Ready or Not

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and ocs. Enjoy and feel free to let me know what you thought!

Prologue

Tony glanced from the young girl seated on the sofa in his attorney's office to his attorney, lips pressed into a thin line as he took in the words the older man said to him.

"You're joking. This is some god awful prank Rhodey is playing on me isn't it?" he leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at the attorney that had handled his father's affairs and was now in charge of his.

"I'm afraid not Mister Stark. The paternity test proves she is your daughter. Now you have three choices. Seeing as her mother just passed, she should have gone to her legal guardian. However you are her biological father. Custody falls to you automatically. However if you refuse to take custody of her she will be given to her legal guardian, her mother's brother. If he refuses to take the young girl in she will be put into the system until a family can be found to adopt her," the attorney stated carefully, eyes reading over a few papers in front of him.

Tony glanced over his shoulder, finally looking at the little girl the man across him said was his daughter. She possessed champagne blonde curls that fell to just above her shoulders, amber colored eyes with a hint of green around the pupils, and golden skin. She looked like a tiny doll sitting on the leather couch in the attorney's office, a stuffed monkey clutched tightly in her small hands. Frowning slightly Tony returned his gaze to the man across from him.

"What are the chances her uncle won't take her in?" the older man was startled from his reading, looking at Tony from over the rim of his reading glasses and carefully thinking over his words.

"Frankly Mister Stark, I believe the chances of her uncle turning her away are quite high. He's in his last year of college at UCLA and he doesn't hold the best record to be responsible for a young girl. Her best chances are most likely with foster care until a permanent family can be found for her," the attorney, Mister Goldstein, stated after a few minutes.

"The paternity test is a hundred percent certain she's mine?" Tony questioned after a moment of thinking over the man's words, his mind already decided as he pushed to his feet.

"Yes Mister Stark, what? Sir, what are you," Mister Goldstein was cut off as Tony dropped into a crouch in front of the five year old girl, his tongue darting out to wet his lips as he took in her facial features.

"What's your name?" he finally asked, watching as she tilted her head to the side, taking in his own features before answering him carefully.

"Vivian Maria Knight," she pronounced the words carefully, and Tony could tell she usually struggled with it.
" Well Vivian, my name is Anthony Edward Stark, but everyone calls me Tony. I was wondering, how would you like to come stay with me?" Tony questioned the little girl carefully, watching as she hugged her stuffed monkey tighter to her chest, clearly thinking over what he was asking.

"My mommy isn't coming back is she?" her voice was barely above a whisper, and it honestly broke Tony's heart to hear the sadness that coated her voice before he slowly shook his head.

"No Sweet Pea, I'm afraid she isn't," Tony spoke softly, watching as she sniffled quietly for a moment, a silent tear escaping from the corner of her eye before she nodded.

"Will I get my own room?" Tony couldn't help the small smirk that stretched across his lips at her question.

"Of course. And you can decorate it however you want. Pink with rainbows and unicorns?" he questioned, watching as she scrunched her nose in distaste at the suggestion.

"Sky blue with clouds," she stated easily.

And that was how Tony Stark, play boy billionaire became a single father. After signing the papers to make it official, Tony escorted the young Miss Vivian to the Audi that Happy had waiting outside the attorney's office, engine running by the time they exited the glass doors. Happy glanced from the little blonde girl to his friend and employer, the confusion evident on his features.

"Happy, this is Vivian. She's going to be staying with me for a while. Vivian this is my friend, Happy," Tony introduced, watching as Happy's eyes widened slightly before turning his attention to the young girl standing close to Tony and gripping his hand tightly.

"Hello Miss Vivian, it's a pleasure to meet you," Happy offered her a wide smile, watching as she tentatively offered one of her own before following Tony to the side of the car and watching as Happy opened the back door for her to climb in.

"Tony, who is she?" Happy questioned after he shut the door behind her, rounding on his friend and watching the amazement that was still clearly in his eyes.

"That, Happy, is my daughter. Short fling in L.A. Didn't mention I knocked her up five years ago. She... Sadly she had a car accident and didn't make it. It was either take her, leave it to her flake of an uncle to claim her, or allow her to go into the system and maybe get adopted, maybe not. I couldn't let that happen so I took custody of her," Tony explained, reaching into the front jacket pocket of his suit and retrieving his cell phone. Happy could only shake his head as he opened up the passenger door and slid into his seat.

"Jarvis?" Tony spoke, seating the phone on the dashboard after he slid into the driver's seat and put the car in drive.

"Yes sir?" Jarvis answered, and Tony glanced in the rear view mirror, noticing Vivian staring out the window as he began the drive back to his home.

"Order some sky blue and white paint and arrange for one to the rooms to be aired and readied for a guest," Tony instructed, flicking the blinker to merge carefully.

"Of course sir. Would you like for me to hire some painters as well?" Jarvis questioned, obviously prepared to do as much. Glancing at the little girl in the back seat Tony shook his head.

"No, thank you Jarvis. I think this is going to be a fun experience for the both of us if we try painting her room ourselves," Tony answered before disconnecting the call and turning most of his attention back to the road.

"Does she have any clothes or toys or you know other things children like?" Happy questioned, watching Tony carefully from the corner of his eye while pretending not to.

"Hey Sweet Pea," Tony spoke up, glancing over his shoulder quickly to see if she was paying any attention to him. Luckily, she was.

"Do you have anything you would like to get from your other house?" he watched as her brows furrowed slightly, thinking over his words.

"No, Uncle Jimmy probably already went and threw everything away. It's what he did after Nana passed. I don't think he would have kept any thing of mine or mommy's," Vivian answered carefully, shaking her head unaware of the anger that suddenly filled both Tony and Happy.

"Feel like going shopping or would you rather get home and take a nap?" Tony questioned, already planning on hacking this Uncle Jimmy's accounts for some form of retaliation. A wide yawn was his answer.

"Nap time it is," he conceded, turning down the long drive way that led to his home.

"It's so pretty," Vivian commented as she took in the view of the house alone. Tony smirked, glancing over his shoulder for a moment before commenting.

"You haven't seen anything yet Sweet Pea. I'll give you the grand tour after you've had a nap though. Come on, food, nap, tour, shopping. In that order," Tony instructed, sliding out of the driver's seat after unbuckling his seat belt and jogging lightly to the other side to open her door for her before Happy had a chanced. A smile curved Tony's lips as he held his daughter's hand, leading her through the door way and into the usually quiet and empty house.

"Welcome home Sir," Jarvis greeted, startling Vivian and causing her to jump slightly.

"Oh, nothing to be alarmed about Sweet Pea, that was just Jarvis," Tony informed her, watching her carefully from the corner of his eye as she looked around the entry way.

"Who's Jarvis?" Vivian questioned, finally turning her inquisitive gaze towards Tony.

"He's the AI I created," Tony answered, leading her towards the kitchen, Happy following behind them after he shut the door.

"What's an AI?" Vivian asked once Tony set her on one of the bar stools that lined his marble counter.

"An AI stands for Artificial Intelligence. He's nearly as smart as a human," Tony explained as he turned towards the refrigerator to find something suitable for a five year old to eat.

"I beg to differ sir, clearly I'm more intelligent than you," Jarvis voiced, a haughty note to his voice that caused Vivian to giggle quietly.

"Jarvis, none of your sass today. We have a guest, a young and impressionable guest I might add. Vivian, say hello to Jarvis. Jarvis say hello to Vivian, a five year old little girl," Tony instructed, pulling out some jelly before making his way to the pantry.

"Hello Miss Vivian, please do not pick up any of Sir's bad habits,"Jarvis requested, earning another giggle from the young girl and an indignant huff from Tony.

"Hello Jarvis," Vivian greeted quietly before returning her gaze to Tony who was making his way back to the marble counter with bread and peanut butter.

"Hope you like pb and j Sweet Pea, that's all I can really make," Tony stated, reaching for a butter knife in a drawer.

"It's my favorite," Vivian answered with a large grin. And Tony knew his life was about to get a thousand times better with her in the picture. He might not have been ready or expecting her, but he could adjust and she was a bright light, he knew she was going to accomplish great things.

A/N: The prologue of how Tony discovered he had a daughter! Hope you enjoyed, the next chapter might be the creation of Iron Man, haven't fully decided just yet. Again Hope you enjoyed and keep an eye out for the next chapter! Let me know what you thought!