"WHAT WAS THAT FOR TONY?!" Tony glared at the super solider, a snarl across his face.
"Oh that? No reason at all" He laughed coldly "I mean it's not like you took advantage of my emotionally distraught, drunk daughter" The sarcasm was thickly laced in his words "And it's not as if you're now dating said emotionally distraught, no longer drunk daughter!"
Clint sighed from the side-lines, as Thor stood in between the two team mates. Natasha wasn't here to diffuse the situation as she had been called back to HQ earlier that morning.
And with Bruce having gone to ensure grace didn't stumble on this carnage and Thor separating the pair.
Solving this problem had been unfortunately been placed in his less then capable hands
Steve grit his teeth, wondering how things had gotten to this stage…
After the warning from Jarvis he had been expecting very angry Tony.
Instead he had been extremely pleasant, something he should have really been suspicious of, now that he thought about it.
Grace had simply been confused, and even questioned her father about it
"Oh, J was just exaggerating, now let's go and meet the others "Tony spent the rest of the journey glued to his daughter's side, not mentioning the events of yesterday, which she had seemed to appreciate, and Steve couldn't help but feel relieved as she laughed at something Tony had said
Breakfast had been quiet, and if he had been paying more attention, he would have noticed the apprehensive looks that were being shot in Grace, Tony and his direction.
No, he had been too busy wondering how the hell he could be so lucky, and smiling at an adorable Grace. He really should have been paying more damn attention.
After breakfast as he was washing the dishes. Grace had said she was going to go get changed.
Tony had smiled as he watched Grace leave. She had given Steve a shy smile, before her cheeks flushed. He watched her go, a warm feeling filling his chest.
But as soon as the elevator door shut…
He'd received a blow to the face, (his cheek more precisely) causing him to drop the plate he had been washing with a crash, the pieces scattered on the floor.
Which is how he had ended up in his current predicament, with the Norse god acting as a barrier, holding back the billionaire
"It wasn't like that Tony! "Steve retorted, trying to be calm. He could understand Tony's reasoning for being protective over Grace, but that didn't mean he was going to let the billionaire push him around. But then a thought came to him. How did Tony know he was dating Grace?
"Where you spying on us last night? "Tony faltered at that, as if Steve had returned the fist from earlier. "I was c-checking the camera feeds" He defended weakly, and Steve found himself becoming the angry one.
"So you WERE spying on us "He snapped "I know this is you're tower but I'm still entitled to my privacy"
"He's got a point" Clint chimed in unhelpfully. Tony glared at him.
"Look, I was worried about her last night so I checked up on her, I didn't expect to see you..."He waved his hands in front of him in a panicked sort of motion "Doing what you were doing, and then she wasn't in her room…and I found her in yours" The last part he almost growled, and if Thor hadn't been in the middle, he might of tried to hit him again
"We didn't do anything!" He quickly stated "We just slept and then we just talked" He didn't mention that they had almost done something that morning. He couldn't hold the accusing gaze the older stark.
"Don't give me that crap Rogers, you're a man, of course something happened" Steve grit his teeth.
"We aren't all like you Stark" Tony laughed coldly
"This is true, I am after all a unique being. Or was that your shitty attempt at an insult?" Thor and Clint couldn't find an opportune moment to interrupt the current civil war between them as insults continued to be passed from one man to another. Thor thought they were acting just like when in front of his brothers staff.
Though this time the catalyst for their fighting was Grace.
Who was now standing in the doorway, now dressed a pair of jeans and a plain blue jumper, a frown on her face. Bruce trailed after her, giving the others an apologetic stare, obviously having failed at keeping the young girl from witnessing the fight.
She looked sadly at her father and her new boyfriend.
"What's going on here? "She questioned, looking disappointed in the pair of them. Steve hung his head, ashamed. This was his girl's father, who she clearly loved unconditionally, and here he was fighting with the man.
Tony didn't seem to show the same regret.
"Well Kid, We were just discussing morals and how apparently spangles here doesn't have any "He glared in the super soldier's direction. Grace quickly caught on, and sighed. She had an idea that this was going to come up, but she didn't think it would happen so soon.
"And how exactly did you find out about Steve's lack of morals? "She lightly asked, though her brown eyes had hardened, and for once, tony was reluctant to answer.
"I believe that the Man of Iron was 'Spying" Lady Grace" Thor added, which led to him receiving a dark glare from Tony.
"I was worried! "He quickly defended. Her gaze softened slightly and Tony thought he had made it through safely. A small smile spread across her face
"I've told you not to spy before though, haven't I Dad?" Tony slumped this time, and to Clint it seemed like Tony was a child being told off. He had to say, little Grace sure could be quite intimidating. She wasn't even expressing her clear anger. And that made her unpredictable.
"But this was for a good rea-"He paused when she simply raised an eyebrow." Yes you have "Clint stifled a chuckle, and found himself receiving a glare from the billionaire. Grace sighed.
"Now can you please both apologise to each other? "She sighed "We can talk this out like adults" Steve quickly complied, apologising to Tony for insulting him. Tony remained stubbornly quiet.
"Dad "She said warningly.
"Why should I apologise! "He exclaimed "I was doing the fatherly thing, and stop looking at me like pepper does, its slightly creepy "He vowed to make sure his girlfriend and his daughter stopped hanging out together so often. Grace had picked up Peppers disapproving gaze far too easily. When she continued to stare he crossed his arms. She sighed.
"Then you've left me no choice "She glanced at the ceiling, as she pulled out her cell phone. "Jarvis pull open file Project Stark please"
"Yes Miss" The AI almost seemed to chuckle as he said this. The others frowned not sure what she was up to. She looked challengingly at Tony
"My 9th Birthday party "She simply said. Tony visibly paled at this.
"You wouldn't" Grace simply raised an eyebrow.
"Apologise and I won't have to"
"Why do you even have that photo!?" He squawked. She ignored him and glanced at Clint.
"Clint can you come here a second" Though confused, he obeyed the girl, and walked towards her Tony's eyes widened, and he tried to get past the god
"Grace!" He whined "Don't do it!" Grace ignored her father, who was still insisting on not apologising. She showed the phone to Clint, and it took a moment of disbelief from the archer, as he looked at the billionaire and then back at the phone.
He then began to laugh. It was the kind of laughter that left you struggling to breathe.
"T-this is BRILLIANT!" Tony narrowed his eyes.
"Out of everyone, you had to show him" Grace laughed
"Wait, what is the eye of Hawk finding so amusing?" Thor asked confused. Steve was also curious what had made the billionaire so quiet.
"Oh just a picture from my 9th birthday party" She said casually "I'm sure Natasha would appreciate it if I sent it to her" That broke the billionaire, as he had visions of the redhead mocking him. He also vowed that his daughter needed to stop hanging out with the assassin, as she was wearing the same smug face as the black widow.
The photo in question was him dressed in a dress and terribly done makeup. In his defence he had been slightly drunk, and thus had agreed to it. According to Pepper, he had said he would look sexy as a woman. He had been wrong.
He had also agreed to do it, as he had forgotten Grace's birthday.
It wasn't something he was proud of, as he rarely received a happy birthday from his father, and he never wanted to the same type of father as Howard Stark. But he hadn't been used to having a small girl at home, and Grace hadn't even mentioned it. It was only 2 weeks later when he decided to look through her file again, that he discovered the missed date. She hadn't seemed bothered by the missed date, and that had only made the billionaire feel guiltier.
He had demanded that Grace punish him for forgetting. Which is where the dress and makeup came in.
He didn't think that quiet, shy girl would now be blackmailing him with that embarrassing moment.
He quickly turned to face Steve.
"Okay, okay I'm sorry for punching you in the face!" Grace simply beckoned for Bruce to look at the phone. "And for insulting you "But then his eyes hardened "But you and I are going to have a LONG talk" The billionaire clearly was angry with the development of his daughters love life. Steve just needed his team mate to understand that he wasn't going to hurt Grace and that he was entirely serious about her.
"Of course Tony "He quickly answered, wondering what exactly Grace had over her father that would make the man apologise.
Because Tony stark rarely said sorry.
"Sir If I may interrupt "Tony glanced up
"What's up Jarvis?"
"Sir might I suggest turning on the news? "Confused, Tony did so.
Only to be met with the headline.
TONY STARK'S SECRET DAUGHTER, GRACE STARK.
A picture of her was clearly on the screen, and she paled.
Someone had leaked information about her, and now she was out there for the world to see.
Tony narrowed his eyes, quickly getting on the phone, determined to get information from his girlfriend about how such a thing could have happened, and to ensure the media didn't go digging into his daughter's history. He didn't want them to exploit his little girl's pain for their sick entertainment.
Grace stood as still as a statue, though soon found herself attached to Steve, his arm wrapping comfortingly around her waist, a reminder he was there.
And she couldn't explain how safe that made her feel.