Time pass. Days pass. But Hermione feels as if she's been skipping them. There were a few things that she didn't believe it all happening to her for months back. Even though she tried to reminisce -- made the histories come back alive in the current time as she sits in the car, watching the busy city -- but as she was doing so, she didn't feel anything. There were things she knew were missing like the biggest plot twist of a movie yet there was a hole in it. It felt surreal for Hermione. It certainly felt surreal for Tony, too.

In his life, starting when he left his daughter and his deceased wife, he couldn't stop thinking of them. Every second, every minute, every hour and every day. In fact, every moment he was taking his life journey to bring back Stark Industries to be the greatest compnay in the world, his mind weren't able to split from thinking his own family. He didn't want to say that he made the biggest mistake of his life because if he didn't go to New York City, he might not cherish as much as he cherish his daughter now. His wife may be dead, but his heart don't. And he loved both of his ladies -- including the red head.

Tony feels like the day has never been so bright before. As he drives his Audi, gazing around the city and his daughter beside him, he never thought he would see happy faces of humans by the streets. Is it him? Is it normal? Oh, and the weather! He couldn't remember when was the last time he enjoys taking a tour in the middle of the city.

The man smiles. Maybe it's because of the fact that Hermione is moving in with him now that he feels as if everybody is celebrating with him. Even the traffic lights go all green as he approaches them, didn't want to delay Tony's road to home with his daughter. Gosh, Tony Stark is so happy today. So happy that he could run up and down the Avengers tower for a couple of rounds.

Since Hermione accepted to be S.H.I.E.L..D agent, Fury immediately assign her to missions. Lots and lots of missions that she weren't able to have a rest before another mission starts. She wasn't given a time to settle down with her father. She lives in the Avenger headquarters all the time that by now, she's mastered the building.

Another after another mission had been given to Hermione and Clinton. Although she'd told Fury she didn't want to work with him but the director seems to enjoy seeing Hermione working with him. Just my bad luck...

Back in the current situation...

She, although she has been so quiet in the passanger seat, but if you look closely, there is a tiny smile at the end of her lips. It looks so charming, reflecting the look on her excited face and glittering eyes. She feels as if she's starting her life all over again -- remember that she moved to an orphanage when her mother died and had to move again when Arnold Rooster took her in -- but moving in to Tony's? She doesn't feel that much different and odd. Because she's living with her father, after all, he's her family.

Once in a while Tony glances at his daughter, whose cheek is propped on the door and whose hair in waving in the wind. His heart warms with the sight. He totally won't waste his second chance ever.

~

"Welcome home!" Tony cheers as he enters his suite. Their suite. Full with shiny things and silver and black, so elegant. "Oh, I forgot to tell you that the rest of the Avengers live here, too. Just in different floors. So if I am not home, maybe you can go look for them."

Home. She loves that word so much.

Hermione looks around the house with amazement. Not once she thinks she would live in a house like one of these -- although her old house, the Villa, was much bigger than this but still. "It's... nice."

"Nice? This is perfect!" Tony starts to brag as he walks towards a bar that is full with various types of alchohol on the shelves against the wall. "You want one?" he offers, pushing out his hand that has a bottol of beer. After a second, he pulls his hand back. "Wait, are you legal?"

Hermione laughs as she approches the bar, then takes a seat. "Who cares if I'm not legal." She grabs a small glass and snatches the beer from Tony's hand.

Tony looks at his daughter in awe. "Oh my God," he mutters. "Is this my daughter? Who taught you this?" He snatches the beer from Hermione's hand even before the girl finished pouring. Water spills on the counter. "Now you're wasting my beer."

Hermione rolls her eyes. "Oh, come on, Dad! I lived with boys! Assassins! You think I never spoiled myself?" She attempts to take back the beer from Tony's hand but the father pulls back quickly.

"Ah, ah." Tony shakes her head.

Hermione looks at him in annoyance.

"We're having a party tonight. Save yourself for the latter." This brings a smile onto Hermione face. "Deal?"

Hermione bites her lower lip, preventing herself from smiling bigger. "Deal!" She smacks the counter bar.

"Good!" Tony gives the girl a curt nod. "Now go unpack. If you need anything for tonight, let me know. I'll be in my workshop."

Hermione's hand was trying to reach the small glass that had her drink, but before she could wrap her fingers around, Tony has already taken it and began heading for the elevator where they came in.

"Hey, that's my drink!" Hermione whines.

Tony shakes his head. "Save yourself for the latter," he repeats himself.

The dark-haired girl grumbles. "Fine!" she gives up, doesn't want to argue further. "By the way, where's your workshop?" she asks aloud, craning her neck as her eyes follow where Tony's is heading to.

"Floor 79!" Tony yells back. "If you can't remember just ask JARVIS. He knows everything."

Hermione pulls her head back. "JARVIS," she whispers to herself. "Huh, I wonder what is that thing."

Not long after that, she decides to help Tony cleaning up the spilt on the counter top. It comes back clean and shiny, that Hermione wonders how Tony managed to keep them like that. Definitely, he's not doing them himself. Does he hire a maid? Or is there something else that takes care of the house?

After cleaning up and throwing the napking into the trashcan, Hermione turns on the shelves of bottles of alchohol liquids that sit on the sheleves against the wall. Various of beers and wines and more. Her hands are itching to grab every one of them to taste the expensive alchohol. Back in the Villa, she'd only get to drink the cheap one.

That's what makes her eager for the party tonight. She wants to taste them one by one.

She didn't take much time gazing up and down the bottles there. When two minutes passed, Hermione returns to the living hall and grabs her stuffs that only contain bags of clothes. Tony brought her to shop before they came here, and that's why. While bending over the sofa, grabbing all the bags, suddenly an aura of another person in the house lingers around Hermione. Without standing back up, her head turns towards the figure that she saw at the end of her eye.

"Hi," the woman greets her friendly. "You must be Helen." She smiles at Hermione sweetly. The woman then walks towards Hermione casually. "I'm Pepper." She holds out her hand.

Hermione stands up and looks at the woman called Pepper up and down. Her face looks as if she's disgusted with Pepper like she's not one of her kind, although they pretty much have the same height, have the same skin colour and have freckles. She glances down at Pepper's hand and ignores it.

Awkwardly, Pepper retrieves back her hand. "Okay, if you don't want to...," she mutters under her breath as Hermione bends her body back to get her stuffs.

"You're getting into your room? Oh, do you want me to show you which-"

"Just tell me where it is," Hermione cuts Pepper.

It makes Pepper speechless for a few seconds with the girl's attitude.

"You're room is... down the hallway." Pepper turns half of her body and points the hallway she mentioned. It was located just beside the kitchen that's behind the bar. "There are two room vacant. Tony says you can choose either one you like."

"Oh, I'll take both," Hermione tells the woman quickly before she could even finish herself. "I'll figure out what to do with them."

"Uh, okay," Pepper, once again, talks to herself, when Hermione has walked pass her soon as after she told her what  she will do with the rooms.

"Oh! And by the way," Hermione stops on her track just to tell Pepper that, "call me Hermione." Then she continues looking for her rooms.

Pepper watches Hermione making her way to the hallway where the rooms are located, standing still in shock. Based on what she heard, Hermione, even though she can be a little bit sassy like her father, but not one like she just witnessed.

And seriously, Pepper thought she could handle sassiness because her boyfriend is one. So she was, kind of, glad to see Hermione in the building like a mother would feel seeing her daughter coming back. Her friendly face makes the first impression even better. But after what happened, she doesn't know what to feel.

I didn't think Tony was rude like that, Pepper thinks. Is she really his daughter?