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Words: 4,420

"What's the plan for today?"

"I don't know." Ada mumbles in response to Peter's question, her eyes lazily tracking his upside-down form from where she lies on his bed, her head hanging over the side.

"It's the weekend," The boy points out information she already knows, picking up a random shirt from his floor. "I was going to the compound but I don't have to, we can just hang out. Or, you could come with me, everyone up there loves you."

"Are you saying you don't love me?" Ada lets her lips curve up - or down? - into a small smile.

Snorting, Peter throws the shirt at her, chuckling when it lands on her head, covering her face. "This better not be dirty." The girl says, lifting the clothing off her face before sitting up, her head spinning.

"Uh, sure," Peter mutters. "But, whatever you wanna do."

"Are you letting me choose out of pity?" It came out like a joke, Ada even smiles when he turns to look at her, but her façade falls quickly. "I'm okay, Peter, really."

Sighing, the boy joins his friend on the bed, falling back and bouncing slightly. "You don't have to be, it's okay if you're not."

"I know." Ada mumbles softly, resting her head on his shoulder. "I just want to forget it ever happened." Peter doesn't think that was the best course of action, but he's not going to say that now. He didn't feel it was the right time. "Anyway, I don't want you to be the reason you don't go to the compound. And it's about time someone really teaches Cap how to play Mario Kart. I think the others let him be bad so they can win easier."

"Probably." Peter says, smiling at his friend. She loves going to the compound, seeing the others. She hit it off with them the first meeting they had. It was like they weren't the avengers, just good friends. Or family, Peter would only admit to himself. Sam, the annoying older brother. Steve, the young yet actually old uncle. Natasha was the cool Aunt. Wanda an older sister. Clint was like a brother, uncle, and father all rolled into one. And so on. Every one of them held an important place. "Happy is picking me up, or us, later."

"If I've ever heard a more ironic name." Ada chuckles as she stands, stretching her arms above her head.

"He's happy on the inside."

"I'm sure." Ada snorts, collecting her clothes from the night before. She'd been in her school uniform. No way she was wearing that to the compound but no way she was going home to change either. Luckily enough, her actual uniform pants - she refused to wear a skirt - had been replaced the day before with dark jeans that could pass if no one looked closely. So, that paired with one of Peter's smaller T-shirts made the perfect casual outfit. "Can I borrow another shirt?"

"Yeah," Peter nods, his back to her so Ada couldn't see the smirk on his face. "I have the perfect one."

Spinning around, Peter holds up the red shirt with a huge, toothy grin. "Really?" Ada asks unimpressed, raising a single brow at the shirt in front of her. "You have your own merch?"

"It was a gift." Peter defends, throwing the Spider-Man shirt at her.

"Whatever." Ada mumbles, not caring in the least. She actually liked the shirt. And may or may not own one similar herself. Peter can't know that though, it would only go to his head.

"Kids, breakfast!" Aunt May calls out, peeking her head into her nephew's room. "And no, I didn't burn it."

"It's a miracle." Peter gasps, dodging whatever it was that May throws at him. "I'm kidding!" He calls after her as she marches down the hall, back into the kitchen.

"You two." Ada shakes her head, unable to withhold the smile from breaking out over her face. She adores Peter and May's relationship, it was amazing, how close they were. It was everything she'd ever wanted with her parents. "Go ahead, I'll join after I've dressed."

"'Kay," Peter nods, hesitating only a moment before leaving his room, shutting the door behind him.

Closing her eyes, Ada sighs now that she's alone. She loves Peter, he's her best friend, but sometimes being along was necessary. "One, two, three..." Blinking rapidly, Ada sheds one T-shirt to replace it with another.

"How do you know? You've never even tried it." Peter is saying to his aunt when Ada emerges from his bedroom.

"I don't need to try it to know it's gross."

"What's gross?" Ada voices her confusion, eyebrows furrowed, gaze moving between both Parkers.

"Peter eats hot sauce on his eggs." The woman explains with a tired gesture towards her nephew.

"He also likes pineapple on his pizza." Ada puts in as she moves to take the food May offers her.

"So do you!" Peter shouts, eyes wide.

"Yes, but this isn't about me." Ada states calmly while taking a seat next to the boy. Both her and May look at him with equally blank expressions before both women burst out laughing, receiving nothing but an annoyed look in return.

"Never should have introduced you two." He mutters before digging into his food.

"You love us." Ada bumps his shoulder with her own when May joins them at the table, smiling fondly at them. Peter grumbles, trying to look angry but can't fight the smile that pulls his lips up. He does love them. How could he not?

"Alright, I'm off to work, Happy will be here soon to pick you guys up." May says as she grabs her jacket and purse. "Behave this weekend. Text me, call me. Whatever."

"Yes, Aunt May." Peter chuckles while rising from his seat to envelop her in a hug. "I'll text you later, have a good day at work, I love you."

"I love you," May pulls back, cupping her nephew's cheek with a smile before turning away. "It was great to see you, Ada, you don't come around enough."

"You too," Ada nods and smiles back. "I'll make more of an effort to come by more."

"We'd love that. I have to be off now."

"Bye," Ada waves to the woman as she exits, blowing out a puff of air once the door closes behind her.

"I'm starting to think she likes you more than me."

"Does May date?" Ada asks, ignoring Peter's statement.

"What? No." The teenager immediately shakes his head, furrowing his brows at the sudden question.

"You sure?"

"Um, pretty sure, why?" Peter hesitates, looking between his friend's thoughtful face and the door his aunt disappeared through.

"Hmm, nothing."

"Your face doesn't say nothing, tell me." Peter demands, nearly frantic. Had he missed something?

"I'm a girl, I notice things." Ada shrugs, resting her chin on her hand supported by her elbow. "Like MJ's crush on you and the slight change in May's expression when she mentioned Happy."

Scoffing, Peter shakes his head. "MJ does not- Happy!?"

Laughing, Ada leans back in her seat at Peter's distressed look. "Oh man, your face."

"This isn't a joke! Are you serious?"

"Relax," Ada motions with her hands for him to settle down. "I'm sure it's nothing. But, does he come over often?"

Peter doesn't answer, instead, his wide eyes look off to the side as if recounting every time Happy Hogan has been in the same room as his Aunt. "Speak of the devil and he shall appear." Ada's voice draws Peter from his thoughts and he catches his phone when she tosses it to him. A message from Happy received only seconds ago lights up his screen.

"Earth to Peter," Waving a hand in front of her friend's face, Ada waits until he looks up before backing off. "Are you okay? I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, it's fine," Peter shakes his head. "We should go, Happy gets grumpy if I make him wait."

"Living up to his name." Ada jokes, smiling in relief when Peter lets out a sincere laugh.

Exiting the apartment, Ada waits in the hallway as Peter locks the door before they both make their way down to the ground floor and out into the early morning air. The sleek black car is parked only a few feet away and the teenagers easily approach before sliding into the back seat.

"Hey, Happy, mind if I tag along today?" Ada asks the man before any other greeting could take place. She leans forward into the front of the car, sending the man her best smile.

"Sure, kid," Happy grumbles, motioning for her to sit properly before putting the car in drive.

"I think he likes me." Ada whispers to Peter, breaking out into a laugh at the expression on Peter's face.

The divider goes up halfway through the ride but neither teen pays it much mind as they talk between themselves. When the car rolls to a stop outside the compound, Peter rushes from the car first but waits for Ada to join his side.

"Uh, b-bye, Happy." He waves to the man awkwardly before turning away.

"What's wrong with him?" The man asks the other teenager with furrowed brows.

"Oh, nothing." She sighs with a casual shrug. "He just finally noticed whatever thing you and May got going on." Ignoring the man's sudden spluttering noises, Ada grins big and follows behind Peter. "Bye, Happy! Thanks for the ride!"

Rushing to catch up, Ada lets out a deep breath when she reaches Peter's side. "Geeze, you acted like the car was on fire."

"Sorry, just..." Peter sighs with a shake of his head. "If you're right, well, it's weird."

"Why? Because May is possibly dating again or because it's Happy?" Ada questions as they enter the building. "Do you have something against him?"

"No!" Peter is quick to say, lowering his voice with a wince when it comes out louder than he'd meant. "No, I love Happy, it's just..."

"Nah, I get it. She may be your Aunt but she raised you so she's basically your mother. Her dating is bound to be weird. But she might not be, I could've been seeing things."

"Maybe," Peter's shoulders drop but he doesn't say anything else on the matter when they enter the Avengers common area.

"Mr. Parker," Tony suddenly appears next to them, causing Ada to blink. "And company."

"Sorry, I hope it's okay."

"All's fine, kid." Mr. Stark nods with a smile. "You're always welcome."

"But, I do need to barrow Peter for a bit, just boring science stuff. Feel free to join or go hang out with those freeloaders," Tony gestures behind him into the other room where he knows the others are. "We'll only be a bit."

"I think I'll go say hey," Ada smiles with a small step back towards the others. "Have fun, nerds."

Laughing at Tony's narrowed eyes, Ada watches them leave before calmly walking into the other room behind the others. Wanda is the first to see her, sitting on the love seat next to Vision. Fitting, Ada thinks as she smiles and waves to the other girl.

Smirking, the teen walks up behind the couch and cocks her head to the side. "Do you guys do anything else?"

Sam flinches but covers it up well while Steve only chuckles. "How long have you been there?"

"Not long," Ada answer's Sam's question while circling around the couch, plopping down between both men. "Thought I'd stop by, show Cap how you're supposed to play video games."

"Why would you do that?" Sam asks while Steve looks between the controller in his hand and the teenager next to him.

"Pity," Ada shrugs. "I can't watch him suffer anymore."

"I'm not that bad." Steve whispers, more to himself than the others.

Ada smiles fondly at him before holding her hand out for his remote. "No, but you could be so much better."

True to her word, Ada does her best to teach Steve the art of playing video games. She shows him all the best tips and tricks she knows and, much to Sam's annoyance, he improves. With more practice, he'll be beating everyone in Mario Kart in no time.

Wanda and Vision disappear at one point, politely excusing themselves from the living space. Not that Ada blames them, Sam and Steve could be loud when competing. Okay, she could too, so what?

When questioned, Sam informs the teenager that Clint and Natasha aren't around. He doesn't say where they are and Ada doesn't ask. She assumes they have some kind of a life outside the compound and they're both entitled to their privacy.

The night before was nearly forgotten between all their laughter until it's cut short.

Mr. Stark enters the room, a soft smile on his face as he watches them before he announces his presents. "You guys haven't moved, have you?" He points between Steve and Sam with raised eyebrows and both men give a small shrug. "Whatever, scram, I need to talk to the kid for a minute."

"Chop, chop," Tony claps his hands, motioning for them to move when they don't, shoving them away impatiently.

Ada looks on confused for a moment, watching as Steve and Sam stand from the couch and leave the room. Her eyes shift from their retreating forms and land on Peter who stands in the doorway.

She catches his eye and he gives her a sheepish look, opening his mouth only to close it, his eyes apologetic. Realization dawns on the teen as Tony sits across from her on the coffee table. She wants to be mad at Peter, she even feels a little anger start to rise inside her, but it's easily squashed when she meets Mr. Stark's gaze.

"It's fine." She whispers before he can speak, clearing her throat as a weight settles in her stomach.

"No, honey, it's not." His voice is soft, comforting. Ada isn't sure she's ever heard him talk like that before. It makes her feel better and worse all at the same time.

Shame causes heat to rise in her cheeks and Ada ducks her head, grinding her teeth together as she picks at her nails. "It's not a big deal." She's not sure if he heard her. She could barely hear her own voice. But the knot in her throat prevents her from speaking any louder without breaking.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Tony asks gently, ducking his head to try and meet her eyes.

"He found out..." Ada continues to whispers, head hanging low. "About me getting arrested. And I skipped school." Pausing, Ada forces herself to swallow and take a deep breath but it does nothing to fight off the stinging in her eyes. "He got mad. We fought. It just, it just ha-happened."

Hot tears spill from her eyes and fall down her cheeks. Ada brings her hands up to quickly wipe them away, only for them to be replaced by more only seconds later. The couch shifts when Tony sits next to her. He lifts his hand to hesitantly place on her shoulder, giving her the chance to move away if she wants. Only she doesn't. As soon as his hand touches the soft fabric of her hoodie, Ada turns to him, burying her head in his chest.

Surprise shows on Tony's face before he schools his features, even if there's no one else around to see him. He wraps his arms around the girl, equally surprised at how natural the action feels. He can hear Rhodey in his head making bad dad jokes.

Ada's face hides in the crook of his neck and Tony rests his chin atop her head and pets her hair. He doesn't remember when he started doing that. "You know this isn't your fault, right? He never should have done that."

Pulling back, Ada sniffs and wipes her face. "Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for." Mr. Stark tells her, wiping a stray tear away with the pad of his thumb. When did he become so soft? A voice in the back of his mind questions but Tony pushes it back down. "Has he ever done that before?"

Shaking her head frantically, Ada still doesn't lookup. Instead, her eyes stayed glued to where her hands hold onto one of his, her fingertips tracing the small scars and calluses she finds there.

"Ada,"

"He hasn't," Blue eyes meet brown when Ada finally looks up. She still has his hand clasped tightly in hers but the tears are no longer there. "He hasn't, it just..."

"Happened." Mr. Stark finishes for her, letting out a sigh when she nods. "Oh, kid..." Trailing off, Tony drops his head and shakes it. "Peter is staying over this weekend. You can too if you want. I think that might be good."

Ada goes to shake her head, she wants to. Wants to say no. She hates this. She doesn't want things to be different. Doesn't want him to look at her like she's a small child who can't take care of herself. But the thought of going home makes the weight in her stomach multiply and so she nods.

"Okay," Tony sighs again, running his hand over the top of her head one more time before bringing it back to himself. "How about you guys get something for lunch, you know how Pete gets when he doesn't eat." Ada gives a wet laugh at his words, nodding her head in agreement. "I have a few errands to run, but I'll be back later. Watch him for me, I swear he's six and not sixteen sometimes."

"I make no promises."

"Well, that doesn't exactly instill me with confidence." Tony mumbles but smiles anyway, ruffling her hair before standing.

"Mr. Stark," Ada jumps to her feet, waiting until the man turns back to her before lunging forward to wrap her arms around him. He returns the gesture quickly. "Thanks."

"No problem, kid." Tightening his hold just a little, Tony takes a deep breath before letting the teenager go, sending her a tight-lipped smile before turning away once more. He wants to stay, but what he has to do can't wait.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to tell him, it just...came out." Peter's voice has Ada turning her head to see the boy approaching. He'd disappeared while Mr. Stark was talking to her.

"It's fine," Ada mumbles. She tries to send him a smile but she's not sure how successful she is. "We should...lunch. Make lunch."

"Yeah, okay," Peter nods and follows behind her into the kitchen. He feels bad about telling Mr. Stark but he knows he'd feel worse if he hadn't said anything. And like he stated earlier, it just slipped out.

Ada goes about pulling sandwich supplies out and placing them on the counter silently. Peter hovers but doesn't move to help. And for the second time that day, his words escape his mouth before he can stop them. "Are you mad at me?"

Pausing, Ada turns to her friend. He's standing rigidly and wringing his hands together, his face like that of a kicked puppy. "No," Ada answers softly with a shake of her head. "I was, for about five seconds, but not anymore." He was just being a good friend, she would've done the same in a heartbeat if she was in his situation.

"Okay, good." Peter lets out a sigh of relief so big it has Ada chuckling.

"Now, get over here and help me, I'm not making your food for you."

Something had been off about Peter, Tony could tell as soon as they were alone in the lab. He wasn't hurt, he knew that much. It was like he wanted to say something but was fighting with himself. Struggling to figure out if he should or not.

So when the billionaire finally questioned the kid, the words just spilled past his lips.

Tony's entire body had frozen, like someone dumping a bucket of ice water over him. He had thought for a moment that he'd misheard the teenager, the words having escaped in such a rush. "Ada's dad hit her."

Four simple words. Tony had Peter repeat himself. Then he said the words back to the boy, making him confirm for a third time that he was understanding correctly. Then Peter had recounted her words, that is was only a slap, that it had never happened before. That she didn't want him to tell anyone.

Peter had to block the door, preventing him from rushing out and doing...something. He got him to calm down enough for him to think a little more clearly. No one touches h̶i̶s̶ these kids. No one should ever lay a hand on any child in that way. Especially not their own parents.

Once he wasn't at risk of murdering anyone, Tony had gathered his thoughts before heading towards the common room. He needed to talk to her, he knew that much. He could take care of everything else after.

Ada saying it was fine hurt his heart. Then her tears broke it.

After leaving both teenagers, Tony makes his way to a car while texting Pepper. He'd told her what happened and she was able to steer him away from committing homicide and then talked him down from physical harm. Because he'd definitely thought about it.

The ride into the city was longer than he would've liked. But that was probably a good thing. When the car first started, his knuckles had been white from his strong grip on the steering wheel. When he pulls to a stop in front of the apartment complex, they're much more relaxed. Though, Tony is great at pretending to be something he's not.

It isn't hard to find the right floor and apartment number. A phone call placed on the way over confirmed than Nathan was not at his office, that didn't leave many other places.

He knocks twice, strong and loud before he steps back and waits.

The door opens under thirty seconds later. It's rushed, causing a small gush of air to fan out through the hall.

Nathan Tinnez stands before him, looking more disheveled than Tony has ever seen.

"May I come in?" Tony asks, pushing past the man before he can answer. "Nice place," He comments casually while Nathan watches with confusion. "A little cold for my taste, but, eh..."

"Uh, wha-" Nathan shakes his head and rubs his eyes as if the man in front of him was nothing more than a hallucination. "Stark?"

"That is my name." Tony nods, clasping his hands together behind his back tightly. "Oh, you're wondering why I'm here." He says as if he was just figuring it out. "Right, right, I suppose you would." Turning away, Tony lets his eyes roam around the apartment once more. If he didn't know any better, he'd say no one lived there. It looked like a picture from a magazine. Not homely at all.

"You know," Spinning on his heel, Tony looks up at Nathan. The man is taller than him, muscular. Someone most people smaller than him would be easily intimidated by. But not Tony. "It amazes me, baffles me really, which isn't an easy thing to do, how someone like you, can have a daughter like Ada."

Surprise registers on Nathan's face, his eyebrows furrowing as his mouth opens, but Tony doesn't let him speak. "I mean, I try not to judge people, especially when I don't know them. But I do know you. I know people like you. And I just don't know how someone like that can have a daughter as amazing as yours."

"Really, she's so unlike you. Kind, compassionate. She's everything you're not."

"Where is she?" Nathan finally speaks, his eyes narrowed at the billionaire in front of him.

"I'm not done." Tony steps up, voice strong and unwavering. "I've met some really shitty people in my life and I have to say, you've made it to the top of the list."

Nathan's jaw clenches. He's seemed to resign himself to listen and Tony smirks. "I'm not going to lie, I played this conversation out in my head a few times on the way over and none of those times ended well for you. But luckily, for you at least, I know people who are much more level headed than I am. But don't misunderstand me," Lowering his voice dangerously, Tony takes another step closer to Nathan and looks the man in the eye. "If you ever lay a hand on your daughter again, I will know, and trust me when I say, you will not like what happens."

Nathan closes his eyes and purses his lips. He almost looks sad but Tony doesn't feel bad for him. "And it's not just me you have to worry about. The Avengers, I'm sure you've heard of them, well, they don't take to kindly to people who hurt kids. Especially ones they know."

"I-" Nathan sighs and shakes his head. The words were like lead in his mouth. "Is she okay?" He decides to say, shoulders dropping in defeat.

"What do you think?"

"I didn't mea-" Nathan cuts himself off with a frustrated groan. "I love my daughter."

"You got a funny way of showing it." Tony glares, voice unrelenting.

"What now?" Nathan asks, throwing his arms out to the side in question.

Gritting his teeth, Tony struggles to say his next words. "She'll come back, if she wants." If not, he'd figure something else out. "When she's ready. But if you even look at her wrong, I'll make sure you rot in some hole and you'll never see your daughter again."

Tony would be lying if he said he wasn't a little surprised when Nathan only nods, accepting all that he was saying. He did feel bad for what he did, Tony would be blind not to see that. But that doesn't change what he did nor does it change how Tony feels towards him.

"I'm going to walk out that door before I do something we'll both regret." Tony points to the door and slowly makes his way over. He opens it calmly before letting it shut with a soft click behind him.

There was so much more he wanted to say, wanted to do. But he can't. He's got two kids to get back to.

I love soft/dad Tony. It's great.

I'm excited for things to come, I hope you guys are too.

I'd love to know what you thought of this chaprer.

'-'