The intercom buzzed loudly as the woman pressed the button. A voice crackled is through the speakers as she bit her lip nervously. The woman said a few things back then waited. By her side, Tate fidgeted nervously. He flicked the wheel of his skateboard, sending it spinning aimlessly in the air. The large backpack weighting heavily on his slim shoulders. His dark hair had grown out and it covered his grubby face well enough. The woman clicked her manicured nails impatiently as they waited, other hand gripping with a bruising grip on Tate's shoulder.

The hallway the pair stood in was all polished marble and sophisticated decorations. Themes of black and cream. Tate didn't look around, preferring to keep his head down and make himself as small as possible. The woman's and his figures stood out of place here like ducks amongst swans. He could feel the neat business men and women, dressed in expensive suits, glare down at his rumpled clothing. The shirt was at lest three sizes too big and the jeans were ripped at the knees. Both of which were slightly stained and obvious well worn. His skateboard was clutched tightly under one arm, wheel still spinning.

"You may come in". The door unlocked with a audible click. The woman purses her plastic lips and huffed grumpily. She pushed it open and clicked her heels through, dragging Tate along behind her.

This room was much the same as the last hallway except for the black leather sofas surrounding a coffee table near the corner. The other side of the room held a matching set of black office chairs and a meeting table. Large windows took up one wall, showing the towers of the New York skyline. A red haired woman in a simple but elegant suit was standing next to the sofas. She was clutching a iPad in one hand. Tate peered at her through his hair as she stepped forwards with a smile to shake the plastic woman's hand.

"Nice to meet you Mrs Hastings. I'm Pepper Potts. We spoke on the phone".

The plastic woman, Mrs Hastings gave a sniff and looked around pointedly. "I thought we would be meeting with Mr Stark".

Pepper Pott's smile turned strained. "Yes. He will be here shortly. He is currently running a little bit late". She turned her attention down to Tate and her expression became more open and honest. "You must be Tate Doe. It's nice to meet you". Tate nodded at her hesitantly.

Mrs Hasting's grip hardened even more and he tried not to wince. "Answer her Tate. Be polite".

"Hello Mrs Potts", Tate mumbled. Pepper smiled warmly as Mrs Hastings released him.

"Go a play in a corner. Don't leave the room", she instructed as she took a seat on the sofa. Pepper sat opposite her, strained smile back. Tate scowled at them both and slunk away. With all the desk chairs, the meeting table was surrounded. It was darker under there, a easy place to hide. Tate crawled between the chairs, dragging his backpack and skateboard after him. He crossed his legs and began to fiddle with his skateboard as he listened to the women talk.

"I trust Mr Stark knows about the Boy's circumstances", Mrs Hastings was saying. "The only other option is foster care or a specialised hospital. We still have no idea how damaged he is. He won't talk to the psychiatrists".

"Mr Stark is just on his way up now", Pepper replied firmly. "I am sure we can wait until he arrives". A minute passed in tense silence before the doors opened and a man in a tshirt and jeans strolled through. He was wearing sunglasses and his hair was uncombed. Even with the casual clothes, the facial hair was recognisable from the news and magazines. Tate knew him on sight but he stayed quiet. His mom had displayed framed photographs in her home lab. Tate recognised Tony Stark from them and from watching him on tv.

Tony flopped onto the couch next to Pepper in a languid motion and pressed a kiss to her cheek. He flicked off his sunglasses and hung them on the neck of tshirt. "Sorry I'm late. I got distracted. Which meeting is this again?" Pepper rolled her eyes fondly but smiled at her boyfriend's appearance.

"Tony. This is Mrs Hastings. She is the government agent on the case of Tate Doe". At the mention of Tate's name, Tony straightened and his relaxed attitude fell away as he frowned.

Mrs Hastings smiled at him, expression distorting her face with the insincerity. "I'm sorry for your loss Mr Stark. I heard that you were good friends with the boy's mother. Such a tragedy what happened. You have my sympathies".

"I though that Ira's son was going to be taken in by family", Tony replied frostily. "Why have you come to me?"

"I'm afraid that Ms Ira Doe had no family. The boy's father was never registered on his birth certificate and she has no relatives. Also, she wrote in her will that if anything happened to her, we were to contact you". Mrs Hastings sighed and fluffed up her hair, oblivious to the stony expressions on Pepper's and Tony's faces.

"There was a will?" Pepper asked. "If there was a will asking you to contact us, then why has it taken three months for this to happen?"

"Ms Ira Doe was working on a top secret government project at the time of her death. Her son was present when the accident occurred. We had to make sure that he was not affected by the explosion and that no information had been leaked. I'm sure you understand, working with shield and all".

Tony was fuming now. Tate curled himself up tighter and kept silent. Pepper rested a hand on Tony's arm in a subtle effort to calm him. She took a deep breath and faced Mrs Hastings. "What else was in Ira's will?"

"She left all her money and personal affects to her son. Her research to Mr Stark and her estates have been auctioned off for charity. Unfortunately most of which was destroyed in the fire. What was salvaged has been dealt with".

"What was the nature of her death?" Tony asked, eyes steely. "We were told that her lab exploded in a chemical accident".

Mrs Hastings pushed up her wire framed glasses and purses her glossy plastic lips. "That was what happened. A accident occurred during one of her experiments. The resulting explosion killed her instantly and started a fire which destroyed half the house". Her voice was factual and blank. It seemed to make Tony angrier.

"Was Tate hurt?" Pepper asked.

"The boy was miraculously mostly unharmed. He had a bit of smoke inhalation and a few chemical burns but he was rescued quickly. Due to his strange vitals and close nature to his mother's lab, we had to be sure that he had not been affected by the explosion".

"So what will be happening to him?" Tony interrupted.

"Since he is fine, he would either have to be taken in by his family, or will be sent to care. Since Ms Ira Doe had no family, being a foster child herself, the only person who could take him in would be you Mr Stark. You are his godfather".

Tony blinked in surprise. He turned to Pepper, a wide eyed but slightly happy look on his face. "I always thought that Ira had been joking. I haven't seen her since she was pregnant. I never thought she would go through with it". Pepper squeezed his hand, a sad but hopeful smile stretching her lips.

Mrs hasting's looked at her watch and grimaced. "Can I have a answer Mr Stark. The paperwork is all here ready. I don't mean to pressure you but if you can't take him in then I have to drop the boy at the nearest foster house in a hour. It's all the way across the city and I have places to be".

Both Pepper and Tony glared at the woman for disrupting their moment. Tony threw his hands up in frustration. "Yes! I'll take him. I can't just let Ira's child be bustled off to care. Where do I sign?"

Mrs Hasting's pulled out a few forms from her purse and handed them to Pepper. She scanned them all through with ruthless efficiency before passing Tony a pen. "These are just the legal guardian forms", she explained as Tony scribbled his name. When he was finished, he handed them back to Mrs Hastings. The woman smiled widely and tucked them back into her purse. She stood up and brushed off her skirt. Tony and Pepper rose with her.

"My office will email you a copy of the documents tomorrow Miss Potts", Mrs Hastings said as they shook hands. "It is up to you if you want to release the news to the media. Thank you for meeting with me".

Tony forced a smile and bid the woman a polite goodbye as Mrs Hasting's left the room. As soon as she had gone, the smile faded. "The nerve of some people", he muttered. "No wonder Ira made me his godfather. If she grew up around people like that, I wouldn't want my child around them either". He sighed deeply and rested his head on Pepper's shoulder. She held him close for a second of quiet before he pulled away.

"Where is the kid anyway?" Tony asked. Pepper gently knelt down and waved at the meeting table. Tate was peering at them around the  chairs, eyes big and dark.

"Is a eleven year olds supposed to be that small?" Tony muttered softly as he watched the boy. The question was supposed to be under his breath and out of hearing range for Tate, who was on the other side of the room. But Tate heard it perfectly. He blinked at them, fingers gripping his skateboard.

"Could you come out sweetie?" Pepper asked gently. She made a small waving gesture, smiling reassuringly. Tate decided he liked her. She was warm and nice. Slowly and a bit hesitantly, he crawled out from under the table. He stood up and clasped his backpack and skateboard to his chest.

"He looks so much like his mother", Tony commented. The man smiled and walked over to him. Once he was closer he bent down to Tate's level. "Hey kiddo. Did your mother ever tell you about me?"

Tate nodded and Tony's smile grew. "You're the man from her pictures. Mom kept pictures of you in her lab", he whispered. "She said that you were my godfather and that we couldn't meet you until you admitted you were wrong".

Tony let out a wet chuckled and rubbed the moisture from his eyes. "Well I was wrong. I wam wrong and your mom was right. You're going to be staying with us now okay".

"No more hospitals and needles?" Tate asked, pouting. "Can I skateboard? They didn't let me use my skateboard there. If I don't practise then I'm going to get rusty".

"Of course you can use your skateboard", Pepper beamed. "Do you want to see your new home?"

Tate nodded and held out a hand. Tony took it and stood up. "Come on small fry. You're going to love it".

Unedited.