Chapter One
I sat outside of the school in the backseat of the nice, black, car. I watched as kids went in, laughing and talking with their friends. I frowned slightly, I didn't really have that. I have one friend, Michelle, or MJ as I call her, but she always arrived at school early so she could go to the library and be alone for a bit before too many prepubescent wasteoids showed up.
"C'mon kid, ain't got all day," Tony joked with a chuckle from the seat next to me, Happy in the driver's seat. I glanced at him and then back out the window. "Seriously, (Y/n), you have to go to school..."
"Any sign of him? Anywhere?" I asked quietly.
Tony sighed. "Nothing yet, kiddo."
I nodded slightly, feeling tears start to sting my eyes. "Do you..." I took a deep breath. "Do you think we'll ever find him?"
"Of course we will, (Y/n), of course we will." He encouraged.
"It seems impossible! We've been looking for almost two years now, Tony, and we haven't found anything!" I exclaimed, tears stabbing my eyes as I pushed them away. "I don't think we'll ever find him... It's impossible, we would've gotten some kind of lead by now."
"(Y/n)... There are times when the impossible is possible if you give it everything you have... We'll find him sooner than you think, and before you know it you and him will be back in the tower doing father daughter science experiments." Tony said, I ran a hand through my (h/c) hair and looked at my lap. I heard him shift in the seat next to me and looked up at him. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to him. "Listen kid, I know that this whole thing has been hard on you... I mean with him disappearing, the team getting divided like this..."
"The whole tower being moved upstate somewhere..." I chimed in.
"Hey, the new facility will be topnotch!" Tony defended. "Anyways... I understand what you're going through, and I will be here for you." he said rubbing my arm.
"Thanks Tony," I said with a small smile.
"Don't mention it, kid... We're family from now on, and I promise to be the best surrogate dad ever until we find him." he said with a smile.
"Sir," Happy said from the driver seat.
"Way to ruin the moment there, Happy," Tony said removing his arm from my shoulders, I chuckled lightly and grabbed my backpack.
"Well, I just wanted to-"
"Ruin the moment? Yeah, I gathered that." Tony said with a bit of sass.
Happy rolled his eyes in the rearview mirror. "No, sir, it's just if (Y/n) doesn't leave in the next five minutes she will most likely be late to her first period."
"Oh... well, my apologies, Happy." Tony said with a slight frown. He looked at me and smiled. "Yeah, so have a nice day, sweetie, and maybe after school we could get ice cream."
I rolled my eyes slightly. "Ice cream? I'm not five, Tony. I'm fifteen almost sixteen."
"So no ice cream then?" he asked with raised eyebrows.
I shook my head. "No, I always want ice cream."
Tony laughed. "Get outta here kid, and do some science-y stuff or whatever you do in that place." he said with a wave of his hand. I rolled my eyes and opened the door slightly.
I turned towards him and pulled him into a hug. "Thanks, Tony... for everything."
He patted my back slowly. "Anytime, kid. Now go learn some stuff."
I pulled away from the hug and excited the car, closing the door behind me. I took a deep breath and walked up the steps and into the school.
···············
"Tony, Miss Potts would like me to remind you that you have a meeting in thirty minutes." Happy said placing his hands on the wheel.
Tony nodded his head as he looked out the window. "Yeah... yeah..." he watched (Y/n) walk up the steps and into the school. "Okay, Happy, we can go."
Happy pulled away from the high school and began to drive towards Stark Industries for the meeting, his brows furrowed as he was puzzled by something.
"Tony?" he asked.
Tony glanced up from his phone then back down. "Yes?"
"Why do you always wait to see her walk into the school?" Happy asked, everytime he drops the teen off when Tony is there he always has to wait until she is in the building, and it has always puzzled him.
"I just want to make sure that she actually goes to school, Happy..." Tony said with an eyeroll. "But, if I have to be honest with you," Tony mumbled setting his phone down on the leather seat beside him, as he ran a hand over her face. "I have you wait just in case, one day, she crumbles under the stress of the past two years and comes back to the car and says 'I can't do this, Tony. Not today.'" Tony explained closing his eyes tightly and pinching the bridge of his nose, resting his head against the seat. "She acts so strong, Happy, but I know that this is killing her."
"And you just want her to open up and tell you her true feelings about this?" Happy asked as he pulled up to a stop light.
"Of course!" Tony said in exasperation. "That's all I want."
"Why, Tony?"
"Because... because I never did with my father, and I don't want her to turn out like me." Tony explained opening his eyes and looking at the fabric lining the inside of the car's roof.
"But your not her dad, Tony." Happy replied as he pulled up to Stark Industries.
"I know, but until we he any trace of Bruce and get him back from his little vacation... I'm the best that she's got." Tony said putting on his sunglasses. "And I do not intend on fucking it up."
