Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or any other Marvel characters. I only own my OC.

Summary: Grace Stark's life is anything but normal. Ever since her dad became Iron Man an endless amount of extraordinary people have entered her life. However, it's the boy with the warm brown eyes who's left the most lasting impression in her heart. Eventual Peter Parker/OC. Starts in Iron Man and will follow the Avengers main story-line.

A/N: So here it is. The story I have been wanting to release for a while now. Prepare for a roller-coaster of emotions. Especially when we get into the Infinity War and Endgame story line. It might take awhile before we get there though. Since I want to write Grace's interactions with the other characters, plus explore her as a character as well. The story starts off with her as a child and then we gradually see her grow up to become the sarcastic eccentric self that we all know her to be from my other story Blue And Red. Also because we're starting from the beginning Tony's and Grace's father-daughter relationship isn't a close one yet, but you'll stat seeing changes as the story moves forward. Anyways, this chapter takes place during the first Iron Man and so will the next few chapters. Enjoy!

"Not every successful man is a good father. But every good father is a successful man." ― Robert Duvall

Chapter 1: The start to a story

2008

"She hates me you know."

What Tony said caught Pepper's attention. The red haired woman was just about to go back upstairs, right after firmly reminding Tony that he needed to get ready for his flight. A flight that he was already an hour late for. Rhodey was sure not happy having to wait for his ass to get there. And for good reason. Tony was supposed to show a weapons demonstration in Afghanistan but what was he doing instead of getting ready? The billionaire was casually hanging out downstairs in his lab.

Pepper had made sure to lecture him on that. Except like always, Tony just let her say what she wanted as he did the occasional head nod and playful side comments. When she had said her part, Pepper was ready to leave. However, his sudden humorless voice and demeanor made her stop from leaving. Pepper processed what he just said to her and it didn't take long for her to know who exactly he was talking about.

Grace. His daughter.

It hurt Pepper to hear Tony's thoughts on how the sweet little dark brown eyed girl hated him. Sure, Grace was still shy around him but she didn't hate him. Pepper didn't think so. Just as she was about to give him her reassurance, Tony continued to speak, glum.

"She barely talks to me."

That along with saying Grace hated him had Pepper softening her features. "She does not hate you." She gently told him. "And as for the talking part...well, she's getting better at it with you."

Tony sighed, aghast. He briefly looked up from the car part he'd been working on. "Doesn't seem that way to me."

Sensing he needed more comfort than usual, Pepper walked back over to him. The sounds of her heels clicking on the floor filled the lab. "She just needs more time, Tony." She tried softly reassuring him. And that was what she honestly thought Grace and him needed. More time. Grace needed extra time to adjust. She had just been five years old when her mother died of Leukemia. And not that long afterwards she got placed under Tony's custody. Her father. It hadn't been an easy change for either of them. Tony had to fight his careless playboy ways now that he had a child around. As for Grace...well, she had to get used to living in a new place with someone she didn't know. Which proved to be a challenge as Pepper and Tony had come to find out.

Pepper's words did nothing to sooth Tony. Not like he hoped they would. He continued to tinker with the car part. "She's been with me for a year now, Pepper." He solemnly said to her. Those dark brown eyes she had come to realize were the same ones Grace had glanced up at her again. "And she has yet to call me dad." Tony's voice dropped, wretched. "At night I can still hear her...crying. Calling out her mom's name." He shook his head again, despondent. His eyes lowered, hurt. "She doesn't want me. She wants her...Louisa."

Pepper felt her own heart ache from seeing Tony so crestfallen. Having spent so much time at Tony's place here in Malibu, she'd gotten used to spending the night because of Grace. She was the one that always went into Grace's room whenever she heard the little girl cry in the middle of the night. Tony had tried soothing Grace a few times before but the results were never good.

It was only Pepper who could get her to stop crying and go back to sleep. Pepper knew this made Tony second guess taking responsibility over Grace. He didn't say this often, but Tony Stark was disappointed in himself for not being able to connect with his own daughter. In his mind he was failing her. Except no matter how much he was ashamed with himself for "failing" Grace, Pepper was always there to reminded him of one very important detail.

"You're the only person she has left."

There was brief silence with the two adults looking at each other before Tony spoke again. "She has her uncle." Tony lowly brought up. Although that was the truth, Tony had no idea why he even mentioned him to Pepper. Tony knew very well that Louisa's younger brother, Miguel García was not child guardian material. Miguel lacked responsibility. Tony did too (although he was getting better at it), but he wasn't as emotionally messed up as Miguel was.

Louisa's younger brother had his own issues to deal with. Tony had offered to help him many times once Grace came into his life, but Miguel García was a stubborn man. So him refusing help made Tony not want Grace anywhere near her uncle's disruptive behavior. Having Grace near her uncle would just put her in danger. And it would stay that way until Miguel changed his ways.

Pepper wanted to full on lecture Tony for even suggesting that but she instead fixed him a hard look. "And you think she'd be better off with him?" She asked, sternly. Tony might not realize it now (like Pepper did) but Grace staying with him was for the better. The dark brown eyed girl was exactly where she was supposed to be...with her father.

"No, I don't want her to go with him." Tony vehemently admitted to Pepper. "I don't want her to go with anyone else. I just..." He let out a sigh. "I want her to trust me. I want her to open up to me."

"And she will." Pepper replied. Her mother hen protectiveness for Grace lessened when she heard Tony say this. "Have patience."

Tony huffed, returning back to his childish like ways. "You know full well that waiting is not my forte."

Pepper felt a bit better that he was now his usual lighthearted self again. "Yes, I'm quite aware but I know that you'd be willing to try. For her."

Pepper got him there. Tony would be willing to wait. Despite feeling sad that his daughter wasn't openhearted with him, Tony would give her all the time she needed until she fully accepted him into her life.

"You should tell her you're going to be leaving soon." Pepper once again reminded him.

That brought Tony out of his thoughts. He put aside the car part he had been working on and stood up. Wiping his hands with a rag that was on the table next to him, he called Pepper's name.

The redhead who was once again making her way out, turned to look at him. "Yes?"

"Thank you. For your kinds words, shall we say." Tony earnestly said to her. It wasn't often that Tony Stark thanked people but whenever he did he would be as genuine as possible. And he definitely meant what he said with Pepper.

Pepper smiled. "That's what I'm here for."

Tony knew she wasn't there for offering advice or words of reassurance, but nonetheless he was glad that she took the time to actually engage in conversation about his daughter. It showed just how much Pepper Potts cared about Grace. And despite not saying it verbally yet, having Pepper care deeply for Grace left a warm feeling inside Tony.

Tony didn't need to ask Pepper or even Jarvis to know Grace's location. His daughter was exactly where he was expecting her to be at.

Her bedroom. That was her main hang out place.

It didn't take long for Tony to reach said destination. When he did he noticed right away how her bedroom door was wide open. Tony casually leaned against the opening as his eyes wandered around her bedroom.

When Tony got guardianship over Grace, he had a lot of learning to do regarding on how to handle kids in a short amount of time. Unfortunately, no matter all the books he read about "raising kids" none gave him an idea on how no to set up a little girls bedroom. He almost had the bedroom painted pink but (luckily) one of the many things he had come to learn about Grace was that she wasn't a huge fan of the color pink. So when he finally admitted defeat and asked Pepper if she could help redecorate Grace's bedroom, she had taken great joy and was excited to do so.

And thanks to Pepper, Grace got her dream bedroom. The smile and little dance and shouts of "Thank you! Thank you!" she did when stepping in the room for the first time since the redecoration was a memory Tony would always keep with him. Grace had looked so happy.

Tony had to admit the bedroom was a perfect reflection of Grace's personality. Instead of painting the room pink, it had been painted a nice shade of blue. As it turned out Grace loved the color blue almost as she loved the color red. The room of course had the standard furniture along with closet space and a TV. Except as Pepper had told him, the one thing Grace loved about her room was the view of the Malibu ocean. Pepper said it made her feel inspiration when drawing and painting. Which was what she was doing at the moment.

With a soft look in his eyes, Tony watched at how peaceful his daughter looked as she painted away. She was currently sitting down at the desk her bedroom had and all of her concentration was on the paper she was using to paint on. Tony for sure knew that she didn't get those artistic skills from him. Sure he could draw but his skills were average and he didn't have a passion for art. Grace must have gotten that passion from Louisa instead. Tony remembered during their time together, all those years ago, that Louisa had a thriving passion for the arts. Like mother, like daughter.

As Tony also had come to find out, Grace loved to read. That was yet another quality she must have gotten from her mother. In fact, Grace's bedroom was filled with a ton of different books. The genres differed drastically. And despite being just only six years old, Tony knew for certain that Grace already read all of her books more than twice. Including the new one he had bought her a few days ago.

Charlotte's Web.

Tony knew the story had a rather sad ending, and because of that he was unsure on whether to give it to Grace. Except all the worry he had about bringing up even more sad emotions up to the surface went away when Grace had thanked him for the gift. Tony was left surprised that she actual spoke to him. Or actually it had more to do with the way she sounded when she spoke. She didn't sound shy...or even cautious. She sounded and appeared to be delighted. That was what Tony always wanted her to be. Tony felt even more relief when a few days passed and he saw no negative emotional change in Grace that the book might have caused. She stayed the exact same way.

Now even though Grace's bedroom door was open, Tony forced himself to do the polite thing and knocked.

Grace reacted quickly. The hand that was holding the paint brush was gently set aside on her desk. Her gaze was now on him.

Tony smiled at the fact that she was keeping eye contact with him. "Hey, kiddo." He greeted her.

A few seconds passed before Grace was able to reply. "Hi." She whispered shyly.

There had been many times before when he'd asked her about her drawings and paintings, and every time he did so, Grace would give him a closed off answer. Still...Tony wanted to ask. In hopes that maybe, just maybe, she would say something more to him this time.

"What are you working on?" He asked gesturing towards her desk.

Grace looked unsure for a moment there, and Tony thought she was going to brush off his question yet again. However, to his immense surprise and relief, she carefully lifted up the painting she had been working on.

Tony blinked a few times. This was certainly a first. It wasn't often that she actually willingly let him see what she'd been working on. He remembered the first time he asked she gone completely still and quiet. But now here she was...showing him. This was a good sign. He took the most of this moment and walked over to where she was sitting at.

When he took a knee to get a better view of the painting he noticed the details of it. The painting was one of a strange pretty looking flower. However, it was the color that got to him. It was a soft looking reddish orange. In a way it reminded Tony of Pepper's hair color. He decided that it was a beautiful color.

"It's a Chrysanthemum." Grace said struggling a little when saying the name of the flower. She decided to elaborate the name of the flower because she how he had been gazing intently at it. Maybe he couldn't tell what kind of flower it was, so she decided to tell him. About a week ago she had read a book about flowers. There were all sorts of pretty looking flowers in the book but the Chrysanthemum was one that stuck with her. Mainly because the color of the flower reminded Grace of Pepper's hair.

"It's very pretty." Tony complimented. "You going to add it to your painting collection?"

Grace shook her head, bashful. "No...it's for Pepper. A gift for her birthday." She told him as she carefully set the painting back down.

Tony couldn't help but smile when he heard that. That was such a nice gesture coming from Grace. Not surprising though. When Grace came into his life last year, it didn't take long for Grace to warm up to Pepper. It had been instantaneously. Whereas he was still trying to gain her trust and affections. For instance when he first got guardianship over Grace, Tony was worried with her lack of speaking. He thought that maybe she had Autism or something. Which was a strong possibility considering the terrible health history her mom's side of the family had.

However, that assumption of her having Autism was quickly pushed to the side within the first days of custody. As it turned out Grace was very talkative. She talked with Pepper, Rhodey, and even with Happy whenever they were around. Whereas with Tony she kept the conversation short or nonexistent. There was one other person Grace didn't like talking to and that was with Obadiah Stane. Tony had come to find out that Grace was even more quiet whenever Obadiah was around. When she found the chance, Grace always bolted whenever the bald headed man was in the room. Tony couldn't help but feel bewildered by this but he chalked it up to Grace just being her usual shy self.

"So, listen..." Tony trailed off causing Grace to look at him curiously. He knew he'd have to tell her about his departure now. "I have to leave. There's something I gotta do for work."

Grace looked at him, staying silent. She didn't say anything to him but after a few more seconds of silence she nodded her head. Since coming to live with Tony, Grace had sadly gotten used to seeing him leave. Grace tried thinking happy thoughts, telling herself that he would come back and not go away like her mom had. He wasn't sick. He just had to do work stuff. He'd come back. Besides, Pepper would still be there with her.

"I'll be back in a couple of days." Tony continued to speak...hoping to see any other sort of reaction from her aside from her nodding...but he didn't. After another few seconds though she spoke again.

"Okay." Grace faintly replied.

Tony sighed. He knew this was all he was going to get from her. Giving her a forced smile, he went to stand up again. A soft touch to one of his hands stopped him from doing so. He looked at Grace, slightly puzzled by the sudden contact. He was about to ask if something was wrong but no words came out when he saw her open and close the desk drawer. He was curious to see what she took out and once he saw what it was his heart warmed up.

It was another painting. This one was already dry and done. It was a painting of the ocean. Based on the details, Tony knew it was no ordinary ocean painting, but one of the view Grace got from her bedroom. When he had stayed silent and made no action to take the painting, Grace gently handed the painting to him. From what she was able to understand with her time with him so far he wasn't a fan of being handed things...but she looked past that at the moment. As did Tony.

"It's for you." Grace softly told him. It'd been weeks now since she had finished the painting but she hadn't found the courage to give it to him. She was afraid he wasn't going to like it...she just wanted to make something for him. Something to let him know how much he meant to her. She couldn't find the words yet to express her feelings but perhaps the painting would do for now.

Tony was beyond touched. He was rejoicing on the inside. It was finally happening. Grace was opening up to him. She didn't have to right away speak non-stop to know this. The painting was enough for him to understand what she was trying to tell him. "Thank you." He said looking at the painting and then at her. A genuine smile then appeared on his face. "I love it."

Adding more to his happiness, Tony saw Grace's lips turn upwards. A smile, one that was only for him, settled onto her youthful face.

Testing out the waters of being a father, Tony decided to go for an affectionate type of gesture. It wasn't a hug but in his mind he thought it was just as good as one. Using one of his fingers, he gently poked Grace's right cheek where one of her dimples was displayed. When he did this it caused for her smile to grow bigger. A giggle escaped her causing Tony's own smile to expand. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

Controlling her behavior, Grace nodded her head. "Okay." She quietly replied before she went back to painting again.

Tony left in a much happier mood than when he first came in. As he walked to his own room to pack his belongings, Tony carefully kept holding onto the painting Grace had given him. He kept telling himself that this was progress. This was very good progress. Tony couldn't wait to finish this weapons demonstration. The sooner he came back home to Grace, the better his chances of building a father-daughter relationship with her would be.