A/N: Hey guys, here is the next chapter, and I promise the movie is coming soon. One more chapter to go after this.
"Have you taken your meds?" Tony asked, watching as Ruby gathered her things together.
"Yes."
"And you have your phone, right?" He didn't take his eye off her as she picked up her phone and waved it at him. "Do you need any money?"
Ruby finally let out a sigh. "Stop with the fussing already. You saw me take my meds this morning, and even if I didn't have my phone, SWAIN is always with me." She said, pointing to the bud in her ear. "And I do have my own money, oddly enough after my mother died, I got half of my savings released to me. I get the rest when I turn 18. Then another account when I'm 21." She told him. Before covering her mouth with her hand. Tony really didn't need to know that, she had just spilled a little too much information.
He eyes her suspiciously. "And where was this savings account when you were working yourself to death looking after your mother?" Tony asked her, frowning at her.
"I'm not in control of it, the only reason I got half was because mom put it in her will to let me have it. I can't touch it at all." She told him trying her best to cover up her little slip.
For a moment she didn't think Tony was going to accept it, but he nodded. "Okay, well I want to see this will. And as your father, I think I should be the one taking care of your money, don't you?"
Ruby groaned. "Fine. I'll contact the lawyers and get him to call you to sort it all out. Now, can I please go? Liam is waiting for me." She said, giving him her best puppy dog eyes and pout.
"Sure." He said, giving her his winning smile. "But if there is a whiff of trouble…"
"Call you and call Happy. Yes, I know. Look, you really need to stop worrying so much, Tony. I'm only going to meet some friends for coffee, and Liam is going to be there as well, like you wanted." She told him, really just wanting to get out of the mansion and have a little free time to do what she wanted. "And you know how well I can handle the press."
He gave his daughter a firm look. "I know, and that's what worries me. I want you back here no later than eight. Understood?"
"Sir, yes, sir." She said, trying to stay serious as she saluted him. "Now can I go?"
The smile returned to his face. "Go on, and behave. I don't want Liam coming back and telling me all the trouble that you have been causing. If he does, I might just have to rethink letting you out of your grounding." Tony warned her. He had decided that keeping her locked up in the mansion wasn't doing her much good, and that she really did need to get out. So he ungrounded her, just like she knew he would.
"I'll try to behave. But you know what? It's hard to do that when I'm hanging with Tasha and Robin." Ruby told him, a smirk on her face as they walked down to the garage. "Those two can be a really bad influence."
"If anything, I think it's you who's the bad influence." Tony told her, tossing a set of keys over to Liam. "Look after my girls, Mr Roberts. I want both of them home before eight."
There was a smile on Liam's face as he caught the keys, while standing next to one of Tony's Audi's. "Will do, Mr Stark. Come on then Ruby, we're going to be late."
"All right, I'm coming." She said, rolling her eyes before turning to face her father. "We'll see you later. And thanks, for letting me go out." Ruby was feeling a little awkward. After the moment they shared a few nights back, they had fallen straight back into how things were. They hadn't grown any closer, and she still wasn't calling him dad.
"No problem, Ruby. Now get going before I change my mind." Ruby didn't hesitate and charged over to the car that Liam was now in. He started up the engine and they whizzed out of the garage, leaving Tony standing there, alone in his mansion for the first time in a few weeks.
"Hey, JARVIS?" He called, heading over to his desk.
"Yes, sir?" Came the reply of the British AI.
"Have all the parts arrived yet?" Tony asked, looking through the list of things he had ordered before Ruby had ended up in hospital.
"One of the main components is not yet here, sir. It is being specially made and they estimate delivery in 2 weeks."
He let out a groan, he was hoping it would all be there by now so that they could get started with it. "Contact them, tell them if they can get it done and here within the next few days, I'll pay them double, or triple."
"Of course, sir. Will there be anything else?" The AI asked him.
"Keep an update on Ruby with SWAIN. Just to, you know, make sure she is okay." It really was weird for him, not having her around. And she had only been gone for five minutes.
"Yes, sir." Tony nodded and headed back upstairs. There wasn't much he could do without everything there, so maybe he could do something else for his daughter instead. He needed to keep himself busy and distracted, or he might just follow Ruby, and he knew that she would not be happy with him if he did that.
While he was thinking of things to do for Ruby, she was sitting quietly in the car with Liam driving. "What you thinking there, Ruby?" Liam asked, noticing how quiet she was.
"Huh? Oh, nothing much." She said, looking back out of the window and watching the world pass by.
"Nothing much? I don't believe that for a second." Liam told her. He knew her better than that, and he knew something was up.
She let out a sigh before looking at him. "I let slip about the savings accounts today." She said, making Liam glance at her out of the corner of his eyes, while still focusing on the road ahead. "He wants to see the will and take control of the accounts until I'm old enough."
"And you really don't want him to do that, do you?"
She shook her head. "No. I'm going to have to talk to Tasha, see if she can sort something out. I don't want him to find out about my past, he wasn't around then so it doesn't really matter."
"Ruby, he's going to find out sooner or later, you do know that right?" She knew he was probably right, but she was going to try her hardest to keep it a secret, to keep the past where it belonged, in the past.
"Not right now, he isn't. Anyway, put your foot down, Liam. I know this car can go much faster, and we're late." They were running slightly behind, and she knew Tasha and Robin wouldn't really be that happy about it.
Liam rolled his eyes at her. "As you command." He said, before putting his foot down a little more and picking up speed.
A short while later, and they had arrived at their destination, a nice little coffee house that was pretty far out of the way. The moment Ruby stepped out of the car, she saw the two people she had been so desperate to see, sitting outside looking rather relaxed.
A smile spread across her face as she bolted over to the pair of them. As soon as the red haired woman saw her, she stood up, ready to greet her. "Tasha!" Ruby called, only stopping when she ran straight into the woman's arms.
"Hey, Ruby." Tasha said, chuckling a little at the way she had been pounced on.
"What am I, invisible?" The dirty blonde haired man standing next to her said with a frown on his face.
Tasha let her go and Ruby threw herself at him instead. "You wish you were, Robin Hood." She mumbled to him, holding onto him for dear life. It had been too long since she had last seen the pair, and she didn't know how long it was going to be till she saw them next after this. She was going to make the most of it.
"Ruby, try not to hug them to death." Liam called as he strolled over.
Reluctantly she let go of her other friend and turned to face Liam. "You're just jealous because I don't hug you like that."
He rolled his eyes at her. "No, Ruby, I'm really not." He said, before looking at Tasha. "Natasha, nice to see you when you're not on duty, for once." He said, giving her a brief hug. They knew each other, but they weren't as close as Ruby was with them all. They only knew each other because of Ruby.
"It makes a nice change, being here and seeing Ruby without being on assignment." She told him, giving him a slight smile.
Liam turned to see that Ruby had finally let the man go. "Clint, good to see you as well." He said, before they both shook hands tightly.
"You too, Liam. I take it you've had your hands full keeping this one out of trouble?" He asked.
"Oi, I do not keep getting into trouble, Robin. Well, not anymore." Ruby protested to the man.
He just smirked at her. "Yes, you do. And stop calling me Robin Hood all the time. That is not my name."
Ruby just stood there, the expression on her face unreadable. "Yes it is. Did you not know? I changed your name. Hawkeye is now Robin Hood. You can check the SHIELD database if you want."
Natasha let out a groan. "Ruby, please tell me you haven't been hacking into SHIELD. Again."
"What?" She asked, pretending to be innocent. "I had to if I wanted to see you guys. All the pestering Nicky worked, didn't it? You're here, aren't you?" She had a valid point there. If she hadn't kept pushing, who knows how long it would have taken for Fury to finally give them the time to go and see her.
"One day, Fury is going to have your ass back on base. And he will keep you there." Clint, or Robin, warned her.
Ruby simply rolled her eyes as she sat down at the table. "I know, he's already given me hell for what happened at the press conference." She told them. "Seriously, it was not my fault. I didn't plan on it happening, it just did and he thinks I done it on purpose, called it a little stunt."
The trio chuckled at her at they all sat down with her. "And how are you doing now?" Natasha asked her, a slight hint of concern in her voice.
Ruby shrugged. "I'm okay. Still in pain and can't really do too much, but at least Tony is letting me out. Except I have to be chaperoned." She nodded to Liam. "I'm just glad it was Liam and not his bodyguard or something."
"You getting along with daddy?" Clint asked her, teasing her a little.
"I suppose. Oh, but I need you guys to do me a favour. I let slip about the money. He wants to see the will and take control of the accounts. You guys mind getting that sorted for me? I very much doubt Captain grumpy pants will be too happy to hear from me again any time soon."
Once again the trio laughed. "Sure, I'll get that sorted for you, Ruby." Natasha told her, making a mental note of it. "Anything else you need from us?"
"A good kick up the backside, perhaps?" Clint suggested. Ever since meeting the teen, when she was younger, he had always threatened to keep her in line. The only problem was, she had him wrapped around her little finger, and he always caved in. Both Natasha and Clint saw her as their annoying little sister, but they wouldn't want it any other way.
"You're so funny, Robin." She said, glaring at him. "No, that was the only thing."
Natasha's face quickly turned serious. "Ruby, are you sure everything is okay?" She knew her better than most people, and she was very good at reading people as well. She could just tell that there was something else bothering her.
Ruby just looked at the three people sitting there with her. They knew her too well to believe her when she said everything was totally and utterly fine. "I just fell so… lost." She told them, her voice almost a whisper. "I know Tony is my father and that he is trying his best and everything, but my life is just so different now. I'm having trouble adjusting to it."
"That's understandable, it's a big thing that's happened." Clint told her, knowing that she was struggling. "And I know everyone has already said it, but I'll say it again. It's going to take time, Ruby, but it will get better."
She let out a sigh, yes people had been saying that, and yes she was sick of hearing it. "Can't I just come back with you guys? It would keep Nicky happy, knowing he had the power to keep me locked up and out of sight."
"Ruby." Natasha hissed. "None of us want you back on the base and locked up. You know that. You're not the little kid you were when we first met you. You've grown up and do not need keeping on a leash." She told her firmly. "We are looking out for you, as friends. Not because we have to, because it's our mission or assignment, but because we want to. You're our friend, Ruby, we want to protect you."
"I know. Sorry." She whispered, hanging her head a little. She should have known better than to say something like that in front of Tasha.
"Just remember, Ruby, the three of us sitting here right now, we all just want to look after you. Tony Stark my be your father, but you're still part of our family as well." Natasha told her, resting her hand on her arm.
Ruby smirked at her. "A family of assassins, spies, and a… doctor." She said, before shaking her head. "Nope, sorry, Liam. You got to change professions. Being a doctor just doesn't cut it in this family." Everyone broke out in laughter, including Ruby. But she soon stopped when he side began to hurt a little.
"You wouldn't be a very good assassin or spy at the moment, Red Cobra." Liam told her. "Not the state you're in."
She let out a groan. "Okay, who told him?"
Straight away Natasha glared at Clint. There was no way it was her who had given away what Ruby's codename was. "What?" The man said, trying to feign innocence. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"
Ruby's glare hardened. "Just be glad that I'm not on top form, Robin Hood. Otherwise I would seriously take you down right now."
"Allow me the pleasure of doing that for you when we get back to base." Natasha said, clearly not happy with Clint either for what he had done.
"Oh, come on. He was bound to find out sooner or later." He tried to protest.
"That is in my past, Barton." Ruby hissed at him. "A past that we all know I am trying to forget. Call me that again, and I swear to God I will not leave you alive."
He put his hands up in surrender. Clint knew that she did not make empty threats, and he knew that he had crossed the line. "Okay, that was wrong of me. I'm sorry, okay? Now, can we get back to enjoying the rest of the day? I thought you wanted to see us, not fight with us?"
Slowly her scowl faded and was replaced with a smile. She had scared him, and gotten him to apologies, and that was good enough for her. Not many people could even scare him, let alone get him to admit that he was wrong and to say that he was sorry. She really did have him wrapped around her finger.
A few hours later, they were sitting on the beach, having moved their from the coffee house some time ago. "So, what's it really like living in Malibu?" Natasha asked her as that looked out over the ocean.
"It's okay, I suppose. A little scary living in a mansion that is pretty much hanging onto a cliff." She said, making both Natasha and Clint chuckle slightly. "But I guess it isn't too bad. We're close enough to Stark Industries, but out from the city. The press leave us alone when we are at home, not that I've really had much of a chance to get out unless I'm with Tony."
"And how are things really going with him?" Clint asked her.
"Not too bad. It's… difficult. I'm living with a man who I hardly even know apart from what I've read up about him. I know he has been trying to make an effort, but apparently I'm being a little brat." She said, glancing over at Natasha. The red haired woman just looked back at her, a very hard look on her face.
"You're keeping your defences up." Clint said, ignoring the looks that the two ladies were sharing. "It's natural. But sooner or later, you're going to have to take them down. He isn't out to hurt you, he's just trying to do what he thinks is right. You got to remember that this is all new to him as well, Ruby."
"I know. But it's hard. It was always just mom and me, but now…" Her head was starting to reel. She was glad she was able to talk to her friends, to be honest with them about how she was, but she already knew everything that they were going to say. And it would all be true as well.
Clint just looked over and smiled at her a little. "Now you have a father. Give him a chance, Ruby. Break down those walls, one at a time. Find something you can both do together that isn't working for his company."
"Yeah, okay." She whispered. What she really missed, more than anything, was some female company. That was why she had been so desperate to see Tasha, to have another girl around to talk to.
Natasha tilted her head as she looked at Ruby. She was pretty sure she could see her eyes glazing over with tears. "Ruby, what else is it?" She asked her softly.
"I miss having female company, someone to go shopping with, and stuff. I don't have that anymore." She admitted. That had been bothering her so much, that there wasn't another woman around for her to talk to.
Liam frowned at her. "What about Pepper?" He asked, sounding slightly confused.
"She hasn't been around much. And beside, she works for Tony."
"Well, maybe you could try to talk Tony into letting you spend a little time with her. Shadow her, tell him you want to find out more about how the company works. She pretty much runs it anyway." Liam told her, knowing that he was right. Pepper didn't pretty much run the company most of the time, he had seen it for himself while he had been there.
"Liam Roberts, we might make an agent out of you yet." Clint said, before he started laughing.
His laughter was cut short when Natasha's phone started ringing. "Romanoff." She said, going straight into agent mode. "When?" She asked the other person. "We're on our way." Natasha said, before ending the call.
"Work?" Ruby said, feeling a little deflated. She had enjoyed spending time with them both, but now it was over. She knew they were going to have to go back to work now, and she didn't know when she was going to see them again.
Natasha nodded at her. "Director Fury needs us back at base now." She said, glancing over to Clint. "But he also said that if you behave and keep out of trouble, we can do this again."
Ruby just looked at her, not really believe a word she said. "Of course he did. And a flying pig brought me some bacon this morning. It's fine, you two have serious work to get back it."
"And we should be heading back as well, Ruby." Liam told her, realising the time. "I have to get you back by eight, or Tony will kill me."
The four of them said their goodbyes, and the two agents promised to see Ruby again soon. They knew that she needed some support, that she needed people to be there for her, but with their line of work, that was always difficult.
"And you promise not to get into trouble just so that you can see us?" Natasha said, giving her one last hug.
"I promise, Tasha. Keep in touch, okay? Don't make me hack into SHIELD some more." Ruby said, letting the woman go.
"Come on, Ruby, time to go." Liam said. Reluctantly she waved goodbye to her friends and made her way back to the car with Liam. "You okay?" He asked her, as they buckled up in the car.
She nodded at him, before letting her gaze fall on the scene outside of the window. She knew that it was going to be months before she saw either of them again, and she really could do with some female company more often. So she thought about what Liam had said, about trying to make friends with Pepper Potts. It wasn't that bad of an idea, and it could actually work. That was going to be her next goal, to try to get along with Pepper.
She was still in a world of her own when they arrived back at the mansion. Ruby didn't even noticed that Liam had gotten out of the car and left her sitting there on her own.
"Hey, everything okay, honey?" Tony asked, opening the door and startling her a little.
She quickly pulled herself together. "Uh, yeah, fine. Sorry. We're not late are we?"
He shook his head at her. "Nope, you had ten minutes to spare. You sure everything is okay?" He asked her once more. Tony was worried, she was in her own little world, and he didn't like that.
"Yeah, I just realised how much I missed my friends today, that's all. They ended up getting called back into work, so they had to go." She told him, finally unbuckling the seatbelt and getting out of the car.
"Well, next time they're free, you can bring them round here. Be nice to meet some more of your friends." Tony told her, walking up the stairs from the garage with her.
Ruby knew that she couldn't bring them there, she couldn't let Tony know who they really were. "Uh, yeah. That… that sounds good." She said, a little nervously. "I, uh, I think I'm gonna head to bed. It's been a long day, and I'm tired."
Tony frowned at her. He was hoping to at least spend a little time with her before she went to bed. "When was the last time you had something to eat?" He asked her, trying to find a reason to keep her with him for a little while longer.
"A few hours ago. Liam made sure I had something to eat while we were out." Ruby told him.
He nodded, glad that Liam was looking out for her. "And what about your meds? Don't you need to be taking them as well?"
She let out a sigh. "Yeah, I guess I do."
"Come on then. Take your meds, watch a bit of TV and then you can go to bed." He said, trying his hardest to keep a happy smile on his face.
"Okay." She whispered, following him to the living area. He disappeared into the kitchen and returned a few moments later with a glass of water and her tables. "Thanks." She mumbled to him, before throwing the tables down her throat and washing it away with the water.
"So, did you have a good time today?" He asked, sitting down beside her and trying to make conversation.
"Yeah, it was nice to see them. Catch up on what had been happening. They travel a lot for work, so they get to tell me about all the places they have been." She told him, tossing her head back and staring at the ceiling.
"Sounds interesting."
"It is. They get to go to so many places. Farthest I've been is, well, here." She told him. "I spent all my life in Denver." She lied. Of course she had been to other places, she had been to quite a few places, but he didn't need to know about that.
That gave Tony a brilliant idea. "So, if you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?" He asked, taking her slightly by surprise.
She shrugged a little. "I don't know. Anywhere new, really. I'd love to go to the mountains, to see all that snow everywhere." That was one thing she really loved, snow. She didn't care how cold it was, she thought it was beautiful.
"You've never been skiing then?" Tony asked her, resulting in her shaking her head. "Well then, maybe we should take a little break. I've got a place up in the mountains, some nice skiing spots up there."
Ruby suddenly turned her head and looked at him. "Really? We… we could just go there and…"
He nodded, smiling at the excitement he could see in her eyes, even though she was trying her best to hide it. "Sure we can. We can take the jet there whenever we want. I can get you the best skiing instructor in the world. You'll be hitting the slopes like a pro in no time." Tony told her, beaming away.
"I… uh, I'd like that. To go to the mountains. No so sure on the skiing thing though. Isn't that a little dangerous?" Ruby had a secret here, she had never been skiing before in her life, but she certainly knew how to snowboard.
"True, but like I said, best instructor in the world. And just for you. How does that sound then, Ruby?" He was eager to do something for her, to get to spend time with her and do something together.
She smiled at him, remembering what Tasha, Robin, and Liam had all said to her. "That sounds really good. I'd love it."
Tony's smile just grew wider. "Well then, I'll get that sorted then. Once you're completely better, we'll do it. Just us, okay?"
Ruby raised and eyebrow at him. "Just us? No Pepper? No Happy?" She asked him, knowing that one, if not both, of them would be joining.
But to her surprise, he shook his head. "Nope, just us."
"Okay, just us." She said. Ruby didn't know why, but she suddenly felt extremely happy, happier than she had in a very long time. She was going to do something with her father, just the two of them, no work, no distractions, just them, up in the mountains. And she couldn't wait for it.
A/N: Yeah, a lot of you knew exactly who Tasha, Robin and this pirate 'organ grinder' was. Well done to you guys!
I hope you all liked this chapter, and I swear to you, the movie is coming. We just have one more chapter with some Tony/Ruby father/daughter time to go, then we can crack on with it.
Moving on, thank you to everyone who has favourtied/followed, I'm glad you guys like the story. And a massive thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review, it really means a lot to me, especially with this story.
Pippa.