13.

Tony went on vacation for a few days every year. This policy had been enacted after he and Pepper had gotten back together and she had insisted that at least once a year, they get away from the city. He'd sat down again and again, sketching out plans for a lakehouse upstate…one with a garden and chickens and a kayak for going out on the lake on the land he'd already bought as a surprise. One day, he'd told himself…one day, he would build her a lakehouse (or, more likely, have it built) and he'd finally be able to retire and rest and the two of them would live out their days in quiet domesticity. The idea hadn't actually appealed to him…not really. He knew he'd never be able to rest if the threat he'd first learned about during the battle of New York was still a possibility. He was Iron Man, after all…not Earth's first superhero, but one of them, and if there was a threat coming, it was up to him to stop it.

So it was usually hard for him to relax. Hard to rest. But this vacation was different. He'd set out to make sure the kids had a good time…to help them relax. And they had. Tish still always looked to Penny when it came to making decisions, and Penny still spent most of her time watching after her sister. But they were both having a good time, and, he discovered pretty quickly, so was he. He hadn't been to a zoo in years, but he remembered being a kid and driving past…remembered being too afraid to ask his father if he would take him so he could look at the animals. So he'd taken the kids, pulling his hat over his face and hoping that they didn't get mobbed

They didn't. A few people gave him second looks, and at least one person pointed their cellphone camera at him, but otherwise they were left in peace. And then at the mall, he hadn't tried to give Penny any money…unlike her sister, he didn't think she would take it. Instead, he'd wandered off on his own, buying her new clothes and some new shoes while they were at it. He didn't think too hard about why he was doing it…he just did it, trying to spend about the same amount as he'd given Tish. He didn't get anything extravagant…no big labels or anything fancy that he knew she wouldn't have a use for. Just normal clothes. Because she needed clothes, right? All teenagers needed clothes. It was as simple as that. He was her guardian for the moment and it was his job to take care of her, so take care of her he would.

The girls spent the next day on the beach, eating sandwiches on the blanket they'd carried out their and laying under umbrellas, reading or scrolling on their phones. They built sandcastles that formed a sand-city, then got in the water, letting the waves lap at their feet before going further and further out, making Pepper nervous every time she glanced up at them from her beach chair on the back deck.

"She's a superhero, Pep."

"They're really far out…"

"Want me to show you the footage of her stopping a car with her bare hands?"

She shot him a look, then shook her head.

"Do you want me to go get them?"

"No…" Still, she didn't look back down at her book which lay forgotten on her lap, and Tony smiled, but he didn't go back to his tablet either…not until the girls were swimming back to shore and were safely under their umbrellas.

By the end of the trip, they were all relaxed…even Penny. She acted almost like a normal kid, joking around with Tish and accepting Pepper's mothering with a slightly puzzled smile and even accepting the allowance money from Tony when they returned to the tower, although not without a little resistance.

"Oh…that's…um…it's okay, Mr. Stark. I don't need…"

"I already gave Tish her's. It's allowance money. Lots of teens get an allowance, right?"

"I mean…yeah, but…usually you have to do stuff for it. Like…chores and stuff."

"You do chores," he reminded her, glad he'd managed to catch her before she'd jumped out the window in her suit. They'd just gotten back to the tower about an hour ago and Friday had informed him that she had wasted no time in putting her suit on after unpacking. Of course, he could have just left the money on her desk, but the box with the phone Pep had given her still sat there, so he feared the money might meet the same fate. "You help keep the kitchen clean and you keep your room clean…plus you fight crime in Queens so really, I should probably be giving you more," he joked, snorting when her eyes widened. "I'm kidding. Take the money, Spiderling. Buy yourself some flies or something."

She rolled her eyes then and he chuckled on his way out of her room, thinking with a surprised smile that he was getting used to feeling this way.

They returned to the tower from their vacation on Sunday, and apart from Penny, they all spent the rest of the day laying around, Tish on her phone as she watched what appeared to be videos of people playing scary video games. Pepper grabbed a book and curled up on the sofa, and Tony got back to work , but did so from the same sofa, tablet in hand, his shoulder pressed to hers, feeling warm and content as he put the finishing touches on Penny's internship.

Tony woke early the next day, as he usually did, and found the other side of the bed empty. It was back to work for him and Pepper, but he didn't mind. He'd always found comfort in his work…hell, sometimes he'd only found comfort in his work. Not these days, though. No, as he made his way to the kitchen, he found himself almost wishing that they were back at the beach house…that he could take the kids to the zoo again, or out hiking on one of the trails him and Pepper had walked a few times. Or even just out to the beach where they could all lay out by the water or swim or build more sand structures.

He was brought up short when he found Penny already in the kitchen, stirring eggs around in a skillet to scramble them, the toaster popping up right as he stepped into the room. "Hey, kiddo. You're up early."

Penny glanced back at him with a tired smile which told him she hadn't slept very well. He wasn't sure if it was nightmares or just the fact that she was a teenager and thus prone to staring at her phone until the early hours of the morning that made it hard for her to sleep, and he wasn't sure if he should ask. Instead, he joined her, getting started on smoothies for the two of them. "Tish still asleep?"

She nodded. "Yeah, probably."

"I thought we could get started on your internship this afternoon…if you want. I've got everything set up." When he glanced over and met her eyes, he had to smile at the excitement he saw there…how they lit up, mouth twitching into a hesitant smile.

"Really? I wasn't sure if you'd have time…"

"I have some things to take care of this morning, but if you want to come down around 3? I'll give you a tour and then we can get to work. What do you think?"

She nodded, eyes bright with anticipation. "That…it sounds great, Mr. Stark."

"Good. Alright, I'd better get to work." He held up his smoothie, hesitating when her face fell a little.

"Oh…I was making breakfast…" She turned quickly back to the stove, but not before he caught the way she flinched, as if she regretted saying anything. "Um…if you want to take some toast or something…"

Tony made a show of checking his watch, humming to himself. "Actually, it looks like I've got some time. I'll set the table. Think Tish will be joining us anytime soon?"

There was a smile in Penny's voice when she answered. "Doubt it. She'll probably sleep until noon."

Once they'd sat down, Tony took a bite of his eggs and Penny drank half of her smoothie in one long gulp. "What have you got planned today?"

"I was going to go see Ned, then head over to Queens. Tish might go see her friend too."

"I'll let her know that she can call Happy for a ride if she needs one. He won't mind driving her." It was true. As grumpy as his head of security could be, Tony knew that he cared about Tish. Penny too. "He can drive you too, if you ever need a ride."

She shrugged. "I don't mind taking the subway."

"Or a web?"

Penny grinned at that. "Yeah. I need to get started on my summer work too."

"Probably good to get it done early."

She nodded. "Ned and I might work on it at his place. And we're going to get started on rebuilding the LEGO Millenium Falcon he got a couple of years ago."

He wondered if she would like a LEGO set for her birthday. It was coming up pretty fast, and it would be her first birthday with him and Pepper…her second one while in foster care. Would she want a party? Or to have her friends over? It was a thought that kept him distracted as he tried to focus on his work that morning. Never before had he been distracted by something like birthdays. He was kind of ashamed to remember that for the first several years of knowing Pepper, he'd forgotten hers every single year until they'd started dating. Not anymore, of course. He always got her something for her birthday now. And Christmas. And Valentine's Day. And, occasionally Easter. Flag Day. Etc. But he'd never thrown a birthday party for a kid, much less a kid like Penny who, despite having relaxed around him, still didn't exactly tell him much about the kind of things she liked other than LEGOs and patrolling around the city in her new suit.

Not to mention, she was in foster care, which meant she'd lost every other member of her family. Would she even want to celebrate her birthday? Or did her birthday just remind her of the people she'd lost? Should he try to do something for her anyway? He resolved to talk to Pepper about it. She'd probably have some ideas.

Penny came into the lab at 2:55 sharp, looking hesitant as she stood in the doorway and waited for him to call her over. He'd been nervous about having her in the lab, mostly because he worried about working together in a closed room. So, not wanting to make her uncomfortable, Tony made sure to never get between her and the door, which he'd asked her to leave propped open, as he gave her the tour of his lab.

Like Tish, Penny took everything in with wide, impressed eyes, turning circles in the middle of the room as she seemed to try and take all of it in. Unlike tish, she didn't raise her hand to ask a question, but only because she didn't ask any. In fact, she didn't say a word as he showed her around, even when he led her to the workstation he'd set up for her. "Well," he finally asked, leaning against his own desk. "What do you think?"

"It's amazing," she all but whispered. "It's…you have everything!"

He nodded. "Yeah, pretty much. If you have any questions, let me know. For now, why don't we break out the suit and get started?"

Penny's nod was enthusiastic, her eyes wide, and for the next two hours, the two of them lost themselves in their work, her hesitancy to ask questions disappearing as they worked through the lines of code for her AI and he explained it all bit by bit until her stomach growled. Penny jumped at the sound, cheeks turning faintly red as she refused to meet his eyes.

"Sorry…um…anyway, how did you get this part to work?" she asked, pointed a finger.

Tony shook his head, checking his watch. "How about we get to that next time? Tish is probably hungry too."

"Oh…okay…"

"Don't worry, Pen. We can get back to it tomorrow if you want," he offered.

"Are…are you sure? I mean…if you're busy…."

"How about Monday, Tuesday, and Friday through the summer? Does that give you enough time for Spidering?"

With a surprised laugh, she nodded. "Um…yeah, that would be…it's great. If you're sure…"

"I'm sure," he promised, patting her on the shoulder before realizing what he was doing, but she didn't flinch away, just smiled, and the two of them headed upstairs to find Tish so they could make dinner before Pepper got home.

And then, before he knew it, it was time to take Letitia to visit her father.

Tony knew that Tish had told Penny about visiting her dad…whatever she thought about that, neither of the girls had told him. Instead, according to Friday, Penny had left that morning out the window in her suit. He wasn't sure if she was patrolling or if she was visiting her friend Ned…either way, he was sure she'd be back in plenty of time for her internship. If Tish had asked her to come along, she would have, so he had to assume she hadn't wanted her to…or hadn't wanted to ask.

Beside him in the passenger seat of the car, Tish was quiet as they pulled into the parking lot of the prison where her father had been for nearly eight months now. She hadn't been allowed to visit him, and according to her, she'd never been told about any kind of possibility of a phone call. He didn't know if that was because the social worker hadn't told Skip, or if it was because Skip hadn't told Tish…either way, this was long overdue.

She climbed out of the car when he did, eyes downcast as they made their way together towards the doors. He'd already cleared everything with the social worker and the prison, and her father knew they were coming. He hadn't asked if the man knew that he was the one looking after his daughter…wasn't sure how much information he would have. He didn't even know if Tish wanted him to come in with her…didn't know how to ask. So he just walked with her to the front doors, hesitantly resting a hand on her shoulder as they approached the doors. She shifted a little closer to him, hesitating outside the double doors, and he wrapped an arm around her.

"You feeling okay?" he asked, squeezing her gently, and she leaned into his side, nodding. "Are you sure? Because we can reschedule if you need to."

"I want to see him."

"Okay…"

"Will you go in with me?"

"Of course," he answered immediately. "Do you want to call Penny? She can come in too if she wants."

She shook her head, eyes downcast. "No," she whispered.

"Do you think she wouldn't want to?"

Tish shrugged. "I don't want to make her sad."

He had no idea what to say to that. He certainly didn't want to lie…for all he knew, seeing Tish reunited with her dad would make Penny sad. So he just waited until Tish moved towards the doors, taking his cues from her, then led her inside.

Thankfully the guards were nice to her, explaining the rules in a soft, child-friendly way, and over the course of the next few minutes, she calmed down a little, even smiling up at Tony as they headed down the hallway towards the room where the people being held there could receive visitors. Still, as they passed through a set of doors with bars on them, a loud noise followed by a click indicating that the doors were unlocked, she flinched a bit and leaned towards him.

"It's kind of like Orange is the New Black…" she murmured to him, pressing into his side, and he lifted an eyebrow, about to ask if maybe she wasn't a bit too young to be watching that, when they passed through the doors and into a wide open room filled with tables where men in khaki jumpsuits sat across from their visitors or on their own, eyes shooting to the door as soon as they walked in. A few eyebrows went up, and one guy leaned in, eyes narrowing as if he was trying to get a better look at them, but Tish's eyes were locked in on a man sitting a few tables back with short, close cropped hair, his own eyes wide as he stared at them. But he wasn't looking at Tony.

His eyes were zeroed in on Tish as he jumped to his feet, making the guards standing by the wall tense.

"Daddy…" she whispered, and Tony put a hand on her back, urging her forward. That was all the encouragement she needed because she took off at a near run and the man caught her in his arms, jaw tight as he held her close.

"Letitia…baby…" he whispered, rocking her back and forth as she clung to him, and the guards waited a full ten seconds before stepping forward. Not wanting them to have to interfere, Tony moved closer.

"Hey, kiddo, let's sit, huh? That way you guys can talk."

Her father followed Tony's gaze, catching sight of the guard who'd moved closer, and nodded. "Good idea…come on, baby. Let's sit. You can tell me everything, huh?" he murmured, eyes wet. For a moment, Tony thought he might have to help him pull Tish away…she clung to her father like she would never let go, but after a second, she nodded, taking a hesitant step away, eyes glued to her father.

The three of them sat, Tish beside Tony with her father on the other side, and he held out a hand to Tony. "William Taylor. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Stark."

"Just Tony, please." Tony shook his hand quickly, both of them glancing at the guards who gave them a warning look then seemed to allow the quick contact even though it technically wasn't allowed.

"I don't know how to thank you, Tony. For looking after my little girl…I…"

"No thanks necessary. She's a great kid," Tony told him, and it wasn't a lie. Watching after Tish and Penny had been no problem. In fact…he might even say he was enjoying himself.

"You lawyers met with me last week…I need to thank you for that too."

"You don't have to thank me for anything," Tony assured him. "I'm glad to help." He was glad that William didn't go into detail…he really didn't want to get Tish's hope's up if all of this didn't work out…especially not now that she'd gotten to see her father for the first time in months.

William obviously wanted to argue, but he glanced at his daughter instead, hands twitching on the table like he wanted to reach out and pull her back into his arms. "So…what made you want to foster a kid?"

"It's actually a funny story," he told him with a smile, nudging Tish gently and gesturing for her to speak. "Why don't you tell it?"

She lit up then, nodding. "Yeah! So I was on my way back to the apartment after school to get snacks for me and Penny and Mr. Stark was waiting outside our building!"

They'd agreed that she wouldn't tell him about Spider-Girl…instead, she told him all about how she met Penny at the library after school every day, and how she'd led Tony to the library to meet Penny for an internship. She told him how Tony had taken the both of them in, breezing through the part where Skip's apartment wasn't a good home for them. Tony watched William's jaw clench at that, but he did his best not to show it, obviously not wanting to upset Tish.

"So…Penny…she's your foster sister?"

"Yeah, she's like my real big sister, though. She looks out for me and when we lived with Skip she always kept me safe," Tish told him simply.

"She kept you safe?"

Tish nodded, hesitant now as she glanced up at Tony.

"Skip was…not a safe person for them to be around," Tony told him simply, hoping he didn't ask too many more questions. "Penny knew that, and she made sure that Tish was always safe."

Slowly, William nodded, meeting Tony's eyes, a million questions in his own that he didn't ask. Instead, he let Tish tell him more about Penny and about Happy and Pepper, and then about school. She told him about how Penny had taken her to Coney Island right after her eleventh birthday and about the MP3 player she'd built her. And after what felt like only a few minutes but what turned out to have been an hour, it was time for them to go.

Tish went still and quiet when the guards moved a little closer, letting them know that they only had ten minutes, and Tony couldn't stand to see the look on her face…a look like she was about to break down. "We'll come back soon, okay?" he promised softly, glancing at William for confirmation that it was okay. The man nodded quickly, leaning in.

"He's right. You can come once a week. Those are the rules."

"So…we can come back next week?" she asked, looking up at Tony, and he nodded.

"Absolutely. Every week. Me or Happy can bring you. And maybe Penny can come sometime. I'm sure she'd like to meet your dad."

"That's right. I need to meet your big sister…thank her for looking after you."

Slowly, Tish nodded, sniffing softly and obviously trying to hold herself together. "Okay," she whispered, and when he stood, she jumped into his arms once more, face buried in his chest. William closed his eyes, holding her tight, jaw clenched like he, too, was trying not to break down.

"I love you, baby. So much. More than anything."

"I love you too, Daddy."

"You be good, okay? I'll see you next week."

Slowly, reluctantly, Tish pulled away with a nod. "I will."

"I know."

The guards came to lead him away, and Tony wrapped an arm around Letitia's shoulders, feeling his heart drop when she leaned against him, lips trembling. "Alright, kiddo. Let's head home, okay?"

They were almost to the car when she started to cry, huge, silent tears running down her cheeks, and Tony didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her, wondering when it had become such second nature to comfort crying children. She gripped his shirt, holding him as tightly as she'd held her father, and for a long time, the two of them stood beside his care in the parking lot, him holding her as she tried in vain to stop crying.

That night, after Penny's internship and after dinner, Tony found the two of them in the living room, Tish with her head on her sister's shoulder, a blanket wrapped around the two of them as they watched a movie. He didn't know how much she'd told Penny, but Penny's arm was tight around her shoulders and both girls looked sad, so she had to assume she'd told her at least some of it. Sitting on the opposite couch, Tony stared at the TV for a moment, the three of them sitting in silence until Pepper joined them, her shoulder pressing against Tony's.

"Who wants to go get some ice cream?" she wondered, voice conversational. Just like that, both girls perked up a little, heads swiveling to face her…still children, despite everything, and Tony found himself smiling as he raised his hand, followed quickly by both girls.