A/N: There is a poll on my profile regarding to which 2 of my stories you would want me to continue the most. Come September I will be back at uni and very busy. So please go and vote so I know which ones to work hard on right now.
Ruby was exhausted as she threw herself on the couch, forgetting all about her suitcases and just wanting to crash out instead. She had now officially been a Stark for two months, and during that time she had done her best not to be the brat that Natasha kept telling her she was.
"Uh, what do you think you're doing?" Tony asked her, frowning at the way she was just lying there.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" She asked, not moving or even thinking about moving. "I'm taking a break."
"A break? You've hardly done anything." He protested, plonking himself down on the sofa next to where her feet where. "You've just been sitting on a plane, sleeping."
Ruby let out a groan. "Fine. What do you want me to do?" She didn't really want to do anything, she was aching all over from their week up in the mountains, skiing. Tony had insisted on it the moment Liam had given her the all clear before going home, and she took him up on the offer. There were a few accidents, but nothing major. Then she scared the hell out of him by just disappearing one morning and heading out to do some snowboarding instead.
"You both need to start packing for Vegas." Pepper called, entering the room with her tablet in her head, looking at the schedule.
"When do we leave?" Tony asked, as Ruby let out yet another groan.
"Two days. And then you have the weapons demo in Afghanistan." Pepper reminded him, now making him groan. He had enjoyed the week away with his daughter, and he was hoping they could finally start work on the little surprise he had for her. But they just didn't seem to have the time.
"You still up for come to the weapons demo, Ruby?" He asked, looking over at his daughter. He was at least going to try to spend time with her, even if he was working. Plus, he thought it was a good idea for her to see exactly what it was he done.
At first, Ruby had been a little worried about going with him, and had ended up calling Fury to ask him what he thought. He was just as surprised as she was when she made the call, but assured her that they would keep an eye on her and that it would be fine for her to go. "Watching stuff blow up? Hell yes."
"Great. Well you better get packing then. If you're good, I might even let you go shopping before we go." He told her, hoping that would at least perk her up a little.
And it did. "Can Pepper take me? Please?" She still wanted to spend some more time with the woman, and she needed female company.
Pepper just gave her a sad look. "Ruby, I am really busy. There is so much that needs to be done before…"
"Please?" She said, turning on the puppy dog eyes that used to get her everything she wanted with her mother. "I've missed you for a whole week, please Pepper." She knew the eyes worked on Tony, and Liam. Now she was testing them out on Pepper.
The woman stood there and let out a sigh. She knew she was stuck now, there was no way she could refuse her when she used those eyes on her. "Okay, but we need to leave now."
Ruby wasted no time in jumping off the couch, now seemingly full of energy where she had been so exhausted beforehand. "Brilliant. See you later, Tony." She called, dragging Pepper out of the room.
"Ruby, is everything okay?" The red head asked her as she started up the engine of her car.
"Yup, fine. Why wouldn't it be?" Ruby said, putting on a big smile for the woman.
Pepper, however, was having none of it. She could see just how much like Tony she was, and how she was trying to hide her feelings. "You don't have to go with him to the weapons demo if you don't want to, you know. You can stay here with me."
She shook her head at her. "No, I want to go. I want to pay more attention to what he does, how he works. I know his work is his life, and I… I just want to be a part of that."
"Ruby, you don't have to go to Afghanistan to be a part of his life. You know that, don't you? Why do you think he just took you off to the mountains for a week, without giving me more than an hours notice?" Pepper asked her, keeping her eyes on the road. She knew it wasn't exactly a nice place, and she would much rather keep her safe in Malibu than let her go out there with her father.
Ruby couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Because he's Tony Stark, it just comes naturally to him to do things spontaneously."
"From what I heard, you have a bit of that in you as well." Pepper told her, causing her to smirk.
"I have no idea what you are talking about, auntie Pepper." The smirk stayed firmly on her face as se called her 'auntie'. She may not be able to call Tony dad yet, but she was finding it amusing to see how he, and other people reacted when she said things like that. Every time she had seen Rhodey, she called him 'uncle'.
She heard Pepper let out a sigh. "Snowboarding without telling anyone? With no one else out there with you? With Tony having no idea where you were?" Pepper said, keeping her voice firm as she prepared herself to tell Ruby exactly what trouble she had caused. "Tony was frantic. He was calling me, getting both JARVIS and SWAIN to track you. He went outside, hardly even bothering to get dressed from what he told me, just to go looking for you. He thought something terrible had happened, Ruby."
Ruby knew that maybe she had done things the wrong way, that maybe she should have at least told Tony what she was up to. But the moment she woke up and saw the snow outside, she just had to go for it. "I really am sorry, auntie Pepper. I didn't mean to cause the problems that I did." She told her honestly.
"At least you can apologies, unlike a certain Stark we both know." She had told Ruby what she needed to, and she had gotten the reaction that she had wanted as well. Ruby was sorry for how she had acted, and unlike her father, she had taken responsibility and said sorry.
"Well, you can thank my mother for that, she was determined to make sure I had plenty of manners. And I can admit when I'm wrong." Ruby told her, knowing that her mother would have really shouted at her if she had done something like that to her.
Pepper just smiled as she carried on the drive. "But apart from that, how are you and Tony getting along? You've been here for 2 months now."
There was a shrugging from the woman with the dark, curly hair. "Okay, I guess. It's still weird for me, it's a whole new life and I can't say it has been easy to adjust." Ruby told her. "Tony and I still have a long way to go."
"I can tell, you're still calling him Tony." Pepper hinted. "And yet, I've somehow been promoted to being your aunt."
"Hey, you should be honoured, I've never had an aunt before, you're the first. I mean, come on, who wouldn't want to be my aunt?" Pepper couldn't help but laugh at her words. She really did have the same spunk that Tony had. "I'm brilliant."
The red head shook her head slightly, still doing her best to focus on the road ahead of her. "No, you're just the daughter of Tony Stark, I think that makes you more impossible than anything else."
Ruby put a hand to her chest, pretending to be hurt. "Oh, well that hurt."
Pepper chuckled some more, and they carried on making their way to one of Pepper's favourite places to shop. Ruby hadn't really done much shopping since before her mother had died, unless it was for food and other necessities. It didn't really help that most of her stuff was still back in Denver, even though Liam had brought some things with him when he had come to visit after her little 'stunt'.
Since then, the only new clothes she had gotten, she hadn't even been there to buy them. Tony had gotten Pepper to make sure Ruby had some suitable clothing to wear to go to work. The young lady had not been happy, as she really hated wearing dresses and skirts, but she had no choice in the matter.
"So, where do you want to go first?" Pepper asked her, looking around at the different shops. She wouldn't mind actually shopping for herself as well.
Ruby looked down at her feet. If she was honest, she needed new Converses. "Uh, that depends on how much I have to spend. I don't want to go in shops and be disappointed when I can't afford something I really, really want." Tony now had control of the savings accounts, rather than Directory Fury, who had not been best pleased with the situation.
"Well, since you're father is Tony Stark, and he has more money than he knows what to do with, I think it's safe to say that you can afford whatever you want." Pepper told her, watching as Ruby's face changed from thinking with a frown, to utter shock.
She didn't really know what to say. "What, he's letting me go shopping with his money, and no spending limit?" She asked, getting a nod from Pepper. "Oh, that can't be a good thing."
That just made Pepper frown. "Why?"
"Because now, I'm going to go a little out of control and shop until I can't carry anything else." Ruby told her, a grin on her face. Knowing that she could spend whatever she wanted, she was likely to buy much more than she needed.
"Oh well, that doesn't matter. So come on, where to first?" Pepper asked her, keeping a smile firmly fixed on her face.
"Converse, and boots. I need new boots. And, uh, I guess I had better get something suitable for this awards thing in Vegas as well." Ruby was slightly nervous about that, it was the first big event that she was going to, with her father.
"I'll help you pick some things out, so don't worry about that too much. Now, come on, we have lots of shopping to do." Pepper said, taking a hold of her arm and dragging Ruby towards the first shoe shop like they were two best friends out for the day.
On their last trip to the car, they realised that they had no more room to fit anything else, and much to Ruby's disappointment the shopping trip was called to a close. Ruby had managed to get rather a lot for herself, she brought much more than she had intended. But she had secretly managed to get something for other people as well, a pleasant surprise.
"Seriously, shopping takes almost 6 hours?" Tony asked, hands on his hips as he watched Ruby struggle to carry her stuff through the doors and into the mansion.
Ruby just shrugged at him, or tried to at least. "That's what happens when you give me no spending limit. I go overboard and buy way more than I could ever need." She told him, dropping the bags and turning around.
"Uh, where are you going?" Her father asked her, curious as to why she was heading back outside.
She just looked at him as if he was stupid. "To get the rest, obviously."
His mouth dropped open. "You mean there's more?" He asked her, his shock showing. Ruby just nodded at him, before going back to Pepper's car and grabbing some more of the bags. She hadn't noticed that Tony had followed behind her. "Geeze, how much did you buy?" He asked, eyeing the hoards of bags still to be taken inside. "And how did you fit it all in the car?"
"Like I said, this is what happens when I have no spending limit. I'm used to having a limit on money, remember, but I went overboard, and I know I did." Ruby admitted. "And Pepper and I both managed to arrange it and fit everything in. We actually have organisational skills."
"Did you get everything that you wanted?" Tony asked her, surprising her by starting to grab some of the bags himself.
"Uh, yeah. Pepper helped me to pick out some things for the awards ceremony. Oh, and she tried to convince me not to go with you for the weapons demo." Ruby said, ending up with said woman sending her a glare as she carried on getting the bags out of the car.
"And what did you say to that?" Yes, he was curious to know her answer.
Ruby shrugged as she finished loading herself up with bags. "That I wouldn't miss the chance to watch you blow up a mountain for anything."
He chuckled a little. "That's my girl. Now take that lot inside, I'll grab the rest." Tony said, before watching her go. He waiting until she was completely out of sight before looking to Pepper. "How was she?"
"Well, excited and nervous. She needed a lot of encouragement to start actually buying things, she didn't want to spend all your money or buy things she didn't need." Pepper told him, going through the bags and putting a few back in the car. Of course, she had bought a few things for herself as well. "And she was very nervous about what to get for the awards. I helped her out with that."
"Thank you, Miss Potts." He said, smiling at her. He didn't know what he would do without Pepper there to help him. He knew that she was becoming a good friend to Ruby, and his daughter needed another woman around.
"Will there be anything else, Mr Stark?" She asked, finally having gotten all of Ruby's things out and closing the doors of her car.
Tony simply smiled at her. "That will be all, Miss Potts." She nodded at him, before getting into her car and driving away. He picked up the rest of the bags, taking them inside and planning on making sure Ruby showed him everything that she had bought.
He didn't really care how much she spent, he had missed a lot of her life, and although it wouldn't make up for him not being there, it was better than nothing. Tony was determined to make sure that she was happy, and that she wanted for nothing. That was why he had so much planned for her, so much he wanted to do with her. He wanted to be the best father he could, proving that he wasn't like his own father. Tony was going to do everything he could for his daughter, he would be everything his own father wasn't.
He frowned when he got inside and saw that Ruby and all her shopping was missing. "JARVIS, where's Ruby?" He called.
"She is currently on her room, sir. She appears to be in the middle of a call." JARVIS replied to him. Tony decided to leave her to it, she was probably on the phone to either Liam or Tasha.
The truth of it was, Ruby was on the phone to Fury. "So, everything is all okay? There aren't any problems?" There was a hint of concern in Ruby's voice as she spoke.
"Everything is set. Romanoff and Barton will be watching, at a distance. If anything happens, they will get you and Stark out of there." Fury told her, knowing that she was worrying.
"And they know this? They're okay with it? I mean, they're kind of on babysitting duty doing that, aren't they?"
Fury let out a sigh. "You know they are my best agents, I have other missions I could be sending them on, but I think we all know where they would rather be. This isn't babysitting, Miss Matthews-Stark, they are protecting their own."
"Okay, right. Sorry. I'm just a tad nervous, you know." Ruby admitted to him.
"Understandable, but there is nothing for you to be worried about. We know where you are going, and there will be eyes on you and Stark at all times."
"Right, yeah, that's good. Okay, I'll go now. I have packing to do and stuff. Catch you later, pirate." She called, before ending the call. No matter how excited she was about watching Tony blow things up, she was still nervous about where she was going. She had been there before, and she knew some of the things that happened there.
Ruby quickly had to shake her head, getting the thoughts and memories out of her mind. She was not going to go back there, she was not going to relive what had happened before. "Miss Matthews-Stark, your father wishes to know what you would like for dinner." JARVIS called to her.
Straight away her mind was blank. "Uh, telling him I don't mind, but not pizza. I'm sick of pizza all the time. Actually, I'm sick of take out all the time." She grumbled. It was all they seemed to be eating recently, apart from the times they ate out during their trip to the mountains.
"So you want to go out then?" Tony called, having clearly been listening in to her speaking with JARVIS.
"No, I want you to learn to cook." Ruby retorted. "I'm sure you can afford a few private cooking lessons from the worlds top chefs."
"Well, yes, I could. But why would I do that when I can have other people cook for me?" Ruby couldn't help but roll her eyes at his remark. "And don't roll your eyes at me."
"I can teach you how to cook of you want." Ruby blurted out, before her brain had actually had time to process it.
"Okay then. Come and show me how to cook." That was not the reaction she had been expecting from him. She had been expecting to hear him laughing at her, not to accept her offer and for her to start teaching him right now.
"Let me get changed, and I'll teach you how to cook something." Ruby called back, before heading into the bathroom.
She had really enjoyed her time out shopping with Pepper, she had been so nice to her and really helped her in finding something for Vegas. For the awards, Ruby had settled for a light purple evening gown, which Pepper told her made her look much older than she was. Ruby was pleased with that, but Pepper was a little more anxious about it. She was worried about her grabbing too much unwanted attention and how Tony would react to it all.
About 10 minutes later, she was strolling to the kitchen to meet Tony, to give him his very first cooking lesson. "Right, let's see what we have to work with, shall we?" She called, heading straight over to the fridge and pulling it open. "Well, that's helpful." She moaned, frowning at the empty fridge.
"Uh, yeah…" Tony said nervously. "I guess I need to send out for some shopping."
Ruby just rolled her eyes at him. "Looks like it will be take out tonight after all." She said, clearly not impressed with how there was nothing edible to eat in there.
"Great, it should be here soon. I got Chinese." Ruby turned her head sharply and glared at him. "Yeah, I ordered when I realised there was nothing here to eat."
Ruby folded her arms across her chest, holding her glare. "And yet you still made me come in here and think you actually wanted me to teach you to cook."
Tony held up his hands in defence. "Right, okay. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before you walked all the way from your room and into the kitchen. I know how tough of a trip that is."
"Nice effort. Your learning, but I could do without the sarcasm." She told him, the glare on her face slowly turning into a smirk.
"Yeah, well I have to learn when you took on your mothers glare. Like I said, it used to give me nightmares." Tony told her, taking a step towards her. "Now give your old man a hug."
"I don't think so. But you got one thing right in that sentence." She said, taking a step back and making him confused. "You are an old man." She told him, trying not to crack up laughing.
"Oh, you are so grounded, missy. Old, am I?" He said, taking a tentative step towards her. He had found out that she hated being tickled, and he had managed to find the best spot while they had been away.
"Definitely. I mean, you have to be, what, 60, 61?" She asked, knowing what she was doing. "And what's this? Another grey hair?" Ruby said, pointing at his head.
"Really? This is how you want to play it, huh?" No, he was certainly not impressed, but he was pleased to see that she was comfortable with teasing him.
"Playing? Oh, no. I'm not playing, old man. I'm just telling you the truth. You might want to put some hair dye on the shopping list, you know, to take care of those lovely grey hairs." Ruby was currently planning her escape, and she had it all mapped out in her head. She knew what his reaction was going to be, but she had more training than he knew.
"Okay, that's it." He called, going straight for her. But that was exactly what Ruby had expected, and she had ducked down and crawled under the table.
"See? You're old, grey, and slow." Ruby told him, smirking away as she stood by the door.
"How… how the hell did you move so quickly?" Tony asked her, just looking at her and trying to work it all out in his head. He was sure he was going to get her, but she had moved so swiftly and with ease, he didn't even know she was gone until it was too late.
She just shrugged at him. "I didn't, like I said, you're just too slow."
Tony was about to reply when JARVIS jumped in. "Sir, the food has arrived."
"You, young lady, are not going to get away with this." Tony said, wagging a finger at her.
The smirk just didn't fade from her face. "I do believe I already have. Now hurry up, I'm hungry." She said, before stalking out of the room.
Tony was left standing there, not knowing what had happened or how his daughter had managed to move like she had, but he couldn't help smile when he thought about how well they were getting along.
As Ruby waited for her father to sort out the food, she ran through what had happened in her mind and cursed herself for it. She knew she shouldn't have done that, used the skills that she was taught as if it was a game, because it really wasn't. If Tony knew the true extent to her 'training', he would completely flip and then start asking even more questions. Ruby didn't need that, and what with the trip to Afghanistan coming up, she knew she had be more careful than ever.
"Come on the, eat up. Then you can pack and go straight to bed." Tony told her, putting down the containers of food. "Your part punishment for the things you thought were acceptable to say to me and for thinking you could get away with it."
"Oh, I am so scared. Look at me, I'm shaking. Sending me to my room where I have SWAIN, and JARVIS, oh and a lovely ocean view, along with all my electronics. Yeah, complete punishment." Ruby said, grabbing a box and tucking into her food. She knew that he was never likely to do much to punish her, she had already proven that she could outwit him and get him to unground her.
"I said it before, I'll say it again. How your mother coped, I have no idea." Tony told her, really trying to work it out. 2 months and he was having problems keep her under control.
Ruby's face faltered for only a second. "Like I said before, most of the time she didn't. I think you're doing okay… ish. You've only had to call Liam in to rescue you once so far." She said, now teasing him a little. Liam hadn't really come to rescue him, Tony was managing pretty well with her on his own, even with the problems.
Tony only rolled his eyes at her, he knew there was no point in carrying on, he was never going to win against her. Usually he would make sure it was him who had the last word, but Ruby always seemed one step ahead of him and had something ready. "Ruby, eat your dinner and then go do your packing. We have a lot to do before we leave."
A/N: Well guys, I hope you've enjoyed it so far. We are now about to start the movie, and I admit, I have a lot planned for it. I'm still trying to work some of it out in my head, but don't worry, I'll get there.
Now, I would really, really love for all you wonderful people to review. This is my first Iron Man fic, so I'm still a little cautious with it.
I want to thank those who have favourited/followed the story, Im' glad you like it. And, as always, I want to thank those who have taken the time to review. Thank you so much.
So, as I mentioned, the movie is coming up, which means a trip to Vegas. How badly wrong can that go with two Starks, right?
Pippa.