Prompt: Tony playing with baby Penny

Tony raced around the living room, grabbing the glass vase from the glass coffee table and placing it on the high shelf, then, changing his mind, he races back into the room and grabs the glass table, picking it up as best he can and waddling his way into his seldom-used office, places it in the middle of the room where he's sure to bang his shin on it later, then shuts the door firmly behind him.

After going back to the living room, he looked around once more. Were the books too big on the bookshelf? He wondered if he should move them. He had a blanket laid out on the floor, a pile of board books, a stuffed bunny, and a set of wooden blocks all resting on top. The kitchen was filled with kid-friendly snacks and juice, and the nursery was fully set up and stocked and ready for nap time later.

He gave the room one more look. "Jar, am I missing anything?"

"No, sir. You have effectively baby-proofed your living room." Hs AI told him dryly.

"Okay…okay. Good." He said, still not feeling ready.

It's his first solo day with his daughter…not that he hadn't spent time with her in the last week or so since he's found out about her…it turned out Obidiah had kept more than just his company's under-the-table weapons dealing from him. Tony had finally gotten around to going through all his old stuff and had discovered the file…Mary Fitzpatrick. Wondering who that could be, and why her file would be in Obidiah's stuff, he had opened it, only to see the ultrasound. The positive paternity test. And then, finally, the picture.

Penelope Antoinette Parker. Her last name was given by Mary's new husband, Richard Parker. Tony, who now spent his spare hours working on world peace and fighting crime, had been forced to sit down hard in his chair, staring at the photo. Penelope Parker. Penelope Antoinette Parker. Antoinette? Named after him? His daughter? He had a daughter. And as soon as he'd been able, he'd jumped up, not bothering to change as he'd raced to the closest car, not thinking about what he was doing until he was parked in Mary Fitzpatrick…no Mary Parker's driveway. What…what was he doing?

He had a daughter.

He had jumped out of his car, folder in hand, and had headed up the sidewalk to their front door, hesitating before knocking. He had to know…had to speak to her. He thought he could vaguely remember her. Mary Fitzpatrick. Geneticist. Brilliant. Beautiful. The mother of his kid.

The woman that answered the door was vaguely familiar, and as soon as she opened the door, her jaw dropped. Head shaking, she had put up a hand. "I didn't try to contact you. I didn't…"

"Woah, Woah…" He had held up his own hands. "I'm sorry to just show up, but I swear, I just want to talk. Please."

"You…you want to talk? After…after three years?"

"Please. I didn't know. I swear. Not until today."

The woman had pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, eyes narrowing as she'd taken him in. Then her eyes had strayed to the folder, and softened. "Alright, Iron Man. Come in." She'd invited with a wry smile, holding her door open for him to pass.

"My friends just call me Tony." She has given him another somewhat shaky smile, gesturing to the sofa and offering him a beverage that he'd declined.

"I didn't touch the money." She had told him then, unprompted, as she had taken a seat in the chair across from him. "I swear, I didn't touch it."

He had shaken his head. "I swear, Mary, I didn't know anything about this. The man that you talked to…he didn't tell me. I never knew. If I had…I…well, I was kind of a drunk ass so who knows what I would have done. But now…"

"Now you're a superhero."

He had snorted a little. "Now, I…I want to meet her. My daughter. I…I'm not asking for custody rights or anything, I swear. But…if it's okay…"

Mary had given him a warm smile then. "Well, her nap is almost over anyway." She had told him, standing. "I'll be right back."

His hands had been sweating, his whole body vibrating with nerves. A daughter. He had a daughter. And he had been about to meet her…and then, just a few minutes later, Mary had carried her into the room.

The girl had been tiny…smaller than Tony had been expecting. She'd had brown hair cut short with huge brown eyes that had stared at Tony from her mother's arms. She'd been wearing a pair of green overalls with a red shirt, tiny bare feet dangling under Mary's arm. And Tony had felt the entire universe shift.

"Penny, this is Mommy's friend, Tony. Can you say hi?" The toddler has lifted a hesitant hand, bending and unbending her fingers.

"Hi." She'd murmured, then had rested her head on her mom's shoulder.

Tony hadn't been aware of his own tears at first. Hadn't been aware of the one running down his cheek until Penelope…Penny had wriggled a bit in her mom's grip, reaching out to him like she'd wanted him to pick her up. Silently, Mary had placed her on the sofa, and the girl had crawled into his lap, stunning him into immobility.

Then she'd reached up, touching his cheek and patting him clumsily. "Sad?" She'd asked. And he'd put gentle, hesitant arms around her, marveling at how easily she'd fit into them.

"No…no, honey, I'm not sad."

Mary's husband had arrived home not too long after Tony, and, after his initial surprise, he'd been just as warm as Mary, and the two had agreed to let Tony keep Penny for the day the following Saturday. "You're her father, Tony. I want her to know her real father. I think we can work out a custody agreement."

Now Tony stood in his baby proofed living room, surrounded by the new books and toys and hoping that he could do this. Doubting that he could do this. Jarvis informed him that Mary and Penny were on their way up, and he felt like his heart was going to gallop right out of his chest.

What if she got hurt? Or what if he hurt her! What if she didn't want to stay with him? What if she started crying and he didn't know what to do? What if…

The private elevator opened and Mary stepped inside, her own smile a little hesitant as she took in his living room. In her arms, resting her head on Mary's shoulder, was Penny. Today she wore a pair of shorts and an Iron Man shirt, tiny blue shoes swinging a little.

"Hi." Mary shifted the girl a little. On her other shoulder was a large bag. "I brought her a change of clothes and her favorite blanket…um…she takes a nap after lunch." He nodded. Jarvis was taking notes, he was sure, and he had a physical copy of her schedule on the fridge…it was laminated. He had three extra copies in a drawer, and a digital file too. "Are…are you sure? Because I can stay."

"No, that's…I mean…if you're sure…"

She smiled then, giving a nervous laugh. "I was the same way when I dropped her off at daycare for the first time. She was crying for me and I…for a minute, I thought I couldn't do it. But then…then I put her down and they distracted her with a book and she was fine." He smiled too, taking a deep breath and approaching, holding out a hand to Penny.

"Hey, kiddo. How's it going?"

"Hi, other Daddy."

He went still, eyes huge, and he looked over at Mary who looked a little sheepish. "I tried to explain…but all she really seemed to get was that she has two daddies so…" She shrugged and Tony gave a chuckle.

"Right…" He murmured, and then Penny was holding out her arms to him and he was holding her in his arms like he'd been doing it his whole life. She leaned against him, huge brown eyes watching him. "So…where are you guys headed?"

"Richard and I have reservations for dinner. In the meantime, I'm going to take my first nap in three years."

He chuckled. "Alright. Have fun."

"Thank you for watching her…really. You have my number if you need anything?"

He did. He had her number and Richard's and Helen's and the hospital ang 911 and Jarvis had been programmed to watch after Penny every second that she was in the building…that if anything happened that she was now the number one priority.

Mary left them after kissing Penny goodbye, and Tony was ready for her to cry. Ready for her to lose it and beg for her mommy, but the girl just stared at her, eyes huge and brown just like his…she looked like him. He carried her over to the couch, taking a seat and holding her in his arms. It felt…right. Like nothing had ever felt so right before.

The girl was content for a moment, but then she was squirming to get down, and he realized that she'd spotted the blocks. "You want to play?" He asked. She nodded, walking a little unsteadily over to the blocks and the blanket and plopping down, legs outstretched, as she began to build. And for a moment, all he could do was watch her. His daughter. His little girl. "Jar…are you recording this?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good."

He sat down beside her and built with her. She stacked the blocks with a single-minded focus, and when he decided to help, accidentally knocking part of her tower down, he was surprised when she giggled, knocking the rest of it down and flapping her arms in excitement. He had to chuckle…had to. Physically…there was a joy in him that had never been there and it had to come out. "Penny?" He asked after they had played with the blocks for a while. "Do you know who I am?"

"Other Daddy."

And then she was exploring, quickly finding the stuffed rabbit and squeezing it in a tight hug. "That's right." He murmured. "I'm your other Daddy." She sat down beside the books then, opening one and looking at it. He'd managed to find a handful of baby books about science, and a few more that seemed educational enough. At the moment, she was looking at one about colors.

"Blue!" She cried suddenly, pointing to the page, and he crawled over, sitting beside her with his back against the sofa.

"That's right, Pen. Blue." The nickname escaped without him really noticing. "What about this one?"

And, clutching her new stuffed rabbit, the one that she would take home and bring back a dozen times before she was six…the one that would move with her to the tower when her parents' plane went down… the one that Tony would clutch to his chest in her locked bedroom at the lakehouse as he desperately tried to figure out time travel, she named the color of the fire truck.

"Red!"