"Daddy, I want some money," Hermione calls as she enters their living floor with Sam and Steve, sweating heavily. Whatever conversation Tony and some members surrounding him are having dies down, turning to her with confusion.

"You said something, honey?" Tony asks as he watches his daughter joins them at the middle of the living area, where the members are sprawled on the couches and around the low coffee table.

"I- Thor!" Hermione greets the man as she takes a seat beside the Son of Odin. A big smile spread across her face despite that she's tired from her morning work-out with the two fellows.

"Nice to finally meet you, Miss Stark," Thor greets back, smiling down at Hermione, who looks so tiny sitting beside him.

Tony keeps his face straight, waiting for Hermione to settle down. After a while -- after Sam and Steve join them -- Tony opens his mouth once again to ask Hermione.

"Helen?"

Hermione, who was once watching Steve and Sam taking a seat in between Pepper and Bruce Banner, turns to look at her father. For a second she looks blur. However, just as when Tony raises his eyebrows, Hermione realises what she asked her father.

"Oh, right. You're going to the press today, aren't you?" Hermione, this time, begins more formally.

Suspiciously, Tony nods. Aside from Steve and Sam, who already know the plan ahead, Pepper, Clint, Thor and Bruce, who are there with them, wait eagerly for what Hermione wanted to say.

Hermione smiles cheekily at her father. "I want to go book-shopping," she says amusingly. "Therefore, I need some money."

Tony narrows his eyes at his daughter. He doesn't know, but, somehow, something is not right hearing Hermione asking money from him.

"Ha!" Clint opens his mouth to tease the young lady. Everybody jerks their heads to him. "Don't give her, Tony. Did you know that she got paid a lot when she was an assassin. By now, she might be richer than you. Which means, she doesn't need your money to buy her stuffs."

Tony glances at Clint before turning to look back at Hermione unbalanced, in between believe and disbelieve. "Is he telling the truth?"

"Don't believe him, Dad. He's lying," Hermione defences herself.

Steve and Sam and the rest, who are not involve in the argument, laugh in amusement. Most of them shake their head especially at Clint, who they notice enjoying the presence of their new young colleague and taking advantage on her.

Listening to Hermione's lie, Clint scoffs in protest. "Yeah, I'm lying," he says sarcastically. "Excuse me for lying." Clint rolls his eyes at Hermione jokingly.

"What is going on here?" Tony asks before Hermione could argue back. He eyes both Clint and Hermione with suspicion. "Clint, when did you grow fond with my daughter?"

For a second, Clint feels small. "I- I,"

Tony had to roll his eyes, which brings a laugh from Hermione and the rest of the members. "Anyway," Tony chimes in while they are still laughing their asses off with Clint's behaviour, "Helen-"

"Yeah, I want some money," Hermione cuts her father off. "You're not home so I figure to spend a little time to myself. Plus, I needed a distraction for a while."

"A distraction?" Tony looks at his daughter with an eyebrow raised. "Honey, the world is not safe for you out there. How can you think to go out?" There's softness in his voice that makes Pepper's heart melt, and the members find it hard to believe Tony has that kind of voice.

"Dad, I've faced something lot more extreme that what you've imagined," Hermione convinces her father. "To fight Lukas, it is as easy as a pie. You don't have to worry about me."

You're my daughter, Tony mentally talks to himself as he looks down on the floor, thinking about Hermione's wish.

"If you worry so much, Tony, I can go with her to the bookstore," Pepper offers herself.

Astounded, both the father and the daughter look at Pepper as if she's insane. Unisonly, they yell, "No!" accompanied by a loud smack. Both of them were smacking the cushion in protest. Then they look funnily at each other before returning to Pepper.

"Why not?" Pepper asks no one in particular, but looks at Tony.

"Because it's not safe to neither of you," Tony answers in a duh tone.

"No," Hermione quickly chimes in. "I can go by myself."

"Or she can go with me," Clint offers himself. "And takes in charge to watch after her if she shops too much out of her budget."

"I have a lot of money. I don't need budget," Hermione spontaneously and annoyingly barks back, without thinking that it answers Tony's question.

In an instant, Hermione looks up to her father, seeing the rest of the members at the edge of her eye that they're laughing at her especially Clint, who looks like he's won a lottery.

"I- I mean-"

"Forget it." Tony waves his hand to shrug it off. "Fine, you can go out. But bring one of these guys here with you. I don't want to get lost wherever you are."

Hermione huffs in disbelief. "I know every crook of this city, Dad."

Tony looks at Hermione for a few seconds. "You know what I mean, Helen," he says in a low serious voice. Then, he returns to being cheerful. "All right, I have to get going. Oh, I hope the conference is going well."

Hermione and those who are there follow Tony standing up, surrounding the Iron Man.

"Don't worry, Tony. You'll be okay," Pepper soothes her lover while palming Tony's face with her boney hand, receiving a glare from Hermione.

"I hope so." Tony smiles nervously.

It irritates Hermione to see how happy her father looks with the red-haired woman. It irritates her more that she's not able to tell her father not to date anyone after her mother. She has seen Tony being with Pepper a lot on the TV yet there's something in her that she cannot accept Tony being with another woman that's not her mother. Besides that she's still angry with what happened, she's actually mad at herself to actually admit that Pepper is beautiful and nice. She can't compare her with Harriette but Pepper looks like her.

When Tony turns to her, Hermione puts on her happy smile on her face to hide what she's been feeling about Tony and Pepper's relationship. Both of them step closer to each other and hug as tight as they can. Pepper cooes; meanwhile the others only watch them with a warm smile on their face.

As soon as they break the hug, Tony has this sense to tell Hermione to be good at home or with whoever she goes out with, but couldn't even say that as soon as he realises that Hermione is a grown-up young lady. After what she's been through, Tony knows she knows how to take care of herself. Being a father, is not as easy as anyone think. It's hard to let your daughter goes anywhere alone. Not that he didn't trust Hermione but her safety is what he's worried about. They watch Tony heads to the elevator silently.

Too focus on watching her father walking away, Hermione startles when she feels a bulging arms wraps around her neck. Her small hands quickly grabs the solid arm, thinking of the first move to fight whoever the person is but as soon as she hears a familiar voice, she relaxes.

"You're going to take me," Steve whispers to her ear.

Smiling, Hermione says, "Yes, I am. Someone as big as you should be a bodyguard to someone as small as me."

"Hey, what about me?" Clint, doesn't know how but he could hear what the two talked about, intervenes.

"You can stay home, Clint," Hermione tells him.

Seeing how funny the two bicker, Thor, Pepper, Banner and Sam decide to stay for a while and watch.

"What?" Clint looks at Hermione in disbelief, and then eyes Steve as if to ask for his help. Unfortunately, Steve only shrugs. "Hey, I have kids. I know how kids spend. I don't want you to waste your money either you're a billionaire's daughter or not."

"Oh, what a bummer," Hermione mutters. She then turns to Steve. "C'mon let's get showered and get ready."

Still staring at Hermione in disbelief, Clint yells. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Later, Hawkeye!"