since the two of them had started texting. Pepper had laughed a little at his concern when he'd brought it up a few days ago, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Honey, she's sixteen."

"I know but…"

"Tony, I love you, and I know you love Penny, but teenagers date sometimes."

"But...you know how teenage boys are!"

"I do. And I also know how Penny is. And how strong Penny is. And how smart Penny is."

Tony had let it go. And then, watching Penny step into the room, every bit of worry left his mind for just a moment. Because Penny...she was like his daughter. And she was looking up at him, a little shy and a little hopeful, hands clasped in front of her. He loved her so much. So much more than he'd ever thought he was capable of loving a kid that he thought of as his own. Because his father...his father had been a dick. A brilliant man and a shitty father. And as Tony looked at Penny, the girl looking up at him and obviously waiting for his approval, he wondered how his father could have done it. How he could have looked at his own son and...and not felt any of this? Any of this love and fondness and worry and hope?

"So...what do you think? Am I presentable enough for the fifteenth Stark Industries Gala this year?"

Tony chuckled and reached out, pushing some of her curly hair back behind her ear and then resting it on her shoulder. "You look beautiful," he told her softly, and she flushed, a small smile turning the corners of her lips.

"I'm getting a lot of practice playing dress up," she murmured with a shrug. "Since you have one of these every month."

"Then you're welcome," he grinned, putting an arm around her and squeezing her to his side. "So, speaking of playing dress up, how are patrols going?"

"Good. I was giving an old lady directions and she bought me a churro."

"Cool. You've upgraded to tour guide."

She snorted. "How dare you! I'm practically an Avenger!"

"Oh really? Says who?"

"Says...Steve." The way she said it was more of a question,

"He did not."

"He totally could have."

Tony gave her a gentle shove and headed off to change into his own suit. "He did not, and if he did, I'm kicking him off the Avengers."

"Why couldn't I be an Avenger?"

"You're a junior Avenger at best. Friendly neighborhood Spider-kid. Basically our mascot." And he closed the door to his bedroom, shooting Pepper a smile as she shook her head and laughed.

The gala started at seven, and like magnets, Penny and Harry seemed drawn to each other, and Tony tried not to notice. Tried to focus on his own conversations rather than the fact that the girl he thought of as his daughter was wandering upstairs with Harry Osborn, who happened to be the son of one of Tony's least favorite people. But he still checked in with Friday after the two of them stuck upstairs. And had Friday give him regular updates. And checked the video feed from the living room to make sure they were 'leaving room for Jesus,' as one of the chaperones in his boarding school had once put it.

Finally, the gala was coming to an end, and Tony checked the living room feed again, hoping to warn the kids that Harry's dad was going to be looking for him, but the living room was empty. Frowning, he switched the feed to the kitchen, only to find that too was empty. Surely...surely they weren't...in her bedroom. He opened his mouth to ask Friday where she was when he happened to glance over at the elevator...that that's when he spotted them.

Penny and Harry were standing in the corridor, their faces close together as they whispered things Tony couldn't hear. He started to approach...started to tell Harry that his dad was probably looking for him. But that's when Harry took a step forward, a hand cupping Penny's cheek, then pressed his lips to hers.

For a moment, Tony was rooted to the spot, jaw dropping, eyes going wide. Penny, too, seemed rooted to the spot, and Tony was about three seconds from storming over and shoving Harry Osborn away from his daughter when the girl relaxed, her own hand coming up to Harry's shoulder, and Tony took that as his cue to turn away, heading back to the party.

Later that night, the three of them sat on the sofa, Penny and Pepper in pajamas, their feet on the ottoman, Pepper's head on Tony's shoulder, and Penny staring down at her phone rather than the TV. Her phone buzzed in her hand, and she smiled, a flush covering her cheeks before she turned to look at Tony who quickly turned his attention back to the show they had all agreed on. He wanted to ask. He wanted to know that she was really okay with this. That she liked Harry and trusted him, and that Harry treated her right. And that she knew to be careful and that she could always come to him if she needed to.

Instead, he ran his fingers through Pepper's hair, turning and pressing a kiss to her head as she snuggled closer to him. Penny was sixteen. She was the smartest kid he'd ever met. Most importantly, he knew that she could handle herself. And if she needed him, she would come to him. In the meantime, he just wanted to enjoy the family he'd never thought he'd have.

Thank you for reading!